Archive of category ‘Fun Marketing’

You’re not a dummy, bunny! I just wrote that headline to get your attention. You are actually quite brilliant at what you do, so why the heck should you be all knowledgeable about Facebook and all this techie stuff? Fact is, you shouldn’t, cause that’s my job!!  And now that I have your attention, there is an important Public Service Announcement that I would like to pass on to you from an article Girl Friday saw in the New York Times the other day. And because I truly care about you and your marketing needs (you know I do! there’s nothin’ but love here, baby-boo!), I pass it on to you.

Here’s the scoop, served in a nutshell, covered in chocolate sauce, whipped cream and a cherry:

1. Status Updates are now seen on Google, Yahoo, etc. search engines: So if you post any colorful updates that you wouldn’t want Mom or your boss to see, you can change  your Privacy Setting under “Profile Information” and “Posts by Me” to show your Updates to “Only Friends,” rather than the “Everyone” setting. Because “Everyone” means Everyone.
2. Your “Personal Info” is also now set to default to “Everyone” by the new Facebook settings for family and relationships (relationship status) and your birth date (do you really want this information seen to anyone and everyone online? Think about identity theft here). You can change this setting.  Go to “Privacy Settings,” “Profile Information” and for each field listed on this page, change the pull-down menu (to the right). You can choose “Everyone,” “Friends of Friends,” “Only Friends,” and “Custom.”  The “Custom” field allows you to choose “Only Me,” which might be the best choice for your sensitive data like birth date.
3. All of the above Personal Information, if it is checked or defaulted to “Everyone,” is also available to the search engines. Under “Settings/Privacy Settings/Search,” look to see if the “Allow” box is checked. If you do not want your Profile information to be search-able, uncheck this box.

For the complete article, and links to more information on protecting your privacy within Facebook, see the sourced article here.

Now go out there, and take on this Facebook thingy, and don’t be afraid!! ‘Cause once you’ve conquered this small challenge:   “You [will be] able to say to yourself, “I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt said that, and I just love that lady. Have a sunny day!  Love, –your Girl Friday

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Quick! What’s the quickest, most efficient way to take control of your website, so that you can update it yourself and not be at the mercy of your web designer to make simple changes, add product or new content? Why, the answer is to convert it to a WordPress blog site! Woo hoo, that was easy!

You do not have to be a writer, or a blogger, to have a blog site. A blog site is just another website built on a platform (Girl Friday loves the WordPress platform) that allows you to log-in to an administration panel in order to add pages, content, photos, product information, video, etc. And trust me, it is really FUN to take over the control of your website…you feel powerful, in charge, brilliant and suave, sophisticated and way ahead of your competition and you might even lose a few pounds and ten years off your face! Well…maybe not that last part. WordPress is absolutely FAB, but they haven’t perfected age-regression yet!

When you convert your static website to a dynamic WordPress blog site, that will allow visitors to interact with you – they can respond to your content by making comments, asking questions, purchasing product or downloading information you’ve provided. Blog sites offer many more opportunities for the visitor to take the call to action that will convert them from a visitor into a customer or new client. The communication that you have with the blog site visitor is what distinguishes a blog from a brochure-style, or static site; there is no such interaction between a static site and the visitor. And honey, isn’t that what EVERYONE says it’s all about?? Communication?? (and you thought it was all about the hokey pokey, silly you!).

With a WordPress blog site, you do not need to know HTML or coding to build new pages or update your site. No more calling your site designer to make little changes that you can do yourself. You own your WordPress site, baby and can control everything in it. Dontchya just love being in control??

A WordPress blog site can also be set up to connect to your social media accounts like Facebook and Twitter. Post your new content once on your WordPress blogs site, and that content can be posted, at the same time, to your Facebook/Twitter accounts. So all your Friends can witness how in control you are, learn about your site/business, read your new content, buy your stuff, worship you from afar!

WordPress blog sites also support e-commerce, advertising, affiliate marketing – using widgets and plug-ins that you can easily install yourself, WordPress blogs have limitless possibilities and flexibility.

