Cashflow tight? Review your advertising spend

Yup, it's tough out there, so we small business owners need to work smarter.  Sales are down (globally, for large as well as small companies) but costs keep rising.  There's no better time to take the opportunity to review your promotional spend - do you really need signage for your car?  Does that 0800 number really make a difference?  How about your advertising - is it working?

Now is the time to be ruthless with your spending.  If it doesn't bring money in to your business, don't buy it!  If noone has noticed your posh 4 colour transparent film of your logo and telephone number which you've had proudly displayed on your car for the past 3 years, don't renew it when it starts to fall off or your change your vehicle.  If all your business leads are local, get rid of the 0800 number (although don't forget to change all your stationery, website and have a crossover period with a recorded message telling callers).  It's costing you money - it doesn't make you money.

We've all been lured into believing we need to look like a large company, with posh answerphones, virtual secretaries, large advertising accounts and constant reminders of our company logo on everything we own.  But does it really work for small business, or is it an unnecessary 'extra'?

Local businesses, particularly trades and services, have traditionally done well advertising in all the local freebie magazines and papers, but with the growth of the internet, how many people still look in the paper for a gardener, or a painter or somewhere to buy a new carpet?  All the big telephone directories now offer free listings for your business online, and they are a great source of research.  I'm willing to bet that Yellow Pages will be able to tell you the exact percentage of people searching online or in the printed directory for your trade or service in your area.

If you're nervous about simply slashing your printed advertising overnight, then track it over the next few months.  Put a discount code in your ad which customers need to quote in order to qualify for a discount, and then see how many sales you get which have been directly generated by that advert.  If the profit from the sales you get doesn't cover the cost of the advertising, you'll know what to do!

Great marketing books for the small business owner - Part II

Here's a brief review of the second book which ought to be on your Christmas list...

The Internet and social meda have transformed the way companies communicate with consumers.  The New Rules of Marketing and PR shows you how to leverage the potential of Web-based communication to build a personal link with your market.  Forget old advertising tactics that don't work online.  Adopt the new rules and start a profitable relationship with your buyers and those who influence them.

Written by David Meerman Scott in 2007 and totally updated in 2009 with new sections on social media, "The New Rules of Marketing and PR - how to use news releases, blogs, podcasting, viral marketing and online media to reach buyers directly", is a must-read for professional marketers and business owners alike.

Click here for more details.

Great marketing books for the small business owner - Part I

As it's coming up to Christmas, I want to feature a couple of books I've read which should be on your Christmas present wishlist because they're full of great reading matter for the small business owner.

The first "Advertise, Promote, and Market your Business or Web Site with little or no money", written by Bruce C Brown (2006) is packed full of do's and don'ts of internet marketing.  Updated in 2006, it's still very relevant and is wonderfully easy to read.  Written for the small business owner who doesn't have an IT or Web Design department, and is limited on technology budget and knowledge, this book is an excellent starting point for startups, new Internet entrants, or businesses looking to better their current efforts (latter quote from Jai Merchant, Senior Business Consultant, Internet Marketing Logic, Inc.

Click here to find out more.

How to Choose Effective Website Photos and Images

For some time now, I've been receiving a weekly newsletter from Web Marketing Today.  If you're serious about web marketing, this is a great weekly read full of tips and tricks for the internet marketer, and I encourage you to sign up to the newsletter.

This week's newsletter included a highly informative article from Sandra Niehaus on choosing effective images for websites.  It's an interesting article and makes the point that an effective website image can convey a strong message to the viewer, so make sure your image(s) conjure the right impression in your potential customers.

How to Choose Effective Website Photos and Images. Part 1.

Scroll down to the bottom of the article to sign up for Web Marketing Today's free weekly newsletter: you won't regret it.

BTW, it's Web Marketing Today's 15th Anniversary this week, so there are some extra benefits to be had if you sign up now!

