Sitesell Local
We are big fans of Sitesell. We use them among other tools to build and market websites.
They are now offering great tools and tips for Local businesses and they offer tons of tips on how to use the web to become a leader in your local niche.
Click here to learn how Sitesell can propel your business by using the web!
To your success,
Joe Collinsworth
Is Your Website Turning Customers Away
Another post in the web design arena, but for good reason. You can market all you want, but if your design, navigation, and content/sales process is poor, you’ll be wasting time and money on your marketing.
That doesn’t mean your website has to have all the bells and whistles. I’ve seen ugly websites do wonderful in their market for various reasons.
It means that your website has to entice and welcome your visitors to do just what you want them to do - your most wanted response per page.
What do you mean Joe?
Well, I was reading Fortune Small Business which is a good magazine by the way, and they do a feature each month to help transform a business. They bring in a few consultants/experts to analyze what the company is currently doing and how it can improve in various aspects of their operation.
They were recently doing a company in Columbus, Ohio which as you know is just an hour or so away from Dayton, Ohio. The first consultant brought up the company website - I didn’t get to see the website before changes were made.
Her first impression was that it was turning away customers because it was “too slick” or looked too professional. Was it nice looking? Sure, but the owners missed the point. Their site looked too much like a franchise or national company and as many business owners know, sometimes you don’t get the same care and quality (not always) with a large company than if you went with a family runned operation (again, I say not always).
Let me explain what I mean. I spoke previously that we had a plumbing issue. We hired a national chain only for the technician to upsell us for repairs that weren’t necessary because they make more money that way.
Instead we hired a small business who came out and charged us 33% less than the national chain would have for the same repairs. Now they have my business for life! This isn’t the only time this has happened and there are times that we’ve gone with national chains because the small business has lacked in customer service or other areas.
Point - You want your website to appear professional looking, but since your site is an extension of your company and you as a business owner, you want your site to portray the message that you are sending.
In this case it was the message of, we are a small, family operated company who will go above and beyond. They simplified their website and made their potential customers feel welcome and more apt to contacting them for products/services.
Does this apply to every business? In a sense it will, but more so for service businesses than anything.
Just some thoughts for you to consider.
Contact us to ask about our commission based programs or lead generation programs and don’t pay little to nothing upfront to get yourself established online!
To your success,
Joe Collinsworth
Why Aren’t You Using Social Networking
Is your business changing it’s marketing strategy at all? Are you at least trying to utilize the Internet to promote your business and generate leads.
According to a recent Nielsen survey, almost 50% of businesses don’t have an Internet presence and I can guarantee after scouring websites and working with a few clients that if they have a website they aren’t using it to the fullest.
Are you aware that over 80% of all consumers look for merchants online? It is quicker and they can research companies easier than looking at some tiny ad and throwing darts in other mediums. In fact per a recent story, I noted I found a wildlife company in Dayton, OH to take care of my squirrel needs in the attic.
I am sure there are other companies that could have helped, but they didn’t have a website. If I found them on yellow pages online, I always look for a website. Even seniors are using the Internet to find companies or they contact family members who will use the web to help them find a company.
Wake up folks!!! 8 out of 10 people looking for your business aren’t using the Yellow Pages, yet half of all businesses or more are still using this. This is why they continue to print a yellow book - b/c people pay for advertising. Even the yellow pages has an online sales crew that goes around helping businesses with a web presence - they know that is where it’s going.
As we’ve stated before that you can even use social media for FREE and promote your business, connect with your market, update them each time they should know something.
At the very least you need to set up a twitter account for your business, a linkedin account, and a Facebook account for your business. Facebook even offers free pages where you can set up a profile similar to a personal one, but just for your business. Then you can use cheap and free advertising to promote that page, build followers, network, etc…
I have read stories of folks dramatically increasing their business just by using 2 or 3 of these mediums. Plus it gets you more familiar with the Internet and how to use it to market your business.
Quit wasting time. The more you waste, your competitors are jumping online and gaining a foothold on the market.
