marketing

Web Sales Machine

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Here’s a new site:
http://www.websalesmachine.com
It’s a joint project with my wife, Genhi and me.
More info to come soon!

“Smarter” Permission email marketing and Amazon.com

Tuesday, June 10th, 2008

Amazon.com is a good case study of smart permission email marketing.
The emails are personalized with my name.
They send recommendations based upon what I have bought in the past.
They send recommendations based upon what people who share my interests have bought.
All of this data is uniquely targeted to me; no other person has the same set [...]

Why I Love Google

Monday, June 9th, 2008

Yep, I love Google.
And the reason is, Google seems to have the psychic ability to figure out exactly what I need and want, and give me exactly that, much of the time.
An example from just few minutes ago…
I had trouble remembering the spelling of a particular word, and decided to simply type “spelling” into Google [...]

Startup Blogs and News

Monday, May 26th, 2008

Here’s a great site which aggregates feeds from business blogs and news sites, especially those oriented toward startups:
http://startups.alltop.com
I learned about this from Tim Berry’s blog on Entepreneur.com, another helpful resource:
http://upandrunning.entrepreneur.com

Measuring the “Right” Metrics

Monday, May 5th, 2008

Here is a very helpful article on the issue of metrics:
http://www.cmswire.com/cms/web-content/are-your-website-metrics-reliable-002627.php
The author claims that not only are most web  publishers measuring the wrong metrics, the data they do measure is usually inaccurate.
To the tune of 75%.
Bottom line: figure out what you’re supposed to be measuring (for a sales site, it’s conversion) and measure that.
How many [...]

Permission Email Marketing

Sunday, January 13th, 2008

Permission email marketing vs s*p*a*m, what’s the difference?
Spam is equivalent to the “junk” mail you receive in your physical mail box, if you did not give explicit permission for the mailer to send it to you. (As a copywriter, I shudder to call it “junk” mail, but that’s what it’s known as.) To carry the [...]

The Ezine Queen

Wednesday, January 9th, 2008

If you’re interested in starting your own ezine, one resource you should check out is Alexandra Brown’s site:
http://www.ezinequeen.com
She offers a free 45 minute audio class on starting an ezine, and free articles, weekly tips via email, and paid products.
According to her site, Mark Victor Hansen & Associates said she is one of the top ten [...]

Email marketing and sneezers

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008

In his book, Purple Cow, Seth Godin discusses the concept of “sneezers”.
Huh?
“Sneezers” are “experts” who tell all of their friends and colleagues about a new product or service, and are perceived authorities in the area and are therefore influential.
The book is worth reading just for the discussion of “sneezers”.
What relevant does this have for your [...]

Ezine Advertising Strategies

Monday, January 7th, 2008

Here are some ideas to help you as you begin thinking about advertising in ezines.

Go Slow. It’s your money, so spend as little as possible in the beginning. You don’t know yet what is going to work.
Test. Have mechanisms in place to track the actions of the prospects who view the ad, and commit yourself [...]

8 Reasons to Take Your Business Online

Saturday, January 5th, 2008

If you have an existing business, you should strongly consider taking it online. Here are some reasons why.
1. Take advantage of web searches.
More people are online than ever before, and it’s getting easier to browse the web on handheld computers or cell phones. People are probably finding you or your competitors by searching on [...]