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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

What You Can Learn From Managing An Event

Tuesday, February 22, 2011



Although I’ve managed a number of events during my marketing career, it’s clear that you never stop learning. I recently returned from a large event where I had the opportunity to contribute toward many aspects of the conference and coordinate teams at the actual event.

This effort required thousands of miles of travel and long days – but they were all well worth it. The knowledge I gained could only be acquired through actually rolling up my sleeves and working the event.

Here are a few of the lessons that I feel are paramount when planning or managing a large conference or event:

1. Begin with a theme. Regardless of your topic, coordinating all aspects of your program around a theme is paramount. Once you determine the message that should be communicated, you can weave it into all aspects of your program. Without a theme, your show will have less meaning and leave participants uncertain of expected outcomes.

2. Carefully evaluate and prepare your speakers. Once you invited someone to speak as a keynote or to lead a breakout session, what they say and do is out of your control. To effectively manage this, it’s always advisable to hold a mini-boot camp, preparing and coaching your speakers appropriately.

3. Think about branding. Focusing on your theme, and your company brand, utilize signage, tablecloths, backdrops, etc. to provide a constant reminder of your brand. This keeps your brand in front of both customers and prospects in a way that is largely in your control.

4. Make the next steps clear. Think through conference pre-work, conference activities, and post activities. It’s important to have a clear understanding of what you want participants to do after the conference. Attendance is an excellent goal but really only the beginning. Provide verbal instructions, handouts, and other materials that provide clear access to post-conference materials and resources.

By addressing the larger issues of theme, preparing speakers, and branding effectively, you can improve the quality of your trade show or event experience. Although many factors go into a memorable event, some of the largest initiatives may be overlooked.

If you are new to managing events or an experienced event manager, always document what you are doing and how you are doing it. At the conclusion of your event, have a team meeting with everyone who participated so that you can revise your documents with best practices – preparing you to enhance your events in the future. Constant growth and refinement are essential for world class events!

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Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Improve Website Authority with High PR Links

Wednesday, February 09, 2011




Achieving top rankings for your website, blog, or affiliate marketing pages is growing in importance as Google and other online advertisers continue to change the online marketing landscape.  A good friend of mine recently had his account banned by Google despite years of advertising and adhering to advertising guidelines.  Apparently Google changed some terms and made the independent determination that his claims, although backed by more than 3 years of data, did not meet their standards.

This is actually quite common
When I communicated this story to other marketers I found out that it's more common than I had first thought.  It appears as thought Google is in the drivers seat.  When I asked my friend what he was going to do, he seemed positive and said, "I'll find other sources of traffic."  This is easier said then done in the world of Google, but I give him a lot of credit for staying positive and focusing on how he could turn the situation around.

Being focused on search engine optimization, I think this type of behavior from online advertising networks is the reality that we are all faced with and something we must proactively manage.  To so so, combining both online marketing with search engine optimization, you can hedge against the erratic behavior of Google and other online advertisers.

Improving Your Organic Rankings 
How do you improve your organic ranking while focusing on pay-per-click marketing?  I can tell you as someone who wrote the book on SEO (SEO Made Simple) it's simply a matter of managing on-page optimization factors and getting links from high authority websites.  Through the development of authority links pointing to your website or landing pages, you can dramatically improve your rankings.

When internet browsers see your website or brand appearing in both organic and paid results, it reinforces your brand and positions you as a leader in your market - if done correctly.  Always focus on your target market and get in front of them with proper messaging again and again. The result can be dramatic.

Don't stop at one form of marketing.  Combine on page and off page strategies to enhance your organic results while at the same time engaging in pay-per-click marketing that is targeted and effective.  In combination, these two techniques can take your marketing to the next level.

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Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Affiliate Marketing Lessons From Unusual Suspects

Tuesday, February 01, 2011



Internet marketing is all about knowing your customers right?  Well, it takes a little more than knowledge to be an effective marketer.  As a result, I’ve been spending some time with an unlikely bedfellow to learn more about affiliate marketing and effectively marketing online.