Low Cost Marketing Tips Online and Offline :: View Listing

Low Cost Marketing Tips Online and Offline :: View Listing

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Benefits of W3C compliance

The Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) developed accessibility standards for all websites under the name Web Accessibility Initiative or WAI, so that every user can make use of the information presented regardless of physical attributes, viewing device or browser.

So, why conform?

• increased revenue - at least 10% of the population in most countries has disabilities.  Which company website wouldn't benefit from another 10% of customers through their door?


• enhanced online presence - a professional, easily accessible website will do wonders for your company's reputation and your brand


• improved search rankings - not many search engine users look beyond the first page of search results, and compliance will help get your website on that first page!


• faster navigation and download times for improved customer experience

So, what does this mean for the average website?

This PDF is a summary of the latest accessibility guidelines and basic compliance methods:  Summary of latest WAI guidelines 2008.  Hope you find it useful.

10 tips for Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the most powerful and effective forms of online marketing today.  It’s cheap, easy to do, builds a personal relationship with your customers and allows immediate distribution of information.  Use it as a tool to let your customers know about new products and services, relevant industry information and special offers.  Most importantly, look at your results and use that information to improve future promotional campaigns.

Here is a checklist of 10 tips for e-marketing to help you build successful campaigns:

1. Only mail to opt-in lists, and keep data secure. Make sure you always use lists of recipients who have ‘opted-in’ or subscribed to your mailing list.  You’ll always get a better response from recipients who want to read what you send and they’ll trust you more.  What’s more, the Data Protection Act makes this a legal requirement of all direct selling.  Legally too, you must keep data secure by making sure you and you alone have access to your lists.  Don’t sell or lend your data – it’s a sure way of losing contacts and damaging your reputation.


2. Keep content relevant and interesting. You need to make sure you have great, compelling content that’s right for your audience.  Content must be relevant and interesting.  This takes time, but will ensure you build a better relationship with your contacts, and you can always use results from previous campaigns to help you determine what your readers find interesting (check click-throughs on keywords, open and bounce rates)


3. Build continuity into your template layout. Always link your template layout to your website or other promotional items so that your recipients recognise your emails.  Your clients will be familiar with your website so send emails that are consistent in appearance and extend its appeal.


4. How often should you send emails? This is tricky because you’ve worked hard to obtain your customers’ details, so bombarding them with emails could trigger them to unsubscribe.  However you do need to keep in touch often enough or you’ll see response rates drop.  Use a survey or poll to find out how your customers feel about your emails and make sure you include a question about frequency.


5. Incentivise and motivate your customers. Best practice e-marketing gives recipients a reason to read and interact with your emails.  Offer interesting information of benefit to your readers – don’t hard sell in every communication you send.  Think about including competitions or freebies every so often to keep your customers interested.


6. Make sure your subject line is relevant. Often overlooked, the subject line of an email is vitally important and must interest your recipients enough to open your email, rather than the hundreds of other emails demanding attention in their Inbox.  Test different subject lines for the same email by segmenting your lists, and checking your open rates for each.


7. Use reputable email marketing software. There are many e-marketing software companies, and some offer a free service for small businesses typically sending less than 500 emails per month.  Shop around and make sure the company you choose can help you with our first tip ie keeping data secure and always emailing to opt-in lists only.


8. Attach a plain text version for those who can’t receive HTML emails.  These days, most email clients can accept HTML, but for those who can’t, offer the option of a plain text email to ensure they can read what you have to tell them.


9. Get viral with your campaigns by encouraging your readers to forward your emails to a friend.  This costs nothing, takes two seconds and can more than double your readership.  Most email marketing software offers a “forward to a friend” widget which you can add to your template quickly and easily.


10. Finally, check, test and check again! It sounds simple, but we’ve seen many beautifully designed emails with typos and grammatical errors.  This does nothing for your reputation as a small business!  Check your spelling and make sure your email makes sense.  Finally send a copy to your own Inbox and see how it appears in the Preview pane.  If you have mainly images at the top of your email, you’ll see that these don’t automatically appear.  If you can’t avoid the use of images such as your logo at the top of the email, make it smaller, and use descriptive text which your readers will recognise.