Here’s some Wednesday Wisdom for you!
“The purest treasure mortal times can afford is a spotless reputation.”
-William Shakespear
The truth is – your reputation is your most VALUABLE marketing tool ever! Guard it carefully!
In this series, we’re going to look at some ways to get advertising, without spending one red cent. (or any other color for that matter.)
Note – nothing in life is truly free. I would never recommend that someone develop an advertising strategy without some kind of budget – but the point of this is to demonstrate that advertising does not always need to be expensive, and that you can trade TIME, ENERGY, and CREATIVITY for MONEY when it comes to communicating your message!
So – Part one of our series:
1. Leveraging the Power of Social Media
The more strategic you are with facebook, twitter, linkedin, google plus, and your blog, the more effective you’ll be.
A) Let’s start from the beginning – set up an account or a professional profile on each of the above social networks. Invite your network – you should be able to import your contacts, which should help.
B) If possible – link your blog to automatically post there. (You can use If This Then That http://www.IFTTT.com to set up a recipe that will automatically post from your blog.)
C) Make a strategy. You can just post random things as they happen, or share pictures of cats. But your most effective social networking will come with a strategy. Figure out what you are going to post, and when. Then take the time to schedule your posts. (you can use a program like hootsuite if you want to schedule across networks.)
D) Post regular, Post Often, Have Fun.
E)Think about a budget. YES – We’re talking about free advertising. But if you CAN put a little cash on an ad campaign on facebook or twitter – it will be effective in building engagement. You don’t have to spend it. If you’re GOOD at social networking – you might not even need to spend any. But it can’t hurt!
Do you need some help setting up your Social Media Accounts, and optimizing them for results? Do you need help coming up with a social media strategy?
CONTACT ME TODAY – AND I’LL HELP YOU LEVERAGE SOCIAL MEDIA TO YOUR ADVANTAGE!
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Want to know how to get FREE advertising? Do you want to share your message to the masses, but limited on budget?
We’ll be featuring a four part series of videos to help you learn how to get FREE advertising for your business or organization on our website each monday in December!
Check back at our blog every Monday in December for GREAT ways to communicate your message without breaking your budget!
Let’s face it. You might not get as lucky as I did. I had a publisher approach ME and ask me to co-write a book. I wish I could say it made me rich. It WAS carried in Wal-Mart Stores and Barnes and Noble! But when it didn’t sell at Wal-mart, they returned it to the publisher, and I got negative royalties for several years.
It’s not the end of the world. But the face of publishing has changed drastically in the past few years.
No longer does an author need a publisher, or even printed books!
These days, someone can write whatever they want, however they want, and they can take it to market on their own! Actually, a lot of publishers don’t even NOTICE a new author unless he’s sold a few ebooks or self-published books, and can prove he or she is willing to sell their own books!
Here are a few tips I’ve put together for authors who want to KILL IT when it comes to ebook sales.
Evolve. Don’t get stale. You may think of yourself as an artist. And you want to make the art that you like, without any cares in the world. Let’s talk frankly. Vincent Van Gough was one of the most brilliant painters on the planet. But no one new it until after he died. Chances are good that you might think your art is that good, and you might think that holding on to the integrity of that art is important. To an extent, it is… but at the same time – if something isn’t putting bacon on the table – maybe it’s time to evolve. Learn what is selling, and do that. You can still do it without compromising your integrity. I’m not asking you to become a zebra if you are a giraffe – but I am telling you that if you don’t have the ability to be flexible, and to write to the market, you’ll starve. Be willing to adapt and change.
I’d LOVE to be able to help you out with some of this. In addition to being a writer, I’m a graphic designer, web designer, and marketing gorilla (that’s the official title I’ve given myself.) You’ll see at the bottom of this page some artwork that I’ve created…. some of it with original photos from my staff photographers. Sounds pricey? I guarantee you that I can work with my team to create a book cover, a website, or a marketing piece that is TOP QUALITY with an affordable price tag. Just send me a message, and we’ll make it happen.
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Wanted: Digital Media and Creative Marketing Interns
Interns for Hatcher Media will receive hands on experience working for a creative digital media company, including copywriting, SEO, Social Media Management, Graphic Design, Video Production, and website development, in addition to other creative content related duties.
This is a great opportunity to gain skills, build a portfolio, and bylines needed to help create a online presence and digital reputation.
Applicants should have a superior work-ethic, excellent written and oral communication skills, and a basic knowledge of digital media tools and platforms. Journalism, marketing, business, computer information systems, computer programming, and media studies or related majors are encouraged to apply.
