Posted by Patrick Schaber | Posted on 14-03-2007
Category : paid search
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I’ll admit that I was getting a little worn out with paid search recently. If you’re a small business marketer such as myself, your time is limited and anyone who’s managed a PPC campaign knows that it can be very time consuming if done correctly. Plus, I was getting more and more concerned with click fraud and the content network pushing bad clicks my way.
Well, I’m rejuvenated. I recently got Google’s new Website Optimizer up and running and I’m launching a new product soon that has put me back in the keyword research and ad copy frame of mind.
I’m even finding time to catch a few articles related to PPC. Here are two I recently came across that you might find interesting. They’re focused on paid search branding and PPC on smaller ad networks.
Paid Search as a Branding Vehicle: Kevin Ryan has an article posted at iMedia Connection highlighting the Yahoo! Searchlight Award win by Avenue A | Razorfish. His article points out that paid search is being used as a vehicle to promote brands and is becoming less dependent on direct response metrics. The article talks about ways paid search can be used in synergy with other marketing mediums to promote messaging.
Don’t Get Hosed by PPC Ad Networks: Daniel Yomtobian has written a good article talking about smaller ad networks not having the resources to sort out the good traffic from the bad. Advertisers, such as me, are demanding more and more quality for paid search and are becoming less tolerant with having to monitor click fraud ourselves.
Posted by Patrick Schaber | Posted on 13-03-2007
Category : print advertising, strategy
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Because I live in Minneapolis, I typically fly Northwest Airlines so I’ve never had the opportunity to be captivated on a US Airways flight by an ad on my tray table. Earlier in the year I wrote a post about advertising in the bins in which you put all of your belongings before walking through security at the airport. Now I read in the New York Times, an article written by Joe Sharkey, that the aviation industry has struck again with advertisements on tray tables on airplanes.
Brilliant! Currently, US Airways seems to be the leader in this trend. There could be others as well. I think it’s a great idea and early worries about the ads being an annoyance have been eased:
“Initial worries that such advertising would annoy passengers have now been allayed, the airline and its advertising partner say. Research indicates a higher-than-expected number of passengers like and retain messages from tray table advertising, they say.”
Brian Martin, the founder and CEO of Brand Connections, said they are talking with other airlines about tray table advertising – largely due to the positive response already received:
“Both he and US Airways say the ads have generated overwhelmingly positive reaction, primarily because they are all creatively designed to convey information, often with lots of words rather than the heavily attention-seeking graphics associated with magazines.”
I know what you must be thinking – can’t there be one last spot on earth where we won’t be stimulated by some sort of media? But, this is an airplane – not a spot of natural beauty. Many years ago I spent an extended period of time in London and rode the Tube (London’s version of a subway). I lived on the outskirts of central London and had a long tube ride into the city each morning. Each car had advertising along the top edge on the inside. Not only was I often swayed by the ads, but it helped pass time and take my mind off the fact I was crushed into a corner with 10 people I’d never met before.
From an advertiser’s standpoint, this is a great opportunity. Imagine a nicely placed ad in first class – seats typically reserved for higher paying executives who have the power to call the shots on purchases. For the two to three hours they’re on the flight, don’t you think they may take a break and check out the ad?
Posted by Patrick Schaber | Posted on 12-03-2007
Category : strategy
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So often as marketers we’re attracted to marketing tactics that offer quick results and short timelines to launch. But, what happens when we market a product or service that has a long sales process or is a slow generator of repeat business? You need to be unique and constant about staying in front of your customers.
Three years ago my wife and I decided we wanted to re-landscape our backyard. We had some big plans and couldn’t wait to get started. But, with small kids we knew that taking these projects on ourselves would be very time consuming and ultimately take a summer away from us as a family. As do-it-yourselfers we were not too excited to hire a landscape firm, but we knew we had to if we wanted our backyard plans to become reality.
We attended a local home improvement fair and took home the names of four or five companies that looked like they could do the job. After weeks of meeting with contractors and deliberating over the decision, we moved forward with Villa Landscapes. They were excellent and produced for us the vision we had for our backyard.
