Using Free Autoresponders

If you’ve looked at the prices of autoresponders that are available online, you may have decided to search for and use a free autoresponder for your marketing needs. Using free autoresponders is acceptable in certain situations, and in the world of Internet marketing, any autoresponder is better than not using an autoresponder at all!

Your first option for a free autoresponder should be the one that comes with your webhosting account – if you have a webhosting account. The…

Keywords:
internet marketing,email marketing,list marketing,autoresponder marketing,online business,Optin list

If you’ve looked at the prices of autoresponders that are available online, you may have decided to search for and use a free autoresponder for your marketing needs. Using free autoresponders is acceptable in certain situations, and in the world of Internet marketing, any autoresponder is better than not using an autoresponder at all!

Your first option for a free autoresponder should be the one that comes with your webhosting account – if you have a webhosting account. These autoresponders can easily be set up through the control panel of your website, and they do not contain advertisements from the autoresponder company or webhosting service. If you do not have a hosting account, or your hosting account does not include autoresponders, there are other options that you can pursue.

There are many free autoresponder services to choose from. These services are free, because the company makes their money by placing a small advertisement in each message that your autoresponder sends out. These advertisements may appear at the top of your auto responses, or at the bottom, depending on which company you use.

Many paid autoresponder services offer a free version as well. These free versions may or may not include advertisements in the outgoing messages. These lighter versions of the paid autoresponders typically do not include many of the powerful features of the paid versions. But if you don’t need the more advanced features, this is a great choice.

Most free autoresponders have a limit on the number of subscribers you can have. Many people start out with the limited free versions, and then upgrade to the paid versions once their lists are large enough to exceed those limits. Many marketers don’t feel that the expense of the autoresponder is warranted until the list that they are building is turning a profit. From a business standpoint, this makes sense.

As the owner of a business, you are the only one who can decide whether you need a paid autoresponder service, or if a free one will do the job. If your list is small, a free autoresponder should do everything that you need it to do, but as your list grows, you should definitely consider upgrading. However, having the small advertisements that the free services place in the outgoing messages may present a problem if the ads compete with what you are trying to sell. They may even pose a problem if they do not directly compete with your product or business. Again, this depends on what you are trying to accomplish with your autoresponder.

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Trade Show Booth Staff Training Essential

Learn how to motivate your trade show staff to increase your sales.

Keywords:
Trade show display, trade show exhibit, trade show booth, trade show graphic, trade show rental island booth,

Never underestimate the importance of your trade show booth staff.
They are your front line ambassadors and the critical links to your overall trade show success. It makes sense that if you want to have a positive experience at your trade show display, you need to pay attention to all the elements of trade show exhibiting. By putting a premium on grooming and training your trade show booth staff, you can rest easy they will be performing at their best.

The first step in your company’s trade show venture, then, is to recognize the importance of the trade show booth personnel. The second step is to invest in the training of your booth people.

To launch this process, make sure you get executive “buy in”. If top management respects and values their trade show team, then face- to- face training skills become effective. Remember the key value of exhibiting at the trade show is to engage real people about real products/services in real time. A typical company representative can often hold meaningful conversations with about 3 or 4 people in a Ѕ hour at a trade show as opposed to spending an entire day in the conventional field selling process.

Not only are the number of prospect contacts at trade show increased, but the entire sales cycle can also be sped up as well. Trade show display training helps fine tune this process, making it a positive experience for prospects and your staff. What is the logical end benefit? A boost in sales productivity is more likely to follow. On the other hand, untrained booth staff can trigger negative reactions and turn prospects away.

According to Matt Hill, a trade show trainer and president of The Hill Group, in San Jose, California, “The finishing touches of booth staff training usually take place at a pre -show meeting either the night before the trade show begins or early in the morning of the first day of the show. The training covers all those fundamentals that a lot of people don’t understand or don’t think to do.”

He says that research shows you must engage the person within 15 to 20 seconds of their presence at your trade show booth or lose them. What attracts people to the trade show booth is a friendly staff in addition to alluring exhibit elements such as sound, motion, and color. Your staff generates excitement by being enthusiastic and helpful. If one staff person cannot respond to a visitor’s inquiry, that staff member is trained to escort the visitor over to another staff person who has the answers and can be of help,” he adds.

