As a local businesses, you need to make sure that your Google Places listing is up to date.  This is what controls the information that Google displays in the map at the top of the results page when you do a search for a company, product or service in Google.  If your listing is incomplete, it is likely costing you money.

You need to make sure that your website is up to date and relevant.  Is there information on there that people are looking for?  What questions are people always asking your business?  Put the answers on your website.

Some basic work on your search engine optimization and current, complete information in some online databases can do wonders for your bottom line.

Tags: internet marketing tips, internet marketing, niche marketing, website optimization, article marketing

Not sure how to do it?  Well, if you don’t want to take the time to figure it out, call us and we can get it done for you.  It is very important.  You have the opportunity to edit the description of your business, hours of operation, your address if need be, make sure your website info is up to date and so on.  This way when someone searches for you or the service/products you are offering, your listing will come up on Google Maps.  This information gets displayed BEFORE the search engine results.  This means that a good, updated, current, relevant Google Places listing can get you a visitor and/or a lead/sale before they even scroll down to see the results of their search.  And all this for free!  So make sure your listing is current, your business depends on it.

Tags: internet marketing, Jonathan Hook, website optimization, article marketing, internet marketing tips

Now, I found Facebook is a bit tricky to get started on.  You have to hit a certain threshold of monetary value in your ads before they start pushing them out.  You can adjust the amount you want to spend as you go along and the more clicks your ads get, the less you will pay for them.

Here is a free tip… Put your phone number or contact info right in your ad.  There is lots of room there and you will get people responding to your ad without even clicking on it (and costing you money).

At The Marketer’s Mind, we can create an entire Facebook ad campaign for you.  Let us help you grow your business today.

Tags: affiliate marketing, internet marketing, article marketing, niche marketing, internet marketing tips

For some reason, some small business owners are turned off by the idea of paying to get a visitor to their website or paying for a lead, yet the same business owner will throw hundreds or thousands of dollars on advertising that they can’t track or can’t control.  Makes no sense to me.  If you, as a business owner, can get people coming to your website or calling your place of business for a few cents on a click, then you are leaving business on the table by not using that tool.

Here is why I like Adwords for small business:

1. Most of the time, your competitors are not using it, or are using it poorly.  This makes it easy to get on top and be seen.
2. You can INSTANTLY dominate a search results page by having an ad display at the top or the right hand side of the page.
3. Adwords now integrates with your Google Places listing so visitors can click on your map address right from the ad.
4. Adwords now allows you to link from your ad right in to your site.  You can have up to 10 “extensions” in your ad that take visitors right to specific pages within your website.

Are you seeing why I love Adwords?  I can show a searcher an ad, give them a map to me and direct them specifically within my website BEFORE they even see the competitors search results.  Beautiful.  This is a very useful tool to instantly boost your site’s visibility and gain market share.

Tags: website optimization, internet marketing, internet marketing tips, niche marketing, affiliate marketing

Well, that is a good argument and may be valid. However, the times, they are a changin’.

Having a website is like having a sign that says you are open for business. It is just a little part of doing business but it can make your business seem more legitimate to your clients.

Why?

You automatically:
- look more professional
- have more credibility

When you give a person your contact information, it makes you seem more established. When people see that you have your own website, right away it looks like you care about your customers and want to give them information. It is all about positioning yourself and setting yourself apart from the competition. If someone just rolls into town and they look up 3 different businesses and yours is the only one with a website, the others will look poorer for it.

When you have a website, it shows that you are up-to-date and current with your marketing. People expect to see your website address. They may never go and visit your site – they may not need to, but that doesn’t matter. You need to have a site and you need to get it out where people can see it. It can set you apart from other businesses in your town that do not have a site.

Another good reason to have your own website is that you can convey your image to people right inside their own homes.

