VerticalResponse Email Marketing Blog for Small Business

5 Basics for Getting Started with Google Adwords

Since Google drives so much internet traffic it's important for you to be seen there. There are two ways for you to do this...natural search (SEO or search engine optimization, where your site URL shows up in the body of the results pages) or pay-per-click (PPC or otherwise known as SEM, search engine marketing). Google Adwords is a pay-per-click engine meaning, when someone does a search and your ad appears (usually down the right-hand sidebar) you pay when someone clicks on your ad.

How does it work? Basically you create an account with Google Adwords that you fund with your credit card. When someone clicks on your ad, Google deducts the cost-per-click charge that you agreed to pay, out of your account. This is a great form of 'performance marketing' since you only pay when an action (a click) occurs. Make sense?

Before you dive into Google Adwords:

1) Keywords and Phrases - You basically "buy" keywords and key phrases that people who buy from you or visit your site most likely will search on. What types of people do you want clicking on your ad? What are they typing into Google to find you? For instance, if you sell watches, is someone going to be more qualified if they type in "Men's Watch", or "Bulova Men's Watch"? Chances are the latter, so you want to be specific. Google will suggest keywords for you just be careful they may suggest a term like "Watch" to drive a ton of traffic to your site, but you may end up paying for traffic that won't convert to sales. Remember, the Google Keyword Sugggestion Tool is just that - suggestions.

2) Targeted Ads - Google will ask you where you want your ads targeted geographically. It could be country, state, city specific and radius around a zip code.  This is important because if someone is searching for something that you deliver locally, you'll want that click versus the one from an area you don't serve. See the ad to the left, notice "California" on the ad. That showed up because I'm searching "Bulova Watch" from California.

3) What to Say, What to Say - You've got 25 characters in the headline and 35 characters in the next two lines, then your URL, not much room for your information huh? You need to be careful here on what to write. Do a search on your keyword and review what your competitors are doing. Then one-up them. If you've got a better feature or product,try focusing one "ad group" on that particular feature or product. You can then use another ad group to test out pricing. You'll want to include the particular keyword that someone searched on somewhere in the ad. Google has a tutorial on how to create an ad.

4) Your Budget - You're pretty much in control. You specify the maximum cost-per-click you're willing to pay, and daily budget caps. And you can change either variable  virtually at any time. Great tools! Keeping with the watch theme I used Google's keyword tool to check out what position I'd be in if I spent 15¢ per click on "Bulova Watch". So I see that I would be on the first page of Google, somewhere in position 4-6 if I spent 11¢-12¢. Not bad.

5) Reporting - Data will be available to you by keyword, ad group, URL, in any given period of time. You'll be able to see the effectiveness of how your keywords are doing and at what cost so you can change it up at any time. In the campaign below the maximum this company wanted to pay was $1.00 per click.

Now...create your Google Adwords Account - Google has a page of really great tutorials so you may want to start there.

Choose a language you want to advertise in, the targeted location you'll want to advertise to, create your ad, choose a daily budget and maximum cost per click. Use that keyword tool to help you with that but you can change it when you want. You're ads won't start running until you provide your billing info but your account will be ready to go.

Google is also beta-testing a Cost-Per-Action model, where you can specify a price you're willing to pay for a specific action - like a sale or a lead. Stay tuned for more on that.

Now I know VerticalResponse has a ton of Google Adwords experts...what am I missing?

How to Run Your Business With Virtually NO Software to Install

I was thinking the other day that every single time we need new “software” for the business, Jonathan, our VP of Engineering says, “Can you fine an online solution so the engineering team can concentrate on creating value for our customers and not managing all kinds of software?” Fine Jonathan, and we'll even do it on the cheap!

Jonathan and Alf helped me out with this one and it's a goody. The main reasons for wanting a online hosted solution are:

• No servers to manage or maintain
• All you need is a browser, so they're normally compatible with both Windows and Mac users

So together we came up with a list of online solutions, that you can get either free, have inexpensive monthly fees or pay as you go, and you don't need to manage anything. It isn't an exhaustive list but we think it's some of the best.

One more thing...this is a list of products we like or products we use ourselves. There is no paid advertisement going on here.

