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Posts Tagged ‘sales and marketing’

You Can Make the Most of Your Website With Advance Planning

posted by TheMarbellaSEO 10:50 AM
Sunday, April 18, 2010

One of the most difficult, but key components of the Internet marketing process is to design your website to achieve the goals you have set for your business.  But this critical step is usually the one business people skip, or just leave it to their web designer to consider, which can be even more damaging to their overall goals. 

When you take the time to strategically plan the outline of your new website or an upgrade of your current one, not only will you achieve a website that will show off your business in the best way, but one you will be able to add and edit content easily, and probably most important will help to achieve your overall business goals.  Below are a number of steps to follow while planning your new website:

1.  List all the information about your product or service that a visitor to your website might be interested in knowing.  Using the website for a school, for an example, you would probably discover that visitors would be looking for information on the staff at the school, classroom size, attendance numbers, and sports programs.  Take the time to brainstorm as many areas related to your product, service or industry that someone might be interested in when visiting the website.

2.  Take on the role of your website visitor.  Visit some websites and review them as if you are in the market for the services those sites have to offer.  As a potential customer, what are the things you like and dislike about each website you visit?  Are you driven to take action?  How easily can you find what you are looking for? How many times do you have to click to find what you are looking for?  Take notes on all this information with the purpose of making your own website as visitor friendly as possible.

3.  Investigate to find out the keywords your visitors will most likely search for to find your website. You don’t need to invest in expensive search tools, Google has a free keyword tool that is adequate for this purpose.  Enter a general phrase related to your product or service, such as “coffee filters” and other related keywords will appear.  Your visitors already have questions about these things.  Knowing this, you can plan your website content to answer their questions up front. 

4.  When planning your new website, make sure to keep in room to grow.  Don’t be lured into a website format that won’t let you expand easily to add new content pages or products.  You will find that building a great website is a constant work in progress. 

5.  The final thing to keep in mind is that you want to be able to control your new website, rather than be at the mercy of your web designer to make even the simplest of changes.   Today’s dynamic Internet marketing environment demands new and fresh content added to your website often, and the old fashioned sites that rely on a web developer to make changes just won’t work anymore.  Your new website should be on a platform that lets you add content quickly and easily.

Your website is most often one of the biggest marketing expenses your business will encounter.  It is critical to take the time to plan a new website that is compatible with your business goals. 

Marty Dickinson is the founder of HereNextYear, Inc., a full service Internet marketing company in business for over 10 years. His specialty is Internet marketing solutions for the small business owner, speakers and authors. Visit to see what HereNextYear has to offer and to learn more about their innovative new website packages fully integrated for ease with social networking and other Internet marketing strategies.

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Got 20 Minutes? Create 20 Killer Benefits Statements Copywriting For The Web

posted by TheMarbellaSEO 5:39 AM
Saturday, April 10, 2010

My most challenging part of copywriting to sell something online has always been the task of writing benefit statements. But, other than a good headline, to sell visitors to your service, product and ideas you need great benefit statements.

All of the other parts of copywriting such as good headlines, price offers and stories were much easier for me than finding good benefit statements. But creating a benefits list drove me crazy; that is until I learned how to come up with one or more benefits every minute.

Any basic sales course will tell you that features don’t sell a product or service, benefits do. Knowing the truth to that, I started to take a closer look at what benefits really are. I discovered they are really just action items in disguise, agreed? As an example, you “build” muscles or “create” more time. If that is true, how bout starting each benefit statement with an action verb? The process goes like this:

1.  Alphabetize a long list of action verbs.

2.  On your computer or desk, spread out the list so you can see the whole thing
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3.  Beginning with the letter A, read each verb aloud and come up with a descriptive sentence about your product or service that includes the verb.

As an example, “Accelerate” is the first verb on my list.

So, I might say that my product helps to “accelerate” fingernail growth.

4.  Keep writing benefits as long as you are able and don’t quit! You will be able to pare down your list to only those that give the best punch later. You don’t need to stop to think if you are writing duplicate phrases down either, now is not the time. Just keep an open mind and write down any benefit statements that come to mind about your product or service.

