Online Reputation | inBlurbs Inbound Marketing Agency

April 6, 2023April 6, 2023

A viral e-book as a sales magnet

Viral e-Book – If you’re looking for a great way to drive more traffic to your website, generate more leads, and increase your sales, then creating and distributing free eBooks is a great way to do it.

Viral e-Book…

E-books, or electronic books, are HTML or PDF-based files that are distributed and presented in a downloadable file. This file does not require any special software installation and will open on your reader’s desktop simply by clicking on it.

E-books are fully interactive and can contain almost anything that a standard web page can contain, e.g., links, graphics, forms, JavaScript, and videos.

Creating an e-book to use as a viral marketing tool is a smart way to increase traffic, leads, and sales!

Viral e-Book…
E-books are great marketing tools.

Offering a high-quality free e-book on your website is a great way to get your visitors coming back to your website, thereby also keeping your products and services in the spotlight of your future customers. So they can buy from you as soon as you are ready.

This can be achieved by including links to more information on your website in your e-book and, in the process, providing your readers with special offers (for e-book readers).

The key to publishing an effective free ebook is choosing a topic that will be of interest to your prospective customers. Include multiple links to your website and your products or services in your e-book.

E-books are great marketing tools.
A viral e-book as a sales magnet - to generate more leads

Viral e-Book…
Increase the distribution of your e-book.

While giving your visitors your ebook for free to get repeat traffic is a good marketing strategy, it’s also a great strategy to allow your visitors to distribute your ebook.

If your ebook is good, here is an example of how powerful it can be:

10 of your visitors download your e-book.
These 10 visitors are giving away or distributing 3 e-books each, for a total of 30.
These 30 each give away/distribute three e-books – a total of 90
These 90 each give away/distribute three e-books, for a total of 270.
These 270 each give away/distribute three e-books – a total of 810
These 810 each give away/distribute three e-books – a total of 2430
7290 of these 2430 are giving away/distributing three e-books each.
…

A viral e-book as a sales magnet - to generate more leads

Ensure that your e-book can be freely distributed by your readers by telling them they are free to do so.

Here’s some sample text to include in your e-book to help its distribution go viral: “This e-book may be freely distributed, used as a free bonus that you may sell, included in membership sites and packages, and used as an incentive to attract new subscribers to your publication.”

The key to using this technique effectively is to create a quality e-book that contains information that will be of interest to your prospective customers—information that will absolutely delight your readers. Information that is of value to them, that they would even pay for, and that they absolutely want to get their hands on!

Please remember that you should not write a cheap little ebook of little or no value filled with ads and expect it to be successful. Your e-book MUST look good and professional, so good in fact that your readers would buy it, to be used as a viral marketing tool!

E-books can be powerful online tools for internet marketing and are predestined for viral marketing! By creating a small, high-quality e-book of in-demand information, you can create an ongoing promotional tool that will work for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for years to come. Your e-book can be viewed by millions of internet users simply by gifting it.

To **see it as a Flipbook** click here. To **download this eBook** click here.

If you also want a viral e-book as a sales magnet for your company, then talk to us!

March 5, 2014March 24, 2014

Conversion Case Study: How I Made $7115 From 85 Unique Visitors

Over the years, I’ve created and sold several “how to” information products online, but none have been as successful as The Million Dollar Case Study. Within days of launching the site I made $7115 from the first 85 unique visitors.

Since then, the site has continued to grow steadily. And I’m still amazed at the conversion statistics. Currently, the squeeze page converts at 67% and the video sales letter at 8.2%.

If you’re struggling to convert browsers into buyers, here’s the exact strategy I’m using. It works in any niche, but it’s particularly effective in competitive, popular niches like weight loss, make money online and relationship advice.

First Off, Your Product And Market Are Everything

Without a doubt, the #1 factor in my success so far is the product and market. The reality is, people in the “make money online” niche are ready and willing to spend money on products they like. Case studies are generally popular in most markets, but especially so in the internet marketing sphere.

If you have lots of traffic but very few conversions, I would take a good long look at your niche and product or service. Ask yourself honestly, “Are there enough interested buyers around?”

If you’re not sure, I highly recommend paying a visit to the ClickBank marketplace to find out. Simply find the category you’re involved in and see if there’s lots of products with a decent gravity (more than 20-30). If there are, you’re in a good niche; if not, that’s your basic problem.

Ignore The Crowd

The single most important factor in improving your conversion rate is your sales letter. If it works, you have a license to print money. If not, again, you’re fighting a losing battle.

The good news is, it’s very easy to get a sales letter or video to convert, but the key is to go against the grain. Most internet marketers copy each other and that simply doesn’t work anymore.

This is the simple process I use that works very well:

First off, I interrupt the same old, same old. Most people expect to hear a long boring sales pitch or a hyped up motivational success story. So I do the exact opposite. I get straight to the point and reveal exactly what my product does, and more importantly, who it can help and who it can’t.

I’m honest about my intentions. I have no idea why most marketers “hide” the sale until later in the sales funnel, when all you have to do is let people know that you’re in business to make money. Everyone knows that anyway, and it makes it a lot easier to ask for the sale.

Authority, customer advocacy and hope are my most powerful weapons. I’m not afraid to assert myself as a leader, let people know that I have their best interests at heart (because I actually do) and inspire them to take action.

My product is unique, different and interesting. If you’re just another “me too”, it’s very difficult to stand out in today’s marketplace. That’s why I created a case study; instead of teaching people how to make money online, like most people do, I’m just showing what works.

