Internet Marketing Genius

 Not many people are, so it shouldn't be an embarrassment saying that you are not.

Internet marketing can be hard and even confusing. At least, it seems to be for the novice who just wants to get as many people as possible to see their website.

So what about internet marketing do most people find difficult?

• Understanding how it has changed in the last decade. Traditional marketing used to be a relatively simple process. Maybe some mailers to people around town, a small space in the local Yellow pages, maybe even a spot on local radio. All of that has changed with the internet boom. Now you can market globally... if you understand how. Sure, it can make your business visible to a much larger audience, but how?


• Making the best to use your time. Most small business people wear multiple hats. As a comparison, internet marketing is the cheap baseball cap compared to the expensive fedora of trying to manage the business. Internet marketing seems to take up way too much time for the tangible/measurable benefits it brings.


• Spending the money. Marketing is just one of many costs, but because modern internet marketing is completed on so many fronts, it is difficult to know where the money is going. Keeping track of most expenses is easy because you have a direct relationship. But, marketing costs seem so ethereal.


• Determining what is effective. In traditional marketing, you can do studies to determine exactly (or at least close to exactly) how effective your marketing dollars were. There was more of a direct link between marketing and sales. Now it is seems like it is very difficult to tell.

What is the answer to this dilemma? You know you have to market in order to be seen by as many people as possible.

So to get the most out of your marketing dollar, you can take one of two actions. Let's look at them.

#1. Learn How to do Internet Marketing Yourself (effectively)

Computers are as necessary to business these days as buggy whips were at one time. Of course, the buggy whip manufacturers either adapted or they went the way of large wooden sailing ships. It is possible to find some of each in museums these days, but they aren't in use anymore.

If you are hoping that the same happens to computers and the internet, you are probably also betting your business on a coin at the wishing well. Neither are a good bet.

So, computers are here to stay and you need to learn how to market using one. You know your business won't grow itself, but learning a new task when your time is already precious is not efficient. But, internet marketing is necessary.

You could take one of the online courses, spend time just reading as much information as possible, or you could take the second alternative (at this point I am going to say that it is the better of the two).

#2. Outsource Your Internet Marketing

You have just reached a milestone and you want to show your employees how much you appreciate them. A party sounds like a good idea, something that they will remember for a long time. Something that will motivate them when they are doing their jobs tomorrow. What do you do?

Well, if you're smart, you let an expert take over. You know what you're good at and it isn't planning parties (unless you're an event planner or caterer, then think of a different example). You call the local Chucky Cheese (or other favorite venue) and let them do the planning.

Looking at this example, why would you then believe that you can be an effective internet marketer when it's not your specialty?

Some would have you believe that internet marketing is as simple as putting up a Facebook page, sending out a few Tweets and writing something in your websites blog every two or three weeks. If that was true, why aren't the orders flowing in?

Effective internet marketing is complex. You need to understand how to reach people using modern technologies and you need to understand the possible benefits of many different resources.

Why would you try to tackle such a complex system without some type of help? It would be insane.

Outsourcing works for companies in need of a service that is better done by someone else. For example, many small businesses turn to someone else for such services as human resources, payroll, web design and, yes, internet marketing. Because these are all specialized services, small business owners understand that they actually save money while outsourcing some aspects of their business.

Time is just too valuable!

You can find a company that specializes in internet marketing which could include handling your social media marketing, promoting your blog, etc. These companies have years of experience, keep up with changes that are always occurring in internet marketing and use proven marketing strategies to help their clients succeed.

In addition, just think of that extra time you would have on your hands if you didn't have to do these tasks yourself and could concentrate on other important areas in your small business. Yes, it costs money to hire someone to handle your internet marketing, but remember... Time = Money.

Outsourcing may seem like something that large businesses can afford to do, but they have the money to have in-house departments. It pays for a small business to think creatively when they cannot afford to provide internet marketing services for themselves.

Email Marketing Helps You

 Today, marketers have many, many modern and fun marketing platforms. On social media platforms, they get to pin pictures, post YouTube videos, sponsor ads, and run social media contests. It seems e-mail has been left in the dust. Or, has it? Despite the marketing variety available, salesforce.com reports that 67% of marketers still believe e-mail marketing to be their core way of boosting their ROI and cutting marketing costs. Why? Well, consider this, a Merkle study revealed that 74% of consumers still prefer to receive marketing literature by e-mail and, 91% of consumers check their e-mails daily? These marketers know that, for their advertisements to be welcomed a daily basis, e-mail marketing is the way to go. Let's take a closer look at how e-mail marketing can help you grow your business.

E-mail marketing creates greater and more lucrative sales.

Amazingly, a Direct Marketing Association study showed that e-mail marketing has an ROI of 4,300%. It also found that 66% of consumers have bought a product because of a marketing e-mail. Even more significant, an eMarketers study found that, customers are 3X more likely to buy a product after receiving a marketing e-mail and, once customers choose to purchase, they spend 17% more than those who decide to buy on a social media platform. The effects of e-mail marketing in growing your customer-base obviously cannot be duplicated.

Through e-mail marketing, you create greater trust, customer loyalty and sales.

