The Brain Food Session, Social Networking for Business, at the Kansas City Chamber is SOLD OUT for the live audience tomorrow.

You may watch the webinar live at the KC Chamber website.

Or you can read the articles by Michael Montague here.

Labels: marketing, websites

• Create an up-to-date and professional profile
• Invite your contacts and grow your list
• Join groups by internet and industry
• Build your online relationships with your contacts
• Integrate your marketing strategy

Labels: marketing, websites

1. Spend every day with at least one internet marketing activity on daily, monthly and quterly basis.
   
   
2. Collect an email list related to your profession and use it.
   
   
3. Always update your services and display it in your website.
   
   
4. Always mention the complete profile and website name in your signatures so that let the people know about it.
   
   
5. Collect your competitors ideas, ads and literature. Study their products, features and strategies implemented.
   
   
6. Promote your website and optimize it on the basis of targeted keywords to attract required customers.
   
   
7. Write articles related to your website and circulate its reprints.
   
   
8. Make a practice to always reply to your customers and enquiring visitors and people making comment on your website. That may be in the form of thanks giving.
   
   
9. Try to increase the inbound links on your website by asking for them and posting in forums and other websites.
   
   
10. Track and check your online performance and website rankings in search engines.

Labels: marketing, websites

Online News Content

Media companies are at the center of a fierce debate over how to best monetize digital content. In recent years, they swung from one extreme to another—first charging the consumer for access to content, then opening the floodgates to free, ad-supported content (with a few notable exceptions).

Now, some media entities with premium offerings are again contemplating paid-content experiments. As these play out in 2010, we’ll see what works and what doesn’t. Our prediction? Consumers will resist paid systems, and competitors will capitalize on the negative sentiment with ad-supported content. In the end, there will be islands of paid content (The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times) and hybrids of paid and ad-supported models, but on the whole, the digital media landscape will be predominantly ad-based.

Digital Video Convergence

One of the keys to transitioning the US home video audience from DVDs to digital streams and downloads will be the emergence of technology that bridges the gap between the computer and the TV. The Consumer Electronics Show in early 2010 will usher in TVs with direct Internet connectivity, or with on-screen access to content portals such as YouTube, Blockbuster and Netflix. As online video becomes intertwined with the living-room TV experience, download and streaming services will take on a prominent role in the home entertainment ecosystem.

Earned Media Takes Center Stage

Marketers will demand better ways to manage and measure the impact of earned media—the additional unpaid exposure a brand gets when consumers share about the brand online. Agencies will need to establish earned-media goals for every paid-media online ad campaign.

Social Plus Search Will Equal Better Results, More Ad Opportunities

Search will get more social in several ways: by including real-time content in results (e.g., Twitter posts), adding information from social network friends to results, and using collective information from other Web users to hone search relevance. These trends will yield new ad formats that may incorporate friends’ viewpoints or interactions directly into the ad—and will raise new red flags among privacy advocates.

Social Ad Networks Will Expand

Expect more momentum—and regulatory scrutiny—behind advertising that is targeted based on information from social network user profiles. News Corp.’s Fox Audience Network (FAN) and services from startups 33Across, Media6° and others are already up and running. Meanwhile, some advertisers, such as Discovery Channel, have tested ad formats that are personalized on the fly by using Facebook profile data.

Twitter

It doesn’t take a crystal ball to guess that 2010 will be the year in which Twitter turns its focus toward building its business. So far, it has concentrated on audience growth, and by any measure it had a spectacular year. (eMarketer estimates that Twitter’s US user base tripled to 18 million in 2009.) The questions now are: What kind of business will Twitter build, and will it succeed?

The revenue streams that have been discussed include paid corporate accounts, celebrity authentication and temporal search. Of these, search seems the most realistic as a revenue generator. There will be formidable challenges, however: After all, how does a marketer insert itself into a short, time-sensitive conversation without disrupting the flow of that conversation and alienating the user?

It’s not clear how, or if, Twitter will overcome these obstacles, but co-founder Biz Stone offered a tantalizing hint when he told Reuters that the company has a novel form of advertising up its sleeve. Expect Twitter to roll this out in 2010 as the cornerstone of its temporal search business.

Labels: marketing, websites

Google Adwords is an incredibly powerful marketing tool with an instant global reach that can take your business from nowhere to an overnight success.

So why wouldn't a new marketer take advantage of such a powerful tool? I can answer that question with another question. Why wouldn't you let someone with a new driver's license behind the wheel of a race car? Because, unless they are extremely lucky, they are going to crash and burn. Google Adwords is the Formula One of marketing online and it is not for beginners.

As advertising goes, the reasons to avoid Google Adwords early on in your education is overwhelming.

1. First, it can be very expensive and most new marketers will exhaust their ad budget before they can successfully bring in revenue. This is mainly because Google Adwords can be deceptively difficult to master. The basic formula is to identify keywords, write an ad that uses the keywords and have a landing page that completely delivers on what your ad promises. Most beginners pick general keywords, and send everyone to their home page.
   
   
2. Next, Google rewards advertisers who solve the problem their searchers are trying to solve. If you fail to do this you can expect high cost per click and low traffic.
   
   
3. Further, Google purposefully keeps the exact formula for success under wraps. If you are not getting the results you are seeking, the support you receive from Google will be general at best. Expect Google to suggest "improve your landing page" or "tips for writing ads." On top of that, Google periodically change their rules requiring you to change your campaign or face the prospect of high cost per click or low traffic.
   
   
4. Finally, the instant global reach of your Google Adwords campaign is accompanied by global competition with a wide variety of skill levels and budgets.

Keep your chin up though. There are many options that exist for the new marketer.

Initially most new marketers have more time than money and that can be a good thing. There are many low-tech approaches that have worked for decades and still do. These alternatives allow you to learn how to market affordably which will allow for some trial and error without spending your whole ad budget.

Call Ad Trends Advertising, Inc. today at 816.228.1123 to get professional help with your Internet marketing, or discover some new off-line approaches to generating phone calls without Pay-Per-Click advertising.

Labels: marketing, websites

Common Sense Social Networking Rules For Business

1. If you wouldn't say it to a client or boss - don't say it where they can read it either.
2. If you wouldn't say it to your grandmother - don't say it on your public posts.
3. If you wouldn't say it to a police officer - don't post it on your social networks. For that matter, don't do it either.
4. If you plan to lie to your boss - don't put the truth where they can see it.
5. If you plan to go out and get drunk and know you have a tendency to post while drunk - give your phone to a friend to keep for you.
6. Learn how to use privacy settings and understand how visible your posts are on different social networks.
7. If you want a place to vent - create a completely different identity for yourself to do that. Name no names in your posts, and make no connection to your other profiles or email addresses.

For more help with social networking call Ad Trends Advertising, Inc. and ask for our Internet Marketing Director, Michael Montague. Call 816.228.1123.

Labels: marketing, websites

It seems like there's an over-abundance of social sites nowadays. For a newbie, it can be quite intimidating when first joining a network or two and building a community. A handful of questions may run through your head:

• Which networks to join?
• How to participate?
• What's enough, or too much?
• How will it help my business?

1. Social media is a chance to be at your market's finger tips when they look at their phone or get online in a friendly and non-obtrusive way.
2. You can quickly address customer service issues by communicating directly with the customer.
3. Prospect new clients.
4. Learn about trends in your industry, stay up-to-date with competition and network with power players in your industry.
5. Provide existing customers incentives, coupons or interesting information to keep them tuned in to your brand. 

How to Participate Effectively In Social Networks:

Labels: marketing, websites

There is no denying that both methods can be effective. However, which method is better? Which gives you a bigger bang for your buck? Pay-Per-Click or Article Marketing?

There is always a big discussion when it comes to comparing two of the best ways to advertise online: Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising and Article Marketing, otherwise known as "organic" or "natural" search engine optimization.

In figuring out which of the two is better, you have to consider cost-effectiveness as well as click-through-rates and direct conversion from visiting user to paying customer. We are going to review some statistics a little bit later on. For now, let's consider some logical points that illustrate how PPC and article marketing differ.