Finally, I use an ultimatum. This strategy is controversial, but it works. I force people to make a decision by giving them a deadline to buy. If they remain indecisive or on the fence when the time limit expires, I simply take them off my list.

The Real Money Is Made On The Back End

Membership sales have steadily grown since launching The Million Dollar Case Study, and it’s nice to have a regular, passive income, but the real profits come from coaching fees.

The truth is, your front end offer very rarely makes much money, especially if you’re paying for traffic. So the key is to offer a high ticket product or service on the back end to make up the difference.

As long as you’re providing genuine value to your customers, and you’re being open, upfront and honest about your expertise and how you can help them, it’s a fantastic way to earn a living.

One Other Thing – I’m Passionate About My Niche

I’m a firm believer in selling products and services you care about, that you’d personally buy yourself. If you’re not successful online, that’s something you should definitely think about.

In the past I’ve sold products in the weight loss and search engine optimization niches. They sold well, but it was always difficult to motivate myself during the tough times.

Once I started doing what I loved, and selling products and services I believed in, it made my job a lot easier. And besides, your customers can pick up on your enthusiasm, so I believe this is one of the most important factors in determining your conversion rate.

And That’s It

As you can see, it’s not hard. If target the right market and sell what people buy, that’s 90% of the battle. Of course, split testing different elements on your page is important (headline, sub headline, benefits, testimonials, the call to action button and so on), but at the end of the day, if no one wants your products or services, you’re fighting a losing battle.

About the author:

Marcus Maclean is the founder & CEO of The Million Dollar Case Study, a live, video case study detailing exactly how he’s building a brand new million dollar membership website from scratch. To watch the case study unfold.

He is also a professional launch jacker. Connect with Marcus Maclean on Facebook, LinkedIn and Google Plus.

January 14, 2014January 11, 2014

How Your Web Host Affects Search Engine Optimization

You’ve poured over all of the latest search engine optimization methods, you’ve put tons of work into your content, quality links, building authority within your niche and everything else that you’re supposed to do to make your way to the top of the rankings. For some reason, though, you aren’t getting the results that you expected. When you’re doing everything else right, chances are you’re getting held back by the web host of your site.

Site Speed Matters

Google and other search engine ranking algorithms put a heavy emphasis on how fast your site loads, according to WBS online. If you have a web host that simply doesn’t have the bandwidth to deliver sites to visitors as quickly as possible, you get a penalty in the search rankings. In addition, the bounce rate of your visitors increases, since many visitors are not going to wait long for your website to load when they have the entire Internet to explore. When you select your web host, look at their site uptime guarantees, as extended downtime does your search engine ranking no favors.

Your server location plays another factor in search engine optimization, primarily if you’re targeting your site at a completely different country than your server is located in, said blogger and entrepreneur John Chow. While putting your website on an overseas server may be appealing for legality reasons, it may cost you in search engine rankings if you’re trying to target customers in your domestic market. Look into the physical locations of any data center before you make a hosting decision.

A related problem with site uptime comes from how loaded down your server is. Virtual server hosting is an excellent optimal choice for many businesses, especially those starting out with smaller sites. But, if you load down your website with every script that looks interesting you’re going to take a performance hit. This may not make your site completely inaccessible, but it may stop key elements of your site from loading correctly.

Connecting via Content Delivery Networks

If you have an issue with large media files loading quickly, consider a content delivery network. A CDN is a system of distributed network servers that deliver webpages and content to a user. This is based on the geographical location of the user, the webpage’s origin and what the content delivery server is. Content delivery network providers focus on hosting large images, videos and other media that may overload a typical web hosting package. Instead of hoping that your web server has the bandwidth to handle your massive video trailers, use a content delivery network service to reduce your load times and increase the speed and delivery of your content.

The Value of Website Redirects

When you change a server script or otherwise alter the flow of your website, you may have URLs that no longer work within your linking structure. If these are older pages, it’s possible that they have good page rank and you don’t want to get rid of them completely. You want to use a 301 redirect to properly inform Google that the content has moved and the address that it has moved to.

Backup Everything

Once you have all of these effects in place, do not forget to back up all your hard work. A personal cloud storage base can keep your information secure. Online backup services like Sugarsync or JustCloud.com can sync all of your files and create automatic backups. According to a Sugarsync review, it’s compatible with PC, Mac, Linux and has mobile access. Assess your needs before choosing a cloud storage system. Reading reviews of different cloud providers can give you a better idea of what you might need.

About the author:

Richard Johnson is a veteran with over 8 years of service and multiple combat tours. He has multiple degrees in business and marketing from Arizona State University. Currently he is taking some time away from work to raise his kids and enjoy the outdoors.

August 14, 2013March 24, 2014

3 Most Common Mistakes People Make When Optimizing Their Sites

In the online world search engines are gods and we merely follow the rules they set for us, mortal beings. No matter how visited your site is, if it were to suddenly disappear from all search engines, that would strike a mortal wound in the heart of your success and your online prosperity will become a thing of the past.

The same is true for the other way around – if your site appears on the first page of a search engine, then you will definitely start getting more visitors and consequently your chance of improving your financial state will grow exponentially.

That’s why many people try to optimize their sites according the requirements of search engines. This process is known as SEO (search engine optimization) and is becoming significantly more complex as search algorithms develop and become more complicated. However, performing SEO means walking on a thin ice.

Search engines want to display only relevant and organic content and they hate it when people try to deceive them. You can easily bury your site if you get too many black points. There are three popular mistakes people tend to make when looking for a shortcut to the first page and we will explore them below.

