Archive for the ‘internet marketing’ Category

Marketing in a recession: When the going gets tough . . .

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

Last Saturday, we took a family bike ride.

Sounds ordinary enough – but it wasn’t.  See, winter still had us in its clutches – instead of bike helmets we donned snowboard helmets.  Mittens and parkas kept us covered.  And while the skies only looked leaden when we started out, by the time we were well into our route, snow was falling.  The frozen bits stung our cheeks as we cruised down our first big hill.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that we’d been without power for two days?

But as the trip progressed, our moods went up as well.  We stopped by various friends in the neighborhood, checking in to see how they were fairing with the power outage.  Talk of freezers and generators and wells speckled with a few jokes about the weather.

By the time we reached home, we were feeling quite merry.  In fact rather than racing inside, the kids engaged in a wrestling match in the snow while C and I walked the backwoods to check our sap buckets and assess next year’s wood supply brought down by the recent storm.

When we finally dipped in to our soup near the wood stove we were feeling pretty good.

What we did that is an essential lesson for right now.

When it snows and the power’s out, go biking!

What do I mean?

I mean that when the economy is in the dumps and continues to dip; when things look rough, go deep and push harder.

That’s what I’m doing with my writing business.  I’m investing in more learning opportunities, jazzing up my website (I’ll let you know about this more), developing some more info products (to be announced), and putting some steam in my marketing.

If you’re a health publisher, a supplement business, a health provider, a marketer or a writer, now’s the time to push.  Now more than ever.

Now remember, I didn’t send my kids out without warm helmets, mittens and deeply-grooved mountain bike tires.  Nor should you leap without looking and careful assessment.

But the history of business is this.  The businesses that continue to invest in the future – in infrastructure, innovation and especially marketing – are the ones that take up some space and speed into the front runner positions.

If you’re a health product manufacturer or retailer or a health service provider – health needs never go away. And now, more than ever, people are looking for more DIY solutions, preventative tactics – information and products that can help them gain control over this most immediate part of their life while so much spins out of control.

Find them.  Help them find you.

And here are some ideas to focus on that will help you get the most bang for your buck:

  1. Work on search engine optimization and marketing.  PPC and adwords allows you to quickly and relatively cheaply test marketing materials to get the best conversion.  SEO gives you even more credibility with people who find you this way.
  2. Work on your list-building.  Make your PPC campaigns, your PR and as much of your marketing materials as possible focus on driving traffic to optins.  Once you have them as part of your “captive” audience, you can really sit down and have a conversation with them and convince them to check out your offerings.
  3. Do everything you can to capture any traffic that comes to your website with strategic optins.  A slideon registration box that comes on as people are leaving your website is a great way to avoid being boorish but still grab people’s attention.
  4. Create some strategic free tastes that will entice people to sign up.  Videos are all the rage and seem to be working.  But I still think an info-packed report does wonders – easier to skim through and download than a video. And give free tastes with good blog entries, good articles in your newsletters, good info in your marketing materials.
  5. Get social.  I’m still learning my way through this one.  But here’s what I’m doing so far: Identify one or two places to focus your efforts and work on them (I’ve chosen Twitter and Linkedin). Develop some strategies to get more efficient and focus in on your goals and then stick with them.
  6. Learn and Adjust. Use the data from your website analytics, your email service, etc.  But just as important seek feedback from your customers and use it, too.  And really finetune your marketing and offerings.

As it happens, I’m offering a couple of nice get-to-know you intro services at a nice price (under $1000) with a very nice bonus for the next two weeks.  They’re a good way to strategically boost your natural health marketing and I’m hoping I won’t have to market too much once the farming season hits, my kids are home for the summer and I’m super busy.

What tactics are you using to ride face first into this snowstorm and still keep smiling?

Posted in Uncategorized, internet marketing | 2 Comments »

Email Marketing: Keeping it Real

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

My life as a farmer started decades ago when I apprenticed to a small biodynamic farmer at 18.  And I distinctively remember the day I really knew in my gut how much I wanted to have farming a permanent part of my life.

