When I travel to a new city, I want to be sure I don’t miss a good coffee shop. When I attend Summit 2016 I will spend most of my time in the Tampa Convention Center. But I am sure I can make time to sneak out for a good cappuccino. Here are a few places I would like to try.
Read moreIs a Professional Video of Your Client Event Worth the Cost?
Events are expensive. Very few Dynamics ERP/CRM partners want to add to the budget by hiring a professional video crew to film the event. But you should.
I love to save money just as much (actually more) than the next partner. But I still feel that an event video is worth the expense. There are just so many ways this video can be used, for years to come.
Before I get into the FAQ, take a look at the video of our last event to get an idea of the type of video I am talking about:
Read more6 Crazy Ways My Family Makes Money Online
People in my family have some cool jobs you’ve likely never heard of before. All of them are 100% online. So you don’t know if we are working at home or while traveling around the world (which we often are.) Blog owner, classic car broker, stock video seller and more....
Read moreClues I Find In My Favorite Google Analytics Reports
How often do you remember to check the Google Analytics data for your website?
I can go several months without thinking about it and that means I am missing out on valuable insights into the success of my online marketing efforts.
For that reason, I have several reports automatically emailed to me each month. On the first of the month Google Analytics kindly sends me these 4 reports as PDF documents:
Read moreWhen is the Right Time To Start Building Your Own Brand?
You are your own brand. And you want your brand to be recognized.
But strong brand recognition does not happen overnight. Some companies spend millions, over years building their brands. Fortunately, you can do it for free, but it does take time.
So you'd better start doing it now. Here are some tips....
Read moreThe Marketers Dilemma: Gated vs Ungated Content
How much do you want this information?
Are you willing to give me your personal information to get it? Even though you know that means I could start nagging you endlessly?
These are the questions we are asking our website visitors every time we ask them to fill in a form to get a piece of content. This is “gated” content. There is a gate in front of it, and their contact information is the key.
Ungated content is not guarded by a form. Anyone can see it and download it anytime.
In this post I give you my thoughts on the arguments FOR and AGAINST gated content. And the bold decision we made for our Dynamics GP website.
Read moreHow Much Information Should You Provide on Your Website?
How many pages does your website have?
According to one source I found, “a personal website typically contains 4-10 pages, a corporation's website might have anywhere from 10-50.”
The CAL Business Solutions website has 239 pages. (Plus an additional 539 pages as blog posts).
My online strategy is to Just Be Open. Here is proof that this works...
Read moreWill You Read the Second Sentence of This Blog Post?
What is the goal of this first sentence?
To get you to read the second sentence. That’s all. And I see that it worked. You are already at the fifth sentence.
The single most helpful writing tip I ever received was in an email from Henneke Duistermaat at Enchanting Marketing.
She said that you need to keep your first sentence short. Ultra-short. Such as:
Read moreHow Beringer Associates Became Our Most Popular Dynamics CRM Blog Star
For the past two months one company has written 4 out of 5 of the most popular blog posts on the CRM Software Blog. They have consistently been on the most popular list, but now they are completely dominating it. I told them that the blogger at Beringer Associates deserves a gold star. Then I found that they deserve a whole bunch of gold stars, because everyone at their company is a blogger. Lisa A. Beringer, Vice President at Beringer Associates, Inc. shared her company’s secret to success with me:
Read moreI Felt Like We Were Best Friends Until I Sent the Check
When someone is a prospect, they are a VIP. They get our full attention. But once they sign the contract or send the check, what happens? Do they still feel your love? A recent experience had me feeling like a top priority then totally ignored after the deal was done. And of course this made me think of ERP software....
Read more13 Interview Questions to Write a Compelling Microsoft Dynamics Client Case Study
How many case studies do you have in your marketing portfolio?
A compelling case study is an excellent marketing tool, but they are not always easy to create. Here are 7 steps I use with each case study I write. Plus 13 interview questions I ask my clients to draw out the information I need.
