savvymarketingsecrets/blog » 2009

Savvy Marketing; A Cautionary Tale

By Marcia Ming on Saturday, July 25th, 2009 | No Comments

I had an experience recently that got me to thinking about what is and is not savvy marketing.

: Man frowning at mail.

I bought a product from a marketer who sold the product with a snazzy video a month before he promised to deliver. He used all the tools of copywriting – scarcity, the right solution for my problem — to convince me that I needed to act fast!

His video was so powerful, I just had to buy the product. Then, I waited full of anticipation for a month, only to find myself disappointed with the product he delivered. That was not a good example of savvy marketing on his part.

I had a whole month to build expectations and excitement for his product. But it only took a minute to disappoint me. And the more I reflect back on this experience, I am convinced this was not the best way to market a product. For my part, I will never again pay cold, hard cash a month before a product is to be delivered.

Nothing is that good. The chances are too great that the product will not live up to the hype.

Furthermore, I felt as though I was funding this marketer’s cash flow? Why did he need to collect money for a product 30 full days before he was ready to deliver it. The more I thought about this, the more foolish I felt for falling into his trap.

Buyer’s Remorse

As a marketer, this is not the type of buyer’s remorse you want to inspire in your customers. Your goal should be to under-promise and over deliver. You want your product to wow the customer even more than the snazzy video you use to sell it. And in my mind this marketer failed on all counts.

So keep this example in mind when you create your next product. To succeed, the whole buying process needs to be a pleasant one for your customer. If what you deliver fails to live up to what you promised, the customer will walk away unhappy and they may write a blog post like this one.

Review of 30 Minute Article Marketing System

By Marcia Ming on Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 | No Comments

How to Write Articles the Easy Way

In a recent blog post, I suggested 10 different ways you could promote your website without spending money. In the next few posts, I will review products to help you implement the 10 ways I told You about.

30 Minute Article Marketing System

Article marketing - Hands on keyboard

30 Minute Article Marketing System, a 29-page ebook by Melanie Mendelson, is a practical guide for anyone who is just getting started with article marketing.

Not only does Melanie deliver what she promises – a quick, easy way for you to produce an article in 30 minutes flat; she also describes the other elements to consider when using article marketing as a way to promote your website.

Here are some of the ways that 30 Minute Article Marketing System can help you succeed with article marketing:

This ebook simplifies the writing process to help you get started
Demonstrates how to select and use keywords in your articles
Describes in clear fashion how to optimize your articles for search engines, and
Shows three key ways to distribute your articles on the Internet.

Melanie’s 30 Minute Article Marketing System shows as well as tells. She uses simple, easy-to-follow examples that leave no doubt about how to implement her suggestions.

In the appendices, she provides a comprehensive list of article directories, a number of article announcement mailing lists, and a 30-Minute Article System Recap you can print and use over and over again.

If there is anything I would question about her product, it’s that she makes it seem almost too easy. It’s difficult to imagine how you could fail with this guide.

To insure that you accomplish your goal of producing your articles in 30 minutes flat, each step is timed. And Melanie even throws in a timer.

If you’ve decided to include article marketing as a tactic in your promotional arsenal, you can’t go wrong with Melanie’s 30 Minute Article Marketing System.

Marcia Ming

P.S. I should warn you that this link goes to an optin page first for the Six-Figure Secret. Don’t hit the back key, you’re on the right path.

Savvy Issues a Toot Toot to Jeff Fisher, Owner of Logomotives

By Marcia Ming on Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 | 3 Comments

Graphic Designer is one of Startup Nation’s Top 100 Small Businesses

Savvy Marketing Secrets recognizes a truly Savvy Marketer — Home Based Graphic Designer Jeff Fisher.

First I must acknowledge that I totally missed this one. I didn’t realize that Jeff Fisher won 6th place in the “Most Slacker Friendly” category of small, home based businesses in the US in 2008, until I received a Google Alert recently.