#3. Spinning Articles

Article spinning is the process of writing the same article over and over again, but using different words. It’s an SEO technique that used to be more successful in the past but with the last few updates, search engines have started catching up to the deception. Realistically speaking, spinning articles means you are betting on quantity instead of quality. None of the articles are truly unique and original.

The problem is that search engines want to present new and fresh content and they abhor the use recycled texts. Of course, you can still hope to run a popular website and bet on quantity instead of quality but you can be sure that your hopes will never become reality.

What you need to do is use truly unique and original content. The more diverse it is, the better. After all, how much time readers spend on your site matters as well, and you can be sure that nobody would spend more than a few minutes on a site that has 500 almost identical articles.

#2. Keyword Bloating

The only thing worse than a poorly written, spun article, is a poorly written, spun article bloated with keywords. You can’t use the same word over and over again in the hopes that your site will rank better, because it won’t. If your content is bad, no matter how much you try to artificially inflate it won’t be beneficial. You’re hurting your site more than you are helping it rank. Keywords need to be used organically, naturally.

#1. Irrelevant Anchor Texts

It’s honestly surprising to me how people can get this one wrong but it happens more often than not. Using a good anchor text is crucial for your links. Anchor text is the name you give the clickable hyperlink text on your website. I’m sure you’ve read different texts on a variety of topics and you’ve seen “click here” on numerous occasions. “Click here” is your anchor text in this case and it’s a terrible one.

If you want to make people browse your site some more, you always need to create smart, original and engaging anchor texts. You want people to stay on your site as much as possible, not bore them to death and make them leave. Even if they like the content they’ve just read “click here for more” is hardly attractive, so the person is very likely to leave.

Those are the three most common ways in which people unintentionally deviate from the established rules. If you manage to avoid those mistakes, then you will be well on your way to the first page of search engines. Keep in mind that SEO is dynamic field what is true today might not be accurate tomorrow so don’t forget to keep an eye on changes and new updates.

Author Bio: Rose Finchley is keen on business, marketing and technology.

You can connect with Rose on LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google+

inbound marketing assessment us 42 Profitable Reasons to Consider Inbound Marketing Strategy for Business

August 1, 2013March 24, 2014

Is Content Marketing the New Home for PR Professionals?

The rapid growth of content marketing is increasing demand for PR professionals. As a result, many are asking what skills they need to capitalize on this industry trend.

For those of you that are unfamiliar, content marketing is the process of generating high-quality online content with the goal of building trust and community among your brand’s target audience, and to establish your brand as an industry thought leader.

A content marketer combines the investigative and content production skills traditionally held by journalists with the outreach skills and promotion skills of PR professionals. This is what Holly Regan of Software Advice recently referred to as the convergence of PR and journalism. This convergence is forcing PR specialists to expand their skill sets and implement new tactics.

In years past, PR professionals relied heavily on producing a press release, developing a pitch, and reaching out to big media outlets. However, the growth of digital content and content marketing has revolutionized how a PR professional can promote a product or brand. Nowadays, shares, tweets, “likes,” links and blog posts can actually be more effective than pitching a big media reporter. Using these digital media strategies allows PR professionals and content marketers directly reach their target audience.

Matt Braun, Director of Public Relations at Hanson Dodge Creative, says: “Organizations now use Twitter to break news versus a press release…and it’s forced people like me to use tools like Facebook, Twitter and blogs as vehicles by which we can get others to publicize products and clients.”

As more companies develop content marketing strategies, they will also need PR professionals who can do more than plan an event and pitch a reporter. These companies will need people who can effectively use search engine optimization (SEO) strategies, social media networks, Google Analytics, and email outreach to reach their target audiences.

Is the Growth in Content Marketing Driving Demand for PR Specialists?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of PR specialist and manager jobs rose by nearly 63 percent between 2000 and 2010, and is expected to rise another 21 percent between 2010 and 2020.

However, we wanted to find out how the growth in PR jobs compared to the rising trend of content marketing. To develop a more accurate picture we decided to search through New York City’s Craiglist page and look for the most common job titles in PR and content marketing. Here’s what we found:

Clearly demand for content marketers is growing. The question you should be asking yourself is how can a PR professional capitalize on this growing trend?

Five Tips for PR Specialists in the Age of Content Marketing

Here are five tips for PR specialists who are looking to capitalize on the growth of content marketing:

Reach your audience directly. The days of rocking out a press release, pitching a bid media report, and calling it a job well done are over. PR specialists must now learn how to directly speak to their target audience from digital platforms like blogs and social media networks.
Develop new skills. Nowadays, PR professionals need to know more than how plan an event and send out a press release. It is imperative that you diversify your arsenal by developing skills in disciplines like: SEO, graphic design and digital marketing.
Sing your own song. PR professionals are usually good storytellers. It is time for you to start using your expertise and skills to develop your own content strategies, such as social profiles and blogs.
Be ready for anything and everything. Real-time digital platforms like Twitter and Facebook, have forced PR professionals to be ready for anything at all times. That means you should have “post ready” materials ready to go before you reach out.
Think beyond the press release. In the past, many PR professionals relied on sending out a press release and pitching a big media reporter to generate high-quality coverage. With the rise of digital marketing, you now need to figure out new ways to engage your audience like, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, or blog.

PR professionals, if you plan to ride this wave of content marketing opportunity, make sure you skills and tactics are up-to-date.

