Last year, I interviewed Stephanie Vozza, creator of a website called The Organized Parent.com. You can read my original article, Home Business Mom. I was perusing an email from Franklin Covey.com – you know the time-management people. I love their email and their website. They always have really cool planners and totes to help you stay organized.   Franklin Covey promotes continuously to anyone who has ever bought anything from them, or to any email in their database.

This time it was a “Back to Busy” sales flyer and there were some really cute new items I had never seen there before, so I clicked through to take a closer look. One of the links was The Organized Parent. How neat, I thought as I clicked the link.

There was a whole page of items from the Organized Parent with neat colors and totally different products from the sort of stuff the corporate-oriented Franklin Covey site normally carries. That made me totally curious.   How did Stephanie get Franklin Covey to carry and promote her products – after all, she is somewhat of a competitor?

I shot off an email and here is Stephanie Vozza’s response.

I’m happy to tell you the rest of the story regarding FranklinCovey!

Stephanie Vozza

You’ll notice that FranklinCovey has several partners on their site. I was fortunate enough to be their first. The CEO Sarah Merz contacted me in February 2009 to see if I’d like to form a partnership.

Being the global leader in time management, FranklinCovey wanted to expand their website offerings with a wider variety of organizational products. Understanding the power of partnerships, they decided to find leaders in different organizing niches and I was tapped to be the family organizing tool supplier.

I sell a selection of my products on their site and I blog for them as the FranklinCovey Busy Mom Guru at their Get Organized Community. In return, I get a broader platform and increased brand awareness.

You mentioned that we’re competitors. I think this is where business owners need to define and develop a strong expertise in their niche. Like I mentioned, FranklinCovey is the global leader in time management. The Organized Parent is a leader in organization as it pertains to moms. Similar but different. I would encourage small business owners to seek out similar relationships with large companies. As Stephen Covey himself would say, look for the win/win.

I believe we’re all in this together and the companies that survive and thrive are the companies that put the needs of their customers first. This year, I have become the Organizing Guru for giggle.com, a great store for new parents. And I will continue to seek out new partnerships that expose The Organized Parent brand to a new segment of moms.

Well, we at Savvy Marketing Secrets applaud Stephanie Vozza’s success. We’re also grateful that she took the time to bring us this update. We invite our readers to share their own savvy marketing success stories. Leave a comment below to let us know what you think.

Not so today in the world of Web 2.0. It’s no longer enough to put up a simple, static website. A static website is one where you do all the talking. You tell site visitors all about your company, your staff, its products and services and how to contact you in just a few pages.

Today, interactivity is an important feature.

Metaphor for two-way conversation

Companies are creating blogs, forums and other interactive vehicles that let consumers talk back. Managing your website also means updating your profile on Twitter, Facebook LinkedIn and other social media. So it’s a lot more complicated to create a web presence today.

 Whether you build a website using a standard html site building tool or use a blog platform, be sure you plan a way to get your site visitors involved in the conversation. Static websites – one way conversations with the public where consumers have little or no input – are so yesterday.

The social media revolution demands that you include some sort of interactivity in your small business web presence. With that in mind, what is the best way to do it?

How do you make your website interactive?

The easy answer is to add a blog to your website. But adding a blog is a good option only if you plan to post on a regular basis. Blogs need to be updated frequently as my visitors often remind me.

You can assign the responsibility for blogging to several people within your company, hire a writer to blog about topics related to your company and its products or encourage guest bloggers.

Another option is to add a forum to your website if you have a large following of people looking for a place to communicate about topics related to your business. Of course, you may need a techie on your staff and a forum may require you to add moderators, or someone to respond to questions people raise in the forum.

A third idea might be to link your website to a Facebook fan page where you encourage your customers and prospects to interact with a company spokesperson. At a minimum you should add a comment form on your website, to make it easy for people to ask a question or make a comment.

If you are selling lots of products on your website, you probably should provide a help desk to deal with the issues your customers may face. In short, don’t expect your site visitors to suffer in silence. They are more likely to go away and never return.

Having your own .com is critical to creating an effective web presence for your small business

If your business is in the real world – sometimes referred to as offline – it’s vitally important these days for you to have an effective web presence.

Let’s face it, unless most of your customers are seniors, your yellow page ad probably is not pulling its weight. I live in a college town where most of the residents don’t even bother to carry the yellow pages into their homes. 

Instead, they (your prospects) comparison shop the websites of major retailers before they set foot in a retail store. By the time they do, they know exactly which brand they want and who is offering the best features for the lowest price.

In short, your business will not survive long without a web presence. But creating one that helps your prospects find what you are selling is a big challenge. It takes considerable marketing savvy and the right tools.

