Email List Mistakes

Company email lists are fast becoming a common business practice. When done correctly, they are useful tools that allow you to stay in close contact with your customers. However, many small businesses fail to benefit from a successful email list because they make common mistakes.

Forgetting to ask people for their email addresses is a mistake that most small business owners make; even companies with Facebook and twitter accounts make this mistake. Email lists are much more cost-effective and useful at communicating with customers directly than any other marketing method. Along with directly asking for email addresses, websites need to have clear email list opt-ins. The opt-ins should be visible and not buried in the back of the webpage.

When requesting email addresses, be consistent. Make sure that employees understand the importance of requesting as many email addresses as possible. Provide them incentives for gathering information, and train them in the appropriate techniques. As important as it is to gather email addresses, it is equally important to keep customers happy. If a customer does not want to share any personal information, tell your employees not to force the situation. Harassing a person for his or her email address will only create tension and possibly cost you business. Try creating a script for employees to follow that is informative and low pressure.

When asking customers if they want to join an email list it is essential to provide them with a valuable exchange. In an age when identity theft is rampant and inboxes are spammed with useless information, people need to know what signing up for an email list will do for them. Inform your customers about the many benefits that the email list will provide. For example, tell them about any money that they will save. It is also important to promise not to spam people, and then do not spam them. Unless you already agree to sell customer information, promise them that you do not share their information with anyone else. Often, people opt-out of email lists because they do not trust companies to keep their personal information secure and confidential.

Submitting Your Website To Yahoo: The Basics

If you have an e-commerce website, a company website (or really any type of website in which you'd like to attract more visitors), you will typically rely upon search engine crawlers to find and rank your site. However, an additional method utilized in order to have your site rank in a specific category for various search terms is to use website directories.

Yahoo is easily one of the most popular website submission directories, and as such, it is inundated with thousands of requests each day, which obviously causes your website submission to be delayed, sometimes for months.

Delays aside, HOW you submit your website is what counts. You will want to ensure that you are placed in the proper category, or your website is liable to fall into the abyss of websites that never get found due to poor placement. There are a large number of specific categories to choose from, however, so finding one that best fits your website shouldn't be a problem.

Additionally, Yahoo will ask you for a short description of your website. Choosing the proper keywords here can be critical, as they can help you rank higher than other websites within a specific category.

You can also pay to be included within the Yahoo directory, which ensures you a quicker response. Paying does not increase your chances of receiving a higher ranking.

SEO within your site will still play an important role regardless of whether your site has been approved by Yahoo into their directory or not. Strong SEO will help you rank higher on Yahoo, both within directory categories and for organic search results.

SEO: True Facts For SEO Success

Everyone wants to rank high on search engines. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a frequently used term, but SEO success is difficult to obtain and there are many myth circulating on the subject. However, understanding the facts related to SEO will increase the chances of success.

The most important aspect of SEO writing is content. A badly written entry will not compensate for a search term appearing frequently. You should always consider your reader. Your ranking on a search engine will not help your business if your audience cannot understand the content. Besides, a link can fall in ranking if the readers do not share the link and generate further hits.

Word counts are another fact to consider when developing SEO content. There is a rumor that blog content needs to be 450 words and that a new post needs to be added each day. The truth is, however, that the word count should fit the content. There is no magic word count, although people are more likely to read short and concise entries over long rambling pieces. Include at least two keywords placed throughout the content to increase the chances of SEO success.

Research can definitely separate your SEO content from the crowd. There are two ways to research key words: long tail and short tail research. Long tail research is useful for targeting a particular market and will allow you to choose the most effective key words available.

Be careful about your inbound and outbound links. Links can increase your presence online and lend authority to your content. Choosing the appropriate links for your content will enhance your visibility and increase the number of hits you have which is the point of SEO in the first place.

Writing and posting SEO content is not enough to guarantee success. Social networking sites are essential to getting content noticed. People often share links and content through social networking sites. Promote your content on as many social media platforms as you can. Using this technique will help you find referrals, increase your lead generation and promote recognition of your content and your company.

Successful LinkedIn Marketing Strategies

Social networks are useful for doing more than socializing. Networks such as LinkedIn act as a helpful marketing strategy to help businesses increase their client base. There are, however, ways to ensure that your LinkedIn marketing strategy is successful.

The first step is to determine your target market. Identify people whom you need to make connections with, and locate them. Search for these contacts directly and also look through the networks of your existing contacts. Once you locate your customers, identify your objectives. For example, the objective may be to increase your network or increase your client base. This will require a different plan of action than simply creating business recognition.

Look for relevant connections to add on LinkedIn based on your market and objectives. Inviting people to join your network is not always straightforward. There is a standard introduction line with LinkedIn, but it might be helpful to personalize your introduction to contacts. Unless you are adding a close friend, remind people of who you are and how you met.

Take the time to build strong relationships with your connections. Staying connected with people will breed trust and enhance the business relationship. When doing this, remember to be genuine. People usually do not react well to a simple sales pitch. They are more likely to trust someone they can relate to. Personalize your connections by exporting their information in order to make it easier for you to keep track of important contact information as well as remembering birthdays and other important dates.

Your profile allows you to stand out. Make sure that your profile is professional and creates a good impression. It is also helpful to include SEO keywords in your profile. Use LinkedIn Answers to develop a rapport with your connections and future customers. The polls connected with these questions include everyone in your network. This is an effective way of indirectly communicating with your contacts.

If you join a professional Group, you will be notified of any group discussions. Adding professional and insightful opinions will allow you to increase your credibility and establish your reputation in front of potential clients.

