In “10 Online Marketing Trends for 2010“, John talks about how to allocate your small business budget to maximize return on investment and minimize the risks of a low or negative return by analyzing the top 10 internet marketing trends for 2010 and telling you how (or whether)  to use this trend in your business.

Read “John Arnold’s 10 Online Marketing Trends for 2010“.

Great tips from Sarah Evans,  the director of communications at Elgin Community College (ECC) in Elgin, Illinois.

Mashable: http://mashable.com/2008/11/04/how-to-make-press-releases-seo-friendly/

Why Should I Write Articles?

You can post articles at many different sites on the Internet for free to gain exposure to 1,000′s of online and offline publishers. People can request to reprint your article and when you agree to let them, your name, bio and a link to your site will be included. Additionally, your articles will provide incoming links to your website, and this helps increase link popularity to your site.

Many article sites receive several million page views per month and are regularly spidered by Google, MSN and others. This means prominently placed articles are indexed in the search engines quickly and links on them are followed.

Writing articles is a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your field by writing about your area of expertise and getting free publicity back to your Web site.

Use Original Content in Your Articles

If you put in time and research to produce or to synthesize original content, think hard about what niches to target. My advice is not to start with an article about shoes/pills/casinos/mortgages/real estate – it’s better to start with a smaller niche. If you become known as an expert on (say) Arizona investment real estate or bootstrapping a home-based business, you could build that out with things like forums to create even more useful content. Look for a progression of niches so that you start out small or very specific, but you can build your way up to a big, important area over time.

10 Creative Ideas for Article Topics

1. What to Ask Your [Business Type] Before Hiring Them.
2. 10 Ways To Save Money by Using a [Business Type].
3. How to Choose a Good [Business Type].
4. 5 Totally New Ways of Sprucing up Your [Business Services].
5. How to Get 50% Off Your Next [Business Service].
6. The Latest and Greatest in [Business Service].
7. 10 DIY [Business Service] Tips You Can Use Today.
8. 15 Factors That Affect Your [Business Service] Quote.
9. How to Become a Certified [Business Service] in 6 Months.
10. Ten Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring a [Business Type].

Real-Life Example of These Topics

1. What to Ask Your Car Mechanic Before Hiring Him.
2. 10 Ways To Save Money by Using a Chartered Accountant.
3. How to Choose a Good Mover.
4. 5 Totally New Ways of Sprucing up Your Interior Design.
5. How to Get 50% Off Your Next Oil Change.
6. The Latest and Greatest in Aromatic Massage Oils.
7. 10 DIY Carpentry Tips You Can Use Today.
8. 15 Factors That Affect Your Car Insurance Quote.
9. How to Become a Certified Hair Stylist in 6 Months.
10. Ten Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring a Plumber.

Where Should I Post My Articles?

You can post the same article on many different websites. Be sure to select the proper category to post in, and be aware of the terms of service for each site. Also, be aware that some sites may be more appropriate for your content than others. You can Google “article directory” and find thousands of listings. Article directories are a dime a dozen, so I suggest you focus your efforts on submitting your articles top these sites.

General websites to post on:

• EzineArticles
• GoArticles
• ArticleDashboard
• SearchWarp
• PubsACS
• ArticleBase
• Isnare
• Buzzle
• ArticleCity
• IdeaMarketers
• Any geographically-specific sites, like the ones below

Prescott Arizona – Additional Places to Post:

• PrescotteNews
• StoneRidgeBusiness

How Often Should I Post My Articles?

As often as you want! The more the merrier. . . HOWEVER, you should strive for ongoing posting, not a flash in the pan.

Maybe you get ambitious and want to post several articles now, to start your article marketing efforts. Then come back each week and post one or two more. Post each article all of the article sites that you selected.

I use a secure network to access the Internet from my home office, but often take my laptop with me to public locations to work or meet with clients.

Make a quick change to Gmail’s settings and you’ll be connecting securely no matter where you are.

1. Access your Gmail account.

2. Click Settings at the top right side of your Gmail page.

3. At the General Tab, go down to the Browser connection: and choose Always use https.

4. Then Click Save Changes and you’re done.

Now , when you read your emails, your browser address will start with https and not the usual http. That’s all you need to do!

The question becomes why does most marketing fail and, more importantly, what can you do to avoid failure?

I’ve been engaged in marketing for small businesses for many years. After talking with hundreds of small business owners, in a wide variety of industries, a handful of elements keep coming up as essential. That is, when we ignore one, we paid the price.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

7. Your message isn’t customer-driven

What you’re saying about your product is important to you, is understandable to you. But not to your customer. It doesn’t matter what’s important to you. What’s important is what’s important to your customer. They buy for their reasons, not yours. Make sure your message is important to them. How? Ask them.

