Pull Marketing Blog

5 Tools to Overcome Inbound Marketing Hurricane Helplessness

It's Hurricane Friday! Here in Boston, thermometers have been soaring close to the 100 degree mark all week. We are anxiously waiting to see whether Hurricane Earl will make landfall with significant enough force to match the meteorological fear-mongering. We are at the mercy of massive forces that we can’t control!

Do you – at times – feel helpless as an Inbound Marketer? You are out there creating content, understanding that this is a marathon and not a sprint, but perhaps growing frustrated. You want a fast return with your marketing efforts. This can be a real issue for people, as certain industries or small business sectors and geographic locations may be more primed than others for this kind of marketing.

We advise all business to stay in the game, and will champion the undeniable value of publishing remarkable and optimized content online until doomsday. But if you want to take some direct action, here are a few helpful tools that you can use to kick it up another notch:

1. Visit LinkedIn Answers and Facebook Questions and participate. Use these trafficked, established resources where people are DIRECTLY looking for help as a place to show your chops.
2. Follow at least 1 Twitter user every day and send them an @reply letting them know what you like about them. Then, keep in touch with these people on Twitter and send them @replies when you publish content to increase your content syndication stream.
3. Don’t forget about forums – before there was social media, these were forums, and they are still out there and still hold valuable connection opportunities. We’re on the HubSpot forums regularly. You can directly show your knowledge in discussion threads and follow up with like minded forum participants.
4. Comment on blogs. You should use Google Reader to subscribe via RSS to as many blogs as you can keep up with, and visit those blogs to make comments about content you find appealing. This will attract commenters to your blog, and invite inbound links to your site.
5. Use Meetup, your email list, Facebook events, and your personal network to invite people to a Real Life meeting with you once every few months. Let people get to know you face to face in a casual way so they can become comfortable with you, and thus more likely to become a customer. Leverage the tools out there to promote these occasions, and don’t try to sell anyone anything.

What are your tools for overcoming marketing fatigue? Let us know in the comments.

Sick of Old Fashioned Marketing? Take HubSpot for a Spin. Find out how we can help turn your website into a marketing machine. Sign up for a HubSpot Demo with PullnotPush.

How to Use E-mail Marketing for Lead Generation the PullnotPush Way

While some still feel that e-mail is old school web marketing, it still matters to any good pull marketing strategy. There are a lot of haters out there who think e-mail marketing is dead. Well, one of my favorite things to do is prove haters wrong - with evidence of course.

I've been working with a business in Waltham for the past few months on revamping the way they do their e-mail marketing. For years, they've been using e-mail primarily as a way to distribute their newsletters and promote upcoming events - pretty much par for the course on the way the vast majority of folks market via e-mail. They have a fairly decent sized contact list with mostly high click rates and low unsubscribe rates on all the messages they send. However, as nice as these stats sound they weren't translating to new leads or customers. 

In August, I worked in conjunction with their business development manager to generate leads for an upcoming conference. We collaborated to compose and distribute a simple HTML email with a single call to action to a landing page where recipients could sign up for a free promotional item that related to the event.

The result? Well, see for yourselves:

So how can you do this?

Build a Quality Contact List

Everything starts with building a contact list. There are several black hat (less than legitimate) ways people might try to do this. Buying lists of e-mail addresses isn't going to give you the best audience, nor are you putting yourself in a good position to be in compliance with the CAN-SPAM act.

The best way to build a contact list is by offering your website visitors quality content and capturing an e-mail address in exchange. The company I’ve been working with has been creating, distributing, and fostering a community around their content for 20 years. Keeping an up to date list of all your customers is quite easy to do if you have an e-commerce component to your site. If you’re a small physical shop without an online shopping cart element (let’s say a local bakery shop), you can offer discounts or coupons in exchange for an e-mail address.  

As always, it’s important to make sure that all your e-mails have an unsubscribe link available and that you spell out if you keep their e-mail private (don’t distribute it to others) on your forms. It’s not just best practice - but it prevents you from being a spammer in the eyes of CAN-SPAM.

