I have a client who who runs a plumbing business. He purchased a SEO Starter Package to help increase traffic to his site. This was a few months ago and at first he was reluctant. He asked me, "how long it would take and how much traffic could he expect?" I replied that there are no guarantees and too many variables to make an accurate estimate but he could expect to see some kind of improvement. The cost of the package is less than what he would typically spend for one of his advertisements (space ad) running in a local paper for one or two weeks.
A few months have gone by so I went into the back-end of his site to look at the stats. I compared the month of June in 2012 with June 2011. I also compared June with the month of April from this year.
From June 2011 to June 2012 the hits to just the index page went UP 75%. Overall in that time span the traffic for all page hits increased 41%.
For comparison reasons I checked and found that the jump in previous years from June to June was only 37% for the index page. So 75% is a big jump.
I know that some people would argue that perhaps the weather played into the numbers. His business does a fair amount of HVAC work and air conditioning repair, installation and maintenance. The months of June in the previous years were actually warmer in New Jersey (2010 averaged 74.4 degrees, 2011 averaged 72.6 degrees and 2012 averaged 70.1 degrees). So the slightly cooler temps would not increase but possibly reduce the HVAC and AC business.
I compared April 2012 with June of 2012 the increase was 23%. So the immediate effect was 23% more hits to the index page in just a few months. I looked at the two previous years and found that in 2011 there was a DECREASE of 7.2% and in 2010 an increase of 13.9% from April to June.
The percentage increased a couple of months after the SEO Starter Package was in place. So now what? One of the interesting things about increasing traffic is being able to look at the stats and note which pages the site visitors are most interested in looking at and how long they stay there. More page visits do not automatically equate to more business! But it is a critical part of your overall marketing process.
You can have more site visitors but it is the conversion rate that matters. What are you doing to keep those visitors interested in your website pages? Do they have a reason to come back to the website? Are they contacting you or downloading more information? Are they checking your credentials on various directories or looking and connecting with your social media efforts such as Facebook, LinkedIn or your Blog?
A complete marketing plan must be in place to help convert those visitors into customers. SEO is an important part of your website in terms of potential presence. Your website is a piece of your marketing just like advertising, social media, blogging, email campaigns, directmail and print collateral pieces too. A strong marketing plan will interlock all of the pieces to strengthen your brand image and drive visitors back to your site over and over or entice them to make a call-to-action.
Contact us for a free web site evaluation so we can help you improve your business. Call (551) 265-8762 or visit Uson Consulting.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
Simply having a website up means nothing today.
In the past I wrote about how I come across businesses everyday who have ineffective websites. I often refer to those sites as electronic business cards because they really do nothing to attract site visitors, engage them or give the site visitor a reason to return again. Most of the time knowing the exact URL is the only way someone will come to one of these sites.
Here is an example of a "business card website". Years ago a business owner came to me for a website. The owner complained about the costs for maintaining a site but agreed to get one. That line of thinking flowed right into what I expected. He did not spend any money to promote the site, advertise, update content or do anything to improve the ability to be found on search engines as time went on. After a few years he closed the business and re-opened under a different name. At that point I was asked to make some minor changes to the site mostly because of the name change.
Fast forward a couple more years and the site was down. The domain and hosting were expired. Months later, I got a phone call from this business owner. He asked if I could send him the files used to create the website. He tells me that his brother is going to re-create the site and will "handle it". The first question out of my mouth (and I already know the answer but I have to ask) is whether his brother is a professional designer, programmer or works in a place that can execute and maintain websites? No. That is all I get as a response. I ask because I wonder if the brother is either a competitor or someone I that I can create a strategic partnership with or maybe a potential business partner. I am always looking to expand and I like to keep doors open. The one word reply made me guess that none of the above applied. I did not ask any further questions. When I hear someone say that their website was created by a family member, friend or themselves I always wonder if that individual is appropriate for the job.
