Web Marketing Course for Entrepreneurs and Small Business

I can't believe that we're just one week away from the first class of Web Marketing for Entrepreneurs and Small Business over at the University of Southern Maine.

Well, actually I can, as I spent most of yesterday afternoon updating and revamping the search engine optimization content for the class. And I've blocked out plenty of hours this week to review the rest of my content and build out the social media component. But the "I can't believe" part stresses the fact that it's only a week away, and if you were planning on coming you've got to get a move on.

Who should go? Well, you should be in driving distance of Portland, Maine. (Yes, one of these days I'll create an online version, but not today.) Assuming that you can get to the campus, this course is geared to small business owners, marketers and entrepreneurs who are looking to build a Web presence to grow their business.

Topics will include search engine visibility (how do you out rank your competition,) email marketing, business blogs, social media, e-commerce, and building a Web site that will convert prospects into customers.

The course is held over four Monday nights, 11/10/2008 - 12/1/2008, from 6pm - 8pm at the Abromson Center on the campus of the University of Southern Maine (directions.) The cost is $205, but you need to pre-register for the class, so...

Register Now!

We'll be spending class time reviewing students' current Web sites (when applicable) and making on the spot recommendations to help you rank higher, drive more qualified leads to your site, and convert more prospects into customers. So what are you waiting for?

Register Now!

Rich Brooks
Oh Captain, Your Captain

Use Multiple Channels to Reach More People

This week I sent out Does Your Small Business Really Need a Social Media Strategy through our email newsletter, flyte log.

My friend, Josh Hurley, sent me this screen capture that showed my email had ended up in his spam folder:

Hell, I got lucky here. Many ISPs have such tight junk mail protection that the email may not have even reached Josh in the first place. But, as I told Josh, email wasn't my only delivery vehicle.

• I archived this article on my Web site
• I blogged about the article here and on the Internet Marketing 101 blog I write for MaineBusiness.com
• I Tweeted about it on at least two occasions, and used Ping.fm so that my message would also update my Facebook page, my Plurk account, and a half dozen other sites where my status gets updated.

I can't control every junk filter out there, just like I can't control when the bridge will go up and make me late for work. However, by having multiple distribution channels I can reach a wider audience and get past more gatekeepers. It's all about the redundancy.

Rich Brooks
You Can Say That Again

Email Marketing Wish List: What Email Newsletter Companies Should Offer

I'm a big fan of Constant Contact for email marketing, but that doesn't mean you can't improve on a good thing. Here's my wish list for a perfect email marketing service provider.

• Flexible HTML templates that can be updated without HTML knowledge. Entrepreneurs and small business people should be able to choose a template, make some quick changes (upload a logo, change fonts and colors, etc.)
• Ability to create or enhance standard HTML templates. Those with advanced design and coding skills should be able to go "under the hood" and make additional changes to the templates. This gives Web designers the opportunity to create non-cookie-cutter solutions for their clients. (And a big reason flyte uses Constant Contact.)
• Ability to do A/B split testing. This is email marketing, after all. I should be able to quickly create a split so that I can test the efficacy of competing subject lines or calls-to-action. (This is missing from Constant Contact and probably my biggest pet peeve.)
• Ability to track different signup paths to an ezine and give appropriate confirmation and welcome messages based on those signups. In other words, I want to know if it's my blog or Web site that is generating more signups. Plus, it would be nice to know if people are subscribing to flyte log because of a particular article (10 Questions to Ask Before Setting up a Web Site or The 11 Biggest Mistakes Small Business Bloggers Make) or just signing up through a signup box on our site. These are important marketing questions that will help drive my business thinking down the road.
• Ability to track down people who filed spam reports and beat them about the head and neck. I mean, who are these people? I run a double opt-in mailing list. You can't get on my list without subscribing on our site and then clicking on a confirmation link. That's not spam, that's free choice! If you no longer want to receive the ezine then unsubscribe! Geez....

OK, I'm sure there are other items that belong on the wish list. What do you look for/want out of an email service provider?

Rich Brooks
Email Marketing for Small Business

Growing Your Ezine Subscriber Base

Do you have an email subscribe box on your Web site? Does it languish there, underused and under-appreciated? Do you wonder how you can get more site visitors to opt-in to your mailing list?

If so, you may enjoy this video I put together about how to use email bait on your site to encourage people to subscribe to your ezine.

If you can't view this video, or God forbid, you want to see it larger, you can watch the video at Blip.TV.

Start your own email marketing campaign with Constant Contact.

Rich Brooks
Email Marketing for Small Business

Learn Internet Marketing in Maine This Fall

For those living in or near southern Maine who are looking to learn more about using Internet Marketing to grow your business, you may be in luck.

I'll be teaching a 4 class course on Web Marketing for Entrepreneurs and Small Business at the University of Southern Maine. I've taught this course a few times before, and it continues to evolve. This time around there will be more time given to social media and how you can use it to leverage your brand and connect with prospects and customers. We'll look at YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and more.

As in the past, we'll also spend time on what I consider the building blocks of Web marketing:

• Search Engine Optimization: how to improve your search engine visibility through keyword rich content and incoming links.
• Business Blogs: how a blog can increase visibility, improve rankings, and establish you as an expert.
• Email Marketing: how to build a subscriber base in a world that has too many ezines already.

