Module #1 Road-Map to Success!

Lynn Albro, Marketing Specialist

lynn.albro@gmail.com ~ 209-614-8010

Planning for Success Module #1

Welcome to the “Members Only Internet Marketing Toolkit”. My name is Lynn Albro and I specialize in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Social Media Marketing.

What you can expect…

You will be receiving a new lesson in your email approximately every 7 days for 8 weeks. Please email me immediately (lynn.albro@gmail.com) if you are having any problems receiving these Modules. If you have any questions regarding the Lessons, feel free to email me with your question and I will be sure to answer you either in a personal email, or with a link to a blog where the answer is.

Each and every module is going to cover an aspect of Search Engine Optimization and/or Social Media Marketing. Each lesson is designed to be another layer in the education process.

Road-Map to Success Modules

  1. Planning for Success! Keywords & Target Market
  2. Setting up your SEO website
  3. Learn the art of social prospecting
  4. How to automate social networking posts
  5. How to set up local marketing
  6. How to add curated content to your website
  7. How to write an eBook and gain new prospects
  8. How to measure internet marketing results

At the end of 8 weeks you will have a viable internet marketing strategy in place. At that point you will know how to use keywords in a manner that will absolutely attract the Search Engines to your marketing niche. You will have also learned how to drive traffic with social media and local marketing… you will also have learned shortcuts to getting relevant content posted on a regular basis, consistently using keywords to literally drive traffic to your website.

A little bit about my background…

With 25+ years in sales and marketing, I have a lot of push marketing experience;

  • Yellow pages
  • Telemarketing
  • Direct Marketing
  • Fliers and postcards
  • Newspapers advertising… even cold calling

Than in 2007 I ventured into Internet Marketing. I put up a company website and for 3 weeks we couldn’t be found when Google searched. And, we were averaging about a visitor a day.

So I decided it was time to learn how to drive traffic to our website. One day I was contacted by a company that offered what turned out to be 4 half hour virtual training sessions for $1500.

They promised me that after I invested $1500.00:

#1. I would know how to set up an affiliate website and start making money right away.

#2. The trainer would show me how to do keyword research I would learn how to write search engine friendly content. And, they would help me get my site off the ground so that I only had to spend about a couple of hours a week maintaining it.

The result: I did learn how to do keyword research, I set up a site map, and I learned how to write search engine friendly content.

This time we got some traffic, but I didn’t make one cent on affiliate marketing.

However, I noticed that my traffic ranking jumped way up with this attempt.

I still felt the need to learn more about SEO.

So, In 2008 I went on a quest to learn as much as I could about SEO. Actually, it was a full-time quest…I worked six days a week, 10-12 hours a day. I set up websites, wrote blogs, and started experimenting with Social Networking.

And, then in 2009, I went to work for Century 21 M&M… and continued to learn. Over the years I’ve helped set up hundreds of websites, assisted in keyword research, designed banners, set up social media accounts, and helped Realtors market their listings.

The exciting thing about internet marketing is it is never boring, and one of the biggest problems this business is that it changes constantly. You have to pay attention to what is going, chase down every lead, and follow every clue.

These days my quest is to keep up with all of the cutting edge marketing tools and then help small business owners establish their online presence and compete on a level playing field.

There are 3 things that we are going to focus on in this Module; Business Plan, Keywords, and Target Market/Marketing Plan.

But first, let’s Clear the Decks and schedule time on your calendar for marketing!

Clear the Decks

A clean house = a clear mind. In other words, get rid of all the extraneous stuff in your life and you will be able to focus better.

Suggestions:

  1. Clean out your email account – send important emails to folders, unsubscribe where necessary, delete what you don’t want and all then plan on keeping up with that daily.

  2. Organize your desk – get caught up on your filing, add file folders where necessary, and throw out anything you no longer need.

  3. Clean out your closets – you know the rule, if you haven’t worn it for a year, donate it. Organize what you keep by season and type of clothing.

  4. Clean out your cupboards – Sell, donate, or trash.

  5. Clean out the car, vacuum and get it washed.

Start this learning process with a clean slate. It’s a good idea to get caught up on all your obligations.

