Looking to Make Something of Your Website?

Stop Following the Crowd…

Dear Business Owner,

Here’s the challenge:

How do you effectively use the Internet to grow your business without killing your marketing budget or having to spend your time chasing twittering birds?

Some number of years ago, “they” told you to build a website. You did. You added information about your products and services, and maybe paid your web designer a little extra to add rotating images or do a little search engine optimization.

Then… nothing, or at least considerably less than you anticipated.

Now, today’s generation of gurus are telling you to build a Facebook Fan page, start a Twitter account, and to “build a community” around your products and services.

They say that your future success depends on your ability to use social networking.

Not me.

In spite of the well-publicized success with social networking of some Fortune 500 companies and a handful of small businesses, the “other 95%” are still struggling to make something positive of their Internet experiences.

“To Hell With Social Networking…”

Social networking is a tool, not a strategy. Regardless of the mania surrounding social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, some things remain true about people’s buying habits online:

• People still use the search engines when they want to actively buy a product or find a service.
• They want to feel educated before they buy.
• And even when a referral comes from a social network like Facebook, the actual sale happens only after they visit your website.

Your website matters. It’s the world’s view into who you are as a business, and it defines more than anything your customer’s perception of you as a potential service or product provider. If someone reads about you on a social network, they’ll almost immediately check out your website … whether the social buzz is positive or negative.

Social networking can help to get the word out about your business… if you’ve got the resources to make it happen. Social networking is inherently labor intensive, and the payoff comes in the form of more referrals – if the payoff comes at all.

“Social Buzz” is great when it happens, but it is rare, and is almost never planned.

Plus, as a small or mid-sized business, your marketing resources are limited, and your technology staff is not trained in marketing or copywriting.

How to Bring Technological Bliss to Your Online Marketing

As an IT professional and copywriter who has studied Internet Marketing with the industry’s top experts, I’ve learned that to be effective online you’ve got to implement a clear strategy that provides something of value to your website visitors.

To keep your IT expenses at a minimum, avoid wasting money on the latest trend, and actually make your website work for you, here’s how I can help:

1. Strategic Analysis.

I’ll review your current website, conduct a competitive analysis, a thorough search engine analysis, and most importantly clarify your key emotional selling propositions. These are the real reasons people buy from you. Nail them, and you cut your marketing efforts in half.

2. Website Makeover.

If it makes sense, my team and I will re-design your site to Web 2.0 standards, update the copy, and add several “social” elements, such as video and a place for user interaction. At a minimum, we’ll update the copy to do the job it was intended to do – sell the website visitor on your products and services. If you’re ready, we’ll add other social elements, connection to Facebook and Twitter, and even a “Smart Phone” version of your website.

3. Website Promotion.

This is where things get fun. We’ll do as much or as little promotion as you want, although we recommend an ongoing promotion program that lasts over several months. Without you having to become a social networking expert, you’ll find your website mentioned all over the Internet. We use advanced tools to automate the promotion process, and give you the same kind of exposure as the big companies, but at a fraction of the cost. As a bonus, you won’t have to hire or train a minion of social networkers to keep your Tweets up to date.

Tell me about the goals for your website and internet marketing, and I’ll tell you exactly how I can help you to achieve those goals.

Sincerely,

Sid Smith

P.S. Contact me today for a free “Quick Review” of your current website, including a review of how you’re doing with the search engines.