In figuring out which of the two is better, you have to consider cost-effectiveness as well as click-through-rates and direct conversion from visiting user to paying customer. Search engine result pages display more listings than PPC results, which does have a psychological effect on the user. For some users seeing ten search results (each one relevant to the search) is enough to convince them that there is enough web information on the subject and that "fishing" PPC ads might not be necessary.

The catch is that in order to actually rank in the Top 10 SEO results for your keyword, you have to have relevant website content, not to mention technical prowess in HTML coding. Search engines will be focusing on their proprietary algorithms, or the most relevant websites based on the search term queried. There is no "bribery" here, whereas in PPC, it is quite the opposite: whoever bids highest for each word usually gets the top listing. A quality algorithm definitely plays a part in PPC, but in the end money talks. In article marketing, we haven't quite come to the point where "money talks". The best websites still win the search engine contest and that is an important factor to consider in your marketing campaign.

Even PPC proponents will admit that PPC is largely style over substance. With PPC advertising you are trying to grab attention in just a few loud and occasionally obnoxious words. You direct the user to a carefully crafted page that "sells" the idea. This operation contrasts with article marketing, which doesn't necessarily sell an idea on a single page, nor does it grab attention with a few words. With article marketing, there is an entire article waiting for the visitor, which uses a methodical and "indirect" approach. Assuming you are listed in the Top #10, your listing means that the search engine agrees that your website is the best authority on the keyword subject - for the time being. People in a hurry or on a whim will probably click on PPC. People on a mission will be looking for relevant content on their chosen keyword.

Therefore, the question now becomes which methodology works better for your business? Are you appealing to the fast clicker or the thoughtful user? Let's now consider two sources of statistics for a clearer view of the issue.

In Favor of Article Marketing

Jakob Nielsen, Ph.D. and principal founder of the Nielsen Norman Group researched the behavior of users who found search engine results pages and noticed some trends. Forty-two percent of users selected the #1 search listing for their result, leaving 58% that selected another Top 10 Result. The #1 site listed held the majority of clicks. This indicates that almost two thirds of Internet users were not content to choose even the #1 listing on a natural SEO search. That means that these users (and the majority of all users) are actually using independent judgment in deciding what links are most relevant to their needs.

Other related statistics (with sources from ComScore, Webxico, iProspect, SEOResearcher and Hotchkiss, Garrison, and Jensen) concluded that 77% of search users choose organic listings over PPC ads. There were also studies that suggested organic click-through generated 25% higher conversion rates than equivalent PPC click-through.

In Favor of PPC Advertising

Now to be fair, we have to consider some advantages that PPC advertising has. The best feature PPC has is that it gets instantaneous results. SEO advertising takes time, especially if you have a new website just submítted to the all of the major search engines. Yes, this can be frustrating. PPC brings you immediate traffic and sometimes brings in thousands of users. Seeing your Alexa ranking take a drastic jump certainly pumps up your adrenaline!

ComScore recently published statistics in favor of PPC, stating that their studied users had an 18.3% click-through-rate on "paid" search results versus a 4.3% click-through rate for organic search results. The conversion rate was also higher according to ComScore, stating that PPC had a 1.4% versus SEO's 0.6%.

The Real Issue: Longevity

However, the downside here is that instant and high volume traffic is, frankly, cheap and not as exciting as it first appears to be. Remember that when you use PPC ads you are making a pitch and capitalizing on your audience's curiosity. When that curiosity fades, they forget your website - especially if it's just a glorified advertisement. PPC campaigns can also be costly and time consuming when you consider your duties as a manager.

Another problematic scenario with PPC is that they have no staying power - unless of course you have thousands of dollars a month to blow in this recession. With article marketing you get more quality traffic, and perhaps more importantly to you, you earn customer trust over time. Internet users aren't stupid, the popularity of Yahoo Answers notwithstanding. Most users know that PPC ads usually aren't relevant to their search - they're just there because someone is consistently paying to get noticed.

You can consider article marketing as an investment that continually pays all through the life of your company (or until you shut the website down) since it generates traffic forever. You can easily spend thousands a month on a brilliant PPC campaign and soon run out of money, meaning your ads go extinct. Therefore, we can conclude that article marketing does have specific advantages over PPC, which are intrinsic because of the differences in operation.

• Article marketing generates traffic forever
• Article marketing improves your natural SEO ranking and backlinks
• Article marketing establishes trust - you appear as a professional in your industry
• Article marketing doesn't cost you extra on top of fees spent on landing pages and superfluous domains

How About Return-On-Investment?

ROI is another key issue, as short-term and long-term profit must equal out. Article marketing, by some authorities appears to have a slower ROI -(especially if you make revenue on CTRs). However, studies suggest that organic ROI is more consistent than PPC. Consider some independent research conducted by popular blogger Gord Hotchkiss who explained the situation in crystal clear terms. Let's say you have 50 high traffic search terms. Now for these 50 terms, there are 2.8 million searches being launched in a month. If statistics like ComScore's are correct and unbiased, that translates to 456,000 visitors thanks to PPC and 153,000 visitors thanks to article marketing.

The total cost of those 456,000 PPC visitors would amount to over $500,000 with an average CPC of $1.18. Even if you work with an SEO company that charges top dollar ($10,000 a month, let's say) you're still paying $10,000 compared to half a million. That means article marketing's virtual CPC amounts to $0.07. Even if you apply PPC's higher conversion rate, 3,647 converted visitors, you are paying $147.08 for each individual person. Compare that to 611 visitors you earned through article marketing - you are paying $16.37 for each visitor. And in doing so, you are also earning a higher quality of customer and generating traffic until the end of days.

Does your final ROI number take into account your total expenses? Absolutely! While both methods of advertising have their place online, when it comes to earning quality traffic, article marketing gets the last word.

Call Ad Trends Advertising to get started with PPC or Article Marketing today!

Labels: marketing, websites

Think about your audience. Are they looking for immediate answers and solutions? We bet they are. Most likely these visitors to your website are very much like you. Chances are you use the Internet more than other types of media to search for information. If a web page doesn't "grab your interest" within 4 - 10 seconds after landing on it... you move on!

As a "first step" we suggest that you start by reviewing the questions listed below. We are convinced that once you get to the last question... you will have a list of action items identified that will greatly improve the productivity of your current website. The success or failure of the site and/or business may very well depend upon the decisions you make after reading these questions.

What Do You Know About Your Clients and Prospects State of Mind?
When visitors land on your website, they have very little time to read what you say. They have a need for information or a product and don't want to listen or read verbose descriptions and comments. You have about 8 seconds to engage them and get them to take action. Do most visitors land on your website wanting:

• information,
• a "quick fix",
• a bargain,
• a large selection,
• or a telephone call, etc.?

It is imperative to know the answers to these and many other questions BEFORE you design the pages within your website.

Do You Make Website Visitors Feel You Can Satisfy Their Wants and Needs?
Landing on any page within your website [especially the Homepage] must make the visitor know that you understand their needs, business, wants, and desires. The more you put yourself into the "mindset" of the website visitor, the better chance you have of converting their visit into something you want to happen i.e. buy, complete a contact us form, bookmark the page, pick up the phone and call you or any other method of measurable conversion.

What Approach Do You Take When Developing Pages Within Your Website?
What do you think you would want from your website if you were the prospective visitor or client? Assume you don't know as much information as you want in order to make an informed decision. Talk to these visitors in a language they will understand. If visitors want more insight or information, tell them to click on the more info link or give you a call. They will follow your direction ONLY if you have built some level of trust or understanding.

What are You "Selling" to the Website Visitor?
Are you focused on telling them about your product or service or are you making them understand that choosing your firm will deliver that special feeling they are seeking by making the purchase? Are you sure that you made the visitor know that you understand their needs, wants, problems, etc.? What techniques did you implement to get your points across?

