By now you have figured out that Google is a harsh mistress.
She requires constant attention.
You must send her constant supplies of chocolate, flowers, and dinner invitations.
Otherwise you could be banished to the North Forty.
Recently there were interesting changes in Google's desires.
I have explored them, and will report.
In specific, there are little "tags" that you can use in an attempt to get folks look at your Google Places entry.
It won't make you show up higher in the Google Places Sweepstakes.
It may or may not make a customer or client more likely to click on your listing.
On the other hand, the cost for the moment is $25 per month.
And you can use statistics built into Google to see what changes in performance your tag generates.
So I'm gonna take a chance, and if it works to improve the performance of my Google Places listing, I'll let you know!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Don't Be Invisible On the Internet! You aren't Casper! You Need to Eat!
So here's my evil plan.
I'm going to talk to a bunch of my friends, who are either handymen, or restaurant owners, or chiropractors, or computer repairmen, or investment advisers.
And they all have one thing in common.
They are all invisible.
Not in person. They're fairly opaque, in person. Most of 'em. But on the Internet, they are simply invisible, because they have no presence at all.
Now, I've been reasonably successful in developing an Internet presence, and I've gotten great information from folks like Jay Fleischman, Stephen Fairley, and my Findlaw Rep, Alex Morris.
But I need something simple, that will let a little tiny business with zero advertising budget develop an Internet presence, because if my buddies don't market on the Internet, they will work for somebody who does.
So right here and right now, I'm going to list some sites on the Internet that are great free marketing resources, like Blogger and Word Press, along with their little tutorials.
And I'm going to list some sites that a small business simply must use (even if they use the sites poorly), in order to put a big sign on the Internet that says, "We Make Really Good Lemonade Here!"
And I also suggest that you check Jay Fleischman's site, Stephen Fairley's site, and the great blog maintained by Alex Morris. Just because they primarily help lawyers is no reason you shouldn't buy their DVDs, seminars, e-books and other resources.
So here we go in a whirlwind tour of sites that will get business to your small business (unless it doesn't; bear in mind that these sites will only help buyers find you; if the food in your restaurant is lousy, or the service is bad, that won't help. Ditto if you sell buggy whips and most people drive cars, right?).
1) Google Places. I'm cheating a little here because I'm taking you to the Google discussion of Google Places. But if you do nothing else, plug your business information into Google Places, and you won't be entirely transparent on the Internet. You'll need a free Google email account to plug your info into Google Places. But no money! And you may discover the day after you plug in your information that your business doubles. Here's my Google Places site, and it has been useful to me.
No guarantee, of course, about any of this stuff; and none of it is legal advice, of course.
--Note: my discussion today is going to be Google-centric; it is the 800 pound gorilla in Internet Marketing; and if Google ain't happy with you, you ain't gonna be happy. But if Google loves you, you will experience joy in business.
And here is a way to Build a FREE Website, and a Blog. Because a Blog is just a website that you control, rather than a website designer, and you get to build content in your free site! There are two most-used hosting sites for your FREE Blog, and one is
2)Word Press;
3)and here is the Word Press What It Is, and How to Do It Page, to make it really easy for you!
--Blogger, which I used to build this list.
4)and here's the how to do things on Blogger VIDEO SERIES, to make it even easier!
--here's how to add something you don't know exists to something you don't have yet: a discussion of
5) Gadgets that you can add to your Blogger Blog.
Note: Yes, I am telling you to start a Blog. Start today. Build a crummy starter blog, just to get started, and don't worry. Because nobody is going to find your miserable starter blog until you start making your blog visible. Do remember, however, that whatever you put on your blog will never vanish entirely, so do not post crazy, dirty, profane, or other weirdo stuff, unless you're willing to have that identified with you when you run for office or apply for a new job. Seriously.
Now, not only is your small business currently invisible, but your brand-new blog is also pretty invisible because it's new, so it will probably be listed at the tail end of the website lists, which puts it about 26 billion down, or so. Over time, with work, it will drift up in the Blogosphere, and you will have clients who visit you because they like what you put on your blog!
Why will your blog be visible over time? Well, because you will submit it to blog directories, where it will be published, and you will gain a viewership just because they like your stuff.
Wait until you have a buncha entries in your blog to submit it to directories, because some are a little snooty and want your blog to have some, you know, quality information.
A list of popular blog directories includes:
6)Blog Catalog;
7)Technorati;
8)Bloghub;
9)BlogHints
My personal prejudice is that you ought to submit to as many blog directories as seems like a good idea, or until you get tired; don't pay anybody anything to be placed in a directory, at least at first, because the whole point of this exercise is to develop a HUGE web presence for you or your little business with a TINY expenditure of money.
Although, as with most things, you can trade money for time, if you choose to do so.
Here I'm going to let you in on the secret of Internet Presence: Google Loves Content! And here's a 10)nice article that talks about developing the content that Google loves!
That means that if you post more stuff which is interesting, useful, entertaining, or otherwise attractive to viewers, Google will love you, and you will be happy, because Google rewards those it loves.
What is Content?
Well, original text is content. Videos are content. Pictures are content. Music is content. The spoken word, recorded, is content.
It's all content!
And you can put all of those sorts of things into your blog. And you should. In fact, you must.
And then Google will love you and reward you by putting you on Page One of Google for your relevant search terms, which is functionally similar to building a better mousetrap: customers will find you, no matter where you try to hide.
SO HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO BUILD A GREAT BLOG?
A while. So you'll need something to let customers find your restaurant or your clinic or you until your blog drifts to the top of the search engine for the search term "best blackened snapper in Toledo".