Enter online pharmacies.  Did you know that consumers purchase billions of dollars worth of brand name and generic pharmaceuticals online every year?  Personally I like to fill my prescriptions at the local CVS or Walgreens, but who am I to judge? 

Google and other search engines have made it quite difficult for these websites to promote via search.  So how do they continue to sell their products?  Where do they get their traffic from?  What I found is that the approach is not what you would think.  In fact, I was surprised to discover that the email techniques that one might assume go hand in hand with this type of operation is not a strategy for legitimate sellers.

What’s the answer to the riddle?  Okay.  Imagine if you have a product that everyone within your market wanted but you couldn’t use conventional marketing to reach them.  What would you do?  Enter the RX affiliate network  and a handful of other networks that bring together buyers and sellers.  Search engines aren’t the only game in town.

In fact, we know that word of mouth, forums, and other social communities are a popular way to influence buying decisions.  This is how marketers in particular niches are achieving success.  Instead of depending on costly pay-per-click ads or even organic results, they are leveraging the power of micro-bloggers, social media, and influencers to reach their audience.

Taking a page from the affiliate marketing playbook
Now that I’ve shared with you my findings on non conventional marketing, let me give you some insight into these affiliate networks and how they operate.  Sites I’ve mentioned like those above are essentially online brokers that act on account of the supplier.  They will chose suppliers based on a set of criteria (size, trustworthiness, distribution capabilities, etc.) and approach them – introducing them to the network of approved vendors.  In the case of the RX affiliate network, I asked them how they find reputable partners.  Their particular network consists of licensed pharmacies and as a result, they stand out from the hundreds of other fly-by-night websites in the niche.  This is also true of vendors like Clickbank or Paydotcom which require an approval process before you can be added to their network.

When I pursued the question, I came to understand the value of using legitimate, well sourced vendors.  In addition to credibility, established suppliers already have networks and existing customers.  The affiliate site can leverage existing relationships and even receive recommendations from satisfied customers of these suppliers.  I equate this to buying a customer list that you know is good.  Additionally, the legitimate vendors provide services that the disreputable providers just can’t offer, helping the affiliate network stand out.  This comes into play as the network attracts partners to sell the products.

Similar to Clickbank and other affiliate networks
Just like popular affiliate networks, sites offering products from manufacturers or service providers can benefit from bringing together buyers and sellers on a digital platform.  Doing so allows manufacturers to focus on what they do best, producing quality goods and services and marketers can focus on sales and promotion.  As we all know, marketing requires a completely different skill set and is generally not apparent among product manufacturers.  

In fact, the best affiliates know how to do this like no other.  Sites like RX affiliate network set themselves apart to attract the best suppliers and sellers.  Regular payments, free templates for shops to get up and running, high commissions rates (30% commission), referral fees, and customer service are all essential for making the most of productive buyer and seller connections. 

Affiliate networks provide manufacturers and distributors access to sellers- plain and simple.  Looking at this in depth, the benefit is that many if not most of these “sellers” already have an audience waiting for a specific need to be filled.  In this digital world, sellers can look very closely at potential offers and only promote those offers which they can sell. Their motivation?  Commission!  In fact, the term “super affiliate” was created because so many people make a living selling affiliate products.  The best part is that sellers do not have to manufacture anything, hold inventory, deal with shipping hassles, or billing concerns.

Whether you’re selling informational products or medicinal compounds, connecting with sellers who already have an established audience is the key to success.  The analogy I like to use is that of the traveling salesman.  You can knock on doors all you want, but it takes a lot of time and you’ll never get to all of your potential prospects.  If you hold a meeting to talk about your products and invite resellers who have an audience waiting for you, then you can expand your reach instantly.  There are many lessons to learn from affiliate networks.  The key is to apply them to your business.


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