About the author:

Ashley Verrill is a Market Analyst for research firm Software Advice. Her professional experience spans journalism, sales, advertising and SEO marketing. She’s a seasoned writer having produced copy for business journals, a sports magazine, daily deals advertising and industry blogs. She can be contacted at ashleyverrill[@]softwareadvice.com, or by calling 512-582-2314512-582-2314. LinkedIn – Twitter – Google +

inbound marketing assessment us Expert Video: How to Create Your Future Customer Engagement Strategy

May 8, 2013May 8, 2013

42 Profitable Reasons to Consider Inbound Marketing Strategy for Business

The proven and successful inbound marketing strategy is a great way to generate high quality leads.

Therefore inbound marketing is known as the “riskless” marketing strategy because of the activities done which are long lasting and bring an increasing stream of future customers to your offers.

Why is this inbound marketing such a great way to generate leads?

Inbound marketing offers you a strategic and smart approach to be and to stay several steps ahead of your competition.

Inbound marketing is the marketing strategy that focuses on getting found by customers when they research online for products and services your business also has to offer.

With inbound marketing businesses “earn” their way to the customer and his loyalty, by publishing helpful information on a blog, in social media and forums.

Inbound marketing includes: Content creation like blogging, video, photo, whitepapers, eBooks, podcasts, press releases, comments in social media and other blogs and forums, Social media two way communication, lead generation, lead conversion, lead nurturing and closed-loop analysis.

How can Inbound Marketing help you?

A. It saves you up to 62% of your marketing budget
B. Makes you stand out of your competition
C. Helps to generate a massive amount of leads
D. Gets you up to 55% higher lead conversion rates
E. Increases your customers and sales

Infographic: Inbound Marketing Rising

TOP 42 Reasons to Jumstart your Inbound Marketing NOW!

1. 60% of companies will execute an inbound marketing strategy in 2013.

2. Marketers dedicate 34% of their department budgets to inbound tactics, but only 11% to outbound.

3. 48% of marketers will increase spend on inbound marketing in 2013.

4. 34% of all leads generated in 2013 come from inbound marketing sources.

5. Inbound practices produce 54% more leads than traditional outbound leads.

6. 17% of marketers say traditional advertising and direct mail are less important than they were 6 months ago.

7. Traditional advertising and PPC deliver the least leads of any form of marketing.

8. Only 6% of marketing leads originate from advertising or PPC campaigns.

9. 34% of businesses cannot or don’t calculate overall inbound ROI in 2013.

10. Adopting a marketing/sales agreement saves companies with more than 200 employees $195.84 per new customer.

11. Only 24% of companies have a formal process for marketing/sales handoffs.

12. Companies who test are 75% more likely to show ROI for inbound marketing.

13. Inbound marketers double the average site conversion rate, from 6% to 12% total.

14. The average website conversion rate is 10%.

15. 81% of companies integrate inbound marketing with larger marketing goals.

16. Marketers spend 55% more of their time than their money on blogging.

17. 82% of marketers who blog on a daily basis have acquired a customer through blog content.

18. 57% of marketers who only blog once a month have acquired a customer through blogging.

19. Inbound marketers plan to hire an average of 9.3 people this year.

20. Only 18% of marketers are purely focused on developing quality content in 2013.

21. 25% of marketers cite reaching the right audience as their top priority for 2013.

22. Only 5% of marketers have no integration between inbound marketing and overall marketing goals.

23. 50% of marketers consider their companies primarily customer-focused.

24. 17% of sales teams and 11% of executives fully support inbound marketing efforts.

25. 73% of marketing agencies are implementing inbound strategies.

26. Only 41% of nonprofits report adopting inbound tactics for 2013.

27. Just 21% of enterprises assimilate inbound marketing with their overall marketing strategy.

28. 47% of CEOs and CMOs ignore formal marketing/sales agreement development.

29. Marketing is 125% more likely than sales to provide inbound resources.

30. Increasing total lead volume is the top priority for 21% of marketers.

31. Customers average a total of 9,100 leads after 1.5 years of inbound marketing.

32. 67% of marketers produced a blog last year.

33. Only 20% of marketers without a blog reported a positive ROI for 2012.

34. 27% of marketers report that both social media and email marketing produce the lowest total average lead costs.

35. 15% of marketers say SEO leads have the highest sales conversions.

36. Social media delivers 14% of all leads and 13% of all customers.

37. 52% of all marketers have found a customer via Facebook.

38. 43% of marketers have found a customer on LinkedIn.

39. 36% of marketers have found a customer on Twitter.

40. 41% of marketers have adjusted their budget due to the success of inbound marketing.

41. 41% of CEOs report inbound delivered measurable ROI.

42. Marketers with more than 15 blog posts per month average 1,200 leads per month.

Source: HubSpot 2013 State of Inbound Marketing Annual Report. FREE Executive Report on Inbound Tactics and Strategy – Insight from 3,339 Marketers

April 25, 2013March 24, 2014

5 Tips for Content that Crosses Cultural and Linguistic Borders

When creating content, it pays to think big. Publishing online gives us access to a readership that’s almost too large to imagine. Do it right and your words could be read by people in places you might never even have heard of.

While a global readership might seem like something most of us dream of, with a little know-how it’s something that you too can achieve.

Decide Who You Are Talking To

When you write for the web, you aren’t just pushing out content at random. You are engaging with others, convincing them to buy into your idea or product. With this in mind, it helps to know who you are trying to reach and which parts of the world you want to expand to.

For example, your ideal reader could be a female entrepreneur, or you might want to address a young music lover. Going global makes your pool of readers much larger, so your female entrepreneurs might include women in Brazil, and your music loving youth could be reading in East Asia.

