Archive | November, 2018

Your logo represents your business and serves as a signpost to the world. It’s not just a luxury – it’s a necessity and a business asset. In fact, if you don’t yet have a logo then you’ve got to ask: ‘Are you serious about your business or not?’

Here are 10 reasons to consider getting your own logo as soon as possible:

1. To promote your business. Logos project your business image to visitors, customers and future customers. A well designed logo says you’re serious about what you do.

2. To give you credibility and professionalism. When prospects see your logo on your websites and social media, they associate that logo to your business and even begin to look for it.

3. To make you more memorable. A business name only goes so far in triggering memory. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. And a catchy business logo makes you and your business far more memorable. After all, what’s the use of being seen if you’re not remembered? Of two similar businesses competing for the same customers, the one the customers remember is far more likely to get the business.

4. To clarify what your business does. Business names can sometimes be unintentionally deceptive, vague or simply unclear when it comes to the types of products or services your business offers. For example, Blue Rabbit Racetrack could be a place where blue rabbits race, or perhaps cars, horses, dogs or even people. By adding a Greyhound to the logo, it instantly becomes clear that Blue Rabbit Racetrack is for racing dogs.

5. To look bigger and more established. Like it or not, people tend to think a logo means you’ve been around the block and you’re a “real” business.

6. To attract new business. Because you look and ‘feel’ more professional with a logo, prospects tend to trust you more.

7. To brand yourself. In the eyes of prospects, John Smith without a logo is just John Smith. But John Smith with a logo is a company – and thus appears more stable and trustworthy.

8. To increase your business’s value. If you decide to sell your business one day, having a well-rounded package that includes marketing materials, graphics and a professional logo increases your business’ perceived value.

9. To attract venture capital. See #8 above.

10. To endear your company name to your clients. The right logo can make your business seem downright fun and friendly. For example, Da Foodie’s logo has me smiling and feeling good before I even know exactly what they’re offering: dafoodie.com/

How do you get a logo designed? You can Google logo creation and get hundreds of companies vying for your business. Most charge in the $100 to $300 range, while others charge far more. I remember reading years ago that the U.S. Postal service paid a million dollars for their (then) new logo.

You, on the other hand, do not need to spend $100 or a million dollars. There are many reputable free and low cost logo creators online that can get you up and running with all of the benefits we’ve talked about above, and they are just a quick Google search away!

While there are many ways to make money online, the vast majority involve selling a product – be it yours or someone else’s.

But have you ever considered offering great content or software for free, and then allowing your visitors and fans to reward your good work through giving you donations? It’s simple – you provide your visitors with the opportunity to say “thank you” through either monetary donations or buying you things that you want.

This might not be the method to use if you’re looking to make huge money, but it can be a lucrative source of extra income. And perhaps best of all, you don’t need to feel you’re pushing anything on your customers or asking them to buy more stuff they don’t need or want. Visitors reward you when they choose to, and because they don’t feel pressured, they can sometimes be even more generous than if you were trying to sell them the latest greatest product.

Here are 8 tips on how to make the donation business model work for your website…

1. Offer quality content that truly helps your readers. This is true on any website, but especially important if you’re going to ask for donations. The more your content helps your readers, the more likely they are to want to send you a monetary ‘thank you.’

2. If your content doesn’t provide helpful information, then it should entertain. Perhaps you’re especially funny, or you’re up on the latest news in your niche. You’ve got to offer your visitors some type of real value to get donations.

3. Don’t be afraid to ask. “Did you find this information helpful? Then please help us to continue providing this great info in the future by supporting us. Any amount is helpful and greatly appreciated.”

4. Make a wish list on Amazon and post a link to your wish list on your website. “Have I helped you? If you would like to express your appreciation, please feel free to buy me a book.”

5. Don’t be afraid to place expensive items on your wish list. Optimally you want to choose items from a couple of dollars all the way to a hundred dollars or more, because you never know who will be buying you a ‘thank you.’ It could be a rich person whom you’ve just given a stellar idea that will make him/her thousands of dollars, and they might be the one to buy you that expensive $599.00 espresso machine you’re been thirsting for.

6. You don’t have to confine yourself to Amazon: More and more online companies are offering wish lists. For example, thinkgeek.com, barnesandnoble.com, dickblick.com and containerstore.com all offer wish lists, as do hundreds of other retail websites.

7. Instead of wish lists, let them send you money. For example, “Buy me a cup of coffee” is a popular way of asking for donations. You then give them Paypal options of buying you anything from a single cup of coffee ($3-$5) to a case of beer, or dinner for two. You choose the options offered and the donation for each. And you can also create an option where they choose the amount to send to you. “Was this post helpful to you? Then please buy me a cup of coffee.”

8. Don’t get pushy. You’re providing them the chance to be nice and return some of the benefits you’ve offered to them on your website. You’re not trying to “sell” them on sending you money or gifts.

Selling products online is certainly the most direct path to earning profits, but there are a growing number of high profile websites, and everyday bloggers who are making a pretty penny through donations. If you are creating quality content, give your visitors the option to reward you in this way, and you may be surprised at how much money you were leaving on the table before trying this out.

