Shout out to Seth - my marketing guru

Seth Godin is THE MAN.

There is something DAILY in his blog that has me nodding so vigorously in agreement that I'm in danger of neck strain. I keep telling people to read it. He's very smart. He's insightful in just a few words. I'm glad some people do - I just had an email from a friends thanking me for putting her onto him, he's inspiring her daily.

From today's:
"Want a bigger brand? Make bigger promises. And keep them."

The day before:
"Unfair or not, one Catch-22 truism remains: popular is often a prerequisite for being popular."

The day before that"
"Copy edit less, invent more
Give more speeches
Ignore unsolicited advice"

Thanks Seth for your daily dose of inspiration.

What you should understand before building a website

I had one of those frustrating conversations last night, that reminded me that people still don't understand this web truism:

WHAT A WEBSITE LOOKS LIKE IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS HOW IT WORKS.

Now by "how it works" I mean both critical aspects:

The build - the mechanics that drive it and affect how easy (or impossible) it is to update, how well it can be indexed by Google, etc.

The sales - does it get your prospects / customers / members to do what you want them to do. Do they buy, or comment, or sign up.

If your site won't - or can't - deliver you a result, who CARES how pretty it is.

This is not to say there's no role for design. But if the world's most successful ecommerce sites are Amazon and eBay, you should have got the hint that looks aren't worth much!

I've been in online marketing since 2000. 12 years. I've worked with ALL sorts of sites, in all sorts of business. What I've seen is that websites built on CUSTOM systems are never a good idea in the long run, unless you're prepared to spend a lot of money.

By custom systems, I mean that every web company (and their dog) have built a CMS (content management system) over time. Or they've had a graphic designer "design" a pretty site and then coded it to suit.

If you are on a limited budget do NOT go this route (and even if you have a good budget, you may find that using a back end system almost no-one else uses will limit you within 2-3 years).

What should you do?

Use a cloud based computing solution like Wordpress or an open source system like Joomla or Drupal. If you want an ecommerce store, use MagentoGo or Shopify or Big Commerce.

Don't start from scratch unless you've got millions of dollars (or hours) to waste OR your website actually DOES something unique that needs unique systems and programing. Most don't. Most are online brochures or online stores.

It is not cutting corners to use these systems.

It's SMART. It's a good use of your funds. It's still a "proper" website. You wont be locked into one developer. Millions of people are using these, so you're not paying for the upgrades. It's not a short cut. It's not doing it poorly. Build your success on the learning of millions of businesses before you. That's what a smart zero budget marketer does when they can.

The art of letter writing in business and fundraising

Copywriting is growing in importance daily, thanks to the proliferation of "online". One area that's been relying on copywriting for much longer than the age of the Internet is fundraising. A good appeal letter can make or break a charity fundraising drive. So there's lots to learn from the space.

I just received one of the best THANK YOU letters (well, an email) I've ever received for a donation. Online made it simple to send, thanks to automation, but the content is what's great.

The first line is brilliant. It subtly recognises that much of "giving" is really about making the GIVER feel good.

It then goes to to give you a little bit of knowledge, followed by a big deal of inspiration.

So it made me smile. And feel like I'm a good person. And that's I'm part of something.

When was the last time you got all that for $20?

Great letter.

Dear Kimberly,

You are amazing, thank you so much for donating to the Wikimedia Foundation!

This is how we pay our bills -- it's people like you, giving five dollars, twenty dollars, a hundred dollars. My favourite donation last year was five pounds from a little girl in England, who had persuaded her parents to let her donate her allowance. It's people like you, joining with that girl, who make it possible for Wikipedia to continue providing free, easy access to unbiased information, for everyone around the world. For everyone who helps pay for it, and for those who can't afford to help. Thank you so much.

I know it's easy to ignore our appeals, and I'm glad that you didn't. From me, and from the tens of thousands of volunteers who write Wikipedia: thank you for helping us make the world a better place. We will use your money carefully, and I thank you for your trust in us.

Thanks,

Sue Gardner
Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director

Handy free tool to get you started with a marketing plan

Cruising the web sometimes uncovers some handy tools. I've just come across The Small Business Mentoring Service's Marketing Plan guide. It isn't just a "fill the blanks" but gives you some guidance as to what should be included in a marketing plan.

Whilst preparing a full marketing plan isn't everyone's cup of tea, it can be a worthwhile exercise for anyone with a great idea, but little idea of how to move forward with it. If you come from a marketing background you may not need the help, but if you don't, you've probably identified marketing as a critical success area - since it's the area that will ensure you get some $$ coming in the door.

Preparing a marketing plan could even be more important than a business plan, which tend to be written without enough practical detail.

Download the Marketing Plan guide here>

How could certain charities have profited from Steve Job's death?

I was one of millions who was saddened when I learned of Steve Job's. Not only do I dearly love my Macbook & ipad & iphone; but as an entrepreneur I LOVE that he was kicked out of the company he started, only to come back and save it years later: taking it to SERIOUS success and a case of 'told you so'. Love it.