How are You Going to Get the Visitor to Stop and Think About Your Service or Product?
Remember... they are ready to pass by your website in a blink of an eye. What are you going to do to engage them? The answer you come up with will be critical to the success you have in gaining their confidence enough to buy or call you. Make sure what you say is NOT the same old thing they are used to seeing or reading on other websites. Be boring and you lose! Address the issues that appeal to the visitor and they WILL STOP! This is hard work... but worth the effort.

What Kind of "Call to Action" Statements are You Placing on Your Website?
Turning a visitor into a prospect or client is one of the most critical actions of your website. How will you engage them? Once they know that you understand their needs and wants, they are more inclined to follow your CTA direction. Call to Action statements are critical to the success of any website's conversion. Guide them in a manner that is more telling, rather than selling. Don't be afraid to be assertive.

How Does Your Website Address the "Who Are We" Issue?
Again, it is about making the website visitor feel confident that they are choosing a reputable firm or organization with which to do business. They need to read about your success. This can be done by exhibiting your affiliation with associations, awards won, satisfied client statements, client success stories, examples of your work, etc. Show them you are a "player" in your industry.

Are You Prepared to Answer: "What Makes You Different"?
What have clients and prospects said about you and your company? Have they applauded you for your approach to doing business? Did they say you made them feel like you understood their needs and wants? Think back to the reasons clients buy from you. How did you meet their needs and wants? Give your prospective clients reasons to do business with your firm.

Make it your primary goal to understand the potential client. Look at your website through that client's perspective. Who are they? What makes them different? What do they individually want and need? Be informative... do more telling than selling. They will "get it" and appreciate that you have made them an educated buyer. Tell them what you want them to do next. Get them to take the first step and be ready to deliver on the expectations you have set throughout your website!

Finally, be sure to hire Internet marketing professionals to do the job if you don't have the capabilities in-house. Too much is at stake to leave this part of your business to chance! We are happy to help in anyway you need to see your vision made a reality.

Labels: websites

Sometimes called inbound links, backlinks are the lifeblood of Search Engine Optimization or SEO. In order for a website to be on the top of search engines like Google without the webmaster having to pay big money for advertising, the website has to have a large number of backlinks. Backlinks are links on one website that lead back to another website. The more established, high quality, and high Page Rank the website that contains the link has, the more power it has to help the linked website with its search engine position. If the website that is getting backlinks gets many High Quality and High Page Rank backlinks, the better the chance it has of being in a high position on the Search Engines.

How does a webmaster go about getting high quality backlinks to his or her website? There are many ways this can be done. Some people advocate writing and submitting articles, posting on forums, making comments on blogs. Others talk about submitting their website to various Internet directories. One directory that has an excellent reputation is called DMOZ, or the Open Directory. This directory is probably the most respected directory online today. The websites it contains have all been placed there by human editors; there is no automation to this directory. The only drawback that's been discussed about this directory is that it takes so long to have a website included.

Another way that many people build backlinks for their website is to use Social Bookmarking websites. A "Social Bookmark" is a website that usually has a very popular 'community' aspect to it. Users sign up and create profiles on the sites that contain photos and information about themselves. They then can save “bookmarks” of favorite websites which can be itemized by 'tags', which are one or two word descriptions of what the sites contain, and these bookmarks can be saved to a list that's private or can be listed publicly, so that everybody can see it.

With the advent of what is known as Web 2.0, gaining backlinks is easier now than in any time in the history of the internet. Most sites now have an interactive quality to them nowadays. Readers can often sign in and create profiles. They then are often allowed to post comments on the stories or articles on the website or blog. In many cases, the website or blog owner responds to these comments; thus making this section of the website or blog a conversation.

Backlinking strategies can be easy and fun and the website owner who is working on getting more backlinks for his website can learn new things, meet new people, and have a tremendous amount of fun doing something that was once a chore: building backlinks for SEO.

Labels: seo, websites

If you think Twitter, Facebook, and other online social networking site communities are only for teens, you're missing out on valuable and free marketing platforms for your brand (business or product). Further, if you're not on social media, you're risking losing your potential clients/customers to those smart business people who are utilizing social media.Which social media platforms you focus on depends a great deal on what your brand is.

Here are seven excellent reasons why you must use social networking sites no matter what you are promoting:

Reason 1: It's the Most Cost-Effective Online Advertising
The current most popular social networking sites being used for business are free: Twitter.com, Facebook.com and LinkedIn.com. (LinkedIn does have an upgrade that costs, but it's not necessary to get this upgrade.) And this is "relationship" marketing to targeted markets. "Free" is definitely more cost-effective than spending money on online advertising techniques such as Pay Per Click or banner ads.

Reason 2: You Can Have Global Reach With Social Networking Sites
The world is now a global marketplace. Why not reach this global market? Many of the most popular social media platforms have this global reach, and you can see this clearly illustrated on Twitter. At any time of day or night you can see real-time "tweets" from people in Japan, England, the U.S., India and many other countries.For example, if you have a book that might appeal to anyone in the world who reads in English, why limit yourself to just promoting in the U.S.? Thanks to Amazon people outside the U.S. can buy your book even if it is only available in U.S. stores.

Reason 3: You Can Attract Targeted Groups of People as Potential Clients/Customers for Your Brand
Social networking sites enables you to join groups of people with the same interests and goals. On LinkedIn and Facebook you can join groups as varied as Children's Book Writers to eMarketing. If you choose groups to join based on your brand, you'll be putting yourself in front of the exact groups of people you want to reach as potential clients/customers. This can pay off in increased sales for you.

Reason 4: You Can Form A Community by Using the Community Aspect of Social Networking Sites
Once you are active on social media platforms and have people who are your followers (Twitter), your friends (Facebook) and/or your connections (LinkedIn), you can start groups of highly targeted interests. You can create a niche market in your brand, book or business and share your knowledge with others who join your community. These people can become your loyal followers, friends and connections - and they can help spread your marketing message to their followers, friends and connections.

Reason 5: You Can Use Social Networking Sites to Establish Your Expertise
People like to do business with people they know, like and trust. By sharing your knowledge for free online with the people in the social media groups you belong to, you can establish yourself as an expert. This can pay off in increasing potential clients/customers' trust in you.And you can also receive invitations for blog "interviews" or BlogTalkRadio show interviews or podcasts. And these interviews lead to more free exposure for your brand and more free exposure for your expertise.

Reason 6: You Can Use Social Networking Sites To Find Cross-Promotional Partners
Amazingly in the world of social media, people who would be considered competitors in the off-line world are teaming up to provide products and services to their combined clients/customers. And these clients/customers are very responsive to these cross-promotions (often called joint ventures) - especially when introduced to a second expert by a first expert they already know, like and trust.You and your cross-promotion partner can each get access to the other person's "list" (the names of interested clients/customers collected at a website) and thus you've greatly expanded your potential client/customer pool.

Reason 7: With a Few Keystrokes You Can Announce New Updates of Your Activities
Your updates on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn take seconds - and you've announced to your followers, friends and connections what you're doing or what you're offering or what you're speaking on. And there are even online applications that allow you to update your status across several of your social media accounts simultaneously. So it is as easy as 1-2-3 to keep in front of your potential clients/customers.

In conclusion, once you become active yourself on social networking sites, you'll find many more reasons to promote your brand, book or business on social media in order to attract targeted potential clients/customers. And you'll look back at your pre-social networking days and wonder how you ever did marketing without using online social networking sites.

Labels: marketing, websites

Custom Web Stores

Only 3% of all business sell their products or services online...
While 50 Million people will shop online this year!

Click on the images to the right to view
a couple of our custom web stores.

Custom Web Store With
10 Products Only $1000!**

Creating custom web stores to showcase your products or sell them online can be a great solution for your business. We customize and upload a full shopping cart to your web site, and can set you up with PayPal to accept credit card payments, if you do not already do so.*

Call us today and get your web store up and running before the holidays!

* PayPal charges not included.
** Additional products are 10 for $100

Call us at 816.228.1123
or click here for more information:
Website Development

Labels: deals, marketing, websites

Networking, whether online or offline, is a great use of time when done properly. As with anywhere you spend your time, knowing why you are doing it, how you will measure success and having a plan is the best approach.