In the example above the client did not maintain the site in the past. It appears that he will not do so in the future since he is not using an a pro. He is cutting costs and saving money to ensure that the site will not generate more traffic or interest in his business. So what about costs and budget? I expect to hear the excuse, "I do not have the money for that". We are not talking about a lot of money here. At a minimum you can do something like cut back on a couple dinners at a restaurant or just figure out where to cut costs in the business (a good thing to do anyhow). If you want to grow your business you need to budget accordingly. A professional web or creative marketing pro can also recommend cutting back in areas that are not as effective to invest where it matters most. Anyone creating and maintaining your website should know more than just the technical skills to produce a website. You need to be well versed in design, advertising, marketing and business trends as well as understand SEO (search engine optimization), social media, website interaction, communicating and blogging, and capturing data from site visitors. They should also have experience working with copywriters, illustrators, photographers and selecting appropriate stock images.
I offer a free website evaluation and look at your marketing as a whole. Contact me today and find out how easy it is to maintain and operate an effective online presence.
Here is an example of a "business card website". Years ago a business owner came to me for a website. The owner complained about the costs for maintaining a site but agreed to get one. That line of thinking flowed right into what I expected. He did not spend any money to promote the site, advertise, update content or do anything to improve the ability to be found on search engines as time went on. After a few years he closed the business and re-opened under a different name. At that point I was asked to make some minor changes to the site mostly because of the name change.
Fast forward a couple more years and the site was down. The domain and hosting were expired. Months later, I got a phone call from this business owner. He asked if I could send him the files used to create the website. He tells me that his brother is going to re-create the site and will "handle it". The first question out of my mouth (and I already know the answer but I have to ask) is whether his brother is a professional designer, programmer or works in a place that can execute and maintain websites? No. That is all I get as a response. I ask because I wonder if the brother is either a competitor or someone I that I can create a strategic partnership with or maybe a potential business partner. I am always looking to expand and I like to keep doors open. The one word reply made me guess that none of the above applied. I did not ask any further questions. When I hear someone say that their website was created by a family member, friend or themselves I always wonder if that individual is appropriate for the job.
In the example above the client did not maintain the site in the past. It appears that he will not do so in the future since he is not using an a pro. He is cutting costs and saving money to ensure that the site will not generate more traffic or interest in his business. So what about costs and budget? I expect to hear the excuse, "I do not have the money for that". We are not talking about a lot of money here. At a minimum you can do something like cut back on a couple dinners at a restaurant or just figure out where to cut costs in the business (a good thing to do anyhow). If you want to grow your business you need to budget accordingly. A professional web or creative marketing pro can also recommend cutting back in areas that are not as effective to invest where it matters most. Anyone creating and maintaining your website should know more than just the technical skills to produce a website. You need to be well versed in design, advertising, marketing and business trends as well as understand SEO (search engine optimization), social media, website interaction, communicating and blogging, and capturing data from site visitors. They should also have experience working with copywriters, illustrators, photographers and selecting appropriate stock images.
I offer a free website evaluation and look at your marketing as a whole. Contact me today and find out how easy it is to maintain and operate an effective online presence.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Fingers do the walking? Local businesses need to look at this!
When you want to purchase something do you initially run to a store and ask a sales person for help? Do you rip through papers and magazines to review advertisements? Perhaps you still pull out the phone directory such as the yellow pages?
You might remember this line from the old days, "let your fingers do the walking". In the past people did use phone books and the line above was referring to your fingers walking (flipping) through the pages that had everything listed in alphabetical order. Nowadays, people "Google it" online. If you are a local business are you "it" on Google?
"Google it" has become a verb, an action we take right away to get answers or help. We find articles, blogs, websites and an enormous amount of content and editorial facts or opinions on just about any product or service out there.
I wrote in a previous blog that according to a study by BIA/Kelsey, 97% of local consumers use online media before they shop locally. What this suggests is that a person who will shop at a local store will most likely go online first. They are looking for a website, reviews, product information, history, coupons, price comparisons, etc. They are looking to see if you have a presence online. Are you going to show up as a possible result? You need to come up as "it" when people "Google it".
Here are a few more stats that help to show how important a solid web presence is and that you should have the website set up correctly by a professional.
90% of online commercial searches result in offline bricks-and-mortar purchases. (comScore).
82% of local searchers follow up offline via an in-store visit, phone call or purchase. (TMP Worldwide/comScore).
80% of budgets are spent within 50 miles of the home. (Direct Marketing Association).
