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Dear Reader,
I am excited and somewhat amazed. WebSiteMarketingPlan.com is now
two months old. Many are bookmarking the site (That's the exciting
part.). I assume some of those bookmarks belong to my newsletter
subscribers. Thank you.
The amazing part is the site's search engine rankings. In the last ten
days, WebSiteMarketingPlan.com has climbed in the rankings much more
than I expected.
So, how did these rankings happen? Nothing fancy, just solid,
traditional marketing practices - focus and consistency. No tricks
or gimmicks. First, I read up on search engine positioning tactics
(Including my Search Engine chapter in
How Much for Just the Spider? E
(shameless self promotion. X).
Then I filtered out advice that did not seem to make sense for my
site, focusing on activities I thought would get the best results
for the time spent. It is working.
The search engine ranking surprise got me thinking about just
how does one know which advice to incorporate wholeheartedly
and which to pass up? The result, today's feature article "The
Big Picture: 5 Questions that can Boost your Business".
In the related S*P*O*T*L*I*G*H*T article, Bryan Eisenberg of
Future Now, Inc. and
ClickZ takes a different angle on the
"how do you know" question. He discusses curing the disease rather
than fixing symptoms in "Specialists, Experts, Gurus, and Other
Marketing Problems".
If you like what you see in the newsletter and site, please pass it
along to a couple of friends or associates.
Thanks and enjoy,
Bobette
***
Contents
Welcome from Bobette
(above)
Feature Article:
"The Big Picture:
5 Questions
that Can Boost your Business"
by Bobette Kyle
S P O T L I
G H T
"Specialists, Experts, Gurus,
and Other Marketing Problems"
by ClickZ columnist and Future Now CIO
Bryan Eisenberg
Site
Adjustments and Additions - New syndications, search engine
adjustments
Administrative - Subscribe, unsubscribe, etc.
***
|
OVERWHELMED BY ALL THE HYPE?
Then skip the noise.
Read the cut-to-the-chase Web marketing strategy guide
How Much for Just the Spider?
Strategic Website Marketing
by Bobette Kyle
Tells you what you need to know and where to get it.
Get your
FREE EXCERPT and Table of Contents
More Information
|
The Big Picture:
5 Questions
that can Boost your Business
by Bobette Kyle
As business managers, entrepreneurs, and Webmasters,
we strive for unobtainable perfection. Why do I say unobtainable?
Because when we focus on perfection in one area, we forego attention
elsewhere. Limited money and time mean you must choose from the
endless parade of advice and recommendations. This creates a dilemma.
How do you choose which to embrace and which to pass up?
Consultants, specialists, and/or other departments within your company
will eagerly give advice from their viewpoints. You will hear the
benefits of focusing on "___" (fill in the blank with appropriate
specialty. This is not a bad thing; it is their job to sell you on the
advantages of their specialties. It is your job to probe for
the downsides and tradeoffs.
Different Perspectives
Back in my brand management days, it was sometimes
frustrating when individual departments could not grasp The Big
Picture. The graphics department and the outside ad agency wanted to
get artsy when artsy wasn't the best strategy. Manufacturing was only
worried about throughput and efficiency - never mind what the customer
wanted. Each department was doing what it could to optimize its own
function, but this did not always work in The Big Picture. If all
functions were "optimized", it could be to the detriment of the
project. When resources are spread too thin and timelines expand,
implementation suffers.
In the virtual world the same Big Picture problems occur. Search
Engine Optimization (SEO) firms focus on page optimization and
submission. Copywriters tout the best way to write content. PR firms
tell you how to send press releases. Marketing gurus sell proven
programs. Yes, 95% of the advice makes sense in theory. Toss in a dose
of reality, however, and you may have an unmanageable mess.
The Big Picture
When reality hits, you find it is simply impossible to
optimize all areas of your business. You cannot grind everything to a
halt while you try for detailed perfection. God may be in the details,
but profit is in the implementation. As manager or "chief cook and
bottle washer", it is your job to bundle the advice into a profitable
package and make it work.
Once you accept that some areas are going to be initially less than
perfect (providing you with opportunity over time to improve.), the
challenge is to figure out what makes sense for your business and
site. When is it critical to optimize and when is less than perfect
acceptable?
