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Month: February 2015

Click and Mortar Marketing – 5th Anniversary Post by Clickandmortarblog

Hard to believe it’s been five years since we started this click and mortar marketing site called clickandmortarblog.com. What’s even crazier is that the amount of content pertaining to click and mortar marketing and small business that’s come through here is so much more than I originally anticipated.

As of this day we have written all but several posts in house and this was due to myself being unsure about how I was going to write, edit and do it all.

Click and Mortar Marketing by Clickandmortarblog.com
Since 2010 – Click and Mortar Blog has been delivering marketing tips, tactics and information for the small business owner and marketer looking to expand on the web…

When we first started in February of 2010 I had Jeff Stuhlmiller contribute a few articles. He was kind enough to lend a hand but since then all the rest of the original posts for clickandmortarblog.com have come directly from the publisher.

Why do I share this on the eve of our 5th Anniversary? Because in this day and age of copycats and laziness, many an online marketer may take the easy road to stealing other people’s content.

Especially if he or she is working in click and mortar marketing and doesn’t understand how to create totally original content.

There are some really good to great content creators out there on the market today who work their “you know whats off” each and every day to provide businesses and organizations like yours, original videos, audios, articles, photos and graphics for clients around the world. They put their hearts into creating content that means something and is valuable to them and their clients.

Then some lazy, unethical person comes along and decides the he or she is going to scrape their website for new content that can be used for their own website or video. And do they ask for permission? Not! They copy, paste and go along their merry way. 🙁

When it comes to click and mortar marketing I know from years of experience that this happens all the time. Retail business owner A hires Writer A to write 5 blog posts for her website and social media channels.

Writer A then takes her time and the business owners money doing this, and scans the web, copying and pasting content into a word doc. Then she spends a little time rearranging the content so it looks like it’s original when it’s really not!

This is only one scenario of many that can play out for the small business owner who wants to create good to great quality original content online, but just doesn’t know. 

Click and Mortar Marketing for the Small Business Owner 

For a retail or service based business owner who is looking to really kick it up a notch with click and mortar marketing – always find credible/reliable sources for creating online content. That includes your photography, graphics, videos, audios and especially the words that support these. 

Interview more than three people and pick the ones that understand your business and will deliver the goods on time and on budget. If you need some help with this – connect with SBM.

Your click and mortar marketing is pulling two worlds together where your buyers coexist, and thus the content needs to work together to achieve the results that you are after. You get there by using quality original content, which is the best way to go when it comes to connecting with your small business’ target market.

And if your business is utilizing click and mortar marketing you must be testing every step of the way to see what is working and what is not. That way you maximize your ROI.

Next time I’ll dig into the content strategy, so stay tuned.

Dave Krygier
Publisher
ClickandMortarblog.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Permission Based Marketing – Are You In or Out?

Permission based marketing is more than just asking someone permission to send them stuff or call them whenever you feel like it. Permission based marketing, or what some refer to as opt-in marketing, is the way that we get through all the clutter and noise to our target market. It’s the simple process of asking, communicating and then delivering on what we promised. And if you really want to make an impact you need to over deliver and add value whenever and wherever you possibly can.

Permission Based Marketing by Clickandmortarblog.com
Did you get permission or did you add your latest prospect to your email list and then hit SEND?

During a connection/outreach campaign for a client I had one of the most interesting things happen to me. I was sending a regular personalized email message to a very small group of people who made up the advisory board for my client.

What happened next was quite the shocker as I received a promotional email from one of the receipients of my message. This was kind of odd considering the fact that the individual didn’t even subscribe to my client’s advisory board list, but instead subscribed me to their email auto-responder!

This is just not right and needless to say got my attention. Not only does this tarnish their reputation, but this is a no no and goes against email best practices. It not only got me a little upset but it cost the credibility and future of working with this other company.

You know it’s one thing if you receive a message from someone and don’t want to opt-in to their list or the recommended list, but to take that person’s email and put it into another email auto-responder by hand is asking for trouble. Further more, if you are still manually entering your prospects email, it’s probably time you made a simple change and have them OPT-IN!

Like I mentioned earlier, Permission Based Marketing is more than just asking someone if you can send and/or contact them whenever you feel like it. No matter if you are utilizing email, direct mail or direct sales methods, it’s like this…

Think as the consumer. Consumers don’t want more junk mail and email. They want what interests them, not what interests you.

Here’s an example:

If you and your family really enjoy water sports and boating then you probably enjoy reading and researching topics and areas of interest pertaining to this sport. So you are more than open to receive and review information as long as it is relevant to your interests.

As soon as this information hits the fringe or goes beyond your water sports and boating, then you start to put up barriers and will stop being open to receiving and reviewing information.

It’s kind of like when you receive a boating magazine that is totally dialed into what your interest is. But then some other publisher rents the list and starts sending you magazine info about fishing and hunting. Fishing is a distant cousin to your boating world and maybe you have interest but it’s really a shot in the dark. Hunting isn’t even on your charts and gets tossed in the round filing cabinet.

A Permission Based Marketing Campaign

What needs to happen is a permission based marketing campaign that says, “Hey, are you interested in information about other topics related to water sports and boating? And would you like to be informed about these topics?” If so, consider getting in touch with the Team at SBM and they’ll make it happen!

Pretty simple concept, yet so many businesses and organizations miss this and just roll on with the old, antiquated attitude of ‘we’re getting the industry standard response’ (which is usually only a couple of percentage points), so why change?

Well, I’m here to say to you today…

That’s a bunch of hogwash and you can do better if you use permission based marketing.

Ask your prospects and customers what they want to learn, know and have interest in. Get to know your prospects, subscribers and clients. Then deliver the best, most targeted information to them. Plus always ask their permission before you add on or increase the volume of information.