Throughout the process my curious marketing mind got the better of me and I wondered how a company like this considers their marketing strategy. Do they only concentrate on new business? After plopping down more money than we should have spent, we weren’t about to call them back two months later with another project. There could be two or three years in between repeat business from a customer. Plus, after three years, wouldn’t we again get multiple bids on a project anyway? There is also the factor of the weather here in Minnesota. Not a whole lot of landscaping going on in January!
But Villa Landscapes surprised me and taught me something about the value of staying on the minds of customers. Each Fall we get a nice box with bulb plants inside from the with a nice note. We plant the bulbs in the Fall and enjoy them when they come up in the Spring. A very nice touch. Just this last week after 25″ of snow, we got a letter in the mail from them with a customer story attached. The story was about a family nearby who expanded on work they had previously done in their backyard. I can’t say for certain whether it was a coincidence that the people did a similar project as us or a strategically placed story, but it certainly rang a bell with us and gave us new ideas of what we could do next with our yard.
Did it prompt us to start another project with them? No. But they certainly are foremost in our minds should we ever get the urge.
Posted by Patrick Schaber | Posted on 10-03-2007
Category : Uncategorized
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We’ve arrived at that time of the week already! Yes, the time in which we take a gander back at what was in a week of posts, articles, and more.
- Bad Bad Buzz: Aneil Weber at Pronet Advertising wrote a post about one of my nemesis, Comcast Cable. He writes about the opportunity they continually pass up to respond to negative feedback through joining the conversation.
- Good Grammar Costs Nothing: Lisa Barone, who has a fun writing style on her blog, writes that grammar means more to your web presence than just rankings on search engines. Bad grammar can cast a bad image over you and your work.
- Help me give college grads a fighting chance: Drew McLellan has another good theme going where he’s asking readers to offer advice for grads looking for their first job. So far, he’s had great participation. If you haven’t checked it out, please do so.
- Do you have what it takes to make it as an entrepreneur?: Being an entrepreneur is a dream for many and Tony Clark has alot of good advice. This post is just one example!
- What Social Media Marketing Gives Back To You: Toby over at the Diva Marketing Blog has a great post highlighting some social media tips and what can be gained from the practice.
Articles, articles, and more articles:
Lonely Marketer Highlights:
That’s all for this Saturday night! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Posted by Patrick Schaber | Posted on 08-03-2007
Category : trade shows
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Whatever your industry, trade shows most likely play a role in your yearly marketing. For many small businesses, trade shows are a very large budget item where big returns are expected. Paying for the booth and getting it all set up is one thing. Taking advantage of the traffic is another.
Trade show attendees walk around with dazed, overwhelmed looks on their faces carrying small suitcases of giveaways and company literature. They’ll make it through two or three days of conferences and walking the exhibit hall floor before they return to their rooms on that final night and do a purge of unwanted gadgets, catalogs, and brochures so they’ll still have room in their luggage for their clothes. How do you wind up not being one of the unlucky throwaways? Plan ahead, be relevant and call the attendee to action.
There is no magical solution to converting all of your visitors to customers, but here are some tips to better your chances of getting a follow-up engagement:
- Book early: If you know there is an industry show you want to attend, book early and try to get a good booth location. Booth locations I like are the aisles in front of an entrance or a booth a few spots down from a major player in the industry. I’ve also had success on the ends as people sometimes like to walk the perimeter.
- Will advertising work?: I’m not a fan of paying good money to hang banners from the hall ceiling or near an entrance. That space is so dilluted and typically too expensive. I do, however, like advertising on our site that we’ll be at a show, placing banner ads on an industry website close to the show date, or even using paid-search around show-related keywords.
- Have a strategy: Know your audience and what pains them. What do you have to offer that will solve a problem for your audience? Make sure your booth clearly addresses how you can solve that problem via graphics, product setups, or handouts.