Using Google Alerts for Marketing Trends & Strategies

Google alerts have the ability to inform you about any topic you are interested in a matter of seconds. They are useful for planning marketing trends and strategies. This tool allows you to track of different subjects, products and stories. Simply create an account and choose the keywords relevant to your subject, and have the alerts emailed to you. It is possible to

Google alerts allow you to keep tabs on the online reputation of your company as well as your own online reputation. Monitoring your personal and business name will provide you with the opportunity to make necessary changes that will draw in new customers. You can also keep track of your domain name. This way you will know who is linking to your domain and why. To track your domain name, you do not need to add the www at the beginning, but be sure to add the .com, .org etc. The same rule works for keeping an eye on your blog, if you have one. Monitoring your blog will let you know who is reading or sharing it, which will give you an idea of your target market.

Google alerts will also email you if someone is linked to any of the articles you have online. These alerts will show you who your audience is so that you can create effective marketing strategies for your demographic. Your target audience and niche market has a number of keywords associated with them, so discover what they are. Monitor these keywords to discover new trends and changes in the market. This will keep you aware of new products and allow you to develop the ideas and promotions that are necessary to give you a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Along with keeping track of your own presence online and the developing trends in your market, Google alerts are a great way to keep track of the competition. Use them to monitors the news, biographies and websites of your competitors. Keep an eye on any changes in their products or ideas. Monitoring the competition is an effective way to stay informed about the industry in general.

Why Your Facebook Marketing Strategy Isn't Working

The popularity of social networking makes advertising on Facebook a logical marketing strategy. It can compliment traditional marketing strategies and allow you to find new clients in your target area. However, many people make critical errors when they first use Facebook to market their businesses, which will limit the effectiveness of the marketing technique.

Advertising on Facebook is not free. However, if your have the budget, it is effective. Facebook is not a quick fix. Social networking takes work, and if you begin with unreasonable expectations you are sure to fail before you begin. Make sure that your goals are reasonable and attainable. Each business and user is different. Just because one person on Facebook has 1 million fans, there is no guarantee that yours will.

There is a risk of marketing a new venture on the social networking site. Specifically, any failures that the venture experience occur in a public setting, which will deter future clients. Using Facebook as a marketing strategy can only work if it is allowed to grow at its own pace. Use natural ideas to build an audience. The further that the ideas develop, the greater potential there is for expanding the audience. Facebook is able to connect with a great percentage of your audience quickly.

In order to reach your target audience it is important to understand who they are. This will help keep you from overestimating your audience. Once you know who your audience is, you will need to create a message that speaks to your audience. The message that your audience receives is an essential marketing strategy. Take the time to understand your audience and appreciate your core customers. This will allow you to frame a message that will draw supporters beyond your first supporters.

Marketing through Facebook requires time, energy and dedication. It will give back what you put into it. Over time, it is possible to grow a large audience base. There is no easy marketing strategy, and understanding your audience will keep you from creating unrealistic goals, which is the greatest mistake that people who market on Facebook typically make.

Get Involved in Social Media Marketing Before You Need It

Most online marketing campaign strategies such as SEO and PPC, and especially email marketing, are utilized at specific points in time for specific purposes, and often have measurable results with a relatively short period of time.

Social media, on the other hand, is a very different beast, which is why many are still wary of it or unable to understand how it might be beneficial. Additionally, the ROI may be somewhat difficult to determine for quite some time. However, if done effectively, social media marketing has the potential to be an extremely powerful online marketing tool.

The trick is investing in social media before it may be absolutely necessary to do so. Creating profiles on various social media sites and taking the time to build a following will ensure that you have a captive target market when you are in fact ready to promote or market something specific.

Posting press releases or promotional messages will garner little results if you don't already have a strong following. Begin by posting informative or entertaining content that your target market will find interesting. Do so on a consistent basis, and soon you'll find that your followers will grow on a continual basis as your content is shared. Then, you'll be able to recognize a huge ROI as you command a much larger and influential reach amongst various social media communities.

Four Important Factors To Increase Blog Traffic

Sometimes, when attempting to attract more visitors to a blog, bloggers and online marketers tend to overlook simple factors and considerations and instead focus on more advanced online marketing techniques. This is all well and good, but possibly unnecessary. Online marketing methods such as SEO, PPC, backlinks, etc., mean very little if the content of the blog isn't informative and engaging. Even if you succeed in getting visistors to your blog, the appearance of the blog or boring, uninspired, or confusing headlines may quickly make them leave.

Focus on Captivating Headlines
Your content may in fact be great, but a bland headline won't let visitors know that. Clue them in as soon as they visit your blog as to the main idea of each article that is presented to them. Try to capture their attention by letting them know why the information contained in the article is important for them to read, or how it can benefit them. If you can work in a few SEO keywords, even better.

Avoid Rambling
The great thing about blogs is they give us the opportunity to write as little or as much as we want. But not all blogs benefit from long posts. When attempting to market to consumers or other businesses, it's best to keep your content strictly to the point, providing only the necessary, critical information. If you tend to go on rambling a bit or being repetitive, consumers, and especially those in B2B, will start to lose interest in the content. Keeping your posts self-contained will keep the information fresh.

Graphics: Yes or No?
There's nothing wrong with using pictures and graphics, provided they are relevant to the blog post. Try not to clutter up the page, don't overdo it, and be careful about the sizing. Unless you are displaying artwork or photographs, you don't need graphics that consume the entire page and force visitors to scroll past them in order to locate the remainder of the article.

Using Visitors to Get the Word Out
Satisfied visitors are your best means of getting the word out about your blog and attracting new visitors, so long as you make it easy for them to do so. Most blogs allow you to integrate "sharing" buttons for each blog post or on the sidebar of the blog, as well as RSS feeds. These buttons allow visitors to instantly share your blog post on social networking sites such as Twitter, Digg, Facebook, and many others with just the click of a mouse. This type of online marketing exposure is invaluable and should definitely be utilized.

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Is Your Social Media Marketing Campaign Illegal?