Though your customers undoubtedly love your brand, brands are easily forgotten in their busy day-to-day shuffles. So, you must remind your customers of your valuable offers so they can show their loyalty when they need your products. Still, you are going to need at least 6 exposures to a new company product to get even your loyal customers to try them. And, after opting in on your e-mail marketing list, your customers are expecting and even welcoming such e-mails. Therefore, your e-mail marketing campaign is the best way to make room for such frequent exposure without seeming obnoxious and, thereby, making potential customers walk away. And, without the obnoxious component that is part of a lot of advertising, your customers learn to like and trust your company for graciously granting them their wish of receiving regular e-mail communication from you. This trust is sure to bring in life-long customers.

E-mail marketing increases website traffic, creating a more enduring and lucrative overall online campaign.

Your e-mail marketing is one of the best ways to boost your search engine rankings. With a simple social media share button, an invite to visit your site, or a promotion code, you invite your customers to visit your site or invite others to do so. As your traffic and shares increase, your ranking on search engine results pages rises. A boosted search engine ranking makes it possible for your customers to find you more easily even when you aren't directly marketing to them. So, your advertisement investment just keeps giving back to your company with no extra effort or investment on your part.

Among top marketers, e-mail advertising is here to stay. Not only does it boosts sales and create loyal-life time customers, but if gifts you with higher search engine rankings, initiating a perpetually growing customer-base. Therefore, e-mail marketing may be old-school but it is sure to be a top-strategic tool in business growth for years to come!

Legal Marketing Tips

 A Divorce Lawyer's Marketing Journey to Build My Law Practice

During the past few years, I have had a lot of visibility resulting from my marketing efforts. Other attorneys continuously ask me about my marketing so I thought I'd share some thoughts. I have been immersed in the legal world my entire life. I have practiced law in Illinois since 1984, and grew up surrounded by legal talk, as my father was also an attorney. This has allowed me to observe the evolution of the legal field throughout my lifetime.

History of Legal Advertising

As many attorneys are aware, previously, legal advertising was generally prohibited. This did not change until 1977, well after advertising became common practice in most other fields, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on lawyers' right to advertise their services in the controversial case of

Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (433 U.S. 350). As a result, the tradition against legal advertising was rejected as an antiquated rule of etiquette. Thus began the opportunity for attorneys to grow their practices through marketing.

My Journey Begins

Although legal marketing previously provoked controversy, it has been an important key to my success as a lawyer. I have always marketed my practice. For the majority of my career, I concentrated on traditional methods such as Yellow Page advertising (pre-internet) and networking. As my experience grew, I added peer-rated credentials to my resume and joined different organizations. Fast forward to 2010, when my marketing guru, who also happens to be my wife, expanded her business into the growing field of social media. I jumped at the opportunity to be her online and social media test case. We developed a marketing plan including all the traditional marketing techniques plus newly burgeoning online marketing strategies.

We started with a short list of 13 tasks, and as those were completed, we added many more. Over the past four years, marketing has fascinated me. My marketing list has become an ever-evolving 'to do' list and we are always tweaking my marketing plan. We have been especially pleased by the Internet and social media campaigns' successes. For those interested in starting or building upon a marketing campaign, here are some insights I have gained over the years. Please keep in mind that I am not a marketing professional, just a lawyer like you trying to build my practice.

What are the most important elements of marketing?

Consistency and follow-up are the most important aspects of marketing. You can have all of the know-how, a hefty budget, the best contacts and technical staff; yet, your marketing efforts will not result in success without consistency and follow-up. I have spoken with attorneys who tell me they are going to start their online marketing with blogs posts. They lay their foundation - build a website, write a few blogs posts - but too often, after several months, begin to neglect their page. Likewise, an empty Twitter account, LinkedIn or Facebook fan page is equally useless. Additionally, people often attend networking events, make new contacts, but fail to follow-up. Continuous activity is necessary to achieve your goals.

What types of marketing do I use?

I break my marketing down into two different, but equally relevant, categories: traditional and internet marketing.

Traditional marketing

For me, traditional marketing consists of networking and making myself visible. I think this builds the strongest and longest-lasting referrals. My ultimate goal is to build an extensive network of relationships so that people call me directly for my services or refer clients to me. Additionally, I recognize the importance of being a resource to others. In the networking world, the givers get the most back. For others, traditional marketing may include newspaper ads, speaking engagements, direct mail, television, radio and even billboards.

Internet marketing

The objective of internet marketing is to make my name a prominent presence when people search online for help with the services I provide. My goal is for my web presence to effectively convey who I am and how I can help people, thus influencing people to contact me and ultimately hire me.

Who has time for marketing?

I understand that lawyers need to spend the majority of their hours practicing law. Networking takes a lot of time so you have to marshal your efforts in order to reap the most benefits with the least amount of time. Here are some networking suggestions:

· Be strategic; identify the best people to network with. Read Malcolm Gladwell's book, The Tipping Point.

· Set and track goals when meeting people or joining networking groups.

· Take time to develop relationships. Always remember that quality, not quantity, is important.

· Be a good listener and ask questions. Find out how you can help that person, whether it is referring business, making an introduction or sending a relevant article.

· Always follow-up and deliver what you promise.

Where do I start my internet campaign?

You can build your online presence through search engine optimization (SEO) and social media. SEO gets your website or web-page noticed by various search engines. Social media uses internet platforms for individuals and groups to share, co-create, and discuss. Social media marketing involves using internet forums, blogs, social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn, podcasts, video and more to build your online presence, identity, relationships and reputation.

What to keep in mind while marketing

Marketing helps bring potential clients into your office to hire you. Satisfied clients bring more clients, and this remains one of the best ways to grow your practice. Thus, it is both good business and good marketing to build solid relationships with your clients. Tips include: