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Author: Search Influence Alumni

Email Marketing for Small Business: 9 Things Not to Do
I am all about receiving e-mail marketing from eCommerce sites that I am interested in. Seriously – my personal e-mail inbox has 2,445 unread messages – I sign up for everything 🙂 With that said, you have to say something enticing for me to open your e-mail. And, for some reason, today I opened an e-mail from a local small business that seriously frustrated me. The guilty party will remain nameless.

In my current position at Search Influence, I do not work with email marketing on a daily basis. However, in my previous job, I did. I worked with both consumer emails and eNewsletters within organizations. My intention here is not to call-out the small business who sent this email – but, to hopefully allow other small businesses to learn from their mistakes with some very basic email marketing tips.
For starters, I will show you a screen shot of the email that I received. At first glance, how many things can you find wrong with it?

This is just to give you a visual. There are some things that you cannot tell just by looking at this screen shot.

At first glance, here are some things that I noticed that you should NOT do when sending an email to your customers:

1. The very first thing you might notice is that the entire email is written in ALL CAPS and has a million exclamation points!!!!!!!! This actually lessens the impact of your message and may appear that you are SHOUTING AT YOUR CUSTOMER!!! It can also land your email in your customer’s spam folder.

2. There are some obvious grammatical errors here. One in particular is the misspelling of what is supposed to read “your” in the last line. It is evident that whoever wrote and sent this email was in a rush and did not proofread their own work and also did not get someone else to proofread the work. (And, if they did, then….well…I will leave it at that 🙂 ) You should ALWAYS proofread your work, and even get someone else to give it a once-over before you hit the “send” button. In addition to proofreading, you should also send out test emails to yourself or fellow staffers, to make sure that it is functioning properly and that it looks just how you want it to look.

3. The subject line used in this email reads “get your spring glow NOW.” This is a weak subject line because it does not give a peek of what you can find inside the email; it pretty much IS all of what is inside this email. The actual content of this email itself is not much more than what is listed in the subject line. In the article “15 Email-Marketing Best Practices”, Mitchell Harper says “When your email arrives in your subscriber’s inbox, you generally have about half a second to catch their attention with the subject line of your email. After this, they will either delete your email or ignore it.” He later suggests, “In your subject line, try and specify a benefit that the subscriber can expect by reading your email.”

4. Here is something that you may not be able to see in the screen shot: All of the recipients of the email are visible. It is an email marketing best practice to not disclose the email addresses of the recipients of your email. It allows your customers privacy.

5. Second thing that you cannot tell just by viewing this screen shot: there is not a single link within this email! How is the consumer supposed to dive in deeper and get more information? This is a major rookie mistake. This particular business has a website. Why would you not want to drive more traffic to your site? This is a missed opportunity indeed.

6. There is no unsubscribe option given in this email. According to Wikipedia, “The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 16, 2003, establishes the United States’ first national standards for the sending of commercial e-mail and requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce its provisions.” Wikipedia later explains that under the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, “A visible and operable unsubscribe mechanism must be present in all emails.” This gives your customer the option of no longer receiving your business’ marketing emails. Furthermore, if your customer decides to unsubscribe from your emails, you have 10 days to honor their request.

7. They are not promoting or offering anything worth my time to take any action here: no percentage off, no BOGO (buy one get one), no sale information. You get the picture. What are they trying to get me to do here? And, an even better question: what are they willing to do to get me there? There was no planning involved in this email. Try to offer your readers something unique in each email that you send, whether it be a promotion or an important news story relevant to your business.

8. The are no images in the email to catch the reader’s attention. It is not a necessity to include imagery in your email content. However, it is a good idea. Pleasant and relevant imagery can catch the reader’s attention. Even something as simple as including your company’s logo can help to build your brand recognition.