Social Networking online is a good idea for these reasons:

1. There Is No Direct Cost
There is no direct cost unless you opt for an upgrade, if one is offered. I haven't paid for an upgrade and have steadily increased my list to include over 1000 followers between just three social media outlets, and without much effort.

2. Build Your Business by Connecting With Peers
Are you interested in finding joint ventures, affiliates, guest experts or other peers you can bounce ideas off of? In the last few weeks alone, I have located one large joint venture partner and have had several other partnership opportunities cross my desk. Business owners just like you are using social media to connect with others who are interested in using your articles, hosting you as a guest expert on teleseminars, webinars and live events, and even creating projects together!

3. Build Your Business by Following People You Are Targeting
Would an article written by a certain reporter make your year? Follow them on Twitter or Facebook and see what is of interest to them and what they are writing about. You don't know what golden nugget you'll find by following them online that may open the door at the right time. Follow them and invite them to follow you as well! Or with LinkedIn you can find out how many degrees you are from them. You may surprise yourself by being only one or two degrees away from your target!

4. Showcase Your Expertise, Build Your Platform and Attract New Clients
Social media is an interesting animal. While many people use it to grow their businesses, you must be mindful about outright promotions. Generally speaking, heavy marketing of your products and services on these sites is a big no-no. Here's how I do it. I'll post something like this: "Just got off the phone with social networking guru Nancy Marmolejo. Now I'm off to finish writing my sales page for the Business Breakthrough Series." People who are intrigued will check you out and may end up deciding to follow you and ... bingo! They have just entered your world!

5. Reach Large Audiences
The world is your oyster in social media. There are only a few businesses that are truly limited by geographic boundaries, especially if you are in the information marketing business. Being active on social networking sites eliminates geographic boundaries and allows you to reach a vast number of people from all over the world. If you have products and services that can be purchased by anyone in the world, being active in social media is an absolute must for you. I recently held a teleseminar with people from over 10 countries in attendance, all from the comfort of my home office! And my sweat pants!

So, is social networking worth the time?
It depends. Social media is absolutely the wave of the future, and you will need to know something about it at some point. However, whether you work it into your plan for 2009 depends on your goals. If you have a goal of increasing your reach to prospects either locally or internationally, you can do that quite effectively through social media. However, if you can cannot and will not commit to learning how to "tweet" on Twitter or communicate on Facebook or use your connections on LinkedIn, it will not be worth your time.

Ad Trends Advertising can help you get started with Social Networking for as little as $250. Call us today for a FREE 1-Hour Marketing Consultation with our Internet Marketing Director 816.228.1123!

Labels: marketing, websites

As the online market place continues to warm up to the idea of SEO, link building campaigns have become center stage as they tend to be the most time consuming and crucial part of any internet marketing strategy. Link building services are the most commonly outsourced aspect of SEO. This process involves finding qualified and thematically relevant one-way linking partners who will link back to your website.

At first glance this sounds easy and there are hundreds of automated products out there that claim to add thousands of back links overnight. The truth is there are no short cuts in cultivating authoritative back links for a site. Link building campaigns spend many hours link building by hand in order to get the best results. Spammy automated products often don't cultivate valuable links and tend to do more harm than good. Here are a couple quick suggestions to help you get started:

1. Know What Keywords You Are Targeting.
• Make sure that the anchor text of the link has the keyword you are targeting. For example, if you're targeting the keyword "baby names" you'll want to place that keyword in the anchor text of the link. I've seen many companies go after links by using their company name.
2. Know What Kind Of Websites You Are Targeting.
• There are many strategies link building companies use to source qualified back links to their clients. The most tedious but often most rewarding method is manual linking requests also known as "cherry picking". This method allows you to obtain exceptionally qualified links which can really help boost your position in the search engine results page (SERPS). A good place to start with manual link building is to look at your suppliers, vendors, clients, related organizations associations and more.
3. Determine Where The Link Will Be Placed.
• I try to get my links no more than a few clicks away from the homepage. The page must be thematically relevant and recently cached by Google's search engine (this lets me know that the page has been indexed by Google). I also take a look at the number of external (outbound) links leaving that page. I try to keep the number of external links below 50 as it will dilute the effect of the page.
• Try to avoid placing your links on a "sponsored" or advertisers section that runs throughout the entire site. Also avoid footer links as rumor has it Google has devalued links buried in the footer of the site.
4. Determine What Value The Link Will Have.
• Within the last 5 years Google developed the concept of the "no-follow" link. The "no-follow" code is inserted into your link and instructs the Google spider to ignore it. The "no-follow" link can be seen used most commonly in blog comments and forum posts. This initiative was set forth to combat spam and automated linking mechanisms that would throw links automatically on blog comments and forum posts.
• There are a lot of SEO professionals that will only place a link if it is a "do-follow" link, meaning it doesn't have the "no-follow" attribute. I tend to disagree with this notion especially when the link in question is on a highly trafficked authority site. If it makes sense for the link to be there, then add your link. Even though Google won't give you any credít for it, it will be seen by thousands of people who may visit your site and link to you themselves because your site is highly relevant. I call this concept indirect link building. You are influencing and promoting your site to potential linking partners.
5. Request Links Only On High Value & Relevant Websites.
• Search engines see links as votes of confidence for your site. The more relevant and authoritative the site, the more consideration is given to the link and the subsequent keyword in the anchor text. It really pays off to focus on the quality of your links rather than the quantity. It is also important for your link building to look natural and not an attempt to deceive search engine spiders in search of links. Try looking for sites within your industry rather than general, unrelated sites to get links from.

Link Building Campaigns are a very time consuming process and link building companies spend a lot of time researching, testing and improving their techniques. Link building services are available for companies that don't have the time to invest in manual link building. The bottom line is that with a little help anyone can link build and move their site up the SERPS.

If you need help with your Link Building Campaign, give us a call today!

Labels: marketing, websites

The Facts:

• 70% of Americans are online almost everyday.
• 50 Million people will shop online this year.
• Adults spend 3 hours a day more online than watching TV.
• There are over 400 Million websites online.
• Only 3% of all business sell their products or services online.
• 16% of small businesses see the Internet as a threat.
• Only 18% of small businesses have an Internet Marketing Plan.

The Fix:

• Get a professional website and offer your products online ASAP.
  • Add pictures, facts, articles, product benefits, customer comments, stories and testimonials.
  • Have a clear call-to-action or special offer on your home page to get sales.
• Super-charge your website with an Internet Marketing Plan.
  • Start a blog to post articles.
  • Build your own fan club in social networks.
  • Entertain, get feedback, be yourself, show personality, and do something to get attention.
• Keep a customer database.
  • Imagine how easy it would be to sell a prospect if you already knew what they wanted, how much they had to spend, and they already knew your company... Those potential sales are in your existing client list.
  • Re-sell, up-sell, and cross-sell through email marketing and your website.

Call us today and beat 85-97% of your competition with an Internet Marketing plan!

We can make Internet marketing easier by creating an open line of communication where you become more educated on Internet Marketing and we become more educated on your products and services. Working together this process becomes easier and more effective.

Call us at 816.228.1123
or click here for more information:
http://www.adtrendsinc.com/website-development.html

Labels: adtrends, marketing, websites

1. Send an email newsletter for customers and prospects.
2. Develop a brochure of services.
3. Give customers two business cards and brochures - one to keep and one to pass along. Business cards aren’t working for you if they’re in the box. Pass them out!
4. Produce separate sales literature for each of your target market segments (e.g. government and commercial, and/or business and consumer).
5. Create a calendar to give away to customers and prospects.
6. Print a logo, slogan and/or one-sentence description of your business on letterhead, fax cover sheets and invoices.
7. Develop your own website and social network profiles.
8. Create a "signature file" to be used for all your e-mail messages. It should contain contact details, including your Web site address, and key information about your company that will make the reader want to contact you.
9. Include "testimonials" from customers in your literature, on your website, and in your presentations.
10. Announce free or special offers in your direct response pieces. (Direct responses may be direct mail, broadcast fax, trade show material or email messages.) Include the offer in the beginning of the message and also make it stand out by being creative.