Hill has conducted trade show training for many companies for shows around the world and closeby to home at the Henry J Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland, to Moscone Center in San Francisco to Convention Centers in Santa Clara and San Jose. He has trained Silicon Valley companies headquartered in Cupertino, Mipitas, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, San Jose and beyond to Sacramento and throughout Northern California.

With regard to the nuances of booth staff training, Hill says, “A lot of technical people never thought their jobs involved anything but answering questions or talking to each other. We get them to look at the strategy of the trade show. The basic strategy of going to a trade show is to get face time with people who might become customers. It’s really quite that clean and simple.”

Some booth staff behaviors to avoid include: talking to other booth members when they should be engaging prospects, talking rather than listening to booth visitors and making social mistakes that turn customers away such as chewing gum, avoiding eye contact, sitting rather than standing, etc.

Even when training is done properly, keeping the momentum going over 3 days of a trade show is a challenge, so here are some things for the trade show exhibit manager to consider to keep their trade show display staff motivated:

Give them the confidence to successfully understand and manage visitors by using sound training techniques

Give the staff constant feedback during the show. Give them a specific goal and tell them exactly where they are in reaching that goal.

Listen to their feedback – make them feel like an integral part of the show and that they are truly making a difference. Ask them what they like about the booth and what they would change.

Give the trade show display staff a say in what is going on

Give them incentives for a job well done

And provide lots of water to keep them hydrated

A clever incentive offered by Matt Hill is a $2 dollar bill given out when he sees someone doing something right. It is a real morale booster and even the CEO of a company who gets a $2 dollar bill gets a big kick from it. Hill specially orders the bills from the bank and hands them out to booth staff people who are asking the right questions of visitors or who do their work with style, enthusiasm and, of course, good boothmanship.

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Learn from the Olympics How to Organize your Events: Part 2 of 3 – Planning a Profitable Event

This article discusses how we can use sponsors to increase our event budgets and how we can identify and plan towards event objectives.

Keywords:
Event Planning, Event Management, Tickets, Winter Olympics, Sponsors, Objectives, Strategy

In the first part of this series, we looked at the logistics of an event, both the logistics of fans getting to the event, and the internal logistics allowing fans to move from one item of interest to another. This time we will look at how to ensure that our event is profitable.

The Olympics are a fun example of trying to put on the best show that the world has ever seen and still turning a profit. Every two years, usually about a month before the games, there will be newspaper articles about how far over budget and behind schedule the ticket sales the Olympic Games are. Fortunately, most of our events are not judged by the same standards that the Olympics are held to, but they do have evaluation criteria. One common feature of all events is that they have both a budget and an objective. The size of the budget and the scope of the objectives differ drastically, but that does not make them any more or less important to the person planning the event.

The 2002 Winter Olympics were a good example of working hard to stay on budget. At the time of the Olympic Bid Scandal, the Winter Games looked like they were destined to be far over the prescribed budget. As they turned the corner, under the leadership of Mitt Romney, one of the things that helped them was to bring large silent sponsors in to the events. Most of the large profile sponsorships for the Olympics are predetermined (Delta, Visa, Coca-Cola, etc) leaving little room to go out and recruit additional sponsors with the lure of advertising space and publicity. They were still able to find organizations to help foot the bill and keep the games within their budget. Organizations like Marker, NuSkin, and the Eccles Foundation donated money, products, and services to help the games. These companies did not end up with Television commercial spots, but Marker had a label on the uniform of every volunteer and NuSkin distributed sunscreen and other toiletries to thousands of people who attended the events. This created a tremendous amount of goodwill for these organizations.

Staying within a budget is a problem that most people have. There always seems to be more to do than resources with which to do it. Like the Olympics, most of our events would benefit from contributions from sponsors. This can be as simple as having a local business pay to print your tickets in exchange for an advertisement on the back of each ticket, or having local restaurants donate pies for a pie eating contest. The more creative you get, the more possibilities you will be able identify to add an additional boost to your budget.

The Olympic Games have more objectives than most of us would be able to keep straight. From fostering world peace to bolstering the local economy, to creating an atmosphere conducive to the athletes breaking as many world records as possible, everyone has their own metric by which they judge the Olympics. In general, the Olympics do a good job planning the locations of the venues to benefit the athletes and the logos and displays to benefit the visitors from the different nations in attendance. They also are pretty consistent with helping the economy of the local community.

Most of us are lucky in that we do not have as many objectives behind our events. The majority of event planners, however, never stop to consider all of the different objectives that their event may have. It is usually a good idea to take some time and think of all of the stake holders in the event. This includes the organizations that are hosting the event, the participants and performers, and attendees of the event. Once you have listed everyone who is involved, try and think of why they are involved. What is their motivation? As you start to answer these questions you will develop a fairly complete list of the objectives of your event. It is then a good idea to prioritize them in such a way that you spend most of your time meeting the objectives that will make the most difference to the outcome of your event.

Taking the extra time to find sponsors to help you with your budget and to identify the objectives of your event will help make your event a success. You will be surprised at how easy it can be to identify the little things that will make a difference as you begin to plan your event.

Next: Managing your Event

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You’ve Got Nothing To Lose In MLM Home Business!

Home business MLM has never been easier these days. With the emergence of electronic tools and other gadgetry, coupled with the Internet, your task has been chopped down in half.

Nothing can beat the business or opportunity that MLM home business can give.

Besides, how do you beat working at home in your blue jeans, never going to an office, and making more money than the people you might have worked for?

Once an MLM business is established and well under way, a typi…

Keywords:

Home business MLM has never been easier these days. With the emergence of electronic tools and other gadgetry, coupled with the Internet, your task has been chopped down in half.

Nothing can beat the business or opportunity that MLM home business can give.

Besides, how do you beat working at home in your blue jeans, never going to an office, and making more money than the people you might have worked for?

Once an MLM business is established and well under way, a typical week might take 3 to 5 hours of some form of enjoyable work to keep your network running smoothly. That’s it. Your working day is finished.

It does not take a rocket scientist to make a network work. There are also no magic bullets, books, software, devices, meetings, and tapes that can make it any harder or easier.

Many years ago, just the thought of MLM affiliate programs, franchises and home businesses are enough to scare people off.

The reason? All the extra hours that people have to put in to make things happen.

There are also those MLM home business programs that say they are the best. Only to turn out bankrupt in an instant. This and other reasons of the same kind have marked MLM as phony and the people behind, not to be trusted.

If these people only had to think for a while, they would have realized that there is no such thing as best program and best company. The concept of being the “best” is depending on the characteristics inherent that is shown and is approved by others.

Reading, studying and learning about MLM home business is the most effective way. Then it would be now up to the marketer to think how he or she can input those learnings in his own MLM home business.

In order to build your MLM home business, you need to understand one simple aspect. It is a business and definitely not a hobby. Also remember that nothing is free.

So it is best to understand up front that you are going to spend some time and money. That simple.

Understand also that things being offered for free are not likely to be useful and effective. If things are free then you probably will get free stuff that would not work.

Find a product or service that you really like. Join a company that sells just that. Then build your own MLM home business using a system that can work using the internet.

If this is like the other types of business, you will need the necessary business skills to run their new venture to ensure its success.

However, an MLM home business marketer needs no special skills to run their multi-level system. Any skill a network marketer may need, they can learn while running their MLM home business based from their marketing plan.

MLM home business is a smart business sense for anyone wishing to start a home-based trade.

There are many benefits to MLM home business. It cost next to nothing to get started, you get a proven system like that of a franchise opportunity and you can be in profit in months rather than in years.

Therefore, if you desire more income while still working a 9 to 5 job, or to build your retirement income then should seriously consider MLM home business as your vehicle for you and your family’s financial well being.

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Utilizing Online Printing Service

One has the fastest change in technology is in printing industry. No doubts that there are many printing companies are competing to each other.

Keywords:
print online

Well, talking about advancement in technology, it is true that there are many new technologies have come out or shall I say became known. Due to this innovation or through the fast change in our technology there are many old technologies are also becoming obsolete. Old model technologies are fastly phasing out. Today our technologies are becoming faster with its service and better with its production.

One has the fastest change in technology is in printing industry. No doubts that there are many printing companies are competing to each other. Most of these printing companies have their own advance printing technology and services that can offer you. The choice is yours. It’s up to you which company you will entrust your printing projects.

Due to the advancement, more printing companies are using the service of the internet to be able to connect to their clients fast. The internet opens more options especially in terms of providing printing services. Online printing is perfect for any business with publishing needs. With today’s cutting edge technology, it is easier and more efficient than ever to produce high quality documents that reflect the class and integrity of your business establishment. Given the widespread use and utility of business printing services, it is important to look for unequaled, complete online printing options.

One of the reasons behind of this fast popularity of online printing is the fast start of broadband, but uploading a batch of prints at modem speed can be impossibly slow, whereas with a good internet service provider the process can be much speedier.

Online printing services are really providing a huge service for the business and professional world. Not only do they offer great prices on all kinds of printing, but a good number also provide excellent customer service and websites that list all of their prices. Some online printers offer free shipping as well, so you don’t have to worry about that.

Wasting a lot of time waiting for your printing project to be done in a printing shop is over. Printing your promotional items, company paper and other business documents is easy as reaching your pc. Print online is a one stop shop and a place cards print online for all your printing projects with state of the art equipment, digital print online and experienced staff to accommodate all your printing needs.

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How To Create A Successful Business Plan

I am often asked the same two questions. Do I need a business plan? What should I include in my business plan? I am going to answer these questions when writing this article.

Keywords:
business plan, formulate, loans, credit, professional, successful, financial, figures

I am often asked the same two questions. Do I need a business plan? What should I include in my business plan? I am going to answer these questions when writing this article.

Do I require a business plan?

For most businesses the answer to this question would be yes. For the majority of new businesses and ones which require investment by way of a loan or a business partner, a business plan is a must. Any potential investor will want to see for example, your future growth projections before they commit to invest.

This is the type of business which does not require a business plan:

A business which is happy to stay as it is and which has no plans to expand.

A business which never has a need to take out a loan.

A business which is a one man band and is self-sufficient, without the need of any outside help.

This type of business is rare. Most businesses therefore will require a business plan.

It is one thing being aware of your need to formulate a business plan, the problem is most people have no idea of how to go about creating one.

The business plan will aim to show its readers all about your aims for your business and how you are going to reach these targets. You need to have a strategy firmly in place before even attempting to write the plan. You should know the direction you are going to take, the investments you are going to make in staff, equipment and machinery. You need to have business goals and an idea of when each target is likely to be met.

In most cases a business plan is used to try to attract people to invest into your idea and business. It is your sales copy in effect and therefore if you create a professional, well laid out and strong business plan, people are more likely to take you seriously and to invest.

On the other hand if it is rushed, poorly written and basically a weak business plan, you are unlikely to receive the backing you are looking for.

What should be included in my business plan?

People who read your business plan will not only want to know about the business itself, they will also want to know about you. Give them a brief summary of your history and what you have achieved in the past. Write down all of your ideas and really sell the positive side of your character to them. The fact that you are really hard working and that you thrive under pressure. You love a challenge and can not only work well as part of a team but also on your own.

Describe the market place that your business is a part of, the competition and also the opportunities for growth in that market.

Give them financial figures including running costs, projected earnings, projected growth forecasts and also any financial history the business might have had.

Show them that you are flexible in that you have a plan B if plan A does not come to fruition.

Sell them your ideas by telling them why you are setting up the business for example, and where you dream it will be in five years time.

Include a mission statement explaining what you are attempting to achieve with your business.

I hope this information has helped give you an idea of how to write a successful business plan. Good luck.

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What My Cat Taught Me About Niche Marketing

Some people are “dog people,” others are “cat people.” I’m a cat person. Regardless of which pet you prefer, we can all agree that pets enrich our lives in many ways. They provide unconditional affection, they don’t care what we look like, and sometimes even they teach us a life lesson.

But I never expected my cat to teach me a marketing lesson! A niche marketing lesson, to be more precise.

At this point, the dog lovers reading this are saying that this cat person is cr…

Keywords:
niche,marketing,niches,keywords,adsense,content,dictionary,unique,content

Some people are “dog people,” others are “cat people.” I’m a cat person. Regardless of which pet you prefer, we can all agree that pets enrich our lives in many ways. They provide unconditional affection, they don’t care what we look like, and sometimes even they teach us a life lesson.

But I never expected my cat to teach me a marketing lesson! A niche marketing lesson, to be more precise.

At this point, the dog lovers reading this are saying that this cat person is crazy. But I’m not. Here’s how it happened.

Like millions of other pet lovers, I bought plenty of pet toys. We all want to be able to interact with our pets, yet still have them not be bored when we’re away.

My cat went through the usual toy assortment: feathers, balls with bells in them, foam balls, catnip, string, and an assortment of stuffed rodents. Because we all want the best for our furry friends, I bought the biggest stuffed rat I could find. It received an occasional sniff but was mostly ignored.

