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October 5, 2010
Summer is over and the Holiday Season is fast approaching; now is the perfect time to plan your 2011 Email Marketing Strategy. With the rapid advancements in technology, it’s more important than ever to regularly review your online marketing materials.
Here are some ideas
for ways to improve your campaigns
in the coming months:
Content
Do your messages appear current and clean or do they look outdated? Is your Brand well represented and how well does it fit with the overall message? Are you using fresh, engaging graphics, calls-to-action and images? Does the layout look professional and easy to navigate? Is your contact information easy to find? Are yoursections and departments current? Is your Privacy Policy up-to-date? Are you compliant with all new state and federal legislation? Do you have topics and content planned for the coming months, holidays and special events?
Capture
Do you have a checkbox for customers to be added to your list upon product purchase? Do you have a visible, easy to locate Sign Upbutton or link on your website? Do you distribute sign up forms at events, cash registers and offer incentives for newsletter sign up?
Reports
How does your performance this year compare to last year? How do you compare to other businesses in your industry? What are yourtrends for Open Rates, Click Rates, Bounce Rates,
Unsubscribe Rates?
With careful planning and regular reviews we can help you make 2011 a more profitable year for your business. Please contact our friendly sales and support staff if you need any help or are unsure how to get started.
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May 12, 2010
Earlier today I was asked by a FireDrum client about the the difference of singular versus the plural of a keyword in SEO/Google Adwords. It was a simple question with a “somewhat” straightforward answer, however the answer does not apply to all singular versus plural keywords.
Does singular vs. plural make a difference?
Is one better than another or are they the same? Does it really even matter? It is a good question that so often people look over who are not experienced with keywords/adwords. So, I thought I would investigate further and write about it.
For example purposes only, lets take a look at some keywords, “dental bur” and “dental burs”. For those of you who do not know what a “bur” is – do not feel bad, not a lot of us do. As my Economics teacher once said, “It could be widgets or butter – it really does not matter, your job is to figure out a solution to the problem.” So, with that said let’s jump over to Google Keyword tools to help determine which one is going to be the best performer as well as figuring out the difference of singular and plural versions.
 Keywords and SEO local and global search As you can see, there is a difference in the local and global search volume as well as advertising competition for each keywords. One thing to keep in mind as well is how this affects the SEO of your website. Since the plural version outperforms the singular version this is something to keep in mind down the road.
Lets head over to Google Insights for Search and see what is happening. Google Insights is a tool SEO’ers use to compare search volume patterns across a section of where you are looking to advertise. This is a great tool for SEM because …well it gives great insight into what terms people are using to search.
As you can see “dental burs” is searched considerably more that the singular across the US and the world. With Google insights you are also able to pick a region and take a look at what activity was happening in your section of the world.
 Google Insights for Keywords Another thing to keep in mind is how the people purchase the product, online and in a store. Dental burs are bought in groups, so the plural version is more applicable, however consumers search for ”individual” items they are looking to purchase in singular terms, ”Apple Computer” or ”iPod Shuffle”. These products also have singular naming conventions so this makes it more straightforward as well. Normally people do not surf the plurals of these terms.
So, I hope I have given you some insight into what Keywords to keep an eye out for when you are looking at some of the tools/products Google offers. As always we are here to help.
Come in to our office…..ask for our seo expert Max Sandoval or Jacob Lebo and lets start building and branding
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March 15, 2010
Firedrum Internet Marketing, a leading provider of email marketing software and solutions for small to medium organizations, today announced immediate availability of the latest release of its popular email platform, Firedrum 3.0, with a free sign up program aligning the Scottsdale, AZ based company in direct competition with other email providers.
“The launch of our new email software platform places us in direct competition with our competitors and allows end users to email up to 750 members a month for free. A simplified email platform and robust reporting will effectively leverage any small businesses email marketing,” stated Mike Toll, Chief Operations Officer.