Labels: marketing, websites

Your company's Internet marketing strategy should consider two time frames and several key components when creating your marketing plan. There are short-term strategies and there are long-term stategies for Internet marketing.

Short-term Internet marketing strategy - Produces instant results, but they may be more expensive or difficult to maintain for years at a time. These strategies are also considered short-term because if you stop doing them, you usually lose the results quickly. They include:

• Pay-Per-Click Advertising
• Email Marketing
• Link or Banner Exchanges
• Promotions & Contests
• Posting links in Forums or Chat rooms

Long-term Internet marketing stategy - Takes longer to produce results, but often will continue to grow and be effective long after the activity stops. These Internet marketing stragies may take months or years to be truely effective, but once they do, they are much more powerful and often free to maintain. They include:

• Search Engine Optimization & Marketing
• Online Social Networking & Bookmarking
• Blogging & Article Marketing
• Opt-In Email & News Feeds
• Link Building Campaigns

You may notice that link strategies are in both lists. Link exchanges trade links between both websites and they other person will usually take it down if you do, and the reward is not as great. With Link Building, you create attractive content and encourage one-way links to yoursite that will remain on the web forever. They are much more powerful to the search engines when they are one-way links too!

By creating and implementing a balanced Internet marketing strategy, using both short-term and long-term strategies, you will drive a steady stream of targeted traffic to your web site.

Here are 10 Internet Marketing Strategies that will help you busines grow online:

1. Start with an effective web design and development strategy for updates.
2. Practice good search optimization techniques for all pages of the site.
3. Learn to use email marketing effectively for existing customers and prospects.
4. Dominate your marketing niche and specific keywords first, then expand.
5. Request website analysis from an Internet marketing professional at least quarterly.
6. Blog and interact with your visitors.
7. Create and build relationship in online social networks.
8. Publish articles and get listed and linked in news stories on the web.
9. Facilitate and run contests and giveaways via your web site.
10. Use pay-per-click advertising as a last resort to increase traffic.

Labels: marketing, websites

You should know by now...

There is no such thing as a FREE LUNCH,
or FREE WEBSITES!

I think there are more preditor companies and scam artists on the Internet than the average business, simply because people don't understand the web and what it takes to be successful. It can be like walking into the car mechanic and having no idea what is wrong with your car... You pretty much have to take their word for it!

There is a better way! Why don't you start thinking about websites like you do your car?

• Invest in a high quality website that will last longer than your payments.
  
• Hosting your site on a reliable server like Godaddy is your insurance against disaster.
  
• Schedule your website for regular maintence and tune-ups.
  
• Rotate your content to keep it fresh, and rolling straight towards your goals.
  
• Hire a search engine marketer to detail your website and inspect every corner.
  
• Seek a second opionion from a trained professional when work needs to be done.
  
• Internet Marketing is the fuel that keeps your website moving.
  
• Drive safe. Trying to speed your way to the top of the search engines and taking shortcuts will only get you busted by the Google police, and no one wants to be penalized or have your site sent to the clink...

Here's the best part...

Cars are generally a bad investment that lose money and value over there lifetime. Websites can turn a profit and become worth more than your current business!

If you have any questions about those phone calls and emails from the yellow pages, local directories, pay-per-click guys, and SEO cheaters, give me a call and I will help you sort through the scams and point you in the right direction.

Not everyone can afford to invest in $30,000 website design and Internet marketing, and that is why we have developed some affordable small business solutions. Our complete web design starts at $2,009, and Internet marketing is about $1,000 per year. Sometimes, I can even point you in the direction of the best free tools and economical solutions available for you budget.

Email me anytime with your website and Internet marketing questions, and I will shoot you back and answer as soon as I can. You can always call too and talk with me or a Marketing Executive here.

Michael Montague
Internet Marketing Director
michael@adtrendsinc.com

Labels: websites

In 2008, only 15% of businesses had an Internet Marketing Plan! In the past, it was the web designer's sole responsibility to enter the right keywords to market your website. Now it is a company-wide effort to write press releases, articles, email blasts, blogs and tweets. Internet Marketing is about providing the advice, direction and tools necessary to help your company take advantage of the online marketplace. What A GOOD Internet Marketer Can Do For You: Create RSS feeds for the dissemination and syndication of news. Submit your articles to high-value republishing sites. Update the meta-tag keyword information and copy where appropriate to target specific key phrases. Create a presence in the Facebook community. Set up a Twitter account to post weekly news as well as breaking news. Develop an on-site blog with regular updates, and link the headline from the home page so the search engines see more new content. Submit your site and content to blogs related to your industry. Manage a Pay-Per-Click advertising campaign. When it makes sense, post regular podcasts, including YouTube videos. What A BAD Internet Marketer Will Promise You: Guaranteed ranking on the first page in search engine results. Submission to THOUSANDS of search engines and directories. A lot of FREE links to your site to boost traffic. Instant results in organic search listings. You don't have to do anything but pay a monthly fee. You have to use Pay-Per-Click advertising to reach top placement. Changing a few keywords will dramatically boost your ranking. Internet Marketers can set up the blog, profiles, and other gadgets, but only you can provide the information and personal interaction necessary to make these tools generate revenue! We can make Internet marketing easier by creating an open line of communication where you become more educated on Internet Marketing and we become more educated on your products and services. Working together this process becomes easier and more effective. Call us today and beat 85% of your competition with an Internet Marketing plan! LinkedIn Twitter Facebook MySpace Plaxo If you need help with Internet Marketing, call Ad Trends Advertising, Inc. - 816.228.1123

Labels: marketing, websites

Companies are starting to wake up to value of social networks. They are realizing that the web offers an amazing opportunity to manage your reputation and provide personal customer service.

When C.C. Chapman noticed a blemish in his high-definition television's reception during the NBA playoffs recently, he blasted a quick gripe about Comcast into the online ether, using the social network Twitter. Minutes later, a Twitter user named ComcastCares responded, and within 24 hours, a technician was at Chapman's house in Milford to fix the problem.

"I was so floored," said Chapman, who runs a digital marketing agency and advises companies to do what he experienced with Comcast - listen to what customers are saying about them online and respond. "When it actually happened to me, it blew me away," he said.

Chapman's experience is one example of the ways customer service is changing in an age when a single disgruntled consumer with a broadband connection can ignite a crisis. It also shows the potential of the Internet to turn miffed customers into fans in a more organic way than an advertising campaign. Chapman, for example, made a podcast about his visit from Comcast.

Comcast is not the only one. Google, Southwest Airlines, Dell and many other companies have started to monitor how their brands are perceived online, by tracking blogs and social networks to find where people are talking about a company.

With powerful and comprehensive search engines and tools like Google Alerts, it is not hard to find out who is writing about your company online. Taking a proactive approach and responding to these posts is simple good business. The best part might be that these tasks are best performed by younger workers who are cheap, yet more knowledgeable about these social networks.

If you need help managing your online reputation,
call Ad Trends Advertising today! 816.228.1123

Labels: marketing, websites

Where's Social Networking Headed?

Millions of consumers are using social networks now.
Just like email and voicemail those now archaic technologies that we don't even think about, social networking is becoming mainstream. Social media marketing is here to stay and can bring tremendous value to those who know how to leverage it. From gaining new clients, to gaining visibility, branding, and credibility, not to mention leads, social networking is becoming invaluable for businesses. It is also fun, quick, and a cost-effective way to get visibility and it provides the ability to connect with anyone, anywhere in the world.

Many small businesses remain offline and are positively scared of using social media websites.
Business owners are worried about the lack of privacy and a misconception that they need to be technically savvy to use such websites as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. They also mention lack of time and lack of trained marketing resources which prevent them from taking the social media marketing plunge. However, social networking is one activity that everybody needs to "find" time for and "create" a budget for. It means visibility at a very low cost, and your competitors will be taking advantage of it sooner or later. Doing nothing is not an option!

