I go into a state of angst every time I have to write a proposal. When a friend recommended The One Page Proposal book, I immediately downloaded the Kindle version (I wanted it NOW!).

I LOVE it.  The premise is that we are all busy people … often WAY too busy to digest a book-length proposal filled with industry jargon.

I am in an industry that is not only filled with jargon (SEO, SEM, SM, IM) but deals with concepts that involve hundreds of steps.   I keep on reworking my proposals to try and make them easy to understand … sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t.

For me, the essence of the one-page process was found in Chapter 4: The Road Map–Putting It All Together

In this chapter, the author presents the new model of the one page proposal with easy-to-follow instructions. You’ll learn how to spend your time planning your proposal,  identifying what your prospect needs, and making it easy for them to say YES!

The book is filled with excerpts and and samples which illustrate each lesson and concept.

I am now working on developing a template for my one-page proposal … I already know I will go over one page, but hopefully not over three!

I’m curious to know how YOU have solved your proposal writing challenges!

~Melanie

The post The One Page Proposal appeared first on Focus on Traffic.

A bit of a confession here … I actually was expecting a gross exaggeration, so I was actually flabbergasted to see the success of their Facebook marketing … after all we’re talking about an online appliance retailer here!  They not only have hundreds of thousands of Facebook fans … but these fans are raving fans who are actively participating on the page.   Check out their Facebook following at  facebook.com/AppliancesOnline

I constantly have some clients telling me about how boring their business is and asking why would anyone be interested in their businesses Facebook page.  Now all I have to do is tell everyone to go and take a look at how a company managed to create conversations around washers, dryers and stoves.  If  THEY can do it … with a little thought, so can YOU!

I will be trying to convince Halit to do an interview with me, in the hope of prying more details about their Facebook campaign from him!

Social Media. It may sound like a buzz word to many people but it really is an effective form of communication that businesses need to get behind. The influence of social media cannot be underestimated, as the rapid increase in smartphones and tablets gives us near instantaneous access to information and news.

The very concept of social media is permanently ingrained into us when you realise:

• There are almost 6 billion mobile phone users on the planet. That’s almost 90% of the entire world’s population with the potential for mass communication.
• 1 in every 9 people utilise Facebook in some way.
• 700 billion minutes every month spent on Facebook worldwide
• 30 billion pieces of content shared on Facebook each month
• 190 million messages (tweets) over Twitter daily
• YouTube has 92 billion page views every month with 2.9 billion hours spent on the site per month

As you can see, Social Media in a resource that can really benefit. The way forward it seems is to create amazing content and engage with people. Not potential customers, but regular people. This form of engagement should make these people advertise your business for you. This is the crux of the matter. The people who see your business should be willing themselves to tell other people about your service.

A great example of this is Appliances Online (AOL). They are a UK-based online white goods retailers who have embraced social media wholeheartedly. By actively engaging with people without a sales pitch and trying to get them to buy anything, AOL is being seen as a trustworthy company that people are telling other people about.

Social Bakers, an analytic site, rated AOL as #1 in their August Top 10 of highest engaging brands in the UK, in no small part to the efforts in building a relationship and a community with Facebook , Google+ and Twitter users.  Over the last 12 months, AOL’s Facebook page has gained over 310 thousand likes, with over 8,000 followers on Twitter.

In fact, so confident are they that brand trust is a priority, that one strategy they also employ is a Facebook widget at the top of their site pages. This allows visitors to see which of their contacts recommend or like AOL, further enhancing the trust aspect.

Other great content includes the ongoing addition of high quality video reviews and features. AOL has a dedicated studio with highly modern camera recording and digital editing equipment, allowing visitors to AOL a real in-depth view into their products. Also, AOL is one of the few companies to add these videos to You Tube, allowing people to view them without ever even coming onto the site itself.

Through adopting a ‘don’t sell, will sell’ attitude to social media, small business’ such as AOL can really gain brand recognition that will prove highly profitable over the next few exiting years of mass communication.

About The Author

Halit Bozdogan is a writer for Appliances Online.

