The very idea of creating a video for your business may be out of your comfort zone. For example, what do you say on your video? What is your message and who is your target? It is best to produce a script for an effective video..
Your Capabilities Statement: Just the Facts, Please
When the author started Revisions in 2010, he wanted to engage and do work with local municipalities. With the county’s Economic Development Corporation help, he first learned one of the most-valuable lessons: How to put together a capabilities statement and why it is so important.
The Easy Way to Create a Database of Prospective Customers
Have you visited a website that offered some form of education, promotional discounts, raffle prizes, or access to other valuable materials, and all you needed to do was fill in your name, phone, and Email address? These organizations are using one of the oldest tools of the Internet era—cost-effectively building their own customer and prospect... Continue Reading →
The Content of Business-to-Business Email Blasts: Educating not Selling
So you’ve decided to try your hand at Email marketing to your existing and prospective clients. Let’s assume for the moment that you have gathered or purchased a list of Email addresses and have them ready to go in a database. For some people, that was the easy part! Deciding what to broadcast may be... Continue Reading →
Reread Your Copy Before You Publish!
When I give presentations, I like to engage with my audience by sharing some funny, bizarre, or at least thought-provoking printed signs, like the following: In a tavern: Ladies Are Requested not to Have Children in the Bar At a fast-food establishment: Parking for Drive-Thru Service Only On a hotel’s website: There is a French... Continue Reading →
AI and Marketing Communications: Is It Time for Me to Retire?
Feelings of sci-fi peril aside, the capabilities of programs like ChatGPT are remarkable. I’ve tried it, and I can’t say that I would be able to easily tell the difference between a passage written by the program or by a person.
It’s not Small Business Operations Versus Marketing. It’s Both
Small business owners like us commonly fall into a trap of our own making. We are truly excellent at operating our companies and keeping our existing customers happy. That is nothing to be ashamed of. We are proud of the job we do and how efficiently we can do it. It does come with one... Continue Reading →
An Ode to Writing in Courier
The benefit gained through truly finishing your words—and the multiple rounds of editing and revision required to achieve this gleaming shine—may be noticed by not only the writer but appreciated by the intended audience.
Where’s the Beef? It’s not Just in the Tag Line. It’s in the Campaign
Some of the greatest marketing slogans of the last 70 years have stuck with us, despite the fact that they haven’t been seen or heard in many decades. If you’re old enough, you’ll remember the following: Clara Peller, asking in a Wendy’s commercial from 1984, “Where’s the Beef?” And no, this is not an ad... Continue Reading →
How Do You Market in Such a Strange, Strangled Business Climate?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many different types of businesses took a hard look at their own viability. Not surprisingly, this meant cutting staff and “nonessential activities,” such as marketing. But marketing is still essential to survive these pandemic times.
The Time Is Now to Plan Your Marketing for the Year
January is the ideal time to create (or reexamine) your small-business marketing strategy.
An Educated Consumer Is Your Best Customer
, very few of us can claim to be experts in purchasing new central air conditioning systems. If a company’s website includes good information on problems to avoid in choosing a new or replacement system, that’s worthwhile education. I appreciate informational tools that help me understand what size system best fits my home as well. And it keeps me on this one website longer. Importantly, if they are a local company, I’m almost certain to invite them to my home for an estimate.
New educational web pages and informative blogs fulfill two of my requirements for a service- or consulting-oriented website: (1) providing actual assistance to the visitor and (2) boosting its visibility on web search engines.