AN INTERNET MARKETING DEVICE THAT'S INSTANT-ON!
So what to do until your blog drifts to the top of the hit parade?
You need something that will direct traffic to your tiny business fast and effectively, and also build links to your blog and your website (hey, you can build a second blog to function as your website. A blog is just a website that you control and design. In fact, every single blog entry is a part of your blog, AND A FREESTANDING, SEPARATE WEBSITE!!!!!).
Sorry, I got a little excited there.
In the meantime, you'll want to put all the information about your little business into all the free online business directories that you can track down, and especially into all the free online specialized business directories that you can find.
DO NOT PUT MONEY INTO A DIRECTORY. PUT YOUR BUSINESS INFORMATION INTO THE DIRECTORY. YOU ARE NOT YET SMART ENOUGH TO DECIDE WHICH DIRECTORY YOU NEED TO FEED TO GET GREAT RESULTS, SO DON'T GUESS!
Note that in the past, I did guess about which directories to pay, and I guessed wrong. Which is why I'm trying to save you!
So how many free online directories do you stuff your information into?
Well, how rich do you want to be?
And how do you find the most useful free online business directories on the Internet?
Well, how about if you type this search term into Google?
11) Free Online Business Directory
What do you want to bet that the most beloved-by-Google free online business directories show up at the top, and show up, in order of love-magnitude, all over the next ten pages?
Now, you have a business, not a hypothetical business.
I know that your business is not the business of law, so I'll show you something just so you get the idea.
If you type in a search that looks like this:
12) Free Online Lawyer Directory
You will see a bunch of online lawyer directories. I know them all, and love them all, and use some of them.
Some, you see, are not exactly free. If you're a lawyer! They are generally free to clients.
So if you type in a search term like
13) Free Online Restaurant Directory
You may run into sites that are free as to eaters, but not free as to preparers. So just put your information into the sites that are free for you.
For now. Once you are rich, feel free to evaluate the cost-benefit analysis of whatever you want, but for now, stay with free, okay?
Now the process of submitting the information to online directory sites is somewhat mechanical, so you may want to route that to a subordinate employee, if you have one, or to your teenage kid, if you have one. You may want to do it yourself so you can see the kind of information texture that the directories permit.
14) Padding Before the Bullet Hits; make sure your best customers talk about you. See the example.
I have a buddy who is a great litigator, and I talked to him about his online presence, and he agreed with me that you can't keep everybody happy all the time, and that was inevitable that eventually, even he would have a client who didn't like him, and he wanted to have a lot of good reviews to dilute the bad reviews when they eventually showed up.
And that sounded like wisdom to me.
Another buddy of mine, who is a pretty fair lawyer, has two online reviews at the AVVO site, and they are both bad reviews. The writers just didn't like that lawyer. Neither hired him, but they both trashed him.
And he had no padding.
That is probably a good lesson.
So where else can you market yourself or your business online?
Well, a leading free site which permits you to list your professional qualifications and to interact with other professionals of various sorts is called
15) Linkedin
and the smartest user of Linked-in is a genius of a doctor named
16) Dr. Joel Brill
and you can see that his referral network is roughly the size of the Planet Jupiter. Just see what he did to build his network, and how he structured his profile, and you'll know everything you need to know about Linkedin.
Now, there's another place you can build a free website, and it's not a place I think of in connection with marketing professional services or restaurants or factories. But in that context, I am clearly wrong. It is entirely possible to build a complete, free-standing website using the tools in a contender for most-used site on Planet Earth, and that site is called
17) Facebook
Now, Facebook always seemed a little frivolous to me, because I associate it with games like Vampire Wars and Mafia Wars and free online Poker. Not that I've ever played those silly games. But Facebook is catching up to Google in uses per day, and by some metrics, it has passed Google. One of my buddies at Findlaw earned my undying love by building me a little Facebook Page that was a functional equivalent of my professional website:
18) Me on Facebook, Professional Page.
As you can see, it has everything but my videos, which I'll plug in soon.
And that brings us to
19) YouTube.com, which is a very frequently visited site, and you should have videos here.
As you can see, I finally took my own advice and recorded some educational videos about bankruptcy in Arizona, and the collection of those videos is really a new website for me, and will be for you:
20) Me on YouTube, talking forever.
But there are a substantial number of free video hosting sites on the Internet, and right now it seems to me that it would be a good idea for you to do what I have not yet done, and start to put your videos onto
21) Metacafe, and
22) Yahoo Video, and about twenty more video hosting sites!
But wait! There's more! There is, for instance,
21) Twitter.com
So am I also on Twitter? Well, yes.
22) Me on Twitter, Tweeting.
Now, if you are a tiny business, or if your tiny business filed a bankruptcy and you have to start a new one, you will have the opportunity to announce to the world that there is a grand opening of a new business, or that you have hired a French Chef, or that you business has been awarded an additional star by somebody.
In the old days, you would send a press release to a local newspaper.
But that's ever so yesterday.
So at the point that you want to do a press release, you will probably want to find an online location to publish your press release. Or you may want to find twenty of 'em.
I like to see which sites are on Page One of Google, because I suspect that they may do as good a job of publicizing my announcements as they do in getting highly ranked by Google. At least, that's my theory for today. Here's a highly rated (by Google) press release service, and it's My Favorite Price!
23) Here's one Free Site to distribute your press release online! There are also fifty more. Or more.
Let's recap.
If you are invisible on the Internet, you can do everything right, and you will still have to file a bankruptcy because attrition and the depression will whittle away your old customer base, and new customers won't find you, because you are invisible on the Internet!
So don't be Casper!
