Do You Have to be a Marketing Maniac?

[penny4thoughts]

Ladies, I know you don't want to hear this, but you have got to get online and market your services...I mean hard.

Forums are great. Article submission sights are great. Keep at it girls.

Lady Penny.

[Audrey]

I wonder why you think folks don't want to hear that?

[Lori]

Hi Penny,

You'll find lots of women that are pretty excited about marketing here.

We'd love to hear more of your suggestions.

Lori

[WorkAtHomeSpace]

I don't think people wouldn't want to hear this, as a matter of fact I think people are always looking for different ways to effectively market what they have.

[tam2005]

Hi Penny,

Both forum networking and article marketing are excellent marketing tools...I agree with you. As Lori has stated...we would like to hear more from your tips and suggestions. :)

[momathome]

Marketing can be fun if you make it that way. Seriously, shouldn't we all be excited to promote our great products or services? :)

[penny4thoughts]

Do any of you run a blog/s? How about podcasts?

Those initiatives seem to be very consultative.

[MaryAnn]

I would say that most of the people on this board are already marketing maniacs :work: . If you visit other message boards you will see many of the people who visit here marketing on them, too. What I love is that they have seen the message boards as a way to build relationships and not just spam ads all over the place - to me that is "real" marketing.

Additionally, if you do some research, you will find a ton of very well written, informative articles written by the very same marketing maniacs.

Not least, yes, most of the people here have blogs and some have podcasts.

In addition, many pay for banner ads, buttons, etc. They utilize signature lines for advertising not only on message boards but on personal emails, also.

I would ask, since you brought up the subject originally, what are some of your suggestions for being a "marketing maniac?" Do you have an article to share or a blog link with some tips and techniques that you use?

[Audrey]

I do have a blog. It's just one more marketing system I use.

[tam2005]

I have a couple of blogs as well. I agree...another excellent marketing tool. :)

[plainjanemom]

I agree -- you've got to be a Marketing Maniac. I love that sort of thing myself, but I guess some folks might think it was kind of a drag... :joker:

[cigood]

Anyone do podcasts? I've heard a little about them, but have no idea how to start one.

[Audrey]

Cindy,

I've never done one, so I"m no help there.

[Lori]

I would say that most of the people on this board are already marketing maniacs :work: . If you visit other message boards you will see many of the people who visit here marketing on them, too. What I love is that they have seen the message boards as a way to build relationships and not just spam ads all over the place - to me that is "real" marketing.



Amen! I never understand the mentality of just spamming boards with advertisements. Seriously - has anyone ever had success with that? :dunno:

[Lori]

Anyone do podcasts? I've heard a little about them, but have no idea how to start one.

I never have Cindi -- but I've thought about it. I think I may be a little too shy. :rolleyes:

[aunicorn]

Re: Do You Have to be a Marketing Maniac? To sell through your website?
Answer: That is not nearly enough to do the job. First you have to find an AUDIENCE to market to. Its like you give a party and no one comes! It does not matter wether you are selling products or advice, if someone types in (whaterver you are selling) into google they will get 10,000 bewildering hits. If you are lucky, your site may be buried way down somewhere among that 10,000. If you are unlucky Google will not have sent its webots your way.

Now it is my belief that there are a large number of groups of people on the web who comunicate among themselves and if one of their constituents finds an interesting website they tell the others and at last you will have an audience.:lurk:

All Forums including this one regard advertising your website on the forum a type of SPAM and will throw you off the board if you try!

So now if you take courses that teach you how to program websites and then put together a quick starter site and place it on the web. Maybe someone will actually come to see it and then they will tell their friends how primitive it is!

What to do?

Microsoft has its own web marketing "editor" called "FrontPage" which allows you to create your website and test it offline, as though it were online. Thus, you can learn website design doing, trial and error until you have something that really seems right!

Then you upload it.

Now, some day, if you are lucky someone will visit your site.

One thing that might help is to apply at various TOP sites, that might list your prducts. It doesn't help much but it LOOKS good.

Warning! Warning! Warning! There are no end of sharpies who will promise you success by building your website for you. Most actually do a pretty good job, BUT then they turn over the keys to you and NOBODY comes to your site.

Others promise to bring people to your site for for money, BUT the few people if any they deliver may not buy your stuff and it becomes yettanother scam for the unwary marketer!

Google has a number of schemes that COST MONEY but may or may not deliver enough sales to offset the costs. To be sure it takes money to make money but often the sales may not cover the costs.