Someone sitting in their living room can look you up online and find out about your business, the products or services you offer and get to know a bit about you before they even leave their house to buy your product or service. When you buy advertising space, usually the more you buy, the more it costs. A ½ page ad in the phone book costs more than a ¼ page ad. Then they charge you extra for colours and so on.

When you have a website you get to leverage your advertising dollars. Now all you need to do is market your website address and drive traffic there. Once people get to your website, you have basically all the space you want and it doesn’t cost extra! Now you can have pictures, audio, video, demonstrations, coupons, information, details, features, benefits, colours, logo, and anything else you can think of – at little or no extra cost! Far more than you can include directly into the various types of media you are currently utilizing.

So now you have a great “advertisement” – your website – but you are able to buy smaller, less expensive ads in the media. This can be very powerful to your advertising budget.

Having your own website name means you can have an email address at your-own-business-name.com (for example). It becomes part of your identity. It means you can have a company email address. Everyone needs an email address just like everyone needs a phone. Some people just prefer to use email over the phone and by not having one, you could be leaving those people unserved. Do not discount the value that a website – even a simple one – adds to your small business.

Tags: internet marketing, niche marketing, internet marketing tips, Jonathan Hook, website optimization

But don’t let online video take you over. There is a place for it – and there is a place it shouldn’t be.

For example, a sales letter.

If you do your entire sales letter in only video, you can have a problem. First, for whatever reason, there will be people who can’t watch your video. The connection is bad, they don’ have the right version of some plugin, or whatever. One, though is that they might not have the time. Another thing is that they may be at work or in another environment where video (specifically audio) is not a practical option. Not everyone does all their online work from their home office.

I know when I go to a site and see a video, the first thing I do is look to see how long the video is. I am only prepared to sit there and watch a sales video for a couple of minutes. If it is, say 10 minutes or longer, I won’t even start it. Why should I? I have not yet been sold on anything that this person is offering – that is why I am at the site. So, why should I give them my time?

If you want to use video on your sales page, keep it short. Use it as an intro to a longer video and get people to opt-in. Then send them the link by email. That way, if they don’t have time to watch it right now, they can come back to it. It also allows you to follow up with them and make sure that they watch it. Offer it in smaller chunks if it is long.

and don’t forget to also include a written text version of your sales letter on the same page. Some people will watch the video – but not all. Others will just want to read, or skim the sales letter. Let them. The point of video is to add an element to your site – not take away from it. Don’t exclude the people who want to read the sales letter.

Tags: affiliate marketing, internet marketing tips, internet marketing, Jonathan Hook, niche marketing

There can be more to consider. Are you also putting out content via podcasts? Are you also putting out content via video? Many people are not. Why?

Well, some people haven’t thought of it, others don’t know how and haven’t learned yet, others see it as a barrier to publishing content at all. Whatever your reason, I encourage you to look into it – for a couple of reasons.

1. The more content you can put out in different mediums, the more people you will reach. Why? Quite simply, different people learn in different ways. Some people like to read (web, email), others like to watch video and others prefer to listen. By only using one medium, you are assuming that all your people prefer to get their information in that format.

2. There are many more people in the world with wireless devices than with internet access, so by publishing in more formats, you are able to get into say podcast directories or video directories and so on. You open up your information to people who can’t otherwise get it.

It has been predicted by some people in the know that in the not to distant future, we will start to see a separation of the computer from the internet. This means that people will use the infrastructure of the internet but not from their computers. You can already access certain things from mobile phone or ipod, there are tv-like units that have access to certain parts of the internet and so on. More is coming our way on this.

I would encourage you to think for a minute on how you would run your business if your clients didn’t have a computer. Could they get your information via podcast or RSS? Can they call you to place an order? Do you mail them something in the mail for follow up? This will expand your opportunities many times over.