Contact us for a free consultation so we can make this process easy and simple to follow!
To your success,
Joe Collinsworth
Are You Paying Too Much for Website?
As a consultant both in finance and web work I can’t tell you how many invoices I’ve been seeing where companies are paying an arm and a leg for their web design, web management, web marketing, and other services.
I came to a conclusion: that either there is a huge need for this type of work and finding quality professionals to do the job is tough and/or companies buying these services and products have no clue what they’re paying for.
Unless you need custom work done which is sometimes the case or full time management, lots of space, and other criteria, then these costs shouldn’t be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
In fact for about 80% of the businesses who compete locally especially shouldn’t spend more than a few hundred to a few thousand for selective services. Now this will vary on all levels, but for instance, I saw a company charging thousands of dollars to simply do website updates that weren’t going to be that complicated or time consuming.
In fact I spoke with a therapist who was sold at a seminar on a business package that involved all this for $50,000 for a year. For what he needed this was astronomical. He ended up paying someone $25,000 which was still high, but we’ll see just what this person handles for them.
My point with all this is that you shouldn’t just shy away from the Internet, marketing, or design efforts if someone comes in and quotes you a bundle.
One of my clients was considering paying a few hundred dollars a month for a service they were already paying for - this would’ve been in addition. I did it for much less because it only took a few minutes to implement and automate for them with checks/updates from time to time.
So, when planning your design and marketing strategies, be sure to consider multiple quotes or finding someone who you could even hire on a retainer that would do more quality work and be more available to take care of your needs. It’s these entrepreneurs and contractors who are hungry for your business.
To your success,
Joe Collinsworth
Ask us how you can take advantage of a Free Consultation and Free Proposal Package!
Happy Holidays and New Year
No post this week folks to take time out and spend it with friends and family. We want to wish you all the same!!
2009 has been a wild ride in a lot of areas especially for businesses.
This is a great time to review 2009’s goals and aspirations and take a look at how to create and design a wonderful 2010 both personally and professionally.
We’ve got some cool stuff in store. We just got done assisting a small business getting online through an approach that makes sense for them and are ready to help more businesses see the value of the Internet.
So, Happy Holidays to you all and we’ll be back soon. Now would be a good time to contact us regarding 2010 planning for your web needs.
Joe Collinsworth
Best Ways to Approach Marketing Online
I was reading through some great information the other day and thought I’d share.
In setting up a web marketing strategy many get lost by the sea of ways to do so. Some just have no clue where to start and sometimes even experts have to get back to the basics.
Below is a great list of ways to promote your website and local business and reasons why…
1. Focus on Google Adwords first. Why? Because it’s instant and you are able to test and track results very quickly.
2. Search Engine Optimization. This takes time. For some not too long, but as you build/strategize your online marketing efforst, you’ll certainly be thinking SEO.
3. Other Pay per click. There are great mediums for advertising that don’t cost a fortune. Those can include Yahoo, MSN, Facebook, and other social networks, as well as local ways aside from the yellow pages.
4. Email Marketing. This is something every business can implement even without a website. Everyone uses email nowadays and you’d be amazed at the results. Some marketers online make millions just from the email lists they control.
5. Affilate marketing. This isn’t for everyone, but if your business is looking to go for a bigger pond such as nationally or global then utilizng affiliates can be huge.
6. Press Releases. PR and exposure are amazing ways to generate buzz for your business. If done right or even half right, PR can be a great way to exponentially grow your company.
7. Direct Mail. Done online and offline direct mail has proven to create amazing results.
8. Print Advertising. When it’s all said and done you should still consider print unless it’s not creating a solid ROI.
Your marketing strategy doesn’t have to be complicated. Just consisent and you must test your marketing to ensure you are getting the results you desire. Every CEO/owner of a company needs to be involved in their marketing.
In Dayton, Ohio you will hear a lot about a Heating and Cooling company who is marketing all over the place. I won’t name names, but they are also a client of the CPA firm I work with.
