7 Email Marketing Tips Your School Should Know
Are you struggling to get decent returns from your email campaigns? You hear every marketer and read every blog talking about the amazing potential email campaigns can have for your school.
How much should a School Budget for Marketing?
Before you embark on a school marketing program, you need to understand the true value of acquiring a new student for your school. Ask yourself this; How many new students would I need each month to off-set my marketing budget and exponentially increase enrollments on a regular basis?
Should I Outsource Marketing, or do it In-house?
Many schools and businesses have the resources to manage their own marketing programs, but don’t have the expertise to formulate a Digital Marketing Plan. We are launching a new program where we create the strategy for your team.
13 SEO Things You Can (Sort of) Do Yourself
So my challenge is to create a post using only 1 paragraph for each topic... and make sure it’s still useful AND quickly readable.
Challenge accepted…
Local Listings for Local Schools and Businesses
I’ve found that most of our clients shoot themselves in the foot by trivializing their listings and not paying attention to the basics. You have to do your listings right… and you have to do the right listings.
Clean Your School Website's Cruft and Rank Higher in Google
Are you constantly adding new content to your school's website? Good! Google loves fresh new content…but they love quality over quantity even more. .
Difference Between Search and Social Traffic?
Traffic to your website comes in multiple flavors, but they aren’t the same in terms of quality, cost and intent.
Best Practices for Hiring SEO Consultants
Now Google has one-upped me with a video about the exact same subject. And yes, I highly recommend it to any company looking into hiring an online marketing agency or consultant. In fact, I find it refreshingly validating.
The Worst Marketing Advice I Ever Got
Be Different…Just Like Everyone Else
I wasn’t always a marketing genius, and I’ve been known to seek out the advice of others. Generally I’ve found that to be a good policy.
5 Things You Don’t Know That Affect Your Search Rankings
Google has over 200 different factors that determine where your school's website ranks in the search results. Some of them technical in nature, but here are 5 easy ones that I bet you didn’t know were important.
How Much Does a Website Cost?
How much does a website cost? Good question. How much does a car cost? How much does food cost? Lobster tails are food, but then again, so are Raman Noodles. Truth be told, I have a good reason for not having a good answer. Read on.
PPC Strategies With a Limited Budget
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) is without exception, the single fastest way to get directly in front of consumers who are looking for your products and services. However, it’s not without limitations and risks.
How Much Does NOT Marketing Cost?
This is a tough piece to write because it probably won’t have a happy ending. What prompted this is a decision that one of our client’s made just days ago.
5 Ways to Convince Your Boss You Don’t Suck at Marketing
Digital Marketing Strategies to make your boss look like a Genius
The thing about marketing is you can’t just do it, you have to prove it. Unfortunately, you can suck at marketing, even if someone else is doing it.
How Much Does Digital Marketing Cost?
First, I’m not crazy about the concept of the “billable hour”. It’s archaic and the tally to the client can be unpredictable. Clients should not have to pay for agency inefficiencies, and agencies should not have to be restricted by maximum hours to get the job done. Still, both parties need a point of reference to determine value.
How do I start my Digital Marketing Plan?
Chasing buzz-words and shiny objects tends to lead you right back where you started…but with less resources to try it again. School Marketing is an investment in time and money, and you MUST get a return on that investment.
5 Signs Your School Needs a Website Update
Your school paid good money for that website…back when fax machines were relevant. And damn it, the longer you keep it, the better that decision was! Problem is, there’s a point of diminishing returns, and missed opportunities. So how do you know when it’s time to pull the plug? Glad you asked.
Keyword Reports are for Fools and Insomniacs
The fact is, search engines are getting smarter and they are no longer fixated on individual keywords. They’re focused on user intent… and so should you.
Charter School Marketing Tips
Does your charter school, private school or college rely on phone calls to keep your enrollments up? Are you answering every call? Here's a tip...Answer the phone!
Marketing Automation Example for Schools
I was just looking for a way to simplify our Marketing Automation strategy to a new school that we're working with, and it accidentally turned into this blog post . That was easy....
Whoever Has the Most Stars, Wins
Admit it, you’re attracted to those 5-stars reviews just like a striped bass to a shiny fishing lore. Those gold stars are designed to elicit feelings of good will and success ever since your elementary school teacher placed that first sticker on your homework paper.
4 Lead Generation Strategies You Might Already be doing
If you’re not familiar with these strategies, you’re probably familiar with the buzzwords. They all work great (if done correctly). There are pros and cons for each, and some make more sense based on your business.
