The results came back estimating 14 searches – which is not really that great, also in the mix was two related phases “Promotional Products For Law Firms” and “Promotional Products For Attorneys” both of these also with 14 searches.  So between these three long tail phases I am looking at generating 42 additional visitors just by ranking on the first page of Google for them – that’s free traffic.

In doing a bit more research on this quest for the almighty first page, I Googled these phrases to see how competitive they are (how many competitor pages come up when conducting a search).

• Promotional Products For Lawyers - 478,000 result pages
  Promotional Products For Law Firms -  364,000 result pages
  Promotional Products For Attorneys -  919,000 result pages

Due to the low estimated searches I found there are not many pages competing for these keyword phrases.  In reviewing the listings on the first page of Google I found the top ranking sites to be of low quality without many backlinks.

All these factors will make it pretty easy to get on the first page of Google in my opinion.

I am turning to the techniques I learned from being a long time user of a great product called SEO Elite.  I estimate I can be on the first page of Google for all three of these phrases in less than 30 days.

Stay tuned for future posts on the progress of this challenge.

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

But I’ve been doing it all wrong!

Being so excited to connect with people, a lot of people; I lost focus on the networking skills I have developed over the last 19 years while being in the Promotional Products industry.  Attending local networking events offers personal contact, one on one, face to face dialog with people,   I always listen to the people I met and talk very little about me and my business.  This is basic networking 101 and I have build some great friendships that have lead to a ton of business and referrals that have been priceless.

I didn’t realize I was becoming a borderline Social Networking Spammer until I received some harsh to the point words of wisdom from a Social Networking Professional.

If you are going to use Social Networking as an avenue to network and connect with others you really need to take the following message to heart.  It opened my eyes and I will be a better online networker because of it.

This is the reply that I received after blasting off a message and posting all about me.

Tim,  please take this as feedback not criticism…

There are million pages indexed in Google for what you are offering and each page means nothing to me. Why do you think your pages are any different? Is it because you and I are in the same Facebook group?

When I need a solution for what you have to offer I will turn to the network of people I like, trust and have built a relationship with to find it.

Likewise, I listen to people I like and trust so they are able to convince me I may need a service such as yours.  I would only ever consider doing business with someone I really know and have built a relationship with.

That said, if the desired outcome of you introducing yourself to me is to have me buy from you, do business with you or in fact collaborate with you on any level your strategy is counter productive since at this point we do not know each other nor has anyone in my network referred me to you.

I will never listen to anyone who tells me they are interested in building a relationship with me then follows this statement with a self serving links all about them, their product or service.

That’s not social networking. It’s spamming and to think people of that caliber that have congregated in any social network see it any other way is miss-guided.

My point is, I am always open to meeting new people, new business relationships and opportunities. What frustrates me is that neither will be achieved by two people coming together to promote themselves.

Rather than ignore approaches like that I offer my un-filtered, heart felt feedback in reply.

Some people thank me for telling them the way I feel and we start over again, all of whom are now trusted connections, who I do like and listen to…they don’t even realize they do it…Others say f&$#k you then, I don’t hear from them again.

I hope you’re not one of them…

Can I suggest you have another pass introducing yourself with a focus on a desired outcome of you being “”Interested”, not “interesting”.

Tim Somers (aka x social networking spammer)
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

I had to sit back and just listen; I really was thrown back and speechless for the first time in a long time. Normally I would have gave my 2 cents sharing the great experiences my company has had since I started using Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to name a few.  But I was actually scared that this guy was gonna go off the deep end if just one more person spouted off about it.

This guy may have a point to some extent; it is easy to get wrapped up in the whole social networking thing.  You can easily find your self trapped in an endless loop of posts, pictures and links only realizing 3 hours have flown by and you have not generated any new business.  Time management is key to maximizing your online networking efforts.  I spent 30 to 45 minutes tops per day on all the various networks I participate in, anymore could just be a waste of valuable time as “Mr Facebook Sucks” was preaching.

I can say that using these networks have opened the doors to many new customers not to mention I have reconnected with past customers opening opportunities that would have not been available otherwise.  I am a social network success story that would never consider these avenues a waste of time.

Here are some quick points to remember with using Twitter

Remember, you have only 140 characters for your tweet (Twitter post).

1. Tweet about how you helped a client today. Example: “Today we shipped 1,000 Pens to Purple Banana Construction for their 2008 Convention”

2. Tweet about what you are doing in your business today. Are you blogging, prospecting, sending thank you cards, finalizing a quote for a client?

3. Tweet about a useful tool you are using to increase your productivity. Example: Just downloaded a new Firefox Plug-In that saves me time doing…

4 Tweet a question.  I need a new Fax Machine – any suggestions?

5 Tweet a survey. Example: I am considering a new laptop – should I get a Mac or PC?
 
6. Respond to others with advice or answers. Building relationships is key to maximizing Twitter, so help your Tweeps, if someone asks a question chime in or ask a follow-up question.

7. Acknowledging new followers is huge. This will help out the new follower because it exposes their Twitter profiles to others who may have never heard of them. So, to thank your followers, you’d tweet, “Welcome new followers @twittername, @twittername, etc.”

10. Automate your tweets. TwitterFeed turns all of my blog posts into tweets. aWeber.comturns each ezine issue into a tweet. EzineArticles.com tweets my followers every time I publish an article through their service. You just need to connect the particular service to your Twitter account. Once all the services are connected, you get free and automated Twitter posts with no effort.

Twitter can be a great time-waster or an amazing way to market your business and build relationships that will last a life time and increase your bottom line.