5.  Now you organize your benefit list in order of priority from most important benefit to last.

I’ve used this process not only for creating benefits lists, but also for writing articles, such as “35 Reasons Why a Blog is Better than a Traditional Web Site for Your Business,” or “50 Ways to Kill a Perfectly Good Seminar”.

Use my list of verbs or create your own and start creating your killer benefit statements in just 20 minutes. Most of the time, you won’t need more than a great list of 20 benefits.

Marty Dickinson is an entrepreneur and the founder of HereNextYear, Inc., a full service Internet marketing company in business for 15 years.  He specializes in Internet marketing solutions for the small business owner, speakers and authors.  Visit to see what HereNextYear has to offer and to learn more about their innovative new website packages fully integrated for ease with social networking and other Internet marketing strategies.

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You Can Make the Most of Your Website With Advance Planning

posted by TheMarbellaSEO 2:15 PM
Monday, April 5, 2010

Probably the most critical part of Internet marketing for your business is organizing your website so it will achieve your overall goals.  However, most business people ignore this critical step, or leave it to their web designer to take care of, which can often be even worse. 

By strategically planning your new website or an update of your existing website, you will ensure you have a marketing piece that showcases your business to its best, allows you to be in control of ongoing content updates, and achieves the goals you have set for your business.  Below are a number of steps to follow while planning your new website:

1.  Write down on a piece of paper everything you think the visitors to your web site might want to know about your product or service.  For example, visitors to a school’s website would probably want to know the attendance levels, size of the classrooms, information on staff members and what sports they can participate in.  Try to list every possible topic about your industry, service or product that a visitor to your new website might be interested in knowing.

2.  Take on the role of your website visitor.  Surf the Internet and visit various sites offering similar services, then review them as a potential customer would.  As a visitor, what do you like and dislike about each site?  Are you driven to take action?  Can you find what you are looking for fast? How many different pages do you have to click through to find what you want?  Take notes on all this information with the purpose of making your own website as visitor friendly as possible.

3.  Research to find out what keywords your visitors might search for. You don’t need to invest in expensive search tools, Google has a free keyword tool that is adequate for this purpose.  Type in a general phrase such as “high school” and see what other keywords come up.  Your visitors already have questions about these things.  With this information in hand, you can plan your website to feature content that answers people’s questions. 

4.  Make sure to plan your website to grow.  Avoid websites that can’t be easily expanded to add more pages or products.  A website is not static, but rather should change constantly to meet your customer needs. 

5.  Finally, make sure your website is easy to control, so you don’t have to rely on your website designer to make even the smallest changes.   Today’s dynamic Internet marketing environment demands new and fresh content added to your website often, and the old fashioned sites that rely on a web developer to make changes just won’t work anymore.  You need a website platform that will allow you to add website content fast and simply.

Usually, a new website is one of your business’ largest expenses.  Make the most of your investment with a new website that supports the goals you have set for your business. 

Marty Dickinson is the founder of HereNextYear, Inc., a full service Internet marketing company in business for over 10 years. His specialty is Internet marketing solutions for the small business owner, speakers and authors. Visit to see what HereNextYear has to offer and to learn more about their innovative new website packages fully integrated for ease with social networking and other Internet marketing strategies.

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Advance Planning Is the Key to a Successful Website

posted by TheMarbellaSEO 2:08 PM
Monday, April 5, 2010

Probably the most critical part of Internet marketing for your business is organizing your website so it will achieve your overall goals.  Yet, most people completely bypass this important step or, worse, just turn the whole project over to a website designer to handle. 

By strategically planning your new website or an update of your existing website, you will ensure you have a marketing piece that showcases your business to its best, allows you to be in control of ongoing content updates, and achieves the goals you have set for your business.  Below are a number of steps to follow while planning your new website:

1.  Create a list of anything your website visitors will want to know about the product or service you are offering.  For example, visitors to a school’s website would probably want to know the attendance levels, size of the classrooms, information on staff members and what sports they can participate in.  Brainstorm every possible topic someone might want to know related to the industry, product or service your website will be offering.