Live Chat for Schools & Businesses
Newer technologies, and the skyrocketing acceptance of Live Chat as a preferred communication medium has transformed “chatting” into a viable replacement for web-forms and phone calls.
6 Essential Tips for School Websites
Your Website is the Hub of all your online marketing activity, it’s even a destination for offline marketing. Sooner or later every parent or student that you successfully target will eventually wind up on your website.
Why Does Google cost more than Facebook?
Google and Facebook are both great marketing solutions, but they aren’t interchangeable. They each have their place in your marketing tool-kit, but depending on the stage of your buyer’s journey, one of them might be more appropriate than the other.
“Lead Nurturing” and the Science of Patience
Did you know that 79% of marketing leads never convert into sales? Then again, 100% of marriage proposals are declined on the first date. Maybe we should have gotten to know each other a little better first?
School Marketing, Digital v. Traditional
As you congratulate yet another graduating class, or say goodbye to students who move on for their own reasons, the business person in you realizes that you need to enroll more students just to keep pace with the needs of the school.
Marketing for Schools: Enrollment Strategies for the Digital Age
Designing a Digital Marketing Strategy for schools can be complex and intimidating. This article is designed as a resource for you to return to over and over again. These are the same tactics that we use to assist our education clients with their digital enrollment strategies.
A Different Angle on Creating Sales Content
The most effective sales content addresses what your customers care about, not what you care to tell them about. Good content that moves the sales needle doesn’t just inform, it builds trust…and nothing builds trust more than honesty.
Digital Marketing Blueprint, When all You Need is the Plan
We offer a Digital Marketing Blueprint service where we design the strategy for your staff to follow under our guidance. See the end of the article to learn more.
What is a Lead Magnet?
Lead magnets are irresistible “bribes” that a prospect would find so compelling, that they would exchange their precious contact information to download it. It might be an eBook, or a guide, or access to a private series of videos.
5 Reasons Your Marketing Agency Lost that New Car Smell
Is your Digital Agency doing all it can, or just what’s in the contract?
The answer is…you have no idea. Unless you undergo a marketing audit, or talk with someone else in the industry, you don’t have anything to compare to. What you might have however, is a gut feeling.
Digital Marketing isn’t a Menu, it’s a Strategy
Search rankings effect traffic. Visitor engagement influence search rankings. Social media traffic signals search engines. Content influences search and visitor engagement. Reviews effect conversions. Your website architecture effects your sites “stickiness”. And your calls-to-action affects your enrollment pipeline.
How Do I Choose the Best Domain Name?
Selecting the perfect domain name is crucial to your marketing efforts because the cost of changing it in the future can be very painful. Not only will it be part of your company brand, the name can actually influence consumers and search engines. If you change it in the future you may have to go back and update all of your collateral material, and even worse, negate any search engine influence that you built up over time.
My Self-Serving List of Digital Marketing Articles that I Wrote – (2016 Edition)
Anyone can find good advice when they need it. The Internet is full of it. In fact I Googled “good advice” and came up with 46,800,000 search results. You know what’s missing? “Bad advice”. Who knew it was in short supply? Luckily I have some for you. This one got a lot of traffic. I guess people just can’t get enough bad advice.
Make 404 Error Pages Work for You
Getting Lost Doesn’t Have to be Boring! You’ve been there, just cruising along on a website, and bam! You hit a brick wall. The dreaded “404 Page Not Found” error. Damn, what a crappy website!
RFP doesn't Mean Respect For People
I get the occasional RFP (Request For Proposal)…it says so, right there in the subject line of the email! Oh the thrill…our next best customer just sought us out for no particular reason. High fives all around!
Don’t get scammed by a bad agency, hire a WSI Consultant
Digital marketing is a huge industry all over the world. With so many companies wanting digital marketing services, scams are also sadly on the rise. Start-ups and small businesses who are looking to save money are especially vulnerable – which can cost you significantly in the long run.
RankBrain: Is Google Changing Your Search Terms?
RankBrain, in short, is a machine learning technology that plays a huge role in the search results you see when you type a keyword query into Google.
Modern Website Design, To Scroll or Not to Scroll
Fun Fact: the term “the fold” came from the way newspapers were displayed out on the street, with all the headlines in view to entice passersby’s to pick up the paper. If it looked interesting enough, people might pick up the paper and buy it.
