WDTalk

I watch and participate in a ton of webinars, but the latest one I tuned into talked about automating stuff like distributing your YouTube videos to different video sites, and the same with PodCasts and on and on. The one site they discussed that caught my attention was Fiverr.com, “The world’s largest marketplace for small services, starting at $5.”

Then this morning, one of the threads I read posted a number of other sites similar to fiverr, which I’ve listed below.

Each of these were highly recommended, but to be honest, I haven’t used any of them quite yet. I am leaning toward contacting Fiverr first, then if that works, possibly trying some of the others. Which of these would YOU recommend?

Every successful business has its niche -  (a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fit). Marketing materials are carefully written to emphasize a business’s strengths and their competitor’s weaknesses. A great example that comes to mind was one brand of typesetter which was capable of producing point sizes in tenths of an inch (unique to that brand).

Another was capable of zooming horizontally independent of vertical - in one percent increments (great for Rx labels). When the time came to upgrade or renew leases, thousands of existing documents had been produced using their unique parameters. To maintain uniformity, all new bids had to confirm to those same standards – effectively locking that client into their brand. In document imaging, one brand of copier can produce banner advertisements. Another can direct print PDF documents without opening them first. My point? There is a niche unique to your industry. Have you identified your niche, and are you marketing what makes your products and services unique?

The niche doesn’t have to be technical in nature
A niche could be how fast you deliver, the quality of your work, the level of support you provide, your pre-sales advertising venues, and any number of other things – anything that sets you apart from your competition. In web hosting, most niches relate to more bang for the buck – in bandwidth, RAM, disk space, add-ons and so forth.

The Web Hosting Industry
The web hosting industry is fiercely competitive, just as in many other industries. Web hosting continues to be a mystery to most new entrepreneurs though, even as prospects are rapidly becoming more computer and Internet savvy.  My own grandchildren are extremely Internet savvy, but couldn’t tell you the difference between Linux and Windows, or ASP and PHP.  Most prospects understand the need for an online presence, but are lost when it comes to how to select a decent provider.

Branding
In terms of mass appeal, branding is paramount. Here again, an integral piece of branding is your niche.  I can think of a few web hosting providers who own their niche, not financially, but in the mindset of prospects, just as Kleenex and Xerox own their niche.  If I were to ask someone if they’ve heard of your company, would they be like, “Yeah, they’re highly recommended,” or “Never heard of them.”  Getting from Point ‘Unknown” to Point “Highly Recommended” requires more than competing with similar packages, which I see a lot of online. When prospects compare your website against all the other sites they’ve just visited, is there anything that definitively sets you apart?

I’m constantly amazed at how technically advanced my grandchildren have become - I think because of their early exposure to TV and other visual medias. We’ve evolved into a visually rich society – actually a global community. It begins in the early learning and development years of our children. It imprints their thought processes.

Online Video Providers
Enter YouTube and other providers offering video channels, enabling small business to ramp up their marketing venues, giving them the ability to reach global markets, whereas only mega-businesses once ventured. Text is text, and a picture is worth a thousand words, but videos can propel your business to new levels.

Only a few short years ago - television commercials were financially out of the reach for the bulk of small businesses. With the development of high speed broadband networks, TV-like advertising via YouTube suddenly became affordable.

YouTube is a video sharing website - allowing its members to upload, share and comment on an expansive database of videos. While you may be struggling to increase page views to your website, YouTube registers billions of page views monthly. Why? Video sells! It’s RED HOT!

What’s the impact of online video?
I’ve seen studies that projected 3 of 4 adults have watched online videos and on average, nearly 20% do so daily – and just not by themselves. Nearly two-thirds of those shared that experience with someone else or a group. Online video ad spending is approaching $1 Billion annually, if not already there.

Why Use Online Video Marketing?

• They’re practical for businesses wanting to show demonstrations of products or services.
• They’re great for introducing your staff or doing a virtual tour of your facilities.
• They can drive prospects to your website, jumpstarting sales.
• It’s extremely cost effective compared to other advertising venues.

What is everyone watching?
News captures attention across all generations, followed by comedy or humorous videos. Still over 20% view educational videos, and all markets continue to grow exponentially as broadband expands its reach.

Some Tips

• Be Entertaining: To maximize your reach for market penetration, your video must be entertaining and have perceived value to the prospects you’re targeting.
• Be Professional: Presently, over 60% of viewers prefer professionally developed videos versus those developed by amateurs. That gap diminishes with the younger generation, but still holds true.
• Focus on the core product or service you’re featuring: If you’re featuring dedicated servers, save shared hosting for another clip. Spreading your message across multiple platforms distracts your viewers.
• Be Consistent: Branding is important. We all know IBM, HP and Dell, but their marketing campaigns drive home their respective messages with regularity. Consistency is KEY to growing traffic.

My Recommendation
Have some fun. Be creative. Think out of the box. Break out of the direct mail, phone tag day-after-day routine of driving business. Video works! Like every other advertising venue, measure its results, then tweak your presentation and re-measure your results. Practice may not make perfect, but it will improve sales and your bottom line. And that’s where I want to be, right along with you.

Know, like and trust are terms relative to - sales, not just face-to-face with a sales representative, but also the Internet. Billions of dollars are spent online every year, much of that with businesses we’ve never heard of – so if you’re missing the know, the like and trust need to be that much more compelling.

Social media sites – most noticeably Facebook, use the “like” button to convey trust, but most business websites rely on professional design, solutions content and competitive pricing to carry the day. And this is where online buyers can sometimes get into trouble.