Promote Free Content that Relates to Your Paid Products or Services

Everyone loves free stuff - everyone loves free stuff even more when they feel like they're getting something of value. Some businesses can be hesitant to distribute their hard work for free. Think of it as a chance for your prospects to get a taste of what you have to offer. The more quality content you put out related to your business, the more folks will get the impression that you're really trying to be a thought leader and will think of you first when it's time to buy.

KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid!)

A lot of times when I open an e-newsletter, certain promotional offers get hidden in a hodgepodge of other announcements. What can you do to make sure your offers are getting noticed? A simple, single e-mail blast that only promotes that offer. Let's face it - it can be tricky to keep anyone's attention in this day and age of mega computer multitasks. Heck, I have a window open for my e-mail, my Twitter, my Google Calendar, and half of Microsoft Office right now as I write this!  By keeping the messaging short, simple, and to the point you'll improve your chances of getting a coveted 15% or higher click rate.

Make Sure You Have a Measurable Conversion

Your e-mails should always have a link you can track hits on. If you're just broadcasting a message with every e-mail you send, you're not going to get the best ROI on your e-mail marketing efforts. Pulling people out of their inbox and back to you should be the ultimate goal of any e-mail you send in your campaigns.

What are some ways you've gotten the most out of E-mail Marketing? We'd love to hear about it in the comments!

Ready To Make A Better First Impression? Is your HubSpot website failing to generate the leads you want? Find out more about Park Street Designs today to get the most of your HubSpot account. Book your walkthrough today to view our all in one themes designed to turn your website into a marketing machine.

The #1 Reason Why Your Pull Marketing Funnel Is Broken

As you start to put the principles of pull marketing into action for your business, there might be moments where you feel like nothing is working. You understand the theory of pull marketing. You buy into it. And you start to change your business model to accommodate it but usually there’s something missing - though you can’t put your finger on it.

So, you’re probably wondering what separates those who really make pull marketing work for them (with results ranging from increased lead generation to creating a community of fans on Facebook) versus those who simply know about it.

Here’s what you need to know:

Those who successfully make pull marketing work for them are those who are devoted to educating others and sharing their knowledge.

When you feel like you’re on a mission to share a message that you have and you’re willing to help others overcome a problem they are experiencing, you build up an energy that helps you overcome the usual excuses such as “I don’t have time to market my business” or “This Internet marketing stuff won’t work for my business.”

How do you awaken this desire to educate and share your knowledge though? Here are 10 things to help spark you into action:

1. Do a Twitter search for people looking for help on topics related to your business
2. Spend some time on LinkedIn Answers and look for opportunities to chime in with your expertise (and not your promotions!)
3. Join an industry related forum and find threads where you can add value
4. Use a social media monitoring tool like Trackur to find relevant blog posts to leave insightful comments on
5. Put your FAQs into presentation form and upload the document to a site like SlideShare.com
6. Ask your current clients how they believe you have been most helpful
7. Host a monthly meetup group on Meetup.com to discuss issues in your industry
8. Create and moderate a Facebook page related to a topic that’s important to you in addition to your company page
9. Curate several popular blog posts in your industry on your own blog to save your readers time
10. Set up an automated lead nurturing campaign that presents your leads with at least one actionable item that will solve a problem.

If you were only able to do a few of these in the genuine spirit of helping, you would be able to connect with like minded individuals who would have a need for what you have to offer. Go where the people are, interact, and you’ll finally get that pull marketing funnel up and running.

Where are you on the spectrum of pull marketing? A total beginner or someone who is still looking for ways to make it work? Let us know in the comments!

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Park Street Designs connects SMB’s content with a spectrum of web surfers.

How does your Park Street Designs web site content appeal to your current client base and the type of customer that you want to find you?  Are they digitally-savvy?  Are they google front-page-only searchers?   How old are they?