And we'll look at traffic reports (analytics), podcasting, and building a Web site that converts prospects into customers.

Dates & Times: 4 Mondays, November  10-December  1, 6-8 p.m.        

Cost: $205 (8 contact hours/ 0.8 CEUs)        
Place: Abromson Center, 88 Bedford Street, USM Portland campus (directions)

Register Now!

Rich Brooks
Small Business Web Marketing Expert

Web Marketing Seminar in Rockport, Maine

Would you like to drive more qualified leads to your Web site?

Would you like to rank higher at the search engines?

Would you like to land more business?

Then come to Building Traffic At Your Web Site, a Web marketing seminar being held at the beautiful Carver Hill Gallery in Rockport, Maine this April 1st. (No foolin'.)

Search engines, blogs, and email newsletters can all drive new and returning visitors to your site where you can get them to take action...whether it’s to pick up the phone, fill out a contact form, or buy now!

Is this Web marketing seminar for you?

Yes, if you're looking to grow your business or organization by using the Web. Small business owners, marketers and non-profit directors will all learn specific tips and tricks to drive more qualified traffic to your site.

Attendees will learn:

• How to rank higher at the search engines
• How a business blog can drive traffic to your Web site
• How to get incoming links
• How to get visitors to sign up for your email newsletter
• Which tools can help you measure your success

Date: Tuesday, April 1st
Time: Noon - 1:30pm
Place: Caver Hill Gallery, Rockport, Maine (directions)
Cost: $50, includes lunch

Seating is limited, so register now!

Rich Brooks
Web Marketing Stylist

Web Marketing Handouts: "Building Traffic at Your Web Site"

A couple of days ago I led another class of flyte school, our name for the classes we hold here at flyte about once a month. The topic was "Building Traffic at Your Web Site."

It was a full house (admittedly, our "house" only holds 10 people comfortably) and we actually had to turn away someone. Although it's never as helpful as actually going to the event, I thought I'd make the handouts available to everyone.

There's 52 slides of Web marketing goodness in here people! All for free!

The only catch is that you have to subscribe to flyte log, our monthly email newsletter. (Again, it's free.) Once you've confirmed your subscription you'll get a link to the flyte log subscriber area where you can download the Building Traffic at Your Web Site handouts, as well as a number of other articles only available to subscribers.

If you're already a flyte log subscriber--good for you--you can just go to the same place where you've downloaded all the other free goodies when you first signed up. The links appear in every email newsletter.

You can start the subscription process right here:

Rich Brooks
Running Out of flyte Puns

Track Email Newsletters Signups In Google Analytics

Yesterday I got an email asking about an article I wrote called "Tracking Conversions: Does Your Web Site Turn Suspects Into Prospects?"

I had talked about how to track Constant Contact subscriptions in Google Analytics...something difficult to do because the signup happens at Constant Contact's site, not yours.

The trick is in adding a piece of code to the signup form. (The same holds true for any outgoing link.) Basically, you set up an imaginary directory for your outgoing links and GA tracks these clicks as if they were going to that imaginary directory.

For the Constant Contact example, your opening line might look like this:

<form name="ccoptin" action="http://ui.constantcontact.com/d.jsp" target="_blank" method="post" onsubmit="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/example.com');">

If you're using the older GA code it might look like this:

<form name="ccoptin" action="http://ui.constantcontact.com/d.jsp" target="_blank" method="post" onsubmit="urchinTracker('newsletter/subscription');">

How do you know if you're using the older or newer Google Analytics code? Find out here.

Learn more about tracking outbound links on your site  at the GA help section.

Rich Brooks
Measure Twice, Cut Once

Email Marketing Tips: How to Build Your Email Subscriber Base

This month's issue of our email newsletter flyte log is entitled, How I Increased My Email Signup Rate by 5,000%...and How You Can, Too.

Hmmm...you're thinking. I know Rich is terrible with math, so he probably moved a decimal point too far to the right. Or, maybe you're thinking, I know Rich is a marketer, but I think this time he stretched the truth past the breaking point.

Well, math isn't my strong suit, that's true. And, I am a marketer and, according to Seth Godin, All Marketers Are Liars.

Yet, as far as my rudimentary math skills can tell, it's true. We averaged 2 - 3 new subscribers a month before I tried the process I lay out in this month's issue, and now we average 125 new subscribers a month. (Actually, it's more. I was counting total subscriber base over a 12 month period, but that includes unsubscribes. Our new subscriber rate is even higher.)

But let's be honest, you don't care about my success rate, you want to know how to increase the number of subscribers to your email newsletter. If your email newsletter signup offers nothing more than "Join Our Mailing List," this month's flyte log is for you.

To avoid missing any future issues, be sure to sign up now!

Rich Brooks
Email Marketing for Small Business

Business Blog vs. Email Newsletters: Which Works Better?

Whenever I put together a business proposal I include recommendations for appropriate Web marketing campaigns. Two items that are often included are email newsletters and business blogs, because both have been successful for flyte and our clients who use them.

However, I'm also a big proponent of starting small. When you take too many things on at the beginning it can seem overwhelming and nothing gets done. Unless you have a lot of time and energy to write, starting an email newsletter and a blog may be too much. (Then again, I write an email newsletter, two blogs and distribute articles for article marketing.)

So, this begs the question, which will work better for you, a blog or an email newsletter? It depends on your business model.