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Internet Marketing: 7 Killer Tools You Can Use On A Shoestring Budget Without Having a Website

28/5/2021

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​When most people think of Internet marketing, they think solely of websites. Are they right or wrong? Well, both. While websites are a key component of Internet marketing and in many cases are the only Internet marketing tool businesses use, they are not the “be all, end all”. They are not required for Internet marketing. However, I do highly recommend them as they are best suited to sit at the core of your Internet marketing plan, the hub so to speak, but that’s a topic for another conversation.
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So here are 7 killer Internet marketing tools that you can implement on a shoestring budget without having to have a website of your own:
​1. Email Marketing 
When properly implemented, there probably isn’t a quicker, better, and less expensive way to stay in front of your prospects and clients than to leverage the power of email. You can literally touch an unlimited amount of prospects and clients with a single click ñ how’s that for power?!
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2. Blogs 
Blogging is a great tool if you would like to step up a notch and stay in constant contact with your prospects and clients. Some ideas on how to use it might be to post what’s new with you or your business, post informative content as a value-add to your clients, or hold an interactive forum with your clients geared towards understanding how to better serve them.

There are a handful of free or low cost blog hosts out there that really make this process simple (e.g. Blogger and TypePad).

3. Article Marketing
This is a phenomenal approach to bringing notoriety, interest and ultimately leads for many types of businesses. It can be used as a major differentiator or value-add on why someone should buy from you instead of your competitors. Whether your clients are local, regional, national or global - articles are portable and usable in all situations - that's part of their charm.
​4. eZines
Much like blogs and article marketing, eZines are great way to stay in touch with your prospects on a more scheduled basis. Additionally, they are probably the forerunner in helping you develop a list of prospects to market and sell your wares.

5. Affiliate Programs
Get others promoting and selling for you. This tool can become the equivalent of having both a full blown marketing and sales staff that gets paid on performance. 
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If they don’t promote and directly lead to a sale for you, they don’t get paid. For do-it-yourselfers, there are plenty of tools out there to help you set up this type of program. For everyone else, there are excellent service providers out there who can coordinate and manage this process for you. 

6. Viral Marketing
Again, a great approach to getting others to promote and help create a buzz about you, your business, your products and/or your services. The best and most genuine way to get this started is by creating raving fans out of your existing clients and then helping them help you spread the word.

7. Public Relations
If I tell you I’m the best at what I do, you’ll take it with a grain of salt. Maybe you’ll believe me, maybe you won’t. However, people tend to believe what they read. So if a respected publication tells you that I’m the best at what I do, that usually holds more weight and adds instant credibility to me.
Spend some effort here.  Become a resource for the press.  You help them and they can significantly help you.

I highly recommend you spend some time with these. Explore how you can implement one, some, or all of these Internet marketing tools to help explode your business.
dartboard with darts
Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now or schedule a talk.
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The Ultimate Roadmap To Testimonials And How They Can Multiply Your Website Profits

21/5/2021

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The fact is, even if your website is full of fabulous sales copy and photos that illustrate all the great features and benefits of your product or service, your potential customers still need to know:

What do people who have purchased and used your product or service think about it? It's simple: your readers know that YOU believe in your product, or you wouldn't be selling it! But what do people with the same problem or need that they have say about your product?
smiley face based testimonial
Answering that question is one of the most fundamental tasks your website needs to accomplish - and it's as simple to do as it is important.

By using testimonials - reviews and comments from your satisfied customers, in text, audio, or video - on your website, you not only answer the question, you also transform your sales pitch into a credible, unbiased recommendation for your product.
1) Overcome buyer skepticism with a glowing testimonial
As I said before, adding testimonials is probably one of the easiest ways to improve your website - but a good one can generate more selling power than some of the best sales copy out there!

So why are testimonials so effective?
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Testimonials build trust: Whether your customers are raving about what your product has done for them or about the great service you gave, they are telling your visitors first and foremost that they had a positive experience with your products and company. Testimonials aren't "salesy": Because testimonials aren't written in your "voice," they stand out in your copy as candid and unbiased accounts of how well your product works. Testimonials overcome skepticism: A good testimonial has the power to convince even your "tough sell" visitors that your product or service really made a difference in your customer's life - and can help them, too. For example, let's say that you're selling a special lotion designed for dry skin. A visitor finds your website - someone with dry skin who needs some relief - and reads all about the amazing moisturizing ingredients in your product and how wonderful it smells.

