Blue Mondays

Mondays, especially after holidays, are somewhat taboo (who wants a cranky reader?). Besides, it’s typically a day when most people (even those who may be in a decent mood) are catching up on email from the weekend, and are contemplating the challenges posed by the week ahead. If Monday is a holiday, time your blast to arrive on the Wednesday morning after the holiday (that’s because – you guessed it – in that case, Tuesday has become Blues Day)!

Tuesday is a good news day!

Most business contacts receive an average of 75 emails per day. To make sure they have the time to review (and hopefully, read) your email, it’s a pretty good idea to have your email blast arrive on Tuesday mornings between 8am and 11am*. That’s because the “Monday Blues” are in the rear view mirror, and the day and week are relatively young. And, with energy levels and receptiveness relatively high in the morning, people are more apt to be responsive – hopefully, that day!

Wednesdays and Thursdays?

These are neither slime time nor prime time. Proceed as you see fit.

TGIF (They’re “gone” if Friday)

.  .  . maybe not physically – just mentally. Be honest! Where’s your head on some Fridays? .  .  . OK, you’re not the Lone Ranger; others are a little spacey, too. Yeah, don’t push your luck. Fridays are difficult, as most folks (even the most diligent and motivated) are wrapping up work for the week and may not have the time to look at your message even if they don’t have one eye on the clock.  And, if they do find time to read it, with a weekend interruption, they may have forgotten about you, and your message, by Monday.

Weekends?

If they’re in the office during the weekend, they’re the worst kind of masochists, and you don’t want their business anyway! .  .  . On a more serious note, while many may be focused on business, your email most likely will lose out to a higher priority item, like the one that has brought them into the office on a weekend in the first place. And, frankly, we just wouldn’t want to stake our chances for readers’ comprehension on that “no man’s land” that falls between Friday and Monday.

And, finally, what is more important than the day and the time of day?

. . . Three little words: Content. Content. Content.

* Remember to keep time zones in mind

How Search Engines Works and how they determine the “value” of your site.
Search engines are complicated, and have convoluted formulas to determine a website’s page rank. To find sites on the web, search engines have “web crawlers” to crawl the web through every link it finds. The search engines then apply their algorithm to the site and determine the page rank. Backlinks(or inward links) are always a part of this equation. To search engines, the number and quality of backlinks are an indicator of the importance and popularity of a site.

There are many other factors search engines consider, like the age of the site, URL name, image or filenames on the site, anchor text, and keywords in the content.

How do we create Backlinks
We do this by building links in relevant directories, submitting article and press releases.
By creating something that is a valuable resource for people. If you can create something that is the go-to place for information on a certain topic, the traffic will come.

 Internet marketing should be a phased approach based on creating some Pay per Click campaigns in the short term while creating a comprehensive social media identity that will serve as a medium term campaign.  This includes linking to several social networks and managing the message in regular intervals to improve backlinks, SEO benefit, and to establish a voice in a large new market.

SEO should be considered the longer term campaign that can be applied evenly over time.  Results vary from 1 to 4 months as new content is collected and distributed by various search engines and directories. As the results start to establish a growth pattern, increased efforts to improve page rank, ad campaigns and click-through rates (CTR) will result in increased efficiency, exposure and ROI.  SEO is responsible for natural/organic clicks that are free of charge once the mechanism is in place.Priorities should include SEO enhancements, social media PPC, social media setup, and off page SEO efforts.  A diversified approach focused on these techniques, will help create a mechanism for stable growth and deliver the marketing messages to many new internet markets.

FireDrum Internet Marketing provides monthly reports including links, passwords and tracking mechanisms that are provided at the end of each month in addition to a review of the analytic data.

It is still possible to have a great looking web/brand that is usable however it needs to be functional. It needs to produce results - get people to your stores. End users want to know where to go, have the contact info readily available, print out the driving directions from their residence to your front door. One of the very last things you want to do is to hide your locations behind a search form or a post form.

Here is what you want to do.