It was reported a few days ago that the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK is gearing up to crack down on social media marketing campaigns that do not adhere to a set of guidelines.

Beginning March 1, 2011, the ASA will attempt to effectively police all social media marketing on major networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Marketers utilizing these networks for unpaid advertising and promotion may be found in violation of the code of standards involving misleading advertisements and social responsibility.

Business that are found to be in non-compliance may have their ads forcibly removed. According to IFA Life founder Philip Calvert, social media sites should be used strictly for networking, not marketing, as using it for marketing is a waste of time. He states that, “IFAs should use social media to network, listen to consumers, add value, share news and expertise and to build a digital reputation.”

Obviously, the numerous studies touting the effectiveness of marketing and advertising on these sites have escaped his attention. Should we in the United States be wary of some sort of similar action in the future? Will our own social media marketing campaigns fall victim to such a ruling?

And what would such a ruling mean for individuals who use the networks for both networking and promoting their own products or services, such as a book they've written or jewelry they've made? Will they receive warning notices as well?

The whole concept seems ridiculously absurd and extremely difficult to enforce with any degree of fairness and efficiency. What do you think?

E-Commerce Websites and Business Blogs

E-commerce websites benefit from common online marketing solutions such as search engine optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC), but in an extremely competitive marketplace, businesses can further maintain and increase their share of the market with a business blog as well.

The blog is often overlooked as a viable marketing tool by many e-commerce websites for a variety of reasons, the most common of these being that managers simply don't understand the marketing potential. Essentially acting as an extension of your website, a blog's content can help lure in new customers and clients by attracting them with engaging, informative content. A well-maintained blog will continue to attract new visitors, which in turn will utilize the blog as a portal to your corporate e-commerce website. This serves to increase both brand awareness and ROI.

Of course, maintaining an effective blog can be time-consuming, as fresh content must be written on a consistent basis. If you do not have a copywriter on staff, you can hire freelancers to write content for your business blog, or retain the services of a web marketing agency.

You should also note that a blog is most effective not only when the content is fresh and interesting, but also when it is search engine optimized. Integrating SEO into your blog posts will ensure that your blog will be find easier and more often during relevant search engine queries. A solid understanding of SEO is essential, as well as experience and knowledge of which keywords might work best to capture the attention of your particular target market.

While you can take advantage of free keyword tools to help you choose and utilize keywords in your blog posts, an experienced SEO team can expand upon and improve the SEO of your entire blog. SEO keywords can be integrated into your blog description, metatags, links, and tags relative to each particular blog post.

Search engines such as Google also notice and prefer blogs that maintain consistent updates, so fresh content posted on a regular schedule is important to both the search engines and to your readers.

For further tips on maintaining an effective blog for your e-commerce website, you might want to read " RSS Feeds: An Easy Way to Generate More Traffic for Your Corporate Blog."

Contact Active Web Group, Long Island's leading full-service web marketing agency, for information regarding SEO content services, e-commerce, email marketing and more.

Email Marketing is Most Effective for Businesses Who Understand Their Customers

Taking time to properly research and understand the wants and needs of your customers leads to more effective email marketing campaigns. Gathering this valuable market data can be done through several means, such as surveys, keeping track of consumer buying habits, and engaging with the customers through social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

Not every option will be suitable for every brand or business, and gathering market data on specific target markets may be time-consuming and difficult for large companies with an expansive product line and several segmented target markets. Small business may have an advantage when it comes to understanding the needs of their customers, and effective email marketing is not only cost-effective, but also delivers the greatest ROI for your online marketing dollar.

While a combination of online marketing solutions is always preferred over a single option, in these difficult economic times, small business are finding that email marketing is an especially viable option when the marketing budget is stretched thin.

For a strong email marketing campaign, it is best to utilize the services of a full-service web marketing agency. The online marketing experts at a web marketing agency will be able to utilize and seize upon critical factors that will enhance and strengthen your email marketing campaign.

Active Web Group is the leading full service online marketing agency on Long Island, a pioneer in email marketing and website development. The online marketing experts and email marketing specialists at AWG can help you properly identify your target market and create or add to your email list, compose and design your email campaign messages, make any necessary modifications, and analyze your results.

If you want to decrease your marketing costs and increase your customer base, contact Active Web Group today!

RSS Feeds: An Easy Way to Generate More Traffic for Your Corporate Blog

The expansion of social media technologies and widget applications has made it easier than ever to reach a wider audience and attract more followers to your pages and visitors to your website and blogs. Many of these useful tools can be easily integrated into your websites and blogs to be utilized by visitors with the simple click of a mouse, thereby sharing and spreading your information to many others. Traffic generation possibilities are limited only by the quality of your content and how interesting or informative visitors actually find it.

If your business has a blog, or if you have at least visited a blog or two, you no doubt have noticed a link along the sidebar or at the bottom of each posts labeled as an "RSS Feed." This link essentially allows you or other visitors to subscribe to future postings. As new content is posted on a blog, subscribers can receive notifications via email or access to the actual content in a program that collects RSS feeds from any number of blogs that someone has subscribed to. If your content is of particular interest or value to a subscriber, they will certainly want to subscribe to the RSS feed. If your own blog doesn’t have a link to its own RSS feed easily locatable, it should.

To further capitalize upon the marketing capabilities of RSS feeds, you can submit your RSS feed link to blog directories. Blog directories allow you to categorize your blog and gain wider exposure with more specific target markets. There are many blog directories available: simply submitting the term "blog directories" into a search engine will bring up a large amount of popular listings.

Traffic generation for your corporate blog does take time. But as long as you continue to post to your blog on a consistent basis, and as long as you offer content that is useful, informative, or interesting to the user, your subscribers should continue to increase.

B2B Facebook Marketing Tips

There should no longer be any doubt that Facebook is a viable B2B marketing tool. While other social networks such as Linked:In and Twitter have their own advantages for B2B online marketing, Facebook should not be discounted simply because it appears to focus more on social friendship rather than social business.