Miller Heiman’s “Strategic Selling” includes the task of defining an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).  The ICP covers everything from the purchase decision making process to geographic focus to a client’s propensity to spend in the long term, plus who’s fun to work with.  Our Park Street Designs SMB clients tend to be digitally savvy for their respective generations although their Ideal Customers might be of a different age. 

I was struck by a recent Tweet by @nickbilton with an article link to his NY Times blog that captures the touchstones of this year’s incoming college freshmen.  As a group they don’t wear watches and cursive writing is nonexistent.  Do you remember the Swatch watch craze of the '80s?  That probably wouldn't fly as high today unless you're stylin' old school.  If you want to do business with this age group your approach might be different if you’re not part of it.

Let me pose this question to you: How will your next clients/customers find you and your specialty?  Do they seek information in ways that are generationally different from you?  Are you telling time in the way they seek it?  This sounds very basic, but some SMB’s get so caught up in minutia that they overlook the very simple way how to best deliver their content and how to get found online.

And I will self-disclose that I captained a group project in 1987 that profiled Swatch at the Boston College Carroll School of Management.  We got an A.  Gotta run, I’m out of time on this.

Inbound Marketing Book Report: top 3 Takeaways

This weekend I finished reading Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah’s book Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs as part of my first set of objectives here at PNP. As inbound marketing practitioners, there were some valuable pearls of wisdom to glean from the book.

The book is a great primer for business owners or marketers who are not digital natives to get a sense of the landscape of inbound marketing. It neatly outlines the tools – On and Off Page SEO, Blogging & RSS, Social Media – and basic implementation methodology that you need to know to attain baseline proficiency in this arena.

Here are 3 good takeaways you can use in your marketing, to which I've added something relevant that's changed the picture since the book's publication:

Being #1 overall in Google searches really matters

From p. 58, describing Google search results for any term: ‘A recent study show that Google’s first page captures over 89% of the traffic… Even within the first page, the traffic is not spread evenly – the top ranked result (number one on the first page) captures about 42% of the traffic.’ I didn't know how much more traffic #1 gets than #2 in a search.

But now... There’s another variable in this picture now, too: Google Caffeine. Search results are now influenced by an increasingly complex set of factors, including the searchers' location, search history, and social media network. It’s still important to do as much as you can to be close to the top for your important keywords, but while you may be #1 for a searcher in Boston, you may not be for the same term by a searcher in San Francisco.

Takeaway: chasing the top slot if you are number 2 or 3 could result in a big traffic bump and it’s worth the effort to pursue the top slot. But pay attention also to your local search results in important locales.

Answer questions on LinkedIn Answers – and now, Facebook Questions

I've looked at LinkedIn as an online resume which may one day have value, and simply accept that as the default professional networking site, it is essential to maintain an updated profile. I try to keep my profile active by updating it with tweets.

But I have never answered a question on LinkedIn answers, which the book suggests as a good way to establish some thought leadership within the community and a next level step to get more value out of LinkedIn.

But now... Facebook has rolled out a version of questions recently, this is another place where it’ll be worth spending some time to get more value than just simple networking from these sites.

Takeaway: Visit LinkedIn Answers and Facebook Questions, subscribe to some topical interests, and ask and answer some questions. I plan to make this part of my daily morning check up online, and maybe you should too!

Test multiple Landing Page designs and copy

I have some landing pages to work on for our website, and having read the book, I plan to A/B test a couple of different landing pages. Best practices dictate having an eye popping graphic, a simple and easy to complete form, and no other links to divert your potential customers’ attention elsewhere.

But now... Companies are continually having to compete on more and more specific niches. If you are dedicated to a single specific product or service, consider adding a landing page to your home page. Test your conversion rate, which means that as many visitors to your landing page as possible are actually filling out your form. I learned that 15% is a base target for conversions on your landing page, and 50% is excellent. Try a couple of different designs and see if your conversion ratios improve.