Social Networking means buzz, visibility, website traffic, leads and sales!

To take advantage of social networking you will have to:

Make time. Either make time for social media marketing for yourself / business OR find an expert who can do it for you. Here at Ad Trends Advertising, Inc we help business all over the US start and maintain social networks. We will offer as little or as much help as you need.

Be professional. If you don't want to end up fired or end up in jail, be careful about what you say online. Professional behavior should be the norm (even for teenagers who don't realize the impact of what they put out there on Facebook). Prospective employers, prospective clients, current clients, and anyone who wants to look you up, can and will. Once you've put something out there, it is out there forever.

Have a clear target or goal. Remember the impression you want to cultivate online. You wouldn't go to a face-to-face networking meeting and complain "how tired you are", "how sleepy you are" etc. Then don't do it online either. Online networking has reached a new level and you need to show your "networking" savvy by creating an impression which will land you the next connection, a new client or whatever you seek.

Know frequency matters as much as content. Blogging at least once a month, writing a tweet at least once every week, and posting a status at least every other day is the only way to grow your visibility. All marketing activities require frequency, consistency, and long-term effort. You wouldn't expect one advertisement in the Kansas City Star to generate leads immediately and ongoing. Similarly, marketing online requires consistent, frequent, and long-term effort.

Reap what you sow. This saying applies very well to Social Networking. If you don't begin leveraging social media websites to promote yourself or your business and especially if your competition is, you'll be left behind in the dust of their visibility & buzz. Sow the seeds of communication in social networks, and make sure you follow up to reap the rewards of your time and effort.

On a regular basis, you should aim to:

1. Write about your industry in a way that is useful to your audience, especially with articles. Keep on subject and submit it to the major article sites. If your blog has an associated RSS feed, such as WordPress, all the better. Enter it in the major social media sites as well.
2. Then Tweet it. Twitter is in its infancy, albeit a precocious little chap, and you may see no point in publishing your story as your "followers" are mainly unknown to you and therefore unlikely to read about what you have to say. Do not be deterred as this is the wrong approach: Twitter is here to stay and develop. If the Economist is backing Twitter against CNN, this medium has to be taken seriously.
3. Blogging and article writing should be done regularly. Just writing the odd story on a casual basis is not good enough. You should be consistent in the posting your articles and thorough with your research.

Set up your profiles today and start networking!

We will be your first friend! Find us on these social media sites:

Labels: marketing, websites

We have been working with a lot of Real Estate agents lately, and have been researching a ton of websites and Internet marketing ideas. Here is a list of the top 5 things every Real Estate agent should know about Internet marketing:

1. Go Long. You need to prepare yourself for a sustained campaign. Internet marketing and lead generation require a steady effort over time. It's not a one-shot deal. Think of a marathon instead of a sprint. The upside of this is that you can afford to stumble a bit in the early days, because there's plenty of time for trial and error.
2. Offer Value. When it comes to Internet marketing and lead generation, value is the key to success. The more value a home buyer perceives in a certain action, the more likely they are to take that action. If the action you desire is to have people contact you, you'll need to explain the value and benefits of that action. This value might come in many forms -- instant answers to their home-buying questions, an easier home search, etc. More value equals more buyers leads.
3. Write Plenty. When writing content for your website or blog, you should cast your net far and wide. You would be surprised by the wide variety of search phrases that home buyers use when researching real estate online. So by creating more content, you'll gain more website traffic. Write about current events in your city, real estate trends, mortgage topics, home staging, new neighborhoods and subdivisions, home builders who operate in the area ... you get the idea.
4. Experiment Constantly. Other agents might tell you what has worked for them in the past, and you can certainly learn from this. But you shouldn't feel that you need to duplicate their techniques to the letter. Likewise, just because a certain technique failed for somebody else doesn't mean it won't work for you. You need to learn for yourself what works best on your website. Build your lead-generation program around your own trial and error -- not what you hear from others.
5. Remove Distractions. I've seen agent websites with a tremendous amount of clutter on them. In fact, it seems to be a trend in the real estate industry (more so than any other industry I've worked with over the years). Some agents love to scatter buttons, logos, graphics, "widgets" and other virtual knick-knacks all over their websites. This creates distraction and dilutes whatever lead-generation techniques you may have in place. Trust me on this one -- you'll produce more home buyer leads with a clean, uncluttered website.

If you need help with your Internet marketing plan, call us today for a free 1-hour marketing consultation. We will take a look at your website, it's code, content, and call-to-action and give you some solid reccomendation to improve your results.

Call 816-228-1123 and ask for Michael,
our Internet Marketing Director!

Labels: seo, websites

Wouldn't it be wonderful if you had the power to convince people that your product or service was exactly what they needed, and as a consequence your in-box was filled with inquiries and your e-commerce site was stuffed with orders. Wouldn't that be great? And isn't that exactly what you want to achieve with your website?

The problem is you are part of a giant online bazaar called The Web; and just like your local weekend flea market The Web is filled with crap, con-men, and contraband. Without understanding some of the underlying psychological principles involved in shaping audience preference you are in danger of being regarded as just another mangy flea market hustler, even if what you offer is the greatest thing since

The subject of shaping public perception, or in our case Web audience preference, is complex and convoluted but there are basic principles that if followed will help you achieve your business objectives, no matter how you define them.

The Four E-Essentials of Internet Marketing Strategies

All the Google ads, search engine optimization, linking strategies, social networking, and Twitter tweeting will be for naught if you don't implement four essential marketing communication techniques: engage, enlighten, embed, and re-enforce.

These four website presentation elements are easy to grasp but not always easy to implement. If you've read any of our other articles you will know that we think Web-video is the most effective way to implement these elements on your website and in your Web marketing. But just because you use video on your website, doesn't mean it's going to be effective unless you understand the psychology behind the e-essentials.

Perhaps the best way to illustrate how these elements work is to rent or find on YouTube a clip from the 1947 movie "The Hucksters" starring Clark Gable and Sydney Greenstreet. Now I haven't seen this movie in twenty years and I remember almost nothing about it except for one scene, a scene that illustrates better than anything, the four e-essentials of marketing and branding communication.

Engage, Enlighten, Embed, and Re-Enforce

Picture an old style boardroom, you know the ones with wood paneling, high-backed deeply padded chairs all filled with a bunch of executive flunkies and sycophants. At one end is Clark Gable, and his dapper boss Adolphe Menjou, and at the other end is an empty, ornate leather chair, almost like a throne.

An older heavy-set gentlemen, played by Sydney Greenstreet, walks in wearing a dark suit, light colored vest, and a matching pork-pie hat. He is the client, the owner of a large soap manufacturing company, 'Beauty Soap,' that has hired Gable's agency to help sell his product.

He proceeds to sit down at the head of the table, throws back his head, and expectorates (spits) onto the middle of the table. He then dramatically takes out a handkerchief from his breast pocket, wipes up the mess, and carelessly tosses the hankie on the floor, after which he tells the assembled ad men...

You've just seen me do a disgusting thing, but you'll always remember what I just did. You see if nobody remembers your brand, you aren't going to sell any soap. ...I'll tell you a secret about the soap business. There's absolutely no difference between soaps, absolutely none, except for perfume and color... soap is soap... oh... maybe we have a few manufacturing tricks, but the public don't give a hoot about that..."

Embed The Brand

You may not like to hear it, but the truth is, most products and services are pretty much the same as their competitors. Sure some have a little more this, and others have a little more that, but for all intensive purposes, they're the same, the same except for one major thing, The Brand!

This sixty second clip from "The Hucksters" illustrates the need to engage your audience with a dramatic gesture, enlighten them with what they need to know, and do it all in a entertaining manner that embeds the brand, and what it stands for, in the audience's mind.

The Repetition Caveat

The last twenty seconds of the scene are a bit more controversial in my mind and if taken at face value can lead to a misunderstanding of the re-enforcing principle.

