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Facebook’s new Center for Business

Marc — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 05:12:05 +0000

While we wait for Google to bring out Google+ for Businesses, Facebook wants to share all they already have to offer businesses interesting in better marketing and brand awareness.

“Facebook for Business” is the name of the new portal where it is possible to access Facebook’s marketing tools including learning about how to optimize your business page, create targeted advertising, enhance “word of mouth” buzz with sponsored stories and get widgets to add into your own website.

It is well organized and easy to negotiate. Take a few minutes to visit and you will almost certainly find a new way to enhance your business’ Facebook presence.

Best Bridal Show or business lead follow-up cover letter ever?

Fuller Marc — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 20:15:14 +0000

One of the most difficult things about following up on leads and contacts is being comfortable with your cover letter. It is the first impression and many marketing professionals believe that the cover letter makes the sale. The pressure to make it the best possible can feel intense .

So I started looking for cover letters, all types of cover letters. The best models and advice I found was related to cover letters for resumes. Which makes sense for small business too. After all when a small business responds with a letter and other collateral to someone who is asking for more info about services or products isn’t that analogous to seeking a job?

Here is the “The Best Cover Letter I Ever Received” according to Harvard Business Review (HBR).

Dear Xxxxxx:

I am writing in response to the opening for xxxx, which I believe may report to you.

I can offer you seven years of experience managing communications for top-tier xxxx firms, excellent project-management skills, and a great eye for detail, all of which should make me an ideal candidate for this opening.

I have attached my résumé for your review and would welcome the chance to speak with you sometime.

Best regards,

Xxxx Xxxx

Why is that cover letter so good? Here is what David Silverman the author of the HBR article has to say, “Here’s what I like about this cover letter. It’s short. It sums up the résumé as it relates to the job. It asks for the job.” Read more from David Silverman about this cover letter and other readers’ comments.

And look how easily, quickly it can adapt to a powerful cover letter to a bridal lead.

Dear Xxxxxx:

It was a pleasure to meet you at the Xxxxxx bridal fair. I am writing in response to photographing your upcoming wedding and reception at .

I offer you seven years of experience photographing weddings and receptions in Xxxxx (your market area) and more than a few at Xxxxx (chosen venue). My work is well reviewed and I have received awards for my artistic skills coupled with a great eye for detail and commitment to excellent client satisfaction and value. All of which make me an ideal choice for photographing your wedding for a lifetime of great memories

I have attached my brochure including samples of my work, client reviews and rates for your review and would welcome the chance to speak with you sometime soon.

Best regards,

Xxxx Xxxx

As you create your letter focus on the benefits you have to offer the reader. What is in it for her? That is what she cares about.

Finally, no matter how good your communication is … remember it also needs to be timely. Get your letter and email lead responses sent out within 5 days.

Hope it helps. Send me an email or leave a comment if you have questions.

A Client Shares – How Our WordPress Based Websites Actually Increased His Business

Marc — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:59:08 +0000

Don Samples of Midnight Magic Videography in Knoxville TN just sent me a note recounting his satisfaction and success from using our website. I really like that we were able to help his success, but before I share his experience I need to tell you a little about how we began.

About five months ago Don had us replace his old style HTML based website with our new Kertesz WordPress based basic website. Don’s primary goals in doing this were to increase his business by improving his internet presence and marketing and believed that our site could do that for him. He saw that our sites offer proven marketing potential and at the same time are easier to manage, look good and he can easily modify and add content as wanted. His total cost was less than $300.

I hope after reading Don’s letter below you will consider letting me help you.

Now here are Don’s own words about using our website for the last few months -

Hey Marc,
I have been meaning to send this to you for a while now, but I have just been so busy. The web site you helped me with is working so wonderfully. I am getting about 10 to 15 hits a day on average. I am getting calls left and right for bookings. Two of my competitors have even told me that my site rocks. But the best complement I got was about a week ago when I bride said she read my web site and asked if I could shoot her wedding. I was booked for the day she wanted and she told me that she felt that with the information I provided her on the web site she could find someone she would feel good about.

My previous site got very little results. Most times I would get a phone call from a prospective bride they would always ask for a demo video, what do I offer, and on and on. Basically, when brides called they asked the questions the site didn’t answer, which was everything. Now, when I get calls, it is to ask if I am available for a date. The calls are good quality leads. The site has given my business an air of professionalism. I put trailers on my site after almost every wedding. The brides love this as they can see some of their video right away. My old site didn’t have the ability to post video. As a video business, it is so important that brides can see what I do.

