Want $10k a Month in Network Marketing Act Like You Invested $10k

A lot of people don't treat network marketing seriously because of the price. For under $100 a month, a person can become a home-based entrepreneur.

For under $100 a month, someone can become an independent business owner with the ability to make unlimited income.

Sound too good to be true?

It is in most people's minds that's why they don't take it seriously.

They treat it like a little hobby thing. . .

Or, like a lottery ticket, where if they just brought in that ONE person they'd be rich.

Or, they work on it for a week, then they leave it on the backburner.

Here's the bottomline:

Yes, you can become a home-based business owner for $100 a month.

That's the price of the product.

You buy what you want for your personal use.

You then have access to marketing tools by the company to help you promote the product (that you buy yourself) to a customer base.

There's no reason you have to spend thousands of dollars for a home-business.

With a network marketing business, you get:

A product fulfillment department

Shipping and packaging

Accounting

Production

Storage

Website, marketing, and design.

Automated sales funnels.

The network marketing company does all this for you.

When someone signs up on your company-provided landing page (a marketing web page that collects your prospects email and name) the company emails your prospects for you.

Everything is practically done for you.

Why does the network marketing company do all this for you?

They do this because they want awareness for their product.

Just like how Monster Energy pays people to put their decals on their cars.

Just like how almost all businesses want their name to become thee "it" brand.

A network marketing company doesn't have a huge overhead like corporations.

A network marketing company can use systems and just a few departments to get the product out the doors.

They don't need 10,000 employees and huge offices.

A lot of network marketing companies are operated from the "cloud" and from the CEO's laptop.

With these huge savings on overhead, the network marketing passes the profits onto the distributors, because the distributors are the ones out there pounding the pavement and getting product awareness for the company.

Where does the huge income come from then?

The huge income from network marketing comes from leveraging the efforts of hundreds or thousands of distributors within an organization.

Unlike a pyramid scheme, which has no product and "all the people at the top make the money," network marketing distributors all start at the bottom.

We have to create our organization from scratch.

Yes, some leaders can bring their organization from one company to another, but everyone starts from zero.

For instance, I started in two MLM companies that were really young.

I could have easily been at the top if it were a ponzi or pyramid scheme, but I wasn't.

I was passed up by leaders who were better at recruiting and building relationships than I was.

I had to build my organization one person at a time.

There were no free handouts because I joined early.

The huge money comes from teaching everyone on your team how to recruit two new people a month.

It's combining the little efforts of a lot of people that create massive income.

And, when someone reorders for the month, you get residual income.

So, the big leaders in network marketing move thousands or millions of dollars worth of product each month and get a commission.

It's almost like the insurance business.

If you had lots of clients that renewed their insurance each month, you would get a percentage of that.

Treat it Like a Franchise if You Have to

If you dropped $200,000 into a Dunkin Doughnut's franchise, you bet you would work your butt off to make a profit.

If you had the same kind of motivation in network marketing as you did  with a franchise, you would be making some pretty good residual income in 2 to 5 years.

The thing is: You have employees with a franchise and you work long hours.

You have to work long hours in the beginning of a network marketing business, but once you get a few hundred or thousand people in your organization, it gains momentum on its own and your residual income gets bigger and bigger whether you work or not.

Bottomline: The network marketing business model cannot be ignored.

It has helped millions of people change their life for the better, along with financial independence.

The dividends of MLM pay a lot more than a savings account at a bank.

It's time to seriously take a look at the business, and treat it as if you dropped $10k.

Thanks for reading!

B.T.W. We're looking for individuals who are success-driven with a desire to make Extra Income from Home. If you'd like more information, please click the button to take a FREE Tour:

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Sincerely,

Erik Christian Johnson is a Entrepreneur, writer, full-time Network Marketer and Blogger. He shares tips on various topics including: Alcoholism, Anxiety, Network Marketing tips and how to work full time from Home. He is also the #1 recruiter in his primary business. His blog is summed up as being: "edgy personal development with a twist of financial freedom."

Income disclaimer:

The owner of this blog may receive compensation when products and services featured herein are purchased. Results are unique. Your results will vary in your business. It's the law that I tell you that I might make some money and that you may or may not.

Source: Want $10k a Month in Network Marketing Act Like You Invested $10k

104 Facts You Didn't Know About Mobile Marketing (Infographic)

By providing consumers personalized information and promoting products and services directly to their phones, mobile marketing is a great resource for brands big and small.

Related: 4 Tips For Mobile Marketing Success in 2017

What makes mobile marketing stand out from other forms? Some of the main components of mobile marketing include push notifications, QR codes, app-based marketing, text messages and automated calls. It allows brands to directly connect with consumers through their devices at a specific location and in a time-sensitive manner.

And even though it's been around for some time now, there's a lot you may not know about mobile marketing. In 2000, the first mobile ad was shared via SMS and by 2005 major brands such as Nike and Pontiac launched their own SMS marketing campaigns. By 2011, mobile marketing became a $14 billion industry, and today it's continuing to grow. From Facebook mobile ads to QR codes, companies have found innovative and tech-forward ways to pursue mobile marketing.

Related: Top 7 Reasons You Should Make Mobile Marketing a Priority

Just last year, mobile devices overtook desktop in internet usage. So if you're not using mobile marketing in your advertising efforts, you may want to rethink your strategy.

To learn more about mobile marketing, check out Website Builder's infographic below.

Rose Leadem is an online editorial assistant at Entrepreneur Media Inc. 

Read more
Source: 104 Facts You Didn't Know About Mobile Marketing (Infographic)

Are You Making One Of These 7 Common Marketing Mistakes?

Since I recently re-opened my coaching practice, I've been on the phone with a lot of small business owners who want to take their sales and marketing to the next level. What I've come to notice during these calls is that most people are making the same common marketing mistakes.

To be frank, it's not entirely their faults. Most of these people didn't have a marketing background and there's a lot of conflicting information online. This has naturally led to a lot of confusion for many of my coaching prospects. The good news is at least they are trying and can learn from these common marketing mistakes.

Here are the most common marketing mistakes I see all the time and how to fix them.

Thinking about "me" instead of "they."

One of the most common marketing mistakes I see regularly is when business owners haven't made the shift from "me" to "they."

Here's what I mean by this. Many small business owners start their businesses either because they are passionate about something or because they had a specific problem and found a solution that worked for them.

Your own personal experience as a business owner is great and it will definitely help you with public relations and branding, but it's not what actually gets you paid. Instead, you need to focus on providing products and services for your audience.

That means you need to stop thinking about what you want and what you want to promote and instead start asking your audience about what they need.

Getting crystal clear about what your audience needs will help you with everything from product development and sales to website design and marketing copy.

I'd also like to add that in order to avoid making common marketing mistakes in the future, that you should get in the habit of constantly speaking with your audience. The last thing you want to do is lose touch with your audience. In my opinion, this is where businesses start to go downhill.

Going after the wrong market.

Another one of the common marketing mistakes I see is when business owners insist on going after the wrong market.

For example, they say they want to sell packages worth of thousands of dollars but they keep going after clients that don't have that kind of budget.

Or they've created something that would work with one type of market but insist on trying to sell it to another.

At some point, business owners will have to align their intentions and marketing with the correct marketing. Otherwise, they're going to keep spinning their wheels and losing money.

Spending money on the wrong things.

Marketing takes money, therefore, it's in your best interest to spend it on the right things. Unfortunately, one of the more common marketing mistakes is when business owners spend money on things they aren't ready for yet. Or, they spend money without knowing how to measure the ROI.

Here's an example of spending money unnecessarily when you're starting a business. If you don't understand how a sales funnel works or what it looks like but you're willing to spend $5,000 on website design, then you don't have your priorities straight.

Instead, spend those $5,000 on coaches and classes that can teach you how do use a website for sales and marketing. That way, when you're ready to hire a web designer you know how to direct them. Otherwise, you'll waste your money on website design that doesn't convert.

Not spending any money at all.