Follow Me On Twitter

Friend Me On Facebook

Connect With Me On LinkedIn:   tim (at) promostuff4u.com

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

- 23% of respondents have cut staff

- 36% of respondents have decreased business travel

- 36% of respondents have minimized marketing efforts

- 29% of respondents have put a freeze on bonuses and raises

Being in the promotional products industry with a marketing and advertising background the third most popular cut, minimizing marketing, raised my eyebrows for sure.  I am amazed that any business would even consider cutting their marketing and advertising in a slow economy.

Marketing has never been more important for a businesses survival, if you are not marketing your business consumers may forget about you or assume that you have fallen victim to back economic times and gone out of business.  Keeping in touch with current customers takes even more marketing dollars for the same reason.

Beefing up your advertising and marketing lets your current customers and potential customers know that you are a strong company and ready to service their needs in these rollercoaster times.

If you still find your marketing budget needs to be cut here are 8 low-cost or no-cost money saving tips that any business can use.

1. Word-of-mouth marketing, ask for referrals – better yet, give referrals and you will get them in return.
 
2. Generate an eNewsletter, market to current customers.

3. Create YouTube Videos. Video is a very strong and free way to get your business noticed.

4. Post on forums and message boards. Posting valuable comments will build your reputation and lead to more business.
 
5. Start a Blog. A business Blog is a must these days, you can advertise, review your offerings and give free tips as often as you’d like without worrying about running up your budget all while building traffic to your brand.

6. Get your clients to advertise for you. Trade blog posts or email blasts with customers.

7. Join trade associations. You’ll get industry-specific information, advice, sales opportunities and other member benefits.
 
8. Double Up. Include advertising material in all your mailings such as invoices. You can also drop a small ad into every email you send.

To Your Success!

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

Many ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute) members are telling me that video is starting to transform how they’re selling advertising specialties and they’re thinking about using videos to increase sales faster.  Some already use them extensively.

We’ve embraced using video at ASI and you can watch several on the homepage of asicentral.com that provide personal introductions to our staff and demonstrate business-building features of our products. 

But, using video was unchartered territory for us not long ago - maybe for you too - and we’re constantly refining and trying compelling new ways to deliver video that keeps viewers engaged.

In a recent business radio program about using video, I shared some tips that we’ve learned at ASI that you can apply to your videos or ones you’re starting to make.

Tips for producing and using videos that sell:

• Keep it simple - show the most unique features of a product to keep viewers interested.
• Make videos brief - several short segments are easier to digest than one lengthy one.
• Repurpose - post a video on your Website, but also email it to prospects and run it in a loop on a screen in your trade show booth.

I’ve uploaded the video of the radio program and you can click here to watch it for more video tips from me, the hosts and another invited guest.

Let me know your thoughts about the radio program and producing videos - I’d like to hear your experiences.  Post a comment or email me anytime, at tim.andrews@asicentral.com.  For videos of new products from our trade shows, visit youtube.com/timasitv. 

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

- 25% of respondents more likely to click on simple text ads
- 20% for right banner ads
- 12% for top banner ads
- 11% for video ads

I find video ads to be very annoying, but they are being coming more and more popular as they move into the top forms of online advertising.  Video ads are more of a branding tool verse simple text and banner ads.  If done right, short and sweet in my opinion – video ads will more than likely fall into the 2nd most popular form of advertising online.

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

I have listed a just few of the 12 mistakes that I have made over the years -
 
Marketing To The Wrong Audience
This mistake can break the bank trying to figure out.  Luckily I figured it out pretty quickly. 

Focusing Your Copy On You
Customers don’t care about your product.  So talk directly to their problems, needs and desires.  This is so true you can bore your prospects to death if you are not careful.

Not Having A Profitably Planned Follow-up Campaign
It’s much easier and less costly to sell to someone who’s already bought from you than it is to bring in new business.  This was one of my biggest mistakes, now I use Send Out Cards to keep in touch with customers after the sale.

Changing Your Marketing Out Of Boredom
If the market continues to respond to your promotions, don’t change it! If it doesn’t work…do some research and change it!  I used to run the same ad over and over even when I did not get a response, thinking sooner or later someone will notice it and call.

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

It’s pretty easy to find businesses that are interested in doing this.  Online forums, discussion groups, social networks, networking groups and chamber of commerce members are good places to start in your quest to find business partners.

When posting or talking with others make it known that you are looking for cross promotion partners to share advertising and marketing expenses with.  A very cost effective and most often free way to work this powerful practice is to trade email blasts to each others distribution lists.  You simply email out a recommendation to your list with information about your cross promotion partner and they do the same to their list.

You should have an idea of how you and the company you are approaching could work together – offering them a bit more in return will surely entice them to jump on this great opportunity to increase their sales.

Feel free to let me know if you are interested in a Cross Promotion venture with Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

To Your Success!

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

Things to consider when adding a Client List to your website or blog:

Do not just list your customers alphabetically by company name.  You need to organize your list by market or industry; this gives the prospect a way to quickly scan your site for like companies you have done work for.

To step it up even more you should show actual samples of the work you have done and add a testimonial from the customer.  You can provide a link back to your customer’s website in exchange for the positive testimonial.

This is a relatively easy way to give your business an edge over a competitor that does not list their clients.

I have just started this process with the “Customer Showcase” section of this blog.  Still have to figure out a system to get testimonials and list then, but think this is a great strategy.

To Your Success!

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

Biznik was launched and based in Seattle, Washington and, impressively the site has more than 5,000 members already. The focal point of the web site is to help people network their businesses offline, great concept in my option.

Biznik co-founder, Dan McComb, is looking for people around the world to host events using Biznik’s services so check it out, sign up and organize an event in your area.

Join me on Biznik - http://biznik.com/join/tim-somers

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.