- White Paper or Customer Story: This is easier said than done, but relating to the attendee with a story or application from someone in their line of work will often be a winner.
- The 150-page catalog dilemma: Do you have a catalog that weighs as much as your laptop? Consider bringing electronic versions of that catalog on CD. The 25-pound catalog might not make the cut if the attendee is deciding between that or the foam ball that can be given to one of the kids. But, a nice compact CD fits just about anywhere. Plus, you can embed hyperlinks and drive more traffic to your website.
- Have a Call to Action: I’ve been the attendee as well and I know from experience that I’m always attracted to a call to action. If I’m handed a brochure saying I can come to a website and download a coupon, white paper, or free tutorial, I’ll often check it out if it interests me. Plus, luring them with a show-specific website url will make the attendee feel he or she will be getting something that someone outside of the show can’t get.
Remember, enthusiastic booth workers can also play a big role as well. How can an attendee feel drawn to your product or service when the presenter doesn’t seem interested or passionate about their company.
I did a quick search to see if there are some blogs out there dedicated to trade show strategy. Here are two I found. If there are other blogs you know or you have content that you think could be added, please let me know and I’ll add it to this post.
UPDATE:
Evan Owen, President of A Smash Hit! Trade Show Displays, emailed and also commented pointing out three blogs his company authors related to trade shows. I checked out all three and they look to be a great source of information. I’ll be checking in on a regular basis. Here are the sites:
http://trade-show-display-booths.blogspot.com/
http://smashhitdisplays.blogspot.com/
http://smashhitdisplays.wordpress.com/
Posted by Patrick Schaber | Posted on 06-03-2007
Category : branding, campaigns
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Oddly enough, one of my more popular posts was about…a wine bottle. Earlier in the year I posted about a “peel-off” label that caught my attention. Rosenblum Cellars implemented the label into their bottle design. For a better description, check out my original post. My wife and I thought this was a great idea as we’re always wishing we’d saved something to remind us of good wines we’ve tried.
I was reading Brand Week recently and came across an interesting article about wine bottles and how they are evolving. The article focuses on the Amazing Food Wine Co. of New York and their efforts to take the guesswork out of pairing food with wine.
“The idea: In February, The Amazing Food Wine Co., New York, will launch “Wine That Loves.” The brand takes the guesswork out of pairing wine with food. Thus, Wine That Loves Pizza, Wine That Loves Pasta, Wine That Loves Roasted Chicken, and so on. A guide on the back of each bottle rates tannin, flavor, acidity, etc.”
I could not find a decent picture of the final design so I took a picture of the magazine article picture (shown left). It didn’t come out too well, but you get the idea. Wine with Chicken and Wine with Pizza are the titles – creating a whole new wine buying experience.
One reason I like this continuing story is because it reflects the small business marketers efforts to connect with a moving target – their audience and customers. The audience for wine makers has changed and evolved. It’s not only the wealthy consuming fine wines. There is a broader base of customers for wine makers and many more age groups to which they need to target.
Marketers in all industries face this challenge. What fun would marketing be if the same message and same methods for delivering that message were always the same? Our target markets change and evolve and it’s our job to find ways to figure out how to get back in touch with them. The wine market is learning – how are you doing?
I’m working on an interview with the Director of Marketing from Rosenblum Cellars. I’m hoping he’ll be able to shed some light on the topic of today’s wine bottle marketing.
Posted by Patrick Schaber | Posted on 05-03-2007
Category : blogging
4
I realized this weekend that I’m getting lazy. I’ve become reliant on my Google Reader to navigate me through the many blogs I read on a daily basis. The problem is I never visit the actual blog sites anymore! In some cases I’m losing the connection with the author because I don’t take in the look and feel of their site. My whole point in starting the Lonely Marketer was to share my experience and network with people in my field of expertise. Well, how can I connect if I don’t make the effort!?
Is this about partial or full RSS feeds? I don’t think so. Honestly, I prefer the full feed, but I’ll click through on a partial if the story interests me. Mark Goren had an interesting post on that topic if you’re interested. For me, it’s more about not taking in the personality of the blog author in the feed reader.