If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me if there's a way to make money without investing any money, I'd be a millionaire by now.

In full transparency, trying not to spend any money on my business was one of the biggest marketing mistakes I made as well. I'd try and hack everything together with free tools because I was being cheap. Or, I'd try to learn everything from blog posts instead of hiring a coach. I'm utterly convinced I would be much further along if I had invested money earlier in my business.

It can be scary to invest money, but as I've come to learn, you need to do it. There's no way around this. I've also come to notice that investing money isn't the problem. As I've mentioned already, the real problem is investing in the wrong things.

Not using data to drive marketing decisions.

We live in a world where you can get an insane amount of data to help you run a better business.

You can use Facebook pixels to track people who come to your site and send ads to them. You can see what people are clicking on in your marketing emails. You can see when people leave a webinar. You can even find audiences of similar Facebook pages to yours and then use that information to create better ads.

With this wealth of marketing information at our fingertips, business owners really have no excuse for not using data to drive their marketing decisions.

In fact, out of all the common marketing mistakes I see people making all the time, I'd say this is the worst simply because if you have this information then it can help improve every aspect of your business. This one task would also help you avoid all the common marketing mistakes mentioned in this article.

Only trying to promote their own things on social media.

We all have that friend who only promotes their own products on Facebook. While there's nothing wrong with self-promotion, there's a proper way to do it. Trying to shove your product or service down someone's throat without first providing value is not the right way.

You can avoid this common marketing mistake in a variety of ways including sharing other people's stuff, sharing articles that help people solve their problems and sharing different kinds of media.

Adding people to an email list when they didn't give you permission.

This is one of those common marketing mistakes that irritates me to no end. According to the law, people need to willingly opt-in to your email list in order for you to send marketing emails to them.

This means you can't add people without their knowledge and you can't upload all of your LinkedIn contacts to your email marketing software without their permission.

By the way, the same goes for shamelessly adding people to Facebook groups. Ask for permission before you add.

Instead, focus on providing value through freebies, run Facebook ads or publish blogs where people can willingly opt into your list or join your Facebook group.

Final Thoughts

While these marketing mistakes are common, they can be avoided. If you've made any of these mistakes in your business you can correct them moving forward. If you're feeling overwhelmed by the concept of marketing, then find a coach or mentor to help you put the pieces together.

Source: Are You Making One Of These 7 Common Marketing Mistakes?

Content Marketing Alphabet – 2017 Edition [Infographic]

It is not important anymore if you have a product based or a service based business, there is no other way around it. If you want to have a successful business, you need to build an online presence.

Just having a web page with some basic info isn't going to cut it. Besides some rare exceptions, the chances are you are offering the same thing as thousands of other business with some small twists.

Maybe it is not fun to think about it this way, but in the end, this is a game of numbers. How does my web page rank, how many visitors do we get, how long do they stay, what is their conversion rate – this is just tip of the iceberg when it comes to following relevant metrics.

So how do we improve those numbers? The answer is simple – content marketing. Google strongly believes that quality content should be the key to driving a high amount of traffic. And that reason is enough to jump on the content marketing bandwagon.

You may think to yourself "well, fine I'll just make some interesting content with decent design and that should do the trick". Too bad that your every competitor thinks the same way. Just to give you some perspective, there are over 2,73 million posts published every day. And that number is surely even higher today.

Having those facts in mind, you can see how solid content often won't get you that far. To launch your marketing efforts in the right direction, you first need to get familiar with the battlefield. Luckily for you, we have a manual.

This content marketing manual lists terms that are associated with this space and explains the ones that are most commonly used and arguably the most important to remember. Targeting the right Audience by using Blogger outreach to present them a Content they need, when they need it, is no laughing matter even for an experienced content marketing ninja.

Take a closer look at this infographic and you may qualify for a content marketing apprentice.

Source: Content Marketing Alphabet – 2017 Edition [Infographic]

Yes, B2B Content Marketing WORKS

Image courtesy of Content Marketing Institute

I get this quizzical look when I pitch content marketing to my B2B clients all the time. The implied questions is: Does B2B content marketing really work?

Yes.

In fact, B2B content marketing is one of the cheapest and best forms of marketing to prospects as well as maintaining the relationship with existing clients.

Don't believe me. Here are some fun facts from the Content Marketing Institute's (CMI) 2016 Report on B2B content marketing.

Here are key findings from that report (in case you don't have time to read this entire post)

Most B2B firms use content marketing and plan to increase their investment in it

Only about 1/4 of firms think they're experts in content marketing, the rest are just dipping their toe in or feeling their way around

Creating engaging content is the #1 challenge facing B2B firms

Firms spend too little on content marketing, with those who say they're effective spending 2X as much as others

Metrics used to evaluate success aren't robust enough to offer clear guidance leading to success. 57% of respondents cite measuring success as their biggest challenge

B2B firms use content marketing

The question of why use content marketing if you're in B2B arises. I mean, your customers aren't on social media much, are they? Well, you'd be surprised how many firms either use social media to communicate with customers, listen for mentions, or use social media as individuals. All these folks hear what you're saying across outlets for content marketing. But, social media isn't the only outlet used in B2B content marketing, even though it's the most commonly used. In addition, B2B firms use a host of content marketing tactics, including blogs, email marketing, and white papers.

Why?

B2B marketers who use content marketing are able to reduce the cost of leads, increase awareness and position themselves as thought leaders — Artillery

And, it seems like most B2B firms in the Content Marketing Institute's survey agree — with a whopping 88% of firms using the tactic.

But, what to use? There are dozens of content marketing tactics. Here's what they found B2B firms used in the study:

Of course, the big question is which of these content marketing tactics yield the highest ROI?

That's a more complicated question. First, you have to look at the types of content, then the distribution of that content, which is all mixed up in the graphic above.

Let's look at types of content, first. According to eMarketer, featured articles, followed by video and white papers deliver the highest ROI, although the data is from 2013 and includes all firms using content marketing, not just B2B content marketing.

Next, let's look at the ROI of distribution strategy, where you can see that email marketing blows other distribution tactics out of the water. One metric I'd like to see is social media distribution, but, unfortunately, it's not there. But, according to McKinsey, email marketing delivers against social, generating 40X more conversions than social media marketing. Not surprisingly, LinkedIn is cited in the study as the most effective social media tool for bringing in revenue.

Recommended for You

Webcast, May 4th: The Death of Email Marketing and How to Avoid It

Image courtesy of TrueConversion

Experts versus novices in B2B content marketing

In the study, Content Marketing Institute found that most B2B marketers are still learning the ropes, with only 24% saying they're mature in their use of content marketing and another 8% saying they're sophisticated. This might explain why most respondents (70%) said they're not getting what they want out of their content marketing efforts.

Creating content is the biggest challenge for B2B marketers

This fact isn't surprising since the effort necessary to product valuable content on a consistent basis, then repurpose that content or supplement it with the variety of types of content (video, white papers, blog posts) and distribution outlets (email, social, etc) necessary to achieve content marketing success if staggering.

Many firms buy content produced by others or use it by permission. For instance, Business2Community syndicates my content, along with 100's of others, to their readers. Huffington Post has 1000's of citizen journalists turning out fresh content every day. Other firms, including IBM, find great content then license that content for their website. Here's one of mine on IBM's website. I don't really recommend this strategy, although I cash the licensing checks, because Google gives preference in search to the original content.

Others have teams of content marketers creating original content.

Firms spend too little on content marketing

And, maybe that's because lots of responding firms felt they were early on the learning curve, but spending on content marketing, as a percentage of overall marketing spend, was small. The average content marketing spend was just 28% of marketing budget, which is below the average for B2C firms — 32%. Of course, about half of respondents plan to increase spending over the next 12 months, but that likely isn't enough to generate the returns they want.

In my experience, managers still feel content marketing is too new, too risky and are reluctant to increase (or sometimes even allocate) budget for content related activities. Taking a risk-averse position by spending a small amount on content marketing is often a self-fulfilling prophesy as the CMI study shows that the least effective performers from their study only spend 15% ,on average, of marketing budget on content as compared to the most effective, who spend 42% of average.