The ‘lock’ icon and https: lend credibility - to the security of financial transactions, but even fraudulent (or less than honest) businesses can obtain SSL certificates. There are things to look for on sites that imply trust, like a brick and mortar address and phone number. It’s amazing how many ecommerce sites have NO contact information other than a general email address, or contact form. Plus, some use Domain Privacy to hide ownership information about the site itself.

Testimonials convey trust – but not so much if only first names are used, or if the hyperlink points to the site you’re presently visiting.

I once visited a site where the owner was inquiring - how to improve his ranking on Google. One of the first things I noticed on his site was that it had two testimonials from different individuals, but listing the same URL for each.

The first testimonial raved about a service they didn’t even offer on their site, which immediately seemed strange.

The second raved about their customer support. I was curious, so I did a WHOIS on the URL that was listed on the testimonials, and it turns out that domain has never been registered, and the site I was on has only been online for four months.

Would I trust my credit card with that business – not in a million years, and not because the site itself wasn’t professionally designed, or offered solutions that matched my specific requirements, or were even attractively priced. Their trust factor had been compromised.

Beware of red flags when – pondering whether to share your credit card info with businesses online. The Internet is littered with scammers like a minefield .. be careful where you step.

Have you ever heard the term - “Sell the Sizzle, not the Steak”? Buying means making a decision, and that decision making process begins with a need to ease some pain, then logically progresses (in person) through stages of talking, thinking and actions toward closing the sale.

Online though, there are no body clues – no sales representative to nod their head up and down, looking for a yes response, cueing the prospect to follow suit. Online, compelling landing & checkout pages are vital to your success.

Buying anything is an emotional process – for some much more so than others, like me. Using the five senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell to evoke an emotion (tied to your offer) helps reinforce your solution in the eyes of your prospect.

Closing the sale – isn’t simply a yes or a no. It’s a logical progression from a search query to the point “Add to Cart. “ The term, “Always Be Closing,” applies to each and every page the prospect touches until the order is completed, and really should continue beyond that, with either a survey or recommendations for other products and services based on what they just purchased.

Giving your prospect too many choices – or making the navigation from Point “Search” to Point “Buy’ difficult, is just as bad.

I read this morning that an idea without execution is worthless – meaning that you can have the latest greatest widget in development, but until you build it, ship it and let the idea see the light of day, it has NO value. On some fronts I would agree, but value is really about perception. Research and development has real value whether the original idea ever sees the light of day.

A common icon for fresh ideas – is the light bulb (I see the light), but commercially available light bulbs were the accumulation of hundreds of failed experiments. And then you have offshoots that spawn billion dollar industries, like a popular ED medication that was initially being tested for hair restoration.

Should you wait – for perfect market conditions, or until each and every bug is worked out? Of course not! Real world testing is essential. Virtually all major vendors do test marketing, to sort out what works from what doesn’t.  Once you settle on what works, do that over and over and over until the market dictates otherwise.

Whether you’re designing websites – or formulating search engine strategies, you can never really measure your efforts until your work is out there.  Development doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Sometimes, there’s a competitive advantage to being on the ‘bleeding edge’ or ‘leading edge’ of ideas, products or services.

I was talking to one of my friends a few weeks back - just before she was to give a business presentation about paper. I know – exciting stuff. Anyway, she was a little apprehensive, as a lot of us are just prior to addressing large groups of prospects.

This was a presentation to a local IAAP (administrative assistant professionals) meeting addressing how to keep costs down, new products, workplace wellness, and how her company could help them. I knew she’d be fine because she’s a pro.

After the presentation, she wrote, “I have to tell you, the “No matter what kind of job you have, we have the paper for it” and the toilet paper has been a big hit and icebreaker.  I’ve had to leave it for people who weren’t in – I’ve gotten phone calls from people that heard about it.  I tell them it’s the sample of the month and their smile for the day!

I don’t know if she used a story board to compile her main point of view, but she did have hand-outs that definitely broke the ice – the tension between her prospects and herself. And those hand-outs were relevant to her business.

She engaged her audience and made them part of the experience.

Involve your prospects in the process - A large part of giving successful business presentations is involving your prospects in the process – asking questions, looking for a show of hands or positive response. Get out from behind the podium and move about – be accessible, make periodic eye contact, pause for effect and emphasis – take command so that all eyes are upon you.

Pattern your presentation to resemble a conversation. Look at your audience as you would in normal conversation, pausing at the end of your points to allow your audience to process what you’ve just said.

My wife is an instructor and excellent communicator. She’s always telling me to touch my prospects senses of sight, smell, taste, feel and hearing. Appealing to their senses engages their emotions. Give your presentation so that your audience will see, smell, taste, feel and hear what you’re saying.

The presentation itself - In the body of your presentation, tell them what you’re going to tell them, then tell them, and then tell them what you told them. And know what you’re telling them – have it down cold, meaning don’t read – let your words flow naturally. And smile – be excited.

Way way back, in the ’80s, I had to give a four hour presentation to a prospect in a bid situation. I knew the content inside out, but dragged my wife into the living room the night before and rehearsed the entire presentation with her. I still believe that preparation helped me win the bid – for a whopping $152,000.00 (including service).

What to avoid - This is a touchy subject. Have you ever filmed yourself giving a presentation? You won’t believe it’s really you on the playback.

• Avoid fillers – ahs, uhs and extended silence.
• Avoid nervous habits like scratching your head.
• Avoid concentrating on one section of your audience – spread the wealth around.
• Avoid excessive hand gestures.
• And don’t turn your back on your audience.

Call to action - Every successful marketing campaign has a ‘call to action.” That could be an offer that’s exclusive to your presentation, or to a deadline set by upper management. Combining value and urgency drives sales campaigns. A  call to action can be as simple as moving the sale forward by setting up appointments, up to signing contracts for immediate discounts or freebies.