Be....somebody opaque. I'll think of somebody.
But whoever you are, be beloved by Google!
p.s. at some point, if you ask me nicely, I'll tell you the secret of...
24) Amazon!
I'm going to talk to a bunch of my friends, who are either handymen, or restaurant owners, or chiropractors, or computer repairmen, or investment advisers.
And they all have one thing in common.
They are all invisible.
Not in person. They're fairly opaque, in person. Most of 'em. But on the Internet, they are simply invisible, because they have no presence at all.
Now, I've been reasonably successful in developing an Internet presence, and I've gotten great information from folks like Jay Fleischman, Stephen Fairley, and my Findlaw Rep, Alex Morris.
But I need something simple, that will let a little tiny business with zero advertising budget develop an Internet presence, because if my buddies don't market on the Internet, they will work for somebody who does.
So right here and right now, I'm going to list some sites on the Internet that are great free marketing resources, like Blogger and Word Press, along with their little tutorials.
And I'm going to list some sites that a small business simply must use (even if they use the sites poorly), in order to put a big sign on the Internet that says, "We Make Really Good Lemonade Here!"
And I also suggest that you check Jay Fleischman's site, Stephen Fairley's site, and the great blog maintained by Alex Morris. Just because they primarily help lawyers is no reason you shouldn't buy their DVDs, seminars, e-books and other resources.
So here we go in a whirlwind tour of sites that will get business to your small business (unless it doesn't; bear in mind that these sites will only help buyers find you; if the food in your restaurant is lousy, or the service is bad, that won't help. Ditto if you sell buggy whips and most people drive cars, right?).
1) Google Places. I'm cheating a little here because I'm taking you to the Google discussion of Google Places. But if you do nothing else, plug your business information into Google Places, and you won't be entirely transparent on the Internet. You'll need a free Google email account to plug your info into Google Places. But no money! And you may discover the day after you plug in your information that your business doubles. Here's my Google Places site, and it has been useful to me.
No guarantee, of course, about any of this stuff; and none of it is legal advice, of course.
--Note: my discussion today is going to be Google-centric; it is the 800 pound gorilla in Internet Marketing; and if Google ain't happy with you, you ain't gonna be happy. But if Google loves you, you will experience joy in business.
And here is a way to Build a FREE Website, and a Blog. Because a Blog is just a website that you control, rather than a website designer, and you get to build content in your free site! There are two most-used hosting sites for your FREE Blog, and one is
2)Word Press;
3)and here is the Word Press What It Is, and How to Do It Page, to make it really easy for you!
--Blogger, which I used to build this list.
4)and here's the how to do things on Blogger VIDEO SERIES, to make it even easier!
--here's how to add something you don't know exists to something you don't have yet: a discussion of
5) Gadgets that you can add to your Blogger Blog.
Note: Yes, I am telling you to start a Blog. Start today. Build a crummy starter blog, just to get started, and don't worry. Because nobody is going to find your miserable starter blog until you start making your blog visible. Do remember, however, that whatever you put on your blog will never vanish entirely, so do not post crazy, dirty, profane, or other weirdo stuff, unless you're willing to have that identified with you when you run for office or apply for a new job. Seriously.
Now, not only is your small business currently invisible, but your brand-new blog is also pretty invisible because it's new, so it will probably be listed at the tail end of the website lists, which puts it about 26 billion down, or so. Over time, with work, it will drift up in the Blogosphere, and you will have clients who visit you because they like what you put on your blog!
Why will your blog be visible over time? Well, because you will submit it to blog directories, where it will be published, and you will gain a viewership just because they like your stuff.
Wait until you have a buncha entries in your blog to submit it to directories, because some are a little snooty and want your blog to have some, you know, quality information.
A list of popular blog directories includes:
6)Blog Catalog;
7)Technorati;
8)Bloghub;
9)BlogHints
My personal prejudice is that you ought to submit to as many blog directories as seems like a good idea, or until you get tired; don't pay anybody anything to be placed in a directory, at least at first, because the whole point of this exercise is to develop a HUGE web presence for you or your little business with a TINY expenditure of money.
Although, as with most things, you can trade money for time, if you choose to do so.
Here I'm going to let you in on the secret of Internet Presence: Google Loves Content! And here's a 10)nice article that talks about developing the content that Google loves!
That means that if you post more stuff which is interesting, useful, entertaining, or otherwise attractive to viewers, Google will love you, and you will be happy, because Google rewards those it loves.
What is Content?
Well, original text is content. Videos are content. Pictures are content. Music is content. The spoken word, recorded, is content.
It's all content!
And you can put all of those sorts of things into your blog. And you should. In fact, you must.
And then Google will love you and reward you by putting you on Page One of Google for your relevant search terms, which is functionally similar to building a better mousetrap: customers will find you, no matter where you try to hide.
SO HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO BUILD A GREAT BLOG?
A while. So you'll need something to let customers find your restaurant or your clinic or you until your blog drifts to the top of the search engine for the search term "best blackened snapper in Toledo".
AN INTERNET MARKETING DEVICE THAT'S INSTANT-ON!
So what to do until your blog drifts to the top of the hit parade?
You need something that will direct traffic to your tiny business fast and effectively, and also build links to your blog and your website (hey, you can build a second blog to function as your website. A blog is just a website that you control and design. In fact, every single blog entry is a part of your blog, AND A FREESTANDING, SEPARATE WEBSITE!!!!!).
Sorry, I got a little excited there.
In the meantime, you'll want to put all the information about your little business into all the free online business directories that you can track down, and especially into all the free online specialized business directories that you can find.