Tags: affiliate marketing, Jonathan Hook, niche marketing, article marketing, website optimization

BUT, be carefull in how you run your show…

A couple of months ago, I got an offer from Derek Gehl at The Internet Marketing Center.  The offer was for a $2.95, 21 day trial to his new Search Marketing Lab.  OK, let’s try it out.  So I sign up. It was new, I check it out, didn’t feel there was much value.  I forget about it.  Now, i just realized that my credit card has been billed $27 for a monthly subscription.  I contact them to get it figured out (I never logged in again).  In the meantime, since that first charge, there has already been another.  I ask for a refund.

Well, they were fine to cancel my subscription and so on but when it came to the refund, here is what they wrote:

Jonathan,

 You were charged for 2 months – and no there were no refunds as you were outside the refund guarantee.

 Thank you and have a great day.

That’s it, sorry, too bad, see you later.

Now, it would have been nice to get a note from them at the end of my trial to let me know my card was to be charged (but, no).  They should have sent me a receipt for payments made (but nothing).  At the very least, they could have forwarded me my login details and offered to refund me the last payment.  But a little note saying, “sorry, it sucks to be you” is no way to run a business.

I actually was going to join a more expensive program of theirs but have lost all respect for the way they run their operation and am no longer considering doing anything with them.

Remember that even though you are online, it doesn’t mean you have to be more impersonal.  Your clients are still people and should be treated as such.  Run your business with dignity and respect, build relationships that are real – not just you emailing out to your list.  It is worth it.

This is the identity that you create that sets you apart from your competitors in your marketplace.  This is the answer to the question in your customer’s minds “why should I do business here?”.

One thing that you have to remember though, as you develop your USP, is that you need to make sure that your USP addresses a concern that actually exists in your marketplace.

If your USP boasts something about your business that you think is important to you but none of your customers find important, then you have missed the mark.  If you have a Pizza shop and you are bragging about how fast you can deliver the pizzas but most of your customers are walk-in customers and they actually come there because of the taste of your pizza, then you have missed the mark.  You are promoting a feature of your business that is not relevant to your customers.

As you set up your USP, make sure that you not only identify and address important features or benefits, make sure that they are the features and benefits that your marketplace is actually looking for.

PayPal’s multi-million client base is growing at the extraordinary rate of 28,000 new accounts daily, and their payment processing system is sheer perfection. Still, you may wonder why you should use PayPal to process your payments. What’s in it for you? It’s a fair question, and you deserve some good answers.

Versatility and Ease
PayPal is the most widely accepted payment system in the world. At the time of this writing, it is available in 38 countries, and the company has plans to continue expanding its services around the globe. That means you can do business on a global scale and get paid the same day.

The user-friendly interface makes it a breeze to sign up for a free consumer account, which allows the sending, receiving and requesting of payments. It’s free and easy for all those happy potential customers to buy from you and pay you immediately for your product or service.

Upgraded PayPal accounts can even accept credit card payments without having to sign up for merchant accounts with credit card companies. Being able to accept cash or credit card payments opens you up to a wider client base.

Speed and Security
Using PayPal is a dream for buyers and sellers alike. Their checkout system allows for a quick and seamless online transaction that simply processes a payment with the click of a button. Your customers can even pay you from their mobile phone rather than waiting until they get home to their computer. No more waiting for a cheque in the mail. That alone is a good reason why you should use PayPal to process your payments.

Although much of the world now has at least some idea of how to stay safe online, many people are still nervous about the security risk of making purchases. PayPal’s payment processing takes that worry away with their aggressive security measures. They use only secured servers and information is encrypted. No one ever sees the consumer’s financial data, not even the person or company receiving payment. Customers can relax and feel safe using PayPal to complete a transaction with you, as their details cannot be stolen.

If a consumer has dealt with a verified seller and feels there is an issue with that seller, PayPal will step in and investigate. Their account holders are offered buyer protection and Safeweb Insurance. This is another feature that helps you to establish trust with clients, especially if they have never dealt with you before.

There are so many incredible reasons why you should use PayPal to process your payments. The ease, versatility, speed and security all make for smooth transactions that will leave both you and your customer happy.

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