When considering specialist's advice, ask yourself these five
questions:
1) Does it solve a problem?
One of the best ways to comprehend the importance of an action is to
relate it to a problem. If you think strategically - first identifying
your major problems, then designing solutions to solve those problems
- your business is more likely to thrive.
2) What are my alternatives?
There is always more than one solution to a problem. If you evaluate
different approaches, you will ultimately make better decisions.
3) What are the downsides?
Perfection and optimization are in the eyes of the beholder. What you
see as a disadvantage may seem trivial to the specialists. Ask
questions and do some research on your own to uncover the downsides.
4) Is it likely to be profitable for me?
It is a cruel fact that larger companies can afford programs that
smaller companies and individuals cannot. If you have to go into debt
or dramatically reduce other critical activities to implement a
program, your cost increases dramatically. In these cases, carefully
weigh the resources required against the potential gain.
5) What happens if I do not do this?
Some activities are "niceties" and some are necessities. Know the
difference. If you are losing customers to other sites or businesses,
for example, taking action is critical. Some activities - those you
want to do but do not help solve a significant problem - can be
pushed to the back burner.
Incorporating The Big Picture into your decision-making is critical.
When you ask yourself these five questions, you are in a better
position to make the right decision. Your business depends on it.
About the Author
Bobette Kyle has over 10 years
experience in Corporate Marketing; Brand and Product Marketing; Field
Marketing and Sales; and Management. Through her
newsletter and
site,
she helps businesses integrate traditional and Internet marketing
strategies.
 Bobette
used the process in her marketing planning book
How Much for Just
the Spider? Strategic Website Marketing to bring
WebSiteMarketingPlan.com in
the top 1% Alexa ranking in less than four months.
***
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Specialists,
Experts, Gurus,
and Other Marketing Problems
by Bryan Eisenberg
On the
ClickZ network.
Bryan Eisenberg is chief information officer of Future Now Inc. It is
the only consultancy focused on helping companies realize that to
maximize results it is essential to incorporate expert persuasion
techniques into Website design, email marketing, development and
implementation. Bryan is also an adjunct professor of Roy H. Williams'
Wizard Academy and co- author of "The Guide to Web Analytics: How to
Understand and Use Your Web Trends to Maximize Results". You can find
Future Now's award-winning newsletter, GrokDotCom, at
http://www.grokdotcom.com.
***
* New Syndicated Articles (Frequent new articles.).
STREET SMART MARKETING by John Colanzi
John publishes the "Street Smart Marketing" newsletter. To subscribe
send an email to: streetsmart@rapidreply.net
DR. EBIZ by Dr. Ralph Wilson
Ralph Wilson is one of the most respected Web marketers today. Among
other honors, he has received the
Tenagra award for Internet marketing excellence.
*
Search Engines and Directories Page
LOOKSMART has done away with its Basic submit, Express Submit, and
Site Promote programs in favor of a pay per click model. Their new
Small Business Listings require an initial set up fee and 15¢ per
click thereafter.
I added FETCHSEEK in the Pay Per Click Search Engine section. The
minimum bid is 1¢. No initial deposit is required, and for a limited
time new accounts receive a bonus.
***
If you are not yet a subscriber to this newsletter, go
ahead - take the plunge. Thanks
X |
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The WebSiteMarketingPlan.com site and newsletter
deliver articles and resources designed to help you integrate
traditional and online marketing strategies. As an added
bonus, new ezine subscribers receive a FREE excerpt from the book
How Much for Just the Spider? Strategic
Website Marketing for Small-Budget Businesses by Bobette
Kyle.
This newsletter is published sporadically, approximately every two
weeks.
How one gets onto the mailing list
(Subscribe Instructions).
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only by request. This happens in one of three ways:
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If you are subscribed to this newsletter and no longer wish
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Unsubscribe by:
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Otherwise, I have no way of knowing which address to unsubscribe.
Copyright 2002 Bobette Kyle. You may forward this ezine - in its
entirety - to others. You may not publish or reproduce the
content elsewhere without written consent. Contact bobette@WebSiteMarketingPlan.com for permissions. |