When all other companies are lowering costs and cutting back, this company knows it must hit it hard with letting folks know who they are and that they are not afraid to spend money on their marketing. Trust me it’s paying off!!
To your success,
Joe Collinsworth
Planning the Design of Your Company Website
Before you ever get your site up and running, you must plan your site design, navigation, and content.
It is critical to the success of your Internet campaign to plan for a website that not only looks good, but works as well. You must plan for your USP and MWR - Unique selling proposition and Most wanted response in each section.
Most business owners don’t have the time to design their own site, so we won’t dive too deep into resources, but there are many great Free design tools out there. Many of which make the process simple.
Experts say that you have about 10 seconds to keep that visitor from clicking away. It is imperative that you tell them what to expect right away.
What most designs offer are just the opposite. They send people away with overwhelming graphics, links here and there confusing the visitor, throw up flash and banners that are annoying, provide poor content, or do nothing but talk about themselves. Visitors want to know one thing - what’s in it for me and how is this company/website going to provide a solution to my problems, wants, and needs?
Other aspects you must envision as you begin to think about building a site include, keyword selection, graphics, images, metatags which are simply descriptions, title tags, and so forth. Also, content is what wins overall! I’ve seen horribly ugly sites provide great, overdelivering content with simple navigation win and make more money for the business owner than all the fanciness one could think of.
These sites are crisp, clean, provide the visitor want they’re looking for, and the website owners gets their most wanted response which could be signing up for their newsletter, contacting the company for an appointment, selling a product, getting a bid request, or other.
One big thing we recommend is to not use free services that lack the appeal and look very unprofessional. There are plenty of free resources, but skimping on a webhost or your site design can be detrimental. On the other hand it shouldn’t cost thousands upon thousands to build your site unless you require very in depth needs, tons of pages, or customized solutions.
On top of the above, your site should include a frequently asked questions page, a privacy statement, policies and terms, an about us page if done right can be very powerful, contact us page, an opt-in offer, and testimonials (not enough businesses use these which is a shame).
Next, you want to consider how to lead your visitors. How will your pages be set up? Are you providing a store? Will your pages lead to sales letter pages? How do you get a most wanted response on your content/article pages? How many level two and three pages will you have? Do you need customized work or a directory solution? Will you create landing pages for your advertising?
Most companies put up what we call a “brochure site” and that is their first flaw. There is so much more they could do with their site in order to generate business.
Once you get these items taken care of, you’ll want to consider your home page. This is the page that you typically build most of your links to and the first page people will see.
Your look and feel is critical. Your headline can make or break your entire page. Don’t forget to have them opt-in to your newsletter or email list. Make sure your navigation is simple and consistent, plus easy to follow.
Here are some things you don’t want to do: Don’t drive visitors away with banners and links. Don’t use too many colors or goofy fonts. Be tasteful with your graphics and images. Using audio, video, or flash can help your site, but incorrect use can hurt it horribly (your words will sell). Slow loading websites hurt your chances. Don’t pull any blackhat techniques - these will be things you’ll want to ask your design team.
Bottom line: There’s a lot to do when planning your company site design. The reason most company’s websites don’t perform is they don’t plan properly.
This is why our company and others offer this service. It’s important to either do it yourself correctly or find a quality team to assist you.
Contact the Collinsworth Group to discuss how we can help with your web design needs.
To your success,
Joe Collinsworth
Direct Marketing Tactics for Local Business
I am a big fan of Dan Kennedy books and information. The guy flat out knows what he’s talking about and produces results. In one of his books I’m reading he talks in the first couple of chapters about getting rid of branding as a strategy for the small business among other great tips.
Here’s why most businesses don’t succeed with their advertising efforts - they either try to copy each other or copy the big guys which have a different agenda than a smaller company should.
The big boys focus on things such as impressing the board, stockholders, looking good, winning awards, and eventually selling something. A smaller company’s goals is to simply SELL SOMETHING!
Most businesses don’t take the time to set up a winning strategy surrounded by what he calls his results triangle that focuses on message, market, and media. Then taking the time to test, track, and identify what is working and what is not.