9. Another not so obvious factor: this email was sent out on a Monday. According to the article by Mitchell Harper entitled “15 Email-Marketing Best Practices”: “Studies conducted by online research analysts have shown that the best days to perform a mail-out to your list are Tuesday and Wednesday, as this is when people are more receptive to communication. This means that they are more likely to read your content and click on links, meaning more sales. On Mondays, everyone is still recovering from a hectic weekend. On Thursday and Friday, people are already too busy looking forward to the weekend.”

Search Influence‘s in-house email marketing guru, Janna Vastola, adds that she believes “The best time to send is Tuesday between 9-10 am.”

These are only a few basic email marketing tips. Essentially, what you put in is what you will get out. First impressions are everything. If your customers open an email from your business, such as the one outlined in this blog, they may not open another one, if it makes its way into their inbox.

Take your time, plan and have a purpose for your email. No matter how many email addresses you have on your email marketing list, they are all valuable to your business. Your customers’ time is also valuable. Make it worth their time to open your email and actually get something out of it. Just because you operate a small business does not mean that you cannot create an email marketing campaign that rivals the biggest and best!

{ Prepare + Promote + Proofread + Professionalism = Positive Brand Image + Conversions + ROI (Return on Investment) }

Resources:
- 15 Email-Marketing Best Practices by Mitchell Harper via www.interspire.com
- Wikipedia
- Many thanks to fellow Search Influencer, Janna Vastola, for her comments.
Photo Credits:
- “Pug Shot” http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerry_reynolds/1449005045
- “Privacy, Please!” http://www.flickr.com/photos/nitot/3488350975
- “Unsubscribe” http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnhaydon/4349744825
- “Weakest Link” http://www.flickr.com/photos/96dpi/3371440496
March 17, 2010
Facebook Introduces Conversion Tracking for Advertisers

Data.

This is the most fundamental building block when trying to determine the success of a Pay-Per-Click campaign.

Data tells you if that “iffy” ad copy you wrote is actually paying off and it also tells you when something’s gone belly up and is stinking up your cost per lead. But despite being extremely useful, data is also extremely problematic especially when you are using third party report tool with unrelated PPC platform. The data gets well… unpleasant. This statement has been especially true for me using tools such as Analytics to track Facebook advertising performance.

Don’t misunderstand, I am a huge fan of Google Analytics because it is useful and free (two of my favorite software attributes). While Analytics has proven to be useful in determining the actual run-of-the-mill site metrics, figuring out specific Facebook ad details has been tedious. I mean we’ve all seen that highlighted message they displays when you start using expressions and Advanced Segments – “This report is based on sampled data. Learn more.”

Google Analytics Sample Data Warning.

I hate this message.

I especially it when I’m trying to figure out performance of a Facebook ad. I constantly ask myself, “Why is Analytics ignoring all the information built into the URL? Is this bounce rate even correct? Why doesn’t Facebook allow conversion tracking so I don’t have to deal with these messy urls?”

Whether it was other advertisers demanding more functionality or FB’s development team telepathically sensing my frustration, Facebook is now offering conversion tracking! Even though it is still in beta, Facebook conversion tracking is going to allow advertisers to see at a glance how well new images and adcopy is converting visitors. No more relying completely on Google Analytics and its jaundiced sampled data!

Facebook new "Tracking" tool.

Another benefit of Facebook conversion tracking, conversion data can be compared for accuracy. This is huge for me because having Facebook conversion data allows me to see how accurate the Analytics conversion data is. I trust Analytics but ultimately things do fall through the virtual cracks because of outages, page load errors, or malformed urls. Plus having multiple sources of data allows advertisers to determine the percent of data loss between platforms.

While I will never know why Facebook didn’t include conversion tracking initially, I am happy after months of tedious URL building and endless data confusion it’s being offered. With an increasing number of advertisers using Facebook, we should see more advanced conversion tracking options. Now if only they’d do something about the archaic reporting tool…

March 12, 2010
4th Annual SearchFest, March 9, 2010

Search Influence’s Will Scott will speak about Facebook for small business at SearchFest 2010. The 4th annual Searchfest is March 9th at the Governor Hotel in Portland, Oregon.