The key features of Firedrum’s latest software addition, Firedrum 3.0, include no credit card requirement, no contract and no trial period. “We wanted to provide a way for small businesses to immediately get started with their online marketing efforts”, added Toll. “Firedrum understands the small business owner’s need to test a no commitment email marketing program. We added hundreds of free quality templates to visually improve the email as well as complete access to full reporting and archiving to also improve the performance of an email marketing campaign.”
For more information about Firedrum’s free email account or other services, please visit www.firedrum.com.
About Firedrum Internet Marketing
With Firedrum Email Marketing, customers can quickly and easily create professional looking emails, manage email contact lists, measure email campaign results (including Google Analytics integration, click-throughs and open rates), and review who subscribed to an email list. Firedrum has incorporated these tools to help small to medium sized businesses, non-profits and private organizations across the country successfully launch their email marketing campaigns.
Firedrum Internet Marketing is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Visit Firedrum at www.firedrum.com.
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August 31, 2009
Yea you read that headline correctly. Yours truly has spent last week and this upcoming week visiting family and doing some business development. As you can imagine Dubai is an amazing place. To bring everybody up to speed, Dubai is located in the United Arab Emirates and sits on the Persian Gulf. Dubai is a wonderful city, with world class hotels, abundant culture and caring people. I have been posting some pictures on my twitter feed that you can check out as well. I am going to post a few more updates about my trip, but I wanted to quickly talk about how great this internet thingy is.
Ah, I am just joking but I have been able to work all week in the states, while being able to reach out to new companies here in the UAE. Mostly what I have been learning is companies need Internet Marketing help. I have been able to provide many great solutions, and the one I have found the most interest in is our Enterprise Solutions.
I have been able to use my laptop to tie in back to my desktop in the states. I have also been extensively using Skype to make calls. I have also found Google Video while I have been out traveling and that is an awesome service.
Well, I am getting ready to go ice skating in the most giant mall I have ever seen. Ice skating in the desert! It doesn’t top snow skiing at Ski Dubai, but maybe some other time…
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July 3, 2009
By now you’ve heard of social media and the impact it is having on the interactive world. Bridging the gap between email marketing and social media is a good way to increase your online presence and grow your email lists without having to lay too much groundwork.
and businesses are starting to recognize this growing trend. According to a report from Forrester Research, email marketing will grow by $2 billion by 2014, and social networking sites have become the largest portal for sharing information online. But recognizing and utilizing these features are two different things.
By including a Share-to-Social feature in your emails, you allow your recipients to share your content with their social networking contacts and followers. A few reasons to utilize this feature are:
- Increase user interaction with your recipients.
- A modern twist to the “Forward to a Friend” methodology.
- A good resource to build quality links to your content.
- Increase traffic to your content.
- Grow your email lists.
Choosing which social networks to utilize on your Share-to-Social feature depends greatly on your industry, but the big three to add are Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
To add Share-to-Social features to your email marketing campaigns, or to get started with an online marketing campaign, contact FireDrum today and a sales representative will work with you to create a package that will fit your needs.
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April 11, 2009
I think rule #1 when starting any blog is consistency. Well I guess that holds true in sports, business, marketing, etc… but blogging and internet marketing in general is kind of like exercise. It does you no good if you run 10 miles in April, then sit on your duff eating potato chips when the May flowers are out.
What else can you do to have success with your blog? Well I was cruising around this morning looking for some good ideas to blog about and stumbled across this article from the online news magazine Slate.
Christopher Beam was discussing how the Transportation Security Administrations got so good at blogging. And what the government and the rest of us can learn about it.
Beam points out that the “Transportation Security Administration’s blog, entitled Evolution of Security, is everything the TSA is not—lighthearted, informative, responsive, and devoted to the needs and concerns of its customers.”
He goes further in noting that “It may also be the best model for government to engage citizens over the Web.”
