MacDonald on Marketing

Archive for the ‘small business websites’ Category

You spend a lot of time and money to get visitors to your website, and then the majority of them will leave again without contacting you or making a purchase, never to return.  Turn some of those “not today” visitors into future customers by persuading them to join your email list.

Here are the five steps to building a healthy opt-in email marketing list for your small business:

1. Use a third-party email marketing service provider.  I prefer Aweber.com — other providers include ConstantContact.com and GetResponse.com.  Why should you pay for a third-party service?  Your website host or ISP is not really geared to handle your email newsletter needs; if you don’t use a third-party provider, you’ll find that many or even most of your subscribers do not receive your emails.  Packages start at $20 a month and it is well worth the investment.
2. Put an email collection box (the little form your visitors fill out with their name and email address) on the front page of your site, and ideally on every page.  Make it easy for your visitors to sign up to your list.
3. Make an irresistable offer to induce your visitors to subscribe.  Offer free information, a discount coupon, insider deals:  anything that will appeal to your audience.
4. Tell your visitors exactly what they are going to send them in their email.  A weekly newsletter?  Special discounts?  Recipes?  And then stick to your promise.  Give them what you promised them, and not a bunch of other stuff.
5. Send marketing emails on Wednesday.  Statistics show that emails sent between Tuesday and Thursday stand the best chance of actually being opened.

Need help getting your email list and website collection boxes set up?  Contact me at catherine@macdonaldonmarketing.com

On Saturdays I’ll be sharing great posts from other bloggers — fresh perspectives on online marketing for small businesses.  Today’s post is about the value of a custom 404 page for your site, with a tutorial that shows you exactly how to create your 404 page.

What’s a 404 page?  It’s the file not found page that comes up when you click on a broken link.  Ideally, your website will not contain any broken links, but hedge your bets and create your own 404 page to help your site visitors get back on track.  ConversationMarketing.com writes “How To:  Create a Great 404 Page Not Found Error Page”.

Photo credit: raster

Google Maps information is now frequently showing up at the top of the Google search results page for user searches that include place name keywords. This post explains how to get your business into these Google search results.

Ever do a search on Google and get images, news, YouTube videos or maps at the top of the results? This is thanks to Google Universal Search. The pictures to the left (click to enlarge) show examples of these results.

If you’re a small business owner with a bricks and mortar location, here’s how to get your site into the Google Maps results for searches that include local keywords.

Go to Google Maps Local Business Center and enter your business information (name, address, website, etc.) into the form. Then you will be able to upload photos, videos, select categories, tell customers your payment options, business hours, and more.

How does Google make sure that your location information is accurate? Google will actually mail you out a postcard containing your PIN: your listing will not be activated until you log in again and enter your PIN.

One of the most exciting new features (see the second thumbnail) is the way Google indexes reviews of your business from many different websites. Soon we’ll be talking about social media and ways to turn your most loyal customers into evangelists for your small business.

Did you find this tutorial helpful? Make sure to add our RSS to your reader so you don’t miss future posts.

Have you added your business to Google Local Business Center? Please comment below to let me know the results.