The key is to implement a winning strategy that if there are weaknesses in the chain, the plan will not succeed as intended. We recommend either picking up his books of contact us to discuss these strategies.
Your advertising and marketing campaign needs to follow some rules in order to succeed.
Your goal is to solve your target markets problem, to get your message in front of them, so they search you out and the sales and marketing process becomes easy - you gravitate them to you so to speak.
These are the rules we work to follow in our messages and so should you…
You must always have an offer in your message.
You must have a reason to respond now. You want to envision a slug sitting on a couch reading or viewing your message and your goal is to get that slug to take action now.
Your message needs to have clear instruction on what to do.
Test, track, and measure your progress. You need to have a system in place to figure out what you ROI is, what is working, and what isn’t.
Don’t worry about brand building - it’s a by-product of the process.
Follow up is key - every business person or salesman knows this.
Make sure your message and copy is strong.
Focus on results - that’s all that matters.
Study other direct mail/marketing campaigns - copy those instead of your competitors.
Stick with any marketing plan for at least 6 months.
Many companies simply don’t attack their marketing and advertising efforts correctly. They focus on strategies that don’t work as well any longer or they just throw something up on the wall hoping it works.
Be different, unique, and follow these simple rules in order to ensure your dollars aren’t being thrown out the window.
For assistance with any of your marketing campaigns, be sure to Contact the Collinsworth Group today!
To your success,
Joe Collinsworth
Recommended Woodworking Company in Dayton
Recently I worked with this great team at L&M Hardwoods, located north of Dayton, Ohio:
http://stores.ebay.com/LM-Hardwoods
Check out their eBay store as they’re adding new products everyday or just to contact them to discuss a project.
If you ever need custom wordwork, trim, molding, or other then this is the company to contact!
We are completely satisfied with their work and highly recommend them.
Joe Collinsworth
Do You Use eBay for Your Business?
Something we haven’t touched on here is the power of using eBay or even other networks
that reach a large scale of online consumers to start and/or grow your business.
eBay is a great place to get the ball rolling, learn ecommerce, learn how to
sell something online, and even generate cash to grow your online ventures
even further.
Now if you sell a local service, why not offer that or utilize places
such as Facebook’s local targeting/advertising to reach your target market.
You don’t even need a website to utilize these sites and eBay even will allow
you to open up a store to sell your wares.
I’ve seen and helped individuals and large companies make money by using these
huge networks - it is something that is often overlooked.
The key on eBay is to first get set up and go through all the steps to get verified,
set up Paypal, set up your pages, and so forth.
There are a lot of ins and outs on using eBay which this post is not about as
if you visit your local bookstore, you’ll be sure to find plenty of information.
There are businesses out there who’s sole income comes from eBay and other auction-style
sites. There are businesses out there who do nothing but utilize local advertising
on places like Facebook to reach their target market.
Some go to the length of setting up a simple one page lead capture site to collect
information, give away free reports, get consumers to contact them, and test their
marketing efforts. All this will cost you roughly $10-15 bucks for a domain name
and less than $10 per month if you need webhosting.
Our one tip if you decide to go this route is to start with these networks and as
soon as you’re able to get your very own domain and site up and running.
You want to have control and the ability to use eBay and these other networks
as part of your strategy.
For instance, I help manage a stained glass site. They offer local classes
as well as sell tutorials, DVD’s, etc…
To gain exposure, test the market, and make sales, we use eBay to sell some
of these products.
We know that as we build our advertising and search engine optimization efforts,
using places where our target market go to search for things we’re selling helps
us expedite the process.
So, if you aren’t using eBay to sell your products and market your services through
information, or unloading some of your scrapped fixed assets, searching for assets
and tools for your company, then you may be missing out.
We have been utilizing and selling on eBay for a long time and had reached
the level of Powerseller at one point. There are new features added all the time that could help your business.
If you’d like help with setting this up, contact us immediately.
To your success,
Joe Collinsworth