It was a rainy April day, temperature in the high 40’s.  And we’d been working in the field for a few hours transplanting broccoli.  This is on top of getting up early to milk the cows and process the milk.  We were cold and wet. A warm, generous lunch in the farm kitchen was still close to an hour away.

And at that moment I had never felt so much a part of life.

As I sat there in the muddy field with chilly fingers and several long rows of work ahead of me, I could feel in my bones and sinews how all the work I had done that day was going right into the food that would in turn keep me fueled for my afternoon chores.  I felt utterly content.

This desire to stay connected to the realness of farming never left me.  So years later, when my oldest was 3 years old and I was expecting our second child, my husband and I decided to “escape” Brooklyn and move to the country.  It took several years more to get to a place where we could have a garden and even more time to plant fruit trees and start with livestock.

But here we are.  And no matter what happens in cyberspace with my business, we still have our farm.  Every day, it gives me perspective when I take a break and stand outside and look down towards the pond through the line of trees to the next field.  This is what’s important – being alive.

Now I could go on for a bit on this topic, waxing philosophical. This is not the time or place.

But there is a marketing secret here. Your market is yearning for the same thing.  Now it may not be milking cows or playing in the dirt.  Not everyone wants to be a farmer.

But most people – just about everyone in the natural health market – are looking for something that makes sense to them at this real, tangible level.

Something they can get at a gut level.  That they can really hold in their hands and say this helps me live.

Something that in turn makes them feel more human, more real – not just a figment lost in the infinite scope of the universe, time and the internet.

It’s why so many people are turning to natural health over conventional medicine.  Something that grows in the soil seems to be a better fit for our bodies than something dreamed up in a lab.

So here are a few tips for keeping it real in for the natural health market:

Don’t just talk about the science. Science is good, it answers the logical part of our brain.  But also talk to the instinctive part, the part of us that wants to taste, hold, touch, smell and see what we’re getting.

Even if your product uses a powder or extract, bring in some descriptions of the original source – how it’s grown, what it looks like, how it tastes or smells.  And describe the product as well.  Describe your capsules, packed with light brown antioxidant-rich powder, for example.  Or the light watermelon flavor of the drink mix.  Or how your shampoo’s minty-lavender scent will make showering an experience in itself.

Focus on the benefits, the deep benefits that your prospect can connect to.  If your supplement lowers blood pressure, okay, you can refer to that (in FDA-friendly terms, mind you).  But no one really feels when their blood pressure is high or low.

What people do feel is the anxiety about how healthy their blood pressure is.  What people do feel is the sense of relief and pride that they have healthy blood pressure.  Talk to those very real experiences.

Make yourself and your business real. Most recently I worked on an email campaign for a client.  In this campaign, we transformed the company’s communication from a business-tone to a personal tone.  We designated a spokesperson in the emails (his wife and co-founder) and we spoke to the recipients person-to-person, acknowledging foibles, excitement, concern, pride and more.

The heartfelt, personal responses plus the sales pleasantly surprised my client.

This last one is particularly important when it comes to internet marketing.  Cyberspace puts us all in space suits, longing for some security. We’re looking for some guarantee that we’re still tethered to earth. When you show prospects that your business has real people behind it, real technical challenges, office politics, etc., you convince people that you’re for real.  That their money and the hopes they invest in your product will not disappear – poof – into the wide world of the web. They feel more security, more trust and emotionally more connected to you.  The perfect mix for a sale.

Bottom line – make it real for your customers and they will make your business.

What are your ideas for making internet marketing more real, especially when it comes to the natural health market?  Leave your comment to get this discussion going.

Posted in internet marketing | 4 Comments »

Lies!

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

Lies!

My daughter was caught lying.

It was a simple issue – she had gone online to look at videos when she was supposed to be working on her Japanese.  But instead of fessing up, she concocted a story about using Google to find a definition for a Japanese word.

Now it’s a small thing in some ways.  Kids are notorious for playing when they’re supposed to be buckling down.

 But it’s huge in its ramifications. The major transgression here was her lie.  And trust isn’t something you can play with.