  1. Set up a household budget

  2. Get those repairs done

  3. Clean out the recycle bins

  4. Get caught up on correspondence; phone calls, emails, direct mail

  5. Open your mail and schedule your bill payments

Scheduling

Have you ever heard of the 80-20 rule?

The Pareto principle (also known as the 80–20 rule, the law of the vital few, and the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. ***Courtesy of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

With regard to marketing your small business, think along these lines – 20% of your efforts produce 80% of your income or spending 20% of your time marketing your business will produce 80% of your sales.

So… If you are working 40 hours a week, you should be spending at least 8 of those hours marketing your business.

You could spend one 8 hour day a week, or four hours at a time-two days a week, or even two hours at time-four days a week. Whatever you decide, it is important to block off 20% of your business hours to market your business. In other words – put marketing on your calendar.

Okay, let’s get started on the Business Plan, Target Market/Marketing Plan, and Keyword Research.

Business Plan

Why do you need a business plan?

  • It gives you a chance to decide where you want to go with your business.

  • A business plan forces you to review all aspects of your business; sales goals, marketing, operations, financial plan

  • A plan sets up targets in all major areas of your business: sales, expense items, staff

  • Your plan becomes a baseline for monitoring progress.

Reasons to write (or Update) a business plan

  • If you are starting a new business

  • Looking for financing for an established business.

  • A new financial period is about to begin (yearly)

  • A significant change in the market

  • You are developing a new product

  • Your business has crossed a threshold

  • Your old plan doesn’t reflect reality anymore

Let’s get started…

Write down your goals and objectives.

  • Where do you want to be in 5 years?

  • Do you want to be a millionaire?

  • Do you want to work out of your home, or do you want 100 employees?

Think BIG! Write down exactly what you want to accomplish in each of these areas. Then go one step further and create a goal card(s)… maybe write these goals on a 3×5 card that you can attach to your refrigerator, put in a picture frame and hang it next to your work station and tuck into the visor of your car so that you can review these goals on a regular basis and remind yourself of the things you have chosen to improve during the following 12 months.

Goals & Objectives Checklist; Ask yourself these questions…

  1. How determined am I to see this business plan succeed?

  2. Am I willing to work long hours, sacrificing personal time and lifestyle – maybe for years?

  3. How will I survive if this venture doesn’t work?

  4. If the business succeeds, how many employees will I employ?

  5. Am I going to be a hands-on manager or will I delegate to others? If so, what will I delegate?

  6. What will it’s annual revenue be in 1 year… in 5 years?

  7. Will it be a niche market, or sell a broad spectrum of products or services?

  8. What are my plans for expansion?

Option 1. Components of a Formal Business Plan

1. Business Description

Concentrate on the business structure when Writing a Business Description

  • Type of operation

  • Whether the business is new or established.

  • Detail whether the business is a sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation

  • List the principals, and what they will bring to the business.

2. Marketing Strategies

Write a Market Analysis statement

  • Defining the market in terms of size, structure, growth potential, trends & sales potential.

  • Define your target market

  • Project your market share by demand, demographics

  • Business Position: what are you going to do differently, or, what can you provide that your competition doesn’t?

  • Pricing; Must cover costs, demand, changes in the market and competition

  • Distribution; Direct Sales, Wholesale, Retail, Mail-order

  • Promotion; Advertising, PR, Direct Marketing, Internet Marketing, etc

  • Sales presentation methods and lead generation.

3. Competitive Analysis

Write a Competitive Analysis statement

  • Determine the Strengths & Weakness of your competition

  • Describe strategies that will set you apart from your competition

  • Describe a marketing strategy that will highlight or generate an asset or skill that you have, that your competitors don’t have

4. Design and Development Plan

Write down your goals for the overall development plan:

  • Product Development

  • Marketing Development

  • Organizational Development

Your goals should be:

  • quantifiable in order to set up timelines

  • directed so they relate to the success of the business

  • consequential so they have an impact upon the company

  • feasible so that they aren’t beyond the bounds of actual completion

5. Operations & Management Plan

Take the time to describe and calculate:

  • Organizational Structure

  • Calculate your Personnel Needs

  • Calculate your Overhead Expenses

6. Supporting documents; financial statements and graphs.

Either print reports from your accounting software, or ask your bookkeeper/accountant to provide you with the financial supporting documents.