But here is the stat that I believe is the most important... 61% of local searches result in purchases. (TMP/comScore).
Yes, 61% is the lowest percentage compared to all the numbers above but it is the most important stat. It is essentially talking about the sales conversion rate. Of all the people doing the local searches, 61% of them will make a purchase. That is huge and you need to make sure you are doing the right things to show up in front of those consumers who "Google it". This also shows how serious the consumer is when shopping locally and that they are going online first. If they are taking the time to run a search on Google for something they can get locally, you have good shot at making the sale or closing a deal... if they find you as a search result online of course.
If you do not have a website Uson Consulting can provide a Website Presentation (no cost or obligation) that will show you how an effective online presence is easy to run and maintain. If you have an existing internet presence we offer a Free Website Analysis, a Basic SEO package or Marketing Collateral to drive more traffic to your website. Call today to start increasing your share of local consumers.
551-265-8762 or email freddy@usonconsulting.com
Visit Uson Consulting online
"Google it" has become a verb, an action we take right away to get answers or help. We find articles, blogs, websites and an enormous amount of content and editorial facts or opinions on just about any product or service out there.
I wrote in a previous blog that according to a study by BIA/Kelsey, 97% of local consumers use online media before they shop locally. What this suggests is that a person who will shop at a local store will most likely go online first. They are looking for a website, reviews, product information, history, coupons, price comparisons, etc. They are looking to see if you have a presence online. Are you going to show up as a possible result? You need to come up as "it" when people "Google it".
Here are a few more stats that help to show how important a solid web presence is and that you should have the website set up correctly by a professional.
90% of online commercial searches result in offline bricks-and-mortar purchases. (comScore).
82% of local searchers follow up offline via an in-store visit, phone call or purchase. (TMP Worldwide/comScore).
80% of budgets are spent within 50 miles of the home. (Direct Marketing Association).
But here is the stat that I believe is the most important... 61% of local searches result in purchases. (TMP/comScore).
Yes, 61% is the lowest percentage compared to all the numbers above but it is the most important stat. It is essentially talking about the sales conversion rate. Of all the people doing the local searches, 61% of them will make a purchase. That is huge and you need to make sure you are doing the right things to show up in front of those consumers who "Google it". This also shows how serious the consumer is when shopping locally and that they are going online first. If they are taking the time to run a search on Google for something they can get locally, you have good shot at making the sale or closing a deal... if they find you as a search result online of course.
If you do not have a website Uson Consulting can provide a Website Presentation (no cost or obligation) that will show you how an effective online presence is easy to run and maintain. If you have an existing internet presence we offer a Free Website Analysis, a Basic SEO package or Marketing Collateral to drive more traffic to your website. Call today to start increasing your share of local consumers.
551-265-8762 or email freddy@usonconsulting.com
Visit Uson Consulting online
Monday, April 2, 2012
Is your business held hostage by a web designer or programmer?
Here's a true story that shows how important it is to have access to your own website so YOU can update or modify content yourself. Obviously there are many things that a professional Web Designer, Web Programmer or Web Master can do that are of great value and should not be handled by the business/web site owner. I also want to stress that many professionals out there would not put any client in a position such as the one I am about to describe. I made names anonymous but the email in quotes below is exactly what I received from my wife.
Email:
"(a friend) recommended a Thai place that she ate at last week so we decided to order in. We go to the website to look at the menu and find that the lunch specials are $7.95 and include a salad and appetizer. I put in the order for two lunch specials and I'm told that the total price is $20.58. I ask how that can be since the specials are $7.95 each. The response I got was that the prices changed, they called their web people to make the change but it hadn't been done yet. I told them that they should honor the prices on the website and they told me no and again said that they are waiting for their web people to update the website. We canceled the order. It's not our problem that they increased their prices but their web people didn't update the site in a timely fashion. They should honor the prices on the website until the changes are made. That's just really bad business. If they were able to update their own changes, they wouldn't have to deal with this issue."
My wife also sent me a link to the restaurant's website and mentioned that it had a lot of flash which annoyed her. I took a look and did not see any disclaimer or verbiage such as "prices subject to change" or similar. I did notice that it was a beautiful design but slow. All that flash made the site have not enough content that could be read for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) purposes and would be ineffective on some mobile devices, tablets, etc.