In marketing, you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

B2B content marketing lacks data-driven strategy

The CMI study found too few firms have a comprehensive strategy that's communicated through a mission and written strategic plan — only 13% of ineffective and 53% of more effective content marketing users have a written content marketing strategy. And, that's bad.

Potentially more concerning is the state of monitoring when it comes to content marketing. In this years' CMI study, respondents were asked to identify metrics used to determine success, which includes website traffic, lead quality and sales. What's lacking in this result, which may be an artifact of how questions were asked, is that B2B content marketing isn't using sophisticated analytics, including multi-channel attribution models, or effectively monitoring performance across the entire funnel.

In B2B marketing, those relationship elements that follow after traditional conversion, are especially important and acknowledge that it's 5X more expensive to attract a new customer than retain an existing one.

B2B content marketing firms need more robust metrics to help guide strategic and tactical decision-making, they need dashboards, and, in some cases, real-time metrics capable of guiding content marketing efforts.

Author: Angela Hausman, PhD

I manage Hausman and Associates, a full-service marketing firm operating at the intersection of marketing and digital media. We provide a host of digital marketing solutions including content marketing, email marketing, SEO/ SEM, social media marketing, lead generation as well as marketing strategy, branding,, market research, and a variety of… View full profile ›

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Source: Yes, B2B Content Marketing WORKS

Helix House Leads the Tucson Internet Marketing Sector

Phoenix's Helix House continues to climb the ranks of the internet marketing industry by being Tucson's leading digital advertising agency – another step in realizing the company's expansive mindset.

Becoming a leader in the Tucson internet marketing sector is a consequence of being 9 years in the industry with a passion for helping other people grow their business, hard work, and a desire for innovation. Helix House is an award winning digital advertising agency that provides marketing solutions for leading brands. One of the reasons for their recent success in Tucson is the company's ground-up approach to campaign design. This has helped them develop a reputation as one of the most effective digital advertising agencies in the Southwest. Their expert and passionate team creates cutting-edge, customized, growth-oriented marketing strategies which allow business to speak with a clear and distinct voice across a wide range of media channels.

Helix House has become a prominent digital advertising agency in Arizona, but they are not content with being limited to a single state. Indeed, the company's portfolio already includes happy and successful clients from one coast to the next. While inserting terms like "digital marketing Tucson", "internet marketing Tucson", or "advertising agencies Phoenix" in a search engine will result in Helix House showing up, the company also has their eyes on a larger market. Becoming industry leaders in cities and states is something to be proud of, but it is not the end of the journey for an ambitious company that never shies away from difficult projects or from working in competitive industries. Helix House relishes the opportunity to prove themselves as a leading digital ad agency.

Helix House offers a broad range of digital advertising and digital marketing services. Their customized services include website design and development, paid search, retargeting, email marketing, brand management, social media marketing, email marketing, conversion optimization, search engine optimization, direct mail, and e-commerce management. As a Phoenix SEO company, Helix House has organized workshops on SEO and social marketing for startups. They have a long list of customers that include Parker & Sons, Hastings & Hastings, and Jacoby & Meyers Law Offices.

Learn more by visiting their website in the link below.

Media ContactCompany Name: Helix House Digital Advertising AgencyContact Person: Media RelationsEmail: info@myhelixhouse.comPhone: +1 800-588-2188Address:4110 N. SCOTTSDALE ROADCity: ScottsdaleState: AZCountry: United StatesWebsite: https://www.helixhouse.com

Source: Helix House Leads the Tucson Internet Marketing Sector

The Three Key Elements of Influential Digital Marketing

Ever see a numbered headline like the one above and try to guess what the three things are?

Sometimes it's easy; sometimes it's not. In this case, you could be thinking I'm going to talk about content, copy, and email.

And while you're right that those things are important, that's not what this article is about.

Content and copy contain the messages you need to get across, and email delivers those messages within a conversion-rich context. But without understanding the fundamental elements of those messages, you won't create the kind of influence with your target audience that leads to sales.

With companies of all sizes rushing to embrace "influencer marketing," it seems that many have given up on the unique power the internet provides to form direct relationships with prospects.

Instead, they're trying to avoid the work by reaching the audiences of people who have already put in the work.

Despite the disintermediated nature of the internet, brands are instead turning to a new form of intermediary, or influential middle man. Shortcut marketing rears its ugly head again.

Now, don't get me wrong — having relevant influencers in your corner is desirable, and often game-changing. That said, your main goal is to first develop direct influence with your prospects, which ironically makes it easier to get outside influencers on your side.

This is the reality of modern marketing in any medium, and it's especially viable online. And those three key elements that your digital marketing must embrace to develop true influence are aspiration, empowerment, and unity.

1. Aspiration

Effective marketing has always been about identifying and fulfilling aspirations. People strive to improve themselves and their station in life, especially in relation to others in the social strata.

Early mass marketing did a great job of channeling aspiration through envy. Messages encouraging consumers to "keep up with the Joneses" through the accumulation of material goods became the persuasion prompt for elevated social status.

Aspiration remains as powerful as ever, but it's a different animal now. First of all, we no longer compare ourselves to our geographic neighbors. Instead, we now have worldwide Instagram-fueled expectations based on who we desire to be like based on interests, lifestyles, and various forms of success.

As master marketer Roy H. Williams presciently said:

"Show me what a person admires, and I'll tell you everything about them that matters. And then you'll know how to connect with them."

Paired with that is a pronounced reduction in the desire to accumulate material things. According to a recent Trend Watch report on consumerism, status is shifting away from markers of material wealth — what they have — and moving more toward who they want to become.

This shift is amplified by celebrities and other influential people on social media. Their followers want to be healthier, smarter, creative, connected, and entrepreneurial. If you're selling material goods, you need to understand how your widget fits into the broader aspirational lifestyle of your target audience.

This alone seems to justify the focus on outside influencer marketing, but it's really just a way of abdicating your responsibility as the shepherd of your products and services. As Eugene Schwartz famously said decades ago:

"You do not create desire for your product. You take an existing demand in the market, and you channel it into your products."

The desires and aspirations of your ideal customer are out there — in plain view — thanks to a social medium that publicly identifies who people admire and follow. It's your job to discover the parameters of that aspiration, and channel it toward your product or service.

2. Empowerment

If you know what a prospect aspires to become, then your product or service and your marketing must empower that person to become a better version of themselves. If you fail across that spectrum, you'll lose out to a competitor who delivers.

The 20th century was fueled by inadequacy marketing that encouraged material accumulation. Without access to alternative perspectives, people were targeted by marketers with messages that positioned the brand as the hero, promising to save the poor prospect from the anxiety manufactured by the message.

If your neighbor had a new Buick, you were now made to feel lesser in terms of social status. Why not upgrade to a Cadillac and take the lead?

Effective modern marketing flips that approach on its head. Rather than appealing to materialism or base self-interest, people are looking for positive inspiration and pragmatic guidance on how to become their best selves.

Pair that with the fact that the internet in general (and social media in particular) have helped erode trust in traditional institutions, while shifting power to engaging individuals. The appeal of attracting influencers with strong personal brands reflects this trend — people want to be empowered by other people, not faceless corporations.

Why not also put a human face on your own company? Again, what's going to get an influencer excited about pimping your stuff, if your brand is uninspired to begin with?

This can be as easy as flipping your perceived role as a marketer. Whether you want to think of yourself as a guide, mentor, or coach, it's your job to empower the buyer's otherwise self-directed journey.

In an environment ripe with information and choices, the prospect is in charge. And while they may not look like a hero yet, they're definitely the protagonist of their own story.

That means they'll follow and choose to do business with the brand that empowers them to achieve their heroic aspirations. Outside influencers can help, but only as long as you're also developing direct influence within your market in a meaningful way that establishes that you're a player.