DO NOT PUT MONEY INTO A DIRECTORY. PUT YOUR BUSINESS INFORMATION INTO THE DIRECTORY. YOU ARE NOT YET SMART ENOUGH TO DECIDE WHICH DIRECTORY YOU NEED TO FEED TO GET GREAT RESULTS, SO DON'T GUESS!
Note that in the past, I did guess about which directories to pay, and I guessed wrong. Which is why I'm trying to save you!
So how many free online directories do you stuff your information into?
Well, how rich do you want to be?
And how do you find the most useful free online business directories on the Internet?
Well, how about if you type this search term into Google?
11) Free Online Business Directory
What do you want to bet that the most beloved-by-Google free online business directories show up at the top, and show up, in order of love-magnitude, all over the next ten pages?
Now, you have a business, not a hypothetical business.
I know that your business is not the business of law, so I'll show you something just so you get the idea.
If you type in a search that looks like this:
12) Free Online Lawyer Directory
You will see a bunch of online lawyer directories. I know them all, and love them all, and use some of them.
Some, you see, are not exactly free. If you're a lawyer! They are generally free to clients.
So if you type in a search term like
13) Free Online Restaurant Directory
You may run into sites that are free as to eaters, but not free as to preparers. So just put your information into the sites that are free for you.
For now. Once you are rich, feel free to evaluate the cost-benefit analysis of whatever you want, but for now, stay with free, okay?
Now the process of submitting the information to online directory sites is somewhat mechanical, so you may want to route that to a subordinate employee, if you have one, or to your teenage kid, if you have one. You may want to do it yourself so you can see the kind of information texture that the directories permit.
14) Padding Before the Bullet Hits; make sure your best customers talk about you. See the example.
I have a buddy who is a great litigator, and I talked to him about his online presence, and he agreed with me that you can't keep everybody happy all the time, and that was inevitable that eventually, even he would have a client who didn't like him, and he wanted to have a lot of good reviews to dilute the bad reviews when they eventually showed up.
And that sounded like wisdom to me.
Another buddy of mine, who is a pretty fair lawyer, has two online reviews at the AVVO site, and they are both bad reviews. The writers just didn't like that lawyer. Neither hired him, but they both trashed him.
And he had no padding.
That is probably a good lesson.
So where else can you market yourself or your business online?
Well, a leading free site which permits you to list your professional qualifications and to interact with other professionals of various sorts is called
15) Linkedin
and the smartest user of Linked-in is a genius of a doctor named
16) Dr. Joel Brill
and you can see that his referral network is roughly the size of the Planet Jupiter. Just see what he did to build his network, and how he structured his profile, and you'll know everything you need to know about Linkedin.
Now, there's another place you can build a free website, and it's not a place I think of in connection with marketing professional services or restaurants or factories. But in that context, I am clearly wrong. It is entirely possible to build a complete, free-standing website using the tools in a contender for most-used site on Planet Earth, and that site is called
17) Facebook
Now, Facebook always seemed a little frivolous to me, because I associate it with games like Vampire Wars and Mafia Wars and free online Poker. Not that I've ever played those silly games. But Facebook is catching up to Google in uses per day, and by some metrics, it has passed Google. One of my buddies at Findlaw earned my undying love by building me a little Facebook Page that was a functional equivalent of my professional website:
18) Me on Facebook, Professional Page.
As you can see, it has everything but my videos, which I'll plug in soon.
And that brings us to
19) YouTube.com, which is a very frequently visited site, and you should have videos here.
As you can see, I finally took my own advice and recorded some educational videos about bankruptcy in Arizona, and the collection of those videos is really a new website for me, and will be for you:
20) Me on YouTube, talking forever.
But there are a substantial number of free video hosting sites on the Internet, and right now it seems to me that it would be a good idea for you to do what I have not yet done, and start to put your videos onto
21) Metacafe, and
22) Yahoo Video, and about twenty more video hosting sites!
But wait! There's more! There is, for instance,
21) Twitter.com
So am I also on Twitter? Well, yes.
22) Me on Twitter, Tweeting.
Now, if you are a tiny business, or if your tiny business filed a bankruptcy and you have to start a new one, you will have the opportunity to announce to the world that there is a grand opening of a new business, or that you have hired a French Chef, or that you business has been awarded an additional star by somebody.
In the old days, you would send a press release to a local newspaper.
But that's ever so yesterday.
So at the point that you want to do a press release, you will probably want to find an online location to publish your press release. Or you may want to find twenty of 'em.
I like to see which sites are on Page One of Google, because I suspect that they may do as good a job of publicizing my announcements as they do in getting highly ranked by Google. At least, that's my theory for today. Here's a highly rated (by Google) press release service, and it's My Favorite Price!
23) Here's one Free Site to distribute your press release online! There are also fifty more. Or more.
Let's recap.
If you are invisible on the Internet, you can do everything right, and you will still have to file a bankruptcy because attrition and the depression will whittle away your old customer base, and new customers won't find you, because you are invisible on the Internet!
So don't be Casper!
Be....somebody opaque. I'll think of somebody.
But whoever you are, be beloved by Google!
p.s. at some point, if you ask me nicely, I'll tell you the secret of...
24) Amazon!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
You Remember How I was Going to Tell You About Google "Places"?
Well, apparently I have a mental block about telling you that Google Places is the first thing you need to do to increase your visibility on the Internet.
And apparently it will take a certain amount of additional therapy until the healing begins, and I actually write to you seriously about Google Places.
But the beauty of the Internet is that I don't have to tell you about Google Places!
Google Places can tell you about Google Places!