 So, Savvy Marketing Secret’s blog will launch a series of posts to help you build a web presence that works.

 In February, we’ll talk about building a website if you don’t already have one. Even if you already have a website, you’re sure to benefit from the topics we have planned. Here’s our current lineup of topics:

• Should you build a static website or a blog? – Google loves blogs because it lets your site visitors participate in your online conversation.
• Should you hire someone to build your website? – And if so, who do you hire, how much will it cost, and what will you get for your money? What challenges will that pose for maintaining your website?
• We will tell you how to setup a simple website and blog using the WordPress blog platform.
• If you go with a blog, should you pay for a custom blog theme? If you are trying to brand your business to set it apart from the competition, you may want a theme that reflects that unique branding.
• What are blog plugins and should you use them? What are the most helpful ones and the most popular?
• What pages should your website include? Some web pages – like the ones about your business and how to contact you are not optional. New FTC rules make it important to include privacy statements, terms of service and other disclaimers. You don’t want to miss this post.
• We will also explain why content is so important to your website? If you are going to attract traffic to your new website you will need content relevant to your business and lots of it.
• Finally, we’ll talk a little bit about selecting the keywords you should put in your content if you want your site to be found – by search engines and your business’ prospective customers.

 It would be impossible to cover everything you need to know about keywords in one blog post which is why in March, we’re planning a full series about generating traffic to your website, including how to optimize your website with keywords for search engines and humans.

 If no one knows it exists, your new website will be practically useless, so bookmark this blog or signup for our newsletter now, to make sure you don’t miss a single post. If you have a specific question or problem along these lines, leave a comment so we can include your concerns in our post. Here’s to your small business’ success in 2010. 

Marcia Ming,
Publisher 

The heart is a symbol of passion which can make a difference in perseverence in internet marketing.

 Well, I’ve been struggling with the issue of passion. Back in the nineties, I worked with a nonprofit agency to bring a brand new program to Delaware where I lived at the time.

It was a microloan program called Working Capital that provided business training and very small loans to tiny companies. Based on the Nobel Prize Winning Grameen Bank model created by Muhammad Yunus, Working Capital was supposed to do for America’s inner cities and rural areas what the international loan program had done for India and some African nations.

I can’t remember a time when I felt more passion than those many evenings I spent meeting with groups of small business owners explaining the program and helping them form loan groups. Once groups were formed, members discussed their business plans and sought the group’s approval for loans.

I was a woman on a mission. I really believed in free enterprise and its potential to transform communities.

What made the whole experience so powerful was the atmosphere we created. We held networking events, brought in special speakers and formed a lot of business loan groups. The energy in our building was so powerful you could feel the excitement. During the five or six years the program ran, hundreds of entrepreneurs joined Working Capital.

Our Delaware program was so successful that we won a Presidential Award and were invited to help form loan groups for street vendors before the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

Thinking back, I realized that I poured so much of my heart and soul into that program that something inside me died with the program. I had a vision of little businesses transforming Wilmington in a similar way as successful minority owned companies changed the landscape of Memphis’ historic Beale Street. My hope died hard.

I created Savvy Marketing Secrets hoping to rekindle some of the passion I felt with Working Capital. By helping very small businesses harness the power of the Internet, I hoped to relight that spark.

Of course it’s not as easy to feel passion sitting in front of a computer screen as it was when I was meeting with real business owners. But tapping into that experience helped me remember my passion.

Many of the smallest businesses are not even on the Internet. But the net holds tremendous promise for business growth for those who take advantage of the various marketing tools. So my passion now is to use this blog to connect the dots to help businesses similar to the ones I worked with in Delaware.

I would love to hear your stories about your passion and how you are shaping it into your small business. Please leave a comment below. 

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.

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.

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

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

1.  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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5.  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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.

It pays to understand your Internet audience's preferences.

Everyday I get new insights on Internet marketing. Recently, I have learned a lot about the importance of knowing your audience. In the past I followed the advice of some of the top Internet marketers — mostly men, without question. Not anymore.

Many of my readers are women. And I am learning with fascination that women don’t use the Internet in the same way that men do. Men focus on the money. They want to get your information quickly and bombard you with messages — many promotional. A lot of women don’t respond well to that style.

Women want to get to know you first. They want to receive great information and build trust before they give you their name and email address. Sometimes they detest the mechanisms we have put in place to enhance or automate our marketing.

I spoke recently with a woman who was very put off by the requirement to sign in to a website that she visits almost daily. She visits the site because she loves the information.

Determining how our site or blog visitors feel about the way we present our information is never easy. People sometimes ignore surveys. You ask for reactions, but rarely get them. Still, people will tell others everything they hate about what you are doing wrong.