3. Unity

For decades, smart marketing and sales professionals have worked to incorporate the six fundamentals of influence established by social psychology studies — reciprocity, authority, social proof, liking, commitment and consistency, and scarcity — into their persuasion efforts.

So it was definitely news when Dr. Robert Cialdini, the original definer of those fundamentals, added a seventh — unity.

In reality, it actually wasn't that much of a surprise. Books such as 2004's The Culting of Brands by Douglas Atkin, and Seth Godin's Tribes from 2008, provided earlier reflections on the power of unity influence. Meanwhile, companies such as Apple and Harley Davidson have used the power of belonging to build brands worth billions.

Smart digital marketers knew what was up, but we simply tried to shoehorn the concept into the existing influence principle of liking. That means people are more readily influenced by people they like and otherwise find attractive.

But unity goes way beyond simple liking. From the prospect's perspective, it's more about people like me or even of me.

According to the same Trend Watch report, people now trust people like themselves more than representatives of traditional power centers, and as much as academic or technical experts. To me, that makes unity perhaps the most powerful of the (now) seven fundamental principles of influence.

Take authority. It's no longer enough to just demonstrate your expertise with content. You need to be the relatable authority that also shares the core values and worldviews of your prospects.

Or consider social proof, which means we look to others for indications of value and how to behave. A Breitbart article may get tens of thousands of social shares, and yet that social proof is meaningless — and actually a negative — to those who do not share the values and worldviews of that crowd.

There are a lot of tribal ways that we unify. Family, neighborhood, city, province, and nationality are obvious. But the more powerful forces of unification from a marketing standpoint are interest, aspiration, and empowerment. You need to lead people with similar aspirations in a way that brings them together even more.

Thanks to the internet, it's never been easier for anyone to locate like-minded people who share their interests and aspirations. And as Godin pointed out repeatedly in Tribes, they're also looking for like-minded leaders to provide the empowerment.

Stand for something that matters

It's impossible to practice empowerment marketing with wishy-washy content and copy. To the contrary, it's bold positioning, motivating manifestos, and innovative mission statements that inspire people to confidently chase their aspirations. And it's no coincidence that these are the same sort of messages that spread like wildfire through social media.

Empowering content that matches aspirations and validates worldviews is what those coveted influencers use to build audiences. You must do the same to remain in the game.

Traditional wisdom says to hide behind a carefully crafted brand, powered by safely sanitized messages, in the hope of appealing to everyone. But if a prospect can't see themselves belonging with your brand, they'll look — and find — someone who does make them feel like they belong by standing for something that matters to them.

True influence isn't something you borrow. It's what you embody.

Source: The Three Key Elements of Influential Digital Marketing

Owerly Membership – Learn Internet & Affiliate Marketing

Here you are at the Owerly Membership – Learn Internet & Affiliate Marketing Product Overview. Our Webpage Aims to provide you:

Information on the one of a kind bonus that we offer

A succinct overview of the product

A forum for debate of the product together with other users in the comments area

Information on where to buy

Statistical information on the product to assist you as part of your buying decision

Please be aware that due to the fact that we use third-party statistics to create our product evaluations, they're completely unbiased. Even so, we do have an "affiliate" relationship with the product publisher. This means we will get a commission from clickbank.com if you click through to their website by means of our hyperlink and end up buying. These "affiliate links" are marked within the report by this icon: . Please use them if you consider this page has benefited you. If you do, you will be entitled to a bonus from us. Otherwise, you can use the normal website link which is also provided.

Officiel Website Owerly Membership – Learn Internet & Affiliate Marketing. Product Facts : Where to Buy:

Owerly Membership – Learn Internet & Affiliate Marketing is sold from their website, that you can take a look at via this link: http://clickbank.com/GO .The product isn't distributed through other outlets, although you may find some other sites that link straight to the payment processor web page. Nevertheless, it's best to click through to the merchant to find out the most up-to-date price. If you would like to buy without utilising an affiliate link you can use the direct link to website

Publisher's Description:

A Product to doubling your money

This Pack Include Guide PDF Ebook double your work result as many times as you wish

Video Tutorial Teaching you how this task can be quick and easy

Teaching you a strategy to change your future life

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Product Stats and Appraisal:

Right – so by now you should be up to speed on what it is this product does. The next question is – is it any good?In answering this we turn to statistics. All the products we review use the same payment processor. They provide statistics on all the products they list.

There is some secret sauce involved, but essentially I make an estimate of the products refund rate. This is because all the products sold via Clickbank have an affiliate program, and the affiliate program provides statistics on the estimate amount to be earned per sale of the product. If you know the product price, you can work out the refund rate. It can be wrong if the price changes or if multiple different products are sold from the same account, but it's still the best we have.

We use the stats to produce two quality indicators: buyer frenzy and buyer satisfaction.

Buyer Satisfaction:

We have given this product a buyer satisfaction rating of 89.06/100 which is pretty high – it means that approximately nine in ten people were satisfied with their purchase.

Buyer Frenzy:

Buyer Frenzy Rating is an indication of how much interest there in a product – a bit like the product's sales rank. A high frenzy rating means that customers are going mad for a product, buying it in droves every day. Products with a high frenzy are very often quality products.

Owerly Membership – Learn Internet & Affiliate Marketing has a frenzy rating of 79.72/100 which is about standard – the frenzy levels haven't reached fiver pitch yet

The Overall Score:

Ok, so now it's time for the final verdict on Owerly Membership – Learn Internet & Affiliate Marketing . This score takes into consideration everything we have discussed so far, and also trust ranking sites such as http://hamdouch05.ctyblender.hop.clickbank.net It's an indicator of the trust that we place in the product, that the buying public places in the product and that the rest of the internet places in the product. The final score is 8.72/10. This score is one of the highest we have on the site – you should definitely consider purchasing this product. However, even though this is an outstanding product it isn't the top ranked product on the site for its categories. So you may want to have a look at each category and see if there is a product that might suit you better.

Owerly Membership – Learn Internet & Affiliate Marketing Purchase Bonus:

If you buy the product after visiting their site through our link, we receive a commission from the owner of the product,Not many people know this, but almost all review sites receive a commission from the companies that they link to. All the comparison sites are not providing that service for free. . In turn, we would like to thank you by sharing 50 per cent of our commission plus Exclusive Bonus Cost More $1000 . To read more about exactly How you receive as a bonus, please Unlock This

User Comment and Discussion:

We permit all feedback about the product – good or bad – with the aim of helping people in coming to a buying decision. Don't be frightened to enter the discussion!

Source: Owerly Membership – Learn Internet & Affiliate Marketing

This Week In Inbound: 12 Digital Marketing and Customer Experience Tips

https://www.smartbugmedia.com/blog/12-digital-marketing-customer-experience-tips

This week in inbound we look 12 digital marketing tips from Adobe's Summit 2017 conference, how to use heatmaps to improve UX on your website, and we'll look at how YouTube's ad platform could force brands to reallocate their social spend. 

New and Noteworthy 12 Digital Marketing and Customer Experience Tips

The recent Adobe Summit 2017 conference featured motivational speakers and industry gurus who shared tips on navigating the digital landscape moving forward this year. Speakers covered best practices and shared some tips for success for brands trying to tackle their digital marketing strategy. Here are 12 tips from the conference.

Your Programmatic Platform Has an Expiration Date

In the last couple of years, we've seen programmatic media explode with agencies looking to automate their ad buying and placing ads for clients. However, many of these platforms weren't designed to handle mobile advertising, and now companies are scrambling to add on cross-device functionality. But given the rise of mobile devices and the amount of people using mobile platforms, the future of programmatic media is shifting. Read these five reasons why.

Grow Your Inbound Marketing Understanding Heat Maps: What Data Can Tell You About Website User Experience

User experience (UX) testing is crucial in determining how to structure and organize your website. To make sure users have a positive experience on your site, you need to test it. Yet according to a report by eConsultancy, only about 55 percent of businesses are conducting these tests. Incorporating tools like user surveys and heat maps can help you understand how people are using your website. To learn more about heat maps and what the data can tell you about user experience, check out our blog post.