Greenstreet continues his rant by banging his fist on the table over-and-over again while saying,

"Beauty Soap, Beauty Soap, Beauty Soap, repeat it until it comes out of their ears, repeat it until they say it in their sleep, irritate them Mr. Norman [a reference to Gable], irritate, irritate, irritate them, never forget, knock them dead, until they never forget."

All the while Greenstreet emphatically bangs his fist on the table to emphasize his point. When he finally finishes his rant, he sweeps his hand dramatically across the table knocking a glass of water halfway across the room. He finishes by saying calmly, "See what I mean?"

Web Videos Shouldn't Be TV Commercials

Television advertisers seem to have taken the "irritation" part to heart, but I think the basic principle is dramatic repetition not irritation. Irritation may generate name recognition but with the wrong mental and emotional associations, while dramatic repetition shapes audience opinion and establishes brand preference. Not understanding the psychology behind the four e-essentials can lead to unsatisfactory results.

This scene from "The Hucksters" was satire and commentary on the nature of advertising, and its point-of-view was decidedly cynical, and with good cause. Television commercials drive the public up a wall with irritating repeated interruptions of the same hackneyed commercials over and over again, until the viewing audience goes numb.

As well, pointless user-generated videos may bemuse but without any targeted psychological influence or directed commercial purpose beyond attracting a lot of viewers.

Even expensive commercially produced viral videos that are clever, entertaining, and technically superb often forget to enlighten the audience and embed the brand. The recent viral Evian baby video maybe a brilliant technical achievement and superb film-making but does it sell more bottled water, or even distinguish Evian from its competitors. The problem is the brand gets lost in the technique, and the baby images over-power the product.

Gaining Competitive Advantage

It is human nature to want easy answers to complex questions, but people are frustratingly complex, and cannot be "pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered" like Patrick McGoohan's 'The Prisoner'.

Search engine optimization, social networking, user-generated videos, and viral-for-viral's sake are nothing more then marketing 'Pablum' that takes advantage of naive marketing newbies; they are trendy technical answers with the appearance of sophistication but with only the slightest understanding of subconscious human desire.

Technical answers to human questions ultimately won't work, or will only work with limited success because they ignore the need to understand the human condition, what makes you and everybody else want, what they want.

Gerald Zaltman, Professor Emeritus of Harvard Business School calls it understanding the "mind of the market." To quote Professor Zaltman from his book 'How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market,'

"...the ability to grasp or understand the mind of the market and creatively leverage this understanding represents the next source of competitive advantage for marketers."

The Choice Is Yours

The average website business will continue to follow whatever trendy technical solution shows up on the blogs. But your competitor's willingness to follow the herd leaves the way wide open for you to take advantage of their failure; their misreading of what works.

Recognize the best way to communicate your offering to your Web audience is with a presentation delivered by a real human being, a presentation that engages, enlightens, and embeds in that audience's collective memory.

And when you're done, do it all over again in an even more memorable, dramatically entertaining manner.

About The Author
Jerry Bader is Senior Partner at MRPwebmedia, a website design firm that specializes in Web-audio and Web-video. Visit http://www.mrpwebmedia.com/

Labels: websites

Top 20 Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Hit Send:

1. Does your headline speak directly to your potential customer and give them a strong, specific benefit of your product or service?
2. Did you start with the strongest benefit of your product or service, then work your way down to include the least important benefits for your potential customer?
3. Do you explain how your product or service is better or different than your competitors?
4. Does your sales letter speak directly to your prospect?
5. Do you use "you" twice as often as "I" in your sales letter?
6. Is your sales letter easy to read using short sentences and paragraphs?
7. Do you use power words and write with the goal of keeping your reader's interest?
8. Do you show your potential customer their problem; agitate it by telling them how troublesome it is, then offer your product or service as the solution?
9. Is your copy clear, easy to understand, and follows a flow from one paragraph to the next?
10. Are your strong words and phrases highlighted or bolded to draw attention and keep the reader focused?
11. Is your sales letter written in a friendly, active, conversational," me to you", tone of voice?
12. Have you used specific numbers and facts in your copy to build instant credibility?
13. Have you included credibility creators, like why you're an authority on the subject?
14. Are you confident about your grammar?
15. Does your sales letter have a nothing-to-risk guarantee that shows your confidence in your offer?
16. Do you include a reason why you're making this offer?
17. Does your email give your contact details and a call to action?
18. Do you make it easy for your potential customer to act on your offer?
19. Are you offering bonuses to increase response or do you create the perception of high value for your product or service?
20. Did you create a sense of urgency in your letter, explaining that the price is for a short time or quantities are limited?

Labels: marketing, websites

Everyone is talking about social networking, and many businesses are looking for a more cost effective and direct way to market. Marketing on social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter can help you boost the size of your email list and help grow your business. The keys to success with this strategy is making sure members of your target market are in your network, building relationships, and establishing yourself as an expert in your field. You never know which lead will turn into your next big sale.

Many of these social networking sites are strict and very particular about how its participants contact each other. Many sites limit the number of new invitations allowed in a given day or week. If you exceed this amount you can get penalized or removed for spamming. If you stick with about 50 per day, you should stay within most limits. If you ever receive a warning, you should stop immediately for that day and reduce your efforts moving forward. Secondly, some networks have a limit on your total number of friends, so you may need to create a waiting list or another page if you become really successful.

Whether you're an experienced social networker or just a newbie, here are 10 secrets to growing your target market network online:

1. Create an up-to-date profile and/or fan page

Before you begin a "friending" (i.e. request to become another's friend), be sure that your profile is up-to-date with an accurate description of what you do, your interests, and your contact info. Make sure you include your website addresses. If you have multiple businesses invite people in your appropriate target market to become fans of your niche-specific fan page

2. Follow the favorites

Follow leaders in your field/industry and "friend" them. This includes popular products, TV shows, or other specific interests of your target market. Anytime you make a friend request, include a personal note, as that will improve the likelihood that they will accept your request. Say something like, "I'm a big fan and I'd love to have you in my network on Facebook." Once they have accepted your invitation, make comments about their status updates to help you get on the radar and in front of their thousands of friends.

3. Friends of friends

Take a look at the people in the network of your industry leaders, as they are probably part of your target market as well. Send friend requests to those of interest to you. When you friend someone that you only know by association, send a personal note as well, like "I discovered your profile in 's network and would like to get to know you better by adding you to my network."

4. Use groups

Look for groups that may contain your target market. In your search for groups, use keywords that describe your niche, industry, geographic area, interests, or whatever other terms you might use to find members of your target market. Join and begin to participate in the group so that they begin to get to know you. Then pursue the member lists for good prospects, start with the members you've connected with or have commented on similar posts.

5. Invite your existing email lists and address books

You can use your existing email database to add people from your clients, prospects, and other current contacts if they fall within your target market definition. Add a note to the invitation and make sure you are clear and professional about your motivation.

6. Recommended friends

Most of the popular social networking sites will have a suggestion list for people you might know. These recommendations are pretty solid, because they are based on similar work history, mutual friends and interests. Take them up on their recommendation and add these to your network.

7. Add by interest or industry

Do a people search by job title, industry, geographic location, or interest. People with those terms in their profile will show up in your search, and you can request to add them based on common interests.

8. Build the relationship

Once you friend someone, you need to begin to get to know them and start building trust so that you become their top-of-mind expert in a particular area. Begin building the relationship by posting a quick "thank you" note on their wall, as well as a comment about something on their profile that interests you or in which you have in common. Watch for their status updates, as well, and comment on these when appropriate.

9. Create a group

Once you've got about 500 followers, create a group for your target market. Provide the group with useful content and ask questions to stimulate discussion and get the members to return to participate in the group. You can post articles, links to blog posts, or videos you have created. Invite group members to any free virtual or face-to-face events you're hosting. This is where you really establish your expert status and credibility.

10. Integrate your marketing strategy

Once you have a good list of friends and credibility on the site, you can begin mixing in your marketing messages. Social networking sites are designed to be casual and personal, so don’t just copy an advertisement or sales messages. All you want to do is keep what you do and who you are on the top of your prospects minds. You can casually mention what you’re working on in your status, announce events, and make comments offering to help people with your product or service. Remember, people can remove or block you as easily as they added you in the first place.