• Create a unique crawlable url for each store.
  For example, ww.yourstore.com/colorado/denver/store_naming_convention.aspx
• Sitemap, Sitemap, Sitemap. Have the sitemap crawled frequently and make sure to create and link to an HTML sitemap that points to the web pages for your stores.
• Each store needs a unique URL.
• 400 stores, 40 stores or 4 stores. Create a single page if you have a small amount of stores or if you have a lot of stores create a page for each store.
• Community events or sponsorships that your business engages in on the local level. For example, you donate time and money to animal shelters. Let people know you and your business believe in it.
• Must haves - phone, address, email, hours, Google maps, Google places, driving directions, coupons, specials, internet only specials.

Now that we have that in place lets look for some things that may come up. When you have multiple locations you can get duplicate content. Not the worst thing in the world but you should still make sure that it is taken care of. Make sure that each location page has it own, unique content. Employ the rel=canonical tag if you are having this issue. I have found that this helps immensely.

Next step, resubmit your sitemap. Business move locations, get new owners, etc. Make sure that they are always fresh and communicate effectively. Good luck and let us know if you need any help!

Follow these marketing ABC’s to help grow your brand and your business by turning idle talk and wishes into some real cow tippin’ action.

A - Always get the email address
While email addresses may seem a lot like phone numbers, they can be a far more powerful tool. Though you may have the ability to craft a message that connects consumer goals and objectives to your brand, it’s those email addresses that are the key to communication. Collecting them must be a priority, and there are many ways it can be done. Here are some:

• Put your newsletter or mailer signup form on your Facebook fan page, website (with a link on every page), newsletter or other pieces (always remember to include a description of the benefits)
• Offer a premium, email-only special or other incentive with signup
• Point-of-sale collection
• Send signup-solicitation postcards or other surface mailings
• Enter your signees in a drawing
• Include a signup link in the signature of your emails
• Utilize your packages to solicit signups
• Use capture cards at tradeshow booths and other appearances
• Advertise for signups on all of your promotional materials, stationery, etc.

B - Be brand centric

Your brand is your promise – a link between your name and what it stands for. It will help your target consumers (current and potential clients/customers) distinguish your product/service from others.

Two factors are essential to an effective branding campaign:

• It must have distinctive style and content in order to effectively describe and differentiate you.
• It must be delivered in its many forms consistently and repeatedly over an extended time period (as in forever).

A good-looking, custom-branded email template will help add to your promise of commitment. We are now offering 50% off the $295 price! Check out our portfolio and get started on your custom email template today.

Click here to view our custom email template portfolio.

C – Content wins

Email marketing, the relevant type built upon reasons to buy,  is most people’s preferred form for receiving information, and will usually induce prospects to visit your website or contact you directly.

An attractive, distinctive, custom-branded email template will establish your brand visually and help build a level of top-of-mind awareness that consumers will remember when it’s time for them to make a purchasing decision. Along with pertinent content, it makes for a winning combination.

FireDrum Internet Marketing proudly announces our best Email Marketing system to date. You will find we have made creating, sending and tracking Email Marketing easier than ever!  Even better, we have lowered our pricing, added new features and built 100s of FREE templates.

Our industry-leading pricing makes Email Marketing affordable for any budget, including an unmatched USE IT FREE option for up to 750 members. Don’t be fooled by our competitors who only offer a limited trial period for free.

Get started today and receive a $25 credit toward any paid service.

• Easy Step Email Publisher
• Lower Do-It-Yourself Pricing
• Improved Look and Feel
• No Trial Period
• Now even easier to use
• Integrate with Google Analytics

Click here to Use It Free

If the offer is too good to be true....well....you know the rest

It is unfortunate because these business have made sound decisions in running the enterprise however when it came to websites, SEO, online presence and brand they just wanted one result.

Get my business to the top spot…NOW!

A shortcut in web design, web presence, SEO or any other area is not a viable solution for any business and just plain-old, flat-out, any day of the week DOES NOT work.  If you are in a rush to build your web, get rankings and visibility because you believe this translates to dollars - you are 5% correct - 95% wrong. The 5% correct is true. Visibility can translate to dollars, however there are more factors involved than just putting up a cheap website and paying $1 to climbing online rankings to get the $$/leads to come in through your web and business.

I am talking about your brand.

Establishing a brand is a long term commitment that translates into other areas of your business. Branding is a process which creates a unique name and image for a product or service in your customers” mind. Using websites, logos, advertising campaigns and other marketing media you will begin to establish a consistent theme that resonates with your customers.

