Archive | July, 2020

Did you know that mobile adoption is growing at least 8 times faster than traditional web adoption in the 1990s? So, being able to visit a page through a dedicated mobile application is very important in marketing terms too. Unfortunately, there is a myth that all apps are effective and highly engaging. Nothing could be further from the truth. To make sure that yours is headed in the right direction, let’s look at five tried-and-tested principles that should always be taken into consideration during its design.

People Are Busy

This should already be a foregone conclusion. Translated into the world of the mobile app, this essentially means that the user will not have a great deal of time (or the willpower) to remember a password or a certain sequence of steps. Some of the best apps in the world can be accessed anywhere at any time with the simple click of a button. Should the app be difficult to get into, it will likely remain in a dusty corner of one’s homepage and as a result, the site and its offers will not be accessed as frequently. Simplicity is key.

Brevity is the Soul of Wit

Mobile accounts for approximately half of web traffic worldwide and continues to increase. This trend shows no signs of slowing down; hence any mobile application has a very real selling power today. What should this mean to you in marketing terms?

This: Your content should be delivered efficiently, aka. in a QUICK way.

It’s not a secret that a slow loading website will receive few visitors due to the fact that we live in a “now or never” society. The same principle holds true for the humble mobile application.

The message, product or service that you are trying to send needs to be accessed quickly – as soon as possible when the user opens your application and the user should be quickly taken to the most relevant page.

People can (and will) make mistakes when it comes to complex tasks. Make it easy for them. Keep It Simple: Design your app around simplicity and easy integration.

All About the Brand

Keep the brand in mind when designing the app. It should mirror the company logo, incorporate the same colors and exhibit the same “feel” as the website in question. Think of this principle much in the same way as any traditional marketing campaign. The most successful brands are the ones whose logos can be recognized in an instant.

Imagine Coca-Cola, Apple and Facebook and how quickly consumers recognize their logos. Your app needs to mirror this very same notion.

To put it another way, let’s imagine that you enter into a supermarket. Which product are you most likely to purchase; the one with a great logo that is easily discerned or the generic box in the corner? The answer here is clear, isn’t it?

Clarity

Your app should quickly and clearly guide the potential customer to the “meat” of your presentation, website interaction and sales. People are indecisive especially when they are on the run or taking a quick lunch break before heading back to the office.

Thus, the app should have a clear navigation, making it super easy for the visitor to land in the right place.

Not all users will arrive at the same result/page simply because this is what you as a marketer wish them to do.

Here is an example: Should the application be directed to the homepage of a flower business, the page should clearly state the benefits of its service and there should be a clear link directly to the purchase page.

All “fluff” should be removed.

Remember that.

An app is just as much about pragmatism as it is about flashy branding.

Allow the User to Interact

This has actually been one of the guiding principles of website design since the “ancient days” of the 1990s.

To put it simply, visitors learn best by doing things. Enable the application to allow them to explore, navigate and investigate what the site and the product both have to offer. A sequence of steps set in virtual stone can be a turn-off and ultimately, a potential customer could very well be sacrificed. The longer an application is able to hold the attention of an individual, the more likely he or she will be to take the next step and become a customer.

All seasoned Internet marketers are aware of the importance of the mobile application. Still, it is amazing that there are countless platforms (both large and small) that still have yet to embrace the suggestions mentioned in this article. These tips are all based upon solid research and as this market continues to expand, you can only expect that the role of m-commerce will increase exponentially.

Why not stay ahead of the curve as opposed to being left in its wake?

Speaking to someone through their email is the next best thing to calling them. Used correctly, it’s a way into their heart and can bind them to you for multiple years and transactions to come. But sadly most marketers are truly terrible at email marketing. That’s why I’ve compiled this list of the 33 best email marketing tips to double and possibly even triple your profits – sometimes overnight.

One of the goals of the very first email is to set the tone of things to come. Let them know how often you will be emailing, what you’ll be sending and what’s in it for them. If you’re going to be selling, tell them up front by making it clear you will from time to time be recommending products you think will be tremendous assets to them. Basically, you want them to know:

A. You’ll be sending great info they can USE and will enjoy.

B. You’ll be sending recommendations, and if that is going to blow their minds, they should unsubscribe NOW. This will save you aggravation later and sets the stage to allow you to sell (in the right way) to your heart’s content.

From the very first email, try to get replies. Ask them what one thing would help them the very most right now to get what they want. You might phrase it something like, “What’s your biggest challenge right now in ___.” Then use their responses to drive your marketing.

Send testimonials. Often. Like once a week. A person’s guard is down when they’re reading their emails, which means it’s a perfect time to send a story about someone who used your product and had terrific results – the same results the person reading your email wants to get.

If your business requires more information from prospects than just a name and an email address, gather this info slowly. If you ask for name, email, address and phone up front, you’re likely to get nothing. But if you ask first for just an email address, and later ask their name, and then their address and phone number, you are much more likely to get all of this information. [ALTERNATIVE: Let them opt in to your list with just an email address. On the next page, ask for more info. Even if they don’t give it, at least you captured the email.]

