David Slabon - How to Blog for Business

How to Blog for Business: A Guide for Those Starting Out

Although blogging has been around since the 1990s, its utility as a marketing tool is still relatively new, especially among small and local businesses. Many of these places may wonder about the utility of offering such a service and worry about the work and costs involved. However the good news is that learning how to blog for business is simple and inexpensive. It’s also an investment well worth the time.

Commit to the Process

In order for blogging to be successful, it has to be a commitment. There is a lot that can be gained in service industries especially if you take the time to spread knowledge and reach out to customers. However, designing a blog without following through on it is a waste of time and money. It doesn’t need to take more than a couple of hours each week, but you do need to commit to the process of blogging in order to be successful.

Be Authentic and Transparent

The commitment process is just the beginning. If you are invested in your blog, then you need to exude that in the writing itself. Don’t simply go through the motions or copy ideas that others in your industry have already covered. You need to find your own voice, tap into what you bring to the table in the the business world and use it. This also means being transparent in your views and making the choices to assert (polite) opinions. This humanization of you and your business will capture your audience and endear you to customers.

Remember the Readers

Many writers and public speakers make the mistake of forgetting their audience. Don’t resort to canned talking points. Think about your industry and your readers. Learn who they are, what they know, and why they come to you. Then, use this knowledge to tailor your blog posts to them. Remember, a blog for business is not about you, it’s about customers.

Listen to Feedback

It’s a mistake to turn off comments on a small business blog. This is your best chance at truly engaging your audience and receiving feedback that can positively impact your blog and your bottom line. Do moderate that commentary, but welcome the dialogue as a free look inside your readers/customer’s minds. You can also use this feedback and the questions that readers ask as fodder for future posts.

Minimize Risk

A lot of bloggers like to stir up controversy. We call this being purposely provocative. The problem has gotten so out of hand that “journalists” are doing the same thing—taking quotes out of context, trying to rile up strong niche groups like moms or gun owners with the intent of generating traffic to their site. 

Learning how to blog for business is less about this controversy and more about authentic opinion and healthy debate within an industry. Be respectful, tone down strong ideas with balanced views, and stick to topics that pertain to the immediate business of your company.

David Slabon - How to Run an AdWords Campaign

How to Run an AdWords Campaign for the First Time

With a low up-front cost, a captive audience in the hundreds of millions, and a great history of success, learning how to run an AdWords campaign through Google is an essential element for any business today. Here’s a quick six-step run down of how to run your first AdWords campaign right:

Step 1: Set Your Goals 

Every aspect of marketing involves this step. You cannot be successful unless you first define what success means. When you want to run an AdWords campaign this means establishing your goals, targets, and objectives. Try to keep it simple, use analytics to make a clear statement, such as, “I want to convert 5 sales from no more than a $100/month ad budget.”

Step 2: Get Your Keywords Straight

A perfectly worded ad is useless if it isn’t seen; search engine marketing depends on good keywords. This means taking the time to research and identify keywords and brand terms before spending money on AdWords.

Step 3: Create Your Campaign

Like most of its tools, Google makes AdWords easy to create with a self-explanatory form. Identify your keywords and audience and have your ad copy ready; you can plug it right into the box. Google will recommend additional keywords that you may want to consider as well. The final step is to set your bid. There are a lot of different standards and guidelines on which bids to set and when, but bottom line the “right” bid is all about circumstance and number crunching. 

Step 4: Begin Tracking

Once the ad is set up, you are not done. If you want to run an AdWords campaign that is a success this means tracking it and making changes when and where necessary. Google makes this process easy for you through Google Analytics, though there are other equally worthy programs all at different price points.

Step 5: Add More Copy Where Needed

Once you launch your first campaign, it will become immediately obvious where you need more work. Use the analytics and results generated from step 4 and add more ads where they will be seen and generate a larger ROI. The more ads you run, the faster you will learn about what works and what does not.

Step 6: Keep Checking In

Even after you are relatively certain that you have nailed the targets and the goals of your ad, you need to keep updated with it. 

Learning how to run an AdWords campaign doesn’t stop at success. Keep playing with keywords, change up copy to keep things fresh, and generally spend time managing an AdWords campaign much in the way you would manage a print ad.

David Slabon - How to Use Pinterest for Business

How to Use Pinterest for Business: Tips for Success

In the social media section of marketing, the value of Facebook and Twitter are clear and established. However, the relatively new (and highly addicting!) kid on the block, Pinterest, also presents some unique opportunities to engage with customers. 

However, users who are new to the virtual pin board world may be unsure of how and why Pinterest is a boost to businesses. 

Like any social media platform, using Pinterest successfully requires an intimate knowledge of its positives and negatives as well as a systematic leveraging of both to benefit your end. The following tips will help you to learn how to use Pinterest for business with ease.

Commit the Time 

Pinterest is like all other social networking sites in that it takes time to get fully acquainted with the platform. Businesses who want to use Pinterest need to be willing to take the time necessary to develop relationships with influential pinners who will pin their products. This means taking the time to follow these influential pinners and to talk to and about them. Research who is best known in your niche, HINT: look for a high volume of ‘likes’ and ‘re-pins,’ and cultivate your relationship with these people on Pinterest as well as on connected platforms such as Facebook.

Learn the Language

Just like Twitter, Pinterest has its own language and they are not the same. Overuse of hasgtags, dead end pins meant only for self-promotion, and ‘bomb’ posts of dozens of pins at once will immediately annoy followers. Take time to lurk on Pinterest before leaping too hard into pinning. Also, remember the all-important rule of reciprocity. Pinning only your own products is an obvious sales tactic that turns potential customers and popular pinners off.

