Building an opt-in database and growing quality website traffic are two tasks nearly every marketer is faced with, regardless of specific position or industry.  After all, these components are the building blocks for most marketing campaigns and the foundation for a platform such as marketing automation.  If your website is so quiet that tumbleweeds blow through it and your database is nothing more than 32 business cards you “borrowed” from the fishbowl at Applebee’s, fear not…and read on.

We compiled a few tips and tricks that we’ve learned along the way that can help you increase website traffic and grow your database without breaking the bank.

•    Think social media.  Whether you’re B2B or B2C, social media is proving to be a valuable, yet cost-effective medium.  While the vastness of the social media-sphere can feel intimidating, you can begin slowly by listening to peers or participating in relevant online conversations.  Over time, you can work toward developing followers and sharing news, educational tips, special offers and more.

•    Develop a loyalty or referral program.  Build your database and retain current customers by giving them access to special offers. Have a sign-up link on every web page, social media profile and email.  If your model is business-to-business focused and a special offer doesn’t make sense, consider a referral program that incentivizes current customers to refer new ones.

•    Sweeten the signature.  How many emails do you send using your personal email client in any given day?  25, 35 or more?  Now, do the math and multiply by 5 days – that’s a lot of emails, right?  Utilize your email signature by adding a link to a recent news item, special offer, social media page, etc.

•    Partner for success.  Do you have relationships with companies who offer complementary services?  If you’re a florist, think chocolate shop – an online marketing solution, consider web consultancies.  Think strategically about how you could promote each other’s products or services socially, via websites or newsletters.

•    Check out directory listings.  Once you have come up with a special offer, let your fingers do the walking, and search online for free, legit directory sites.  Many online directories offer free basic listings but charge an additional fee for photos, links, etc.  In this case, the basic listing is a good starting point to see if the directory really pushes qualified traffic to your site.

•    Don’t just talk about it.  If you have the time and resources, consider using your expertise to author a blog.  Blogs are a fantastic way to showcase industry knowledge, build brand awareness, develop a readership, etc.  A cautionary note though – maintaining an informative blog takes time, energy and discipline.  If you’re not quite ready to launch your own blog, reach out to your social network and see if they accept guest blog posts.  This strategy can be a great way to lend expertise and gain credibility without the commitment that comes with your own blog.

As you implement these strategies, it is very important to track which traffic sources lend themselves to lengthier site visits, repeat visits, low bounce rates – and, of course, conversions.  Free tools such as Google Analytics provide great aggregate views and tracking, while marketing automation platforms can track individual visitors on a granular level.

We hope these tips and suggestions have you given you new, helpful and affordable ways to think about generating high-quality inbound traffic.

Several months ago, a widely debated blog post was published that touted the death of the white paper in B2B marketing (I’ve provided a link to the posts and a related Focus expert Q&A.)  As a writer, the thought of the white paper going away wasn’t exactly heartbreaking because authoring one can be a long, arduous affair.  But, is this idea really accurate?   Has the white paper outlived its usefulness in today’s sales and marketing landscape?

As a marketing automation provider, we continue to receive a steady stream of requests from partners, customers and prospects for white papers and best practices.  Our white papers are popular downloads – and many of those website visitors return to the site numerous times.   So my answer is, “No. No way.  Not by a long shot.”  I do think, however, the era of the sales pitch, listen-to-how-great-we-are paper ended a long time ago.

Educational content, an interesting and empirical point of view and actionable information contribute to papers that are so much more compelling than reading endless prose that is nothing more than an over-stuffed meatball sandwich (though I do love a good meatball sub – Dedham House of Pizza rules).

Back to the subject at hand of white papers.  In order to ensure you’re spending time writing papers that are valuable and have the potential to develop a loyal readership, we’ve put together a list of our favorite white paper tips:

1.    Snap out of Clichés.  Your product isn’t the same as everyone else’s so don’t fall into the B2B “parrot” syndrome.  Words and phrases such as: innovative, market leader, scalable and cutting edge almost always make the list of Most Overused.  We’re not saying you have to abandon these words altogether – but use them sparingly and in a meaningful context.
2.    Prove Your Point. Where possible, include reliably sourced metrics.  Data points and sources can really give your paper and ideas credibility, plus graphs and charts can break up the copy.  Speaking of which…
3.    Avoid the Ambien Express. Have you ever downloaded a white paper that would perform double-duty as a powerful sedative?  Keeping technical B2B topics interesting, while retaining the crux of the message can be difficult, but it’s worth the time and energy.  Great papers are read, circulated and saved as resources.
4.    Break It Up.  Having an abstract or introduction at the beginning helps set the tone and expectations for the paper.  Additionally, descriptive headings can help keep the copy more digestible, and if the viewer is so inclined, skim-able.
5.    Substance Trumps Length.  Ever been tasked with writing a 1500-word paper, only to find you’ve covered the salient points in 1200?  Making a compelling case is more important than authoring your corporate equivalent of War and Peace.
6.    Listen to Feedback.  While you might think your paper has split the atom, it may not be resonating with viewers.  Provide readers with a way to contact you or your company with questions, comments, etc.  You may also want to turn to your social media network for suggestions about future topics.  Utilize Twitter, LinkedIn or your blog as ways to solicit feedback about current papers and get ideas for future ones.
7.    Set Your Content Free? The traditional white paper model required someone to complete a form to gain access to white papers.  These days, many websites are making their content available without requiring registration.  It’s easy to argue both sides of the coin – building an opt-in database is important but not discouraging viewers with forms is also critical.  Consider straddling the fence by making introductory level content all-access and more specific, proprietary information registration required.

