Epiphany Marketing's Strategic Marketing Blog

According to Google:

97% of consumers search for local businesses online.

If you don’t have a solid plan for creating visibility for your business, those people looking for your products and services will find someone else instead of you.

So what can you do that doesn’t cost a fortune?

Many businesses that we work with are surprised to find out that a great many of the most effective tools you can use today to get visibility for your business are free! Some of the others are either relatively inexpensive or can be set up in a way that you’re only paying when you’re getting results.

Here’s a Great Example of Something You Can Do for Free

You have probably noticed by now that in the last year or so, Google began rolling out a change to the way local search results work. Instead of having a separate map showing up on the results page, the map listings have been merged with organic search results on many local searches.

For example, in the picture here, I’ve run a search for a car wash in the city where we’re located. Google tries to show me relevant results from organic search as always.

What’s different now is that they are also giving me the locations of some of these businesses using the map on the right and “pins” with corresponding letters in the search results. We’ll refer to these as the “merged” listings, because the results are based on 2 things:

• the natural organic position of the website corresponding to the business on the map (based on relevance to my search terms)
• the rank of the map listing for the business based upon a variety of factors (including proximity, keywords, reviews, and more)

What makes this different is that you need to pay attention to your map listing because it is now affecting the rank of your website! Google may have already placed your business on the map using information they’ve gathered from other sources. If you haven’t already done so, it’s a good idea to claim your listing so that you can correct any inaccurate information and also provide additional details to help make the listing more relevant.

Here’s what to do:

1. Find your business listing on the map by searching for it at www.google.com/maps

2. If you find it there, click on the name of your business in the list on the left side of the map view.

3. Click “Edit This Place” on the right-hand side above the map

If you don’t find your business already listed, then go here:

www.google.com/local/add

Either way, from there you’ll need to login to your Google account or create a Google account. Then you can follow the instructions to edit the information in your listing.

The steps above don’t cost you anything, take only a few minutes, and can make a big difference in your visibility.

The frustrating thing is that you don’t know what you don’t know. And where do you turn for good solid information about what you can be doing to gain visibility through:

• search engine rankings
• Facebook, Twitter & social media
• mobile geo-targeted services like Foursquare, Facebook Places and even Google Maps
• and other means?

Well… we’re here for you. In fact, that’s why we created this webinar taking place today at 1pm Eastern (replay available here). In fact, on the webinar we’ll be showing additional free options for promoting your business as well as some important strategy to increase your effectiveness! There are still a few spots left so you may still be able to get in if you register right away. Everyone who attends will be automatically entered into a drawing for $100 in free Google advertising!

This event is absolutely free. We do these from time to time because it’s a great way to introduce you to the small business marketing training programs we offer. There are no obligations and no strings attached, so register right now watch the replay so you don’t miss out on this valuable information!

Here’s the 3rd of 5 Ways to Increase Your Response just by changing the words you use!

Hey You!

3. Write From “Me” to “You”

I have a shocking revelation for you: Your future customers don’t care about you.

That’s right. I said it. I’ll say it again.

They don’t care about you.

Why, then, is so much of our marketing material all about us?

When we put it so bluntly as this, it seems so obvious. But somehow we get stupid when it’s time to create the ad, write the e-mail, or put the content together for the website. And we make a massive blunder: we make it all about us.

Your audience only cares about themselves. They’re incredibly selfish. But who can blame them? They’re busy. They have things to think about. Stuff to do. If you don’t answer the question right off the bat:

What’s in it for me?

…you’ll lose ‘em faster than a 2-year-old watching C-SPAN.

So… one way you do it is talk to them about them. Put a picture of your best customer in front of you (a person, not a company) and write to them as if he or she were the only human being on the planet.

This means you use a lot of words like

• you,
• your, and
• yours,

and not much of

• we,
• us,
• ours,
• they,
• them, or
• theirs.

What About Writing in the 3rd Person?

If there’s a faster way to put an audience to sleep, I’m not sure what it is. So… just for the record: don’t do it.

Now of course there are exceptions to every rule. But remember: effective marketing is about starting or cultivating a relationship. This happens one person at a time. It happens one-on-one with your marketing–whether you’re speaking to an enormous crowd or sitting across your prospect’s desk. You would never talk about your company or yourself in the 3rd person while face to face, would you?

This might seem like a subtle nuance. But I guarantee you that if you keep in mind the end goal (the relationship) and you intentionally incorporate the “me to you” approach, you will get significantly better response.

Up next in this series: “So What?!”  Subscribe right now so you’ll get it first!

Here’s the 2nd of 5 Ways to Increase Your Response just by changing the words you use!

2. Make a Bold Promise

Ultimately, marketing is about promising something to your future customer (or your existing customer… if you’re working toward repeat business). What you promise and how you fulfill it is completely up to you, but nevertheless, you’re making a promise.

So… since you’re already making them a promise, why not make it boldly?

Why not grab their attention and shake ‘em up a little? (or a lot?!)

Be daring. Get creative. Let them know you are different from the competition.