SearchFest is the largest search engine marketing conference in Portland. Dedicated to search marketing education from the industry experts and thought leaders, SearchFest’s mission is to educate businesses on the benefits of SEO and SEM.

March 8, 2010
Burying Negative Content – What to Do Versus What Not to Do

These days it is really easy to tarnish the online reputation of a company. Just one bad review or article posted on a high traffic web site is all it takes. In most instances it is impossible to have negative comments and stories removed.

The best way to fight negativity is through positivity. The simplest way to do this is to drown it out. Good news can chase bad news down the search engine ranks to the 2nd or 3rd page, where it is less likely to be found.

Here are some action steps:

1) Monitor activity- Find all of the sites where the bad news lives.

2) Stay calm- Be patient, it takes some time.

3) Post positive- Here are just a few ideas:

Create a social networking profile – Facebook
Create a business profile – Linked In
Start a blog – WordPress
Share photos- Flickr
Claim your identity- Naymz
Create a Wiki- Wetpaint

The number 1 thing NOT to do is search for yourself or search for the negative information. This is the fastest way to ensure it will NEVER go away.

It is hard work and extremely time consuming to bury bad press. I know it is tempting to look, but that one search can enable the bad news to resurface and erase all of the work that was already done, bringing you right back where you started.

Even if you do not have a reputation management issue at this time, please know if one does present itself, there are ways to fix it, as well as one major way to prevent it from disappearing!

Image Credits: Thanks to ladybeames and stevoarnold for the great imagery for this post.

March 2, 2010
Will Scott at SMX West March 2-4, 2010

Search Influence’s president, Will Scott, will be speaking at Search Marketing Expo (SMX) West on March 3, 2010.

The topic of discussion will be Facebook Ad Tactics For Search Marketers.

For the full agenda and exhibitor list, please visit Search Marketing Expo West.

March 1, 2010
Alleviating Stress in the Workplace

This blog post comes at an opportune time to write about stress in the workplace.

Some, who work in an office building or somewhere similar, may think that working from home makes work less stressful. I am here to tell you that is a myth and far from the truth. Just because some of us, at Search Influence, work from the comfort of our own homes, does not mean that stress does not catch up with us from time to time. I would like to discuss some stress relieving strategies, both that I do myself, and some that I have not yet tried.

– Change of venue: For some who work in an office, this may not be possible. For those of us who work from home, this could be a way to change the flow of your day. Sometimes it helps to have a change of scenery to get back on track. Move from your office or desk to the kitchen table, or even outside, if it is a pretty day and if you have wireless internet.

– Smoke: I am not a smoker, and I really don’t promote this. But, let’s be real- If you are a smoker, you probably turn to a puff or two to relieve some stress from work.

– Take a walk and get some fresh air.

– Enjoy a relaxing beverage: For some it may be coffee. For me, it is a nice glass of chai tea, green tea or even some regular coca cola.

– Have a snack: Since I am a mother of twin toddler girls, my snacks usually consist of goldfish crackers and some Dora the Explorer strawberry yogurt. Taking a quick break to enjoy some of your favorite snacks can help to relieve some stress.

– Listen to some soothing music: Whether you like classical, country, pop, or R&B, listening to some mellow music can calm your nerves. Heck – you can even relieve some more stress by singing along!

– Just breathe.

– Get some natural light: If it is a pretty day outside and I am not feeling so relaxed or I feel like I need some motivation, I like to open the window drapes or open the front door (leaving the screen door shut, of course.) It always seems to make me feel a little bit better and more motivated.

– Vent to a coworker: Your coworkers, at some point, have been extremely overwhelmed and stressed out also. Chat with someone you feel comfortable talking to and who you feel you can trust. They might be feeling the same way now or they might have at one point, so they can help to set you straight and maybe even give you some great advice.