The week the site went live, I noticed the change in calls and contacts. My competitors in the area all called me and commented on the site. But the best part of it was the fact that they all changed their sites to look like what I have put up.

I have gotten calls and emails from brides who have told me that the information I have put on my site have helped them change their mind about choosing a videographer for their wedding. It also helped them ask the right questions of the videographer they have chosen.

But, most of all I have seen an increase in my business this year. Last year was a good year, but since the site is up and going, the late summer and fall are almost completely booked.

This site has changed my business from a struggling attempt at videography, to a respected, talked about, leading business in the East Tennessee area. Thanks so much for your help, my site is now what I have wanted it to be from the beginning. And, yes I have even updated my web site from my iPhone at a Starbucks.

Thanks so much.
Don

Send me an email (use the form on the right), let me do the same for your business.

Monthly Facebook Visits Overtake MSN, Nearing Google and Yahoo

Marc — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:20:15 +0000

Because it shows how important Facebook and Twitter are becoming to presenting your business/services on the internet I meant to get this published a few days ago. Sorry for the delay.

Even if you have already noted the article from TechCrunch sharing how Facebook continues to grow and is on the verge of eclipsing the mainstay destinations like Yahoo.com or MSN.com and even Google.com; it is still valuable to remember the value of Facebook’s unique successful cachet somehow merging social and business. Facebook is a powerful foundation for any social media marketing effort. another reason why we link our website designs into both Twitter and Facebook. It is important in your website’s internet marketing to keep your presence active through a managable “clockwork” integration approach, using your website to drive Facebook and Twitter activity.

From TechCrunch, please read the entire article –

Web analytics firm Compete has released its data for the month of May, and as Justin Smith over at InsideFacebook has already pointed out, US traffic to Facebook.com has increased by nearly 8% to 82.9 million unique visitors last month, with Facebook Connect sites generating an additional 65 million uniques. That means that, according to Compete, a total of 113 million people in the U.S. interacted with the Facebook service. The data also shows MySpace is (still) steadily decreasing compared to the beginning of the year, while Twitter growth seems to have flattened all of the sudden. …

For comparison, Compete pegs Google to have received a total of 145.5 million unique visitors in May, ahead of Yahoo (135.5 million) and MSN.com (97.5 million), which means Facebook has already overtaken the MSN website and is nearing the former two. It’s important to note that all four sites show a significant increase in U.S. traffic since the beginning of this year, but Facebook is definitely on the steepest growth curve here. In January 2009, total traffic to Facebook was somewhere around 68.5 million uniques, which means the May number of 113 million represents a 61% jump, mostly thanks to the successful spread of the Facebook Connect service.

Trollbeads Trail – Complete e-Commerce site with shopping cart all in WordPress

Marc — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:18:06 +0000

Smart small business professionals see the opportunity of being able to market and sell on the internet. Your business can have a dialog with current and potential customers 24/7/365. Of course the challenge is being noticed with all the competition on the web today. Having your website rank high enough with general search terms to actually get traffic that will convert to customers is a challenge. And if your website does not place well in organic search your website investment and monthly site costs can be sunk. The big retailers have entire IT departments to constantly do that, but what chance do small businesses have?

A very good chance with the right platform. We know that blogs can get powerful search attention, so I use WordPress as the right platform for an entire website. Amazon or Walmart and other big retail business can’t, but WordPress scales just right for small business owners. Due to their underlying program structure blogs are well recognized by search engines, so my approach has become to use a blog’s program structure for an entire website … with outstanding search marketing results.

Such was the direction a few weeks ago when I was asked to develop a new website for a jewelry and gift shop owner who has been a Trollbeads retailer for over a year with strong store sales. She wanted a site that she could manage and easily add content to, that would meet the requirements of the US Trollbeads distributor, have a complete online shopping cart system and most importantly would have a good chance of high search engine rank and resulting sales increase. Well yesterday the site was approved by the Trollbeads distributor and the site owner was able to make it live on the internet. Introducing … TrollbeadsTrail, the newest of Trollbeads retailer websites.