There’s a bit of a learning curve if you are completely non-computer literate, but the dashboard is a “What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get  (WYSIWIG) editor window, so if you know Word you should have no problem. And you are one smart cookie, anyway. You can do this!!

Love the way your current site LOOKS? Don’t worry your pretty head!! Converting your static site does not mean you have to lose your beautiful design…you can have a blog site that looks just like the existing site. But if the goal is to bring in lots of visitors to the site, Girl Friday thinks you should consider using the blog, and it’s fresh, keyword-laden content, as your home page….I’m just saying!!

Long ago I chose to make my groovy and fun Girl Friday blog into my home page. I do it this way because when I post to the blog, it is indexed more frequently by search engines, so that my target market will find this site more easily. And I LOVE being FOUND!!  YOU’LL love it too!!

So, using my blog in this manner makes my website an actual marketing tool, rather than a brochure site that just sits there looking pretty but doesn’t do much for bringing in traffic. And I’m all for looking pretty, but come on…get to work and bring home the bacon, I mean, the website traffic!!

Girl Friday can turn your static site into a marketing tool that you can control, that is SEO friendly, and that will attract new visitors and business by converting it to a WordPress blog site. Comment on this blog post, or send me an email to: elaine@e-girlfriday.com

Write a comment to this blog post, ask a question, or send us an email for more information to:  marketing@leafandvine.com.

Category: Fun Marketing | Already 1 comment »

Are you spending lots of time on FacebookTwitterLinkedIn but not really sure why??  Or, perhaps you know you should be on FacebookTwitterLinkedIn or some combination thereof, but you aren’t really clear on how exactly they all work??  You are not alone!!  But it’s not really your job, is it, to figure it all out and then do something about it? Well, yes, so sorry. It is your job. But you don’t have to slog and slosh your way through it by yourself, sweetie. Girl Friday is here to make it all right. There now…feel better?

Here’s the truth: you need to figure out which social media tool works best for you, for your business, and for the staff and resources you have on hand to manage that social media. Not all businesses need a Facebook account, nor should certain businesses even have a presence on Facebook…and certainly not everyone should Twitter. And LinkedIn has its own special purpose that may not fit in with your business model or way of working.

It’s to your advantage to look at the different social media tools available and then ask yourself a few questions:

1. Is my target audience even ON Facebook or Twitter?? If you are a financial planner whose clients are all retired, chances are they are not on Twitter – they don’t even know what that is!  If you are trying to gather a younger clientele for your business, however, you may want to be on Facebook and reach the adult children of your older clients. They may be on Facebook for social reasons, and can get to know you in that online community. Let’s say you are a new restaurant – you’ll want to reach people in the surrounding neighborhood who are on Facebook, where they and their friends talk about or suggest places to go out to eat…by all means, gather as many of those Friends as you can! ON the other hand, if you are a business coach offering services to corporate clients. LinkedIn may make better sense as a social/business networking tool for you. You become a resource on LinkedIn, where other businesses search for your unique skills or services. If you believe your target market is heavily involved in a particular social media, you’ll want to be utilizing that social media tool, and it’s community, to keep your online presence fresh and engaged.
2. Do I have the time, or the staff, to consistently engage in the social media conversation? If you can’t devote time on a consistent basis, whether daily, weekly, bi-weekly, etc.  – honey, you are just a wastin’ time and who has time to waste? Not Girl Friday!! and I’m sure you don’t either!  So I’m going to save you a ton o’ time and tell you that you need to make sure you can consistently maintain whichever social medial tool you choose to participate in. If you start and then allow your Profile or Twitter account to remain outdated, it looks to visitors as though you don’t even visit your own sites…so why should they?  Social media is of the moment; be present, be there now, be a part of the conversation that is happening today. So stay up to date, cupcake!
3. Should I perhaps just choose ONE social media tool, stick with it, be consistent, and give that a try?? Well, um…in a word:  yes!!  See if you can manage just one social media tool, OR, a blog if you have one. Be very consistent…if Twitter is all you can manage time-wise, then do Twitter. But do it well. If you feel really comfortable in Facebook, and you can manage your Profile or Fan Page in a way that promotes you and your business in a personable yet professional way…then go for it. Better to do just one social media tool, and do it well, than try to manage three or four different accounts where nothing of value or relevance is posted, or it is inconsistent.  You can always add on more social media once you master one.