We hope these tips give you actionable ways to think about your white papers so you don’t need to bury them before their time.  Think the white paper is yesterday’s news?  Please drop us a line or tweet.

As a marketing automation software company, we focus on the importance of sending trigger-based marketing campaigns and engaging leads through targeted communications.  Email marketing is an important component of these campaigns, so we wanted to share a few tips, best practices and reminders about how to make sure your emails are getting noticed…for the right reasons.

1.    Email subject lines.

Keep them snappy. Subject lines should ideally be 50 characters or less, although one of our own email gurus says 70 characters is an acceptable length, so long as the subject line conveys a very timely and relevant message.

Tell the truth. Keep your recipients engaged by using your subject line to convey the subject matter and value contained within the email.  No one likes “tricky” emails that promise something in the subject line, but don’t deliver relevant content.

2.    From line.

Make it parallel.  Check to be sure your company name makes sense in the context of your subject line.  Nothing screams, “bogus” like a subject line touting “10 Smart Marketing Tips” with a sender name of FreeLove4Less.

Be personal. Using a real person as the sender’s email address is much more credible than the generic info@ or sales@.  Also, if you are adding a personalized signature, make sure it matches the name in the “from” line.

3.    Content.

Triple check spelling and grammar. Yes, we should all know this one by now, but we still see plenty of misspellings in email copy and even subject lines.

Say something interesting. It’s hard to keep recipient’s engaged, and even good offers only go so far in terms of cutting through the inbox noise.  In addition to offers, make sure your content is compelling or gives recipients a reason to open your email, interact with it and come back for more.

4.    Images.

Think balance. While images can reinforce the message and add visual bling to your email, it is important to find a healthy balance of text and imagery.  Too many large images tend to send emails into Spam Heaven, and because many email clients suppress images upon delivery, your message needs to be clear with or without the graphics.  One other important phrase here: ALT text.  Don’t forget it!

Check it out. An important function of email quality assurance is testing your email in different operating systems, browsers, email clients, etc.  For example, a couple of months ago Gmail made a change that caused images and templates to break.  A search on Google revealed several companies including Alchemy Worx suggested adding the following to every image tag: style=”display:block” to correct the problem.  The important takeaway – until this past May, the images had always displayed correctly in Gmail so a consistent testing process is key.

5.    Links.

Kick those tires. Double, triple or quadruple check all of the links in your email.  From personal experience, especially if you recycle newsletter templates, check the footer and image links.  It is very easy to roll out new website pages or navigation, and forget those template links aren’t current when it comes time to launch the next email.

Let them opt-out. Not only is an unsubscribe link your legal responsibility, but also it is important that your unsubscribe link be prominent enough to be easily seen.  Most email service providers and marketing automation platforms add them automatically to the bottom of the email so there isn’t an issue.

We hope this list provides some helpful reminders about ways to keep your email marketing looking good and generating great delivery and response rates!

Earlier this week, Net-Results was a participant and sponsor at the BMA Colorado PARTEE on the Green.  Pun-errific name notwithstanding, the golf was a blast at the picturesque Arrowhead Golf Club, nestled in the foothills of the Rockies.  With a wide variety of golfing abilities and experience, everyone witnessed plenty of memorable shots, although a few might make the memory-bank for the wrong reason.  As one member of our foursome looked on at an exceptionally graceless shot, she mused that online marketing is a lot like golf – while practice might make perfect, it helps to have the right foundation from the beginning.

Think about it – her statement makes a lot of sense.  Even though many people hit the links regularly, with the intention of hitting ball after ball until they “get their swing right,” they may be reinforcing bad habits, inefficient techniques or worse!  Ultimately, after months or years of trying to improve their skills based on the do-it-yourself-golf model, many people will become frustrated with their lack of progress and quit.  Translate this scenario to online marketing – not pretty, is it?

At Net-Results, we want you to unleash both your inner rock star marketer and fantastic golfer. To that end, we’ve outlined a few components of a typical online marketing campaign and suggestions for when it’s time to visit the neighborhood pro…

1.    Website Redesign. While most of us are smart enough to know we need a pro to design our website, many people insist that their website isn’t ‘working’ due to poor design.  Before embarking on that 3rd redesign in 12 months, ask yourself, “What do you want your website to do?” and, “How are you quantifying success?”  Based on those answers, you might find the look and feel of your website isn’t the problem, but rather, your messaging or calls-to-action are vague or unclear.