Keeping a tight focus on your target demographic as you go global will let you reach more of the kind of people that interest you. It also helps your budget go further. Are you looking to connect with female entrepreneurs in South America but less so with similar women in China? Then make your content culturally and linguistically suited to the South American readers, instead of spending time and money trying to reach everyone.

Embrace the Multilingual Web

Forget the idea that everyone online speaks English. Although English is often used in the corporate world as a linguistic go-between, internet users are a far more diverse crowd. The web is also more informal and driven by social connections.

Even people in countries who have strong English skills as a second language will prefer to engage with others in their native tongue. In fact, a 2011 survey by the European Commission found that although 48% of non-English speaking Europeans occasionally read English-language content, 9 out of 10 users preferred to visit sites in their own language.

This makes translation of your content a priority. Make good use of your budget by first figuring out which languages need to be top of your list. In our South American example, Spanish and Portuguese would be essential for getting your message across. If Europe is your key market, you’re likely to find German or French better languages to start with.

Take Languages Seriously

If you don’t get serious about translation, your foreign-language readers won’t get serious about your content. They will be too busy laughing at your language slips, if they stick around at all.

We all know of corporate giants who managed to offend or became a laughing stock thanks to poorly-translated slogans. The rest of us needn’t think we will do any better. Unless you are genuinely bilingual and up to date with current usage, you will miss hidden meanings. It’s also easy to opt for what seems the right word choice, when in fact it means something entirely different (for example, in German the word Gift means poison).

Native speaker knowledge will make sure you don’t sound out of touch or leave readers confused. Accurate linguistic choices will also help your SEO by keeping your keywords relevant. Cutting corners here, on the other hand, could leave search engines as confused as your foreign-language readers.

Understand Cultural Differences

The 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals that while people worldwide are becoming less trusting of what they read, ‘a person like yourself’ has become the most trusted source of information. Your job is to be that trusted person to your reader, no matter where in the world he or she is.

Localization is an essential part of becoming ‘one of us’ in another culture. Using words and expressions that local people use makes your content more accessible. Being in touch with important cultural events or hot topics can be useful too. Of course, offending people is never a good idea and cultural knowledge also can guide us around dangerous topics or inappropriate language.

Show You Care

Now that you’ve opened up your content to overseas readers, make them feel welcome. Avoid anything that places your English speaking crowd above foreign-language speakers. For example, aim to respond to all comments, not just those in English. If you offer a way for people to contact you, make sure it doesn’t exclude certain time zones or languages. Showing you care about all your readers helps you to build a good online reputation.

Write with other cultures and languages in mind and you’ll be saying Wilkommen, bienvenido and yōkoso to international readers in no time!

About the author:

Christian Arno is the founder of Lingo24, Inc., one of the world’s fastest growing translation services. Launched in 2001, Lingo24, Inc. now has over 180 employees spanning three continents and clients in over sixty countries. In the past twelve months, they have translated over 60 million words for businesses in every industry sector, including the likes of MTV, World Bank and American Express. Follow Lingo24, Inc. on Twitter: @Lingo24. Cont@ct Christian here.

March 13, 2013March 24, 2014

How to Effectively Launch Your Business or Product in a Foreign Market

Have you set your sights on expanding your brand to overseas markets? In today’s global economy, going international is a smart move.

It’s also one that needs some careful planning to get the best return on your investment. Foreign markets involve not only different languages but different cultures. That sure-fire strategy for your home market won’t always win customers overseas. In fact, in this world of social media, getting it wrong can be a business disaster.

Let’s take a look at some things you can do to make your international launch a success – and what went wrong when others failed to pay them enough attention.

Look Before You Leap

There’s no such thing as too much research for an overseas marketing campaign. Your target demographic in a foreign market might appear similar to your home one, but could have very different buying habits. For example, in Russia 65% of consumer electronics were bought at a physical store, according to a 2012 Accenture study. Japan and China showed a similar preference. On the other hand, in Germany only 36% were purchased in this way.

The more research you can do into the habits and mindset of consumers in a particular country, the better informed you will be. On the other hand, even the best ideas can fall flat if the marketing campaign doesn’t appeal to your potential clients or customers. British supermarket giant Tesco discovered this when launching as ‘Fresh & Easy’ in the US. The supermarket spared no expense on a social media campaign, but failed to take into account the importance of TV, radio and print advertising. From the design of its stores, to its self-pay checkouts, the stores failed to meet American shoppers’ expectations.

Language Matters

Tesco’s example shows the difficulties that exist even with markets that share a common language. Bring a foreign language into the equation and overseas marketing can turn into a minefield.

The more care you give to the translation of your campaign, the better your chance of avoiding the dangers. Pay attention not only to translating the actual words but to phrasing them in ways that make sense to native speakers. Professional translators can help you to use appropriate idioms as well as find the right tone. Just as importantly, they can help you to sidestep slang or crude terms that wouldn’t be immediately obvious to an outsider.

Fail to spot these and you can end up with the same problem that Mazda had with the Laputa. The minivan’s name sounds like a term for a prostitute to speakers of Latin languages and had to be renamed in Chile. Clairol also ended up creating the wrong impression when launching its hair curling iron, the Mist Stick, in Germany. Not only does Mist mean manure, but when used with stick sounds like the insult “Miststück” (similar to ‘bitch’ and definitely not the best choice for a women’s product).

Cross the Cultural Divide

Culture is more than religion or festivals, it’s a whole way of living. It can influence everything from product branding to the formality of language used in marketing. The greater the cultural differences between your target country and your home country, the more carefully you will need to adapt your campaign. Those who neglect to do this risk coming across as insensitive or ignorant. It only takes a single cultural faux pas to undo months of good work, destroying trust in your business.