Little mistakes can radically reduce positive results in Facebook marketing. According to Facebook, there are specific things marketers can do to be more successful – and others that will hurt your marketing campaigns.

Facebook Mistakes to Avoid:

1. Using a cover photo that doesn’t abide by Facebook’s guidelines. You cannot place price or purchase information, coupons or discounts within your cover photo. Nor can you ask people to do something such as “like” “comment” or “share” your page within your photo. Lastly, you’re also not allowed to place contact information within your cover photo.

So what can you do? Use a photo that highlights something about your product. For example, if your product is pickles, show a mouthwatering pickle photo. If your product is information, show someone enjoying the benefits of having that information. And you can place your name or your business name within the photo.

2. Posting too much. One post every hour or two is simply too much and will cause your people to disengage. Instead of several mediocre posts each day, simply do one spectacular one. This will actually increase the chance of your people “liking” it and also help to keep your reader’s attention.

3. Not tagging people you’re responding to. When you tag someone you are replying to, you get people coming back to your page to further engage with you and your brand.

4. Yammering instead of engaging. If all you’re doing is blah-blah-blah about you and your business, people will quickly lose interest. Instead, find ways to engage. For example, posting a silly photo and asking for captions is a great way to boost engagement.

5. Posting at the wrong times. Yes, there are good and bad times to post, and there are downright terrible and terrific times as well. For example, did you know that Facebook engagement is highest on Thursdays and Fridays? It’s true for some industries, and absolutely false for others.

6. Going on and on and on and… Sure, you’ve got a lot to say and you want your fans to learn all about it. But making a long post is just shooting yourself in the foot. Facebook research says that posts between 100 and 250 characters (that’s one or two lines of text) get 60% more Likes, Comments and Shares.

7. Confusing people. Your brand is all about SEO, yet you’re posting about the bake sale at your kid’s school. Don’t be surprised if the reaction from your readers is “What the heck??” Make it a rule to post only relevant content.

8. Being boring. Really, is there any greater sin in social media than blending in and getting lost in the crowd? Find your own unique voice and use it.

Are you using online video in your email campaigns yet? If not, you might want to consider it. Because video engages more of the senses than the written word, and it can result in higher conversions.

Here are 7 tips for getting the most out of video…

1. Don’t embed videos into your emails. If you’ve ever tried it, you know that embedding video into email is challenging both from a technical and a deliverability stand point. Instead, embed a thumbnail image that links to your video. The recipient clicks the play button and the video automatically opens on a video landing page and begins to play.

2. Keep your videos short and to the point. Remember, anyone can close your video at anytime, so your video should only be as long as you can hold their attention. Don’t offer long winded introductions explaining why you’re making the video – just get straight to the point.

3, Tell them what’s in it for them. A continuation of Point 2 – people are super busy so respect their time by immediately telling them the benefits they’ll receive from watching the video.

4. Don’t use YouTube. There is a time and place for YouTube, but your landing page isn’t one of them. Instead, use your own branded video landing page with your own video player. Include contact information, calls to action, an email sign-up, etc. When you control the landing page, you control what happens next.

5. Don’t forget your mobile users. Make sure your video platform allows playback on smart devices and supports both HTML5 and Flash formats.

6. Consider adding written text to your videos. Some people like to watch video, others prefer to read. By adding a transcript below the video, you’re appealing to a broader range of customers.

7. Track your results. Just like any other form of marketing, you need to know what’s working and what’s not. Always track open rates, play rates, whether the emails are being forwarded, etc.

Publishing YouTube videos can be a great way to build your brand and bring more interested visitors to your website and offers. Follow these tips to get the most bang for your video buck!

1. Create tutorial videos. These kinds of videos are good because they’re easy to make and they provide information that people need. For example, if you’re promoting a course on how to drive traffic, then talk about traffic driving methods. Impart real info, not a sales pitch. And at the end of the video, remind the viewer to click the link below for more information.

2. Don’t narrow your target market too much. For example, if you’re teaching people how to drive traffic, don’t make it, “How to drive traffic to an origami website.” Yes, you’ll get views from people with origami sites, but no one else.

3. Don’t sweat the subscribers too much. It’s great to have some loyal subscribers because every time you post a video some of them will almost immediately watch and comment on the video. This gets you boosted higher in the rankings and thus more easy to find by new people who have never heard of you. They’ll leave comments, pushing you still higher in the rankings and making it even easier for people to find you. It’s your subscribers that start the ball rolling, but it’s commenters (subscribers and non-subscribers alike) who push you higher and higher in the rankings and thus get you more viewers. So while you eventually want tons of subscribers, know that even a few at the beginning will get the ball rolling.

4. Use your best keyword(s) in your video’s title. Think about what a person would search for if they needed the information found in the product you’re promoting. For example, back to our traffic product, they would probably type in something like, “How to get more traffic to my website.” Do some research on this and find the best keyword phrase(s) to use so that you can get found.

5. Place all of your best keywords in your tag section. Your very best keyword(s) go in your title, but you don’t want to over load it. Instead, place all of your other good and great keywords (including the ones in your title) into the tags section. How do you find your best keywords? One way is to find the most viewed videos in your specific niche and then use the keywords that repeatedly show up in these top videos.