For years, she’s trumped her younger brother in many a dispute because she has a reputation for honesty.  Often we’ve used her spotless record to prod him to be more forthcoming.  He’s had to work hard to make his arguments hold water since he has such a tendency to embroider the truth.

But my girl – she’s been reliable . . . until for some fluke – today.  Or maybe not . . .

See that’s the terrible consequence she faced when she stepped into the world of fabrication.  She no longer has that credibility with us.  All the past was left in doubt.  And even more significant . . .

Everything she said from now one would have to be backed up with evidence.  We couldn’t just take her on her word.  She’s going to have to work hard to regain this trust that took so little time to disintegrate.

This is the importance of truthfulness in advertising. 

As people get to know you, they begin to trust you.  And that trust transfers over not only to the immediate sales letter you just sent them . . . but to the next one and the next one.  It builds up.  It makes selling easier.

But be caught lying – even in one small bit – and that trust is shattered.  You’ve got mountains to climb to get back there.

Garden of Life’s Jordan Rubin hit this when his Ph D was questioned.  Tiger Woods’ sponsors faced this when his integrity showed some cracks.  I’m sure you can come up with plenty of examples yourself.

Now, I bring this up for a very specific reason.  As a copywriter, I work to create rapport between the market and the person I’m writing as (the company CEO, health expert in residence, etc.)  As a copywriter, I’m used to putting words in people’s mouth.  It’s like being a speechwriter when you write a sales letter for somebody.  I don’t fabricate any of the info I put together – but in some ways I’m putting on a façade as I write in someone else’s name.

But what happens with social media?  What happens when you hit Twitter or comment on forums or blog in another person’s name?  Can you still do this?  Is it a breach of trust?  Does the public assume that some tweets are carefully crafted by professionals-for-hire?  Are they okay with that? Or if I write in someone else’s name is that a lie?

And I’ll add an even stickier layer with a recent large online revelation.  Copywriter James Chartrand revealed that he was actually a she.  She had taken a male penname because she found she got more, better-paying clients when she presented herself as a man.  In the Copyblogger blog where she told the truth, her self-disclosure was taken with a warm round of applause.  But how about her clients?  Was there fallout?

Plenty of copywriters (like Michael Masterson) take pen names – I’ve thought about it myself to protect my privacy.  (Full disclosure:  I don’t.) But how does this factor into the age of social media, transparency, and relationship-building.

As James (or Jamie, now?) made it clear:  It’s only a matter of time before someone uncovers the truth if they really want to.  You’ve got to be prepared with an explanation.

On one hand, I feel that if the idea of using a professional writer in social media makes you feel conned, you’ve got a certain naivete about the world.  As much as we feel buddy-buddy in chat rooms, it’s not the same as really getting to know someone.  Face to face.  And to expect that it is the same is not understanding that we’re still communicating through the safe distance of our machines.

But as copywriters, we also write to tap into people’s emotions – again, building trust and asking people to let down their defenses.  And it’s not something to take lightly.

I don’t have a conclusion here.  I’m trying to sort through this myself.  I’m working on marketing projects that require tweeting and intimate-feeling emails.  And so much of this is new, it’s hard to find tested results and best-practices.

 But it’s an important question for us copywriters to broach as we move online and then into the social realm.   I’m asking you to help me and all of us tuning in here to sort through this.  What do you think?  What guidelines do you use for online honesty?  I’m all ears.

Posted in internet marketing, online copywriting | No Comments »

New Tricks For Conquering Internet Marketing Mountains

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

You know, on the ski slopes, it’s a lot about looking good. 
The equipment . . . the sharp turns . . . 

the sharper threads . . .

It’s a real spectacle sport.

So it was with some mixed emotions that I found myself on the bunny slope. 

Actually, the “all about looking good” thing may be stretching it for me.  I’m not really a gear head. My alpine skis are a used package from a warehouse in Utah. 

Nor am I a fashion maven although I do have a new parka I think I look pretty good in.