Running the Biz

800# and Hosted Phone Lines – VirtualPBX ($25 set up, $10/month per line)

Conference Calling – totallyfreeconferencecalls.com (Free, each caller pays for their minutes)

Fax to Email/Email to Fax - eFax (from Free to $20/month)

Payroll - ADP (less than $100 for a 40 person payroll)

Word Processing & Spreadsheets - Google Docs & Spreadsheets (Free), Zoho (Free, comes with TONS of features, I may finally and fully leave MSFT)

Data Backup - Mozy (Free 2GB), xDrive (Free 5GB), SOS Backup (5GB $4/month), iBackup (5GB $10/month)

Photo & Video Storage - Phanfare (unlimited backup of full resolution photos and video $6.95/month) Flickr (100MB/month, 5 MB/Photo Free), Snapfish & KodakGallary (Free for 12 months as long as you buy one thing from them.

Group Chat/Collaboration - Campfire (Free to $49/mo), Zoho (Free)

Organization - to do lists, notes, files, images, calendar, reminders - Backpack (Free - $14/month) Zoho (Free), Google Calendar (Free)

Project Management – Basecamp, Go Plan (Free to manage 1 or 2 projects.)

Marketing/Sales

Email Marketing – Obviously VerticalResponse (about 1¢ or less an email)

Website Hosting & Creation Templates – WorkZ Sites ($20/month)

Website Analytics – Google Analytics (Free), Technorati for blogs (Free)

Brand Monitoring – Andiamo Systems ($99/month coming soon, I've seen it, it rocks)

CRM/Contact Management – salesforce.com ($65/month/user, stripped down version for $9/month/user), SugarCRM ($40/month/user), Highrise ($149/month unlimited users.), Zoho, (Free up to 3 users)

Direct Mail – VerticalResponse, iprint ($ Depends on # of pieces)

Online Store - Yahoo Store ($40/month), eBay Stores ($15.95/month), Amazon Stores ($40/month), Miva (from $14.95/month)

Surveys – SurveyMonkey ($20/month 1000 responses)

Create a Logo – LogoYes ($99 to create your own Logo in minutes, it's pretty fun)

Blogging – TypePad ($4.95/month)

Website Rankings – urltrends, Alexa (Free)

Do you use an online solution you love but Got any others? Love to hear them.

5 Basics for Climbing the Search Engine Ladder

There are a ton of ways you can build your email list. Increasing your visibility with search engines can be an effective way to drive traffic to your site, helping you to increase your list size. We do a ton of Search Engine marketing here at VerticalResponse. I asked our two resident experts John and Alf, what are the 5 EASY, QUICK and FREE things you can do to help your site rise in the rankings with your keywords. This is BASIC stuff so if you've got more to add, we'd love to hear them.

1. Reciprocal Linking - Ask other sites to link to yours. Each time one does your "link popularity" goes up when Google checks on you. Reciprocal Linking can pay off. If you've got a list of customers who have websites that fit nicely with your message, send an email asking them to link to you. Remember though that all links are not created equally - stick with legitimate sites.

2. Keywords Analysis - What search terms do your target customers use when looking for products or services you sell? Many businesses don't understand how people use search, and because of that miss out on opportunities. For instance, the more specific a user's search is, typically the more ready they are to purchase. So, a consumer searching for 'Napa Cabernet Sauvignon' is more likely to be in the buying mode than a consumer searching for 'wine'.

3. Keyword Density - Once you've compiled a focused keyword list, select one or two that are most relevant for each main page on your website, and make sure to use those exact terms within the text of your page. For instance, if 'Small Business Marketing' is a keyword for your business, use that exact phrase within a sentence or two: 'Small business marketing resources by 'your company name here'.  Try to use it in a headline or hyperlink if possible, as the search engines give those more weight. 

4. Clean Code - Make sure your code up to snuff. Got broken links, problems with your HTML? This causes search engine crawlers to stop dead in their tracks. Validate your code. Regularly check your code if you're changing your code a bunch. Try the WC3 tools, they're free and easy to use.

