Frugal Internet Marketing
A frugal small business owner's resource for practical, affordable, and understandable Internet marketing solutions.Archives for: December 2010
Marketing workshop is good networking, educational tool
by Julie Brooks
- 3 spots left at this Friday's workshop - click here to register.
- Over 250 local businesses have taken this workshop.
I've been running Doing More with Less: An Internet Marketing Workshop for Small Businesses for one year now, and one thing is apparent: not only are the people who take the workshop learning a lot and seeing their businesses in a whole new light; they're networking with other business owners and forming professional ties which continue beyond the workshop.
I've given about 15 workshops here at the eCape office, in addition to others on behalf of the Dennis Chamber of Commerce, the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce, the Brewster Chamber of Commerce, Geek Girl Camp, the wonderful Friends of Mel Foundation (a cancer philanthropy), and recently, the Falmouth Chamber of Commerce.
Networking flourishes in a shared learning environment
The standard Doing More with Less workshop can include up to 8 businesses. Before the workshop begins, each business owner or representative introduces himself/herself to the others and they all exchange business cards. I spend the last hour of the three-hour workshop evaluating each business. Kaleigh Adams, an Internet marketing assistant employed by eCape, does the individual marketing plans for each business ahead of time by looking at their current web presence.
As we go over each business' website and other aspects of its web presence, the other attendees are free to share their opinions and inevitably, a very helpful exhange of ideas flows. Often, I feel that I learn more fom the attendees collectively than they do from me!
What the attendees take away from the workshop is hopefully some new professional contacts, an individualized marketing plan, the entire presentation emailed to them along with some helpful worksheets, and an email subscription to Frugal Internet Marketing.
Workshop can be customized and done for other organizations on-site or at eCape's office
If you would like me to run a workshop for your organization or business, please contact me. I can do any of the following:
- the standard three hour-workshop for multiple businesses
- a condensed two-hour version for members of a single organization
- two-hour workshops focusing on specific topics, including: search engine optimization, email marketing using Constant Contact, social media marketing, and local search optimization
About Julie Brooks: This workshop is presented and facilitated by Julie Brooks, CEO of eCape, Inc., a South Dennis-based website design and marketing company founded in 1996. eCape has developed over 300 websites for Cape Cod businesses and is also the operator of several high-traffic portal sites, including CapeCodToday.com, CapeCodTravel.com, and CapeCodKidz.com.
One of one of the Cape's most prominent thought leaders in Internet marketing, Julie is a founding member of the Cape Cod Internet Council, has taught several classes at Geek Girl Camp, and maintains a blog called Frugal Internet Marketing.
She is certified as a Trained Presenter by Constant Contact.
This Friday, do your business a favor and attend eCape's Internet marketing workshop.
Over 250 Cape Cod business owners have taken this workshop. There are only 8 spots per workshop.
- 3 hours which will change forever the way you see your business - you'll learn a lot and have fun
- Get a personalized marketing plan for your business
- December 17th, January 5th & 7th - reserve your spot now!
- New for Winter 2010/2011: What's Google Places? What's Facebook OpenGraph?
Our acclaimed internet marketing workshops are back for a second season, bringing you the most up-to-date ways to make sure your business is taking full advantage of Internet marketing!
Are you a small business owner who doesn't have the first clue about Internet marketing? Or maybe you've set up a Facebook page for your business and don't what to do next? eCape, Inc. is pleased to offer Doing More With Less, An Internet Marketing Workshop for Small Businesses . You'll learn how to set up and maintain your business web presence by spending the least amount of time possible, using free Web 2.0 marketing channels.
This is an interactive workshop for beginners, tailored to meet the needs of small businesses and non-profits with limited time and resources. You'll leave with an intermediate level of knowledge about Internet marketing, plus yourblueprint for web success, a strategic plan which we'll help you develop during this workshop. Click here to read reviews of this workshop posted by past participants. Here is an example of a personalized Internet marketing plan created for a local business whose owner attended the workshop.
Doing More With Less is presented and facilitated by Julie Brooks, CEO of eCape, Inc., a South Dennis-based website design and marketing company which has helped hundreds of local businesses like yours succeed on the Internet.
December 2010/ January 2011 Schedule
(click here to reserve a spot)
Friday, December 17th, 2010 9 am - 12 pm
Wednesday, January 5th. 2011 9 am - 12 pm
Friday, January Friday 7th, 9 am - 12 pm
Where: eCape, Inc., 900 Route 134, South Dennis MA
Coffee, tea, and local bakery goodies included!
Cost: $60 or $30 for eCape customers. Limit: 8 participants per workshop (each company is considered a particpant; one company can send more than one representative. )
RESERVATIONS are required, seating limited.