Takeaway: Test new landing pages for your campaigns, and consider slapping a compelling form on your home page if you are a niche service.

What are your favorite internet or marketing ‘must read’ books?

Sick of Old Fashioned Marketing? Take HubSpot for a Spin. Find out how we can help turn your website into a marketing machine. Sign up for a HubSpot Demo with PullnotPush.

The Bunny Pusher Video: Small Business Internet Marketing Gone Wrong

We've heard tons horror stories about small businesses spending too much time and resources for years on end with ineffective push marketing techniques. If you were a victim of being sucked dry on paid search with little sales to show for it or wasted entire days on ineffective cold calling then hopefully you've learned from your mistakes by now.

Once you've witnessed the beauty of inbound marketing by pulling people in with quality content it's hard to imagine going back to your old ways. Good on and off page SEO practices, active social media engagement, and blogging for business regularly are certainly a lot more fun (not to mention less expensive) than badgering people to buy from you.

For those of you who've been burned in the past we've put together this special video on push marketing bunnies. Afterall, laughter is the best medicine, isn't it?

 

 

Sick of Old Fashioned Marketing? Take HubSpot for a Spin. Find out how we can help turn your website into a marketing machine. Sign up for a HubSpot Demo with PullnotPush.

Inbound Marketing: Bad Link Building & Black Hat SEO

Many businesses today are ready to embrace the tenets of inbound marketing. They want to invest their marketing dollars online. But it's difficult for busy business owners and marketers to learn as much as those of us who work in this world about online marketing practices.

It’s true that link building, or getting good quality links to your site, accounts for 75% of your SEO score and is the foundation of off page SEO. But all links are not created equal. Here’s some of the terms of the trade and a few tips to ensure you are dealing with above-board web marketers. We want to save people from the evil SEO merchants out there! But how?

Black Hat SEO

Since the early days of blog comments, many unscrupulous SEO practitioners have written programs that crawl the web and write SPAM comments on blogs to point back to a site whose ranking they want to improve. This is common practice amongst online pornographers and illegal overseas MP3 sale sites. This practice is one form of black hat SEO, and is usually engaged in with the hope that a goal can be achieved over a short term as the spammers know that the search engines will ban them once their tactics are uncovered.

Spamdexing

I recently listened to a sales demo from a rep at a prominent web marketing firm who showed me a page indexing hundreds of thousands of links allegedly pointing to his site. I looked through some of them and they were trash links from meaningless sites – the horror! I’d come face to face with link SPAM!

SEO best practices encourage legitimate means, like posting great content, tweeting about it, and commenting on other trusted blogs to build links back to your site. Some SEO firms will Spamdex by building lots of buried or invisible pages on a client site because more indexes pages will mean more traffic. They can then demonstrate high numbers of site visits to clients, but that traffic will be meaningless and will never convert to leads.

The ‘NoFollow’ Attribute

It’s also important to be aware of the nofollow attribute. Many directory sites and prominent social networks (Yelp, Facebook, Google Local, etc) utilize this attribute because they don’t want link spammers creating fake directory listings on their sites to influence their SEO score. By using it, these sites ensure that no SEO credit is awarded to links on their site; in other words, google doesn't count a link to your site on Facebook in your SEO score.

Be wary of SEO firms who tell you that they are going to create lots and lots of links for you or submit your site to many directories. Though there can be value in being on these directories because many of them have independent traffic, they do not influence your SEO score.

What to Ask to Protect Yourself

It's competitive out there and is a sad reality that some black hat techniques can produce results over the short term, but any such techniques will be a losing strategy for a legitimate business over the long term. Ask firms you are considering doing business with to send you 3 examples of sites they have worked on and to put you in direct contact with their clients for referrals. Also, ask them:

• What practices do you use to build good off site links? I want to work with a vendor that understands honest link building through great content.
• Are you familiar with the no follow attribute and how it affects off site SEO score? I understand there are some great directories but I want to attract links that will be recognized by the search engines, too.
• What is your opinion on black hat SEO and Spamdexing? I'm in the web marketing gain for the long haul and any short term, dishonest SEO practices hold no appeal for me.