Don’t feel guilty that you’ve neglected your poor Tweets, have not responded to all those Facebook emails, or updated your contacts at LinkedIn. Take a deep breath. None of this stuff is going away. Conserve your energy…plan carefully….then do it!!

And if you’d like some great information you can use, take our “Navigating the Maze of Online Marketing” workshops….workshop III is this Thursday, November 19, 10 a.m. in Petaluma, CA. Go to this link to reserve your spot:  http://onlinemarketingmedia.eventbrite.com/ or….send me an email to: info@e-girlfriday.com.

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Your website is the single most important tool you have to promote your business online. Start smart…it’s easy to avoid these common mistakes, plan ahead, and save yourself a lot of money and time:

1.    DO know what the goal, or the purpose is, of your site. Without a clear goal, you can’t come up with a clear plan, and without a clear plan, the resulting site will be a wasted opportunity to get your message out there.
2.    DON’T plan your site around a DESIGN concept and then fill the design with CONTENT. You must know what that CONTENT is first, then plan the DESIGN around that CONTENT. This is critical to clarifying your website’s goal or message.
3.    DON’T use a non-professional to build your site in order to save money. You will eventually have to hire a professional to fix the problems that WILL occur, costing you more money in the long run than if you had hired a professional to begin with.
4.    DON’T hire a website designer who doesn’t understand how to optimize the site for Search Engines. You’ll wind up with a site…and no visitors.
5.    DON’T begin the build process until you have the previous four suggestions worked out, and you have your art, content, and plan IN HAND. If you start without your materials ready to go, you will encounter countless delays. It should not take six months to build your site.

Girl Friday Virtual Marketing and NeighborhoodNow are actual professionals…we don’t just play one on TV! Learn about our Workshops on “How to Navigate the Maze Of Online Marketing.” We are offering them in the North Bay and beyond, and can present to your company and staff, too.  For more information, email Girl Friday at info@e-girlfriday.com today!

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Another way to get past the “Live News Feed” or “News Feed” is to Create a List:

1. On your HOME page, under the Left Sidebar, click on the “More” link to expand the Sidebar.
2. Click on “Create New List.” It will open a new window, where you will see all of your Friends listed.
3. Name your New List and then click on all the Friends whose Status Updates you would like to see (instead of the “News Feed”). When finished, click on “Create New List” button at the bottom of the window, and close it. (PS: you could even name your new list something like: “MY News Feed” if that works for you, or “My Music Friends,” or “Business Friends,” etc….you get the picture!)
4. It will place your New List in your left sidebar. Now, if you ONLY want to see the Status Updates of those Friends in your New List, just CLICK on that New List, and Facebook will only show you THOSE Friends’ Status Updates…there ya go!

It’s easy as buying an apple pie (not making one – I don’t think that is really easy!) You will be filtering your own News Feed and only seeing the stuff YOU have determined is of interest to you. FACEBOOK -  get outta our brains, fer gosh sakes!

(thanks Kirk for reminding me about this feature!)

Want to learn more? Girl Friday teaches workshops, consults with small businesses, designs stuff and writes things. Send her an email: info@e-girlfriday.com

Category: Fun Marketing | Already 1 comment »

Dear Facebook,

I finally understand it now:  The “News Feed” is the OLD “Highlights,” which used to live in the right sidebar. In the OLD “Highlights” section, you benevolently placed the updates and posts that received the most “Likes” or were widely read or linked to by Facebook friends. I get it! You have NOW placed those “Highlights” in the “News Feed” section, and you are so kindly determining which posts YOU think I might find interesting based on how many people read, “liked” or “commented” on those posts, or, which posts I commented on. Thank you!! (you could have told us!)