I tell you these things that you can bravely setup your work from Home website with your eyes now open to the hazards! :D

[aunicorn]

My previous post mentions "Microsoft FrontPage". Most of the older versions still work well and are available at amazon.com. However, if you have a new computer and the newest Microsoft software then here is some info from Microsoft:

"Use Office SharePoint Designer 2007 if you are a solution creator and content author working using SharePoint technologies. Office SharePoint Designer 2007 will enable information workers to develop applications and solutions on top of the SharePoint platform to enable organizational agility, business process automation, and get the full value of Microsoft Office applications on the SharePoint platform.

Use Expression Web if you are a professional Web designer. It is a professional design tool to create sophisticated standards-based Web sites that deliver compelling user experiences. Expression Web is targeted at designers who are building broad reach HTML Web sites."

Sometimes I feel that Microsoft and Google, by controlling our web lives are controlling us like "big Brother". :rolleyes:

[Dawn~AturService]

No, I'm not familiar with podcasts nor spamming people. I have yet to learn e-mail marketing (which I doubt I would do anyway~Any insight would be appreciated).

Although, I am currently a marketing maniac since I don't have any clients yet. :cry: I spend at least 25 hours a week on marketing.

I have learned a great deal on free & low cost marketing from Laura Wheeler (http://searchwarp.com/swa26096.htm) & Fabienne Fredrickson (http://www.clientattraction.com/audiocd.html).

Generally most of the methods are the common blogging, forum participation, ezines, newsletters, articles, networking events and so on. But what I really like about these two authors is they base their marketing tactics on being a genuine and honest person and building strong relationships. Those are my type of ethics! :) It takes longer, but will produce solid working relationships. I have learned a lot from them both and it has sharpened my marketing strategies. Fabienne talks a lot about target audience which put a lot into perspective for me.

If anyone else has a favorite marketing author they have learned a lot from, please share.

Thanks ladies and have a great day!

[aunicorn]

Dawn~AturService

"I have yet to learn e-mail marketing (which I doubt I would do anyway~Any insight would be appreciated)."

Note: Generally e-mail marketing = Spamming = UNSOLICITED Email in my in box. (Not mail within this forum but rather your reguar personal email box)

"Although, I am currently a marketing maniac since I don't have any clients yet. I spend at least 25 hours a week on marketing."

Please read my (aunicorn) posts to understand why you have no clients and no audience for your marketing!

I want to encourage you by presenting the web realities you face.

[Dawn~AturService]

Thank you for your insight.
I read your post previously to posting mine and was the reason I contributed what I have learned about target audiences.

As far as not having a client yet, I launched my business merely 7 weeks ago. I am in the marketing phase of my business plan=right on target! :D

I make adjustments to my website daily to increase SEO (wording only because of the poor software I used to create my site with. I also have begun recreating it on another program but it is still in the works as it is very time consuming).

I am learning a ton and content with where I am at. I didn't expect to have customers knocking down my virtual doors the day they opened. I know I can't build Rome in a day. Plus I have a very strong faith in God and know that he has my back :thumb: and it will all work out in the end!

Thanks again for your concern.

[kagome]

I've read a lot of great things about article marketing but I'm afraid I don't really know much about it. Where do I start?

[Audrey]

I really like wahm-articles.com She offers a lot of help. Visit her site. Read her blog.

Basically, everyone needs content. Website owners need content. Ezine publishers need content. Everyone needs content. In exchange for writing that content, you can put your bio at the end of your article. It's a way to help yourself be known and establish yourself as an expert in a given field.

[Denise]

Thanks for the plug for wahm articles and the kind words Audrey!

I'm always surprised at how many authors at WAHM Articles tell me they advertise their business solely through article marketing.

Writing an article is really easy to do. An article only needs to be between 300 - 500 words, and they work best if you avoid big words and complicated sentences. Just write like you talk.

What is a common problem your target market has? List a few ways you help them solve that problem, and then write a few sentences about each item in your list. Ta da! You have an article.

You should also add a few sentences at the top outlining the problem (an introduction) and a few at the bottom to summarize everything you said (conclusion).

You'll also need to write a resource box. That's a short bio at the end that directs the reader to your website to find more information.

Then start submitting to article directories or other publishers you find. You can find places to submit your articles by searching for "submit article."

You should also look for niche directories and sites that would appeal to your target market. That way your target audience will be more likely to find your audience. For example, one of my clients writes about parenting advice. For her, we look for publishers that specialize in publishing content that appeals to parents.

Good luck!