Most of us know that certain animals hold religious taboos, or that some hand gestures change their meaning from one country to another. Other cultural symbolism can be less obvious, such as the associations with certain numbers or colors. Take time to find these out beforehand if you don’t want a marketing disaster on your hands. This is exactly what happened to Pepsi in Southeast Asia when they rebranded their dark blue vending machines. The pale blue they chose was associated in the region with death, with the unfortunate result that their regional sales died too.

A Tourism Australia campaign is a good example illustrating the fine line between what’s culturally acceptable and what isn’t. Its tagline, ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’ combined with beer references hit the wrong note in several countries. The down-to-earth Australian hospitality they thought they were offering to overseas tourists came over as boorish and hard drinking.

There’s simply no substitute for local knowledge when launching in a foreign market. Even though some of the biggest companies have found this out the hard way, you don’t have to follow in their footsteps. Instead, arm yourself with the benefit of research and insider knowledge and you’ll be well-prepared to win friends and customers worldwide.

About the author:

Christian Arno is the founder of Lingo24, Inc., one of the world’s fastest growing translation services. Launched in 2001, Lingo24 now has over 180 employees spanning four continents and clients in over sixty countries. In the past twelve months, they have translated over 60 million words for businesses in every industry sector, including the likes of MTV, World Bank and American Express. Follow Christian on Twitter: @l24ca. Cont@ct Christian here.

March 8, 2013March 22, 2013

5 Smart Ways to Build a Content Machine and Increase Revenue by up to 40%

Did you asked yourself what future customers will find when they research your industry for products and services you also have to offer, will they find you or your competitor?

Millions of businesses competing for paying customers and it have become a difficult task for most of them to stand out of the crowd and to make future customers aware about their offers.

Content and social media have become successful ways to get attention from future buyers.

On the web you are what you publish… What are you?

–David Meerman Scott

Original content builds you trust, customer loyalty and can position your business as trusted experts in your field.

Content marketing has established as a powerful way to engage customers. An increasing number of B2C and B2B marketer are faced with the challenge to produce and publish buyer persona oriented interesting and remarkable content to attract customers to their products and services.

There is no question content is king! And Remarkable and helpful content brings customers and business direct to your front door the smart and cost effective way, this is for sure!

New studies show that companies utilizing the content marketing strategy in a serious manor report an up to 2,000% lift in blog traffic and 40% boost in revenue!

Infographic: A Brief History of Content Marketing

Moreover remarkable and helpful content is also a great way to build trust and customer loyalty. It offers the so called value ad for customers.

An open minded communication culture and authenticity mixed with credibility beats any old school – yesteryear nonsense marketing and saves your business a truckload of marketing cash!

The great success of content marketing is the result of giving away valuable information – remarkable content for free to attract the RIGHT people to your business like a magnet in an ongoing and steady growing stream.

Content marketing works 100% for any industry and business!

Content marketing can also work for you to attract new customers to your business like a magnet is you are willing to do it right!

The best way to start content marketing for business is to start a corporate blog.

But how and where to get the ideas to write remarkable blog articles who drive visitors to your business?

Here are five ways you should use to get blog content ideas:

1. Set up Google Alerts with your industry keywords
2. Search Blog Directories for your industries topics
3. Subscribe to other industry related blogs and on articles there
4. Go through your customers email communication, especially service, product and support questions
5. Participate in industry related social media groups and forums

These five points will bring you a ton of content ides to write helpful articles for your recent and future customers.

And yes, this is additional work but it is worth every minute you invest in your content marketing.

By taking this challenge you can expect these advantages for your business:

– Blogging companies get up to 55% more Traffic
– Blogging companies get up to 97% more Inbound Links
– Blogging companies get up to 434% more indexed pages in search engines
– Blogging companies get up to 25x times more business leads

…and more LEADS mean more revenue! It’s up on you.

January 30, 2013February 4, 2013

Why Everybody Loves Infographics

What exactly are infographics?

Infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly.

Infographics can improve cognition by utilizing graphics to enhance the human visual system’s ability to see patterns and trends and this is what made them a powerful marketing tool for businesses.

Infographics are shared on the web, Twitter and Facebook more often than other content online.

Infographics are easy to understand, to consume and to share. On Twitter, LinkedIn und StumbleUpon Infographics get more retweets than other content.

Marketers love Infographics because they offer an easy and powerful viral marketing tool to spread the word about the company’s products and services.

B2C and B2B also love infographics as they explain sophisticated facts in a very easy understandable way.

“A picture is worth a thousand words”

The most popular Infographics are about business with about 12.7%, technology with about 10% and social media with about 9%.

As infographics are able to explain sophisticated topics in an easy way they are very popular for technology.

Infographic: The State of Infographics

What are your experiences with infographics? Tell me in the comment box below.

December 5, 2012

On the web you are what you publish… What are you?

Content and social media have become successful ways to get attention from future buyers.

Content creation, marketing and content distribution in social media are proven ways to make interested people aware of your business.

Millions of businesses competing for paying customers and it have become a difficult task for most of them to stand out of the crowd and to make future customers aware about their offers.

When people want to buy products and services they turn to the web, to search engines like Google, Yahoo, social media and their friends and relatives to get information and recommendations about products and services.

Original content builds you trust, customer loyalty and can position your business as trusted experts in your field. It offers the so called value ad for customers

By publishing interesting and remarkable content other blogs, news sites and content curators will link to you which increases your Page Rank and improves your search engine visibility also!