Local Pack & Ad Placement
2016 has seen Google make some pretty drastic changes by rearranging the search results pages that we’ve been accustom to for so long. Now there are 4 ads at the top, and three at the bottom of search results.
Essential Tips for a Great Website Footer
My Footer Fetish: A Look at the Bottom
Probably the most underutilized section of any website is the footer. You know…the very bottom of the page where you usually see the outdated copyright?
How Pay-Per-Click Ad Groups Work
Google makes it sound easy, and to some extent it is. The difference is in the fine-tuning, and employing best practices. Here is one of the best practices.
Can I Show up more than once on Google?
If you do EVERYTHING right, you actually may be able to show up on several (if not all) of these sections. I can prove it.
The Wackiest Lead I Ever Got
As a Digital Marketing firm, we feel obligated to eat our own dog food, or as my French associates would say "drink our own Champagne”. Like most businesses, we get leads from multiple sources. But I never got one before from an angry emoji.
Why Local Content Marketing Is Important for Your Business
You may be thinking that all you need to do is get listed in local business directories. However, this isn’t exactly true. If you're not sure why local content marketing matters, read on...
What’s Causing Your eCommerce Website to Lose Sales?
If you’ve been nodding a “yes” for all the questions, you may be making some critical mistakes. We’ve created a list of mistakes you must avoid in order to boost your ecommerce site’s performance.
6 Things You Need to Know about Google Removing PPC Results
If you haven’t heard yet, Google is removing the paid search listings from the right side of the search results. That will cause a supply and demand situation driving the cost of clicks through the roof. Not so fast….
5 Best Practice SEO Tips You Can Do Yourself
By themselves these tips may not rocket you to number one, but as best practices they can sure help. My colleague Steve Myring covers 5 Do-it-Yourself tips...
What’s the Difference between Adaptive and Responsive Website Design?
Did you know that these choices have a major effect on how much work you have to do to maintain your site and how your customers interact with you? If you’re not sure which is right for your business, read on…
Does PPC affect SEO?
Earlier in the week I got that exact question from a new client who wanted the instant gratification and ROI of paid advertising, but wanted assurances that he wasn’t going to have Google on his payroll forever. Here is my response...
Making WordPress Mobile Friendly
For your site, responsiveness is key to success, not just because Google will like your site better, but because it creates a better experience for the end-user. Follow these six steps for a more responsive, and therefore, more successful website.
Is Free Consulting a Good Idea?
Spoiler alert; If you think giving away a little free information could put you out of business… you’re probably in the wrong business. I’ll prove my point at the end of the article.
The Psychology of Website Design & Visual Trends for 2016
I was invited to conduct a training session for hundreds of Digital Marketing Consultants at WSI’s Global Convention. Here is the video training from that live session.
The Psychology of Website Design
I’ve been managing creative people for a long time. As it turns out, I’m a better Art Director than I am an artist. But one thing I do very well, is observe. And the thing I like observing the most are design trends. In particular, website design trends.
My Digital Marketing “Best Of” List 2015
It’s that time of the year where I pat myself on the back and tell the world what a great job I did sharing my vast knowledge of digital marketing.
Actually it’s just a busy this time of year and there’s nothing quicker than putting together a “best of” list. Here are the 6 most popular ones for the year...
You’re Doing LinkedIn Wrong
There are all sorts of things that people do wrong on all sorts of social platforms. Usually it has to do with carelessness or lack of understanding about the platform. However occasionally I come across an entire sub-category of ridiculousness.
10 Ways You're Doing Facebook Marketing Wrong
Facebook is the most popular social media platform with over a billion active users. No wonder, if you are an Internet marketer, you will be using Facebook’s viral marketing tactics to grow your reach and visibility. But to ensure success of your marketing campaign, you must be able to spot the fine line between getting noticed for the right reasons and doing anything that bothers or annoys people. We’ve compiled a list of 10 things you should refrain from doing on Facebook before you start losing your customers.
Reusing Content for Marketing
The concept of Inbound Marketing hinges on providing something so valuable that someone will trade their contact information for it. So enticing that they know they are going to have to hear from you again. Sound easy?
Glass & Mirror Marketing: How to Leverage your partners
Think Outside the Shower
In a previous article “Don’t Sell the Shower, Sell the Bathroom” I outlined the exact sequence that we used to help market one of our glass and mirror clients sell shower doors and other glass amenities.