6. Your marketing methods aren’t customer-driven

You keep going to trade shows, but the decision-makers inside your customers’ companies stopped going two years ago. You keep advertising in that trade magazine because it’s the best and biggest in the industry, but the decision-makers inside your customers’ companies stopped paying much attention to it two years ago. Hmmm. How do your customers expect to learn about new vendors like your company? How do they prefer being contacted? Ask them! Align your methods with your customers’ expectations and preferences.

5. Incomplete marketing support (not a campaign)

I see it all the time. A company sends one mailing, not much happens and they go about the task of figuring out why their marketing isn’t working. Or they place one ad or go to one trade show. No follow up.

Things change. A prospect may not be open to your message this month, but might be next month. Think marketing campaign: multiple contacts executed a variety of ways (ads, direct mail, Internet, trade show, etc.). One ad or one mailing or one trade show does not a campaign make.

4. Too much “me-too”

Great food, fast, friendly service and reasonable prices. Wonderful, but why should I eat in your restaurant? Knowledgeable, experienced staff, made in America quality and fast shipping. Great, but why should I buy from you?

Are all those wonderful things you’re saying about your product really differentiating you, or do they sound like everybody else? My best antidote to too much “me too” is two things:

1. Make sure you’re giving people reasons to buy that are their reasons, not yours (a previous topic).
2. Be specific. Quality, service and price are so overused they have no impact. What does quality mean? “Our superior manufacturing techniques allow us to warranty our gizmo for 10 years, DOUBLE the industry standard.” “We have two owners and two superintendents in the field checking every job. No other contractor our size can say that. No other contractor cares more about quality than we do.”

3. You don’t contact enough people

At its most basic, marketing is still a game of odds. The more people you contact, the higher the odds your message gets to people who want your product at that time.

2. You don’t contact people often enough

Same as above. Get the odds in your favor. I may not need or want your product today, but I may next month.

The #1 Reason most Marketing Fails

1. No testing/quit before you succeed

We tried direct mail but it didn’t work.” Tried it one time, did ya, and it didn’t work—well then, forget direct mail! Sounds silly, but too many owners give up on a marketing method before they give it a chance to succeed. Make small affordable tests. If customers tell you newspaper is how they learn about firms like yours, test in a newspaper where a quarter page ad is $400, not $4,000.  Learn, change the headline. Change the offer. Change the price. Add a picture. Test. Rarely is something that “fails” 100% wrong. Testing helps you eliminate the bad and keep the good. Don’t quit before you give yourself a chance to succeed!

You want your website to be “findable” in the search engines, but don’t have the budget to engage a high-powered SEO firm. Here’s a simple and effective way to select keywords and keyphrases yourself, with a little time spent on basic research.

Determine who you’re after. . .

• Think of the ONE person most likely to need what your web page or service is about.

• Erase from your mind all inside knowledge about your business, product, service, etc.

• Forget all the specialized terms known only to industry insiders.

Jump into the mind of the person. . .

• You are not a former customer, so you have no history or relationship.

• You have a definite need, challenge, desire, question or interest (that’s why you’re searching).

• You are about to type words into a Google search box in the hopes that it will guide you to a quick answer.

Ask yourself. . .

• What words or phrases would you type to get the results you want?

• Sometimes thinking about the “who, what, when, where, why or how” behind the searcher’s motivation will spark additional useful keywords and phrases.

Ask others. . .

• You’re not done! Ask your spouse, your Ex, your delivery man, you kids, your mailman, your pet-sitter, the merchant whose store you are in, people on the subway, past customers, etc. Ask everyone!

• Don’t prep them with background info, just tell them your basic goals. The less you say, the better results you will get.

• Remember, people are not always good spellers. Misspelled words can be a gold mine!

Explore your competition. . .

SOHO encompasses a range of entrepreneurial activities and business structures — from individuals working solo to companies with 20 or fewer employees. This includes a myriad of worker categories and terms: home-based businesses, free agents, independent contractors, telecommuters, e-lancers, and other independent professionals.

Working Independently, But Not Working Alone!

Businesses without employees (or only one employee) account for 70% of all US businesses and generate annual receipts exceeding $887 billion. That’s really remarkable! So there are lots of us — working across the country — in small cities, big cities, and rurally. In my own company, I frequently network with other SOHO businesses to provide support services, professional services, or just some good advice.

A Few SOHO References

• Portrait of Small Business USA
• US Small Business Administration
• The Small Business Economy: A Report to the President (January 2009)