If the owner of the web site is large enough to have an in-house department or employee(s) dedicated to website maintenance this issue is not likely to happen. Most of my clients however are small or medium sized businesses and would never come across a situation like this for two reasons. If they asked me to make this type of update I would find out what the time frame is and then I would either do it myself right away or get help. Most likely my client would simply call the toll-free number and speak to a Customer Support Expert in site editing or content management. This Customer Support Expert would walk the web site owner (or anyone who has the log-in information) and show or help them make the content edits, site corrections, update images, etc. The experts are available 24 hours a day and are included with the low monthly web site maintenance cost.
Some of my clients are comfortable enough to do something like this alone. They do rely on the different experts for very specific things that the website and business need. For example we have experts for Website edits, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), basic site maintenance, E-commerce, Social Media, E-Newsletters, Contact Management and even Experts for Data Management. It is extremely important to maintain the site yourself with these experts not only for situations such as the one described in this blog posting but for the obvious reason that a web site is never finished and needs content updated regularly to keep the site relevant for SEO and to give site visitors a reason to come back to visit your web site over and over.
If you would like a FREE Presentation (no cost or obligation) call us for details. In the presentation we show you that our (new or re-designed) websites come with many tools included as part of your monthly maintenance along with toll-free access to the Customer Support Experts. You'll see how easy it is to manage, update, market and promote your site as well as communicate and interact with web site visitors so you may increase business and reduce operating costs. Call today and see if you qualify for a free presentation! (551) 265-8762.
Email:
"(a friend) recommended a Thai place that she ate at last week so we decided to order in. We go to the website to look at the menu and find that the lunch specials are $7.95 and include a salad and appetizer. I put in the order for two lunch specials and I'm told that the total price is $20.58. I ask how that can be since the specials are $7.95 each. The response I got was that the prices changed, they called their web people to make the change but it hadn't been done yet. I told them that they should honor the prices on the website and they told me no and again said that they are waiting for their web people to update the website. We canceled the order. It's not our problem that they increased their prices but their web people didn't update the site in a timely fashion. They should honor the prices on the website until the changes are made. That's just really bad business. If they were able to update their own changes, they wouldn't have to deal with this issue."
My wife also sent me a link to the restaurant's website and mentioned that it had a lot of flash which annoyed her. I took a look and did not see any disclaimer or verbiage such as "prices subject to change" or similar. I did notice that it was a beautiful design but slow. All that flash made the site have not enough content that could be read for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) purposes and would be ineffective on some mobile devices, tablets, etc.
If the owner of the web site is large enough to have an in-house department or employee(s) dedicated to website maintenance this issue is not likely to happen. Most of my clients however are small or medium sized businesses and would never come across a situation like this for two reasons. If they asked me to make this type of update I would find out what the time frame is and then I would either do it myself right away or get help. Most likely my client would simply call the toll-free number and speak to a Customer Support Expert in site editing or content management. This Customer Support Expert would walk the web site owner (or anyone who has the log-in information) and show or help them make the content edits, site corrections, update images, etc. The experts are available 24 hours a day and are included with the low monthly web site maintenance cost.
Some of my clients are comfortable enough to do something like this alone. They do rely on the different experts for very specific things that the website and business need. For example we have experts for Website edits, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), basic site maintenance, E-commerce, Social Media, E-Newsletters, Contact Management and even Experts for Data Management. It is extremely important to maintain the site yourself with these experts not only for situations such as the one described in this blog posting but for the obvious reason that a web site is never finished and needs content updated regularly to keep the site relevant for SEO and to give site visitors a reason to come back to visit your web site over and over.
If you would like a FREE Presentation (no cost or obligation) call us for details. In the presentation we show you that our (new or re-designed) websites come with many tools included as part of your monthly maintenance along with toll-free access to the Customer Support Experts. You'll see how easy it is to manage, update, market and promote your site as well as communicate and interact with web site visitors so you may increase business and reduce operating costs. Call today and see if you qualify for a free presentation! (551) 265-8762.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Get more income as a designer
Today's blog is about the two opposite sides that Web Designers deal with when working with clients. The two sides are Creative and Production. On one side the creative challenge and aesthetic decisions made with regard to marketing and brand information available is what excites most Web Designers. The other side of this is managing production, minor revisions or simply maintenance of a web site. Either of these opposite sides are called upon by client as a must do by the Web Designer. The creative aspect is not only more enjoyable but often more profitable since creative work tends to be billed at a much higher rate than production work.