2.  Take on the role of your website visitor.  Visit and review some websites similar to the one you will offer as if you were a potential customer.  As a potential customer, what are the things you like and dislike about each website you visit?  Are you inspired to take action from the website?  How easily can you find what you are looking for? Are there a lot of pages to navigate through to get to what you are looking for?  With the goal of making your website as easy for potential customers to use as possible, note all of this information down for future use.

3.  Do keyword research to find out what visitors will be searching for. You don’t need to invest in expensive search tools, Google has a free keyword tool that is adequate for this purpose.  Enter a general phrase related to your product or service, such as “coffee filters” and other related keywords will appear.  These are the things your visitors already have questions about.  Knowing this, you can plan your website content to answer their questions up front. 

4.  When planning your new website, make sure to keep in room to grow.  Don’t be lured into a website format that won’t let you expand easily to add new content pages or products.  A website is not static, but rather should change constantly to meet your customer needs. 

5.  Plan a website that you can control, rather than be at the mercy of a web designer to make even small changes to your website.   Old fashioned websites that only a web developer can change do not work in today’s dynamic Internet marketing environment that demands new content added regularly.  You need a website platform that will allow you to add website content fast and simply.

The investment by your business into a new website is a large part of your marketing budget.  It is critical to take the time to plan a new website that is compatible with your business goals. 

Marty Dickinson is the founder of HereNextYear, Inc., a full service Internet marketing company in business for over 10 years. His specialty is Internet marketing solutions for the small business owner, speakers and authors. Visit to see what HereNextYear has to offer and to learn more about their innovative new website packages fully integrated for ease with social networking and other Internet marketing strategies.

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Got 20 Minutes? Create 20 Killer Benefits Statements Copywriting For The Web

posted by TheMarbellaSEO 2:07 PM
Monday, April 5, 2010

My most challenging part of copywriting to sell something online has always been the task of writing benefit statements. And, second to the headline, the benefits are what sell people on your product, service, idea or even political opinion.

In comparison, the other parts of copywriting that people might find challenging, such as stories, headlines, and great price offers were easy. The benefits list always drove me crazy; until I discovered the secret to creating one benefit or more per minute.

You may recall from Sales 101 that benefits are what sells your product or service, not features. Knowing the truth to that, I started to take a closer look at what benefits really are. They are just things that help you take (or not take action), right? For example, you “lose” weight or “make” money. If that is true, how bout starting each benefit statement with an action verb? Here’s the process:

1.  Alphabetize a long list of action verbs.

2.  Display the alphabetized list of action verbs on your desk or, even better, view them on your computer screen so that you can see the list in its entirety
.
3.  Begin with the first verb in your list that begins with the letter A and read the verb out loud and make a sentence out of it that describes one benefit of your product.

For example, the first word in my list of verbs is “Accelerate”.

So, I might say to myself that my product helps people to “Accelerate your learning speed by     getting true hands-on training with every command”.

4.  Write as many benefits as you can and don’t stop! You can cut out those that don’t have as much impact later. You don’t need to stop to think if you are writing duplicate phrases down either, now is not the time. Just keep an open mind and write down any benefit statements that come to mind about your product or service.

5.  Now is the time that you will prioritize your list from most important to least.

This process has worked for me to write great benefits statements, as well as when coming up with article ideas for my blog, such as “35 Reasons Why a Blog is Better than a Traditional Web Site for Your Business,” or “50 Ways to Kill a Perfectly Good Seminar”.

Use my list of verbs or create your own and start creating your killer benefit statements in just 20 minutes. Usually, 20 benefits is more than enough to create great sales copy.

Marty Dickinson is an entrepreneur and the founder of HereNextYear, Inc., a full service Internet marketing company in business for 15 years.  He specializes in Internet marketing solutions for the small business owner, speakers and authors.  Visit to see what HereNextYear has to offer and to learn more about their innovative new website packages fully integrated for ease with social networking and other Internet marketing strategies.