If I combine my new-found knowledge (almost impossible to find, no thanks to you) with my powers of deduction, my crystal ball, my astrologer and the Wiccan practitioner who lives down the street, I think I’ve unraveled The Mystery of Facebook’s Myriad Magical and Constant Changes to Their Interface, and have come to the conclusion that you are just trying to be helpful. Again. Thanks.

Please stop, dear. Just stop it. You’re confusing my Friends and they are getting cranky.

PLEASE send out some form of CLEAR, CONCISE information that will explain the DIFFERENCE BETWEEN:

the “News Feed”

the “Live News Feed”

and

the “Wall”

In the absence of your obviously understaffed Customer Relations department, Girl Friday will do her best now for her cranky, annoyed Friends:

1. The “Wall” on your PROFILE page: Post here, my dear Friends, when you want to Update your Status or post a Link, Video, Music and so on. When you Update Your Profile, your FRIENDS will see it )in their “News Feed” or “Live News Feed,” depending (see below!)  and, depending on your Settings, it may also come up on a Google search, etc. If what you post is particular interesting, and lots of Friends “like” it, “Comment” on it, etc., Facebook’s Magical Mystery Algorithm will deem that Update more worthy than others, and will stream it to the “News Feed” of your Friends who have shown through THEIR postings, usage, comments, etc. that what YOU’VE posted is interesting to them.  YOU NO LONGER NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ENJOY…FACEBOOK KNOWS FOR YOU!!! Woo hoo!!?
2. So, the “News Feed” is basically filtered Updates and posts that show up on your Home page, based on your past usage. Girl Friday thinks she has discovered this font of knowledge regarding Facebook’s changes, has researched it, and to the best of her knowledge, may even be slightly correct about this. However, Girl Friday would like to state right here, right now, that the information provided on this website should not be construed as personal medical advice or instruction and readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well being. Going nuts over Facebook does not constitute an actual medical condition, but rather presents itself as evidence that you may require other activities with which to occupy your time. Readers who fail to consult appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries.
3. The “Live News Feed” is pure, unadulterated STUFF, STUFF and MORE STUFF from pretty much every one of your “Friends.” You know those Friends who tell you that they’ve: “Just had coffee, think I’ll visit the john” in their Updates? I’m talkin’ about them. They’re in your “Live News Feed.” That “Live News Feed” collects all the fascinating bits of trivia and drivel, along with the brilliant and witty art-music-poetry-life-affirmations that occasionally burst like little stars in the Facebook firmament. You could spend your whole day reading the “Live News Feed.” I suspect some of you do. But just in case you miss something while you are out actually living your life (as Girl Friday does manage to do, too, once in a while), Facebook stores up all those tidbits for you. So that when you log in again…they are waiting for you. You cannot escape them. Effluvia awaits, to drown your brain in Information Overload. Proceed with caution.
4. So: what to do? To remove the “News Feed” and begin the Road to Thought Recovery, go to your Home Page. In the left sidebar, click on “Status Updates.” You’re done. The News Feeds, both of them…the chum and the good stuff, will cease to exist for you. All you need to read will be the Status Updates of your Friends. That’s the stuff you’re interested in…right?
5. The Moral of This Story:  In a way, I think this is a Good Thing…the fact that Facebook has just really messed up your online mojo. Why? Because Girl Friday thinks there is enough irrelevant nonsense on the internet, and in Facebook and Twitter and on and on. If you’re going to write something….make it Entertaining, Communicative, Collaborative, Educational. Give something meaningful to the world. Facebook wants to filter out the boring, irrelevant stuff, and their attempts to do so are just annoying. Why not just provide some quality here, so that the geniuses at Facebook don’t have to spend their time trying to read our minds. Let’s make our Minds BETTER!!!  Better as in:  Write something edifying, post a beautiful photo or incredible video, or uplifting song, or quote from JesusBuddahMohammedOprah…whatever you are passionate about. If you do that consistently, Facebook may have to lay off some of their workers, which will be unfortunate, but they may then go out and start serving Curry Without Worry and making the world a better place in a new and different way and they will all get away from their computers which is what Girl Friday is going to do right now.PS: you can learn this stuff if you really want to. Girl Friday teaches workshops, barn dances, and cow-tipping…no, not really. She teaches a workshop on Online Marketing. Send her an email and ask about it:  info@e-girlfriday.com

