Marketing Tips, Articles, and Useful Information

As a freelance commercial writer and copywriter, I've become something of an information junkie. I read a lot about copywriting, surf the Internet checking out marketing programs and web sites, and write as much as possible. If I think something is useful, I'll post it here. Short pieces and links to other sites will be right on this page. A list of articles is included at the bottom of the page.

If you find something particularly helpful or have a question, let me know.

Marketing a White Paper

Your white paper is free. So, why should you market it? If you don't tell the readers what benefit they get from reading your white paper, they likely won't invest the time. Marketing the white paper lets readers know what's in it for them. This is especially important if you are using the white paper for lead generation and asking for contact information in exchange for the white paper.

Testing whether or not people will give you contact information is important. Some markets feel overcome with information. Unless they are highly confident that the white paper you offer really does contain information that they will find useful, they will simply go somewhere else. However, many marketing pros consider not collecting email addresses from those that download your white paper a waste. If you don't want to ask for email addresses, there are a few things that you can do to improve the success of a white paper.

First, be sure that your company contact information is located in several places on the paper. Next, you need to include a clear call to action at the end of the white paper. Alternatively, you can offer the white paper further along in the sale cycle, not as an initial lead generation tool but as part of a lead nurturing process. Finally, be sure that the content of the white paper is useful, that it delivers what you promised, and that the readers don't feel like you've wasted their time.

Direct Marketing

When you hear "direct marketing" you may have visions of standing over your garbage can tossing out envelopes unopened and catalogs ignored.

Getting Response

Direct mail is only one aspect of direct marketing.  Direct marketing also includes lead generating letters, email, telemarketing, print ads with order forms or phone numbers, and web sites.  The main focus of direct marketing is to get your prospect to do something - to get a response that is a sale or may lead to a sale.  The key to getting a positive response depends on your prospect and your business.  It may simply be an offer they can't refuse but more than likely involves appealing to their emotions.

Direct mail gets a bad rap from many people.  But think about it.  At least one of your credit cards is probably the result of a direct mail package.  If you've ever bought from a catalog or perhaps online it was likely as a result of direct marketing.

Marketing That Fits You
Most marketing efforts will get an improved ROI if direct marketing approaches are used.  You don't have to put together thick, glossy, multi-part mailers.  Just be sure you understand your prospect.  Tell him about the benefits of your product or service.  Make him an offer.  Give him the information needed to act - a phone number, response card, web site address, or your business address.  How your direct marketing campaign looks needs to fit your prospects' wants and needs, as well as, the format of the advertising.

Look at the advertising you see today.  Are you given a reason to choose that business over a competitor?  Is there enough information for you to act?  Is there an offer to encourage you to respond?  Look at your own advertising.  Make some changes and see the response.

Keys for Successful Internet Marketing

I plan for this to be an on-going list.  As I come across information I think is particularly useful when trying to maximize your Internet marketing, I'll post it here.

Social Media and B2B Marketing
"What can social media do for me as a B2B marketer?" If that question keeps you up at night, chances are you won't find the answer -- because it's the wrong question. What you should be asking is "How can I use social media to help my clients and prospective clients?"

All the technologies under the heading new media allow an amazing array of options for providing information to clients and prospects. Social media technologies give you the opportunity to quickly answer questions and have clients give feedback.

Issues to deal with before spending money on new media include whether or not you are willing to embrace the transparency that results when using social media. Also, is management willing to lose control of the message that spreads?

More to come ...

Traffic Doesn't Help If It Doesn't Convert 
Maybe optimizing your current web site for search engine placement isn't the right thing to do. (Gasp!!) Sometimes the user experience that is right for your market and product or service isn't right for search engines.  While generally, the two goals are not mutually exclusive, sometimes you need to go with what results in conversions.

One solution is to build a small simple web site for SEO. Include quality content on the site using straight-forward navigation. Then include a link to your main web site for detailed information and the experience you've found results in conversions.  This will get you found on the Internet and still preserve what you know works for your users.

Meta Tags Are not All Created Equal 
In part because of keyword spamming practices, Google pays little to no attention to the keyword meta tag.  The title and description tags though are very important.  All search engines use them to some degree. The description tag is often displayed in search results.  Alt tags for graphics are also important if your site is graphic-intense.  If you don't use alt tags, search engines may consider your site as lacking content and you won't rank well. Alt tags are also important if the site visitor is using a reader to access your web site.

Keep It Simple
With all the bells and whistles available to web designers and developers, it's sometimes difficult to get a simple, straight-forward web site. Unfortunately, many search engines have difficulty with complicated sites. Clean use of html coding assures that spiders can find and index the content you've worked so hard to create. In other words, if your site doesn't need Flash or involved Java-script to effectively communicate with your intended audience, then don't use it. If those sorts of effects are expected in your market, talk to your web developer about making the site search engine friendly without sacrificing function. You may also want use strategies such as pay-per-click ads, direct mail, and directory listings to drive traffic to your site rather than relying on natural search.

Pay Per Click Advertising

Advertising on the Internet is a smart thing to do. However, it is often ineffective. Why? Because the advertiser didn't follow one of the golden rules of marketing. It's all about trust.

Trust is even more important on the Internet than other media. One simple way you can build trust with pay-per-click ads is to tie the message of the ad and the page where the visitor is sent - the landing page - together. This probably means that your home page may not be the right place to send people. That doesn't mean you need a new landing page for EVERY advertising effort. Just be sure that the ad reflects the content of the page where the visitor ends up.

Unique landing pages are very effective for retail, special offers, or product and service launches. If your advertising focuses on one of these types of approaches, then content specifically tied to the ad improves the chances of a positive response. Page headlines that are the same or similar to the ad and content relevant to how the visitor reached you make the visitor comfortable. They trust that you will deliver what you promise - because you already have once.

Does your Internet advertising match your landing pages?

 Copywriting, General Business, Marketing Articles

• Effective Business-to-Business Use of Direct Marketing
  
  Find out how to use direct marketing in a B2B marketing environment.
• Copywriting for the Unsophisticated Buyer
  
  Find copywriting strategies for prospects that don't know you.
• Edu-Marketing
  
  Improve marketing successs by educating your prospects.