How to Use Ghostwriting for Great Content with Busy Executives

Most celebrity "autobiographies" are not penned by the celebrities at all, but rather a professional writer behind the scenes. These celebrities use "ghostwriters" whose job is to deliver a finished product that captures the subject's voice and intentions.

For company executives, blog ghostwriting operates in a similar way. Ghostwriting showcases your knowledge and thought leadership while furthering your inbound marketing efforts. To see how you can produce great content by using a ghostwriter, check out this blog post.

4 Ways to Nurture Marketing Qualified Leads into Sales Qualified Leads

Publishing blogs and ramping up your social media efforts are important to creating a successful inbound marketing strategy, but you won't close any deals if you don't focus on contacts after their initial conversion. When you start focusing on lead nurturing, it can be overwhelming trying to think of all the ways to move leads down the sales funnel. However, you won't close any deals if you don't focus on qualified leads. Here are four specific ways to nurture marketing qualified leads into sales qualified leads.

Marketing Reports, Updates, Trends Will YouTube's Troubles Impact Social Spending?

When Google failed to guarantee to advertisers that their ads wouldn't show next to inappropriate content, such as hate speech and terrorism, brands quickly pulled their ads and boycotted. Now, you have wonder if the same scenario will play out on Google-owned video sharing platform YouTube. If brands decrease their spend on YouTube, other social platforms such as Facebook and Snapchat could see a bump in ad revenue. Read the full article here to see how Google and YouTube's recent troubles could impact spending across other social platforms.

Instagram Stories Now Has More Users Than Snapchat

When Snapchat introduced its IPO last month, the company reported roughly 161 million daily users. But Instagram Stories, Facebook's counter to Snapchat, just announced it has hit 200 million daily users. Instagram Stories launched in August, and it's already surpassing the popular Snapchat platform. It seems whenever a new social platform emerges and becomes successful, Facebook has an answer that continues to perform and keep ad revenues growing. Read the full article on Instagram Stories here.

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What marketing stories caught your eye this week? Tell us about them in the comments!

Source: This Week In Inbound: 12 Digital Marketing and Customer Experience Tips

Google Data Studio: 3 Easy Steps To Your Website Analytics

Have you ever wondered what percentage of your website visitors are returning, how long they stay on your website or what pages they look at while they are there? Google Analytics (GA) tracks a multitude of statistics like these, yet according to BuiltWith, only 7.8 percent of the 370 million websites on the Internet use Google Analytics. Given what Google Analytics can do, the percentage is shockingly low, but understandable too. Although GA has long provided a treasure trove of information about a website and its traffic, for business owners, it's not been an intuitive interface to tackle. Now, there's the incredibly user-friendly Google Data Studio.

Google Data Studio, still in beta, is a new tool that pulls data from your Google ecosystem, Google Analytics or AdWords as examples, into visual dashboards. We took a spin with Google Data Studio to see if we could put together a quick, informative, visual report pulling key information from website data in GA. It was a breeze.

Now you can create a remarkable, easy to understand snapshot of your website traffic using Google Data Studio. You'll quickly see the value of the data as you grow your business and marketing efforts. You'll need to connect Google Analytics to your website first, and then you're ready to begin.

Step 1: Sign up for Google Data Studio

Go to Google Data Studio and signup for free using your Google account. Use the same Google account linked to your website Google Analytics because Google Data Studio does not replace GA, but rather provides more user-friendly dashboards for viewing the data. Once you login to Data Studio, you will see a dashboard, and there are several pre-built templates which are set up to help you visualize data from many different sources including Google Analytics. You can completely customize and create your own report, but we grabbed the Google Analytics template for Acme Marketing – [Sample] Acme Marketing Website – as a starting point.

Step 2. Select your data source for the Google Data Studio report

When you click on the Acme Marketing Google Analytics template, a turquoise and gray sample report pops up. In the top right of the screen, there is an icon which gives you the option to "Make a copy of this report." Copy it and you will see a pop-up screen "Create new report."

The Acme Marketing report uses sample data. To populate your report with your own website data, you will need to connect the Google Analytics data for your website.

In the pop-up window, look to the right where it says New Data Source, then:

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Click on [Sample] Google Analytics Data

Click the blue CREATE NEW DATA SOURCE

In the left sidebar menu entitled Connectors, choose Google Analytics

Pick the relevant Account, (website) Property and View

Click the CONNECT button in the top right-hand corner

Click the ADD TO REPORT button in the top right-hand corner

Under the New Data Source section, your website Property is now listed, so you can CREATE REPORT

You're connected!

Only 7.8 percent of the 370 million websites on the Internet use Google Analytics. – BuiltWith

Step 3. Customize the Google Data Studio report layout, theme, and elements

First things first – name your report in the top left of the screen near the Data Studio icon by typing over the words Copy of [Sample] Acme Marketing Website

Pick your date range by clicking the calendar dates in the top right of the report and select date range in the right sidebar

Click and delete sample elements such as the Acme Marketing logo on the top left and the note centered at the top, "SAMPLE REPORT – MAKE A COPY TO EDIT."

Add your own graphic or text elements. Here are two examples. Add a logo by clicking the image icon in the top menu (a square with a mountain) and drag out a square or rectangular space with your cursor. Click Select a file in the right sidebar under DATA and choose your logo from your computer files. The logo will be sized and put in the outlined space. To add text, click the text icon in the top menu (a box with a "T"), draw out a square or rectangle with the cursor and type in your text. Customize your Text Properties in the right sidebar.

If you want to add more data views, you can either delete and replace what is in the sample report, or:

Add a blank page to the report with the "+Add a page" option on the top left of the menu.

Add custom elements

Here's another quick example:

Choose the Table icon on the top menu

Drag out a rectangular or square shape with your cursor

Immediately the table is populated with default source data, so in the right sidebar menu, click the green Source button under Dimensions

Choose whichever data dimension you want to see

Need a shorter table? Drag the lower border up and fewer entries will show.

Prefer a different visualization? Repeat these steps choosing a different option besides Table or change your data source.

You can continue to add pages or visual dashboards that are useful to you. All of the elements of the report can be stylized to match your brand colors by clicking on them and using the STYLE options in the right sidebar. Your report is automatically saved because you are in the Google cloud ecosystem. Plus, all of the features you are used to with Google Docs such as sharing and download as PDF are either available or coming soon.

The best part? Once you create the report you want, you can change the date range each month and refresh the report for an updated view.

We're loving the new Google Data Studio as an intuitive, interactive interface to view essential Google Analytics data for a website. Give it a try and tell us your thoughts in the comments!

__________________

Originally published on the Resourceful Business blog on April 20, 2017.

Author: Ann Mills

Ann Mills is the Founder and Principal of Resourceful Business® (RB), a digital marketing agency based in Summit, NJ that specializes in content creation, digital marketing, social media, reputation management, and public relations. RB seeks to create and leverage superior content to help companies connect with people.… View full profile ›

Source: Google Data Studio: 3 Easy Steps To Your Website Analytics

Five free marketing tips for emerging IoT companies

IoT-dedicated events are the hottest trend in the trade show world. If you are reading this, it's likely you have exhibited at one of these many events or are budgeting to do so in the very near future. Being a veteran of these events, I can tell you one obvious fact about these shows: they are populated by a lot of what I call "10 by 10s." This is my designation for the standard 10′ x 10′ booth that is the entry point for exhibiting at any trade show. Probably no other industry has such a high concentration of these "beginner" booths than the internet of things.

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Most people would shrug this off as a statistic only important to those in the trade show business. But it's actually a clear indication of the state of the internet of things: it's made up of lots and lots of very small companies trying to gain attention for their "thing" in the vast ecosystem of innovation that is IoT. A fair number of these 10′ x 10′ exhibitor companies are made up of no more than two or three people with very limited budgets. Many will exhibit at one show and fade away before the next. That is the IoT world today, an innovation freight train that's hard to stay on and easy to fall off!