Option 2. 5 Step Easy Business Plan

Step 1. Write down the 3 aspects of your business that have an impact on sales.

Step 2. Document the prior year’s production, and establish production goals for the coming year.

Example                        Last Year          Next Years Goal

Number of prospects        400                   800

Average cost per sale      $150                 $250

Frequency of sales     10/month            20/month

Formula: Number of Sales per month X Average cost per sale X 12 Months

Examples

Last Year’s Actual income   10 x $150 x 12/months = $18,000/year

Next Year’s Projected income   20 x $250 x 12/months = $ 60,000/year

Step 3. Set a goal to generate hot prospects

Suggestions:

  • Increase the number of friends, followers, connections in Social Networking

  • Offer a free product at website & social media pages

  • Focus on Local Internet Marketing

  • Local Networking; Attending Local Events, Speaking, Seminars

  • Direct Marketing, mail-outs, phone calls, etc.

Step 4. Focus on a higher average price point

Suggestions:

  • Add-ons; add a new or companion product

  • For Realtors – focus on a higher price point or investors

  • Provide the Best Product, and Service in order to generate Referrals

  • Provide a different product or service than all of your competitors.

Step 5. Increase the frequency of sales

Suggestions:

  • Increase the amount of time dedicated to marketing

  • Increase the number of target market prospects in the contact file

  • Establish your expertise in a specific field; write a book or guide, start a blog

  • Increase networking activities, both online and in-person

  • Increase the number of times you contact prospects or clients

Homework

1:1. Write down your goals, think big – but stay in reality.

1:2. Make a list of marketing strategies to achieve those goals.

1:3. Write your step-by-step plans to achieve those goals. Set up a spreadsheet to track your business activities and results.

Target Market and Marketing Plan

Determine who your target market

a) Here is the definition of ‘target market’ from the Entrepreneur Encyclopedia:

“Your target customers are those who are most likely to buy from you. Resist the temptation to be too general in the hopes of getting a larger slice of the market. That’s like firing 10 bullets in random directions instead of aiming just one dead center of the mark–expensive and dangerous.”

  • Try to describe them with as much detail as you can, based on your knowledge of your product or service.

  • Rope family and friends into visualization exercises to get different perspectives-the more, the better.

  • Ask your family and friends to describe who they think may be your ideal client.

b) Here are some questions to get you started:

#1- Are your target customers male or female?

#2- How old are they?

#3- Where do they live? Is geography a limiting factor for any reason?

#4- What do they do for a living?

#5- How much money do they make? This is most significant if you’re selling relatively expensive or luxury items (like real estate). Most people can afford a candy bar. You can’t say the same of a house.

#6- What other aspects of their lives matter? If you’re launching a roof-tiling service, your target customers probably own their homes.

c) For instance; Let’s say you are a real estate agent. I want you to think back over the sales you completed in the last year. Who did you sell to the most:

#1- First Time Homebuyers, young professionals, 25-35 age group with a child or two in a certain geographical area.

#2- Boomers, downsizing and getting ready to retire, 55-65 age group, empty nesters in a certain geographical area.

#3- Investors looking for rental properties- 45-55 age group with well-established careers, may live out of the area.

#4- Clients that would buy Fine Homes & Estates 35-65 age group, professionals with money looking to spend upwards to a million dollars on a home, in a certain geographical area.

Plan on reaching out to your target market

a) direct marketing; telemarketing, direct mail, fliers, email

#1-Set up a top 100 prospects file

  • Prospects that need your services and are going to buy this year (contact 1 x a week)

#2-Set up Contact files;

  • Prospects that need your services, but have put the decision on hold (contact 2 x a month)

  • Prospects that are not going to need your services anytime soon, but you would still like to keep your name in front of them

  • Clients that have purchased and you need to keep your name in front of them.