Permission Based Marketing – your way to developing a loyal group of subscribers, clients or customers.

Make ee sense my loyal reader?

I sure hope so. If not, let me know and we can discuss it further.

To your success,

Dave Krygier
Publisher
Clickandmortarblog.com

 PS – This article, as is every article here on Clickandmortarblog.com, is Copyrighted by the publisher as listed above and you DO NOT have permission to copy or disassemble this article without express permission from the publisher. 

 

Three Things You Need to Know About Content Marketing Online for Small Business

For years and years I worked in a small business that relied on organic search traffic to drive people to our email, phones and physical locations. Organic search was our only online marketing activity for the better part of 4 years and then we added a few directories like Qwest and GTE Superpages. Content marketing online wasn’t even something we considered but it turns out that we were doing it without knowing what great results would come down the road.

We loaded up content week after week and month after month. It was tedious work, but we had a good webmaster and I fed him alot of information, pictures and graphics. 

At our peak we had over 250 pages of content and this made the difference when our buyers were searching for items that we offered. We dominated certain categories and it was all based on the content that we had on our website.

The thing is in today’s online environment you have sooo many options when it comes to marketing. From directories and pay-per-click ads to Local search and the magic bullet website. The list is so long that your head spins and wallet can get empty really fast.

Small business is tough enough as it is and online marketing can make it even tougher, especially when your phone is ringing every day with people who want your money and magic bullets by the dozen.

You’ve heard it all just like I have.

content marketing online
“Target Market with Content Marketing Online”

And this is why content marketing online could be what separates you from your competition. Plus you can target market much better and increase sales, which could make for a more profitable month or year!

Here are Three Things that You Need to Know about Content Marketing Online for Small Business:

  1. It pays to have a Content Blueprint just like you have a business and/or marketing plan. No blueprint – lots of confusion and headaches. A clear, well put together blueprint is like a good roadmap that leads you to your destination.
  1. Quality Content Creation can be easy or it can be really hard. Easy is better and sometimes this needs to be handled by someone other than yourself. Either way you want to make sure that there’s quality in what you create. Content, Content, Content. Quality original content that connects you with your buying market online.
  1. Good Content Distribution can make the difference of sales or no sales. The better the distribution of your content to your target audience, the more buyers will be attracted to you. Not rocket science. Be where your target market hangs out.

So if you are tired of spinning your wheels with ads and marketing that doesn’t seem to convert into sales…

Test content marketing online this next year and make sure to work from a blueprint.

Make sense? Good – get to work and create quality original content.

Doesn’t make sense? Need some help with some or all of it? Check out Techsmith and contact the peeps over at SBM and let ‘em know that the ClickandMortarblog.com publisher sent you. They’ll take care of your content marketing woes in a jiffy.

So now it’s time to get busy and put all of this content stuff together so you can see the benefits in your small business. 

Stay in touch and be sure to stay tuned for more on this hot topic of content marketing online.

Dave Krygier
Publisher

 PS – Keep us posted so we know how your content marketing online is coming together.

This is a Test – Only a Test – of Your Direct Response Marketing Strategy

If you woke up tomorrow and your accountant or office manager advised you that all you had left in your advertising budget for the rest of the year was $5000, how would you react and what actions would you take?

Oh, and one more thing…

The advertising has to produce sales results otherwise your business will go under.

Bummer  ☹

This scenario above is one that many a small business owner could learn from and possibly save his or her small company. You see many small business owners still believe in the old adage that you have to advertise in order to keep the people coming to their businesses, yet they don’t have a clue if any of it really works.

And they have trusted their hard earned money to certain media outlets that say it’s working, yet can’t prove that the advertising is bringing in people who are purchasing or buying products and/or services.

So again the question arises – if all you had was $5000 for the remainder of the year, would you buy media (offline or online) that simply flashed your company name and fancy photos on the screen, channel or paper or would you buy media or create content that would bring in sales?

Oh, and one more thing I didn’t mention earlier… You need good creative to attract your target market. This is where direct response marketing comes in to play.Direct Response Marketing Strategy

Yes my friend, a direct response marketing strategy could be what saves your bacon. The thing is your creative needs to be response oriented and have tracking and capture mechanisms attached so the person footing the bill can see actual results. Actual results means traffic and then you need to convert the traffic (prospect) into a new customer or client.                                              

Direct Response Marketing Strategy 

So the Direct Response Marketing Funnel & Process looks something like this…

  1. Create Good to Great Creative (words, pictures, music, voice) that is designed to attract your target audience.

  2. Find and Test Media or Content (most likely online) that your target audience is involved in.
  3. Send Your Target Audience to a page, phone or place that they can interact with you so you can share your offer.
  4. Present Your Offer and Make a New Sale, Create a New Subscriber (because you captured his or her name and info), or Created a New Interested Prospect that now knows who you are and what you do.
  5. Follow-Up with Your New Customers and Subscribers to create more sales and referrals. Utilize email software to do the heavy lifting.

Now doesn’t this direct response marketing strategy look like a better plan versus throwing your $5000 budget up on the mass media wall with little or no chance of bringing in any new business?

Remember – you only have the $5000 and it has to last you for six months. The question is will you test, make sales or throw mud up on the wall and watch it dry and flake off?

Will you create a direct response marketing strategy?

Only time will tell and in six months we’ll see if there’s a small business with your name on it in the small biz obituaries or if your sign is still lit and the phone and email are still connected.

To your direct response marketing success,

Dave Krygier
Publisher 

PS – I really meant it when I said utilize email software to do the heavy lifting, and believe me when I say you can use the software for your offline marketing too…