What got me thinking about this was a post on Facebook from a friend I went to College with. We were in the same class at FIT and got our BFA the same year. Prior to that we also went to the High School of Art & Design. I mention this just to emphasize that she is a very talented and creative person. Her FaceBook post was along the lines that she was so tired of making so many edits on a web site that the client asked for. I commented in her post that I get my clients make their own edits unless they are fun or creative requests and then I do them myself. She did not comment back but I started to think about what was really going on here. I posted a comment with the thought process of how I deal and set up my clients. Basically I build, design and create web sites from scratch onto a platform that gives my clients the ability to go in and easily make edits and changes to content. With this platform my clients also have 24/7 access to toll-free Customer Support experts who will literally hold their hand and take as much time as needed to get the changes done. The client can interact with an expert in E-commerce or an expert in Social Media. There are Customer Support experts for content management and basic editing, Search Engine Optimization, etc. These experts are in the US, fluent (in fact they speak American, not English! lol) and show a lot of patience. Clients do not pay more to use them, its included in the low monthly maintenance fee that also includes all the tools to market, promote, edit, make contact lists, create e-newsleters, blog within the site, connect to social media, analyze stats, etc. There's a lot more but that's not the point... the point is that its all there to use, with expert help for a low monthly fee. (I always ask, "where can you get someone to work with you anytime, as long as you need and for so little, per month?).
Some people might argue that I am missing out on potential income from doing the more "production-type" edits myself. No, this could not be further from the truth. The obvious is that I do not wish to do the edits because I want more time to focus on and enjoy the creative aspects of web design or to find more clients. I make more money either being creative or selling a new site or new design services to a client. It also gives the clients a feeling of being empowered. By the way they can choose anyone they want to do this work if they want to delegate due to time constraints. Making the changes promotes ownership of content and flexibility. Even if I do charge them a "production" rate rather than the "creative" rate to do this work it is still much more than what it would cost for them do it in their spare time. Even more realistic is that they can hire someone at a super low hourly rate, part-time to do this, rather than pay the Web Designer, Web Master, Programmer, etc. Think of the cost savings over a long period of time. And we all know that a web site is never finished and will need regular maintenance and content management to be effective.
The other alternative is for the Web Designer to "take-on" the production work and simply farm it out to contract employees, or an employee they already have, or freelancer. Personally I do not like to play "telephone" and waste time and efforts explaining the tasks and work over and over. I also do not like to baby sit. I find it very frustrating to supervise workers and that takes me away from result-producing activities. This is why I do what I do best (create and design) and let the clients work with the Customer Support experts on their own. I DO like to work with business partners who will duplicate everything I mentioned in this blog post. They are not employees, they are their own businesses and they will get out what they put in. Ultimately I'll get a piece of the positive results for simply helping them become successful. Its working smart because once they get it right they will generate a continuous stream of income for for both of us. This is getting away from the original subject but I just wanted to tell you briefly why I rather show others how to do what I do rather than have employees to watch over. Hmmmm, reminds me of that story... don't give him a fish, teach him to fish...
If you would like more information or see if you are qualified to become a successful business partner please email freddy@usonconsulting.com or call (551) 265-8762.
What got me thinking about this was a post on Facebook from a friend I went to College with. We were in the same class at FIT and got our BFA the same year. Prior to that we also went to the High School of Art & Design. I mention this just to emphasize that she is a very talented and creative person. Her FaceBook post was along the lines that she was so tired of making so many edits on a web site that the client asked for. I commented in her post that I get my clients make their own edits unless they are fun or creative requests and then I do them myself. She did not comment back but I started to think about what was really going on here. I posted a comment with the thought process of how I deal and set up my clients. Basically I build, design and create web sites from scratch onto a platform that gives my clients the ability to go in and easily make edits and changes to content. With this platform my clients also have 24/7 access to toll-free Customer Support experts who will literally hold their hand and take as much time as needed to get the changes done. The client can interact with an expert in E-commerce or an expert in Social Media. There are Customer Support experts for content management and basic editing, Search Engine Optimization, etc. These experts are in the US, fluent (in fact they speak American, not English! lol) and show a lot of patience. Clients do not pay more to use them, its included in the low monthly maintenance fee that also includes all the tools to market, promote, edit, make contact lists, create e-newsleters, blog within the site, connect to social media, analyze stats, etc. There's a lot more but that's not the point... the point is that its all there to use, with expert help for a low monthly fee. (I always ask, "where can you get someone to work with you anytime, as long as you need and for so little, per month?).