6. Collaborate. When you make a video with someone, you get your viewers and THEIR viewers watching the video. Collaborate with 10 different people on 10 different videos, and now you’ve got 10 new audiences viewing your videos and possibly buying your product. This works especially well if you are promoting your own product, since you can then give a commission to the person you’re collaborating with and build your list of buyers. Plus this is a great way to build relationships with other marketers who might refer people to your videos in the future even when you’re not collaborating with them.

7. Start discussions. Ask questions in your video that gets people commenting. For example, asking for advice on a problem or something that stirs a bit of controversy can go a long way to getting comments, and of course the more comments you get, the higher you can rank on the most discussed list.

8. Encourage video responses. A video response is like a comment on steroids – it’s a video someone makes in direct response to your video. Their subscribers then watch your video to understand what the video response is all about This gives you an entirely new audience watching your video and perhaps clicking your link or viewing more of your videos or even subscribing.

9. BE a video response. After you make your YouTube video, search for other videos that are somehow similar. In other words, what would you search for to find your video? And when you make that search, what other videos come up? Now go to the first video, and if it’s appropriate in content and has a lot of viewer activity, submit your video as a video response to that video.

10. .Don’t hate on the haters. You’re going to get hate comments because, well, you just will. There are folks out there who are looking for things to hate, and sooner or later it will be you. Three things you should know: First, a hate comment is actually a compliment. Something you said or did had an impact on them, or they would have simply clicked away with no comment at all. So take it as a good thing. Second, do not respond. At all. Simply ignore the hate comments and go on with making your videos. If you get bogged down by the haters and the trolls, then you won’t be in the right frame of mind to continue making great videos. Third, once you put anything online, it’s in cyberspace forever. Your negative responses to negative comments can come back to bite you time and time again, so just don’t do it.

11. Post consistently. Why do television shows work? Because people get hooked into watching week after week. YouTube is no different. If you’re posting at least once a week, people become accustomed to watching you. If you only post every few weeks or months, people forget who you are and why they might even be interested in what you have to say. That said, don’t go overboard in the other direction. For example, don’t post several videos a day – that’s tantamount to spam, even if you do have great information to impart.

12. Be addictive. Again, it’s the television series thing. People continue to watch a series because they’re addicted. Maybe they love the characters, or enjoy the suspense, or are bowled over by the crazy plot lines. Find a hook that grabs your viewers and makes them continue to come back for more.

13. Leave them hanging. Television shows often end their season with a cliffhanger to get viewers back at the start of the new season. And some television shows even place a cliffhanger at the end of every episode to ensure viewers are back the next week. You can do the same thing. For example, try doing a series of videos on a topic, and at the end of each video leave them with a cliffhanger. You might ask a provocative question but not give them the answer until the next video. Or give them a teaser of what they will discover next time (think bullet points.) whatever you need to do to ensure they come back for more will increase your viewer loyalty.

14. Comment. Find videos in your niche and comment. Always be positive and diplomatic, and when appropriate mention that you’ve also covered “____” in a video recently. That’s it. If people are interested, they will click on your name and find your video. Don’t be blatant about it or you’re spamming. Sure you’re walking a fine line, just be sure you’re always on the right side of that line. And don’t view comments as just a way to promote your stuff – you’re also looking to engage people and build relationships.

15. Respond. When someone posts a positive comment or a question on your video, by all means respond if you want to. Again, you’re building relationships, this time with your viewers.

16. Use visuals. Got a goofy hat? A crazy poster on your wall? An over the top t-shirt? Wear something interesting, put something else interesting in the background, and here’s what will happen – you’ll get comments just about these things. Sure, it has nothing to do with your topic, but comments help boost you in the rankings. Plus it gives viewers something else to engage them and focus their attention.

17. Post when your prime viewers are watching. Are most of your viewers in the U.S.? Then you might want to post around 6 pm EST, not 2 am. Do most of your views come on weeknights? Week ends? 9 am on workdays? Then post accordingly.

18. Have fun and be fearless. The more fun you have making your videos, the more enjoyable your videos will be to watch. And whatever you do, don’t fear what people think or say. If you’re busy worrying that you’re too dorky, not pretty enough, not smart enough, etc. then you won’t be having fun and you probably won’t have the courage to post your work. Instead, just forget about it and do your own thing. People respond to genuine people who aren’t putting on airs or trying to come across as something they’re not.

19. Don’t stop posting videos. Sure, your first videos might not be exactly what you want. Maybe you stammered, or maybe the lighting wasn’t perfect, or maybe some jerk posted a hateful comment. So what? Be determined to keep on posting and you’ll find that you get better and better, and the haters matter less and less.

20. Promote. Put your video link on Facebook, Twitter and any other social networks you’re on. Place it in your emails and on your website. If you’re active on forums in your niche, let people know you’ve got a new video. If you’re not active on forums in your niche, GET ACTIVE. Sure this is basic, yet people forget to do it. And don’t POST your video elsewhere – you want everyone to actually come to YouTube to see your video so that it shows up in the number of views you receive.