The medium-sized stuffed mice received more attention, but only if I moved the mouse or threw it for the cat. He wouldn’t play with it on his own.

Then my cat was given a pair of tiny stuffed mice. I thought they were too small and would be ignored just as the giant rat was.

Boy was I wrong!

Like a lion on a gazelle, my cat pounced on the tiny mouse and gave it a beating it would never forget. He played mouse hockey through the house, scoring goals under the refrigerator and under the stove. He played baseball, tossing the mouse high into the air and catching it again, or hitting a home run on the way down. He played jungle lion, proudly carrying his prey back to his waiting pride (me!).

So what does all this warm fuzzy cat stuff have to do with online sales?

It’s a metaphor for niche marketing. The cat is the consumer. The cat toys are your products. The ultimate goal is to match the former with the latter.

Your first product, the giant rat, was of vague interest to the consumer (the cat). The consumer sniffed at your ad or sales page, but did not like what he smelled, and moved on. No sales.

Your second product, the medium-sized mice, were more interesting to the potential buyer. He would take action, but only after intensive prompting on your part. You would probably have to spend a lot on pay per click ads or gave away lots of bonuses to get his business. A few sales might be made, but it would be expensive to get those sales.

But your third product, the mini-mouse, was pure magic! Your cat consumer took one look, something in his brain clicked, and a sale was made. It was as if your product was a key that unlocked the part of the customer’s brain that triggered the buying impulse. Jackpot!

That’s what my cat taught me about niche marketing. You must find a product that somebody desperately wants (preferably a large group of somebodies). That product must be exactly what they were looking for, even if they didn’t know they wanted it! It must be so tantalizing that your customer is more concerned about playing with his new toy than he or she is about paying for it.

You see, I made a classic info-product mistake with my cat. I gave him what I thought he would like. I wasted money promoting large stuffed rodents and heaps of other toys to him. What I didn’t do is ask him what he needed and give him that!

Don’t make the same mistake! Figure out what your customers want FIRST, and give them that. Then watch them pounce on it so fast that the payment process is almost an afterthought for them.

I have since learned that the mini-mice are about the same size as real mice. No wonder the cat was sold on them immediately! He had never seen a real mouse, but there was a mini-mouse sized niche in his brain that was instantly gratified by the smallest mouse toy.

Don’t give your customers what you think they need. Ask them what they want, and give them that. Then you will have truly created a better mousetrap, and they will beat a path to your door (and your bank account)!

Learn more about making more money from niche marketing with the resources below.

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Winning and Retaining Customers

Attracting customers is more than just luck. It requires good strategy and planning.

Keywords:
printing, design, advertising

Selling your business to people is an often daunting task. People have different wants that is why the manner you approach each of your customers is also different. Businesses that stand out in today’s competitive market are those that are able to harness emotional connections with people. Every business knows that a positive customer service is important for a business to be successful. But what businesses struggle for is how to make use of their knowledge to change into action.

Your goal as a business man is not to show how good you are but to develop a relationship with your customers. Along the way you will have to educate your customers about the products you have to offer if ever you hope to make a sale. But after the sale retaining the customers is a more difficult task to do. Competition is always stiff that is why you need to show your customers exceptional value and service.

It is especially difficult when people cut back on spending. At times like this you need to work harder to attract customers because all your competitors are doing the same thing. Wouldn’t it be good to have customers who stay loyal to you even in hard times? How could you possibly do this?

First off, provide good customer service. This should be a priority in any business because customers are likely to stay with businesses that treat them well. There is no such thing as too much stress on customer satisfaction. Making your customers happy always pays off. This will not only retain customers but will also attract new ones.

Second, keep on improving your products and services. Keep in mind that the market is continuously changing. Thus, you should never be satisfied with your products or services. Do a research and study your competitors. Keep up with any changes in the market.

Third, create products or offer services that appeal to your customers. If your products lack quality, people will not come back to your business. Make sure that your products and services are something that they need not only what they think they need.

Fourth, build good rapport with your customers. You need to be more humane in your approach so that your customers can relate to you as someone who is more than a business provider but also a friend.

So remember that attracting customers is more than just luck. It requires good strategy and planning. Do your best to win your customer’s trust. Take care of it and it will bring you good business in the years to come.