I would take that a step further as this is not only a great model for governments but also for companies to engage their customers over the Web
I urge you to read the article and the blog to get the full effect of the power of a well run blog. What really stood out to me was the idea that a government agency, and in fact, all blogs need actual power.
Some examples sited in the article are when “the Evolution of Security commenters complained about having to remove all electronics from carry-on bags during screening in certain airports, the TSA put a stop to it.”
Beam also points out “when they kvetched about long lines, the agency created a new express-lane program.”
Obviously they do not take all suggestions as noted in the article when “One commenter asked TSA to focus more on invisible supernatural terrorists.” Which I guess since TSA isn’t going to do anything we are going to have to call these guys
And actual problem solving power is what is going to bring the most success to your blog. Allowing good and bad customer feedback and comments and addressing those concerns automatically. This direct engagement with your customers is going to not only improve their experience, but also increase your company’s Word of Mouth advertising tremendously.
-Jacob
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March 28, 2009
I attended the Business Smartz Educational Workshop held by the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce this Tuesday morning. It was a pretty great event. The topic was Internet Advertising Essentials and Jennifer Meyer from AZ Central was sharing her knowledge with the attendees. Most of the morning we were stuck on semantics; what is an ad rate, what constitutes a click through? I must admit I did get a little bored, but Jennifer’s smooth style of presenting kept me engaged. Especially when she said this “I expect you to speak back to me the way I spoke to you”…
I think I got that right? Maybe if Jennifer reads this she can clarify it for me. But anyways that’s what I heard and that resonated with me a couple different ways. See Jennifer was speaking about marketing messages. Customers want to be communicated with the same way they are communicating to you. How are the majority of customers finding out about your goods and services? Most likely potential and current customers are finding out about your business online. So customers are finding and communicating to your business through their computers….
If Jennifer’s adage holds true, which I think it does, and I am the one writing the blog, then these customers expect to be communicated back to through their computer. And there is no more effective way to communicate back to your customers than through permission based email marketing. Customers are going to find your business online, or else they are going to find your competition. When they come to your website to gather more information you should have a compelling call to action to capture an email so you can communicate back to them, the same way they contacted you. Online.
-Jacob
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March 20, 2009
So I gave another presentation today about Internet Marketing. I am really getting into this public speaking thing. I was talking with members of the Arizona Trucking Association about a general overview of how FireDrum views Internet Marketing. Big thanks to the ATA for having us out. I was just doing my normal routine, comparing houses to websites and Search Engine Optimization to buying real estate…
It is a great analogy, if you want to hear it in full, give me a shout. Anyways, I wrapped up my section of the presentation and was followed by two gentlemen that are extremely knowledgeable in the realm of Social Media. These two guys Michael Hayes of Momentum Specialized Staffing and Bret Wingert of Souvia Tea are knowledgeable because they have real world experience since they use Social Media everyday for their businesses.
At the end of the presentation in the Q and A section of the morning we started to feel some resistance to change…. Arms were crossing and brows were furrowing amongst the audience. Should my business be on MySpace? What do I do when someone requests me to join Facebook? What has been your return on investment, and how long should I spend on social networking? Uhmmm….. No, Ignore it, and Not much…
See don’t get me wrong, I am a Facebook addict and you personally will probably find value in having a Facebook page. I seriously could check it like 8 times a day. I love the concept of social media, and feel that it is the way of the future, but for the majority of businesses my house/website foundation analogy applies for your entire Internet Marketing presence. It goes something like this. If you don’t have a strong foundation, your house will fall down. Same with a website, if the foundation (the parts you and your customers will never see) is not strong your website will essentially fall down.
This holds true for starting a social media campaign for your business as well. If your Internet Marketing presence doesn’t have a good foundation with a strong website, a deep Search Engine Optimization campaign, and an effective follow up email marketing campaign, do not even think about adding that Social Media addition to the second floor of your business.
Again big thanks to the Arizona Trucking Association and to Michael and Bret that presented with me. Rest assured Momentum and Souvia have strong foundations.
-Jacob
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