Category: Fun Marketing | 5 comments »

Insert appropriate words where indicated:

“I’ve spent a ton of (money / time / effort) on my (website / blog / shopping cart) and I (haven’t sold a thing / have no traffic / have no clue what’s going on! )“

Sound familiar?? It sure does to Girl Friday! You can’t imagine how many times she has heard that sad story. But how could you know, really, that even though your brother-in-law did read “HTML for Dummies” cover-to-cover, he really doesn’t know how to build you a site that actually functions as a website should – that is, as a marketing tool to promote you online!!

Listen, dearie, you are one smart cookie…you’re reading this blog!!  So before you invest any more money or time:

1. 1. 1. figure out, based on what your goals are, which type of site is best for you; then
      2. learn to recognize the important factors that make up a good website
      3. ask some very important questions of your web designer and internet service provider (ISP)
      4. make sure they incorporate those critical tools and elements into your website/blog/e-commerce site.

You’ll save yourself a lot of stuff like money and time and aggravation and you’ll have more fun doing the other stuff you love!

Think about these things, and then have yourself a nice day.

PS: if you’d like to take a workshop on the above, Girl Friday is offering one with her friends at NeighborhoodNow. Just click here to read more details!!

Bye now!

Your Girl Friday

Ponder:

• What makes a good website? What’s better for your business and goals? A static site with a Content Management System? A Blog? An E-Commerce Site?

• Starting Over? Learn what you need to know and the steps you must take BEFORE investing time and effort in a website that gets no visitors and no customers. You can turn your website into an effective and dynamic marketing tool that WILL attract prospects, leads and customers.

• Ask the Right Questions: Does your website designer know about best techniques for optimizing your site for search engines, both behind the scenes and on your site pages? Is your website provider doing everything they can to make sure you are attracting visitors, extracting information from those visitors, and/or getting the website visitors to convert to a customer/client? This is stuff you need to ask, Bonky…don’t be shy!!

Category: Fun Marketing | Already 1 comment »

“Isn’t it funny?” Girl Friday thought to herself this morning over her double-Sanka with CoffeMate and a Tang chaser.

“Online marketing is about communities. But you are using a “machine” (your computer, PDA or mobile device) to participate in that community. And that “machine” is a barrier – so your perception of the experience is that you are looking in to the group, and not truly of the group. Geez, Louise, that’s a bit depressing!  So…you’re actually using a “machine” to create the illusion of human community and heartfelt interaction? Darling, bring me another Sanka so I can chew on this a bit more!”

That desire to truly belong to the online community is what businesses need to tap into when they decide to go with an online marketing or social media plan.

Make your online community (blog, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) a place where we want to belong. You are the expert. We want to trust you and like you. We really do want what you have, whether it’s a product you’re offering, a service, or just the coolness of belonging to your groovy group. You just have to remind us that you’re just like us, we’re just like you, we all want the same things. Help us remember our desire.

And it occurred to Girl Friday, just this minute, that THE KEY to creating that place of belonging online, is to RE-HUMANIZE the experience.

Since you can’t take away the computer – the barrier –  be online who you are in person. Write like you talk. Deliver your message or product or cool factor with humor. Make your point matter-of-factly if you are a stiff, dry, nerdy type. Hey, that’s who you are? Revel in it, honey!

I betchya dollars to donuts the MadMen guys and gals never had to RE-humanize their ad campaigns in order to create that desire in their magazine ads. They didn’t have to “create a community.” Everyone seemed to belong to the same group, and the message brought them even closer together in their shared desire for the product.

But we’re going with digital dots dashes bits and bytes these days…

So the short moral of this long story?

We’re all human, baby…
act like one online
You’ll gather your community in no time!

Category: Fun Marketing | 2 comments »

Navigate the World of Online Marketing

Twitter. Facebook. Social Media. Blogs. Search Engine Optimization… Let’s face it…for most business owners, the new world of online marketing technologies is intimidating and overwhelming.