Several studies have already proven that the social media platform is more than adequate for marketing to a business audience and networking with other professionals. However, there are three keys to successful B2B Facebook marketing that you'll need to follow in order to maximize the effectiveness of your Facebook B2B marketing campaign.

1. Content is Key

It applies to your corporate website, and it applies to your Facebook page as well. The consistent creation of specialized, unique, informative content is necessary in order to engage and attract the interest of other businesses and professionals on Facebook. Establishing yourself as an expert is critical, and reinforcing that perception is an effort not to be taken lightly or dismissed.

2. Optimization is Beneficial

Just Google and other major search engines utilize SEO as part of their algorithms in determining the placement of websites in search engine results, SEO can also benefit your Facebook page. Optimizing your content for search engines will help other businesses locate your Facebook page both through organic searches and also within Facebook.

You can utilize Facebook to more efficiently target specific audiences and businesses with rich keyword content in your company profile and in the content you add to the page. Determine what other businesses might use as their search terms when seeking the services or products you provide.

3. Interaction is Necessary

It isn't called "social" without a good reason. Users enjoy Facebook for its social networking capabilities, and B2B marketing on Facebook allows for tremendous networking capability. Direct messages of special news, events, press releases, videos, etc. can be sent directly to your followers within seconds, and your page can be updated continuously and effortlessly.

You'll be able to engage and interact with other professionals quickly, further instilling brand recognition and showcasing your commitment to professionalism and customer service.

For more information about B2B Facebook marketing and how to optimize your Facebook page to fully harness the powerful marketing capabilities of the social networking site, contact Active Web Group, Long Island's premier web marketing agency.

Monday Afternoon Online Marketing News Wrapup

Some interesting news in the world of online marketing today:

Mobile Marketing Expected to Account for $5.5 Billion in 2011

How to Find Your Ideal Internet Marketing Company Effectively
There are many reasons why an internet marketing company is useful for your online venture...

Online Job Market Gains 45%

Skills in Google App Engine development, HTML5, SEO, social media in high demand, finds Elance study.

Monday Morning Online Marketing News Wrap-Up

An interesting batch of articles today concerning online marketing methods Visa, the future impact of Web 3.0 (are we already done with Web 2.0? That was fast!), and how social networking is ever-growing, ever-changing.

What is Web 3.0 and how will it impact PR?

A video and summation of Web 3.0 and it's possible future effects on social marketing and PR

Visa launches a marketing push for online shopping service Rightcliq
The leading credit card brand launches today a major marketing push for its Rightcliq online shopping service. It’s an online wallet combined with merchant discounts, all wrapped up with social networking features.

Take Advantage of Increased Time Spent Social Networking

A new Nielsen study titled "What Americans Do Online" shows that Americans spend a growing percentage of their time online visiting social networking sites. Businesses need to be aware of trends like this in order to focus marketing efforts where the target audience spends its time.

Small Businesses Say Goodbye to Yellow Pages and Hello to the Internet

When you go out to get the mail one morning, you might notice a big, heavy book-like object leaning against your front door. Standing confused, wondering who might have left such an obtrusive package, you unwrap the plastic encasing. The tome within appears to be a directory of sorts, with the words "Yellow Pages" printed across the cover in black, bold letters. Somewhere in the back of your mind, a distant memory surfaces of a time when people used this crude publication to locate tradesmen and businesses in the area. You shake your head in wonderment: Who still has need for such a primitive tool?

Granted, the above scenario is slightly exaggerated. There are still plenty of consumers who rely upon their local yellow pages, and the directory isn't likely to disappear into obscurity for quite some time. However, many people now cast the Yellow Pages directly into the trash, relying instead upon the Internet to find whatever they might be looking for.

Within the past ten years, consumer use of Internet has exploded. Search engines and Internet directories, including YellowPages.com, have become the optimal choice of millions to search for local tradesmen, contractors, businesses, and more.

Gone are the days when local businessmen could simply rely upon word of mouth and a prominent listing in the Yellow Pages under their appropriate category. Consumers today want more than just a name and phone number and a few short sentences touting the reliability and quality of service.

While the Internet certainly provides businesses with the means to promote and market themselves in a much larger capacity than the Yellow Pages, there may be more costs associated with doing so, as well as the risk that they might never be found amidst the sea of competitors that also populate the Internet.

However, if done properly, and with ample online marketing solutions used in a cost-efficient, effective manner, a small business can easily trump larger companies. This can be evidenced in the case study "How SEO & Active Web Group Helped Construction Book Express."

The Internet can certainly help level the playing field, but only if a business, large or small, is willing to make the necessary investment to ensure that their online marketing efforts are done properly. For more information about online marketing solutions, visit Active Web Group, Long Island's premier full-service web marketing agency.

Internet Marketing Strategy: Purchase a Domain Name With Strong Keywords

Let’s assume you own a virus protection software company whose name is Walsh Software. Obviously, the name does little to let new potential customers exactly what it is you create and market, other than the fact that it is some kind of software. Internet users who have never heard of your company will not be searching for it on the web. However, there are thousands that will certainly be search for “virus protection software.”

If you corporate website contains quality search engine optimization (SEO) content, then it is possible that your website will appear in a decent position amongst the results of the search engine query. But if you purchase a keyword rich domain name, you vastly increase your chances of being discovered, and the cost is often minimal.

In regards to the sample company above, if you were able to purchase the domain www.virusprotectionsoftware.com, it is extremely likely that this particular domain would soon be the first result to appear in response to the search term “virus protection software.” Adding a bit of content utilizing those same keywords will further strengthen your Internet rankings and visibility, and providing a link on the page enables visitors to this domain to discover your corporate website.