Lee Odden had a post that kind of alerted me to my new trend. He posted about Technorati and being added as a favorite. It dawned on me that I’d never pegged Lee’s site as one of my Technorati Favorites even though I’ve been reading his blog for over a year now! I think at that point a blog deserves to be a Favorite.
So, I’m vowing to get back on track. I’m going to join more MyBlogLog communities, add more Technorati Favorites, make more LinkedIn connections and contact more of the authors I read each day. I’d encourage you to do the same. In fact, I’m kicking off this week by offering up ways to connect with The Lonely Marketer. If you don’t want to leave your Reader of choice, here are a few ways to connect with me and learn more about my site.
About me
Why did I name this blog The Lonely Marketer
Contact me
If you would like to connect with me via LinkedIn, either comment on this post or send me and email via my contact form.
I’m hoping other bloggers do a similar post so it’s easy to learn more, join more communities, and make more contacts – right from our feed readers. Care to join me?
Posted by Patrick Schaber | Posted on 03-03-2007
Category : Uncategorized
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Yes, we’ve arrived at the recap portion of my week. My bookmarking sites are overloaded with great content this week. I hope you find some good reads from the list below.
And in other news…
Finally…This week from The Lonely Marketer
Phew…that’s alot of information for one week. There are alot of talented people out there with good things to say! Have a good rest of your weekend.
Posted by Patrick Schaber | Posted on 01-03-2007
Category : paid search
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My post last week talked about some simple research I do weekly on companies who click on my PPC ads. My goal is to find out how many times competitors click on our ad. Yesterday, the Google Adwords blog posted a good article on their extensive click-fraud detection methods. The article is worth your time and goes into pretty good detail.
One thing I did not mention on my original post which I should have is Google’s Invalid Clicks report in the Reports section of the Adwords interface. I use this often because I get a good idea of the rate of invalid clicks on my campaign. The screen shot below shows where to indicate you want those stats in your report.
Posted by Patrick Schaber | Posted on 01-03-2007
Category : online marketing
2
I recently wrote a post about my 2007 revamp of my PPC campaigns and the focus was on landing pages. I feel like I’m hammering home the topic, but I came across another quality article from Chief Marketer that has relevance for the small business marketer. The focus of the article is on the topic of landing page testing and how a study showed this was a big ROI winner for marketers.
“On the one hand, this didn’t surprise us, because landing-page tests have ranked as the highest-impact tests in other online media for years. In fact, a December 2006 MarketingSherpa study of the world’s heaviest online advertisers revealed that 56% had budgeted significantly for landing-page A/B tests in 2007.”
Anne Holland, president of MarketingSherpa, does a nice job of presenting the topic and offering a couple of examples. What really got my attention was her comments on running tests when your web or IT group can’t help you. This is a huge issue for small business marketers. She writes:
“My suggestion: Try a few campaigns using supercheap, alternative Web page applications. What are these? You can find blogging software, online survey form software, and landing-page testing software from a variety of providers online that cost less than $50 a month. With a little ingenuity, all of these can be set up to look very much like a page on your own Website as you might want it to appear for e-mail clickthroughs.”
As I’ve said before, I’m not a web developer. I know enough to be dangerous, but I’m not an expert. I have the opportunity right now to beta test Google AdWords’ new Website Optimization tool and the biggest obstacle is getting the three sets of code set up on our website. Our website is rather complex and although Google does a nice job of laying out the instructions, the installation has had some challenges. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a full web team to work with??? Well, I don’t have that and many others do not either. Does this leave me disadvantaged? I don’t believe so. Anne’s suggestions are one route and there is always more than one way to test.
I’m going to look into Anne’s suggestion and compare her idea with Google’s new Website Optimization tool. So far Google’s tool looks incredible, but if I can’t get the code working, I won’t be able to use it. I hope to review the tool on this blog along with Anne’s suggestion as well.
