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Internet Marketing

Why Most Web Marketing Doesn’t Work For Traditional Businesses

By Charlie Cook | April 22, 2006

What’s the problem with most business marketing web sites and why don’t they work to improve marketing and sales?

Most business web sites are designed and written using a business marketing model that simply doesn’t work online. They’re created using marketing strategies and marketing copy based on traditional models, traditional branding and sales strategies. No matter how hard you try to market your business using these approaches, you won’t succeed.

Why?

You’re trying to use a key to unlock the door to increased web profits that doesn’t fit and never will. To increase your online lead generation and sales you need to discover the key that works to open the door to new prospects and more sales.

When your prospects are searching online, they’re not looking for the traditional branding or sales information, they’re looking for ideas they can use. They want tips and knowledge they can apply. Tempt them with something that helps them right off the bat instead of trying to sell them and you’ll be on your way to having a loyal customer.

Discover exactly what to do to unlock the door to increased online profits with your marketing. Use this link to get the details > >

Charlie Cook
Business Marketing That Works
Visit The Small Business Marketing Store

What Web Site Marketing Strategies Work? Are PopUps a Good Idea?

By Charlie Cook | February 1, 2006

The conventional wisdom in marketing, online or off, is that if you see lots of other people doing something it must have merit. For example you see lots of supposed web marketing gurus using popups on their web sites to prompt you to sign up for an ezine, to give them your email address.

You know the popups I’m talking about. They show up when you visit a site or within a few seconds and then hover over the page blocking the content you where trying to read. They even follow you as you scroll down the page until you click them away or sign up. Yes, they can be annoying but do they work.

Take a look at this popup example I tried on my site to see what I’m talking about.

I’ve heard claims that they can increase your ezine signups by factors of 2 to 10, helping you build your list of qualifed prospects and improve your web site marketing. If they did this shouldn’t you use them?

Wait!

What’s the one thing you should do before you incorporate any change into your web site marketing?

You should test each idea to see if it works!

When I tested this popup I found no significant difference in signups and I was told by a few people how ugly it was. Over the period I tested it only 5 people a day signed up via the popup with a net gain of close to zero. E.g. while a few people signed up via the popup a few less signed up using the other signup forms on the page.

Of course my marketing site has been optimized for sign ups and already brings in 75 or more new subscribers a day.

So what should you do, should you use popups?

Popups are like bandaids. They are a quick fix and while they may work better than nothing to build your list of opt-in prospects, the best solution to your web site marketing is to fix the structure and marketing copy you use in your site. What and how to do it is explained in detail in Creating Web Sites that Sell. Use this link >>
-Charlie Cook

It’s Easy to Steal On The Web But It’s Just As Easy To Get Caught…

By Charlie Cook | December 6, 2005

The web makes it easy for unscrupulous people to steal your content on the web its true but this same easy of access makes it easy to find people who do this. Take what happened today.

This morning I got a call from someone I’d never heard of. It turns out they had paid someone to write some marketing copy for them. When it was delivered they liked it so much they took notice. They noticed it was written in a different style and became curious. They’re curiosity inspired them to “Google” some of the copy.

What did they find? They found that the copy that they had just paid someone else to write had been stolen verbatim from this site and their copywriter and substituted her name. Being honest clients, they called me to let me know this “marketing communications” firm not only was selling my copy as their own, they were using it as their own on their web site.

A couple of emails and a phone call later and the president of the guilty firm, apologized, removed the stolen copy and promised to cease and desist from using my work illegally.

It’s true it may be easy to steal marketing copy on the web, but it’s just as easy to find the thieves. Of course its simpler to just ask for permission, provide attribution or hire a good copywriter to start with.
– Charlie Cook

What’s Involved In Increasing Web Sales?

By Charlie Cook | September 27, 2005

“I want to get more traffic to my web site, generate more leads and increase sales. If I sign up with you can you do it?” – J. Bollard

Creating a web site that sells is like building a spec house. You need an architect to create the plan, a contractor to build it and a realtor to market it.

In the case of your web site, I can work with you to develop the plan and the marketing copy for the site. Next you’ll need your web site designer to follow the plan and put the plan and copy in place. If you don’t have a web designer, I can recommend a few I’ve worked with.

Once your site is built to spec, you’ll need to market it to the search engines, sign up for pay-per-click advertising and use your articles to pull in traffic. I don’t do these tasks for any site except my own, but can refer you to a reputable firm.

In summary the three steps to creating a web site that sells are:
1. Plan & Write
2. Build
3. Attract Traffic

Discover how to improve your web marketing and increase your web sales with Creating Web Sites that Sell
.
– Charlie Cook

How Does Your Web Site Rate?

