Don’t you just love it when someone really “gets” your business?

Well, that happened to me today…  I had an appointment with a franchise owner who had been referred to us. She wanted to utilize some creative methods to do what all business owners want, get more paying customers.

On thing that is sometimes difficult for us to do is communicate how internet marketing works, especially if the person sitting across from us has never got a single customer through pay per click, social media, email marketing etc.

Many business owners want to know if internet marketing is just a mythical tale or the real deal… [Read more...]

If you’ve ever watched the show “What Not To Wear,” you know know that even good change is terrifying…

Hosts Clinton and Stacy give a $5000 makeover to one lucky winner who has been nominated by their friends, family and co-workers.  Every nominee is clearly in need of a new look, but they are almost always afraid that they will be forced to be someone they aren’t.

However, by the end of the show they are more of who they really are.

Derek and I often joke that we are the Clinton and Stacy of internet marketing!

Many business owners are terrified of using internet marketing to grow their business because it’s outside of their comfort zone…  And we can’t blame them, social media, blogs and SEO is a long way from The Better Business Bureau, Yellow Page ads and handing out fliers.

Change is never easy… but in the case of “What Not To Wear” and On Top Internet Marketing, it’s worth it!

Here are 3 ways internet marketing has changed our clients’ businesses: [Read more...]

Do you remember the 1986 comedy, The Money Pit?

Unfortunately, many business owners have a money pit and it’s called “internet marketing”…

That’s not a typo – I’m saying my own industry can be a huge money pit.  And I don’t want any business owner to fall into it.

“Tactics without strategy are aimless actions.”  -John Rodolff

The absolute sure fire way to burn money with internet marketing is to pay for tactics and tools without creating a strategy that can easily be implemented.

Recently I was meeting a client for dinner and he told me that friends had commented that his Facebook business page was looking great and had helpful information…  They weren’t surprised when he told them he had hired help for it.  He admitted to me that he inconsistently updated it and when he did, he had no idea why he was.   He said, “it’s so nice to see the updates and the strategy behind them”.

We are not attached to particular tools… [Read more...]

We don’t believe in doing anything unless it helps a business reach their goals…

Certainly, internet marketing is no exception.

Many times we hear what we call the “check list” mentality… which is thinking that all a business needs to do is have “x, y and z”… and their business will magically grow.

The truth is, without a creative strategy that can be regularly implemented, nothing will happen as a result of having a website, SEO campaign, social media presence, etc.

We want to make clear that these things do not have power in and of themselves, but are dynamic when the people behind them shine through… [Read more...]

Don’t get me wrong – word of mouth is great, but it will kill your business…

Especially if that’s the only way you get new business!

You can’t just sit around and wait for new business to come through word of mouth…

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… This ain’t “The Field of Dreams” and you aren’t Kevin Costner!

Whispers: “If you build it, they will come.”

Good luck with that ;-)

In a perfect world, everyone who ever buys your product or service will tell all their friends about you and they will tell their friends and they will tell their friends… and on and on it goes :)

Now, I’m not here to burst your bubble… but this ain’t exactly a perfect world!

The more likely scenario is that the rare times your business screws up, your dissatisfied customers are 10 times as likely to tell all their friends about how bad you are then they would have been if you did an excellent job.

The thing is, you have to encourage your customers to help spread the word about your business…

And the good news is, there are plenty of opportunities to do so – especially with the Internet.

Here are some ideas that we’ve used to get the word out… [Read more...]

“How can I use networking more effectively in my business?”

This is a common question we get from clients, in fact just today we had this discussion with a new client who is still in the early stages of his business.

The good news is networking and internet marketing go hand in hand.  In fact, when business owners follow these simple steps I’m about to outline there’s no way the business won’t grow! [Read more...]

The last few posts, I’ve been talking about SEO and how to get more traffic to your business’ website…

But it dawned on me that most businesses’ websites could get 10,000 hits a day and still struggle to get people through the doors!

Why, you ask?

Because most businesses’ websites don’t take one very important ingredient into account… [Read more...]

Just because the internet affords us amazing possibilities doesn’t mean people skills are no longer required.

After a couple of conversations with a referral I realized what the critical, missing piece was in her internet marketing – interaction with humans.

You see, she’s been in her office for years doing research, creating products and hiring other people who sit behind a computer doing “marketing.”

No one involved in her process was out and about networking or getting feedback from the people they wanted to reach.

Getting out in the “real world” is one of the best ways to test your online marketing.

Before I attend networking events, Derek and I talk about a new way of explaining the benefits of a service we offer…  I then test it out and let him know how it was received. [Read more...]

As you may already know, I am a HUGE University of Arizona Sports fan…

I’ve even christened my wife as an “Honorary Alumnus” and converted her to “Bear  Down” and root for the Wildcats.

One of my favorite teams to watch over the years has become this year’s version of the men’s basketball team, led by Derrick Williams and coach Sean Miller.

Sure, there may have been “more talented” teams in past years… even teams that achieved more, but I can’t remember ever watching a team that played together as well as this year’s team did, or beat the odds and exceeded expectations as much as this year’s team has.

Oddly enough, there are some Internet Marketing lessons to be learned from this year’s Arizona Wildcats Basketball Team… [Read more...]