Those are two good selling points - things that people would want to know before they decided to buy.

But lots of products can make those promises - and many of them don't work! So why should they purchase your product ahead of all the rest?

Then, as they look over the page, a testimonial catches their eye from one of your customers, explaining that your lotion quickly healed a lifelong, agonizing skin condition - something no other product had ever managed to do!

That's the power of an effective testimonial: it can convince your reader that your product DOES work - and that you can be trusted to deliver on your promises.
2) How to choose the right kind of testimonial to turn your visitors into customers
When you're choosing testimonials, there are a few key ingredients to look for that make the difference between an ineffective testimonial - and one that sells.

Here's an example of a glowing but ultimately ineffective testimonial:
woman using smartphone
"I love this product! I can't get enough! I'm so glad I bought your stuff and I'll be back to get more, for sure!"

What could be wrong with that? It sounds like you have a happy customer on your hands!

But what does this testimonial really tell your visitors? Does this prove that the product works, or explain exactly how your customers benefited from using it? While the feedback is definitely positive, the testimonial does not provide enough detail to have any real impact on your visitors.

Here's an example of the kind of effective, benefits-driven testimonials that's worth including:

"I used the methods you told me to use and for three days my phone's been ringing! I sold over $3500 in goods and services in three days! It's the first time in 5 months that anyone had really purchased anything..."

Now that's a great testimonial! But what makes it so powerful?

Let's break down the elements of an effective testimonial in more detail...

A good testimonial is filled with benefits: A comment like, "This product is great!" is nice to hear, but it doesn't tell visitors what your product can do for them. You want the benefits of what you offer to be front and center in every testimonial: "This product doubled our profits in a month!" or "This product caused the pain in my back disappear completely - and did it fast!" or "We've never seen any product that could get the rust out of your car without damaging the paint - until now."

A good testimonial substantiates your claims: If you say your product can do something, your testimonials should back up your promises - complete with actual facts and figures. How much money did your customers save by using your product? How much time did they save by using your service? How did it solve their problems or improve their lives?
  • A good testimonial is from someone your audience can relate to: You want your visitors to see that your product helped someone just like them, seeking the solution to the same problem your visitors have. Make sure your testimonials come from someone with whom your target market can identify. If you sell primarily to seniors, for example, ask your customers if you can include their age along with the testimonial. If you are selling to moms with children, ask if you can mention how many kids they have - or include a photo of their family!
  • A good testimonial is credible: Accompany each testimonial with the first name, last name, and hometown of each testimonial-giver to show that your endorsements come from real people. Always try to include a photo as well. If you can, take it to the next level by including audio or video testimonials for maximum effect! Do everything you can to help your visitors connect with your testimonial-givers on a personal level.
  • A good testimonial endorses the key benefits of your product: Your testimonials should emphasize the key benefits of your product. It's fun to hear that your super-duper floor cleaner smells nice or that the bottle doesn't drip - both things that matter to people who would consider using your product in their homes - but have you established that it cleans their floors well?
  • A good testimonial is comparative: Did your customers try another product that didn't work before they found yours? You want your visitors to know what your product can do that other products can't. Choose testimonials that set your product apart from your competition!

Now that you know what you're looking for in a testimonial, how do you gather the reviews you need from your customers?
3) The secret to getting great testimonials - even if you haven't sold anything yet!
If your customers have given you positive feedback on your product already, then you may already have some great testimonials to add to your site.

However, if your customer response is a little scarce - or if you're just starting out - getting testimonials from your buyers might take a little more effort.
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So how do you collect the testimonials you need -- and keep them coming as you grow your business?

One easy way to collect testimonials is to include a link on your site with a form that allows your customers to give you their vote of confidence: "Tell us how this product changed your life!" or "Click here to let us know what you think!" Use this link next to some testimonials that you've already gathered to give customers an example of the kind of feedback you're looking for.