  • Colleagues that you may refer business to.

b) networking; online, local networks

#1- Attend local meetings where these people are likely to be

  • Collect business cards

  • Send direct mail

  • Visit in person

#2- Invite people that fit into your target market to be friends, followers & connections

  • Provide valuable, interesting content that appeals to these people

#3- Join online Groups, ‘like’ pages, get involved in forums, and question & Get involved in the discussions

  • Answer questions online

  • Post valuable and interesting content

  • Answer networks where you target market hangs out.

#4- Set up your own Social Media Pages, Groups & Communities

c) email marketing; drip marketing, autoresponders, newsletters

#1- Contact every one of your contacts at least once a month with a newsletter and/or a holiday card

#2- Send out links to relevant and interesting information you find on the internet

#3- Send out links to your new blog content

#4- Share videos

#5- Set up a free informational product, and have that information automatically emailed to a contact list on a regular basis.

Determine what you want to accomplish

a) If you want leads, here are suggestions for marketing tools:

#1 – The Informational Booklet

#2 – Access to Property Listings

#3 – Blogging / Blog Comments

#4 – Newsletter Subscriptions

#5 – Online Chat Programs

#7 – Buying Leads; Real Estate Leads sales

#8 – Advertising on Google, Facebook, etc.

#9- Social Networking-Facebook, LinkedIn

#10- Make People want to contact you

b) Ideas for how to get increase your marketing contact list:

#1.  Getting business cards from people at networking events

#2.  Hosting a booth, Sign-Up sheet

#3.  Setting up a lead capture system at your website

#4.  Invite social networks to free event

c) Ideas on how to establish your expertise

#1.  Offer free informational booklets

#2.  Offer free webinars or seminars

#3.  Organize a free meet-up

#4.  Offer to do free presentations at meet-ups

 #5.  Blog (and guest blog) on relevant subjects

HOMEWORK

1:4. Write a description of your target market; sex, age, income, geographical area. NOTE: Refer to this Marketing Plan Worksheet

1:5. Set up a top 100 prospects file.

1:6. Get all of your contacts in a spreadsheet format. Segment those contacts into 3 groups.

1:7. Make a list of 5 social media sites you are going to concentrate on.

1:8. Decide how you are going to contact each of your prospects at least once a month

Keyword Research

How to find dynamic keywords to drive traffic to your website

NOTE: In this section, we are going to explore three things;

  • How to conduct a keyword research

  • How to document those keywords

  • How to choose keywords for business marketing

First, you need to understand how a search engine works

NOTE: When you do a Google search you aren’t actually searching the web, you are searching Google’s index of the web, or at least as much of it as Google has found.

  • Google uses software programs called spiders.

  • Spiders start by fetching a few web pages, then they follow the links on those pages to new pages, then fetch the pages they point to.

  • Spiders then follow all the links those pages point to to, and so on, until they have indexed a pretty big chunk of the web.

  • These spiders index many billions of pages stored across thousands of machines.

  • When a user does a search, the search engine searches every indexed page that contains the keywords and then shows those pages up in the results

  • In many cases, there are hundreds of thousands (sometimes millions…even billions) of pages indexed on the internet with those specific keywords.

What is a keyword?

It’s not just a single word, but can be 2 or 3 words in combination that answers the question “what’s the point of this one web page?”

How to conduct a keyword research

    1. Sign in to your Google account, go to https://ads.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/
    2. Click on Go to Keyword Planner
    3. Under – Use Google Ads as… Click on NEW GOOGLE ADS ACCOUNT
    4. Click on Tools & Settings, in the drop-down click on Planning -> Keyword Planner
    5. Type in a keyword into the top box and click on Get Results

 

Suggestion: Take a few minutes and start typing in keywords to see how it all works.

Open up a spreadsheet and document the keywords,  Sample spreadsheet

NOTE: You are looking for at least 1000 Average monthly demands, and low to medium competition

  • In the first column type in the keyword

  • In the 2nd column type in the average monthly demands

  • In the 3rd column type in the competition status – low to medium

Homework

1:9. Write down your top 10 keyword ideas and start researching.

1:10. Add your keywords to a spreadsheet. See Sample spreadsheet

1:11. Choose your main keyword, the foundation of all of your marketing efforts from those keywords.

NOTE: Your main keyword should get at least 1000 Average Monthly Searches and have minimal competition – preferably Low

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