– Make or clean-up your to-do list: I am a list-person. I make lists for everything! This can help to clarify exactly what needs to be done and in what order. If you slowly but surely start to knock things off your list, you will feel better about yourself, alleviating some stress.

I am curious to know if any of you (who work from home, or not) use any of these tactics to alleviate work stress. What do you do that is not mentioned here? Leave a comment and let me know!

Image credits:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/frield/95509221/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alancleaver/4331097922/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/soham_pablo/427916044/

February 25, 2010
Do plastic surgery before and after pictures help close the deal?
Occasionally, we have a new plastic surgery client who does not use before and after pictures on their website. Traditionally, plastic surgery internet marketing experts have held on to the belief that a before and after gallery is a must for driving traffic to the site and ultimately turning visitors into real patients.

Most surgeons use a gallery as patient education, and the more knowledge a patient has of a doctor, the more likely they are to schedule a consultation. For Newport Beach Plastic Surgery, Newport Beach rhinoplasty patients can see for themselves the artistic skill and experience of the surgeon. They can see the results and what they will get out of the surgery before they even talk to the doctor. This is a powerful tool.

Newport Beach Rhinoplasty

An additional bonus is patients come into the office with some understanding of the surgery and the results they should expect, and the consultation is much more interactive.

Plastic surgery internet marketers can always use the gallery as additional source material to promote online. Having a gallery doesn’t make our jobs a slam-dunk, but not having one does make our jobs more challenging to drive leads to consultations. More pages equal more opportunities to show up in the search engine results pages.

Galleries have become an important part of the pre-consultation education process. Often the gallery pages are the most visited pages on a plastic surgeon’s website by potential patients. Without before/afters, a visitor is less likely to stick around. So what to do if you’re a plastic surgeon without those images?

First, if a doctor is starting a new practice, he or she may not have a wealth of before and after pictures to use. The after pictures are best taken at stages after surgery, so a great picture of a patient may not be great until the patient is fully healed. That might not be for 6 months to a year. That mean it takes at least a year for a plastic surgeon to build a potentially decent gallery for the website.

Then there are some plastic surgeons who want to attempt to rank in the search engines without the before and after pictures. They prefer to share the before and after pictures within the confines of the office to hold a captive audience and to control the dissemination of those images. Many surgeons and patients oppose the use of pre and post-operative images given their potentially graphic content. From a search engine ranking perspective, if they can rank without those pages of images, then that’s what they may want to do.

We have a handful of plastic surgeons who do well without a gallery on their website. Even without the before and after images we are still able to cover the traditional SEO bases: content optimization, Google listings, link building, etc.

In fact, we have one outstanding example who is achieving stellar rankings in his market – Donaldson Plastic Surgery – plastic surgery, Columbus, OH 4661 Sawmill Road, Suite 100, Columbus, OH 43220.

This doctor is

(1) a recently trained plastic surgeon,
(2) building a young solo practice, and
(3) prioritizes patient privacy and discretion: he has NO before and
after images on his site.

How does he
- rank on page 1 of Google results for 49 valuable search terms, and
- triple his site visits in 1 year of SEO with Search Influence?
The answer is that he is a full participant in all of his integrated marketing efforts. He is fully engaged and works with us on a regular basis to build his presence online.

Collaboration is the key to truly maximizing a fully connected and integrated marketing effort.

It doesn’t sound like magic, but it is – it’s just talking.

And because Dr. Donaldson is the public face of the practice, and he talks to the patients, he is the front line of feedback. And that feedback is incredibly valuable information that we as search marketers would never be privy to without talking to the doctor on a regular basis.

Tummy Tuck Columbus, Ohio

One thing he has recently shared with us is that NOT having before and after pictures has helped his practice. He has seen patients in consultation who appreciate that he does not have a gallery on his website.

We can see clearly the usage and interest in before and after plastic surgery pictures on other sites and we wonder, would adding a gallery bring in more consults?