No marketing strategy works unless you consistently implement it over time. As a newbie to Facebook, you might want to spend as much as 60 minutes per day researching friends and participating in groups. As your network grows, you may spend only 15 minutes 3 times per week on Facebook. The key to success is to put this strategy on your calendar and make it a routine part of your ongoing Internet marketing tasks.While social networking is an inexpensive marketing tool, it can be effective in helping you grow your business. You should maintain your other marketing strategies, and simply add this strategy to your marketing mix.

Labels: marketing, websites

How would you like FREE advertising or how about a FREE qualified referral?
Links to your website are Internet's version of referrals. The more frequently people link to your website, the more they tell potential customers and the search engines that you are trustworthy and they recommend you. The more links you get back to your site, the more sales and traffic will come your way.

How do you decide if a link exchange is worth your time?
Target Market - Will the site get you in front of your target audience?
Location - Is the company or directory local?
Relevance - Is the company or directory related to your business?
Price - Is there a fee to be listed on the site?
Traffic - Does the website or directory have more or less traffic than your site?

How many websites are linking to your website right now?
There is a simple test to see how many other sites are linking to your home page. Go to http://www.google.com/ and type link:www.yourwebsite.com into the search bar. The results will show all the sites with links to www.yourwebsite.com. Try this with your website, your competitors and some of your favorite websites to see how your website compares.

If you don't like what you see or need extra help with your website, call Ad Trends Advertising, Inc. today.

Labels: marketing, websites

Web Site Design

• Does your website consist of at least six individual web pages?
• Does each of these web pages contain at least 200 words of visible text?
• Is it easy for web surfers and search engines to read what your web site is all about?
• Are your web pages linked so that search engines and web surfers can find all web pages of your website through the links on other pages of your site?
• Does your website navigation use links that search engines can follow? Flash links and JavaScript links can cause problems.
• Is each web page optimized for one or two key phrases?
• Have you made sure that the HTML code of your web pages is valid so that search engines don't have difficulty when they try to index your website?
• Have you made sure that you don't use a welcome page or intro page on your website? Many search engines won't be able to index your site if you use such a page.
• Do you use as few Flash elements as possible? Search engines cannot index them properly.
• Have you made sure that your website URL does not use special characters or too many variables?
• Do your web pages look attractive to human web surfers and they are optimized for search engines?
• Would you prefer your website over your competitor’s if you were a web surfer?
• Does your website have its own domain name and is it hosted on a fast and reliable web server?
• Have you made sure that your web pages don't contain spam elements?
• Have you placed your key phrases in all titles, tags, and content?

Keywords and Phrases

• Have you focused on keywords that consist of two to four words?
• Have you focused on keywords that bring you targeted visitors instead high search volume?
• Have you avoided keywords that consist of only one word?
• Are your keywords so targeted that it is very likely that they'll attract visitors that are interested?
• Do you know which keywords potential customers use to find websites that are similar to yours?
• Do you know the three different keyword types?

Inbound Links From Other Sites

• Have you submitted your website to the Top 5 Search Engines?
• Have you checked your Google Page Rank?
• Do the links from other websites to your website contain your keywords in the link text?
• Have you submitted your site to all appropriate directories?

Conclusion

• Did you answer “No” to any of the questions above?
• Do you not even know what half this stuff is?
• Did you know that only 17% of small businesses have an internet marketing plan?
• Do you want to jump ahead of 83% of your competition online?

You need to call us today at 816.228.1123 and speak with one of our Marketing Executives. Ad Trends Advertising, Inc. manages about 50 websites from small business to international franchises, and we’ve spent years studying search engine optimization. A fancy site won’t do you a bit of good without any traffic. Call us today and find out how we can help you grow your traffic and your business with Internet Marketing!

Ad Trends Advertising, Inc.
816.228.1123
customerservice@adtrendsinc.com
http://www.adtrendsinc.com/

Labels: websites

New $2,009 Professional Websites Include:

• Custom Website Design
• Home Page + 4 Additional Page Layouts: About Us, Products & Services, References or Testimonials, Contact Us with Form & Map
• Blog or News Setup
• Search Engine Directives & Site Map
• Keyword Research and Implementation
• Search Engine Submissions
• Custom Email Template
• Quarterly Statistical Reports & Evaluation

All For Just $2,009!
An Instant 20% Savings. Call Today To Get Started.
*A 50% deposit is required. Balance due upon posting of your site.

To Order Call Toll Free: 877.707.0882
Click here to download the full PDF.

Labels: websites

By Michael Montague
Web & Graphic Designer

1. Understand Your Site’s Visitors
2. Research Your Competition
3. Pick The Best-Performing Keywords
4. Optimize Your Web Site For Those Keywords
5. Make Sure Your Web Site Is Error Free
6. Submit Your Web Site To Search Engines & Directories
7. Fine-Tune Your Pages To Your Keywords
8. Start A Link Building Campaign
9. Check Your Rankings & Links In The Major Search Engines
10. Review Your Progress & Repeat Every 4-6 Weeks

Again, the best way to grow your online presence is to create attractive content that people want to see, read, link to, and tell their friends about. Make sure as you build these pages of content, they are each optimized for a specific, targeted set of keywords to maximize your results. Only after you have a great looking site, with awesome content, and optimized, error-free pages should you think about advertising, promoting, or submitting them to the search engines.

Don't forget if you need help with any stage of your website design or internet marketing, you can call us for help...

Labels: seo, websites

By Michael Montague
Web & Graphic Designer

I began working with local owners of 6 radio stations about two years ago. The sites had broken links, missing images, alignment issues, and several pages with outdated information. They only sent email blasts when they happened to sell a sponsor for one. Also, the company gave away banner ads on their homepage as added value to advertising packages on the radio. They had the ability to simulcast on the internet for 4 of the 6 stations, but the links were hidden on content pages or broken. In all fairness, they had no one to do the work and no budget because the websites were losing money.

Initially, we sat down and evaluated the most glaring needs. We repaired all the broken links, images, and pages. We started with the worst sites and worked through them one by one up to the best looking and most effective site. The website traffic and listenership jumped up 20-40% for every station the month following the updates. After we knew we were not causing any more damage to our online reputation, we started laying out a plan to rebuild the sites and our marketing plan to grow their audience and revenue.

We decided the target audience was the local public and listeners of their stations with a secondary target of advertisers trying to reach these visitors. After some brainstorming and research, we put together a marketing plan to attract these targets and create relationships with them. Some of our plan included:

• Making listening online as easy as possible.
  Providing local information such as news, traffic, weather and gas prices online.
• Making listener registration for email blasts as easy as possible with subscribe and unsubscribe links.
• Sending email blasts every Wednesday with information, coupons, and advertisements.
• Redefining online advertising as non-traditional revenue, instead of free added value.
• Setting uniform sizes and pricing for ads so they were easier to sell.
• Incorporating the websites in all on-air contests and promotions.
• Creating blogs and content that could be easily updated.
• Creating recruitment pages for job seekers and employers as a new revenue stream.

Finally, we redesigned the sites with a completely new designs and new content, even a new operating platform. All 6 stations now stream online and have links to listen live on their homepages. The sites were re-launched to public and promoted heavily on the air, on promotional products, and other marketing materials. The company now has a plan for how to attract visitors, maintain their websites, and sell advertising. Most importantly with the new sales generated online, they can afford to update and grow their website.

Labels: websites

Ad Trends Advertising, Inc. has revamped and relaunched its website to ensure better customer service and the highest quality information for their clients!

New features include: Two apparel catalogs, email newsletter, full explanation of graphic design and website services, this news blog, and special pages for business start-ups, franchises, and trade shows.

We are interested in your opinion. If you have any ideas on how we can improve our site, please direct feedback to webmaster@adtrendsinc.com.

Labels: adtrends, apparel, products, websites