Do tons of research. Know your prospects better than they know themselves.

Write to them every day. Yes, every day. The key is to send something INTERESTING every day. Simply sending offer after offer is not interesting. Sending stories or tips or news or updates is interesting – and you can always close with an offer. Just don’t make the offer the only thing in your email.

No hard sales. Repeat: No hard sales. What’s hard selling? “Buy this right now because it’s fantastic, on sale and will never be offered again at any price and oh my god this is so wonderful I just wet my pants.” Yeah, you know what I mean. Instead, use the soft sell. Third party testimonials and stories are excellent for this.

Pretend you’re writing to a friend who has the same needs and desires as those on your list. Picture your friend in your mind as you write. This will help you to connect with your list.

If you have your own products, then promote them. After all, if your products or services are what will most help your lists, then why promote anything else? Be proud of your products. Only promote affiliate products when they fill a need your product does not, or when list members have already purchased your product.

Do promote affiliate products that are similar to yours to your buyers. For example, let’s say you have a product on how to drive traffic. The buyers of that product will be excellent prospects to purchase other traffic courses as well.

For your buyer lists: Follow up. Give them tips on how best to use the product they purchased, along with a recommendation for a related beneficial product.

Don’t do your real selling in emails. Email is for relationship building through valuable content. Do your real selling on the sales page.

Carry a device or a simple notepad with you to record ideas for emails. Ideas are everywhere, you just have to start looking.

Segment your lists to stay relevant. Sending emails on a topic readers aren’t interested in is a no-no. Instead, offer a free report on the topic. Those who opt to get the free report have shown they are interested in the topic, and you can now tailor content to their interest.

Tell them why. If you want them to take some sort of action, tell them why they should take it.

Meet them where they are now, not where you want them to be. If your prospects are new to your niche then you’re going to write to them differently than if they are seasoned veterans. Start with their mind set (Confused? Skeptical? Scared?) And walk with them to the solution you offer.

To become the authority in their eyes, you need to do two things: First, know more about the topic than they do. This means you read, study and so forth. Second, educate them. Share your knowledge and you are without question the expert.

Infuse your marketing message inside a compelling story to hook your readers.

Create open loops to get your emails opened. That is, finish one story and start another in one email. They open the email to get the end of the story they read yesterday, then have to open tomorrow’s email to get closure on today’s story.

If subscribers aren’t opening your emails, take them off your list. Too many people not opening emails can hurt your deliverability and your emails could fall into spam folders.

The purpose of social media? To get people on your email list. Remember that and market accordingly. In social media people may (or most likely won’t) see your message. But get into their inbox and your odds go up exponentially that your content will be read and acted upon.

With email, you OWN your audience. With social media, they can shut you down anytime they choose. Again – the purpose of social media is to get people on your list.

Create a set of emails based off of your niche’s frequently asked questions. The subject line is the question, the email body is the answer.

Trouble finding topics? Use movies, songs, TV shows, news, topical issues – anything you can relate back to your subject. What would you talk about with coworkers on break? Yeah – that’s the stuff to use.

Get creative with your lead magnets. A list of resources, a video tutorial, a webinar – you don’t have to just do a pdf anymore.

Buyers are best, but freebie seekers can be useful, too. Buyers tend to buy again. But some freebie seekers do eventually buy. And others might share your stuff on social media with new buyers. So yes, let the freebie seekers on your list.

Treat your buyers like royalty. Give them special perks and benefits for being your customer to keep them loyal and buying your stuff. Let your non-buyers know they are only getting the standard red carpet treatment, while your buyers are getting the platinum star treatment. Encourage them to become buyers, too.

Create a 7 day email series for prospects who abandon the shopping cart. Acknowledge them in the first email, give them social proof in the next email, then combine social proof with the reasons they should buy from you in the next 5 emails.

Have a personality. Don’t write like a machine – write like yourself. You’ve got a personality and hopefully it’s a good one. Use it to connect and let readers see the real you.

Build a cult of ‘you.’ Unite your readers with a common goal. Give yourselves a name and create your own language, too.

Write F.A.Q. emails. These tend to get opened and read a LOT. If you have a big promotion going, send out an F.A.Q. 2 days into the promotion and 3 days before it ends. Also place the F.A.Q. at the bottom of your sales page, underneath the order button. It will increase conversions.

Use $1 trial offers to greatly increase sales. Let them know up front how much they will be charged and when, so they can cancel if they decide to. But if your product is good, most won’t cancel.

Need to raise some cash fast? Do a 72 hour sale with a great offer. After 36 hours, lower the price again and let them know that people who purchased in the first 36 hours are getting an incredible bonus for having paid a little bit more.

There you have it – 33 tips to make your email marketing more profitable today, tomorrow and next year.

Of course the unspoken king of email marketing tips would be this:

Always, always, ALWAYS be building your list.

Let’s say you want to start a new business, but you need some capital to do it. Maybe you want to start making apps or some other kind of software. Or you need software for your own social networking site, or whatever. Here’s how to get others to fund it for you.