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Accelerate Your Business’ Internet Marketing Success with P.T.A.

posted by TheMarbellaSEO 3:05 PM
Monday, March 29, 2010

It is next to impossible for a business, speaker or author to operate at their full potential without using Internet marketing strategies as part of their overall plan.  Despite this, while many people use the Internet for their own personal needs, they are confused how they can actually use it to benefit the sales of their own products or services. 

You may share the confusion of others as to how Internet marketing strategies can work for you and where to begin. 

The process for Internet marketing success is almost exactly the same for every business, author or speaker, and hasn’t changed in almost 15 years!  The problem is that most educational resources on Internet marketing tell you a piece of the process without identifying where on the timeline it falls or how it fits into the rest of the process. 

Don’t get hung up on the bits and pieces before you have established your P.T.A., the foundational steps needed to be successful in Internet Marketing:

P:  Plug-In

Examine where you currently fit in the Internet marketing process and “plug in” at that point.  Is this your first experience with Internet marketing?  Or do you have some knowledge, but can’t seem to tie it all together?  Identify where you are, then plug-in to the tools and resources available to you to meet your particular needs. 

T: Team-Up

Probably the most critical to a small business owner, speaker or author, is t o find a team that can help make the Internet Marketing process happen.  The success of your business relies on you being out doing your thing, not sitting at a computer trying to learn everything there is to know about Internet marketing (unless you are, actually an Internet marketer by trade).  And most people’s strategy of hiring a random website designer from Craigslist or oversees just because they don’t cost much rarely works. 

What you are looking for in outsourced help is someone (or a group of someones) who are interested and sensitive to your unique business and concerns, and who has a wide range of expertise in Internet marketing.  Since your business is always changing, you will benefit from forming a dedicated team now that will grow with you over the years and has the technical expertise to plan your business strategies for now and into the future. 

A:  Accelerate

If you get a website for your business or service without fully understanding the entire Internet marketing process, you will never be able to fully implement the last step, and accelerate your Internet marketing plans to success.  Learning a bit of this and a bit of that will have no result until you have plugged into your place in the process and found a team to help get you there.  Once you have done that, your business success from the Internet will start to fly. 

Marty Dickinson is an entrepreneur and the founder of HereNextYear, Inc., a full service Internet marketing company in business for 15 years.  He specializes in Internet marketing solutions for the small business owner, speakers and authors.  Visit to see what HereNextYear has to offer and to learn more about their innovative new website packages fully integrated for ease with social networking and other Internet marketing strategies.

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You Can Make the Most of Your Website With Advance Planning

posted by TheMarbellaSEO 7:08 AM
Saturday, March 27, 2010

Probably the most critical part of Internet marketing for your business is organizing your website so it will achieve your overall goals.  But this critical step is usually the one business people skip, or just leave it to their web designer to consider, which can be even more damaging to their overall goals. 

The process of carefully planning the outline of a new website or upgrade to an existing website will secure for you not only a vehicle to show off your business in the best light, but also one that you are able to control the process of updating content, and, most importantly, achieve your business goals.  Below are a number of steps to follow while planning your new website:

1.  Create a list of anything your website visitors will want to know about the product or service you are offering.  For example, visitors to a school’s website would probably want to know the attendance levels, size of the classrooms, information on staff members and what sports they can participate in.  Take the time to brainstorm as many areas related to your product, service or industry that someone might be interested in when visiting the website.

2.  Take on the role of your website visitor.  Visit some websites and review them as if you are in the market for the services those sites have to offer.  As a visitor who is genuinely interested in your product or service, what are the good things and bad things about each site you visit?  Are you driven to take action?  Can you find what you are looking for fast? How many times do you have to click to find what you are looking for?  Note all this data down with the intent of making your new website as easy for your visitors to use as possible.

3.  Research to find out what keywords your visitors might search for. You don’t need to invest in expensive search tools, Google has a free keyword tool that is adequate for this purpose.  By typing in a general phrase such as “exercise video”, other keywords will come up that are related.  These are the topics that people are searching for already.  Knowing this, you can plan your website content to answer their questions up front. 

4.  When planning your new website, make sure to keep in room to grow.  Stay away from website formats that can’t be expanded easily to add products and new pages.  A website is not static, but rather should change constantly to meet your customer needs. 