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Outsourcing Projects In Today’s Global Economy

One of the hot political topics facing the United States political establishment today is the tendency of businesses to practice the philosophy of outsourcing projects. Many people have an opinion that nothing should be outsourced, but the ability that companies have to outsource projects keeps domestic costs down.

Skilled labor in the United States is expensive. In addition to health insurance, employers need to set up office space and pay into retirement plans. Outsourci…

Keywords:
Outsourcing Solutions, Outsourcing Software, Outsourcing, Outsourcing Info

One of the hot political topics facing the United States political establishment today is the tendency of businesses to practice the philosophy of outsourcing projects. Many people have an opinion that nothing should be outsourced, but the ability that companies have to outsource projects keeps domestic costs down.

Skilled labor in the United States is expensive. In addition to health insurance, employers need to set up office space and pay into retirement plans. Outsourcing projects and creating a network of freelancers is a great way to reduce the overhead costs of running a business.

The Internet has become the most powerful marketing tool on the planet. Take a step back and put it into perspective. At any given moment, hundreds of millions of people are linked to the Internet. The possibilities for reaching large groups of people are greater now than at any other time in history. Plus, Internet connection speeds are so rapid now that the flow of information is nearly instantaneous. When the term ‘Information Super-Highway’ was coined – broadband was in its infancy. Today it seems like the world is connected and this reinforces the need for virtual marketplaces.

If you conduct some research on the web, you can find that there are a variety of websites dedicated to outsourcing projects. One such website is guru.com. This well-designed website is a virtual marketplace accessible from anywhere in the world. In addition to the snappy design, guru.com has over a dozen categories of freelance projects for freelancers and employers to find and post projects in respectively.

If you log onto elance.com, you can also find a virtual market where outsourcing projects has become en vogue. The professionals on elance are top-notch and cover many different areas: writing, logo and graphic design, software, and website design, to name a few.

Another entry into the growing coliseum of virtual employment is rentacoder.com. This website specializes in software and computer professionals. Not only are there a great deal of competent computer professionals in the United States – they are all over the world. India, for instance has been receiving jobs that companies in the U.S. have been outsourcing.

There is no way to stop outsourcing projects. It is just the way business is headed. If you found one store with an item at a great discount, wouldn’t you go check it out?

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How Do Non-Profits Handle SEM? Straight Talk With The American Cancer Society

I recently had the opportunity to discuss SEO/SEM with a non-profit organization. The conversation didn’t start with SEO/SEM but I got to thinking – how does a non-profit do SEO/SEM?

Having been in the industry a while I have a pretty good idea what the going rate is for professional SEM and I find it hard to believe that a non-profit firm would invest in it, knowing that in some cases it’s hard to measure.

What you are about to read is an interview with the Director of…

Keywords:
marketing,internet marketing,search engine marketing,link building,non-profits,non profits

I recently had the opportunity to discuss SEO/SEM with a non-profit organization. The conversation didn’t start with SEO/SEM but I got to thinking – how does a non-profit do SEO/SEM?

Having been in the industry a while I have a pretty good idea what the going rate is for professional SEM and I find it hard to believe that a non-profit firm would invest in it, knowing that in some cases it’s hard to measure.

What you are about to read is an interview with the Director of Online Communications for the American Cancer Society High Plains Division.

Let’s get the formalities out of the way. What is your name and title?

My name is David Neff and I am the Director of Online Communications for The American Cancer Society High Plains Division

What does the director of online communications do?

Basically, my job is to manage all the website design and maintenance including any upgrades as well as any email campaigns we do. This includes any e-commerce that we get into.

Do you do any type of search engine positioning on any of your websites?

Not really. Besides submitting to DMOZ and Google we don’t actively pursue any search engine marketing at this point. Most of our promotions are done through print ads, Internet ads like Google Adwords, banners and stuff like that. We don’t proactively go out and position.

Now, we’ve talked before and you mentioned that the American Cancer Society has a few sites, including some which you are more responsible for. Why doesn’t the Cancer Society invest in positioning?

It’s not on our priority list at this point. We are quite busy promoting our sites through the offline promotion that I mentioned earlier.

Is there a reason that SEM isn’t a priority?

Decisions like that are made at a higher level and it’s not well known how it works. There is no real “baby steps” that you can take to get into it. In fact they [management] probably don’t even know about it that much. It’s really not on [their] radar screen.