Recently, I asked a member of our training program to read me the headline from his brochure. This brochure is the primary piece of advertising he uses. He sends it out via direct mail and gets it into the hands of prospects or “suspects” as often as possible. He and I were on the phone during one of our training sessions and so I said to him,

“Eddie, read me the biggest boldest thing on the front of your brochure.”

Can you guess what was there? It was the name of his company. Right up at the top.

Yawn.

That’s what readers do when they see it…

When you spend that valuable piece of real estate on the name of your business, it communicates 2 things to the reader:

1. You’re only interested in yourself
2. You’re boring

Never, ever, make your name, your logo and/or your photograph the first, most prominent thing the prospect sees. The only possible exception to this is if you already have enormous name recognition as an expert with the audience in question. And let’s be real about this. If you already had that kind of name recognition, would you be publishing said marketing piece? (The answer is… it depends. But chances are, you’re not Zig Ziglar, or President Barack Obama, or Gandhi. So don’t do it.)

By changing what he does with that valuable piece of print “real estate,” Eddie could multiply his results. What about you?

We’ve already talked about the importance of using a headline, since it serves to catch the reader’s attention. Making a bold promise is a great way to not only capture their attention, but get them thinking about doing business with you right away!

Up next: how to write your content… If you haven’t yet, subscribe right now so you don’t miss out!

And if you are President Barack Obama or Gandhi, let’s talk!  (Oh wait… Gandhi’s no longer with us… and Obama already won the election…)

You’re on your way to getting better results with the 1st of 5 Ways to Increase Your Response just by changing the words you use! (You may want to take a moment and read that introductory post if you haven’t already.)

1. Use a Headline

Without question, this is the single most important place to focus your efforts first. Some people estimate that as many as 70% or more buying decisions are made from the headline.

What? You’re not using one?

Hmmmmm… could be a clue. Get started. And do it today.

In our work with clients and students, we routinely analyze marketing efforts that aren’t performing up to par. And it’s very common for us to run across great marketing copy that’s absolutely bombing.

The simple fact is: no one will care about (or even read) the rest of the brilliant stuff you write about if you don’t get their attention and pull them in right up front.

• In your e-mails, the headline is the subject line.
• In radio and TV spots, it’s the first phase or sentence the audiences hears or sees.
• In print (and on the web), it’s the 1st, boldest, biggest element of your copy.

It’s your job to sell the reader/viewer/listener on why they should pay attention. And this means that you need to know what’s going on in their world. You need to understand their needs… and more importantly, their wants. You need to understand how what you have to offer them — regardless of what it is — addresses those needs and wants.

And then you need to find a way to use the most compelling, attention-getting words you can muster in order to stop them in their tracks.

If you’re already using a headline and you’re not happy with the results, then it’s time to implement one of the cardinal rules of effective marketing: test everything.

This means write a new headline and test it. In fact, I write dozens… sometimes hundreds of different headlines before deciding which one to test first. And then… even if I’m getting great response, I will test another one. If the response goes up, then guess which one I keep? If it goes down, we go back to the other one. Either way, I’m always testing. Just remember to only change one thing at a time (don’t test a new headline and a different color scheme, for example).

Devote some time to your headlines today. And watch this space for more ways to get more effectiveness out of your marketing!

Looking to get better results out of your website, e-mail, direct mail or other advertising and outreach efforts?

Over the years of working with and training the greatest businesspeople on the planet — small business owners and their teams — I’ve found that this is by far one of the greatest opportunities for growth available. You can significantly impact your bottom line relatively quickly by devoting some attention to this area.

And for the record, I’m not talking about buying more advertising, sending more pieces or redesigning your website. In fact, I’m not talking about spending more at all!

What I am talking about is this:

Change the Words You Use

We all recognize to one extent or another that the words we use — whether they’ll be read, heard or both — have an impact on our results. After all, no one would remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s speech if he called it, “We Might Eventually Improve Something.”

But since most of us in the world of small business don’t think of ourselves as great orators or great writers, we tend to approach creating our marketing pieces a bit haphazardly. Ask any web designer which phase of a web project tends to drag on endlessly and they’ll undoubtedly tell you, “waiting on content from the client.” Why? It gets done last because we dread it and pay as little attention to it as possible.

A seasoned marketer, on the other hand, approaches things differently. In fact, I train our clients and students that content comes first — right after you’ve figured out who the target audience is for a given piece. Outreach methods, colors, designs and everything else come last.

So the question becomes:

How Can I Increase Results Just By Changing the Words I Use?

I’m so glad you asked!

Here are 5 key ways you can improve your response from your existing efforts.

1. Use a Headline
2. Make a Bold Promise
3. Write from “Me” to “You”
4. Pass the “So What?!” Test
5. Make ‘Em an Offer They Can’t Refuse

These are cardinal rules of getting results with your marketing. If you’re not doing these each and every time you touch a prospect with any form of marketing or advertising, then you have room to improve!