So here's a "tour" of Google Places (it's really a screenshot of a Google Places page, with all the fields filled out, and some discussion and information added by....Google!).
And I'll come back and add to this page over time, as I accumulate Round Tuits, and add videos that talk about Google Places, and additional tours and explanations.
But all you have to know today is that you must participate in Google Places if you want to avoid a small business bankruptcy!
Because your competitor down the street is using Google Places!
Seriously.
And what brought the importance of Google Places to my attention was simple: I was talking to a buddy about it, and he said, "Oh, yeah! I know Google Places! And frankly, when I do a search, if it's not in Google Places, I never see it, because I'm too lazy to scroll down!"
So be afraid. Be very afraid.
If you don't participate in Google Places, you will be sad.
p.s. there is at least one scamster who promises to make you the KING OF GOOGLE PLACES if only you will bow down and worship him. And send him lots of money.
DON'T SEND MONEY TO SOMEBODY WHO PROMISES TO TWEAK YOUR GOOGLE PLACES, because you should be able to do a pretty darn good job of filling in the fields (blanks) yourself.
And apparently it will take a certain amount of additional therapy until the healing begins, and I actually write to you seriously about Google Places.
But the beauty of the Internet is that I don't have to tell you about Google Places!
Google Places can tell you about Google Places!
So here's a "tour" of Google Places (it's really a screenshot of a Google Places page, with all the fields filled out, and some discussion and information added by....Google!).
And I'll come back and add to this page over time, as I accumulate Round Tuits, and add videos that talk about Google Places, and additional tours and explanations.
But all you have to know today is that you must participate in Google Places if you want to avoid a small business bankruptcy!
Because your competitor down the street is using Google Places!
Seriously.
And what brought the importance of Google Places to my attention was simple: I was talking to a buddy about it, and he said, "Oh, yeah! I know Google Places! And frankly, when I do a search, if it's not in Google Places, I never see it, because I'm too lazy to scroll down!"
So be afraid. Be very afraid.
If you don't participate in Google Places, you will be sad.
p.s. there is at least one scamster who promises to make you the KING OF GOOGLE PLACES if only you will bow down and worship him. And send him lots of money.
DON'T SEND MONEY TO SOMEBODY WHO PROMISES TO TWEAK YOUR GOOGLE PLACES, because you should be able to do a pretty darn good job of filling in the fields (blanks) yourself.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Some Stores Were Closed Today; Others Were Near Riots of Buying!
Today was Labor Day.
Some stores were closed. Some were asleep. And some had near riots as shoppers threw money at the staff and grabbed products with both hands.
What were the hot ones, and what were their secrets?
Well, the Apple Store at the Biltmore in Phoenix had folks hanging from the rafters, and jammed into the store, and spilling into the courtyard outside, while some stores were ghost towns.
Why? Well, Apple is good at sending emails to people who have shopped there before, telling them about special classes, or deals, or specials.
Today there were seminars at the Apple Store, and all the seats were filled. And lots of other folks had enjoyed buying there so much that they were browsing, because they liked to be there. And others wanted nifty, cutting edge products, and others were looking for information about those same products.
There were more bodies than places for bodies.
And I came into the madhouse and I was greeted efficiently and quickly, taken through the store, set up with a appointment at the Genius Bar (about half an hour after my first contact), and got the information I needed during a enjoyable fifteen minutes of training. For My Favorite Price!
The nice young lady who took care of my little ignorance problem, Elizabeth Allingham, knew all the answers, and also knew how to tell me that everybody needs advice sometimes, because nobody knows it all. Because it's hard to admit that you don't how to work the little gizmo, if you're me!
What do we learn from this Apple Store? Well, a lot. For today, the message to take away is that Apple found a formula for creating stores where the staff loves to give away free information, and to make friends out of the customers, whether they're there to buy or not! And likely as not, when they do come in, they buy!
Another place the customers were roller skating in and grabbing products off the racks was The Men's Wearhouse on Camelback Road.
I watched a transaction where Jeff greeted a customer who wanted to return a shirt, and Jeff processed the transaction just as enthusiastically as though the customer had been buying a shirt. That's good customer service.
And Men's Wearhouse also has an asset worth it's weight in gold, and then some: an email list that sends announcements of buy-one, get-one-free deals that create a buying frenzy in sedate, regular customers.
And extraordinary customer service.
A lot of stores sell men's clothing. A lot.
And the product line in the Men's Wearhouse is perfectly okay. Good value for the buck. And the tailor in the store on Camelback Road in Phoenix could make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
But customer service that turns customers into friends is what sells a lot of suits at that location.
And a lot of shoe stores were quiet today.
But the Allen Edmonds at the Biltmore was as busy as it wanted to be; and Nina Ward sold a lotta shoes.
Mind you, Allen Edmonds are the best shoes made in the world (sure, you can get custom shoes; I'm talking here about shoes that cost more than most other shoes, but less than a house).
And the winning marketing strategy for Allen Edmonds is simple: set up a small store in an upscale location with all the foot traffic in the world, and use a brilliantly trained staff that educates customers about the product. And sell the best product of its kind in the world.
Now, Allen Edmonds makes and sells really great shoes.
How do I know? Well, I was wearing a nice pair of Allen Edmonds shoes (my favorite shoes) when I walked into the Allen Edmonds shoe store today.
And I guess I've gotten adequate value from this particular pair. Over the last thirty years.
And that's why I like Allen Edmonds; they cost a third more than machine-made extruded shoes, and stay in service TEN TIMES LONGER!
Actually, you could say that those shoes will outlast your feet, if you don't count the soles and heels, which need replacing at regular intervals.