I don’t know, but right now, no-gallery is workin’ for him so the jury’s out.

What do you think? Would you make that first appointment without seeing some proof? OR are you one of those for whom it’s worth it not have your pictures out there?
February 23, 2010
Exploring the Successfulness of Facebook Advertising
Hi, my name is Anthony and I am a recovering search marketing luddite.

Facebook Yields High ROI on PPC Ads

For years there have been only three internet ad services I viewed successful: Google Adwords, Yahoo Sponsored Search, and MSN Adcenter. Don’t misunderstand; I was aware of other services. I am a social media packrat after all, but I never considered them realistic alternatives to the holy SEM trinity. They seemed like gimmicks. As PPC manager at Search Influence, I provide these services to our clients but I never realized how truly profitable social media advertising was until I started comparing the conversion rates. The numbers spoke loud and clear – Facebook (to my surprise) was generating a high return with a significantly lower cost because of demographic targeting and editorial-like advertisements.

Facebook ad that targets keyword's in an user profile

Demographic targeting has always been the corner of successful search marketing. Though Google Adwords has demographic targeting capabilities, it lacks Facebook’s knowledge of its users. Facebook allows internet marketers to directly advertise to their core audience based not only geo-location, age, and sex, but a plethora of user define information.

Facebook Demographic Targeting

Facebook Advertising allows you to target by:
Geo-location

Age

Sex

Education Level

Relationship Status

Sexual Orientation

Keywords

Instead of trying to convince a “researcher” to click through (as you compete with nine other ads and organic results), you can use demographic targeting to directly advertise to your potential client. Showing highly relevant ads to a smaller and more focused group of viewers leads to higher quality leads and lower cost per click (cpc).

While demographic targeting is key to finding your audience, the proper verbage is also needed. Unlike search engine advertising, these users are not looking for tax specialists or new-age spa retreats. This type of user is uploading pictures from their kid’s birthday and accepting event invites.

Example of Facebook Ad

So how do you engage these users?

Write magazine-like editorial ads for your targeted demographic.

The reason magazine and newspaper ads are so successful is they provide a great value proposition to a targeted user. Incorporating graphical elements gives Facebook ads a stark advantage over search engine advertising. This element not only allows user to visually convey the ad purpose, it is also a good way to generate a higher quality click-through rate (CTR). A relevant image will always be worth a thousand plus words.

In the end, while search engine paid advertising is beneficial in capturing high-level researchers, Facebook allows you direct access to a potential client. With a well-written advert, you can lead the horse to water instead of yelling at him to drink.
February 18, 2010
Learn from Local SEO Leaders at Local Search Summit

Local search experts share secrets, tips and tools to dominate local on March 23, 2010 at SES New York.

Local search marketing is a different animal than typical search engine optimization. (Is there such a thing as “typical search engine optimization”?) The semi-annual Local Search Summit will be held March 23, 2010 at the Hilton New York, and provides an opportunity to listen in as the top thought leaders in the industry discuss the most up-to-date local search techniques and tricks.

Super SEO secrets being shared …

Local search ranking factors can rock the search results.

Ideas on how to use Google’s algorithms to your advantage. Put these ideas to work for your clients’ websites to achieve better ranking in local search results.

Use it or lose it: leverage social media to expand your local market.

How does a business take full advantage of social media for new leads? Twitter, Facebook for business and more – listen in and learn how these social tools can be as in integral part of your marketing effort. Search Influence’s own Will Scott will be leading the panel as moderator, joined by some of the brightest minds in social media.

Get the straight scoop from the search engines themselves.

We will have discussion time with representatives from each of the top search engines. Get all of your local questions answered straight from the experts!

iPhones, Androids and other mobile devices.

With a small but growing percentage of visits to websites, mobile devices are getting the attention of marketers. What do marketers and small business owners need to start thinking about to maximize this opportunity?

February 12, 2010
What’s the (Google) Buzz?

As anyone with Gmail or their ear to ground has realized Google Buzz has been released.