Top of the Funnel Marketing Example: Glass & Mirror
Don’t Sell the Shower, Sell the Bathroom
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that everyone who needs your product or service is looking for it. In fact, they might not even be aware they need your product until…they actually need your product.
Why Retargeting is such a Bargain
Your Next Best Customer already Knows You
So I was thinking about getting some new dress shoes for an event I’m going to. I wasn’t in any hurry, just looking around. Went to the Alan Edmonds website and saw some pretty interesting styles. I just wasn’t ready to buy yet.
How Can I Make my Business More Creative?
I love clever. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a simple turn of a phrase, or a sophisticated piece of engineering. Have you ever been to a Super Bowl party when the only time everyone is focused is during the half-time commercials? That’s what I call Madison Avenue creativity.
Do I need to know programming to do SEO?
So if you’re a business owner, somewhere along the line you have to consider what it takes to generate leads from your website. That means that you need to make some decisions. You will either have to do something yourself, have your staff do something, or hire a third-party to help.
Testimonials are great, but Reviews are Better!
We do the online marketing for a lot of businesses so we get an unusual view of what’s actually going on. Since we monitor the traffic sources for each or our clients, I can tell you that you’d be surprised at how many “branded keywords” (variations of the company name) are actually being searched.
Writing Web Copy – My “Easy” List
Your Headlines should be “Scanable” but your body copy should be “Snackable”. Unless the purpose of your website is to sell a book, don’t write a book. Remaining true to that philosophy, here is one of the shortest posts I’ve ever written. And no, it’s not because I’m going on vacation next week and just want to crank this out… that’s just a coincidence.
Website Navigation Trends. Don’t make Me think.
People appreciate “clever”, but not at the expense of their time. Playing hide and seek with the information they are looking for and forcing them “explore” every page on your site will not end well for you. You are only going to get so many clicks out of any visitor, so don’t just make it easy for them to find what they are looking for, lead them down a predetermined path so they find what you want them to find.
How to Pick Killer Images for Your Blog!
The problem starts with the image search. If you search a stock photo site for something obvious, that’s just what you’re going to get. Let’s take a look…
Website Design Consistency Tips
Your website should not be a hodgepodge of different styles, fonts, colors and layouts. Users adapt to what they see pretty quickly, but if you keep changing the various elements that make up your website, it not only looks unprofessional and disorganized, it makes it more difficult for them to navigate and develop a sense of confidence in your site and your service.
The Inbound Marketing Replay
Last week I conducted a 30-minute live webinar reviewing one of my companies’ own Inbound Marketing campaigns. If you missed it I persuaded WSI (the company that hosted me) to post it on Vimeo. You can watch it now at your leisure.
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4 Simple Things You NEED to Do with Your Domain Name
How much is your website domain name worth? I don’t mean in how much would someone pay you for it, I mean what is it worth to your company? Think of all the investment your company has made over the years...
Inbound Marketing, a Step-by-Step Case Study
I often train other Digital Marketing consultants across the globe, so I find it most effective to break things down into simple step-by-step procedures. Whenever possible I show real life examples. When WSI (a global network of Digital Marketing Consultants) asked me to present a webinar on Inbound Marketing I made the decision to show one of my own Inbound Marketing campaigns.
A Business Model that Doesn’t Make ¢ents?
It took me a while to nail down his business model; He was going to write technical blogs, draw big crowds to his website and make his entire living off of the residuals from Google AdSense. He just needed to know how we could draw traffic to his site.
How Much does Pay-Per-Click Cost?
Paid advertising is the fastest way to generate leads. Period. The issue is that it doesn’t happen by itself, and it doesn’t happen for free.
PPC, Should I bid on My Own Company Name?
When we run paid advertising campaigns for our clients we make sure we bid on their own company name by default. In fact some of the biggest brands bid on their own name even though they are already well established household brands. Ford, Amazon, Round Table Pizza all are willing to pay for the privilege of showing up for their own company name.
Coming up with Killer Web Image Ideas
OK Captain Obvious, you created your Buyer Personas and know exactly who you are targeting. You wrote some killer copy for your website, created a great offer and have your Calls To Action ready to go. But something’s missing…
How to Produce an eBook that Generates Leads
The type of eBook I’m talking about is not the type that you download to your Kindle. It’s a well-produced piece of premium content that you offer for free as an enticement to collect a consumer’s contact information and move them farther down the sales funnel.