In the coverage of his demise, commentators did say that they expected awareness of pancreatic cancer to rise. In fact, the day of his death, Triple J featured an interview with a cancer researcher in their coverage of Steve's death.

So I was fascinated to read this post from Hitwise about search traffic on pancreatic cancer - and what they identified as a failed marketing effort from cancer charities.

"Cancer Information received 77% of its traffic from paid links in the week preceding Steve Jobs death, whereas in the week ending 8 October 55% of clicks came from a paid link. This might well be as a result of the increased natural traffic coming through because of the rise in overall searches, but if search volumes were increasing, Macmillan could have increased its PPC spend proportionally in order to maintain its market share of visits. However, the drop in market share indicates that this was a missed opportunity for the cancer charities, who could have increased their PPC spend on key pancreatic cancer search terms to ensure they were grabbing searchers at this peak time of interest."

Whilst rather macabre, their point is valid. Essentially is that in a "connected" online world, it's time to colour outside the lines, hell, we are all living totally outside the lines.

There are real opportunities in being in touch with what your market / community is discussing and capitalising on this in your online marketing. Any big event, anything people are talking about, is a momentary chance to capture their attention.

So the zero budget marketing tip for today is to think creatively about HOW you can use big events to generate traffic and sales for your business's website.

For example:

Massive storms predicted in the new - opportunity for roofers & plumbers (prepare or repair), video rental (stay safe inside), insurance (are you covered), etc.

PS. It could be that there's opportunities in "small events" too. This post from lujure talks about a "weird trick" to generate traffic and sales from what people are talking about on Facebook. The author uses the example of dropping a phone into water being a good search term for a phone sales company. Follow the steps, it does actually work!

Do you have a call to action ON EVERY WEB PAGE?

What do you want a website visitor to do at the end of each page they read?

You will want them to read another page, sign up to an email newsletter, contact you, like you on facebook or even buy from you!

But do you ask them to DO this?

If your website isn't brand new, you probably haven't looked at it critically in a long time. Not only will there be out of date information, there will likely be a better way to say much of what you've written and you'll find a call to action is probably missing from most pages.

You might argue that you've got buttons or links people can use to "buy now". But why make it hard for your visitors? Why not take them on a journey; tell them where to go next from each page and what they should do. You might keep them engaged just that little bit longer, which gives you just enough time to 'convert' them.

You need a call to action in ALL of your marketing communications (just like the fabulous zero budget marketing sign in the picture) and your website is no different. Each and every page of your website is a piece of marketing communication. Make sure you ASK people to do something on all pages, not just the promotional articles.

So put your marketing web audit in your diary now. Not exciting, not glamorous - but it will be effective.

Lessons & insight from copywriting legends

I came across a treasure recently at a fave spot - the Avenue Bookstore in Albert Park. It's called "The Copy Book. How some of the best advertising writers in the world write their advertising."

Whilst there's little room for "traditional" advertising in a blog about zero budget marketing the insights of good copy writing translate to other mediums.

Around 50 legends share some of their insight on writing, and some of their best ads. (Even if you're not interested in the craft of copywriting, it's a great book.) I thought I'd share some of the gems from these admen, who've all had 30+ years in the game. These are edited extracts, their actual inclusions are much longer.

Oh, and if you only take away one thing, David Abbott's point 5 is the one to adhere to.

David Abbott

I've never been much of a theoriser about copywriting, but here are five things that I think are more of less true:

1. Put yourself in your work. Use your life to animate your copy. If something moves you, chances are, it will touch someone else, too.

2. Think visually. Ask someone to describe a spiral staircase and they'll use their hands as well as words. Sometimes the best copy is no copy.

3. If you believe that facts persuade (as I do), you'd better learn how to write a list so that it doesn't read like a list.

4. Confession is good for the soul and for copy, too. Bill Bernbach used to say "a small admission gains a large acceptance". I still think he was right.

5. Don't be boring.

Tony Brignull

My own copy improved when it occurred to me that we relate to a company as we do a person. Unless we're investors, we don't ask how many employees a company has, what its financial fearing is, where it exports. We as; is it honest, reliable, modest, amusing, trustworthuy. If ti is, that company may eventually become our friend. I have come to think that helping companies turn into friends is the greatest thing we advertising people can do for our clients.

Sean Doyle

- Don't think, just do, and thoughts will definitely happen along the way.
- Always be collecting
- Wake up early
- Beware of the committee
- Less isn't always more
- Pick a side
- Avoid brainstorms (if you want to)

Paul Fishlock
- We are not in the entertainment business, we're in the influence business
- Copywriting is more science than you may think
- Creative prizes are false God
- We influence some of the least important decisions in people's lives
- Beware (becoming) management

Steve Harrison
It was probably my grounding in direct mail that taught me my obligations to the reader, I was usually entering their homes uninvited and because of that I always felt that my first responsibility was to them - and not the client. I wasn't there to foist a product or service on the prospect. I twas my job to show how the think I was writing about could solve the reader's problems.