: trollbeadstrail.com

TrollbeadsTrail is an all WordPress website, even the catalog shopping cart system. I had used ZenCart in the past but wanted a catalog that would share all the theme elements of the website, so I used WP e-Commerce. In addition to shopping cart, dynamic page features, a blog with threaded comments and the rest of the features expected of a Web 2.0 website, it also includes two way Twitter account integration and more social media incorporation. All on one domain, on the same host. The operationg cost of the website with the cart is less than $25.00 a month Much less than the price of third party shopping carts like GoDaddy’s low cost shopping cart.

Plus it looks good! Please take a look and leave a comment if you wish. Anyone else want a website with a complete integrated shopping cart and excellent search page placement? The low cost could surprise you. Particularly in relationship to the great returns,

Always try to finish the loop for maximum marketing ROI

Marc — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:38:50 +0000

Yesterday I had a note from a client who was disappointed by the low number of website visitors following her presence at a well attended wedding show.

She wrote:

“I did what was supposed to be a BIG wedding show. … I checked my {website} stats from this weekend and there were really very few hits. I am surprised. I had by far the best booth and some of the best work. I actually had one young lady tell me I deserved an award for my booth. It was very welcoming and people were able to set in comfortable chairs. … I have done follow-up emails already today to each person individually and my stats have not increased.”

“It was on my signage (my signage was 4×8 feet), my card 4×6 , my beautifully packaged pricing info that I only handed to really interested brides (in the form of a folder so not to get lost). Basically everything in very clear writing. I also added it and my blog as links at the bottom of my follow up email. I don’t get it. I checked my website both days to make sure it was running.”

As you can see she did an excellent job of presenting her website URL, she took her site name to the top, but what was missing was a reason for people to visit her website. It is important to get people to your website because it makes another contact and reinforces your brand during their decision making. But, if you don’t provide them an explicit benefit to visit they will not close the loop for you.

When you present your website information always try to think in terms of a brief statement with an explicit benefit for visiting. It can be a free report, tips, a modest upgrade to a package, newsletter sign up, your blog, a drawing etc. The more benefits you can share the more likely someone will be motivated to take the effort to actually visit your website.

So; 1) ask them to visit your website, 2) share the address, and 3) give them a good reason to do it. And, that’s the completing the loop.

MUST DO – follow up those wedding and bridal show leads

Marc — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:36:16 +0000

This was going to be the “everything you need to know” post of following up on your bridal and wedding show leads. But I found that Andy Ebon has just recently created a great post on this most fundamental practice, though unused opportunity. And then that there was some relevant stuff in other posts on this blog. So I put it all together for this post with just one new idea.

I think this is the most important graf from Andy’s post. Hard proof!

“In my recent years, when attending bridal shows, I would register as a groom (for research purposes). The shocking result was the total lack of follow up. No one seemed to do telemarketing. Email and snail mail usually totaled a combined 5%. One pair of shows, for example, had a cumulative unique vendor count of more than 200. I received 6 emails and 2 letters. …

Plainly put, one should be communicating with every qualified prospect that enters your booth (signing up for something). Secondarily, one should process the show leads-list, and follow up with a slightly more general message.”

You should really read Andy’s entire post.

When you start preparing your follow-up think first how you want to lead to an action … “asking for the order”. Then begin preparing your follow-up to support that the idea of that action. And conclude your follow up specifically asking for that action.

For more creative ideas of what and how to include in your follow-up message, review my earlier post of 17 ways to get 300+ inquiries.

Always communicate and frequency is key. Use your wedding and bridal show follow-up as just one of a few targeted messages to your qualified leads. It is not just one message that may make the difference, it is the number of messages. As I posted a number of months ago, it has been found that typical prospects need from 6 – 8 messages before they easily reach a decision.

Email or regular mail is acceptable. For email I recommend using a service like Aweber or MyEmma the tracking options are well worth the price in learning what gets responses and what does not. But lately, I am thinking that this economy is returning people to value traditional, simple, meaningful and tactile. So I would explore using standard mail for the follow up to at least your most qualified prospects. And to make it potentially very memorable, if it is timely, I would send them with a memorable postmark.

: Special 2008 Valentines Day Loveland Colorado postmark

Use a Valentine’s Day postmark! (Again, if it is timely.) Many towns have a special postmark for mail during Valentines Day. All you need to do is request the Postmaster to use it on your letters. Here is how if you want this year’s special Valentines Day Loveland Colorado postmark on your mail to brides-to-be.