So when you publish expert content on the web you will be recognized as an expert in your field.

On the web you are what you publish… Think a minute what do you publish on the web and in social media? … Exactly! That’s what you are on the web!

If you miss the opportunity which content marketing offers to you, your business will vanish in the dust.

The best way to start content marketing for business is to start a corporate blog.

Recent and future customers can interact this way with your business. You show expertise and offer valuable information to solve your audience’s problems. This gains trust.

Blogging has great advantages and here are the most important:

1. Blogging companies get up to 55% more Traffic
2. Blogging companies get up to 97% more Inbound Links
3. Blogging companies get up to 434% more indexed pages in search engines
4. Blogging companies get up to 25x times more business leads

A seriously executed content marketing strategy can be responsible for 25x times more business leads and boosts your revenue by up to 40%!

November 6, 2012March 24, 2014

Can LIFE + BUSINESS COACHES survive in these economic climes ?

Life + Business Coaches are a dime a dozen on the Internet. Times are tough globally. The economic meltdown is a reality for many.

Many companies are tightening their belts + Coaches are a luxury to maintain + engage. Many organizations are in ‘rethink’ mode

I wonder –

· How many Life + Business Coaches are really bringing in the business + putting food on the table in the present economic climate ?
· Are people as likely to solicit the services of a Life or Business Coach at this time ?
· Are Life + Business Coaches an essential service in these economic times ?

Choosing NOT to be a preacher of doom + gloom is a tough act to follow right now –

· We are living in a fragile world
· No one knows what’s around the next corner – war, strikes, killings, violence, business closures, job losses, home foreclosures, a time of uncertainty + fear ?
· What are the answers really – where does one run to in a time of strife, chaos + not knowing ?

I would say this is the perfect time for People + Business to solicit the service of Life + Business Coaches, but at the right price of course !

Having said that, Coaches need to take a long hard look at their marketing etc costs + how best to serve their Clients in the most cost effective way ?

So what are the answers ?

1. ‘GOING GREEN’ – Moving away from hosting live ‘face to face’ Workshops/Training/Coaching at specific venues + hosting meetings online
· With the advent of web conferencing, coaching can now be done 100% online from the ‘home office’ to easily reach a worldwide audience of potential + existing clients
· Going this route, they save on time, energy, airfares, venues, hotel accommodation – ultimately saving money themselves, which they can pass on to their clients

Life + Business Coaches need to –

2. Really up their game in terms of the marketing tools they use to attract, capture + maintain new Clients ?
3. Have Hope for a successful Career + Business, to enable Thriving + Surviving in this global economy
4. Explore all other positive cost cutting possibilities for themselves + their Business + to pass this on to their Clients
5. Get really Specific in their marketing approach
6. Think hard about speaking Generically to everyone, as trying to appeal to everyone doesn’t cut it anymore
7. Be highly Targeted in their marketing to people with problems

So where are things headed ?
· MOBILE + VIDEO + Marketing on the Social networking sites – It’s that simple !

Doing the ‘green thing’ + integrating a Video communications suite, such as Video Email and Video Conferencing/Webinars is highly recommended + can be accessed on most Pads, Android + select Smartphones

Facts :
· Google loves Video !
· Cisco predict there will be a 10 fold increase in the use of Video over the next 5 years
· Internet Video traffic is now 40% of consumer internet
· People retain 10% of what they hear, but 50% of what they see
· Video is the single, most effective form of communication
· Additional creative marketing platforms are constantly being sought
· ‘Old school’ marketing is no longer effective

Heather de Wit considers herself to be an ‘out of the box’ thinker and is happy to share her knowledge on the merits of utilising Video Email and Conferencing/Webinars. Her experience as a sole Entrepreneur for over 20 years spans marketing, advertising and PR. She enjoys creative writing, singing at functions and is a self-taught artist.

Get in touch with heather :

Facebook
LinkedIn
SKYPE : heather.de.wit
Mobile +27824907143+27824907143
EMail: heather@boundless-activities.net

October 16, 2012

The Debate Results: Will Technology Kill the Call Center?

Last month, I told you about an upcoming online debate called: “Will Technology Kill the Call Center?”

Research firm Software Advice moderated the event earlier this month with a panel of call center and customer service technology experts from IntelliResponse, Drumbi, Avaya Inc. and Etech Global Services.

The 45-minute discussion was hosted in a Google+ Hangout where the panel answered a list of scripted questions before fielding queries from the digital audience of 40. The group talked about trends in customer contact channel utilization, technology and the future call center.

The speakers offered advice for consumer contact strategy and ways companies can prepare for the future.

The speakers agreed first of all that customer contact channel utilization for non-traditional channels – such as virtual agents – is growing. This is primarily the result of better technology that can finally deliver on the promises from six years ago. So customers are now empowered with a choice of how they want to contact you. But this doesn’t mean they are using these contact avenues instead of phone – it just means by the time they get there they are likely at a critical point.

“The company needs to be smarter when they get there,” Avaya Director of Customer Experience Management Laura Basset said. This means knowing whether the customer interacted with self service, and what they looked at. Did they ask a question to a virtual agent? Did they log into their online account?

Ultimately, the debate ended with the agreement that the call center won’t disappear because of technology – it’s already gone. The reborn contact center is a different environment where agents are increasingly expected to handle interactions from myriad channels. This will continue to change the skill set and expectations from these facilities. Watch for more changes to come, they warned.

Click here to watch the entire recording.