If you are seeking to buy a domain name that relates to a niche market, such as www.longislandsushiclasses.com, then it is likely that the domain name might not exist, and could cost you as little as $10. But a commonly used search expression such as “virus protection software” is likely to already be owned by either a competitor or an individual whose business consists of purchasing domain names and then selling them at high prices to those who desperately want them.

Some businesses also purchase many similar domain names that relate to their own business in order to keep competitors from claiming them in the future.

To learn more about utilizing additional domain names with strong keywords and SEO content, contact Active Web Group. AWG is Long Island’s leading online marketing solutions agency, specializing in Pay Per Ranking, a marketing strategy for businesses seeking good search engine rankings within the search engine result pages.

See how keyword-rich domain names and Pay Per Ranking can help you cut down on online marketing expenses and increase your online visibility and website traffic.

Social Media vs. Email Marketing - Don't Forsake One for the Other

The ever-rising popularity and evolution of social media has shifted the focus away from other traditional forms of online marketing, such as email marketing and SEO. While social media marketing is certainly a viable, proven method, studies show that most forms of online marketing work best when used in conjunction with one another, as opposed to relying on a single method.

Additionally, while utilizing social media powerhouse sites such as Facebook, Linked:In and Twitter can cost you virtually nothing if the marketing is handled in-house, a large amount of time must be devoted to each site if the marketing is going to be effective. Producing engaging, interesting and informative content for each site is also necessary, along with time to engage with consumers or network with other peers.

Recent studies show that email marketing currently remains the most cost-efficient method of online marketing, with the highest ROI. A report by Direct News stated that "almost four in ten shoppers said they had been prompted to make an online purchase as a result of email marketing," and also that "more could be done by firms to improve their email marketing strategy, as 50 per cent of consumers said emails were devalued by irrelevant information and a similar proportion claimed messages hold no value because they did not have a special advantage by receiving them."

For a Free Email Marketing Analysis, Contact Active Web Group.

You might also be interested in reading "Five Reasons Why Your Email Marketing Isn't Working" and "The Importance of Social Media for Your Business."

Detailed Map of the Social Media Universe Created

With all the new social media sites and tools popping up every day, it can be difficult to determine which sites might be worthy of your attention and which ones are just a quickly-passing fad, soon to be lost in the nether-regions of cyberspace. The map of the social media universe is an ever-changing entity, but that didn't stop Overdrive Interactive from creating one.

While the map be be outdated within a number of weeks, it's still a valuable resource and a good way to showcase exactly what types of social media sites are out there and which ones might work best for your business.

Click the image to enlarge it.

3 Ways to Improve Your Email Marketing Performance

Email has the greatest ROI of the majority of common online marketing strategies. However, some companies have much better results than others. If you think your email campaign could be performing better, examine your organizational strategies to determine whether or not you need to make any changes in your approach. If you are not achieving your goals, try implementing the following three strategies to improve your email marketing performance.

Technology is constantly changing and email is not different. Modern email options are useful for deployment. They include a greater use of targeting and segmentation, better address acquisition and improved message design. Email marketing managers, chief marketing officers and heads of digital marketing should stay up to date on email options and discuss them with management. Newer options also have updated integration of email and web analytics as well as CRM and subscriber-centric perspectives. Subscriber-centric perspectives are now able to include relevant content and more transparent processes for subscribing and unsubscribing.

Employees are probably too focused on current email campaigns to ask for better resources. However, if they had the time to stand back and look at other options they would recognize how useful these tools could be.

Look at email as more than a selling tool. Do more than peddle the latest promotion with an email message. Use email to up sell and cross sell merchandise. Email is also a way to introduce yourself to new customers and guide them to different resources. Email is also useful form of communication when it comes to customer support, and it will help you keep in touch with past customers.

Provide your employees with the training and equipment they need in order to use email to its full potential. Buy new equipment and send employees to seminars. Investing time to train employees, along with the money, will give your email marketing performance a boost.

Appreciate employees who take it upon themselves to improve email performance. Do not penalize them for taking the time necessary to gather information, edit a list, divide that list and write different messages. Not to mention testing the messages, overseeing deployment and evaluating the results. Thank those employees who take the time to do the job well, and encourage your team to optimize the email marketing program. Try to reorganize the workflow of the person in charge of email marketing and invest in his or her training. Support creativity in the area and you could be pleasantly surprised by the results. Remember that email is an essential tool for marketing to clients, and it deserves your time and attention.

To learn more about email marketing and to For a Free Email Marketing Analysis, Contact Active Web Group.

PPC Ad Basics - 5 Simple Ways to Increase the Effectiveness of Your PPC Campaign

Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC) is a popular online marketing solution that can effectively increase your online visibility and brand recognition, especially when combined with other online marketing techniques such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

However, certain PPC basic must be considered and utilized skillfully in order to maximize the potential of your PPC campaign. These 5 PPC ad basics may be common knowledge to those already well-versed in Internet marketing, but to those who are relatively new to PPC, they are required reading.

1. Keywords in the Ad

Keywords are going to be the most important aspect of your PPC ad campaign. When constructing your PPC ads, there are two places that keywords will come into play: the first is in the ad itself, and the second is related to what keywords might relate best to your ad and the products or services you offer, enabling your ad to align better with search engine queries.

Keywords used in ad should be the strongest possible. You won’t be able to overload your ad with keywords, as content of a PPC as is rather limited. So choose keywords that work best for what you are advertising. Keywords in the ad headline are essential, and should be repeated in the ad text as well if possible.

2. Keywords for Your Campaign

You will need to create a list of targeted keywords that relate to your ad. When Internet users enter a search engine query that uses these keywords, your ad may show alongside the search results.

You can choose as many keywords as you want for this list, but it is always beneficial to utilize keywords that may only appeal to your specific target market. This will ensure that those who click on your ad are definitely interested in what you have to offer, and eliminate those who click on your ad merely out of curiosity or because of misinformation, which will cost you money unnecessarily.