TODAY'S MARKETING LESSON: Well, the retailer with the best email list wins, on the one hand. On another hand, it's good to sell quality merchandise that has a distinguishing quality: Apple/ease of use; Men's Wearhouse/fit; Allen Edmonds/quality and longevity.
Those are all good things, and a sales staff that makes friends out of customers helps a lot, too.
Some stores can still sell during a depression.
p.s. It's never too late to start your Grinch List! Remember that some stores forbid their employees to volunteer or respond to the greeting "Merry Christmas!"
So keep your eyes open, and let me know what stores Grinch Out the best, so we can all tell them how much we appreciate their inhospitable choices!
By shopping at their competitors!
p.p.s. Allen Edmonds shoes aren't just the best shoes made. They're also, according to the lovely Nina Marie Ward, made in the United States!
And if I can buy U.S., I will! I like the idea of workers in the United States having jobs. Especially jobs where they get to produce things of value, like shoes. And cars.
It might be nice if we produced more steel, too, but that's probably asking too much.
Some stores were closed. Some were asleep. And some had near riots as shoppers threw money at the staff and grabbed products with both hands.
What were the hot ones, and what were their secrets?
Well, the Apple Store at the Biltmore in Phoenix had folks hanging from the rafters, and jammed into the store, and spilling into the courtyard outside, while some stores were ghost towns.
Why? Well, Apple is good at sending emails to people who have shopped there before, telling them about special classes, or deals, or specials.
Today there were seminars at the Apple Store, and all the seats were filled. And lots of other folks had enjoyed buying there so much that they were browsing, because they liked to be there. And others wanted nifty, cutting edge products, and others were looking for information about those same products.
There were more bodies than places for bodies.
And I came into the madhouse and I was greeted efficiently and quickly, taken through the store, set up with a appointment at the Genius Bar (about half an hour after my first contact), and got the information I needed during a enjoyable fifteen minutes of training. For My Favorite Price!
The nice young lady who took care of my little ignorance problem, Elizabeth Allingham, knew all the answers, and also knew how to tell me that everybody needs advice sometimes, because nobody knows it all. Because it's hard to admit that you don't how to work the little gizmo, if you're me!
What do we learn from this Apple Store? Well, a lot. For today, the message to take away is that Apple found a formula for creating stores where the staff loves to give away free information, and to make friends out of the customers, whether they're there to buy or not! And likely as not, when they do come in, they buy!
Another place the customers were roller skating in and grabbing products off the racks was The Men's Wearhouse on Camelback Road.
I watched a transaction where Jeff greeted a customer who wanted to return a shirt, and Jeff processed the transaction just as enthusiastically as though the customer had been buying a shirt. That's good customer service.
And Men's Wearhouse also has an asset worth it's weight in gold, and then some: an email list that sends announcements of buy-one, get-one-free deals that create a buying frenzy in sedate, regular customers.
And extraordinary customer service.
A lot of stores sell men's clothing. A lot.
And the product line in the Men's Wearhouse is perfectly okay. Good value for the buck. And the tailor in the store on Camelback Road in Phoenix could make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
But customer service that turns customers into friends is what sells a lot of suits at that location.
And a lot of shoe stores were quiet today.
But the Allen Edmonds at the Biltmore was as busy as it wanted to be; and Nina Ward sold a lotta shoes.
Mind you, Allen Edmonds are the best shoes made in the world (sure, you can get custom shoes; I'm talking here about shoes that cost more than most other shoes, but less than a house).
And the winning marketing strategy for Allen Edmonds is simple: set up a small store in an upscale location with all the foot traffic in the world, and use a brilliantly trained staff that educates customers about the product. And sell the best product of its kind in the world.
Now, Allen Edmonds makes and sells really great shoes.
How do I know? Well, I was wearing a nice pair of Allen Edmonds shoes (my favorite shoes) when I walked into the Allen Edmonds shoe store today.
And I guess I've gotten adequate value from this particular pair. Over the last thirty years.
And that's why I like Allen Edmonds; they cost a third more than machine-made extruded shoes, and stay in service TEN TIMES LONGER!
Actually, you could say that those shoes will outlast your feet, if you don't count the soles and heels, which need replacing at regular intervals.
TODAY'S MARKETING LESSON: Well, the retailer with the best email list wins, on the one hand. On another hand, it's good to sell quality merchandise that has a distinguishing quality: Apple/ease of use; Men's Wearhouse/fit; Allen Edmonds/quality and longevity.
Those are all good things, and a sales staff that makes friends out of customers helps a lot, too.
Some stores can still sell during a depression.
p.s. It's never too late to start your Grinch List! Remember that some stores forbid their employees to volunteer or respond to the greeting "Merry Christmas!"
So keep your eyes open, and let me know what stores Grinch Out the best, so we can all tell them how much we appreciate their inhospitable choices!
By shopping at their competitors!
p.p.s. Allen Edmonds shoes aren't just the best shoes made. They're also, according to the lovely Nina Marie Ward, made in the United States!
And if I can buy U.S., I will! I like the idea of workers in the United States having jobs. Especially jobs where they get to produce things of value, like shoes. And cars.
It might be nice if we produced more steel, too, but that's probably asking too much.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Your Online Marketing Program Needs Two Feet!
Ultimately, your secret marketing weapon is going to be your blog. It will set you apart from everyone else in your economic niche, simply because you are unique (note: there's no such thing as "very unique").
And a blog is a great way to tell people about exactly what you do, or exactly what you sell, and exactly what the experience will involve, because it just is.
And besides, it's My Favorite Price! It's FREE! Or close enough for government work.