About the author:

Ashley Furness is a Market Analyst for research firm Software Advice. Her professional experience spans journalism, sales, advertising and SEO marketing. She’s a seasoned writer having produced copy for business journals, a sports magazine, daily deals advertising and industry blogs. She can be contacted at Ashleyfurness[@]softwareadvice.com, or by calling 512-582-2314. LinkedIn – Twitter – Google +

October 9, 2012

How Content Marketing helps to generate up to 40% more Revenue

Millions of businesses competing for paying customers and it have become a difficult task for most of them to stand out of the crowd and to make future customers aware about their offers.

The customer chooses by himself through research on search engines like Google, with the help of friends, relatives and his social networks which product to buy and which not.

Did you asked yourself what future customers will find when they research your industry for products and services you also have to offer, will they find you or your competitor?

How many people hit your site and how many business leads do generate daily?

Businesses who publish and share content on the web do not only increase the number of “digital outpost” but moreover increase their visibility and build trust with the future customers. Trust is the main motivation to buy. When your audience trusts you, then you they are willing to do business with you.

Actually the best way to increase visibility is content marketing. With content marketing businesses demonstrate thought leadership; prove themselves Trustworthy and Boosts SEO by increase Backlinks to their website.

Remarkable and helpful content is also a great to build customer loyalty. It offers the so called value ad for customers

A seriously executed content marketing strategy can be responsible for 25x times more business leads and boosts your revenue by up to 40%!

With great content you position your business and the people of your business who create the content as trusted experts in your field. Content Marketing is great to build your online reputation.

Here are some marketing tips you can use right away.

Give away free content

Give away free content in form of a corporate blog where you write about topics your audience is most interested in. You can get great ideas for blog articles when you go through email and support requests. This will give you a ton of possible blog article topics.

You can also take a camera and explain a task, for example how to use one of your machines and what to take care of. Or you can use photos and testimonials of satisfied customers and publish them too.

You need to invest time/ money to produce content

To find the time to produce remarkable content is the most common problem business face. But as you need to spend time for your business you also need to understand that marketing and content creation is an important part of your lead generation. Therefore you need to set time free to produce remarkable content which will attract new customers to your business.

No matter if you do it by your own or you hire an Inbound Marketing Agency, content marketing is not free. You have the choice, do you want to invest your time or do you want to set a marketing budget and hire a professional Inbound Marketing Agency.

Give away GREAT content

Great content is valuable. It is worth reading and sharing it. Therefore you need to be specific with information which should benefit your future customers. Don’t be afraid to give away “secrets” because this kind of content attracts the most people. And be the end you are the professionals and the future customer will turn to you when he is ready to buy.

September 25, 2012March 24, 2014

Will Technology Kill the Call Center?

Customers love instant gratification of call-in service. Until recently, that’s what phone service got them.

But these days the majority of people have tired of extended holding, automated prompts, unhelpful agents and getting lost in a sea of transfers. Couple this with new technologies for better, faster self-service and you’ve got a change a brewing in the consumer support industry.

Later this month, I will host a Software Advice live debate on this topic called, “Will Technology Kill the Call Center?” The event will begin at 1 p.m. Central on September 27 in a Google+ Hangout. To watch the event and chime in with your own questions, visit my Google+ page that day and comment in the feed. Add me to your circle on Google+ and I’ll send you an event reminder.

I will run the event similar to a political debate. A panel of four experts will answer a set of questions one by one, with opportunities for a rebuttal after each response. I will also close with a few questions from the audience, collected via comments in the feed on my Google+ page. To watch, just go to my profile page and click the round play button in the “Hangouts” box.

Here’s a list of the speakers:

Jim Iyoob is the senior vice president of global development for Etech Global Services. He has more than 15 years contact center outsourcing experience in domestic and offshore inbound, outbound, and live chat operations.

Shervin Talieh is the founder and CEO of Drumbi–a technology startup focused on mobile and social customer service. Drumbi leverages voice and data synchronization to streamline call routing and phone customer service. Previously, he also served in leadership positions for Goldeneye Solutions and Accenture.

Laura Bassett is the director of customer experience management and emerging technologies for Avaya Inc. Avaya designs, builds and manages business communications applications for more than one million businesses worldwide, including more than 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500 companies.

Mike Hennessy is vice president of marketing for IntelliResponse. His company provides “Virtual Agents” and other customer self-service offerings. Previously, he worked for Truition and as a communications consultant for Amazon.com, Dell, The Royal Bank of Canada, Hewlett-Packard, and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.

See you there!

About the author:

Viral e-Book…

Viral e-Book…E-books are great marketing tools.

Viral e-Book…Increase the distribution of your e-book.

Site Speed Matters

Connecting via Content Delivery Networks

The Value of Website Redirects

Backup Everything

#3. Spinning Articles

#2. Keyword Bloating

#1. Irrelevant Anchor Texts

Is the Growth in Content Marketing Driving Demand for PR Specialists?

Five Tips for PR Specialists in the Age of Content Marketing

Infographic: Inbound Marketing Rising

TOP 42 Reasons to Jumstart your Inbound Marketing NOW!

Decide Who You Are Talking To

Embrace the Multilingual Web

Take Languages Seriously

Understand Cultural Differences

Show You Care

Look Before You Leap

Language Matters

Cross the Cultural Divide

Infographic: A Brief History of Content Marketing

Here are five ways you should use to get blog content ideas:

By taking this challenge you can expect these advantages for your business:

Infographic: The State of Infographics

Here are some marketing tips you can use right away.

Give away free content

You need to invest time/ money to produce content

Give away GREAT content

Viral e-Book…
E-books are great marketing tools.

Viral e-Book…
Increase the distribution of your e-book.