Some people might argue that I am missing out on potential income from doing the more "production-type" edits myself. No, this could not be further from the truth. The obvious is that I do not wish to do the edits because I want more time to focus on and enjoy the creative aspects of web design or to find more clients. I make more money either being creative or selling a new site or new design services to a client. It also gives the clients a feeling of being empowered. By the way they can choose anyone they want to do this work if they want to delegate due to time constraints. Making the changes promotes ownership of content and flexibility. Even if I do charge them a "production" rate rather than the "creative" rate to do this work it is still much more than what it would cost for them do it in their spare time. Even more realistic is that they can hire someone at a super low hourly rate, part-time to do this, rather than pay the Web Designer, Web Master, Programmer, etc. Think of the cost savings over a long period of time. And we all know that a web site is never finished and will need regular maintenance and content management to be effective.
The other alternative is for the Web Designer to "take-on" the production work and simply farm it out to contract employees, or an employee they already have, or freelancer. Personally I do not like to play "telephone" and waste time and efforts explaining the tasks and work over and over. I also do not like to baby sit. I find it very frustrating to supervise workers and that takes me away from result-producing activities. This is why I do what I do best (create and design) and let the clients work with the Customer Support experts on their own. I DO like to work with business partners who will duplicate everything I mentioned in this blog post. They are not employees, they are their own businesses and they will get out what they put in. Ultimately I'll get a piece of the positive results for simply helping them become successful. Its working smart because once they get it right they will generate a continuous stream of income for for both of us. This is getting away from the original subject but I just wanted to tell you briefly why I rather show others how to do what I do rather than have employees to watch over. Hmmmm, reminds me of that story... don't give him a fish, teach him to fish...
If you would like more information or see if you are qualified to become a successful business partner please email freddy@usonconsulting.com or call (551) 265-8762.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
DO NOT send out a bad email to prospect new work
Been a while since my last posting on this blog. The irony is that I shake my finger at people who have a blog but do not post regularly but my time away was intentional. I moved my family from northern to central New Jersey near the Princeton Area. Between selling a home, packing, moving and getting settled into a new place I pushed some things to the back burner. I also enjoyed time with my daughter during the summer at the shore and I refocused my thoughts about my business. What is interesting is that for a while I had a steady flow of work and prospects but that started to slow down. Rather than people reaching out to me I found myself calling others. So I realized it was time to practice what I preach, energize my marketing and get back to blogging. I really do miss blogging!
So the topic I want to write about is effective emails. The reason I bring it up is because I just got an email the other day from a business person I met at networking event a while back. I will leave their name and personal information out of this but tell you that he is a one-person operation. I think for the point I want to make it doesn't matter. He is a musician and creates/sells music clips online for use on your web site, multi-media project, etc. People are familiar with purchasing stock images online. This is similar but its music and sounds rather than photography. He also provides music and video production services and teaches privately.
Keep in mind that I met him once, over six months ago, traded business cards and connected on LinkedIn. I got an email the other day like this...
John Doe Company is now producing music for radio, TV, and business use as well as video for business presentations!
To listen to music samples what the promotional video at : http://companyname.com/blog/
Do you know anyone in need of music please contact me -- Thank You
I typed it exactly with the weird spaces, typos and odd language as I received it. I know that I have typos and incorrect grammar in my blogs but I am writing quickly as if I was having a conversation.
First of all, if I was sending out any advertisement, marketing piece, email, etc. I would not only proofread it myself but I have others read through it as well. Details like that make the recipient question the quality of work offered by this business.
