Tag Archives | web marketing

Ann Handley on Content Rules

By on February 25, 2011 in Books, Managing Your Business, Marketing, Podcasts

I interviewed Ann Handley, author of the fast-selling new book, Content Rules, How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business.

Ann is the Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs, which provides strategic and tactical marketing know-how for hundreds of thousands of marketing and business professionals through a full range of online media. We talked about the concepts in her new book, with an emphasis on the specific tactics any of us can implement to build a more effective content.

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Review: Constant Contact Email Services

By on February 21, 2011 in Client Relationships, Managing Your Business

email marketing for consultantsIn response to questions about how we manage our email list and deliver Management Consulting News, I thought I’d give you a review of the service we use, Constant Contact.

I started using Constant Contact more than five years ago to manage this newsletter list and the one for my other newsletter, The Guerrilla Consultant. We use the service to sign up new subscribers and to send out the newsletters each month.

Overall, I’ve been very satisfied. When it comes to technical skills, I know just enough to be dangerous. Even so, I’m able to manage most aspects of my list maintenance and newsletter delivery without any trouble.

The Constant Contact system is cost-effective, easy-to-use, and it can handle most any sized email list with ease. You can test every email before you send it, the email delivery reports are comprehensive, and your options for cleaning up your list are good.

You can probably find a less expensive or more feature-rich system, as there are lots of choices on the market. For me, Constant Contact has one unbeatable feature: it’s reliable. Since I started using the system, I’ve had only one minor problem that Constant Contact caused.

Like any such service, Constant Contact isn’t perfect. There are some annoying “features,” but that’s to be expected. Over the years, I’ve found three areas that could be improved.

Constant Contact offers a library of newsletter templates that you can use as a starting point. Most of those design templates are pretty cheesy. You could use one of these off-the-shelf designs, but it’s likely that you’ll be happier–and so will your readers–if you design your own. Also, be aware that if you use your own newsletter template, the Constant Contact support staff won’t be able to help you with HTML issues.

Second, the support for the system is about as good as you could expect for a high-volume operation. I always get answers to my questions, either by phone or via online chat. But sometimes the response is slower than I’d like. You’ll probably be satisfied with the support process if you don’t need help with a complex question ten minutes before you have to publish.

Finally, when I first converted my list to Constant Contact, the service treated my existing subscribers as though they had signed up via a single opt-in process, even though they had done a double opt-in. This meant that Constant Contact hosted my initial list on a server with other single opt-in lists, which had a higher probability of being blocked by ISPs. I understand the company’s policy, but it was a nuisance.

Still, I’d recommend Constant Contact for email list maintenance and delivery. My needs aren’t overly complex, so the system works well for me. It’s easy to learn, the cost is reasonable, and the support is good. Constant Contact offers other services, including event marketing and survey management. Since I haven’t used those services, I can’t comment on their quality.

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Why I Loathe “Hover” Ads

By on November 30, 2010 in Client Relationships, Marketing

By now, everyone has seen those “hover” ads on web sites. Usually, a few seconds after you land on a site, the page you’re reading fades to gray, and your screen fills with an in-your-face ad imploring you to buy something, subscribe to a newsletter, or take advantage of a “free” offer.

I have a request for professional service providers using this advertising method: Please stop.

Interrupting your visitors in this way broadcasts two unfortunate messages. First, you’re saying, “I don’t care why you’re here. You will watch my ad because I know better than you what’s important.” Some of your visitors may not want to hear about your free, 92-week e-course on achieving blissful client relationships. Still, you force them to see it.

Second, you’re demonstrating that your immediate intent is to lasso your visitors into your buying process or into your automated marketing system, even though you have no idea what they want or need from you.

Plus, you run the risk of alienating repeat visitors. As a reader, I can tolerate your hover ad once or twice. But I find it annoying–and I’m not alone—when I have to close a hover ad every time I come back to your site.

I know research suggests that the click-through rates on hover ads far exceeds those for traditional banner ads, so web site publishers love to use them. And maybe you think the hover ad seems like a harmless way to get your message out there.

You may believe that your offer is so valuable that everyone must know about it, no matter what. Keep in mind, though, that value is in the eye of the beholder. If the content on your site is truly valuable to your readers, you don’t need to force-feed them with hover ads.

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Disconnect

By on April 16, 2010 in Managing Your Business, Marketing

I hung up the phone thinking that I’d just met an insightful, skillful consultant. He knew his area of expertise from every angle and had that rare ability to make the complex easy to understand. I was impressed.

Curious, I clicked over to that consultant’s web site. At first, I thought I’d gone to the wrong address. What I saw was an amateurish design, insipid writing, and an out-of-date description of the consultant’s services, track record, and client list. I checked the address twice, and I was at the right site. What a waste.

In the past, we did a survey to find out how satisfied consultants were with the marketing and sales effectiveness of their web sites. We found that most weren’t satisfied at all.

Part of the reason for that dissatisfaction is the yawning gap between what consultants know and can do and how they express those capabilities on a web site. Too often, consultants’ sites look like an afterthought instead of an important part of the business.