To have your mail re-mailed with the Loveland postmark, enclose your pre-stamped, pre-addressed envelopes (envelopes should each have 41-cent postage; postcards should have 26 cents postage), add extra stamps/postage for heavier/odd shaped valentines, mail in a large stamped envelope to:

Postmaster
Valentine Re-mailing
446 E. 29th St.
Loveland, CO 80538

Deadlines for re-mailing and delivery by Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14:

Valentine cards/envelopes destined for re-mailing outside of the U.S. to other countries and international destinations should be in Loveland by Monday, Feb. 4.

Valentine cards/envelopes destined for re-mailing within the U.S. and outside of Colorado should be in Loveland by Saturday, Feb. 9.

Valentine cards/envelopes destined for re-mailing within the state of Colorado should be in Loveland by Tuesday, Feb. 12.

In many ways we are in the love business and I think that this might really make your message stand out, at least she will keep your envelope for a long while.

Face it, you are not going to get the business unless you ask for it. Bridal and wedding shows are expensive … get the most you can out of it.

How Flash websites prevent “Word of Mouth” internet referrals

Marc — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:46:55 +0000

The marketing activity we all hope for; the free, powerful word of mouth referral to our website is severely hampered by Flash based website. The monolithic nature of Flash websites prevent anyone directing a contact into a specific part of your website. So they take a screen capture to show what they find interesting, or try to give some maze like instructions on how to find it in your website … or likely they just skip the whole thing and go on to a potential competitor. And you are left wanting for website referrals. You can’t buy word-of-mouth and with Flash you almost prevent them.

This is one marketing problem with Flash website I had not thought of before I came across this post at Webby Thoughts discussing the difficulty of emailing a link about Taco Bell’s Queso Crunchwrap with the Bell’s Flash website.

Now that may seem like it has little relevance to a wedding professional’s website, but imagine; a bride-to-be wanting to email a link to -

show her bride’s maids the dress she wants them to wear/buy
show her planner the floral decorations she wants to use
share the images that made her decide to chose you as her photographer
or worse, the link to your contract and payment options with her parents.

With Flash most of your content and details are buried in single monolithic site, it can’t be done. And as you build content it only becomes more difficult to share “word-of-mouth” referrals about what she found important about you. Put your content into a great platform like my WordPress based Kertesz web/blogsite and keep Flash for your galleries. So don’t just want referrals, GET them!

Think about it, can anyone name a successful internet marketer using a totally Flash based website … Bueller?

My CameraDojo podcast with expert photographers Kerry Garrison and David Esquire on website search optimization/marketing and getting the most from your blog

Marc — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:51:36 +0000

If you haven’t been taking lessons at the CameraDojo, you probably should take the time to visit. It could only help you gain the skill to survive and thrive in meeting any challenge … even this economic recession.

Created by well known and respected photographers, Kerry and David, it is an excellent website to assist professionals in all areas of photography. All areas, and even in the non-imaging areas towards gaining the success (and comfort) that comes from effective marketing.

Recently they have recently had podcasts by such notables as Dane Sanders and … to my surprise … now even me. The podcast we did right before Christmas is now up and ready for your ears and thoughts. Let me know if you have any comments or questions. Click here to listen to the podcast.

And to become a master, browse through the rest of CameraDojo’s terrific site including other podcasts, resources, specials, news, forum, etc. Learn to take better pictures and make the most of your photography budget. Camera Dojo has tips, tutorials, and product reviews for Canon, Nikon, and others.

Blogging advice wrap-up

Marc — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 14:08:41 +0000

This is the final (for now) post on how to blog. Your website’s blog can make a huge difference in your on-line success, increasing your search engine result page rank, visitor traffic and presenting you as an expert in your field. Here are a few other helpful perspectives.

In his recent brief and excellent Slate article titled “How To Blog“ Farhad Manjoo provided an excellent outline from noted successful experienced blogging experts on … how to blog, outlining the specfic steps to take on a regular basis to create a satisfying and popular blog.

And for more detail on blogging from a wedding point of view, Christine Boulton of The Agency at Think has recently posted a three blogging advice items:

Out of all of this advice, the most important thing to do is to just do it. There is no perfect post, even the best blog has some bad ones. But with a little time and regular blog posting you can create a valuable marketing resource for your business and many of today’s brides-to-be.

Blog readers are not your only marketing target, but they are a sizable group (for 2006 in the USA about 36 percent of the total population) and are easy and inexpensive to effectively reach. Just do it.