BUT it will take you a while to generate a blog that has enough "blog juice" to rise to the tops of the search engines for nifty search terms so that it is useful for bringing you business (don't worry about what I just said; just let the words wash over you, and you'll understand them soon enough).
You also need something that works as quickly as a light switch, so that there's still a business in existence when your baby blog starts to walk in a year or two.
If only there were some sort of free, instant-on Internet advertising that's simple enough that a geriatric could do it, and that will send you much, much more business than you get today!
And, as it happens, there is such a thing.
Actually, there are hundreds of them.
Free Online Business Directories!
See, there are these things called business directories on the Internet. If you think of them as sort of easy-to-search online yellow pages, you have the idea.
And most of them are free.
So your assignment, if you chose to accept it, is to put as much information about your business in every single free online business directory as you possibly can.
I have a smart friend who has an office full of professionals. I suggested that she do this homework assignment.
She emailed me later and said, "I've plugged my business information into thirty-five of 'em. How many should I use?"
I wrote back, "How rich do you want to be?"
She got it.
Important note; some of the free directories will contact you to upgrade your listing with a paid advertisement, or an improved placement on their directory.
DO NOT DO IT.
You are not yet smart enough to figure out which paid upgrades are priceless, and which are garbage.
How do I know?
Well, I paid fifty grand in tuition for a worthless upgrade over a period of two years.
How do you like my teaching credentials?
Do you want to take the same class, with the same tuition?
Repeat after me: I will put my business contact information and business description in every single free online business directory on the Internet. And if the directory demands money in order to take my information into the directory, I will move to the next directory on my five thousand directory list! I will not pay them.
There will be exceptions, but don't even think about them until you have ALL of the free directory sites on the Internet fully populated with your information.
All is a lot. A real, real lot. A buncha lot.
And that's very, very good.
For you and your small business.
p.s. so where do you get a list of the top five hundred free online business directories?
How about typing a search term into Google? Something like "Free Online Business Directory"? The order of importance will reveal itself instantly: the important ones are listed first, and the less important ones are next in line, forever.
Into how many should you put your information?
Well, you've already figured that out, right?
Remember, some sites (including Google Places) permit you to submit photos and videos into your listings; do so, because people respond better to eyes and noses and ears than to letters.
Git 'er done!
And a blog is a great way to tell people about exactly what you do, or exactly what you sell, and exactly what the experience will involve, because it just is.
And besides, it's My Favorite Price! It's FREE! Or close enough for government work.
BUT it will take you a while to generate a blog that has enough "blog juice" to rise to the tops of the search engines for nifty search terms so that it is useful for bringing you business (don't worry about what I just said; just let the words wash over you, and you'll understand them soon enough).
You also need something that works as quickly as a light switch, so that there's still a business in existence when your baby blog starts to walk in a year or two.
If only there were some sort of free, instant-on Internet advertising that's simple enough that a geriatric could do it, and that will send you much, much more business than you get today!
And, as it happens, there is such a thing.
Actually, there are hundreds of them.
Free Online Business Directories!
See, there are these things called business directories on the Internet. If you think of them as sort of easy-to-search online yellow pages, you have the idea.
And most of them are free.
So your assignment, if you chose to accept it, is to put as much information about your business in every single free online business directory as you possibly can.
I have a smart friend who has an office full of professionals. I suggested that she do this homework assignment.
She emailed me later and said, "I've plugged my business information into thirty-five of 'em. How many should I use?"
I wrote back, "How rich do you want to be?"
She got it.
Important note; some of the free directories will contact you to upgrade your listing with a paid advertisement, or an improved placement on their directory.
DO NOT DO IT.
You are not yet smart enough to figure out which paid upgrades are priceless, and which are garbage.
How do I know?
Well, I paid fifty grand in tuition for a worthless upgrade over a period of two years.
How do you like my teaching credentials?
Do you want to take the same class, with the same tuition?
Repeat after me: I will put my business contact information and business description in every single free online business directory on the Internet. And if the directory demands money in order to take my information into the directory, I will move to the next directory on my five thousand directory list! I will not pay them.
There will be exceptions, but don't even think about them until you have ALL of the free directory sites on the Internet fully populated with your information.
All is a lot. A real, real lot. A buncha lot.
And that's very, very good.
For you and your small business.
p.s. so where do you get a list of the top five hundred free online business directories?
How about typing a search term into Google? Something like "Free Online Business Directory"? The order of importance will reveal itself instantly: the important ones are listed first, and the less important ones are next in line, forever.
Into how many should you put your information?
Well, you've already figured that out, right?
Remember, some sites (including Google Places) permit you to submit photos and videos into your listings; do so, because people respond better to eyes and noses and ears than to letters.
Git 'er done!
Okay, I Lied. Get Over It! Today We're Talking About How to Blog!
Gentle reader, you will recall that last time I told you that I was going to talk about Google Places.
And I will. I will.
But Google Places is both very, very important, and very, very simple. You will master it quickly when I tell you about it.
On the other hand, blogging is also very, very important, but not quite so simple.
Now, take it as a given that you're going to blog. You can do it badly. I certainly did, for my first month or two.
But any blog is better than no blog at all!
After all, at a very minimum, a blog is a free website that you get to edit and modify to your heart's content, any time you want! in fact, it's a series of free websites! As many as you want to create!!!! Waa-hooooo!
Your blog also makes it much less likely that you'll waste your time with people who won't buy from you because they don't like you. They'll be repelled by your blog, so they will never waste your time again!
And it'll make it much easier for people to find you for your next high school reunion!
Finally (for now), it will make it much easier for you to build a new business after a bankruptcy, or to fluff up your current business so you don't need to file a bankruptcy!