Know the Audience

Pinterest isn’t for everyone. There is a very specific demographic who use Pinterest. These people are generally focused around certain niches, mostly recipes (cooking), DIY and crafts, educational ideas, decorating, and fashion. Businesses in certain fields, like industrial equipment, will find little ROI from Pinterest engagement.

Connect to Your Other Networks

The complex web of social media these days is designed such that posting on any one network can automatically update others. Funnel Facebook and Tumblr users to Pinterest by cross-promoting your pins and generating dialogue about Pinterest.

Learning how to use Pinterest for business is not as straightforward as many other social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. However, the power of this platform and its ever-growing following make it an open market for properly positioned brands.

Find David Slabon on Pinterest.

David Slabon - Top Free Advertising Sites for Local Business

9 Top Free Advertising Sites for Local Business

Let’s face it; the world has moved from in-person all the time to on line most of the time.

Everything from television shows and news broadcasts to family photo albums and recipe banks have moved onto the internet.

The pressure to have a strong digital presence is on for individuals as well as businesses. In fact, even local businesses are increasingly feeling the pressure to move their advertising efforts online in addition to the traditional channels that they already use.

 However, as a local business your ability to allocate marketing funds to online media is extremely limited. For the local business finding free advertising sites is essential if they want to keep out of the red and still compete in the digital arena.

The following list of 9 top free advertising sites for local business is enough to get anyone started off on the right foot, though.

 1. Craigslist 

The granddaddy of all ad sites and a universally known and recognized name, Craigslist is for more than baby furniture and garage sales. The site boasts 10 million unique visitors each day and systematically breaks down all ads by location.

 2. BackPage 

This is the #2 classifieds site on the web. Though not as well-known as Craigslist, it is still privy to a robust user base and is owned by the NYC-based Village Voice.

3. Yahoo Local Listings 

Similar to the traditional phone book setup, the most basic plan from Yahoo Local lists your business and its pertinent information for free. There are also paid plans that impact your website’s placement in Yahoo search’s advertising boxes.

4. MerchantCircle.com 

This is a completely free service offered for small business. In addition to serving as a basic catalogue of names, Merchant Circle also helps local businesses monitor and maintain their online image and reputation as well as enhance search rankings.

5. Local.com 

There are over 10 million monthly customers on Local.com who use the site for everything from weather info to community activity listings. Basic listings are free and there is also a pay-per-click option that will elevate your listing in Local’s search results.

6. Yellow Pages 

That old standby of the local business is still alive and well online. Similar to its print structure, the Yellow Pages online component offers basic listings for free as well as upgrades.

 7. Google+ 

So much more than just a social network, Google+ Local has integrated with the former Google Places to automatically shoot search engine results to a company’s G+ page. Creating a Google+ Page is free for business, as are enhancements such as image uploads, status updates, etc. The more time you put into a Google+ page, the better.

8. Facebook 

Though Facebook ads require payment, a Facebook page is free and is advertising. Make sure that, like Google+, you maintain a full profile and cross-promote your Facebook presence in other advertising media.

9. Google AdWords 

 Another option that isn’t completely free, Google AdWords, is nevertheless the most used and profitable online advertising platform out there.

Plus, they maintain a flexible payment plan that only requires businesses to pay for their ads if they are clicked on by searchers, meaning that there is a direct correlation between your budget and ROI. Though the push towards online advertising has hit local businesses hard, there are still outlets that allow for free, or at least cost-effective, management of marketing online.

The 9 top free advertising sites for local business listed here are an essential element to success in the 21st century and, really, far more reliant on time than money.

David Slabon - What Is an AdWords Campaign

As soon as any business dips its toe into digital marketing it is almost guaranteed that the idea of launching a Google AdWords campaign will come up. 

As the search engine powerhouse on the web, Google’s reach extends to almost everyone online in one way or another, regardless of the search engine or web browser they use. However, launching a Google AdWords campaign is not for everyone. 

First, businesses need to understand what an AdWords campaign is and what options running one presents.

What Is an AdWords Campaign?

Google offers companies the ability to advertise within their search results through the AdWords platform. To do this, businesses write ads within a prescribed character limit which are then displayed in shaded “ad windows” when users search for specific keywords, designated by the business. 

It is this program which generates majority of Google’s revenue which, in 2012, exceeded $42.5 billion.

When a company decides to launch an AdWords campaign, there are several steps that they must take. Collectively, these actions represent the “campaign.” Minimally, each campaign includes designating a budget for the project, defining its scope, and writing the copy.

AdWords Campaign Choices

In addition to the normal work that goes into designing a marketing campaign, AdWords also offers users the ability to choose from different payment structures that are built to meet the needs of their diverse market of advertisers which includes small, local businesses and multi-national corporations alike. The two most basic choices are known colloquially as CPC and CPM advertising.

CPC advertising is short for cost-per-click. This is a results-driven payment structure which allows companies to post their ads on Google without paying anything up front. Instead, users bid on a certain keyword relevant to their industry. 

Their ad is displayed in order according to the price of their bid, higher bids on top. These ads appear in the “sponsored” listings box at the top of the screen on any Google search. The business, however, only pays Google the agreed upon bid each time a customer clicks on their ad.

The other option for AdWords campaigns is CPM short for cost-per-mille or thousand impressions. In this system, businesses pay according to the number of views that their ad gets (i.e. the number of times their keywords are actually searched) rather than for clicks only.

Understanding AdWords

The business of online advertising is rich, as is evidenced by the size of Google’s pocketbook, but there are a lot of small nuances that make a campaign succeed versus fail. The key to getting this end of digital marketing is answering the simple question: 

What is an AdWords campaign? From here, the sky’s the limit in your ability to learn about and launch a successful one of your own.