How to build a cheap iphone or ipad app without programming experience

As a recent iPad purchaser, though long time iphone user, I thought I should do a little more investigation into apps. Whilst there are over two hundred thousand around, there doesn't seem to be THAT much that is useful for a business user.

So I wondered....as an app is pretty much a little piece of software, how much would it cost? Is it out of the realm of zero budget marketing to build your own app without being a programmer, or having to pay a programmer?

Turns out the answer is....yes, you can build a DIY app on a very small budget.

There are actually quite a few online app builders, where you can make your own app, and pay a relatively small monthly subscription for the service. Around $40 seems the norm.

Now, the catch is, these aren't super cool apps that do super cool things. They're somewhat like a mini-mobile website. So unless you have some engaged customers or members already, it's unlikely anyone is going to download and use your painstakingly created app.

But, if you are in the content creation business already, a regularly blog, tweet, write, etc, these make your own apps could be worth it. And at a few hundred bucks a year, it could very well be worth the investment.

So, here's the ones I've come across - not tested by me as yet, merely so you can use it as a place to start your own research:

Swebbapps.com
appmakr.com (marketing guru Seth Godin built his app on this, which made me interested in it! It is the one pictured)
Biznessapps.com
myapbuilder.com

Poor tourism marketing - how NOT to market your small tourism business

On my recent honeymoon to the lovely state of Tasmania, I saw many examples in the tourism industry of how NOT to market your business. I was obviously in holiday mode but I still really wanted to bail up various proprietors and let them know how many zero budget marketing opportunities they were really missing!

Website essentials for tourism businesses (and most other businesses too!)

1. Put a LOT more information on your website people! A tonne. There's no cost-per-word to add more content. At the bare minimum, ensure everything about your own facilities and services are there. One new-ish and quite flash golf resort we visited neglected to have on their website that there was a day spa. Ah, do you think that's not something guests might like to know, especially golf widows such as this one?! Talk about an obvious missed opportunity. I only knew in advance because I called and asked in December when I booked - and by March they STILL hadn't updated their site.

On top of the sites that omit information, there's the sites that just give you the bare minimum information - when what they could be giving you is a whole bunch of enticing tourist information that makes their AREA/TOWN worth visiting. Don't just tell me about your B&B - tell me why I should stop in your town and not the next one. Where can I eat? Is there anything to see, like a walk or a great beach? It's your job to convince me of the value of your town, not just your accommodation.

2. Reviews. Tell me what OTHERS thought about your accommodation/tour/service/food. I want to know that you aren't the only one who thinks it's great. Otherwise, I (and others like me) will just head to a site like Trip Advisor, where you will have a whole lot less control over what is posted about your or your business. You could even include an "online guest book" (using a free form tool like Wufoo) to capture comments as visitors leave, then publish them every week or two to your own site.

3. Make sure the information is accurate. Mona, a FABULOUS new gallery out the outskirts of Hobart I can highly recommend, had apparently changed the ferry times to reach the site WEEKS before the date we visited...but had not changed it on their website! So we show up to catch a ferry that's going half an hour later and coming back half an hour earlier than we'd planned. This threw out our plans a bit and meant we had to drive so that we wouldn't miss it in the time we had available. If you've built a useful, functioning website, changing something like ferry times should take 15 minutes tops...and ensure there's every chance people will get to your attraction.

Other ideas:

• Most bookings are handled online - so automate an email (or do it manually) to THANK people for visiting. Tourism is a very worth of mouth business. Do something a little extra and watch the good word spread like wildfire.
• Work together with traders in your community to make something unique about your town. I loved that the tiny town of Sheffield was "the town on murals". Someone had to think of that, co-ordinate it - and now they have created a reason for people to stop in this teeny spot.
  

How to use time limits to generate sales

It's human nature NOT to want to miss out. I have a friend that uses a perfect phrase to sum this up: FOMO (fear of missing out).

You can tap into this "fear" when marketing, by creating scarcity. Whether it's a limited number of items, or a strictly limited time, you create a sense of urgency with those you're marketing too. It's perfect for marketing events (only 17 seats left!) but it can be used much more broadly also.

I subscribe to updates from a fashion site, Igigi. They've taken this to heart and they run semi-regular 6 hour sales. How do I know this works for them? Because they keep doing it! As a test case of 1, I would click to see what's on sale at least 50% of the time, despite the fact I've yet to ever buy from them.

Virgin Blue have a similar tool, although it's even shorter and more regular. They have "happy hour" bookings from 12-1pm on a weekday.