Read moreWhy You Need an Inventory List to Track Published Blog Posts
Wait, didn’t I already write about this? Once you have been blogging for a while, it all starts to become a blur. It is very difficult to remember what you have written about and when and where, it was published. But there is value in knowing what you have already written about and being able to quickly find the URL. Here are 4 reasons you need an inventory list and the benefits.
Read moreBig Beautiful Banners to Boost My Blog Posts
Banners are my new thing. When someone finishes reading a blog post, I want them to be see a beautiful banner that will just make them feel compelled to click to get more information.
But I am not a graphic designer. I wish I was, as it would be such an asset to my marketing career. As I get older I have resigned myself to the fact that you just can’t be good at everything, and learning when to delegate is a sign of maturity. Finally, I have found a solution. Here are a few examples of my favorite banners...
Read more2 Strategies To Promote Blog Posts on Twitter and LinkedIn – Which Do You Prefer?
How often should you promote a blog post?
When I write a blog post, I want people to see it. Of course the main way they will find it, if I have done a good job at optimization, is from their search engine.
But I also try to give my posts a boost using social media, specifically Twitter and LinkedIn, not just once but repeatedly because you will catch different peoples’ attention at different times with the same message. The question is, how much promotion is the right amount?
Here are two different strategies.
Read moreProof That More Blog Posts Equals More Website Traffic - Dynamics CRM Partner Success Story
Anybody can say that writing more blog posts is better, especially someone who owns the blog site. But I can give you proof.
A Microsoft Dynamics CRM partner who is a member of the CRM Software Blog shared their statistics with me, and the results are very clear. With an increased focus on blogging and very few other changes to their marketing strategy, this Dynamics CRM Partner has seen a
- 57% increase in website traffic in 2015 over 2014.
- 322% increase in website traffic since they joined the CRM Software Blog in 2010.
- 126% increase in referral clicks from the CRM Software Blog.
And that is not all.
Read moreMy Strategy for “Pick-Apart Posts” and Why My Prospects Love Me For It
Some people think I am annoying. But that makes me a better blog writer. I am the person who combs through the fine print, anticipates every worst case scenario and asks what the contingency plan is. Fortunately I have found that this quality serves me well for blog writing. I have had success with something I call “Pick-Apart Posts”. I will take a topic and literally pick it apart. I’ll look at it from every angle, ask every potential question my customer could ask, try to think of every scenario and then find the answers and document them.
Read moreHow to ReOptimize or RePublish Old Blog Posts To Get More Traffic
You’ve heard of the 80/20 rule, right? I bet you get 80% of your traffic from 20% of your blog posts.
All of us struggle with finding time to write new blog posts. So instead, here is a strategy you can use to get more traffic and leads from the blog posts you have already published. First you want to find out which of your blog posts are the most popular.
Read moreThe Key Personality Trait of a Great Marketer
What personality trait should you look for when hiring for marketing?
Should the person be organized, creative, detail oriented? You could argue that all of those qualities are important.
But I believe the key personality trait of a great marketer is OPTIMISM - unfailing, unflagging optimism: the belief that just because something hasn’t worked before, it might work this time. Or the prospect who hasn’t responded to the last ten marketing touches, might just call today.
Read moreAn Easy Way to Generate More Content with Less Work – Blog Rewrite Service
So many blog sites, so little time. Everyone wants original content, but there is only so much time in the day for writing.
When you spend the time researching and crafting a great blog post it is tempting to post it on more than one site. But that little voice in your head should remind you that duplicate content is bad; search engines don’t like duplicate content and it will not improve your SEO.
If you plan to use the same content on multiple blog sites, it should be rewritten it so that the content is fresh. This does not just mean changing the title and a few sentences.
Read moreFour Ideas to Promote Your Session During an Event
What if you plan a party and nobody shows up? Or worse, just one or two show up and you stare awkwardly at each other while they wonder where all the cool people went instead?
The same is true if you present a session at an event.
Don’t just rely on the event coordinators to promote you, do your part to get people into the room to listen to you. Attendees usually have several sessions to choose from during a single time slot, and plenty of people to distract them in the hallways, so you have tough competition. There are several things you can do to promote your session DURING the event. Here are four ideas:
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