I discuss how Google’s free tools can empower your small business marketing, and roller derby stars Sarah Impaler and Blitzkrieg Baker gives me the moniker “Anita Amanda Elbow.” But here are some of the tools I talk about:

• Google Analytics
• Google Places
• Feedburner
• Google Keyword Tool (my fav!)

Download the Google’s free tools MP3 file here. (5.6 MB)

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Google’s free keyword tool will end your SEO writer’s block. Although the tool is designed to provide keywords for you AdWords account, it can help you with so much more. Using the keyword tool, you can learn:

• The most popular terms people use to search for your products and services- both globally and locally.
• The most competitive terms- hence the most difficult to optimize for.
• What terms your website is currently optimized for- sometimes these results are surprising if you haven’t paid much attention to SEO.

Keyword Tool Examples

Let’s help About.com keep their search ranking but be a little less dreary to read. They could use any of the following terms as a replacement for tax accountant. Notice that “tax preparation” receives about five times the search volume as “tax accountant.”

Did you notice that the competition for all of the above keywords is extremely high? It would be difficult for any tax accountant’s website to break into the top page in these searches. Fortunately, there are some less competitive options that are more specific. A tax accountant firm could be successful at writing an article titled, “How to Find a Tax Accountant.” Or they could focus on geography, such as “tax accountant in ohio.”

If you are curious what Google thinks your website is optimized for (and you should be!), you’ll want to enter your website address into the keyword tool. Here are the results for my site, which specializes in small business marketing.

Google seems to understand what Zoo in a Jungle Marketing is optimized for pretty well. Tip: although “business” garners the most searches in a month, it would be foolish to optimize for such a general term. The likelihood that someone searching for “business” wants to read my blog or hire Zoo in a Jungle Marketing is very slim.

Go forth, and use Google’s free keyword tool to optimize!

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It does if you’ve ever posted something like, “I can’t believe how long it’s been since I updated my blog!” Even though posting regularly is the number one key to blogging success, it can be hard to keep a schedule. From finding time to finding something to write about, there are many obstacles to keep you from posting as much as you should.

Here are some tips to keep your blog regular.

Know your blog’s purpose.

Many writers can’t figure out what to write about because they don’t know the goal they are trying to reach. If you have a business blog, what are the business goals you are trying to achieve? One goal could be to find qualified buyers interested in your products. Another could be to engage your current customers. You might be trying to get referrals. What is your blog’s purpose? Write to fulfill that purpose and reach your goals.

Record your thoughts.

If you find it hard to sort out your thoughts in writing, don’t! Use a voice recorder to compose your blog posts. Many people find it difficult to write, but almost everyone can have a conversation. Once you determine what you’re trying to say, use the transcript as your blog post.

Make notes.

It seems obvious, but ideas for a blog post can strike at any time. Be prepared with your favorite notebook, iPhone app or even that voice recorder. You never know when a visit to a restaurant, dramatic sunset or chance encouter could be the impetus for a fantastic post. Capture the details as they happen.

Use your notes.

Don’t just take notes! Use them to write blog posts. And here’s a secret: if you’ve written a book or two, you’ve got hundreds of pages of notes conveniently published for your convenience. Use advice from your books, coupled with current events or recent experiences, to create fresh, engaging blog posts.

Develop an editorial calendar.

You should post to your blog at least once a week. To keep that goal, you need a schedule. You probably schedule appointments for oil changes or hair cuts, so why not schedule writing time? Your calendar can be as detailed as deciding on topics in advance or as general as just deciding on the day and time a post will go out each week. Get someone to help you stay accountable to your calendar, and you’ll have even more success.

Get ahead.

A counter-intuitive strategy to saving time is to write several blog posts all at once and schedule them for the future. It saves more time to get in the writing mindset once and write five posts than to find time to write on five different occasions.

Get help.

If blogging is truly part of your strategy to reach your goals, then it would be worthwhile to invest in a writing coach or professional writer. A coach will hold you accountable to schedules and topics, while a writer will consult with you and write excellent posts that meets your goals. (Might I mention that Zoo in a Jungle Marketing provides such services?)

I’ve developed these tips after years of making and breaking writing commitments to myself and my business– and seeing many others do the same. If you have any tips of your own for keeping your blog regular, I’d love to read them in the comments.

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Advances in marketing technology allow us to learn so much about our customers. With the information customers share with us, it’s never been easier to develop customer relationships and loyalty. But when the technology is used to create paint-by-number experiences, customers will feel a dissonance and know you aren’t actually interacting with them. Customers are very clever and can tell when companies use marketing technology against them instead of for them.