So you're a 10 by 10 and know you have something great to share with the industry and world. But, like most 10 x 10s, your talents are technically based — engineering, software, cloud, machine learning, etc. You have no solid idea or experience in how to market and sell yourself correctly outside of a website and basic social media efforts. And of course your finances, whether funded or not, are limited.

So when it comes to marketing and promoting your "thing" efficiently, effectively, clearly and with limited to no budget, what do you do? How do you do it? When you do try something, do you end up spending money only to watch as your budget evaporates away with no tangible results? Do you wonder how your competitors break into new markets and build traction?

Here are five tips to help your 10 x 10 company promote, market and drive awareness of your "thing" without breaking the bank and help you grow out of that beginner booth.

1. Find a role model

If you want to achieve something in life, you could blindly go into it without taking any form of advice. We all want our ideas to evolve into successful products and companies. One of the greatest challenges of IoT is overcoming the embedded complexity of this ecosystem to convey your message in a fashion that anyone, especially the non-technical, will understand.

The likelihood is that you will make several mistakes unless you find someone who has done it before successfully and implement some of their tools and techniques. This does not mean copying, but analyzing what made something work and see if it can be utilized in your business sector. It matters not if your role model is Cisco, IBM, Verizon or other 10 x 10-ers that have moved up to 10 x 20s.

For example, take a look at the campaign that Bosch ran that exhibited many benefits of IoT in an entertaining and easy-to-understand way. This ad represents why Bosch has become one of the leading companies in IoT. You could learn from Bosch and make a fun, creative video that engages your audience and leaves them wanting more.

Not sure how to find a role model? Do a search on YouTube as to how other companies have marketed their products. Why not start with Bosch to really get your "outside of the box" juices flowing?

2. Networking

Through successful networking, companies can rapidly make contact with other organizations, groups and individuals who share similar interests to themselves. I'm sure you already use sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, which offer great opportunities to get you started at no cost whatsoever.

But do you know how to really use these and others tools the most effective way?

Why not start your own group on LinkedIn to attract other members who can offer solid advice and who share similar interests? Or join some of the IoT-focused groups that already exist and become an active member to meet others and share a steady stream of content while seeking guidance from the group. However, if you are new to all of this, as some entrepreneurs still are, why not follow tip number one and find out how other people network and use these sites effectively?

3. Use Copybook

A little known platform, but one that I have used with great results, is Copybook. This is a global business network that allows any company to add unlimited information, pictures, videos and links to your social media streams. You can even add yourself to real trade shows and events worldwide and it is all for FREE. The moment we added our company, our business profile was shared across Copybook's network and we instantly had over 500 connections, some of which led to inquiries and new business.

This has been the most exciting discovery (which came to me through practicing #1, finding a role model). Where LinkedIn connects business people globally, Copybook is about connecting companies globally. Check it out. Signing up and creating your company profile is easy and quick. Then learn how to get the most out of this valuable tool to drive global awareness for your company.

4. Ask your prospects and customers

All too often people are reluctant to ask their prospects and customers for input on your offerings and what else they would like to see you provide. This is crazy as it is precisely your valued clients who you are trying to satisfy.

Learn about their business and level of understanding about IoT. Remember, IoT is not a place where you just build a "thing" and expect a ready market to say thank you by buying everything you produce. You must first understand your target market, their needs and how you can best fill them.

Ask them how you are doing and what else your company could offer that would meet additional needs they may have. Be a consultant first and you will be amazed at the guidance your prospects and customers will give you!

5. Learn from what happens

Frequently, companies try different methods but do not keep an accurate record of what works. Then, in a few months' time, they find themselves in a similar situation and often make the same mistakes all over again.

Each time you try any form of marketing or advertising strategy, keep an accurate record of what you did and what the results were. Note in detail everything about your efforts including timing (day, week, time of day, etc.), audience (who was your campaign aimed at), size (how large an audience), exact description of what you did, etc. Remember, the "devil is in details" — and that is so true of all marketing campaigns.

Even those 10′ x 10′ trade show booths are expensive. Would you exhibit at an IoT trade show and NOT track every possible metric from the show? If you answered no to this, you need to hire me right now as your IoT consultant so I can get you on track and keep you from wasting money. The metrics you must generate from every trade show represents the same type of effort you should put forth with every marketing, sales and promotional program used by your company.

Your time is valuable. Your money is finite. Use both wisely as the success, or failure, of your business depends on you doing so. Remember, being a 10 by 10 is just the starting point. Good luck, here's to your success!

All IoT Agenda network contributors are responsible for the content and accuracy of their posts. Opinions are of the writers and do not necessarily convey the thoughts of IoT Agenda.

Source: Five free marketing tips for emerging IoT companies

Postie is a marketing tool automatically integrating a brand’s Instagram content into its EDMs

Once a place reserved for posting shameless selfies, Instagram has rapidly shifted over the last few years to become the go-to place for brands to promote their products. Over five million global businesses look to Instagram to drive their product, with a fifth of them using paid advertisements on the platform to help spread their content.

Harnessing the growth potential Instagram holds for brands is Postie, an online marketing tool which integrates a brand's Instagram content into email templates in a bid to create appealing EDMs.

Postie's algorithm detects the 'best' content in a brand's Instagram feed based on factors such as likes and comments, before automatically spacing it out across an email. The platform is the first product developed by Astronaut Lab, a startup which focuses on imagining and developing products for different markets.

The startup was founded by Peter Davis, who previously worked in the digital marketing space and was attracted to building his own startup after having helped build influence.co, a platform focused on connecting marketing 'influencers' to brands and agencies.

"I knew I wanted to start something in the tech space. Astronaut Lab is the studio through which we have a talented team of people collaborating around developing ideas into products that we can take to market, and then kill or spin-up based on the numbers and the numbers alone," Davis explained.

Astronaut Lab's first product, Postie serves as a conversion tool for brands who have posted content to Instagram and are looking to draw through clicks to their website, while also serving as an extra avenue through which brands can put their Instagram content in the face of customers who may not be social followers, but email subscribers.

"With Instagram's reach algorithm, now only 20/25 percent of followers are seeing a brand's content," said Davis.

"Obviously Instagram also doesn't drive direct traffic from posts, so with Postie we're saying, for people who have seen your content already, this is the conversion tool, and for people who haven't yet seen it, this is your second chance to get your content out in front of your customers."

For a customer sifting through piles of content-heavy daily emails in their inbox, Davis added that the picture-esque, aesthetic nature of Postie email offers them a "low touch", easily readable alternative.

"With Postie's format, it doesn't ask much of the consumer; here's our best snaps, check them out and click if there's something that grabs you," he said.

Beginning development of Postie last year, key to the product's identity was automation, which would serve as a way to greatly reduce the amount of time brands spend on putting together an EDM filled with Instagram content at the end of a busy day.

For many brands, posting content to Instagram alone can be a protracted task, involving delicate lighting setups, image editing and multiple takes to get the right shot.

"Brands put a lot of time and effort into making the output as appealing as possible, and continue to build connections and communities through [Instagram]," said Davis.

As such, the startup is targeting brands that are "time poor" and cannot spare the time requirement to organise regular email content using traditional marketing platforms. Currently, Postie serves kids accessory brands, restaurants, hairdressers and (completely unexpectedly) fashion brands.

It's currently free for a brand to sign up to the platform, as Davis explained the business is in the process of building up a client base to discover what features they'd like to see in a premium model, and then introduce the paid version.

"Once we've worked this out and built it, we'll likely have monthly charge to access pro features that scales based on database size," he said.

Once signed up a brand connects their Instagram account, uploads their database of images, chooses a design template, then schedules when they want their EDMs sent. Postie then integrates the most relevant and recent Instagram content into the template two days before it's scheduled to send, allowing the user a chance to make manual changes if they choose.

A brand can manually add in hyperlinks to their respective web pages, and can also move images around the template and add any necessary copywriting.

"They're typically spending 15 minutes on editing their campaigns and then that's it," said Davis.