You’ve heard about it, you might have even have tried to figure this stuff out on your own – but you don’t have the time, you don’t have the resources and you don’t know why it matters to you. Right?

Wrong. The majority of your prospects and customers are ALREADY using online tools EVERY day to find information and to make purchasing decisions. In fact, 98% of buying decisions today involve some form of online search or inquiry. If you’re not there – where the conversation is ALREADY happening – you miss out on a vast pool of potential customers/clients. Additionally: an overwhelming 93% of social media users expect companies to have an online presence. What’s yours?

NeighborhoodNow.com founder Roohi Moolla, and Girl Friday Virtual Marketing founder Elaine Lucia are combining their 40+ years of Online Technology and Marketing experience to bring you a Powerhouse of Professional Knowledge and Tools that you can implement IMMEDIATELY to create a successful Online Marketing Strategy (read more about Roohi and Elaine below).

In this 3-part series of workshops, we’ll walk you through the process of creating and implementing an Online Marketing Strategy suited specifically to your business – and we’ll make it painless, simple and effective.

WORKSHOPS BEGIN NEXT THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5! REGISTER HERE

We’ll help you navigate the maze of Online Marketing Tools that are on the internet today, and we’ll work WITH you to select those tools best suited to promoting YOUR business, show you how you can easily incorporate simple marketing steps into your schedule and teach you how to turn online prospects into real paying customers.

At the end of the Workshop Series, you’ll have:

1. A solid understanding of why you need to use Online Marketing Tools for your Business
2. The right mix of Tools to attract prospects and customers for your business
3. How to implement those Tools easily and effectively

Each Workshop includes a Training Session, followed by Lunch and a Question/Answer Session, where you can finally get answers to your own questions about Social Media, Your Website’s effectiveness etc.

Workshop 1: Thurs. Nov. 5
Navigating the Maze –
Which Online Tools Do You Need for YOUR Business?

• Intro to Online Marketing: What exactly is it? We know, and we’ll tell you. Take away solid facts, and a list with links and resources.

• An A to Z of Online Marketing Tools: We’ll show you the best and the most effective. Take away a glossary of terms and definitions.

• Your Online Toolbox: Complete your Business Profile and we’ll use it to help you figure out which online tools are right for your business and your goals. 

Take away: your own Online Marketing “Toolbox.”

Workshop 2: Thurs. Nov. 12

Stake Your Claim –
Determine Your Best Online Presence: Website, Blog, E-commerce?

• What makes a good website? What’s better for your business and goals? We’ll tell you which type of site you really need and why Take away some solid facts that will help you decide your next step:

• Starting Over?: We’ll tell you what you need to know and the steps you must take BEFORE investing time and effort in a website that gets no visitors and no customers. We’ll help you turn your website into an effective and dynamic marketing tool that WILL attract prospects, leads and customers.

• Work with What You Have: Complete a Website Health checklist so you can find out if your website is really working FOR you and what to do to get it into shape.

 Take away: The Key Factors to an effective Online Presence.

Workshop 3: Thurs. Nov. 19
Raise Your Banner High–Drive traffic and customers to your site with Social Media

• Twitter: What exactly is it and how does it work? Is it right for your business? We’ll help you figure it out and tell you how to get started.

• Facebook: Should you use the most popular social media tool? How can your business benefit?
• LinkedIn: Professionals use this for networking. Can you use it for your business? If so…how? Take away: A Roadmap for an effective Online Social Media Strategy

THURSDAY: Nov. 5, Nov. 12 and Nov. 19
10 am – 12 pm: Workshop
12 – 1 pm: Lunch (provided) PLUS Question/Answer Session

WORKSHOP FEE (Includes Lunch):
$95/workshop; OR
$240 for all 3 workshops ($80/workshop)
if you pre-register by November 2nd 
-
use discount code WSALL3
on the 3rd workshop to receive your discount ($45 value)

Workshops are limited seating.
Register now to reserve your seat.