Laura Poland, an Indianapolis wedding photographer and close friend, experienced this technology dissonance first-hand with OvernightPrints.com. She usually orders business cards and brochures using her professional email address. However, one time she placed an order using her personal email address. OvernightPrints.com stored both of these addresses in their marketing database but didn’t record that the addresses belonged to the same person.

OvernightPrints.com’s records showed that Laura was a loyal customer when she used her professional email address. They sent her the following year-end coupon for 25% off any order:

But OvernightPrints.com also had Laura’s personal email address on file. Clearly, the personal email address wasn’t loyal to them. It had only placed one order. In a bid to “activate”  this dormant customer, they sent a sweeter deal to the email address that had only ordered once:

We wanted to give OvernightPrints.com a chance to respond to Laura’s disappointment at finding her loyalty was not rewarded. Here is the email from their customer service department:

Part of our marketing strategy to reactivate “inactive” customers is to send them different offers, which sometimes offer greater discounts.  We also have a Loyalty Program for our top customers, which provide excellent discounts as well. Should your purchases reach the level that qualifies you for the program, we would very much like to invite you to participate.

So it seems that Laura is neither loyal nor disloyal enough. OvernightPrints.com uses their technology to categorize their customers, and it seems some categories are luckier than others.

What lesson should we all learn from this marketing faux pas? (Besides that ordering infrequently from OvernightPrints.com is the best way to score deeper discounts). If a company tries to use technology to “cheat” some customers, the customers will find out. And that will erode their relationship with the company. No one stays loyal to a company (or friend) that doesn’t show loyalty to them. Carefully use your marketing technology to bring you closer to your customers, instead of further away from them.

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The idea for Sugar came late in 2008 when Krista and her family were in Delaware for Thanksgiving. They stopped by a cupcakery in Washington D.C., and she thought, “This would be a really fun business to have.” From there, the plan was set into action. She credits Karla for the creative energy behind Sugar Cupcakery’s design.

Karla, a photo stylist, develops the recipes and designed the trendy, colorful interior of Sugar. She explains that one of the challenges to effective design is creating a good plan and sticking with it, even in the face of contrary opinions. “Don’t listen to naysayers if you know your plan will work,” she advises.

Small business marketing focuses on relationships

Krista knows the importance customer relationships play in small businesses. She says,

“People who have never been here before are surprised by what they get. We deliver an experience with our cupcakes. It’s more than a take out place where you get a cupcake on a napkin. Our menu is very vague because we want to talk to people, and we want people to ask questions. We have a relationship with our clientele.”

Because they get to know their customers, Krista and Karla are able to help people with special dietary needs. They’ve worked with parents to create special recipes for children who’ve never had cupcakes—letting them share in the same birthday fun other children enjoy. They also offer special-order vegan and gluten-free cupcakes. Krista notes, “We only need a day’s notice for special orders. Just call us, and we’ll work with you.”

Social networking is a key marketing strategy

In an environment where many small business marketing departments can’t make heads or tails of social networking, Karla attributes Sugar’s success to two factors: location and social networking. She elaborates,

“Everyday, I post on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. I try to link them all together. We get a lot of feedback. Social networking enables our customers to tell us what they think. It’s so rewarding because customers come in and say, ‘I follow you on Facebook! I know what your specials are!’ We try to get people to share their pictures. You just have to know how to tag everything, so that it links back to who you are. Always make sure to include the city, state and name of the business.”

Developing social networking and local relationships together have allowed Sugar to expand its influence to other opportunities. They have several corporate accounts, including with PNC Bank. Recently, Sidewinder Coffee in Northside starting carrying their cupcakes.

Among their cupcake and tea offerings, they also have a private room for parties or meetings. It holds between 20-40 people, has a patio and a flatscreen television for presentations or slide shows.

As with all small business endeavors, it hasn’t been easy to achieve success. In the beginning, obtaining cost-effective, fresh and organic ingredients was a challenge—sometimes they had to settle for what they could get. But through much research, networking and negotiating, they finally have suppliers that meet their demanding standards and still leave room for profit.

In their final comments, Krista and Karla leave us with advice for entrepreneurs just starting out:

“Save your money and be patient. It’s a lot of work. You have to do all the work yourself at first. You have to make sure you’re really organized, motivated and know what your business plan is. You really have to plan and outline. It’s less overwhelming if you plan.”

Sugar Cupcakery is a great example of a small business that understands marketing, customer relationships and how to use technology to get closer to their customers (instead of further away from them). They realize that having a great product isn’t enough to ensure success– although I can attest that their product is amazing.

Contact Details:

Sugar Cupcakery
32 Main Street
Milford, Oh 45150
sugarcupcakery.com
513-340-4166
sugarcupcakery@gmail.com

Hours:

Tuesday – Thursday 11am – 7pm
Friday and Saturday 11am – 10pm

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