"[Meanwhile] we're hearing from a lot of brands that they're spending at least five hours on their Mailchimp campaigns, and it's just tough to actually find the time to do it when you need to work out what you're going to say, write it, find or create the images and then build it."

Having bootstrapped establishing Astronaut Lab and Postie's development, Davis said the business will aim to get 5,000 users from a range of industries utilising Postie on a regular basis as it works towards its paid model.

Source: Postie is a marketing tool automatically integrating a brand's Instagram content into its EDMs

The Marketing Beacon Launches e-Commerce Website for Calmettos

GREENVILLE, S.C. - April 18, 2017 - PRLog -- The Marketing Beacon, a provider of custom-developed marketing solutions designed to grow businesses, announces the launch of a new e-Commerce website for Calmettos, LLC.  The site is designed to highlight the unique palmetto tree paintings called "Calmettos" by artist and company founder Calhoun "Cal" Harrelson.  These original works of art along with complementing products that feature selections of these paintings are available for purchase on the website.

Visitors to the site will be able to review the Calmettos story and the bio of artist Cal Harrelson.  Beyond paintings, products for sale include note card sets reflecting the artwork from selected paintings; embroidered hats; tee shirts with screen printed painting selections, and embroidered rope handle totes.  The site layout and design provides visitors with easy navigation options and a fully-secure online purchasing experience.  Visitors can also link directly to the Calm ettos social media sites and sign-up for the company's digital newsletter.

The Marketing Beacon is continuing to work with Calmettos for the overall implementation and management of marketing activities.  This includes website management, public relations, social media, product marketing support, collateral development, and other marketing components required for the Calmettos business.

About The Marketing Beacon

The Marketing Beacon specializes in delivering custom-developed marketing solutions designed to generate new customers and grow opportunities from existing clients for Greenville, South Carolina and Upstate businesses.  Application of real-world marketing expertise is leveraged to determine which marketing techniques, tools and tactics are best for a customer's business.  The prevailing goal is to deliver the right balance of marketing solutions designed for a client to gain greater market visibility and awareness, neutralize buyer risk and develop cust omer trust for repeat business.  For more information on The Marketing Beacon visit www.TheMarketingBeacon.com.

About Calmettos

The inspiration for Calmettos is the South Carolina state tree, the Palmetto, which represents strength with its tightly woven fibers, while at the same time serving as an icon that embodies a casual 'sweet-tea' lifestyle.  Founder and artist, Calhoun Harrelson, paints original works of art inspired by the palmetto tree and the business takes on a name to reflect the native South Carolinian artist and his work.  Calmettos offers original paintings and complementing products that feature selected artwork from the paintings at retailers throughout South Carolina and on the company's website at www.Calmettos.com.

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Source: The Marketing Beacon Launches e-Commerce Website for Calmettos

Should You Use Influencer Marketing for Your Business?

While attending a social media and online marketing conference recently, I noticed there was a huge influence on influencer marketing. More specifically, there was a focus on how businesses could use influencer marketing and how influencers could get paid for it.

This got me thinking, should all businesses use influencer marketing? As a blogger and as someone who has partaken in social media campaigns as an influencer on behalf of brands, I've definitely seen a keen interest in it. I've also seen it being used more and more since I started blogging back in 2010.

The reality is influencer marketing isn't going anywhere and, depending on the business, it could be a great way to get your business in front of new audiences. Here's everything you need to know about influencer marketing so you can decide whether or not it makes sense for your business.

What exactly is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is when brands align themselves with an influencer in an effort to spread the work about their company. An influencer could be a blogger or someone who has a solid social media following.

The idea is that this influencer can let people know about your brand and influences them (get it?) to check you out. Because their followings already trust them, their fans will be more likely to check out your brand than if you tried to use a more traditional form of advertising.

What is an example of influencer marketing?

Since I have participated in influencer campaigns on behalf of brands, I figured it would be a good idea to share some examples of what campaigns may look like.

In my experience, companies approach me with a campaign already in mind. My job as an influencer is to create content that matches the campaign and attach my name to it.

Here are some examples of campaigns based on my experience.

An influencer may be asked to participate in a Twitter chat.

An influencer may be asked to make an appearance at a live event.

An influencer may be asked to create a blog post about a specific product or resource a company wants to get out there.

An influencer may be asked to create social media posts pertaining to a specific company or product. (Or, the social media posts may direct people to the blog post mentioned in the previous bullet.)

An influencer may be asked to create a video.

Sometimes, depending on the campaign, the influencer may be doing a combination of a few of these items. The key is that the business already knows what the goal of the campaign is and what they want the influencer to do.

What are the legalities of influencer marketing?

If you're going to use influencer marketing to get your business out there, there are a few legal and internet courtesy things you need to keep in mind.

The main thing you need to know is that influencer marketing is advertising. As such, it must be made known to the audience that the content is an advertisement.

For example, if an influencer is publishing a blog post on their site for you, then they must have a disclaimer that says they were compensated for the post. On social media posts, they'll need to use the #ad or #sponsored hashtag to let their followers know they've been compensated for the post.

When it comes to online ethics and sponsored blog posts, Google does encourage bloggers and companies to use no-follow links for sponsored content. This means that if a company page is linked within a sponsored post, then it will not count toward search results. The reason for this is Google doesn't want sponsored content to manipulate organic search results.

Is influencer marketing effective?

According to recent data, 69 percent of marketers who use influencer marketing find it effective. More specifically, 73 percent of marketers say it's effective for lead generation and 76 percent say it helps foster customer loyalty.

The reason influencer marketing is so effective is because it's more authentic than traditional advertising. It's also a lot cheaper than traditional advertising in the long run.

Are there any downsides to influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing does not come without its challenges. According to the same data in the last section, finding the right influencers for their campaigns can be a challenge. Additionally, finding the right engagement can also be difficult. Measuring the actual performance of the campaign also isn't completely straightforward.

What do you need to start using influencer marketing?

If you want to use influencer marketing in your business, there are certain things you'll need to figure out in order to have a successful campaign.

The first thing you need to know is your end goal for the campaign. Do you simply want to build awareness or do you want people to purchase from you?

You'll also need to know who your target market is so you can align yourself with influencers who cater to that market.

When it comes to the actual content, figure out which kind of content works best for a particular influencer and their audience. In my experience, companies typically collaborate with the influencer and ask for their input to help figure this out.

Lastly, you need to know how much you're willing to spend. An influencer with a larger following will obviously cost more than an influencer with a smaller following. The same goes for the amount of engagement an influencer has and how much work is involved on their part.

What kind of results can you expect from influencer marketing?

I already mentioned how marketers feel that influencer marketing is effective for several reasons. But what kind of results can you expect to get and how quickly can you get them.

As with all things in online marketing, it depends. You could get leads from influencer marketing but then spend a few months converting them into customers. That's because you need to do the work in building trust with them before they are willing to purchase from you.

Final Thoughts

Influencer marketing is a popular and effective way of making sure your business gets in front of new audiences. Use the tips in the article to help you create a campaign that yields results.

This article was written by Amanda Abella and originally appeared on DUE.com.

Amanda Abella is a full-time writer who specializes in online business and finance. She's also an online business coach and the Amazon best-selling author of Make Money Your Honey.

Due is a payments, eCash, online invoicing, time tracking, global payments, and digital wallet solution for freelancers, small business owners, and companies of all sizes.

Source: Should You Use Influencer Marketing for Your Business?

New to internet marketing and need some help

I'm in the middle of setting up Yoast on my website's home page. I have entered the main focus keyword, SEO title, meta description etc. However the 'Analysis' part of the plugin is asking for text on the main page. I run a digital store and am reluctant to feature text on the main page, one reason being that it breaks up the design. Will my SEO be just as effective without the text (I will of course be using keyword related content on other pages), i.e. is it enough for google to just go by title and meta description?