Second thing that hit me right away is how impersonal the tone is. No reference to when or where we met or any indication that you care to know if I am well or hope that my business is doing well. Maybe a reference to the new year/season/long time-no-see... really anything would be nice. I know we met once but as a prospective client or networking/reference person you should be a bit more gracious. Now, I know that there a school of thought in marketing that says, "less is better/get right to the point", but you need to treat the email reader better. The more I read the copy the more it reminds me of what you might see on a business card.
Third thing that hit me was how short the email was. Its okay to be straight to the point but you need to give more incentive about going to your web site. What makes you unique and different from all the other similar businesses? What's your niche, specialty, etc?
Finally, I want to add that there is no "call to action". Don't write "contact me" and have the reader do work if they have that split-second thought about who could use your services. Don't make them go out of their way to find your phone number. Now you might argue that since this as an email the person reading it can simply reply. That works well in a situation when both parties are used to emailing each other. With someone I met once I can tell you that I would want to talk to him before referring someone. Also, the bottom line is that you need to build rapport and nurture relationships and that is always easier and more effective when speaking.
There are other things that I would question about this email but to be fair I also want to point out that this is from a one-person show who did not use any professional help and wanted to just get the word out. His web site could be another blog or two but I won't go there. Many small business owners skimp on spending when it come to advertising, web sites, email blasts, etc. This example is pretty typical.
If you would like a FREE review of your web site or other marketing materials with a FREE fifteen minute phone consultation please contact me. Call (551) 265-8762 10AM-6PM est, or email me at freddy@usonconsulting.com
So the topic I want to write about is effective emails. The reason I bring it up is because I just got an email the other day from a business person I met at networking event a while back. I will leave their name and personal information out of this but tell you that he is a one-person operation. I think for the point I want to make it doesn't matter. He is a musician and creates/sells music clips online for use on your web site, multi-media project, etc. People are familiar with purchasing stock images online. This is similar but its music and sounds rather than photography. He also provides music and video production services and teaches privately.
Keep in mind that I met him once, over six months ago, traded business cards and connected on LinkedIn. I got an email the other day like this...
John Doe Company is now producing music for radio, TV, and business use as well as video for business presentations!
To listen to music samples what the promotional video at : http://companyname.com/blog/
Do you know anyone in need of music please contact me -- Thank You
I typed it exactly with the weird spaces, typos and odd language as I received it. I know that I have typos and incorrect grammar in my blogs but I am writing quickly as if I was having a conversation.
First of all, if I was sending out any advertisement, marketing piece, email, etc. I would not only proofread it myself but I have others read through it as well. Details like that make the recipient question the quality of work offered by this business.
Second thing that hit me right away is how impersonal the tone is. No reference to when or where we met or any indication that you care to know if I am well or hope that my business is doing well. Maybe a reference to the new year/season/long time-no-see... really anything would be nice. I know we met once but as a prospective client or networking/reference person you should be a bit more gracious. Now, I know that there a school of thought in marketing that says, "less is better/get right to the point", but you need to treat the email reader better. The more I read the copy the more it reminds me of what you might see on a business card.
Third thing that hit me was how short the email was. Its okay to be straight to the point but you need to give more incentive about going to your web site. What makes you unique and different from all the other similar businesses? What's your niche, specialty, etc?
Finally, I want to add that there is no "call to action". Don't write "contact me" and have the reader do work if they have that split-second thought about who could use your services. Don't make them go out of their way to find your phone number. Now you might argue that since this as an email the person reading it can simply reply. That works well in a situation when both parties are used to emailing each other. With someone I met once I can tell you that I would want to talk to him before referring someone. Also, the bottom line is that you need to build rapport and nurture relationships and that is always easier and more effective when speaking.
There are other things that I would question about this email but to be fair I also want to point out that this is from a one-person show who did not use any professional help and wanted to just get the word out. His web site could be another blog or two but I won't go there. Many small business owners skimp on spending when it come to advertising, web sites, email blasts, etc. This example is pretty typical.
If you would like a FREE review of your web site or other marketing materials with a FREE fifteen minute phone consultation please contact me. Call (551) 265-8762 10AM-6PM est, or email me at freddy@usonconsulting.com
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