5. Title Tag - The title tag shows up as text in that area at the top of your web browser. It's called a title tag because its use is to communicate what that page is about. So, using your keyword analysis, place your most relevant keyword phrase at the beginning of the title tag. 'Organic Ice Cream from 'Your Company Name'.

Alf says: there are few guarantees in search engine marketing, HOWEVER there is one solid one. Don't be sneaky. For instance, if you 'stuff' keywords your home page or include invisible text (white text on a white background), the search engines will inevitably find out and you'll find yourself at the bottom of the list instead of the top.

Next step? Make sure you include an opt-in form on your site to collect email addresses from all of your new visitors!

Small Businesses Like Email Newsletters!

If you have customers that have their own small business, check out this research performed by Bredin Business Information. I talked to the CEO Stu Richards about his findings with this new survey. I think this information is relevant even if you don't market to the SMB market since many "consumers" also own businesses.

In a new survey “Optimizing Email Newsletters for Small/Medium Businesses” :

• 40% of businesses want to see "how-to" type of content in their newsletter.
• 26% want to see topics about strategy and leadership.
• 30% say they had an improved image of a vendor from the newsletter they received.
• 64% said they decide whether or not to open the newsletter based on who it's from.
• 45% want to receive the newsletter weekly, 34% said monthly.

300 small business execs took the survey. Responses were evenly split among very small businesses (1-19 employees), small businesses (20-99 employees) and medium businesses (100-500 employees).

Want a copy of the full presentation? Fill out the form to get it. I think it's free.

July/August Holidays and a Surprise New Feature!

I've done two-month blogs about what is up and coming as far as holidays go to get you ready with your email marketing campaigns but July and August are sad! What can I say? The kiddies are off in the US and basically all of Europe takes off the month of August! Well here goes the slow part of holiday season. BUT, there is some good news at the end of this post.

Independence Day - July 4th (US)
Running of the Bulls - July 7th (Spain)
Bastille Day - July 14th
King's Death (Elvis, that is) - August 16th
Back-to-School - August (Not a "holiday" but important!)

NEW FEATURE COMING SOON!!

Ok, not because I'm sick of publishing these posts, but because I need one myself, lookout for the VerticalResponse Interactive Marketing Calendar (Josh our Product VP calls it the IMC, I like it). This thing rocks! It allows you to view sent and scheduled campaigns, view region-specific holidays and create personal tasks/events.

In addition, you can export and print your calendars in the event that you need this information outside VR (god forbid).

• Check your monthly or quarterly mailing history
• Schedule pre-launch tasks (copywriting, design, etc)
• Plan for upcoming holidays

Here are a few sneak peak screen shots while still in development. Let me know what you think!

 

VR University is Back in Session!

Did you ever think..."Do I really know, I mean really really know about all of the great features VerticalResponse has to offer?" 

VerticalResponse University is Back in Session, And Better Than Ever!

Well now you can sit back and watch informative (and fun!) online recorded demos. Patricia our Marketing Manager and Stephen, stepping out of his role as our QA Engineer, have been hard at work recording all of our online product demos so you can listen and watch at your own pace.

New List Management Features Added!

Late last weekend we released two features you all have been asking for. Without further adieu...

"Quick List" creation for Campaign Stats 

Up until now you could view and export your responder data (opens/clicks) and your non-responders but if they wanted to run a follow up campaign you had to load the list back into their account manually.

You will now be able to choose the option to create and auto-load your responder & non-responder lists from the "Download Lists" tab of your reporting view. Why is this great?

• Stay in the app! No downloading & re-uploading
• Initiate follow-up campaigns in real-time
• Save time and save your sanity!

Delete records from a list

It might not seem like such a big deal (and yes, we should have had this feature when we started, sorry about that!) but this feature is actually the #1 requested product request from you, our users.

You will now be able to remove records from your lists and they will be gone for good as opposed to relying on the unsubscribe or suppression options. Why is this great?

• Use a radio button to select and delete
• Remove bogus emails from opt-in lists
• Preserve campaign reporting for deleted records

By the way, don't think your requests go unheard. We have an online tool we use to track and count up feature requests, so send your emails and suggestions into our Customer Service team!

Loyalty Programs - How Can You Benefit?