But I was beginning to feel a little confident on the moguls (the really bumpy, technical runs)  Starting to feel a bit of that satisfaction that comes with looking . . . well . . .pretty good!

So what was I doing on the gentle beginner grades?

I was learning to telemark ski.  Telemarking is the free-heeling turning style developed by cross-country or nordic skiers to get down hills.  Instead of being completely clamped down to a ski, your heel is free allowing you to bend your legs in a deep lunge as you turn.

I’ve been intrigued with the style for a while.  But when I met a woman at an Appalachian Mountain Club lodge who was about to tromp into the backcountry with her telemark skis, unfazed by hills and ready to take them in stride, I was hooked.

And so I ended up on the easy trails I had thought I’d long abandoned, making careful, deliberate turns.  And occasionally eating snow.

But this is not really about telemarking or skiing.  It’s about marketing and copywriting.

The point is that I was trying something new.  Just as I started to gain confidence and some bit of mastery in alpine skiing, I had placed myself back in the throes of newbi-ness.

But I did it for a reason.  I knew it would open new territory to me to explore and enjoy.

Now as a web writer, this is slightly off-kilter feeling is something you have to get used to.

The web is an exciting place to be – full of opportunities as a marketer or copywriter.

But it’s also incredibly dynamic.  Changing every second with the inventiveness of people as new needs are identified and new problems solved.

As web copywriter Pam Foster describes it, it’s kind of like being in a roller derby.  You’re constantly moving, the immediate area around you is in flux and you have to survive drawing on a mixture of skills and the ability to adjust to the situation.  If you’re not sharp enough, you might get an elbow in the ribs.

So while there are some basics to marketing and copywriting that never change and can be mastered, much of your work will be on that anxiety-laced edge of something new.

There are three tactics I’m using to learn to telemark ski that work for learning to navigate the world of web marketing and web writing as well.

1.  I take lessons.  I’ve tapped into some good instructors and invested time and money into learning.

2.  I watch people around me who seem to be doing pretty well at this.  That’s why I store up all kinds of marketing emails that come into my inbox.  I follow twitter aficionados like Michael Stelzner as they tweet.  And I study websites that analysts like Internet Retailer or Grok.com report are doing well.

And finally,

3.  I bring my own experience and foundational skills to bear.  As much as telemarking is new, I also have a good amount of body wisdom from alpine and cross-country skiing that’s helping me learn. 

So build on the skills and experience you have.  But stretch yourself, try things that make you a little nervous, study and learn from watching.  Your success on the web is a combo of that balance between solid competence and intrepid explorer.

A few good FREE resources to start with:

One of the online areas I’m really snowplowing through (a beginner form of skiing) is social media.

So here are a few places where I’ve found some great info on social media marketing:

1. Michael Stelzner’s Social Media Examiner. A daily e-magazine covering social media marketing.  Great stuff tapping into a wealth of expertise.  www.socialmediaexaminer.com

2.  On Feb 4 HubSpot and Marketing Sherpa are putting on a one hour webinar “MarketingSherpa’s ROAD Map to Social Marketing Maturity” that will go over a practical method for mapping an effective social marketing strategy. http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-webinars/marketingsherpa-phases-of-social-marketing-maturity

3. TODAY!  January 21, 2010 at 1:00 pm ET, HubSpot is putting on a webinar about Twitter and marketing.”There is a lot of talk about Twitter, but many marketers don’t realize that Twitter is a worthwhile marketing tool for their business.” I’m intrigued . . .
http://www.hubspot.com/webinar-how-businesses-are-using-twitter/?source=targetmktg-dedicated-howbusinessesareusingtwitterwebinar-20100119-hspd
4. Target Marketing and Lyris are putting on a webinar titled, “Social + Email Marketing: The Dynamic Duo: Using Email Marketing to Convert Social Media into Revenue”.  It will be held Thursday, January 28, 2010 | 2:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. PT
http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/webinar  scroll down to third webinar

Here’s a good start – and I’ll be putting more of my favorite web resources down in future newsletters.

Have any insights or favorite spots to add?

Posted in internet marketing | 3 Comments »