So my goal here is to open a dialogue and get you to tell me what you like or dislike about current practices on websites and blogs.

How do you feel about those pesky little sign-in forms? What about optin or squeeze pages that require you to sign in to get the free stuff?

How often do you like to get information or newsletters sent to your email box?

How do you feel about endless promotions for products in which you may or may not be interested?

Please let me know so I can share the information with other small business owners who are struggling to get it right. I’d like to thank you upfront for any comments you leave.

Marcia Ming

Why I Love Affiliate Marketing – Part 1
By Jimmy D. Brown of “Affiliate Payraise”

Many people find the idea of creating their own products to be an overwhelming and even paralyzing task.

* I don’t have any good ideas!
* I’m not a writer!
* There’s too much competition!
* I don’t know how to set everything up!
* I can’t figure out where to start!
* It’s too hard!

These are just a few of the valid reasons many people give when it comes to not creating their own products to sell. I’m sure with a few minutes of brainstorming, we could come up with a list of many more.

With affiliate marketing, you don’t need your own products. You simply promote someone else’s already proven successful offer for a commission.

And, truth be told, even if you ARE a writer and you DO have lots of ideas and you CAN figure it all out…

  ** Nobody wants to create new products all the time **

As good as you may be, you don’t know everything!  Why try to create a product on every topic imaginable in your market when you can earn just as much money by simply promoting someone else’s really good offer as one of your profit streams?

That’s why I love affiliate marketing.

You don’t need to create your own products.

…………………….

Jimmy D. Brown is the author of “Affiliate Payrise”, teaching you a whopping 27 ways to increase your affiliate commissions!  Tired of “tiny” commission checks?  Grab your copy today at…
http://www.affiliatenaire.com/go.php?offer=Mingcomm&pid=2

…………………….

It hit me like a ton of bricks when I  lost my own job in October 2004. It was months before I could pick my self esteem up off the floor where it landed when I heard my supervisor say, “Your job has been eliminated.”

At the time, I probably could have gotten another job — the economy was better then. But after years of working for people who I thought weren’t as smart as I was, I had had enough.

It wasn’t the first time I started a business. I had created a tiny PR agency after leaving my job as a business reporter in 1990.  That business died a painful death in 1992, a casualty of the recession and a divorce. That was the year when a major Delaware corporation consolidated its pr and marketing activities – moving from 60 outside players to 7 including two firms in New York. I don’t have to tell you what a blood bath that was.

A single mom, I had no choice but to take a job. I kept my business going part-time for years fearing I would need it someday. Still, I was unprepared for the shock of finding myself without an income, and needing to crank up my business to full speed.

A lot had changed in 12 years. The Internet had warped into the information highway — creating spectacular opportunities, but with a steep learning curve.

I thought I knew everything I needed to know to succeed. After all, I bought my first PC in 1985. I shopped on Prodigy back in 1991,  so I just knew I could navigate those treacherous, high-tech waters.

 Boy was I wrong. More than $20,000 and several years later, I am still trying to master the art of earning a living on the Internet, although I believe I am closer today.

Here’s my warning:

Do not believe the hype. Do not listen  to anyone who says they can show you how to make easy money working just a few hours a day. There are a ton of scam artists just waiting to take your cash. There are people making millions on the Internet, but trust me. It is not EASY, or FAST.

Take your time, and get an education before you venture into the shark-infested waters of the internet. If you are serious about starting a business, I have two suggestions:

1. Write a Business Plan. Visit the Small Business Development Center in your community or find a SCORE counselor — the Service Corps. of Retired Executives — to help you write it.
2. Start your education about internet marketing at a site where you will find everything you need to succeed for as little as $300 a year.

 Site Build It, called SBI for short, packages everything — education, market research tools, web hosting, a web development tool, marketing and traffic-generation strategies in one, unbeatable package.

One of the first things  you’ll do when you visit this website is meet many of the people who have already succeeded using SBI’s arsenal. I should mention, however, that SBI uses the tortoise as its mascot, instead of the hare from the old fable. SBI businesses don’t get rich fast; they do it slowly over time, but are much more likely to cross the finish line. So click on this link to learn more. Do it before you buy any other product on the Internet.

Bookmark this blog or sign up for the RSS feed so you can avoid mycostly mistakes and find the real path to success. I will continue to share information to help you build a successful internet business.

You also should visit my main website, http://www.savvymarketingsecrets.com for dozens of free articles on many topics you should know about if you plan to start a n Internet business.

Well, now that I have spoken my mind on this subject, I wish you the very best with your new business.

Marcia Ming