3. Include a Call to Action

Integrating keywords into your PPC ad is a good first step, but you must also include a call to action in order to better entice your target market to click on your ad. Because actual content allowance is limited, it will have to be short and to the point.

For example, suppose you are a moving company. Your PPC ad may contain a call to action that says “Get a free quote for your move,” or “Save 10% when you move with us,” or even “Learn more about why we’re the best choice.”

Note that these call to actions all contain an element of enticement, letting the reader know what he will get in return for clicking on your ad.

4. Visual Appeal

PPC ads have very little visual appeal, and at a glance, they all appear to look the same. But there are subtle things you can do to make your ad stand out a little. You can bold specific words to emphasize importance, or use capitalization as well if you feel it suits the ad without making it appear sloppy and unreadable.

5. What is the Competition Doing?

Chances are you have a decent amount of online competition. Most businesses on the Internet do. See what their ads look like, and which ones come up most often in a search query that uses the same keywords you intend to use. There is nothing wrong with tailoring your ad to look like that of the competition. If it works for them, it should work for you. But be forewarned: your competitors may do the same to you!

While Pay-per-Click Advertising can be quick to implement and begin producing results immediately, is not a marketing technique that should be entered into lightly by a novice. You are paying every time someone clicks on your ad, and if the PPC campaign is not properly managed, you may incur expensive click charges that would diminish your return on investment (ROI).

Active Web Group's PPC marketing and management specialists are experts at building successful campaigns. We begin with a few carefully selected key words or phrases and constantly analyze and test the results. Active Web Group can assemble a program that brings you the best results for your advertising dollar.

Contact Active Web Group for a Free Pay-per-Click Campaign Analysis!

You might also want to read Pay Per Click Management: Not All PPC Management Services Are Created Equal

The Importance of Social Media for Your Business

The first and most important aspect of social media that should be quickly recognized by anyone wishing to delve into the realm is that it is "social". Interaction is key to a successful social media marketing campaign. Those who fail to realize that will likely have very little response to their efforts, and may also probably give up on social media platforms altogether, believing them to be a waste of time.

Doing so would be a terrible disservice, as social media is quickly incorporating itself into the daily lives of millions – prime target marketing for those who better understand how to use the marketing capabilities of social media effectively.

Currently, three social media platforms dominate the Internet: Twitter, Facebook, and Linked:In. Each serves its own specific purpose, but all three are also able to work in conjunction with one another. From a marketing standpoint, a company that can harness the power of all three can become a marketing powerhouse.

You can learn more about each social media platform in the article "Social Networking: What Is It, and Why Your Company Should Use It."

In addition to the information found within that article, following are three key components of social media marketing, each one specific to a particular platform, that will help marketers gain an inside edge.

Marketing with Twitter

Your first instinct might be to amass as many followers as you can. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but your efforts might be better rewarded by focusing on attracting targeted followers who would be most interested in your "Tweets" and with whom you can interact, thus increasing brand recognition. This will also help you acquire free marketing when your followers "retweet" your tweets to their own followers.

Follow us on Twitter! >>

Marketing with Facebook

Pretty much the same concept as Twitter, except followers are referred to as fans. It is better to have a group of fans that you can engage with on a consistent basis than a large number of fans that never really look at your page to see what's new or don't respond to informative messages.

Be a Fan of AWG on Facebook >>

Marketing with Linked:In

Again, somewhat the same concept, except the connections you make here matter highly if you’re a B2B company. You'll want to seek recommendations from some of those connections: perhaps from satisfied clients. Recommendations on Linked:In work in essence as customer testimonials, and are highly visible by anyone that may view your profile.

Join our network on LinkedIn >>

Twitter Expands the Online Marketing Map With E-commerce

An article in the NY Times describes how Twitter is moving into the realm of e-commerce...

Twitter Gets Into E-Commerce
By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER

Last year, we wrote that Twitter was considering e-commerce as one of its revenue models. On Tuesday it unveiled its first foray into selling products.

The company announced @earlybird Exclusive Offers, which will be time-sensitive deals on products and events that will appear on the @earlybird Twitter account. People can follow that account to get access to the deals.

Read the whole article here...

Launching an Email Marketing Campaign that Works

Email marketing is emerging as the most popular and most cost-effective online marketing solutions this year, and predictions for the future have revealed that more and more companies will be utilizing email marketing as the main component of their online marketing campaigns. In order to compete with dozens of competitors and ensure that your emails are more effective and not simply cast out to the trash bin, consider these tips.

Make It Professional
Email marketing is a simple way to reach customers, but you should always take the time to make sure that your email is professional, polished, and useful or interesting to the customer. The first thing to do is to designate an email address to send your email from. Always try to make sure that the address you use is from yourcompany.com, or else your customers may think it is spam and delete it before opening the mail.

You will also want to use professional, appealing graphics that link back to your company. Using the company logo in your email marketing campaign is typically a key aspect in order to ensure brand recognition. The content is also very important. If the email is just rehashing the same thing that customers have seen before, they may be less tempted to open future emails from your company. Keep is short, simple and useful for the best results.

Newsletters
Newsletters are a great way to increase sales through an email marketing campaign. You will need to be able to provide customers with fresh content on a weekly or monthly basis. Other great ideas include offering newsletter subscriber’s discounts, or offering a sweepstakes or contest open to anyone who subscribes. You may be surprised at just how effective these simple marketing techniques are.

Be Clear and Concise
Your email marketing campaign will work much more efficiently if you are able to produce an email message that is clear and concise, and that calls for action from the recipient. You will always want to include a relevant link to your website, and if you are discounting or promoting a particular item, then link to that item. You can also include special discount codes in your email if you are having a sale on any goods or services to entice your email customers to your site.

