Jann Mirchandani from Westchester Marketing Cafe explains what are the four most important steps to successful website design. Learn website design tips on how to to create a website that has the best content and that integrates your marketing goals and strategy to be able in the most effective way.
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Clients frequently ask us when they should send out email marketing campaigns. Typically we advise on a Tuesday after people have had a chance to clear out their inboxes from the weekend, or on Thursday in anticipation of clearing out inboxes before the weekend. However, we thought it would be important to take a look at the actual results of Westchester Marketing Cafe’s email campaign over the last several years. So we went into our MailChimp reports and pulled data from all of the campaigns sent in the last two years (get the total number of campaigns that we looked at). We focused on the open rate and the click-through rate. We were surprised to see that in spite of our assumptions, Mondays/Tuesdays and Fridays were the most successful days in terms of both open and click-through rates. These test results would certainly not stand the scrutiny of a statistician but they are…
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Last month, we talked about why your business needs a multi-channel content strategy to increase your company’s awareness among clients and prospects, capture their interest and prompt them to take action. We also spoke about targeting your content to the needs of your target audience (not your peers) with text that is informative and interesting and will resonate emotionally with your customers. Sounds great. So, what exactly should you write about? And how do you create compelling content?Well, technically, the sky’s the limit… and if that frightens you, you’re not alone. If it’s any consolation, almost everyone runs out of ideas at one time or another, including famous writers such as Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf, Stephen King and J.K. Rowling. So what happens when that copy deadline is looming and you just don’t know what to say? Well, here is a great infographic that provides 22 wonderful suggestions to create content that is…
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The latest trends say that content is an effective way to build brand awareness, increase sales, and retain your customers. And you think, so I’ll start a blog, add a video to my Facebook page, and post a topic of interest on my LinkedIn profile. That should do it. Ah, if only it was that easy. The truth is, good content can help you achieve all these goals BUT only if it is based on a well-planned and executed content strategy. Basically, this means creating compelling and valuable content (and by content, we’re talking anything that’s visual, audio, or written—online and in print) to a target audience and distributing that content through a variety of channels on a regular basis to capture the readers’ interest and prompt them to action. And a good content strategy isn’t a one-time solution but an ongoing process. 6 Steps to Developing a Successful Content…
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I see it all the time; folks implementing some whiz-bang trick for marketing their business. You know who you are. You’re at a networking event and talking to an SEO guru who told you something about optimizing your website. You’re having lunch with a social media expert who talked about leveraging YouTube for your business. It all sounds so good…and so easy. And they do you a favor because they are nice and set up your this or that for you so you can get started. And it’s all good. Except that now you have silos where you should have a field. Not that these techniques are bad; you should have an understanding of search engine optimization for your website, and social media is a given to help get the word out about your business. Rather than taking a shotgun approach, however, you will be better served by a targeted…
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I recently guest-lectured for an MBA Marketing Communications course; a redux of the class I taught last year. What was interesting was the contrast between the students this year and the students last year. In particular, it was notable whether they perceived social media as a viable strategy and their role, if any, in furthering the strategy.
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Budgets are tight and marketing is often the first line item that gets cut. Marketing budgets need to earn their keep but how do you know if they are doing so? Let me share with you some real-world scenarios and the lessons that can be drawn from them. A bargain isn’t a bargain if you don’t need the service. I got a call recently from a prospect. He is in a very competitive industry and knows he needs to be “out there” with respect to online marketing. To that end he began working with a vendor who specializes in his industry. They were going to take care of everything for him; hosting his website, content creation, analytics, etc. He contracted with them for their complete package. But that vendor only focused on one aspect of his business, so he contracted with another vendor to flesh out his sub-specialty. They were…
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“I thought you would just do it for me.” I once had a client say those exact words to me. The impression – or more likely, the hope – was that he would sign the contract and I would magically whip up a website with compelling content and fabulous visuals that would launch his business into the stratosphere. But successful web design projects don’t work that way. A vacuum sucks. So does working in one. The best projects are done collaboratively. A marketing professional will help you craft a message that will resonate with your audience rather than sound melodious only to your own ear. A talented web designer will create a website that not only looks good but will allow even your mother to easily navigate the site. A good programmer will code a website that can be updated by the coworker who hits “reply all” to virtually every email the…
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The Marketing Benefits of Running an Online Contest Last year Sound Earth, a pet-friendly household cleaning products manufacturer, began a focused effort to increase our community base and in turn increase our customer base. We wanted to appeal to our target market of pet and animal lovers. We also wanted to stay true to the spirit of Sound Earth: helping animals in our daily business conduct; something our followers have come to appreciate and expect. Our freshman campaign was to sponsor the First Annual Best Animal Rescue Contest, aka BARC. The contest was designed to raise our profile as well as provide a lead capture mechanism. It more than surpassed our expectations. What Is The Result a Year Later? Ultimately, 85% of the new email contacts gained through the BARC remain on our list one year later. They receive a weekly e-blast highlighting a product sale as well as a reminder…
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We talk a lot about “Content Is King”; and that’s true. Your content provides keyword-rich fodder for the search engines as well as reputation-establishing credentials for your human readers. Long live the King. Now that you are driving all this traffic to your website, what happens next? If you just shrugged your shoulders, you’re not alone. Many small businesses fail to include even the most basic lead capture framework on their websites, relying instead on prospects to contact them. Big mistake. Here’s why you need to fix it. Lead Capture Provides Opportunities “Lead capture” refers to the mechanism by which you collect information on your visitors. This isn’t a creepy “we’re watching you” proposition but rather a swap of information if you will. The implicit agreement is you provide premium content or some similar incentive to readers who then provide you with their contact information; name, email, phone number, etc….
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