By Charlie Cook | September 22, 2005

“How do I rate different web pages?” – N. Parker

Rating web pages is easy. First identify the purpose of the page.

Do you want prospects to contact you?

Do you want them to buy from you?

Do you want them to read the page from the top to bottom?

Do you want them to visit the home page and then go to another page on your site?

Once you know the purpose of your web page or pages, then do the math. Look at how many people visit the page and how many do what you want them to do. This is your conversion rate. If you get 100 visitors per day and only one contacts you, you have a 1% conversion rate (not to good.) If twenty to thirty contact you your conversion rate is 20-30% (good).

Stop wasting your time and money on web sites that don’t work and discover how to get a better response with your web site marketing with Creating Web Sites that Sell and see your sales soar.
– Charlie Cook

What Do You Need to Know About Creating Links to Your Web Site?

By Charlie Cook | September 18, 2005

Here’s a blog to check out on the top 4 things you need to know about getting links to your site by William Royal. Read it at http://www.royallmedia.blogspot.com/ – Charlie Cook, The Small Business Marketing Response Expert
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How to Solve the Web Site Marketing Puzzle

By Charlie Cook | September 15, 2005

For most people marketing online can be a puzzle. The first step is to understand the pieces. Here’s a roadmap of the key elements.

1. Getting People to Your Site
– Search Engine Listings
– Pay-per-click ads
– PR
– Article Distribution
– Linking Strategy

Whether it’s the description that appears in the search engines, your google ad, or the blurb you include with your articles, you’ll need a killer marketing message that gets your prospects to stop what they are doing and click through to your web site. I explain exactly how to do this in the 15 Second Marketing guide.

2. Getting People to Read Your Web Copy
Once visitors arrive at your site you want them to instantly discover why they need your products or services then you want them to contact you or buy from you. I explain the web strategies and ideas that work to do this in Creating Web Sites that Sell .

3. Getting People to Buy Again and Again
Remember the first sale should be just the beginning. Once a site visitor has made a purchase quickly leverage their interest and convert them into regular buyers.
– Charlie Cook

Which Web Site Will Your Prospects Pick?

By Charlie Cook | September 7, 2005

Your surfing the web, looking for information to help you solve a problem. With a seemingly infinite number of sites to pick from your task is simple. You want to to scan sites as quickly as possible to determine whether they have the information, product or service that can help you. You want to minimize the amount of time you spend on each site and click on to the next web site until you find one that gets your full attention.

Your prospects do the same thing when they are searching for information online. If they can’t instantly see that you can help them solve their problem or have what they need, they’ll be gone to your competitors’ sites.

You’ve got just a second or two to grab their attention, to let them know you can help them.

What do you do when you come to a web site that leads with the company name, a welcome message or worse yet is titled “home page”? Do you spend the time looking down the page to find the information you want or do you skip to another web site that leads with a headline that specifically identifies your concern and promises the solution you are looking for.

If you want more prospects to stop at your web site you need to make it stand out from the crowd with your marketing message You need to discover how to use the copy and the web design to prompt prospects to contact you.
– Charlie Cook

How Do I Get My Web Site Out There So People Find It?

By Charlie Cook | August 30, 2005

“I have very little control over my website. What is the best way, for my site, to get on search engines.” – Nancy Brown

If your web site was built with a third party template and is hosted on their site you may have little you can control about the actual site. This puts you at a serious disadvantage in terms of getting people to your site. You can’t make most of the changes you need to help the search engines find your site.

You can promote your site in a number of other ways including using:
– Pay-per-click ads to send traffic to your site
– Articles
– Online press releases
– Links from other sites.

My best recommendation is that you create your own web site, one you can write and set up so the search engines find it.
– Charlie Cook

How To Get More Prospects to Stop By Your Web Site

By Charlie Cook | August 15, 2005

Why aren’t more people stopping by your web site, contacting you and buying from you?

Let’s take a look at the path your prospects follow.

1. They look for your site in the search engines, in the vast majority of cases in Google.

Is your site listed in the 10 or 20 spots so they can find it? If not can they find your Google Ad?

2. Once a prospect sees your listing in the search engines, the copy in your listing needs to instantly get them to stop searching and click on your link.

Try searching for your site in Google, Yahoo or MSN and take a look at the title and description that shows. Is it compelling? Do the few words that appear give prospects a reason to visit your site? If not then find out how to write a marketing message that motivates prospects to visit your site.

3. Once a prospect is at your site, is it a virtual funnel that grabs prospects attention and moves them to contact you or buy from you? If not take a look at the sequence of information on your site and organize it so it prompts prospects to take the action you want them to take. Find out how to funnel prospects to contact you and buy from you with Creating Web Sites that Sell. – Charlie Cook

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