Jeff Fisher's Logomotives Graphic Design Firm Wins

I knew Jeff Fisher was a savvy marketer when I interviewed him in 2008, but it was only after the Interview, that I learned how a truly savvy marketer works.

I have gotten more traffic and more site visitors from that one interview because Jeff really knows how to toot his own accomplishments. In the news business, you always try to keep a great story going — you don’t let it die. The recent coverage of Michael Jackson’s death is a great example.

Well Jeff knows how to work all of the social marketing tools to keep his name in the news. So it should come as no surprise that he was recognized by Startup Nation, the place where I first got to know Jeff.

Portland, OR Graphic Designer Jeff Fisher

Jeff is a genius at finding the news in any situation. He was able to win in this category by playing up the home business benefit of being able to work anywhere, wearing whatever you please.

“Fisher proudly shares that he often works from his garden in a T-shirt and boxer shorts,” Startup Nation reported when describing his selection. “In fact, he once gave a presentation in his underwear to hundreds of designers at the international HOW Design Conference.”

I’m not quite sure how Jeff pulled that one off, but you have to admit that this is an excellent example of savvy marketing, something that might even earn the respect of Jay Conrad Levinson of “Guerilla Marketing Fame.”

So Savvy Marketers, take a page from Jeff Fisher’s book and find a unique way to get the word out about your business. And Jeff Fisher, Congratulations!

Marcia Ming, Publisher
Savvy Marketing Secrets

Read our intial interview with Jeff Fisher
Visit Startup Nation

10 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website Without Spending a Dime

By Marcia Ming on Monday, July 13th, 2009 | 5 Comments

Times are tough and many small businesses have tiny or nonexistent marketing budgets. Still, there is no need to despair if you have time and are willing to do a little work.

Here are 10 things you can do that cost more time than money:

Participate in forums and online communities, offering help and information that will make others see you as an expert or a resource. The great thing about forums and online communities is that you can identify places that your target customers frequent on a regular basis. That way you know you’re speaking directly to people who may be interested in your products or services.
Write Articles – Research and write a number of articles related to your website and your company’s products and services. Distribute these articles to various online article directories, like ezinearticles.com.
Write good content for your site and optimize that content for search engines with keywords people search for when they are looking for information. But make sure that content is also fun for individuals to read.
Research the keywords and keyword phrases people use when they are looking for information on your topics. Use tools like Wordtracker.com, Google’s free keywords tool, or a number of other products that assist you in identifying good keywords. Build your content around these keywords.
Read and post on leading blogs read by your target audience. Write comments that add to whatever the blog creator has written, not just empty praise. Whenever possible, add a signature that uses one of your keywords and links back to your website.
Issue press releases online related to your site or business, and use your keywords. You can also send press releases to related trade associations and your local media. Always make sure to refer people to your website for further information.
Develop a bio that acts as a call to action with a link to your site in all
of these vehicles, but take care to follow the rules.
Build a list. Include a link in your bio to an opt-in page where you give away a valuable free report or ebook that is related to your topic. This will help you grow your list, allowing you to stay in touch with people who have already been introduced to your company’s products or services.
Develop profiles on social marketing sites such as Facebook, and Twitter. Build relationships on these sites with people who may be interested in your products or services.
Create videos on your topics, using some of the content from your articles. Load those videos to YouTube with links back to your website.

Expect these strategies to take time, and be prepared to repeat the process continually to keep the traffic coming. These strategies work because many of the sites where you are posting content or comments get a lot more traffic than your website, providing your site with valuable backlinks that increase your visibility.

If you are looking for fast traffic, you’ll need to buy it using Google AdWords, Yahoo Search or MSN’s Live Search. But be warned, these strategies could cost you a small fortune if you don’t know what you are doing.

Marcia Ming, a former business reporter publishes Savvy Marketing Secrets, where you can find many other ways to cut your small business marketing costs. Visit http://www.savvymarketingsecrets.com to sign up for her newsletter Savvy Insider and get a free copy of Internet Entrepreneurship Survival Guide and other free gifts.

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