Lastly, keep your email marketing simple. Don’t try to include tons of links or promotions in one email. Instead, focus on one thing at a time. You may find it more effective to send emails out on a regular basis, rather than trying to fit too many messages into one email.

Three Rules for Successful Bulk Email Marketing

Bulk email marketing is a technique used for professional internet marketers. On the other hand its cousin, spam, is anything but professional. While it seems that the two might be closely related, once you learn the three rule strategy for successful bulk email marketing you’ll see why spam isn’t anywhere close to the same league. Always double check your actions before you send out mass or bulk emails to ensure that you are not even entertaining spamming.

Rule 1: Use Permission as Part of Your Strategy

The basic difference between bulk email marketing and spam is permission. Spam doesn’t have to contain anything nasty or elicit, it’s simply email sent to people without their permission. Permission can come in the form of subscriptions, which means that users actually request that you send them the information you want to offer. This not only protects you from spam issues, but it also indicates that there is already a predetermined value for the user. He or she is primed for your information.

Opting in is what it is called when someone agrees to be on your mailing list. This can be done any number of ways. Any time you’ve ordered something and you see that there are boxes pre-checked indicating your interest in future offers you’re witnessing opting in. You can also have a splash page where your web visitors land and are encouraged to sign up for email mailings prior to entering your website. It’s not a requirement of the law that you send out confirmation emails, yet many internet marketers find that this is helpful. While it does offer the subscriber a chance to change their mind, it also means that those who respond positively are a more targeted audience.

Rule 2: Become Familiar with the Whitelist, Get on it, and Stay on it

Most of us understand what it means to be blacklisted. A blacklist is basically a list of those who are not tolerated for one reason or another. When it comes to email marketing, you want the whitelist. Really, this list is nothing more than the list of contacts in any user’s email account. These contacts indicate some familiarity with the sender.

A whitelist means that the user is interested in the things that you have to say or offer and is willing to put your email address in their system. The whole point is to prevent the spam filter system from preventing your email from hitting the inbox. How do you get on this list? You simply ask. Include the recommendation to add your email address to their contact list when they initially opt into your mailing and again during your initial emails. If a user is interested they will follow through.

Rule 3: Basic and Simple Campaigns Equal Success

How often are you willing to read through a long winded email that is filled with droll and poetic language, even if it’s from a friend? Most of us just want the information handed to us in a clear format that doesn’t take long to read.

Bulking up your emails to include serious advertising efforts is actually a turn off to most users. You’ll find your bulk email marketing campaign is much more successful if you simply let people know the basics right away. Just like a Journalism 101 class, answer who, what, where, when or why within the first fifteen seconds of reading material in order to keep your readers. If you have the best deal, if you’re starting a new website, or even if you’re looking for feedback from your readers cut to the chase in a respectful manner.

Avoid deceit in your subject headings. Keep it simple and give the direct information from the beginning if you want your emails read and your credibility to remain intact. Deceit only creates distrust. Simple and honest headers and subject lines create familiarity. The user may not open every email, but when they do open one you don’t want to do anything that might prevent them from opening any future emails.

Visit Active Web Group to read more about email marketing and how it can work for you, or contact us today!

Easy Tips for Adding Subscribers To Your Email List

Building an email list is easy. You simply gather as many email addresses as you can from a bevy of sources, right? Not exactly. The key to a successful email list is to build a targeted email list. That means your email list should not only be comprised of individuals who would be interested in the content of your email, but also those who willingly accept your emails. Better yet, those who volunteered to receive email from you, usually by subscribing.

So how do you get these valuable email list subscribers?

It takes a bit of work and strategy, but it can be relatively easy, provided you abide by these simple rules and tips. The effectiveness of these tips might also vary slightly, depending upon the type of emails you send to subscribers, but generally apply to most types of emails, from newsletters to promotional messages about sales or special announcements.

The first and best way to get new subscribers is to simply ask them to join sign up for the email mailing list. You have to promise them something of value in return though. This can be anything from informative articles to exclusive discounts on products, or even a free sample of a product. There are many ways to get the message out across the Internet about your email mailing list. Currently, the most common, popular and effective method is utilizing social networking sites, and blogs and forums to a slightly lesser extent.

Another surefire way to add subscribers is to ask them as a follow-up to a sale, or as they register an account on your site. More often than not, if a potential future customer registers and account on your site, they will not shy away from also electing to receive emails from you (once again, provided they are aware of the potential benefits of receiving such emails.) Likewise, include links to sign up for the mailing list or a checkbox option for customers who have just purchased a product or service from your site.

It is important to remember that ease of use and quick results are important factors contributing to the overall happiness and satisfaction of visitors to your site. It should not be overly time-consuming or difficult for subscribers to sign up for the mailing list. Asking too much information or making them go through a series of links and pages is simply too much; you will annoy them and they will leave before finishing the signup process.

Beware of Twitter Scams

Anyone who has spent even a minimal amount of time on the Internet has learned that cyberspace is home to a plague of scams designed to extract money from unsuspecting victims, collect and use private information, and even seize control of their computers through malicious hacks.

Social networking site Twitter is not immune to scammers; in fact, the rate in which Twitter scams are being discovered and reported is growing steadily as more sophisticated criminals try their hand at Twitter scams.

Many of the Twitter scams are just slight variations of phishing scams: you receive an email that appears as though it is sent by Twitter or by a Twitter user. The email either mentions that there is a problem with your account, of, if pretending to be from a Twitter user, displays as a direct message asking you to log into Twitter to view a posted picture or some other item or message of interest. In both scenarios, the key factor is that you are being enticed to click the link provided in the email to log into Twitter.

However, this is in fact a classic phishing scam. The link does not actually go to Twitter, even though the page you land on might look like Twitter. It is in fact a cleverly designed copycat site that will capture your username and password when you attempt to log in.