A more effective method is to create an autoresponder that contacts your buyers after they've purchased your product - even a month later - to ask how they're enjoying the product, as well as giving them a chance to offer feedback on their experience with your business.

And, of course, any time you receive a great letter or email from a customer, ask them if you can use their comments on your web site to recommend your product to others. If they are happy enough to let you know, they're bound to want to spread the word.

If you haven't yet begun selling your product and have no feedback yet, offer your product or service for free to a select group of customers in exchange for their thoughts on the product or some details on their experience with your site.

The impact that testimonials will have on your bottom line will be well worth the initial expense! As soon as your online business is up and running, make a point of giving every one of your customers a chance to share their experiences with your product or service. Ask for feedback - good and bad - from your autoresponders, your newsletters, and other spots on your website.
4) Strategies for using your testimonials as effectively as possible
Once you've got some testimonials to share with your visitors, you need to make sure that you're putting them to the best possible use on your site.

Always make sure that you...

Include your best testimonials front and center on your homepage, like in your sidebars, or even above your headline. 
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Place testimonials right in the middle of your homepage salescopy to keep your readers focused on your credibility as you outline the features and benefits of your product. Set up a whole page dedicated to your glowing testimonials, as well as include snippets of their comments throughout your site. Be sure to add a link to your testimonial page next to each of those snippets! Include testimonials on each and every page of your website. No matter where your visitors click, you want them to find a positive customer review of your product or service.
Now let's look at a few mistakes to avoid when using testimonials on your website...
  • Don't edit your testimonials to exclude comments or add information you want to hear! If you can't post a comment "as is" and feel comfortable with it, it shouldn't go up.
  • If your testimonials are in your voice and all sound the same, no one is going to trust that they are legitimate.Never use a customer testimonial without permission.
  • Never, ever invent testimonials! This is fraud, plain and simple, and lying never results in a positive impact on your business.
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Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now or schedule a talk.
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6 Word of Mouth Marketing Methods You Can Apply To Your Business

7/5/2021

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Haven't you heard that word of mouth marketing methods work? In fact, according to research, well over 75% of the most effective methods of marketers use word of mouth marketing, which, for the purposes of this article I shall refer to as WOM.

So, you want to start a WOM campaign. The first thing you need to do is to have a goal for your WOM campaign. I can immediately think of a few reasons why you might want to do this:
Jeff Bezos
"If you build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful."
Jeff Bezos
1. Generate leads. This is probably easy to do if you have a few bonus products in hand. Giving free things away to people definitely will encourage them to think of a few people whom you can refer to you for the same thing.

All you need to do is get an autoresponder message set up so that they can forward you the email addresses of the people they'd like you to contact.
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2. Generate affiliates. Okay, this one is a little easier, but you will have to educate the affiliates you build. WOM for affiliate marketing is great because you now have an army of people who are incentivized to market on your behalf.

3 Convert into sales. For this to happen, you definitely need to create a lot of testimonials in order to create the buzz. This approach will then get other people talking about the quality and the level of "must-haveness" of the product you are promoting.
4. Build credibility. This approach will help solidify your brand in the long run, so you will most likely have to have points of proof that people will talk about and associate with you. This article, for instance, is a way to generate credibility because you are reading it in the first place!

5. Retain current subscribers. Few people would have heard of this, but sometimes your current list of subscribers need perks to keep them 'alive' and warm. 
Two women talking and looking at a smartphone
Send them freebies or get a campaign going to increase the buzz amongst them. Promote monthly Zoom calls where different people get together and meet each other and chat so that they know who's who instead of a nickname in a forum. This keeps people from opting out of your mailing list!

6. Warm up for a product launch. When you want to do a product launch, you want to ensure that people are ready for you. How can you do this? Well, all it takes is to create more buzz. Warming up people on a list also takes time, but the sequence in which you do it is important. With this goal in mind, you can already think of some ways to get your list of people excited, talking to each other and involving themselves in a discussion.
Once your goal is clear enough for you, it will be far easier to keep track of your results. After all, without a clear direction, you won't know how far you need to go, or what you are aiming for in the first place.
dart board with darts
Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now or schedule a talk for a free quote.
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