The mistake of purchasing the snake oil from the salesmen is it does not establish trust, resonate your message or really even make a long term commitment to establishing your website (your online identity- your online brand).

Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers.  A dollar cannot get me listed on Google let alone get me on the bus or get a cup of coffee (Bus Fare in Phoenix - $1.75 one way — Cuppa Joe - $1.95 ($2.07 with tax) I have the receipt to prove it )

So lets look at a few things about your company that can really translate well online and in daily business life.

• Brand Relationship with your customers - How do they see you? Are you a quick stop or do you have a relationship with them?
• Company wide branding and marketing strategies - What is your voice and how well do you communicate it out to the business world?
• Reputations and buzz-worthiness - Do you have a buzz worthy product? This is great for PR, Search, Media Channels and Blogs!
• Creativity and market relevance - How does your creative stack up against your competitors? The more knowledge you have, the more creative you can be.

Review your online and company brand identity and understand how it resonates with your customer segment and how it ranks with your competitors.  It takes the right marketing mix to effectively communicate, brand and market your message to the business world. Remember brand, marketing, reputation, SEO and creativity are intertwined with one another.  Their relevance to the web, interpersonal relationships and customer relations do get you that visibility which translates into dollars.

So, moving forward what do you need to do next?

1. Take a look at our brand identity and web services:
   • brand identity packages
   • web design
   • search engine marketing
2. Answer the above questions and think about the changes you would like to see in your business brand and online presence.
3. Come in to our office…..ask for Max Sandoval or Jacob Lebo and lets start building and branding

“Our social media services will create new opportunities by coupling our permission based email marketing with our social media services. Social media marketing and opt-in email marketing perpetuates email list growth, extends campaign reach and harnesses social insights to energize information-targeting campaigns.” said Mike Toll, Chief Operating Officer of FireDrum Internet Marketing. ”FireDrum’s 3.0 email software platform is at the core of our social media marketing offering and is a powerful feedback mechanism to mine social conversations, generate qualified leads and increase email return on investment” added Toll, “We are also able to further define ourselves from our competitors by offering the social media services developed around the opt-in email marketing core.”

For more information about FireDrum’s social media marketing services, opt-in email marketing services or internet marketing services please visit www.firedrum.com.

About FireDrum Internet Marketing
With FireDrum 3.0 email marketing platform, customers can quickly and easily create professional looking emails and monitor email campaign results. FireDrum 3.0 web-based software is the leading permission-based email marketing service for small to large sized businesses, non-profits and private organizations.

FireDrum Internet Marketing is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Visit FireDrum at www.firedrum.com. FireDrum Internet Marketing, with headquarters at 7898 E. Acoma Dr., Ste. 210, Scottsdale AZ 85260, can be reached at 480-699-1524, www.firedrum.com or info@firedrum.com.

At the core of any marketing strategy is developing a low-cost, high-impact marketing program that can be leveraged to get consumers to realize the value of products and services. Social media is a strong marketing medium that connects people to your products. Email marketing is a powerful feedback mechanism for social media.

Are you thinking what we are thinking?

At the core of any social media strategy is email marketing. The two were made for one another like chocolate is to peanut butter. FireDrum Internet Marketing is now offering Social Media Marketing and Email Marketing in a low-cost, high-impact marketing program.

With FireDrum’s Social Media Packages you will receive:

• In-Depth Social Media Monitoring and Reporting
• Custom Social Media Portal
• Priority Network Setup and Branding
• Online Community Building
• Social Bookmarking
• Custom Blog Creation
• Specialized Social Media Pay Per Click Management
• With our Social Media Marketing and Email Marketing services combined, you will be able to drive greater conversions, enforce your brand, and turn social media into new customers and revenue.

By using our powerful FireDrum 3.0 email marketing platform and integrating your social media tools you will see how:

• Email Marketing is at the center of any social media strategy
• FireDrum’s ‘Share to Social’ capabilities can extend the life of your email and social campaigns
• FireDrum’s Reporting mechanisms can help with customer feedback and monitoring effectiveness

So, what are the next steps? Give us a call at 480.699.1524 and let’s talk about your latest marketing venture and how we can help.