Going Beyond Pad and Pen to Track Marketing

It’s time for me to track my marketing options by creating and maintaining an organized project management program rather than listing project tasks on a to-do list.

What’s the difference? I bet that the change will increase productivity and revenue. It will certainly streamline my methods and remove the clutter of “What do I do next?” from my head.

There’s also another difference. I’ve become accustomed to taking a pad of paper, writing down what I want to accomplish during the week, and eliminating items as they’re done. It sounds efficient enough, but it’s not. This process doesn’t let me evaluate results. As a solo business owner, I need to document:

Each project’s name and reason for the project

The objectives to be completed

A timeline showing each project step

A maintenance plan to update the project as needed

Last night I downloaded a project management program called Project Engine 2007. It’s a free program available through CNET.com, and it can also be found through most search engines. I’ll try it this week and share the results.

I’d like to know if any of you use a project management program and how it’s worked for you.

My decision to ditch pen and pad for a better system came last week after attending the BlogHer Conference in New York. I met many powerful people who work at Google, Yahoo!, AOL, Hewlett-Packard, and a host of other firms.

I learned new ways to enhance my sites and blogs, and I want to implement these methods as soon as possible, but to do so I must create a streamlined process that breaks down each project’s mission and timeline for implementation. There’s so much to do, and the process can no longer be written in grocery list format.

We’re called solo business owners because we work alone. One person can only do so much before exhaustion takes over. I don’t want that. That’s why I’m going to test Project Engine 2007. Tell me what project management software works for you.

Technorati Tags: small business marketing, solo business marketing, solo entrepreneur, BlogHer Conference, Project Engine 2007, project management

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March 27, 2007 | Filed Under Offline Ideas, Recent Entries, Solo Housekeeping, Technology | 4 Comments

How Marketers Generate Leads

Performance Anxiety is the name of the cover story in this month’s OMMA Magazine (the magazine of online media, marketing & advertising).

The article reveals the methods marketers use most often to promote themselves and how each is paying off. In spring 2006, the magazine conducted a survey and tabulated a breakdown showing how marketers generate leads and the effectiveness of each:

Search Engine Optimization - 68.7%

Internal E-Mail Marketing - 64.2%

Paid Search Marketing - 64.1%

Public Relations - 55.4%

Direct Postal Mail - 33.3%

Online Advertising - 19.0%

Solo and small business owners may not have been part of this survey, but we can analyze this data to determine better strategies for our own marketing efforts.

In my opinion, it make sense that search engine optimization would rise above other tactics. However, the smartest marketing practices depend on the specific target markets.

Some prospects are addicted to the Internet, and optimizing our sites gives us a boost to reach them online. On the flip side, some of us will find that direct postal mail is a big winner because the target market reads postal-delivered mail more often than it surfs the Web.

One firm that I use to create my collateral materials sends me Email reminders, and they also send catalogs by mail. Making contact using both formats is a smart option if you have a system in place to take advantage of both.

Putting such a system in place takes time and is sometimes overwhelming for solo business owners. However, it is possible to successfully manage all of it by taking one step at a time.

All of the above lead generation tools may not be in your marketing plan, but surely some are. Which are you using with success?

Technorati Tags: small business marketing, solo business marketing, solo entrepreneur, OMMA Magazine, Performance Anxiety, search engine optimization, postal mail

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March 21, 2007 | Filed Under Customer Connections, Marketing News, Offline Ideas, Online Ideas, Recent Entries | 2 Comments

Marketing Links that Move You Forward

Small Business Trends hosted this week’s Carnival of the Capitalists. It’s a roundup of business-smart blog posts for business owners of all size. This is an extensive lineup that will take time to review, and it’s worth it. I’m honored that one of my posts was selected as part of the Marketing and Sales group.

How to Choose Your First Employee is a question answered in the Microsoft Small Business Center. See what the resident expert suggests. As a business owner, the opportunity to grow beyond being solo is always a consideration. Proper marketing of your business will allow you to uncover the best candidate.

Technorati Tags: Small Business Trends, Carnival of the Capitalists, Microsoft Small Business Center, small business marketing, solo business marketing, solo entrepreneur

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March 13, 2007 | Filed Under Marketing News, Online Ideas, Recent Entries | Leave a Comment

Custom Codes Enhance Marketing Buzz

Little did I know in July 2006, when I talked about custom M&Ms and how to use the product as part of a marketing campaign, that the post would be one of this site’s top five subjects.

That honor is not because lots of marketers consider buying M&Ms (or perhaps they do) but because lots of consumers are looking for the M&Ms discount code.

I can’t tell you how many hundreds of Emails I’ve received between that first post and now asking me for the code, one that I provided in the replies with the original article but has long expired.

The interest made me think about similar methods that give our products and services the same type of buzz. For example, one item I use as a custom product is a Web site coupon.

Several times a year I add a coupon to my trade show speaking page, encouraging business owners to bring the coupon with them to receive a free gift or discount after my presentation. Many people attend my seminars, but it seems that the room overflows when I offer the coupon.

Small and solo business owners often use the services of companies that offer online discounts. These firms let us add a custom or source code at the end of an order to receive a discount.

I’m certainly not encouraging you to discount what you sell. Some products cannot be discounted, and conditioning customers to wait for such offers may prove detrimental to sales. However, if distributing a custom code is a possibility, it has the potential to increase sales during slow periods and product launches.

By the way, in case you’re ready to send a sweet thank-you gift to clients, M&Ms is offering a free bonus bag of custom printed M&Ms with a purchase minimum. Offer expires May 13, 2007. The offer’s promo code is found in the March 11th edition of Parade magazine.

Technorati Tags: small business marketing, solo business marketing, marketing campaign, M&Ms custom code, custom M&Ms, M&Ms promo code, discount coupon

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March 12, 2007 | Filed Under Marketing News, Online Ideas, Recent Entries | Leave a Comment