A somewhat inventive Twitter scam utilized Twitter itself to gather usernames and security question answers from users. Dubbed the “Twitter porn name scam”, this hashtag trend invited users to create a funny porn name for themselves by adding their answers to common security questions to their username. Once this was tweeted, the Twitter scammer now possessed the usernames and security question answers to many accounts. Because Internet users often use the same info for various accounts, scammers could often hack into users email accounts with a few tries, and possibly even a bank account.

Another Twitter scam sends a message to Twitter users that tries to convince them that they have just won a free cell phone, and provides a link to claim their prize. Clicking the link sends users to a website where they need to fill out their current cell phone number and a few minor details. The scam then succeeds in enrolling the user in a subscription text service of one kind or another.

These are just a few of the Twitter scams populating the social networking site; some are still being used, and new ones appear regularly. It is important to always remember never to give anyone personal information without being able to accurately verify who they are, and always type the Twitter web address into a browser yourself in order to login, rather than using links provided in emails.

Pay Per Click Terms You Need to Know

The world of Internet marketing can be a confusing place for the uninitiated or those relatively new to the Internet itself. But if you wish to attract customers to your website, you need to stop treading water in cyberspace and jump in headfirst to discover the benefits of commonly used online marketing solutions.

Pay Per Click (PPC)

One of the most widely used methods of attracting visitors to your website is called Pay Per Click. This is also more commonly referred to as PPC. With Pay Per Click, you create targeted keyword ads. These are short ads consisting of a short headline and 1-2 lines of copy, and a link.

Keywords

The headline and the copy below it should integrate the best keywords possible that will attract visitors to click on the link, as well as align properly with search engine queries by Internet users.

For example, a Pay Per Click ad might look like this:

New YA Fantasy Novel on Kindle

Download the 1^st 3 chapters free.

Fantasy Novel Only $4.99 on Kindle

http://www.talesoftanglewood.com

The keywords in this ad are “Fantasy novel” and “Kindle.” When individuals search Yahoo, Google, or another search engine for “fantasy novels on the Kindle,” this ad is likely to appear in the sidebar of the search results.

Cost Per Click (CPC)

It costs you nothing to create the ad and have it appear in search results. However, when users click the link in your ad, you will incur a cost. The amount is known as Cost Per Click (CPC) and will vary according to how much you are willing to pay for an ad that utilizes specific keywords. For example “fantasy novel” is likely to be used in a large amount of ads by competitors, and so you would need to place a higher bid on the keywords. This means you are willing to pay more than your competitors each time someone clicks on your ad; it also means your ad will likely appear more often than those of your competitors, and in a better position.

Cost Per Thousand (CPM)

This is another method of payment utilized with PPC ads. It essentially means that you will pay a flat fee for every thousand impressions. An impression is the instance of your ad being shown alongside a search result, regardless of whether it is clicked on or not.

To learn more about Pay Per Click ads and how they can benefit your website, contact Active Web Group for a free Pay Per Click campaign analysis. Active Web Group is Long Island’s leading online marketing solutions agency, with expertise in PPC Management.

Avoid These Three Common Email Marketing Campaign Mistakes

Email marketing can produce the highest ROI when done effectively and professionally. Unfortunately, many companies attempt to initiate an email marketing campaign without proper knowledge of specific strategies and guidelines, or without utilizing a professional online marketing agency experienced with email marketing.

The result is often an ineffective campaign due to one or more mistakes that are actually quite common, yet usually easy to remedy.

Email Marketing Mistake #1 – Vague Subject Lines

The easiest mistake to make is to place all of your focus on the content and none on the subject line. The subject line is the first thing recipients of your email will see, and if it doesn’t grab their attention, into the trash it goes. Regardless of whether the recipient has voluntarily subscribed to your emails, or if you’ve added them as part of a targeted campaign, you need to display something about the content of your email in the subject line in order to pique their interest. Simply stating “July Newsletter” isn’t going to cut it. You need to spice it up a bit: try something like “July Newsletter – The Heat is Rising but Our Prices are Dropping!” or “July Newsletter – The Latest and Greatest Online Marketing Strategies!”

Email Marketing Mistake #2 – Sending Emails to Those Outside Your Target Market

Sending 1,000 emails to targeted subscribers is effective email marketing. Sending 10,000 emails to everyone in your email database or on a purchased list is a mistake. Too many managers are under the assumption that sending as many emails as you can, as often as you can, will increase the chances of achieving a high ROI. The reality is quite the opposite. Sending emails to those who don’t elect to receive them, or to those who may not be your target market for this particular campaign will likely result in annoying many recipients and instill a negative image of your brand. It likely won’t be long before you receive many “unsubscribe” requests.

Choose your target markets wisely: do the research and send emails to those most likely to respond or appreciate your message.

Email Marketing Mistake #3 – Out of Control Design Elements

Of course you’d like your email to stand out from others. But a simple design produced by a professional graphic designer is typically more aesthetically pleasing than an email that contains a multitude of graphic intensive elements. Keep your color palette simple, don’t use more than two or three different fonts, and use fonts that are easy to read.

Including images is fine – in fact, images go a long way towards achieving better results, but be sure that they are optimized for the web. Slow loading times or images that display incorrectly, as well as distracting Flash movies and other elements you might think are clever only detract and distract from the message content.

While these are just a few of the more common mistakes in email marketing, there are certainly a host of others committed everyday by those with little experience in online marketing. Email marketing is an extremely tricky type of marketing strategy can work against you if not executed properly.

Active Web Group is the leading full service online marketing agency on Long Island, a pioneer in email marketing and website development. Our email marketing professionals possess the technical and marketing expertise to help you launch your email marketing campaign right from the email design all the way up to the content of your email newsletter.

For a Free Email Marketing Analysis, Contact Active Web Group!