I was both excited and hesitant to try it out. I was excited because Chrome in all its sleek simplicity has been my chosen browser for a few months, and Gmail and Google Talk have also been a daily mainstay for some time now. I was hesitant because Orkut never clicked with me and most importantly I really don’t want yet another social media hub.

The main features as noted in the Buzz launch video are:

1. Auto following

2. Rich, fast sharing experience

3. Public and private settings

4. Inbox integration

5. “Just the good stuff” – recommendations , 3 word status collapsed at the bottom

The auto follow feature I can give or take. I see a small value in this but to me it’s nothing to write home about. We were all able to kick start all our other social media sites with little trouble. The next two features: Rich, fast sharing experience and the public and private settings don’t’ seem much different from Facebook. There maybe be small differences but again nothing ground breaking.

Trying to see what the Buzz is about

Inbox integration is a little tricky to gage in value. It is interesting that you get interactive buzz message directly in your inbox. But Google Buzz is one button away from my inbox, it shows up and crowds my inbox just like any other alert but it does offer some ease of use.

Buzz includes “just the good stuff?” According to whom? I guess if I were going to let someone choose what I want to see and not want to see it would be Google. They seem to have done a decent job thus far. I primarily use their search engine. Did I just welcome Big Brother? Anyway, I am questionable about the way they achieve giving you “the good stuff.” If your friends buzz on something then it shows up for you even if you don’t follow the person who originally buzzed, I can deal with that but in one part of the release video they mentioned reducing noise in social media which makes this sound counter-intuitive. The other way they dictate “the good stuff” is by collapsing “boring” comments to the bottom.

Boring to me seems pretty vague. In the launch video he used a “3 word update” as an example. I don’t like this because I love cryptic 3 word updates. I really do. Cryptic song lyrics are more interesting to me typically than knowing that you just washed your dog and it looks adorable wrapped in a blanket. This feature leaves me on the fence.

My initial impression after playing a little was: a little Twitter and a little Facebook with a boring layout– but it’s accessible, since I already live in Gmail. I might try it for a while and see where it goes.

Short on style but might look good after it grows out.

Then… I saw the mobile version and the sky lit up with rainbows. Unicorns jumped from cloud to cloud and I saw Google Buzz in a whole new way. Well, almost… the mobile app for iPhone and Android does look really impressive. The integration of Buzz, Place Pages and Google Maps looks amazingly useful. So, next time I’m bored on a Saturday night I can check to see who’s buzzed nearby and might be talking up a happening spot within my vicinity. I can then check the Place Page to see a review on their location and what others have to say about it. If it suits my mood off to the party I’m going. Then I can even buzz where I’m going and see if any friends want to join me.

Yes, it does sound a bit Twitter-ish but with some added convenience. I haven’t tested this yet but at writing it’s Mardi Gras weekend. I plan on keeping an eye on the local buzzes and see what I can get myself into. If you’re in New Orleans this weekend buzz about it and lets see how this thing works!

The app on android even has voice recognition so you can speak your buzz and post. I wonder if you can hold it in the air and post cryptic lyrics straight from the stage? As I mentioned before, you can seek out user updates based on location, find businesses close by, and view their Place Page and see Buzz updates regarding that business on the Place Page.

We’ve all seen most of these things to some extent in a lot of other apps but after thinking about all the different apps that do various things you have to stop and account for the fact that this is one app that does all of it and its integrated with my already existing email.

The first Buzz I saw upon signing up was “Hi, I‘m Google. I’m ripping off twitter and spamming all gmail users about it with a splash screen in front of their inbox. Have a nice day.” Earl’s comment made me laugh. I think I might have been ready to react the same way but I’ve decided to check it out for a while.

One of the forward facing aspects of Google Buzz is their development of “a suite of open protocols to create a complete read/write developer API.” So, it looks to me like it will be up to the developers of the world to make it really take off but so far so good.

February 12, 2010