To apply, please send cover letter and resume or link to completed linked-in profile to:
Josh Hatcher – mail@joshhatcher.com
869 West Washington Street
Bradford, PA 16701
In the old days (last week?) Yellow Pages ads were some of the most affordable and effective way to market your business.
People spent THOUSANDS to get that yellow page ad to look just right.
But a shift has happened, and if you are NOT on board, you’re going to miss the train!
Check out this article from CNBC’s FAST MONEY –http://www.cnbc.com/id/23502950/Are_The_Yellow_Pages_Dead
Some of you are probably saying:
I STILL GET CALLS FROM THE YELLOW PAGES! IT CAN’T BE DEAD!
But the numbers don’t lie. Their FINGER’S AIN’T DOING THE WALKING ANY MORE!
You may get a little bit of residual traffic from the phone book. But I’ll be honest. I haven’t picked up my phone book in a year. I surveyed a few of my friends, and they all told me the same thing.
So HOW do people find your business?
My MARKETING TIP for today is this:
Don’t beat a dead horse.
Right now, people are using GOOGLE to find your business. Try it out. Go to http://www.google.com and type in “Realtors Jamestown, NY” or “Lawyers Pittsburgh, PA”
THAT’S HOW PEOPLE ARE LOOKING UP YOUR NUMBER.
It works on the computer, and it works on mobile phones.
They’re also using Yahoo, Bing, and a few other sites, but the VAST majority are using GOOGLE to find you.
Chances are, Google Maps/Places probably ALREADY has a listing for you!
But based on their formula for search relevance, you may be buried amongst all of your competitors!
We’ve learned a few secrets and tips to help raise YOUR Google Places Listing in that list, and help you stand out a little more above your competition.
Do you remember back in the OLD DAYS when people would name their business “AAA Plumbing” to get to the top of the list?
It takes a little work, but our methods are proven to help raise your ranking to a notice-able level.
“Isn’t this something I could do myself?”
Certainly!
And I could get online and learn how to fix my minivan too. But who has time to do it themselves? Especially when you can do it this affordably?
I’m not knocking the DIY Marketers out there. In fact, I hope to GIVE them good information that they can use to get the word out. It doesn’t hurt my feelings if you choose to do this on your own. I HOPE I’ve helped you out.
BUT – Just keep in mind, just like with an automobile, your Search Engine Listings have a lot of complicated factors, and I’ve spent a LOT of time educating myself and researching those factors, and how to make it better. In fact, I’ve been working on this pretty exclusively for a several months. So you could take several months to research it, or you could budget your most valuable asset (your time) and get it done for an affordable cost.
I met with a client recently. He showed me his friend’s domain name.
Only instead of going to his friends business – it went to A COMPETITOR’S business.
Not good. Not good at all! Any potential customers that type in his business name on the internet, are going to be sent DIRECTLY to his competitor’s page!
You’ve workedhard to establish a reputation with your name… that’s your BRAND.
People hear your name, or see your logo, and they identify certain things with it.
You want consistency with that brand… from your business cards – to your newspaper advertisement – to your website.
The last thing you need is a competitor hopping onto a domain name registry and snagging your domain name, and STEALING YOUR CUSTOMERS!
I had approached this particular friend a couple of years ago about setting his website up for him. He wasn’t ready yet. He could have avoided a major head-ache (and saved a lot of money snagging my talents before my rates went up!)
The good news is, there is a legal precedent that MAY help him get his domain name back… though it could cost a lot in legal fees, and if his name is not a registered trademark – there is still a chance the other company may be able to keep it.
The whole thing just sounds like something out of a mobster movie.
Why am I telling you this story?
Because I know how some of you feel about getting your website set up.
Some of you have been waiting and procrastinating and putting it off…
Because you:
I’ll tell you.
If you don’t see the need to have a website – I hope I don’t offend you when I say this – but you really don’t get it. In fact – if you don’t think your business needs a web presence of SOME kind – then you’re probably just not going to be convinced… I’m guessing you still use a rotary telephone.
If you plan on setting up your website yourself – well – Good for you! I hope you can make it happen. But it’s been my experience that it’s often cheaper to pay someone that KNOWS how to set it up than it is to take the time and energy that it takes to learn how to set it up yourself. Plus – a website doesn’t do you any good if it doesn’t get indexed by search engines – and I know a bit about the tools of the trade… Give me a call, and we’ll chat about it.
If you don’t think you can afford to pay 5-12 thousand dollars for one of those fancy-schmancy websites… you are probably right! I often look at what people pay for websites – and I shake my head.
Hatcher Media can take that web technology, throw in some creative design – and give you the kind of website you could only DROOL over for a FRACTION of the cost. Get in touch with me, and we’ll make it happen!