If you’re in business today, chances are you’ve got a group of loyal customers. The challenge is how can you get more of your customers to be loyal? Loyalty programs have been around forever and very successful.

Loyalty programs simply put, is the act of rewarding your customers for their behavior of coming back to you multiple times. So here are a few great examples of programs that might spark an idea for your business.

Rewards Cards

We’ve seen a ton of coffee shops be very successful with rewards cards. It's nothing more than a business card with 10 cups of coffee printed on it or boxes to be stamped. Each time a customer buys coffee they get one of the cups “punched” or the box “stamped”. When they reach 10 they get a free coffee. Doesn’t seem like much does it? Coffee doesn't cost that much. But customers come back. We’ve seen businesses even store the cards on behalf of the customer. This way they don’t need to remember to bring it each time they come in.

Armani does this as well. Their card comes in a tin box (fancy!) with a brochure that talks about the program and which stores are participating. Each $100 spent gets one of their 10 logos punched. When customers get the whole card punched, they get $100 off of a purchase. Cool program. Their problem? They don’t widely publicized it and there’s no email marketing around it.

At Zaza a local nail salon, if a customers buys 8 treatments, they get the 9th one free. They keep all of  treatments on file and hopefully send you an email to notify you.

At a local pet supply store, one food manufacturer gives customers a card in exchange for some personal information. The store keeps the card and for each $50 spent customers get a stamp. At then end of the card they get a discount.

Points & Rewards

If you’re a member of OpenTable and you make your restaurant reservations here, you know you get points for each reservation. For some restaurants that want to entice more people to come in, they offer more points than others. I make sure to make my reservations here not only because it’s convenient for me but also because I’m amassing points. Here I come Gary Danko!

If you shop for your business at Staples, you know that you get a certain amount of rewards for each purchase. Then you can redeem those rewards at another purchase. Makes you only want to shop at one business supply store huh?

Friend get a friend

This is a form of loyalty that promotes word of mouth. A few of our employees get vegetables from a local farm, Capay Organic, delivered to the office and their home. Erik, one of our Engineers, started it all. Then Jill saw the veggies Erik got delivered and asked about them. Erik got a free box of veggies for Jill signing up. Now they’re trying to get others to order veggies so they can get veggies free.

Our dentist gives wine for customer referrals. It’s a nice gesture from him, but it is red wine, maybe he wants us to get a whitening procedures!☺

How can you take advantage?

1. Print out some business cards that fit nicely into a wallet. Print a number of icons or boxes on them and buy yourself a unique whole punch or stamp to punch the cards. Have a box and offer to store the cards by last name. Make sure you track how many you’re giving out and track your monthly sales. You might be surprised at your growth!

2. If you’ve got a system and can track total dollars spent, send an email when a customer reaches a certain amount spent. For instance if you’ve tracked that someone has spent $500 with you, do a Loyal Customer Promotion and send them an email to get them back in.

Hi Big Spender! You’ve reached the limit! Whose limit? Ours! For your patronage we’d like to extend a 25% discount on everything in the store or on the site just for you. This will expire in 7 days so act now! Use Promo Code XRE123T, but it’s for you only so don’t share!

3. If you’ve got an offline retail location send an email about your special "After Hours" sale to your best customers. Cater it, play some music, make it a social gathering while your most loyal customers shop. They’ll either bring a friend or tell ALL their friends about it. GREAT word of mouth.

Loyalty programs can be great for any business, do you use one?

I Took A Break!

Hello everyone. I took a much needed 2 week break from the blogosphere but I'm back! Stay tuned for some posts coming at you this week. I do get into the chat rooms on the VR Lounge (I try to daily) so get in there and chat with me or post some comments in the forums, it's fun.

New VR Community...The VR Lounge

VerticalResponse is introducing the VR Lounge, a very cool community where users can connect with other VR users and...

• See what VR users in other industries have to say
• Post questions relating to your campaigns
• Chat with those in your own industry
• Benchmark your results with others
• Chat with users in your local community
• Calendar live meetings
• Chat with VR employees and more!

So log into your VerticalResponse account and get in there! Thanks in advance for your participation, we think it's going to be pretty cool!