The post Marketing Success with Social Media appeared first on Focus on Traffic.

When I changed my focus to the Internet I also changed the types of companies I work with.  No more billion-dollar mega-giants. No more Fortune 500′s.  Instead I work with start-ups, solo entrepreneurs and small to medium sized companies.

When I switched over, the gratification was instant.  I now get thanked all the time.  I get hugged by my clients.  I get invited into their homes. I go out for dinner and Big Mac cholesterol dumps with them. I have clients that are excited by the first call that comes directly off the Internet.  I have clients that have grown their companies by ten times and more.  Even though I could charge a heck of a lot more than I do, I don’t, because I LOVE working with my clients.  I love seeing their companies grow and I love getting thank yous, big grins and hugs.

Last week I got my first client KISS.  It was very public and very, very sweet.

I’ll set the scene for you.  I belong to a business mastermind that meets once a month. Over time all the mastermind members have also become clients.  Last week, in the middle of a meeting one of our members got up … came over to me and gave me a big warm kiss … right smack on the top of my forehead.

After much laughter, he proceeded to tell us that in the last week he had received several calls for his services directly due to Google searches.  If he made the sales it would result in well over a hundred thousand in start up fees.   WOW.

I’d love to take all the credit for what was an amazing turn around, but I’ll tell the truth instead!  Yes, SEO put his website in front of people who counted … people who had a budget and who were interested in buying.

However, the important thing to note is that once I got the traffic to the website … the website CONVERTED that traffic into qualified calls.

A website’ design can attract visitors, it can also “weed out” unqualified tire kickers. The website content provided enough information so that visitors can say “THIS is what I need and want.”  The website copy compels those qualified visitors to pick up the phone and make the call, or open their email program and make the inquiry.

BOTTOM LINE?  You’ve got to have both.  Your website has to keep visitors interested, it has to CONVERT qualified visitors and it has to compel them to take action.  You also need TRAFFIC.  No traffic, no conversions, no sales.

I love getting hugs from clients, but now I’m converted and want MORE kisses!

Melanie

PS.  I am the recipient of the big kiss … aka the kissee … my friend, client and the kisser is Dave Childs.  Dave Childs is an amazingly talented brander and brand marketing strategist. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about him because he truly is a branding wizard. Be sure to check out his website Living Blueprint.  It is an example of pure elegance, functionality and conversion.

The post My First Client KISS appeared first on Focus on Traffic.

by Flowtown. Browse more data visualizations.

 

The post New Marketing Trifecta appeared first on Focus on Traffic.

“Search engine spammers rarely prosper.
Sooner or later, they get caught.
And when they do, it’s almost never pretty.”

One of my clients — Mike Averbach of Averbach Mortgages has been targeted by several competitors using Black Hat SEO Tactics.

The reason they are targeting him is because Averbach Mortgages is one of Vancouver’s top mortgage brokerage firms and has many of the top keyword rankings for the Vancouver and surrounding areas.

The tactics have misfired, because Averbach consistently monitors his top Google rankings.  A few days ago when he searched his own name, he found that a competitor was using “Mike Averbach” and several other terms as tags in his blog.  The result was that the competitor’s name showed up linked to Mike’s name on page two of the Google rankings.

A second competitor has used Mike’s name and company name as keywords that are triggering Google paid ads.

The first black hat tactic is actually illegal in most US states and has been the focus of some very high profile legal cases. In Canada, civil law suits are quite different matter and since I’m not a lawyer I will “decline to comment.”

Illegal or not, using a competitor’s personal name  or company name in tags or keyword metatags shows a lack of moral fiber.  Attempting to steal a competitor’s hard earned traffic is simply a NO NO.

If you have found a competitor trying to steal YOUR traffic … what can you do?

1.  Write a “cease and desist” letter.  Sure you can send an email, but sending a hard copy is a good idea and registering your letter is an even better idea.

2. If you belong to a professional organization, let them know what is happening. They will probably get their ethics committee or board involved.  This may involve an investigation and censure.