WORKSHOP LOCATION:
Petaluma Area Chamber of Commerce
6 Petaluma Blvd. N., Suite A-2
Petaluma, CA 94952

Questions? Need More Info?
EMAIL: info@neighborhoodnow.com or CALL: 707.338.8900
info@e-girlfriday.com or CALL: 707.696.9404

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Hopefully, you are using Inbound Marketing tools like a blog, social media and/or Search Engine Placement to attract new visitors to your website.

And, if you are selling products or services using a Shopping Cart, you can use that cart to boost the effectiveness of your Inbound Marketing plan, too. Pretty nifty, huh?

There are hundreds of on-line shopping carts to choose from, ranging in price from free to wicked expensive. But do your homework, and if you want to utilize your cart as a marketing tool, search for carts with lots o’ goodies in them. Certain shopping cart tools, when combined with your existing marketing, can really boost the results of your inbound marketing plan.

“Like what tools, Girl Friday? you may ask. “And how?”

Make sure your Shopping Cart is Search Engine Friendly, and ask if it contains these marketing tools:

1. Product pages that contain space for keyword-specific product descriptions. So, when someone is searching Google for, say, a groovy pair of carpet skates, they’ll be directed to the shopping cart landing page for Carpet Skates, where you’ll have a fabulous, keyword-rich description of just how cool those skates are! As always, keywords are…the key.
2. Some carts can create a feed from your product catalog to product comparison sites like Google Product Search, Shopzilla and PriceGrabber.com. Millions of shoppers use those comparison sites. This is a just another good way to gain some new visitors to your product pages! Is that neat or what?  I KNOW!! Be sure to ask your shopping cart provider if they have this cool tool.
3. Consider an Affiliate Marketing program – some shopping carts have this module; there are also other ways you can set-up and manage affiliates who sell your products for you by sending traffic to your cart, in exchange for a commission. A good way to create a ’sales force’!
4. Tell-A-Friend capability allows a shopper to send an email to a friend to let them know about your products. That friend can then click on a link in the email and wind up in your cart purchasing that product.

Other tools within a cart can augment your marketing plan. Here are some other questions you might ask a shopping cart provider:

1. Does your shopping cart have a list program you can use for creating/sending newsletters or sales promotions?
2. Can you create forms for harvesting new subscribers to your newsletters/email list?
3. Is there an email auto-responder?
4. Is there Ad Tracking software so you see which ads are working for you?

About Shopping Carts:

1. You can purchase and own the software, do-it-yourself, and “bolt” the cart onto your existing website. This option, best for smaller companies or low-sales sites, requires more of a financial investment up front, but may save you money in the long-run. This “ala carte” approach allows you to pick and choose different modules you can add to use as marketing tools. And this is a good way to go if you have staff or can hire someone to set it up for you and teach you to use it. Girl Friday has done this for clients, and can do it for your company, too. Ask us how!
2. There are on-line hosted shopping cart programs that give you a wider range of e-commerce functionality, and offer embedded marketing tools as well. You pay a set-up fee upfront, then a monthly fee and a percentage of sales. This is a good way to go with higher-volume or speciality products that have compliance or shipping issues (like wine and gourmet foods). Most important, you get reliable customer service, 24/7, reporting, transaction processing, and order/inventory management. Girl Friday has researched and set-up this type of shopping cart. Email for more detail!
3. If you are generating over 10 million/year in sales, you’re probably not reading this!( just kidding). A dedicated e-commerce solution may be the best choice for large companies. These carts are custom built for you and require a substantial investment.
4. There are completely free, shareware shopping carts available on-line. These carts have limited technical support (if any), and do not guarantee software updates; they generally do not have marketing tools embedded within the program. Although they are free, consider  the very large investment of your time, or your staff’s time to research, set up and maintain.
5. You can also use Ebay as a marketplace, in which case they take between 10 – 20% of your sale (via PayPal), or a listing sites like Craig’s List, which is free, and can be used to sell one-off items.Girl Friday is not endorsing Ebay (she’s never used it!).

Girl Friday is committed to helping small-to-medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs impact their customer base and sales using Inbound Marketing techniques. You might even say it’s our MISSION! So, contact us today and get going on your marketing plan…positive action will create positive consequences, dontchya know!

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