5.  The final thing to keep in mind is that you want to be able to control your new website, rather than be at the mercy of your web designer to make even the simplest of changes.   Successful Internet marketing today relies on a dynamic website with fresh content added often, and having an antiquated website that only your designer can change will just not work anymore.  It is to your advantage to plan a website platform that will allow you to add content quickly and simply.

Usually, a new website is one of your business’ largest expenses.  It is critical to take the time to plan a new website that is compatible with your business goals. 

Marty Dickinson is the founder of HereNextYear, Inc., a full service Internet marketing company in business for over 10 years. His specialty is Internet marketing solutions for the small business owner, speakers and authors. Visit to see what HereNextYear has to offer and to learn more about their innovative new website packages fully integrated for ease with social networking and other Internet marketing strategies.

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P.T.A. Is Your First Step to Internet Marketing Success for Your Business

posted by TheMarbellaSEO 3:18 PM
Monday, March 15, 2010

The Internet has become indispensable and practically no business, author or speaker can succeed without using the Internet as part of their marketing strategy.  However, while most folks use the Internet for their personal needs, many have little idea how they can become more profitable using it for their products or services. 

Like many others, you may find the Internet overwhelming and have little concept where you should start in the whole process. 

Whether you are an author, speaker, or small business owner, the steps you will take to be successful on the Internet are the same, and have changed little over the past 15 years!  The problem is that most educational resources on Internet marketing tell you a piece of the process without identifying where on the timeline it falls or how it fits into the rest of the process. 

Avoid getting caught up on an individual strategy or tactic until you have identified your P.T.A., the basic steps you need to find success on the Internet:

P:  Plug-In

Examine where you currently fit in the Internet marketing process and “plug in” at that point.  Are you a complete beginner?  Or do you have some knowledge, but can’t seem to tie it all together?  Pinpoint where you fit into the process, then plug in to the resources and tools that you need for your specific situation. 

T: Team-Up

Probably the most critical to a small business owner, speaker or author, is t o find a team that can help make the Internet Marketing process happen.  The success of your business relies on you being out doing your thing, not sitting at a computer trying to learn everything there is to know about Internet marketing (unless you are, actually an Internet marketer by trade).  And finding an inexpensive designer to throw together a website won’t go far in getting you ready to be successful on the Internet. 

What you are looking for in outsourced help is someone (or a group of someones) who are interested and sensitive to your unique business and concerns, and who has a wide range of expertise in Internet marketing.  Your goal should be to form a dedicated team that will work with you as your business grows that can help you will all aspects of Internet marketing planning and strategies. 

A:  Accelerate

A website alone, without analyzing where you fit into the process will result in not fully realizing the last step of accelerating your success.  Learning a few strategies or techniques will only cause to confuse you until you have plugged into where you are in the overall process, and found resources and team members able to lead you to success.  Once you have done that, your business success from the Internet will start to fly. 

Marty Dickinson is an entrepreneur and the founder of HereNextYear, Inc., a full service Internet marketing company in business for 15 years.  He specializes in Internet marketing solutions for the small business owner, speakers and authors.  Visit to see what HereNextYear has to offer and to learn more about their innovative new website packages fully integrated for ease with social networking and other Internet marketing strategies.

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Jump Start Internet Marketing Strategies Through P.T.A.

posted by TheMarbellaSEO 3:18 PM
Monday, March 15, 2010

It is next to impossible for a business, speaker or author to operate at their full potential without using Internet marketing strategies as part of their overall plan.  But the fact of the matter is, most people may use the Internet to find the products and services they need, but have no idea how to use it for their own profitability. 

If you are like most people, you have been overwhelmed with Internet marketing strategies, and have no idea where to start. 

Regardless of what business you are in, the steps to Internet marketing success are very similar, and it might surprise you to learn they haven’t changed much in over a decade!  The challenge is that there are so many resources out there for the various steps in the process, with little education as to where each item fits in with other steps. 