3.  If that doesn’t produce results, get your lawyer to write a follow-up letter.  This will probably do the trick by scaring the pants off the offender.

4.  Your final recourse is a law suit.

What has Mike done? 

Read Broker alleges espionage on the web.

There are NO good reasons to use Black Hat SEO techniques.  There are literally dozens and dozens of ways to get traffic to your website.  SEO, SEM, Internet marketing strategies, off-line marketing strategies and social media strategies are only a few of the ways you can build your business.

Give me a call at 604-899-9403 to discuss how I can help build YOUR business.

The post Black Hat SEO Tactics Misfire appeared first on Focus on Traffic.

Time is a big concern for me, so I am always looking for (and testing) solutions to save me not only time, but also cut the effort, energy and frustration.

One of the programs I constantly use is  called Maxblogpress Ninja Affiliate   and I can’t imagine life without it anymore!

Let me share with you a few KEY features about this 100% plug-n-play application:

First of all, it enables automatic conversion of keywords into affiliate links, instantly. You can now update any keyword on your blog with the affiliate link of your choice, on all posts, in a split second!

Secondly, it helps you create professional redirect links – instead of promoting a long and ugly url, you’re having the option to setup a shorter link on your domain name which re-directs to the url of your choice.

And guess what? It also helps you fight affiliate commission theft. These online pirates would do anything just to steal your commissions and disappear in the night.

With Maxblogpress Ninja Affiliate you’re 100% armored.

I think this is a tool for every affiliate wanting to save time and money for real. So it’s in your best interest to download this tool today; each second counts!

P.S. I forgot to mention this – you’re guaranteed to receive FREE on going upgrades for your copy of MaxBlogPress Ninja Affiliate! Grab your copy, before your competitors find out!

The post Turn Your Keywords Into Affiliate Links appeared first on Focus on Traffic.

“How do I find and follow someone on twitter?”

1. Go to your twitter account:

http://twitter.com/your-twitter-name

2. Log in: user: your-twitter-name Pass: your-twitter-password

IF you know the name of the twitter account:
1. Visit the page of the account (person) you want to follow:
http://twitter.com/xxxxxxx xxxxxxx is the account (persons) name.
2. At the top of the account page is the account name and photo/logo/avatar …. right under that is a button labeled “Follow.” Click on Follow.

IF you do not know the name of the account, you can try searching for it. Here are three ways to search:

Use Twitters “Find People” Search
1. At the top of every twitter account is a menu bar. Look for “Find People”
2. Enter the name of whom ever you are looking for.

Use the Twitter Search Engine:
** Note, I don’t think the twitter search engine is as good as it could be!
1. Go to http://search.twitter.com
2. Enter the name of the person you are searching for.
3. If the account comes up in the search results … click on it and then click on “follow”

Use Google:
1. Go to google.com
2. Search for: First name + Last name + twitter i.e. Melanie Rockett twitter

The post How To Find and Follow Someone on Twitter appeared first on Focus on Traffic.

If you have a business, you really need to consider joining Google+ with a Business Profile.

Take 2.5 minutes to watch this and see why!

The post Why You Should Join Google+ appeared first on Focus on Traffic.

Reporters and professional bloggers submit their questions, ask for quotes from experts and look for story sources.  YOU as the topic expert, submit your answers, quotes or information and connect with the reporter.

This is a fabulous way for the reporters to get fast answers to their inquiries, and a great way for you to position yourself as an expert.

There are over 29,000 reporters registered with HARO  … and they ask over 200 questions a day.

Here is a quote that pretty well says it all!

“HARO has helped put us on the map! From responding to journalist’s inquiries, we have gotten articles posted, radio interviews, and an opportunity to drive members to our knowledge network. HARO is a real resource and a door opener for business.”

Amy Kopelan
The Guru Nation

If you want to appear in the media more often, do check it out.  There is a free option as well as several paid options.

The post Get More Publicity appeared first on Focus on Traffic.

One simple trick to writing more popular tweets.

The post Writing Better Tweets appeared first on Focus on Traffic.