2.    Search Engine Optimization.  We all want to rank number one on Google for that ultra-juicy, ego-stroking, best ever search phrase, right?  While it makes complete sense to focus on those high priority search terms, remember the more competitive the phrases, the more difficult it is to rank for them.  If you place all of your effort on 3-4 phrases, you might be missing some tremendous value in long tail keywords.  Be sure to do your homework and pick a mix of both high-value keywords along with some lower hanging, less competitive ones.

3.   Email Marketing.  In the good old days of 1998, you could pretty much send an email out to a list of marginal quality and anticipate double-digit open, click-thru rates and perhaps conversions.  Back then, email was relatively new and inboxes were gloriously uncluttered.  Sadly enough, those days are long gone and your email marketing strategy needs to reflect such changes.  Marketing automation software will allow you to send smarter, trigger-based email campaigns that demonstrate improved response rates, but just like any other marketing initiative, it must be part of a well-rounded strategy.

4.    Pay Per Click. Much like bullet point #2, in paid advertising, we all want that top spot on Google, Yahoo Search, etc.  Let’s be realistic though, because that top spot can cost a boatload of dough.  Moreover, PPC requires serious attention – it’s not like a “set it and forget it” Ron Popeil rotisserie oven.  What worked well one day may be a bust in two months.  With diligent campaign monitoring, you may find that the third position converts just as well as the first.  Or if you concatenate high-value search terms with geographical areas, your bids might be much less expensive but still provide plenty of conversions.

5.    Statistics and Metrics. Ever heard the question, “Why doesn’t my online marketing work?”  I like to respond, “Because it’s lazy.”  (No, not really!)  That question is first rooted in defining the word, “work.”  Understanding both the objectives of your marketing strategy and how you’ll measure success are critical.  While social media outreach could be measured by the number of followers, mentions or retweets, PPC might only be measured by total conversions.  Let me repeat, defining the objectives and then utilizing analytics/statistics to measure and track campaigns is a critical step.  After all, how can you share your successes if you don’t really know what a success is?

Online marketing encompasses so much more than monitoring and optimizing these 5 parts, but much like learning how to golf, you need to pick a starting point and decide how much you want to tackle on your own and what parts need the guidance and specialized services of a pro.

How’s your golf swing and online marketing looking this summer – crisp, long drives or shanking off the fairway?  Please comment below or send us a tweet.

Earlier today, I stepped outside to enjoy some fresh air and pester two of our developers about a few website changes when I noticed they were utterly transfixed by quite a ruckus in the nearby trees.  As I continued to stare, I couldn’t believe what I saw – 12 or more squirrels were chasing each other through the trees and they seemed…well…mad. Really mad, as in the Montagues and Capulets.

These squirrels were chattering, squeaking and flying through the air in what seemed to be a territory dispute.  Amused, we watched them for several minutes.   As I returned to my desk, I began to think about the improbability of watching a full-blown squirrel fight.  Cat fight?  Yes.  A bar fight.  Yep.  Squirrels though?  Not until today.

The whole hilarious (and dramatic) incident made me think about other things I have observed recently that seemed counterintuitive but valuable.  In no particular order, I wanted to share a few marketing truths that fit this category of ‘strange but true’:

1.    Long emails are Ok if the content is compelling. As a marketer, I like using bullet points and keeping it short and sweet.  Earlier this summer, I dug my heels in as a colleague proposed an email marketing campaign that I secretly (or not so secretly) dubbed the Sominex Special.  The email was at least 400 words, lacked bullets and seemed endless.  But we sent it because the content was direct and purposeful.  Guess what?  The click thru rate was an impressive 37%!  Lesson: if the content is great, people will read it and respond.

2.   Share the love. No, I don’t mean it in a dirty way.  The more I participate in forums, comment on Q&A, post answers, etc, I realize that almost all of our marketing automation competitors are using the same places to share expertise and promote themselves.  At times, LinkedIn Q&A can closely resemble a vendor comparison matrix.  But, marketing automation is relevant for companies of all sizes, and that translates to a pretty big pool, so there’s plenty of room for us all.  Lesson: A good attitude and good manners go a long way so play nice.

3.    You don’t need 140 characters to express yourself. About 18 months ago when I started Tweeting, I found the character limitations oppressive.  I would struggle to optimize every Tweet, ensure hash tags were perfectly placed, etc.  These days, if I need to share something socially, I try to keep it to the point and interesting…and 140 characters is plenty of room to accomplish that task. Lesson: don’t use 12 words if you can say it in 5.

4.    Old school marketing still has a place.  Yep, I said it.  Traditional marketing still has a place, and regardless of how much I love online marketing — event sponsorships, chamber of commerce events, speaking engagements, etc. still prove themselves as valuable ways to educate audiences, develop relationships and generate leads.  Lesson: don’t keep all of your marketing eggs in one online basket.

With these thoughts in mind, I think I’ll head outside and see if Squirrels Gone Wild Part II is playing.  Trust me, it’s a great show!  What truths have you seen in your own marketing efforts this summer?  Please comment or Tweet.