Have you had any encounters with bad SEO or web marketing firms? Please share in the comments!

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3 Tips for Preventing Your Small Business Website From Getting Dusty

Nothing makes my heart sink more than outdated content on a web page that's still "live". While a lot of small business owners find themselves crunched for time, more often than not, the task of keeping the website up to date falls by the wayside.

So how can you reassure your website visitors that you're still kicking and open for business? Here's three quick and easy ways to do it:

1. Embed a Twitter Feed on your Home Page or Blog.

As long as you can get a handful of tweets in during the week, placing a live feed for your business's twitter account is a simple and easy way to let people know your still active. It's also a great way of increasing your social media reach.

Twitter has its own profile widget tool (the one we use) that you can set up in seconds and embed on your home page with little to no coding knowledge.

 

2. Blog at least once a week (more is better).

At PullnotPush we can talk about the business benefits of blogging day in and out. One of the key benefits of getting into a regular posting schedule is that it's the easiest way to contribute new content on a recurring basis.

Some folks are shy about showing off the dates of their posts because they end up dropping the ball on posting enough times. If anything you should use those stale post dates as motivation to get back on the content generation bandwagon.

 

3. Rotate a few limited time offers.

Whether it be a coupon or free whitepaper, giving your lead generating calls to action a highlighted expiration date is a way of encouraging visitors to sign up sooner than later. It also gives incentive to your returning visitors to find new offers when they come back to your site.

However, making sure that you stay on top of replacing them with new offers is important, otherwise your run the risk of having stale looking content. If you set out on doing this make sure to notify yourself and team about when it's time to swap in a new feature via your calendar notification software of choice. The PullnotPush team is a big fans of using Google Calendar for such deadlines.

 

What are some effective ways you've kept your business page fresh? We'd love to hear from you in the comments.

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How To Add Social Media Buttons To HubSpot

As Client Services Manager for Park Street Designs at PullnotPush, I get a great opportunity to field questions about how to get the most out of the HubSpot CMS.

One of the main questions that pops up is how to add custom social media buttons to a HubSpot portal. In this video, I walk you through the simple steps to follow in order to add your own buttons on your HubSpot site.

Remember, you can follow this same process for adding buttons linking back to your YouTube, Twitter, and other relevant social media pages that you may have.

Make sure to leave your questions in the comments if you have any other questions about the HubSpot CMS!

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Park Street Designs: Building A Home For Your Company

A lot of time, money, and pride go into a company logo, identity and mission long before we start the process of building a Park Street Designs site.  Early in the process I often make the analogy to clients to consider the site as the construction of rooms.  In the beginning we’re considering how the room is going to be used – where do you want the appliances, windows, patio doors, electrical wiring and plumbing to go for current and future needs.  You, the homeowners also have to make medium-term commitments to the room layout, wall colors, focal points and function.  This relates to a medium-term commitment to home, inner and landing page image, tagline, navigation, cta buttons and form fields. 

Design Around a Great Content Creation Strategy

The furniture and décor of the rooms are the content.  Those can be moved around, put in storage and new items can be added modularly in the HubSpot CMS.  After using the rooms for a good amount of time you might opt to make changes to the room, but the initial construction should be lived with so long as it’s properly planned.  This relates to test, measure, adapt.

If you start soliciting opinions on the room blueprint and construction elements after you’ve made your choices you open yourself up to EVERYONE’S opinion.  You know the image you want to project, your colors, and what you want visitors to do when they come to your site.  So pick your color swatches, the images you want as focal points, be decisive, and THEN invite them over to see what you’ve done.

Have you recently been through the website design process? Tell us about it in the comments.

Is your HubSpot website failing to generate the leads you want? Find out more about Park Street Designs today to get the most of your HubSpot account. Book your walkthrough today to view our all in one themes designed to turn your website into a marketing machine.