As you are building your business, record everything. Every problem you solve, every step you take, every misstep you make – take notes of everything.

Offer these notes for sale to others who want to do the same thing you’re doing. For example, if you’re building apps then you’d sell your info to other people who want to make money with apps, too.

You might offer them a weekly update as you progress. Or bundle it all together and sell it when you’re done. It’s up to you, but frankly the idea of letting your customers watch you as you set up your new business and turn a profit can be pretty exciting for them and motivating for you. Plus, you’ll get paid up front.

Offer this insider info for a reasonable price, and remember to offer an appropriate upsell as well. The right upsell will more than double your profits. Use this money to fund your business, and you’ve basically started a business for free – not a bad deal at all.

You’ve likely seen comments in IM forums such as: “How much will I have to spend to do this?” Or, “I won’t have to spend any money to start this $1,000 a week business, right?”

Yeah. Right.

Where did the notion come from that it should cost zero dollars to start a real business? If you open a barber shop or a donut shop or a flower shop, I guarantee you will need funding for the shop, the supplies, the tools, the counters, cases, inventory, etc.

Yet somehow we’re under the impression that doing it online should be free.

I have 3 words for you: Get over it.

If this is your way of thinking, then just get over it. You will spend the next year searching high and low for the magical, mythical business you can start for zero dollars and be making a grand a month within the week.

And you’re as likely to find it as you are a bag full of unicorn horns.

Here’s how a real business person would think: “Okay, I’m a marketer, not a web designer. So instead of mucking about for the next six months to build a website and a sales funnel, I’m going to outsource the whole thing and have it done in a week, two weeks tops.

“And while that is happening, I’m going to create a free report to give away to build my email list. And while I’m at it, I’m going to create an OTO (One Time Offer), too, so I can immediately start making a few sales from my new subscribers.”

Of course, if you’re not a writer, either, then you would outsource the report and the OTO as well.

The point is, if your specialty is marketing, then that’s where you need to put your focus. Let other experts handle the stuff you’re not good at while you do what you do best.

The difference between trying to do it all yourself (the “free” way) and hiring pros to help you is usually about 6 months. That’s right – try to do it all yourself and you will lose 6 months of business growth and profits.

Or it could take even longer. I know of one ‘marketer’ who has been trying to figure out the tech stuff for over two years. That’s two years he could have been building his business, but instead he’s trying to do everything himself rather than pay someone. That has got to be the most expensive version of ‘free’ that I’ve ever seen.

Outsource your challenges and focus on what you do best. This is the fastest way to get into profit, with the least amount of headaches and hassles. You’ll be glad you did.

You could not be blamed if you think a blog exists to inform and entertain its readers. After all, a blog really isn’t much different than a magazine, right? And a magazine exists to inform and entertain its readers. Right?

Actually, this is the exact point where many information marketers go horribly wrong.

Let’s pull up a quote from an ad executive named James Collins:

“There is still an illusion to the effect that a magazine is a periodical in which advertising is incidental. But we don’t look at it that way. A magazine is simply a device to induce people to read advertising. It is a large booklet with two departments – entertainment and business. The entertainment department finds stories, pictures, verse, etc. to interest the public. The business department makes the money.”

James Collins said that in ’07.

That is, 1907.

And it’s as true today as it was then. Maybe even more so, with the advent of the Internet.

Why do websites make you click links to read the following pages in an article, rather than putting it all on one page??

Why do websites make lists of “The Top 20 __” and then make you scroll through each one, rather than putting the entire list on one page? It’s to expose you, the reader, to more ads. If you have to go to 3 different pages or 20 different slides to finish an article, you’re exposed to 3 times or even 20 times the number of ads.

As a content marketer, you must focus on two things:

Providing interesting content. It could be entertaining or informative or both, so long as it captures and holds attention. But the content isn’t what’s keeping you in profit – it’s the products you’re selling. Content is simply a means to a sale.

Making a profit. This profit could come from ads on the page, or products you promote, or even products you create and sell.

One business, two functions: Entertainment and business.

When you view your business in this light, everything becomes much more clear. You suddenly know what it is that you have to do, and more importantly, what you don’t have to do.

Look at it this way: The only purpose for your content (blog posts, articles, podcasts, free ebooks, tweets, posts, etc.) is to gather the specific audience you want.

So you choose your audience and then tailor your content accordingly.

Now then, ideally you want your audience to sign up to your email list. This makes it far easier to do the business side of your business. Otherwise you are dependent on readers to click your ads or buy your products. But with a list, you can send emails to your prospects promoting products they can buy.

Your focus should be on turning every reader you can into a subscriber. And when you do, you offer them whatever it is that they already want.

Find out their desires and sell them the solutions and products they already want. Don’t try to forge new paths by educating your audience on what they “should” want. This is an uphill battle you will lose. Instead, discover what they already desire and also how they like to be sold. Then act accordingly.

Remember: Your content is simply a device to induce people to read and act upon your marketing. It’s that simple.