Source: New to internet marketing and need some help

Book On Online Marketing Secrets For Attorneys

Dr. Marjukka Miinala is proud to announce the release of the book, 'Online Marketing Secrets for Attorneys: The 7 Must-Know Strategies for Growing Your Practice,' by Dr. Marjukka Miinala. The book has been long awaited by the legal industry, and initial reactions from readers have been positive. It is available through the website http://drmiinalamarketing.com/book-store/.

A representative says: "Dr. Marjukka Miinala, DBA, is incredibly experienced in internet marketing, and this is the experience she built on in order to write this book. She developed a number of strategies that are particularly suitable for legal firms, who have very specific marketing need. Her goal is to teach them how to achieve total market domination, ensuring that their firm becomes the go-to source in their field. The book is an absolute must-have for any law firm that has a website."

Dr. Miinala markets herself as a coach, as can be seen on her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Dr-Miinala-Marketing-1501924106775770/. She addresses numerous issues pertinent to internet marketing, focusing on a range of different industries. Her aim is to deliver information that helps people achieve online success, teaching them how to attract visitors and convert them into customers.

In this latest book, her focus is particularly on the legal industry, which has very specific marketing needs. Law offices attract people who are experiencing complex issues that affect every aspect of their life. They want to find a law firm that can resolve their problems in an appropriate way. As such, when they search for legal firms online, they need to feel that they have come across a trustworthy agency. "What Dr. Miinala teaches legal experts is how to place themselves in that position where online visitors immediately feel they are in the right place," adds the Lotus Press representative. "She achieves this with specific techniques that have been proven to be highly effective."

As can be seen on Dr. Miinala's LinkedIn page, https://www.linkedin.com/company/dr--miinala-marketing, she is uniquely qualified to address these particular needs. She encourages everyone to read some of the articles she has placed there for further information.

SOURCE: Press Advantage [Link]

Source: Book On Online Marketing Secrets For Attorneys

What’s Your Marketing Priority In 2017: Data, Social, Or SEO?

Marketing is one of those industries where we are all constantly trying to do more, learn more, and come up with the buzz-building strategies that have never been done before.

Like it or not, it's just our nature not to settle or get too comfortable. Nor is it the nature of C-suite or our clients to expect anything less than a constantly improving ROI.

Whether we're doing a first-rate job building a brand and selling a product or not – we know we could do it better. We can be more efficient, more creative. And if we don't take action, our competitors might launch a steal half of our customers with dazzling marketing campaign on Instagram or win over our audience with their profound blog posts.

If you're like me, you wouldn't have it any other way. After all, it's pressure that makes diamonds.

So – what will you be doing this year to refine your marketing?

A recent look at the agendas of UK and US marketers found that the most pressing issue for this year and next is data analysis. A full 72% said that data is the skill that their organizations must hone in order to remain competitive in the future. For large companies, data was ranked even higher, at 80%.

The need for numbers trumps all other areas of digital marketing today. It appears as a profession; we're finally finding our stride with search engine optimization. Only 13% believe their greatest need is to prioritize SEO. 31% said web development, 23%, graphic design. Social media is continues to weigh on many marketing minds, with 65% saying social is where their organizations need to direct the most energy.

Why data?

Solid data analysis is essential because it informs our decisions. Without measuring our past and current efforts, we really are just shooting in the dark when it comes to creating the next campaign. This is a problem. It's not just validation we are looking for from high-quality data analysis, but direction.

The belief is that, the more quality data, the greater clarity you will get. Think of it as a spectrum: Zero analysis would leave you in pitch black, basic web stats would give you a few stars and some moonlight. A moderate marketing analysis routine, with a look at click-through-rates, conversion rates, and churn will let you clearly see a few feet ahead, but let's face it, there's still a lot of fog. The crème de la crème is the expert analysis of Big Data. You get full visibility, maybe even a little sun glare, with a 360-degree view of the past, what's going on around you, and where you are headed.

This is an elegant theory. The more you know, the more effective your marketing, right?

source: Business2community.com

This gives a huge advantage to companies that can afford Big Data and outside expertise. The vast majority of marketing leaders agree – 91% believe that the successful brands are using customer data to drive smart business decisions.

Fortune 500 companies, such as American Express, which claims to be able to identify 24% of accounts that will close within four months, and T-Mobile, which credits big data from social media and account transactions to have cut their "customer defections in half in a single quarter," are doing just that. They are finding effective ways to take their services and their marketing to the next level with sophisticated insights into customer behavior.

Where does that leave the CMOs of small to mid-sized businesses, digital marketing agencies with limited budgets, and all the entrepreneurs and small business owners who are doing some or all of their branding themselves?

In the dark?

Is good data out of reach?

Marketing is only going to get more data-centric, so improving your data analysis is a indisputably a good idea.

However, you need to work with your present budget, skill set, and manpower, and you must take a step up from where you are now. (Sorry, you can't leap across a canyon and wake up tomorrow with the Big Data capabilities of Apple or Aetna.)

Does that mean your marketing team is forever confined to monthly reports on CTR, traffic volume, and ROI? These metrics are excellent for deciphering whether your content marketing is making a remarkable impact – or a dent – in customer acquisition and retention, and for demonstrating to clients the worth of your work. But the kind of data that lets Dunkin' Donuts offer individualized rewards to customers through its rewards program, or that helps Nationwide know when its clients are going to have a baby – that's something bigger.

Anthony Botibol, marketing director for BlueVenn, calls it a waiting game, suggesting that marketers already have too much on their plates right now and need to wait for the innovations that will make dynamic, multi-dimensional data processing within our reach. "It's up to our industry to deliver the necessary technology to radically simplify the task," he says. "Until marketers are provided with the tools and technology, they will never unlock the true potential of their customers' data."

How to evolve your data analysis this year

While you may not have a big, shiny data machine in your back room chugging away numbers and delivering magnificent insights to help drive better business decisions, you may be better off than you think. Too much data comes with its own problems – just like our clear sunny day analogy. It doesn't necessarily lead you in the right direction. When you can see from horizon to horizon, you are left with infinite paths to choose from.

Pam Moy, vice president of marketing analytics, research, and administration for Allstate, says, "The biggest challenge of data-driven marketing is sifting through the data and determining what is valuable and relevant information." The sheer volume of data becomes an obstacle, not an advantage.

If you don't yet have the capability to take full advantage of Big Data—nor the ability to make sense of it—what is the practical, action-oriented solution in reach today?

Clarity and focus. Let the fog roll in, if that's where you are on your evolution to data-centric marketing; just please use a flashlight while you're waiting for the sun to come out.

What matters to your brand? Identify this, then improve your data analysis where you can, using what's available now.

Brad Marg, chief operating office for Clutch, hones in on identifying the company's best customers and then reaching out to them. How? By using consumer management software to synthesize the data that's coming from different channels.

Small business branding expert Drew Stevens says that researching what customers are saying on social media is one of the best ways to learn what customers want. No IT expert or data analyst degree required.

Brian Carter, of the boutique marketing agency the Brian Carter Group, claims that the tried-and-true digital marketing conversion rate metrics – both sales and conversions at each buyer stage down the sales funnel – are the magic numbers that will drive smart marketing decisions.

With a clear light on what matters, your next step is to grow your data capabilities this year by utilizing the technology resources that are available to you. Are you using a software platform that unifies all your data sources? There already are plenty of solutions that are accessible to small businesses:

Kissmetrics does web analytics along with engagement tools and educational resources to help you improve your own marketing analysis knowledge

InsightSquared will connect the data you're already getting from multiple channels, like Google Analytics, QuickBooks, and your CRM

ClearStory Data synthesizes publicly available market data with your internal metrics

And third, accept that figuring out how to get more out of your data is going to be a process. You can't sidetrack the core of your marketing efforts to become an expert data analyst. What you can do over the next year or two is grow. Learn more, utilize your resources, apply what you learn to your strategies, see what works – and then, you get to analyze the data.

For more on digital transformation in marketing and advertising, see Defining Advertising Success In The Digital World.

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Source: What's Your Marketing Priority In 2017: Data, Social, Or SEO?