But how to start?
Well, a real expert on the subject of internet marketing for small business is my friend Alex Morris, of Findlaw. He normally teaches this stuff to lawyers, and he taught me, and I'm pretty hard to miss if you want to know about bankruptcy law in Arizona right now.
My blog is usually on page one of Google for the search term "bankruptcy blog", and it tends to be on page one, line one, of Google for the search term "Arizona Bankruptcy Blog".
Now, nobody every searches for those terms, but those are two of the search terms I use as markers to see how I'm doing in the competition for eyes on the web, and so far I seem to be doing pretty well.
And Alex gave me permission to direct you to his blog, to an article in which he tells you how to blog.
And here's the beginning of that article:
Blogging is definitely catching on in the AZ legal community. Earlier this year I wrote an article for Attorney at Law Magazine titled "Should an Attorney or Law Firm BLOG" in which I laid out a rationale for Blogging and recommended that you may want to start with the free and easy to use BLOGGER BLOG platform. BLOGGER is a Google product and is stupidly easy to use even for the techno neophyte. In fact you can be Blogging in less than 10 minutes. Here is how to do it.
1. Go to any Google BLOG like this one http://www.azlawyermarketing.com/ and click on the 'Create BLOG' button on the upper right of the page.
2. This will take you to a screen that asks you to either sign into your Google/gmail account or create one. Signing up is a simple process - but make sure you save your password.
3. Once your done with that it will ask for a BLOG title. This is important because this will be the first thing people see when they get to your BLOG. Mine is Alex Morris: Arizona Attorney Marketing Consultant in Scottsdale and Phoenix. Make sure that you utilize practice and geographic keywords in your title as it will also serve as the Title Tag of your BLOG. - an important consideration for search engine optimization.
4. Pick a URL. For this you may want to reference my article on choosing a domain name. The difference here is that I recommend that you use the word "BLOG' in your title. *Its important to note that when you first sign up the URL will have .blogspot.com on the end. For $10 dollars a year you can and should change this to a custom URL of your choosing. Therefore, since you will be changing the URL anyways - don't spend much time here, racking your brain for the perfect URL address.
to see the rest of the article, click here!
p.s. note that there is a raging religious war between bloggers like Alex, who use Blogger, and others, who use WordPress for their blogs. I'll give equal time to the Protestants in another article!
And I will. I will.
But Google Places is both very, very important, and very, very simple. You will master it quickly when I tell you about it.
On the other hand, blogging is also very, very important, but not quite so simple.
Now, take it as a given that you're going to blog. You can do it badly. I certainly did, for my first month or two.
But any blog is better than no blog at all!
After all, at a very minimum, a blog is a free website that you get to edit and modify to your heart's content, any time you want! in fact, it's a series of free websites! As many as you want to create!!!! Waa-hooooo!
Your blog also makes it much less likely that you'll waste your time with people who won't buy from you because they don't like you. They'll be repelled by your blog, so they will never waste your time again!
And it'll make it much easier for people to find you for your next high school reunion!
Finally (for now), it will make it much easier for you to build a new business after a bankruptcy, or to fluff up your current business so you don't need to file a bankruptcy!
But how to start?
Well, a real expert on the subject of internet marketing for small business is my friend Alex Morris, of Findlaw. He normally teaches this stuff to lawyers, and he taught me, and I'm pretty hard to miss if you want to know about bankruptcy law in Arizona right now.
My blog is usually on page one of Google for the search term "bankruptcy blog", and it tends to be on page one, line one, of Google for the search term "Arizona Bankruptcy Blog".
Now, nobody every searches for those terms, but those are two of the search terms I use as markers to see how I'm doing in the competition for eyes on the web, and so far I seem to be doing pretty well.
And Alex gave me permission to direct you to his blog, to an article in which he tells you how to blog.
And here's the beginning of that article:
Getting Started with BLOGGER - Google's Free BLOG Product
How to Setup a Google BLOG for your Law FirmBlogging is definitely catching on in the AZ legal community. Earlier this year I wrote an article for Attorney at Law Magazine titled "Should an Attorney or Law Firm BLOG" in which I laid out a rationale for Blogging and recommended that you may want to start with the free and easy to use BLOGGER BLOG platform. BLOGGER is a Google product and is stupidly easy to use even for the techno neophyte. In fact you can be Blogging in less than 10 minutes. Here is how to do it.
1. Go to any Google BLOG like this one http://www.azlawyermarketing.com/ and click on the 'Create BLOG' button on the upper right of the page.
2. This will take you to a screen that asks you to either sign into your Google/gmail account or create one. Signing up is a simple process - but make sure you save your password.
3. Once your done with that it will ask for a BLOG title. This is important because this will be the first thing people see when they get to your BLOG. Mine is Alex Morris: Arizona Attorney Marketing Consultant in Scottsdale and Phoenix. Make sure that you utilize practice and geographic keywords in your title as it will also serve as the Title Tag of your BLOG. - an important consideration for search engine optimization.
4. Pick a URL. For this you may want to reference my article on choosing a domain name. The difference here is that I recommend that you use the word "BLOG' in your title. *Its important to note that when you first sign up the URL will have .blogspot.com on the end. For $10 dollars a year you can and should change this to a custom URL of your choosing. Therefore, since you will be changing the URL anyways - don't spend much time here, racking your brain for the perfect URL address.
to see the rest of the article, click here!
p.s. note that there is a raging religious war between bloggers like Alex, who use Blogger, and others, who use WordPress for their blogs. I'll give equal time to the Protestants in another article!
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