What You'll Learn: Cash and time-strapped businesses can't afford to waste either on Internet marketing efforts that don't pay off. This workshop will help you choose which types of Internet marketing work best for your business, how often to update and monitor these marketing channels, and map out a time strategy.
* What is Web 2.0 ?
* The 6 types of Internet marketing and how they work (social media, email, paid search, organic search, local search, banner ads/paid listings)
* Examples of local businesses using each of these types effectively *Do you really need to use all 6 types? (probably not)
*How much time does it take to implement and maintain an Internet marketing program
*A search engine optimization "cheat sheet" (10 best practices)
*How to do your Internet marketing in the least amount of time possible
What You'll Do: Prior to attending the workshop, you'll need to complete a brief questionnaire about your current business web presence. Based on this, we'll help you map out a strategic plan for what to do and and how much time it will take to cover all the bases for your web presence. Julie will give each business a personalized evaluation and recommendations based on its questionnaire.
After You Leave: You'll have access to the entire Power Point presentation, including links to resources & articles, via a password-protected section of eCape's website, plus a subscription to eCape's email and print newsletter and Julie's blog, Frugal Internet Marketing.
About Julie Brooks: This workshop is presented and facilitated by Julie Brooks, CEO of eCape, Inc., a South Dennis-based website design and marketing company founded in 1996. eCape has developed over 300 websites for Cape Cod businesses and is also the operator of several high-traffic portal sites, including CapeCodToday.com, CapeCodTravel.com, and CapeCodKidz.com.
One of one of the Cape's most prominent thought leaders in Internet marketing, Julie is a founding member of the Cape Cod Internet Council, has taught several classes at Geek Girl Camp, and maintains a blog called Frugal Internet Marketing.
How is Google AdWords like divorce?
Because it's expensive, but sometimes it's worth it.
Today's New York Times' You're the Boss business blog has a great article about how a Long Island mom, Amy Gottesman, started a party planning business, struggled to find effective marketing channels, and finally hit the jackpot with Google AdWords.
(AdWords are the paid ads which in the search results when you do a Google search. They're on the right, and sometimes, above, what's called the "organic", or "natural" results. How can you tell they're ads? They say "ads" above them. AdWords is how Google makes its money. Most people don't know this. )
Ms. Gottesman currently spends about $3,000 per month on AdWords and realizes about 6 times that amount per month in revenue. So for her, it's obviously an excellent ROI. Without AdWords, she says, her business would "instantly die." Google makes about $20 billion per year on AdWords, and other sites offer pay-per-click (PPC) advertising as well, including Yahoo!, Bing, and Facebook.
Think of it like this: Google, which commands about 75% of the search market in the USA, is THE commercial real estate of the Internet. Ms. Gottesman's $36K per year budget sounds expensive, but for her, it's worth it.
The good news is that there is a no minimum buy-in for Google AdWords, and you can quit at any time. The bad news is that setting up a Google AdWords campaign can be daunting for the moderately skilled Internet user. AdWords has a ton of useful functionality, but if it's not set up correctly with correct keyword research and parameters, you can waste money. This is why there are AdWords consultants and companies who will set up and manage your PPC campaigns for you.
It is important to note that Google AdWords is not an effective tool for all small businesses, and also that it does not necessarily have to be expensive. I would estimate that there are fewer than 50 Cape Cod businesses who use Google AdWords regularly at the level of $500/month or more, and no more than 100 who do so regularly spending $250 per month or less. I think more Cape Cod businesses, particularly stores, should be doing Google AdWords.
Is Google AdWords right for your business? It's all a matter of numbers and who your target market is. Here is a helpful article to help you make the decision. Have you had experience with Google AdWords? Please comment below.
Julie Brooks is CEO of eCape, Inc., a South Dennis-based website design and marketing company founded in 1996. eCape has developed over 300 websites for Cape Cod businesses and is also the operator of several high-traffic portal sites, including CapeCodToday.com, CapeCodTravel.com, and CapeCodKidz.com. One of the Cape's prominent thought leaders in Internet marketing, Julie conducts several Internet marketing workshops for small businesses per month at eCape's offices and also around the Cape for chambers of commerce and other organizations.
- Follow eCape on Twitter
- Follow Julie on Twitter
- Connect with Julie on LinkedIn
- Like eCape, Inc. on Facebook
- Subscribe to Frugal Internet Marketing
Please see the archives menu on the right for access to older articles in this column.
About
Edited by Julie Brooks, CEO of eCape Inc., your one-stop shop for all your Internet marketing needs. I'd like to share the knowledge of local tech and marketing writers as well as my own experiences in the land of Internet marketing, with small business owners on Cape Cod and beyond.
The national and local economies are undergoing a fierce transformation. To survive, small business owners must get lean and mean while getting more business. Internet marketing is one way to get more customers while spending little or nothing.
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