So the zero budget marketing tip for today is to consider - what can you create scarcity around to drive short term sales results?

ps. Just come across another great time limited promotion on a craft education blog, Blacksburg Belle. I had an email prompting it at 1.30am (as it's a US site) and when I clicked on to learn more at 7am, the "10 places only" offer was filled. So more evidence of time limited/space limited offers being effective.

So do sites like Groupon or Living Social work?

If you're a consumer business, how can you get a bunch of customers, really, really fast?

Whilst Groupon isn't operating in Australia, if you follow marketing news, you'll have got the gist of who they are - essentially a "deal a day" from all sorts of business. In Melbourne I subscribe to the Living Social offers - and whilst I've yet to buy, I have forwarded on items to others and they've bought. Now whilst the shopper in me loves a bargain, the marketer in the me wonders ... is it successful for businesses? And could it pay for itself, at least enough to pass my "zero budget marketing" litmus test (you need to make a lot more than you spend from any marketing!).

My gut feel would be that a great offer will get a great response. And a great offer to someone like me is a deep discount. There's nothing more irresistible than a serious bargain...

So even if they sale isn't "profitable", the value would likely be in the database building. That said, experience also shows that "vouchers" (coupons in American lingo) see people spending MORE than the value of the voucher.

So I was interested to see this post on Digital Buzz's blog, discussing some research on those who'd advertised in the US with Groupon. The upshot seems to be that it IS more profitable than unprofitable...and that around 50% of buyers spent more than the coupon value in the case of the profitable ones. The post highlights a specific example for American Apparel, where a $25 coupon worth $50 generated an average spend on $70.

Now, the missing piece of the puzzle is what it COSTS to get your offer onto a service like Groupon or Living Social. If anyone knows, do share!

It costs a mint to make a tv ad - doesn't it?

The internet really is the zero budget marketing tool that keeps on giving. I envisage a not too distant future where TV ads will no longer be TV ads. They'll be little pieces of content people voluntarily pass on to each other - and then sit there and watch - online. Oh wait...that's already happening!

But how does this relate to those of us with tight marketing budgets, you ask?

A week ago an (obviously PR savvy) junior ad-guy Ben McCambridge uploaded to YouTube a Sony Playstation 3 advert he'd made for $6k "on spec". Yes, he's done it to try and get hired/sell the concept to Sony, but the lessons to be learned from his story are:

- He made a VERY cool looking & engaging ad for very little $$ & a few favours

- Over 120,000 people have watched this ad in a week!

Now we're not all blessed with a killer brand name or something as popular as video gaming to market BUT the potential here is obvious. Getting creative and capturing imagination is not about the size of your wallet. A killer idea has real potential to get real traction...you just need to come up with that killer idea.

Facebook Brand Pages For Dummies + why social media isn't something you do occassionally

So we keep getting told that social media is the "new, new thing" that must be engaged in.

But if you've ever tried to set up a Facebook page for a business, you can quickly find yourself wondering what on earth to put on there. I found this presentation from Soap had some great tips. Whilst they agency that put it together obviously has some BIG brands to work with (Coke, Magnum), I still got some ideas for a couple of my clients. Love a bit of zero budget marketing inspiration!

Facebook Brand Pages For Dummies

View more presentations from Soap Creative.

Quick lead generation tip - how to find the right contact to call

A key element of marketing for many businesses will be sales and business development. How do you find the right person to contact? Often people buy or rent lists. The problem with this for the zero budget marketer is that lists (a) cost a lot of money and (b) have large minimums, which leave you with hundreds of names when you just wanted 15-20 to start with.

One tip: Sniff out the "right" person to contact using searches on social networking sites like LinkedIn. You can search by a job title and you will usually find a few people pop up! Then you can contact the company and at least know the right person to ask to speak to.

Other ideas (that I've tested and used) include:
Asking your friends if they know anyone in a particular space.
Asking others you know at a company who the right person is.
Or call the reception of the organisation you're targeting and ask "who's in charge of XXX?" and more than half of the time, they'll tell you! Then call back a day or two later and ask for the person by name.

Of course, this is just the start. You'll often end up on voice-mail but, if you have a relevant offering, and leave regular, friendly messages, you'll often find you'll eventually get a call back. If nothing else, if you're pleasant about it, people start to feel guilty around the 4th or 5th message (I'm speaking from experience - both from the selling and the "pitched to" side of the equation). Persistence pays off if you're contacting the right person.

A call back is not a sale - but it's closer than you were before.

The key point here, too, is that you have to call. Sales training expert Sue Barrett speaks of "call reluctance" being the biggest factor if people not getting a sale. Not that a prospect isn't interested. Not that you have a bad product or service. People don't get the sale because they don't want to pick up the phone in the first place. A sobering thought & a call to action, all at the same time!