I’ve dealt with large organizations like yours and I’ve found that usually in order to get an SEM campaign off the ground there needs to be an “SEM Evangelist” on staff. One person that is the spearhead behind the campaign. Has there been anyone in your office trying to push for it?

Not at the moment but I’m seeing results from stuff I’ve talked to you about and the early results are quite impressive. Also, other media I encounter has had me considering it. Maybe 2009 will be the year to start pushing for an SEM campaign.

You mentioned earlier that you do other Internet advertising. What type of Internet advertising do you do for the American Cancer Society?

We’ve done banner advertising on a PDA tool and a ton of the major sites. Finding PDA things that doctors read like http://www.webmd.com and http://www.pdamd.com. We actually contacted http://www.motricity.com as well and we’ve done a lot of ads on a whole bunch of partner sites for a free product, yet we had to pay full price for those ads.

Next, we are planning to sell a golf pass to get you discounted green fees no matter where you golf across Texas. So we will be placing ads for those soon as well. We will also be placing Google ads for these when the timing is right.

As a search engine marketer I know that Google ads are generally pretty good traffic tools. How effective have they been for you in the past?

The Google ads have been really great for us in the past – lots of clicks over the holidays. They have been better than banner ads in some aspects.

What would those aspects be?

Rate of return. We’ve found that some banner ads generated a lot of traffic and interest in the past. We did notice, though, that during the holidays we got lots of views but not as many sales.

So what you are saying is that you are getting better conversion rates on Google ads?

Yes definitely.

Who looks after your Google program?

(Chuckles) I do unfortunately.

Why do you say “unfortunately”? Is it a difficult job?

No it’s not difficult, it’s just that I only check on it when I get a bill because I have too much other stuff to do. We just don’t have the manpower to properly manage it.

How did you go about choosing keywords for your Google campaign?

We got together in the communications department and sat down and and just started searching. We used the words we thought people would use to search for our product and just made a list.

Then we used the Google sandbox to help with other keyword suggestions and from there we put our campaign together.

So you are satisfied with Google. Is that the only paid advertising engine you use? Or have you/do you use Yahoo?

No, we haven’t had time to investigate or anything like that. I’d like to at some point, but like I said: I’m the only one doing it and I just don’t have the time right now.

How many sites do you look after?

I have nine in all that I look after.

And are all the sites you maintain Cancer related?

No. We have a blogging site called http://www.quitnowblog.org which is for college aged kids. It helps them with quitting smoking and all the pains they go through to quit. The second site is http://www.schoolhealth.info/ – We’ve just redesigned the site and are ready to relaunch it. With that site it is used to get parents involved in kids schools to get kids more healthy. And then there are a bunch of others.

So how are these sites doing?

We’re getting a ton of response to the quit now blog. It seems to be very popular with the target audience we are trying to reach.

With all these sites, do you do cross promotion?

Yes, definitely. When we do a quitnow blog and print campaign for example, we ensure that and print material such as brochures and ads match the site.

For another site we do, http://www.texasgolfpass.com/, it too has been redesigned and matched to posters, brochures and so on. We definitely try and do complete campaigns to ensure the themes are consistent throughout.

So, do you feel they’ve been successful using this branded approach across multiple media?

Definitely. We’ve really stepped it up to ensure that our websites match our print campaigns. It is one of our strong points right now.

What would you like to do differently with your online campaigns?

The main thing would be to investigate Yahoo ads and everyone else out there besides Google but my main challenge is that I don’t have enough time to do that.

I’d also like to investigate search engine optimization but I need to find a way to sell it to management. I need a one page “This is why you need to do SEO” that I can take to them and show them that we need to do more.

Do you think that your management is resistant to SEO?

No, not really. It’s just an education thing. I need to find a way to show them why it is so important and I don’t know where to start to show them at a non-technical level.

Thank you for your time David, it’s been a pleasure talking to you. One more thing, if there is one thing anyone in our community can do for The American Cancer Society, what would it be?

Gosh, I don’t know. I know we do need help but there are so many areas we could use it. Being a non-profit group, our budgets are always tight. I guess just help us get more well-known. We have all these sites we use to help spread healthy messages, and at the same time we have others we use to help raise money. Any help that we can get for these would be greatly appreciated.

As he said, if there is anything you can do to help out this worthwhile cause, they could really use it. Whether it’s supplying some links to the smaller sites like the golf pass sites or quit now site, if you can use your SEM experience to help get the word out they would really appreciate it.

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