Don’t get hung up on the bits and pieces before you have established your P.T.A., the foundational steps needed to be successful in Internet Marketing:

P:  Plug-In

Identify where you are in the Internet marketing process and “plug-in” to the process.  Are you a complete beginner?  Or maybe you have some experience, but haven’t pulled it all together yet?  Pinpoint where you fit into the process, then plug in to the resources and tools that you need for your specific situation. 

T: Team-Up

Probably the most critical to a small business owner, speaker or author, is t o find a team that can help make the Internet Marketing process happen.  Unless your profession is actually Internet marketer, you are better suited working at what you do best, not sitting at the computer trying to get a degree in Internet marketing.  And finding an inexpensive designer to throw together a website won’t go far in getting you ready to be successful on the Internet. 

Your aim is to find outsourced help that takes time to learn about your situation and needs, as well as demonstrates a high level of knowledge of all areas of Internet marketing.  Your goal should be to form a dedicated team that will work with you as your business grows that can help you will all aspects of Internet marketing planning and strategies. 

A:  Accelerate

If you get a website for your business or service without fully understanding the entire Internet marketing process, you will never be able to fully implement the last step, and accelerate your Internet marketing plans to success.  Learning a few strategies or techniques will only cause to confuse you until you have plugged into where you are in the overall process, and found resources and team members able to lead you to success.  Once you have done that, your business success from the Internet will start to fly. 

Marty Dickinson is an entrepreneur and the founder of HereNextYear, Inc., a full service Internet marketing company in business for 15 years.  He specializes in Internet marketing solutions for the small business owner, speakers and authors.  Visit to see what HereNextYear has to offer and to learn more about their innovative new website packages fully integrated for ease with social networking and other Internet marketing strategies.

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0 Comments >>

Jump Start Internet Marketing Strategies Through P.T.A.

posted by TheMarbellaSEO 6:52 PM
Tuesday, March 9, 2010

The Internet has become indispensable and practically no business, author or speaker can succeed without using the Internet as part of their marketing strategy.  However, while most folks use the Internet for their personal needs, many have little idea how they can become more profitable using it for their products or services. 

You may share the confusion of others as to how Internet marketing strategies can work for you and where to begin. 

Whether you are an author, speaker, or small business owner, the steps you will take to be successful on the Internet are the same, and have changed little over the past 15 years!  The problem is that most educational resources on Internet marketing tell you a piece of the process without identifying where on the timeline it falls or how it fits into the rest of the process. 

Don’t get hung up on the bits and pieces before you have established your P.T.A., the foundational steps needed to be successful in Internet Marketing:

P:  Plug-In

Discover and “plug-in” to where you currently fit into the Internet marketing process.  Are you a complete beginner?  Or do you have some knowledge, but can’t seem to tie it all together?  Pinpoint where you fit into the process, then plug in to the resources and tools that you need for your specific situation. 

T: Team-Up

The next and most important step for any small business owner, author or speaker is to team up with those that can help implement the process.  The success of your business relies on you being out doing your thing, not sitting at a computer trying to learn everything there is to know about Internet marketing (unless you are, actually an Internet marketer by trade).  And, contrary to popular belief, just having a website designed by someone you find on Craig’s List or overseas won’t get you the success you want from your Internet marketing. 

Your aim is to find outsourced help that takes time to learn about your situation and needs, as well as demonstrates a high level of knowledge of all areas of Internet marketing.  Since your business is always changing, you will benefit from forming a dedicated team now that will grow with you over the years and has the technical expertise to plan your business strategies for now and into the future. 

A:  Accelerate

Just having a website without a full knowledge of the Internet marketing process will result in never being able to fully realize the last step by accelerating your strategies to success.  Knowing a little of this or a little of that is useless unless you know the process and where you are in it, and have a team of resources available to help you implement it.  Once you have done that, your business success from the Internet will start to fly. 

Marty Dickinson is an entrepreneur and the founder of HereNextYear, Inc., a full service Internet marketing company in business for 15 years.  He specializes in Internet marketing solutions for the small business owner, speakers and authors.  Visit to see what HereNextYear has to offer and to learn more about their innovative new website packages fully integrated for ease with social networking and other Internet marketing strategies.

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