If you’ve got all the clients you can handle and they already know everything about you, maybe you can get away with a second-rate web presence. But most of us find that prospective clients go to our sites before we hear from them. So if what they find is not compelling, the chances are good they’ll never contact you.

When was the last time you took a good look at your web site? If you need a place to start, try these articles: Eleven Principles for Great Consulting Web Sites and Fire Up Your About Page.

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Running with Scissors

By on March 13, 2006 in Marketing, The Guerrilla Consultant

Once you’ve got a Web site up and running, it’s tempting to look for ways to boost its popularity with search engines like Google, MSN, and AOL. After all, why have the site if it doesn’t help with lead generation?

In an ideal world, your site would emerge at, or near, the top of the list when prospective clients enter a relevant term in their favorite search engines. But for most of us, search engines are a black box, particularly when it comes to understanding Web site rankings and popularity.

And that’s why it’s possible to get less than your money’s worth. Some search engine optimization (SEO) companies make extraordinary claims with less than stellar results. Signing up with them before you know the facts is like running with scissors–not advisable.

In this month’s isssue of The Guerrilla Consultant, we asked Jill Whalen, a highly respected SEO expert, how a consultant can get the most from search engines without taking out a second mortgage.

Read this month’s issue of The Guerrilla Consultant.

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Words Are Worth a Thousand Pictures

By on January 13, 2006 in Marketing, Selling

Whether it’s a Web site, advertisement, or other marketing collateral, we’ve heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. Having a visual of the product enhances marketing communication, we’re told, because people don’t have time to read. I don’t doubt that people fail to read most of the advertising copy they come across, but that’s because of the hype that’s part of most ad copy, not people’s lack of time to read.

In a study of 3,600 consumers, researchers concluded that to get people to notice an ad, text was twice as important as pictures. Your clients are interested in reading about your services, but you must grab their attention. What’s new about your offering? What’s your story? Is there news?

What’s most important is that the fluff be ruthlessly eliminated from your ad copy, Web page or other marketing communication. If you include hype and half-truths, you make it nearly impossible for clients to separate the wheat from the chaff. The result: a lost sale. Ten different studies have shown that when the bull is stripped from ads, consumer interest skyrockets.

Of course, other studies have shown that long ad copy does work when selling products and services. When it comes to marketing consulting services, though, to improve your client’s rate of interest, make every word count. And remember that the “right” words, not just any words, are the ones that sell.

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What 400 Consultants Know about Web Marketing

By on December 16, 2005 in Marketing

Given that so many consultants use Web sites to woo clients and market their services, it’s fair to ask how effective their Web sites are as marketing tools. And what factors make the difference between a successful Web site and a bomb?

In this month’s Guerrilla Consultant, we’ve answered those questions.

How?

So far, more than 400 consultants have taken our Guerrilla Consulting Web Site Self-Assessment. We’ve gone through the survey data, which comes to us on an anonymous basis, and offer six simple steps to improve the marketing ROI of any consultant’s Web site.

If you’d like to read the results, have a look at the recent issue of The Guerrilla Consultant.

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How Much Does “Free” Cost Clients?

By on October 17, 2005 in Marketing

As I was reading one of my favorite e-newsletters, I came across a sponsored offer to download a “free” whitepaper on a subject that interested me.

I clicked through to a Web page describing the company, its offerings, and the whitepaper I was about to download. When I saw how much personal information the company required in exchange for a ten-page whitepaper, I should have trusted my instincts and bolted from the site.

Reluctantly, I provided the details the company requested, including my phone number. I know—it was dumb.

I hit submit and landed on another page with instructions for downloading the whitepaper and a sentence informing me that a sales rep would call me to discuss the company’s products and services.

They got me. Now I’m waiting for that sales rep to call—no doubt during dinner.

What are two fast ways to alienate prospective clients on the Web? Ask for too much personal information and conceal how you’ll use it. Steve Krug, author and Web usability expert, calls this practice “a very bad idea.”

In this case, the company in question shot itself in both feet. If you’re offering something to prospective clients, ask only for the details you need to get that information into their hands as quickly as possible. Let clients check you out and voluntarily contact you if they want to know more.

And if you’re a directing your readers to organizations that behave this way, beware of collateral damage. Align your site with those who are willing to intrude and mislead, and you risk ending up with the same black eye.

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What’s Your Web Site Done for You Lately?

By on September 12, 2005 in Managing Your Business, Marketing

Not long ago, I did some research on the marketing capabilities of consultants’ Web sites. I looked at sites of the mega-consulting firms, medium and smaller-sized firms, and independent practitioners.

From slogging through consulting Web sites, I learned that too many of our sites just scratch the surface of the Web’s potential marketing power. Why waste valuable time and money on a Web site if it doesn’t help bring in new clients?

Do you know what your Web site does for you? To help answer that question, you can take our confidential Guerrilla Consulting Web Site Self-Assessment. It will only take five minutes, and you’ll receive a customized report, which will be available immediately after you complete the assessment. The results will also be sent to your e-mailbox.

Oh and it doesn’t cost you a dime.

Take the Guerrilla Consulting Web Site Self-Assessment.

In the latest issue of The Guerrilla Consultant, you’ll also find an article on the  eleven principles for great consulting Web
sites.

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