Best Filters To Have For Your Google Analytics
I asked my Web Presence Manger, Geoff to put together an easy to follow step-by-step tutorial of how you as a business owner or marketing manager can get true actionable data to make crucial marketing decisions...
Why Do I need More Than One Landing Page?
So, your offer is so irresistible that once a consumer glances at your landing page they are helpless to do anything but submit to your will. After all, they probably haven’t been exposed to any advertising all day.
How to Give Good Headline
A successful email, landing page, Blog or Social Post is an accumulation of several elements, but if your headline fails, the rest of your page will fail. You need to spend more time on your headline than on any other element of your post, page or email.
Why are Buyer Personas Important?
So, your offer is so irresistible that once a consumer glances at your landing page they are helpless to do anything but submit to your will. After all, they probably haven’t been exposed to any advertising all day.
Don’t You Hate Getting Sued for Using the Wrong Image?
So what are the odds that the owner of an image will stumble across that image that you “borrowed” for your website or blog and make a big honkin’ deal about it? Waaaaay better than you think.
What Impact did a Website Redesign have on this Glass & Mirror Company?
Websites go in and out of style just like fashion, and this 2011 vintage website now had all the appeal of a 1970’s leisure suite. Whenever you give a website a fresh modern look you expect a bit of a bump, but these numbers were a little north of what we expected.
Who is Responsible for Writing My Web Copy?
Years ago, before we became a full-service digital marketing agency, we were essentially just another website development company in Orange County. Back then we considered it standard procedure that our clients BYOC…Bring Your Own Copy (I just made that up).
Can One-Time Search Engine Optimization really Work?
It’s no longer about Search Engine Optimization, It’s about Web Presence Optimization…and the answer is NO, it doesn’t work.
Does Your Digital Marketing Agency do their Homework First?
The ability to check off every task on an order form is no guarantee of success. If the Digital Marketing Agency you’re considering just offers you a “package” without any proof they did the research on you, your target market and your competition, I would question their ability to move the needle in your favor. I’m sure they can check off every task on their list, but without knowing what they are up against, how can they be confident it is the correct strategy for you?
Easy to Follow Inbound Marketing Sequence
There’s also direct mail, TV, Radio and emails. That’s a lot of noise surrounding each and every one of us each and every day. Oh… almost forgot, there’s competition too.
Does Your Digital Marketing Agency Eat Their Own Dog Food?
The ability to check off every task on an order form is no guarantee of success. If the Digital Marketing Agency you’re considering just offers you a “package” without any proof they did the research on you, your target market and your competition, I would question their ability to move the needle in your favor. I’m sure they can check off every task on their list, but without knowing what they are up against, how can they be confident it is the correct strategy for you?
Hiring a Digital Marketing Agency: Reputation Counts
A good Digital Marketing agency should be knowledgeable, organized and honest. Two out of three just won’t cut it. A good agency should also leave a trail of satisfied clients in their wake. Ideally they should offer you direct contact information of some previous clients so you can get the unfiltered scoop on their performance.
How I Rocked LinkedIn to be #1 in Profile Views
I’ve been testing out the method below for over a month with quite a bit of success. By success, I don’t mean just building my LinkedIn network, but generating actual business. I’m now #1 for profile views for “Professionals like you” and in the top 1% in my own network.
Betty wants to do SEO herself…Revisited
One of our fans found an animated video we created just a few short years ago. That’s just a few years ago in people time…in Internet time, it was the equivalent of decades ago.
Full Service Digital Marketing Agencies v. Specialists. Which is right for you?
Specialists certainly have their place when the general consensus is to attack a particular marketing initiative to the exclusion of other options. A specialist may be able to bring a tested strategy and uncommon knowledge to the table. Just make sure they have a track record of playing nice with others.
Would You Buy a Used Car from this Marketing Agency?
Why is the purchase of a car so inherently painful? Spoiler alert… it’s because most people are woefully unprepared when they walk onto the lot. The short version is; you don’t understand the product, you don’t understand the process, you have nothing to compare it to.
Did you Miss these Internet Marketing Articles?
Some of our articles get a lot of attention and other ones get overlooked. Here are my picks for our recent best. And don’t forget to grab you Free eBook!
Who REALY Owns Your Website?
Not every Digital Marketing firm is as legitimate as they would have you believe. So how can you separate the charlatans, scammers and incompetents from the professionals? With a little basic homework, and armed with the right questions, you stand a pretty good chance of partnering with the right firm.