And over the next few posts, we’ll tackle these elements one at a time. You’ll have lots more detail to work with. So… if you haven’t subscribed yet, do it right now! I’ll personally notify you right away when these get published.

Don’t miss the info on all 3 bonuses in this video… plus, I show you exactly where we’re going to meet this Saturday at the end… and you’ll also hear 2 quick stories about businesses getting results now!

Bonus #1 (valued at $297) was added a couple of days ago — it’s the 2.5-hour downloadable video training on the subject of e-mail. It includes step-by-step instructions for how to manage your e-mail database as well as how to avoid blacklisting and SPAM accusations.  You’ll come back to this training session again and again!

Bonuses 2 & 3 have just been added today!  In fact, the Results Now Marketing website doesn’t even mention any of these bonuses…

Bonus #2: Advanced Keyword Training (valued at $297).  This is another downloadable video that teaches you in detail (including step-by-step instructions) how to discover the exact nuances of keywords that your future customers are using to search Google and other search engines.  Many businesses that obtain just one new client would already have earned enough to more than pay for this video at its full retail price.  But… it’s not available for sale anywhere!  Only our members have access to it, and you’ll receive 60-day download access to it absolutely FREE when you register for Results Now Marketing.

Bonus #3: Our Resources List (priceless!) You know, if I were to tell you that I had a piece of paper that was worth thousands upon thousands of dollars, you might be interested to find out why.  Am I right?

You see, it’s not the paper itself… it’s what’s written on the paper that makes it valuable.  And… what’s written on the paper isn’t just a collection of words.  This list of resources has taken years to put together… years of trial and error.  Investment of thousands upon thousands of dollars in both cash and in my time.  I have never before offered this list to anyone. You will receive it absolutely FREE as part of your training in the Results Now Marketing seminar this Saturday.

These bonuses are worth $594 at a very minimum… and thousands (or even tens of thousands) at most.

As I’ve already mentioned… those of you who have already paid for your registration for this weekend’s event are receiving these bonuses too!  This is just our surprise way of over-delivering.  But if you haven’t yet registered, then these bonuses add significant value to the investment you’re about to make.

Reserve your spot right now.

One marketing question that I get asked about small businesses is:

Do search engines really matter where local businesses are concerned?

The answer may surprise you. According to a 2007 study by comScore Networks, even when looking for local business information, 3 out of 5 people will search online. When you consider that only 1 in 3 check the yellow pages, this represents an enormous shift.

It’s a no-brainer that we look online today when locating solutions that are less localized, but I wouldn’t have guessed that the trend had shifted that far yet where local business is concerned. And, given that the study is a little over a year old, it’s likely that the actual numbers for today are even higher.

What does this mean? Well… it means that if your company’s website isn’t ranking well on the right search terms, then you could actually be missing 60% of your best customers.  After all, when people are actively looking for your product or service, they’re probably a sooner buyer than the person who is passively shown an advertisement you placed.

The search engine game is one that is constantly evolving and changing. Unless you’ve managed to hire a marketer instead of a web designer (or participated in small business marketing training), chances are good that your site won’t show up when it really needs to.

Check out this video clip for some additional insight:

Consider this my personal invitation for you to participate in our Results Now Marketing seminar in Sarasota on September 27th.  When it’s over, you’ll know exactly how to get to the top!

Yesterday, we talked about focusing on your customers. I’ll be the first to admit that without intentional effort, it’s easy to begin to drift away from listening closely to them. But in business, this can be a costly mistake – even when times are good and business is strong. In those times, missing out on subtle cues from your customers can cause you to miss the opportunities to serve them that you’re leaving on the table.
In the 21^st century, however, we have some amazing new tools for listening to what customers want. If you have a website, for example, you should be able to monitor a variety of statistical information that lends remarkable insight into what your customer base is looking for and, in fact, how close to the mark you’re getting.

Visits

For example, which pages on your website are getting visited? Where is the traffic coming from. If your website is strategically set up (in other words, it doesn’t just “look” good), you’ll have different “pages” of content that focus on various product or service offerings. Websites that are set up according to the methods that I use are getting large percentages of their traffic from search engines. This means that traffic coming in to the site is arriving because our content is attracting them to the particular pages they are visiting. By evaluating traffic data to your site, you can see which offerings are doing all that attracting.

Search Terms

Your website statistical information should also tell you exactly someone typed into Google (for example) to cause them to arrive at your site. This helps you in a couple of important ways. First, it tells you if you’re attracting the folks you want to attract. If your website talks about auto repair in Indianapolis, and you’re getting traffic for the Indy 500, then you need to re-evaluate your content (or if better yet: sell ads!). If the search terms line up with what you have to offer, then the second thing those terms are telling you – very specifically – is what your customers are asking for. If you evaluate this data over a meaningful period of time, you can check your product and/or service offerings and see if you should consider doing some repackaging or some new promotions.

What I’m describing in today’s content is really the tip of the iceberg. But, this is the type of strategic information that most companies who have invested in the web have not been trained how to use. I hope you find it useful to you.