Article Marketing & Online Marketing Strategies from IdeaMarketers - Where Your Ideas Shine

10 Wordpress Plugins That Are Free and Powerful

Jessica Swanson, our official Shoestring Marketing Expert, helps you discover the top 10 most powerful, yet free plugins for your Wordpress.org blog or blogsite.

 

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Small Business Marketing Disaster Recovery

Jessica Swanson, our official Shoestring Marketing Expert

A few years back, I was one of the very first people to begin using Twitter as a marketing tool.

I was generating dozens upon dozens of quality leads every day, so you can imagine how thrilled I was with this brand new marketing platform.

Against by better judgment, I l spent hours a day on Twitter; I was busy as a bee connecting, following, unfollowing and Tweeting. I was addicted to this newfangled little marketing platform. (OK, it's probably safe to say that I was a bonafide Twitteraholic.)

As the months flew by, I had gathered a significant following of over 36,000 small business owners.

Ah, life was good!

But, in an instant, disaster struck.

In the middle of the night, my account was hacked and the hacker sent out hundreds of spammy and inappropriate Tweets to my followers. Of course, they complained.

The next morning, I logged in to get my daily "Twitter fix" and my account was gone.

Twitter had shut me down.

Read Jessica's entire article How to Recover From a Small Business Marketing Disaster

Get Results from Your Emails!

Jessica Swanson, our official Shoestring Marketing Expert

I remember the good ol' days of email marketing.

I would send out an email and 75 percent of my prospects would open it. (Can you imagine?)

Then, along came the spammers, the CAN-SPAM laws, the smartphones and the competition. And suddenly, email marketing was a whole different animal.

In today's noisy and cutthroat email environment, research suggests that only about 11.4 percent of our emails are even opened. (Ouch!)

But, let's not throw out the baby with the bath water. Email is still a powerful and low-cost ways to effectively communicate with your prospects.

Here are 10 steps to writing emails that get results:

1. Decide on ONE call to action.

Read Jessica's entire article 10 Steps to Creating Emails That Get Results

Witnessed Good Marketing in Small Businesses

Jessica Swanson, our official Shoestring Marketing  Expert

I love witnessing good marketing first hand.

I was driving my kids to school today and noticed a very large sign in the window of our local music store.

Free Guitars . . . inquire within

Even though I don't play the guitar, I took notice.

Is this store just handing out free guitars to anyone who walks through their door? Of course not. They're utilizing a very powerful marketing strategy that will ultimately bring them more prospects, customers and sales.

And, it couldn't be more simple.

Here's the brilliant strategy:

If you sign up for 12 guitar lessons, you will receive a free guitar for the duration of the lessons. Once you've taken lessons for 2 years, the guitar is yours to keep.

Read Marcia's entire article Remove Your Customer's Roadblocks

Are You a Small Business Teacher or a Small Business Preacher?

When you think about it, there's a lot in common between teachers and preachers.

Teachers dispense information to their class; preachers impart their own belief system on their congregation.

Students look to their teacher for knowledge; the congregation looks to their preacher for answers.

Teachers share their knowledge; preachers share their convictions.

Read Jessica's entire article Are You a Small Business Teacher or a Small Business Preacher?

Jessica Swanson, our official Shoestring Marketing Expert

15 Press Release Topics For the Small Business Owner

Several years ago, the press release was a tool reserved for big organizations with deep pockets that had "big news" to share with the media. Not only did press releases cost a good deal of money, but they only made it into the hands of select journalists, editors and producers.

However, times are changing. The press release of yesterday has died a sudden death and in its place is the new press release that caters to the small business owner on a shoestring marketing budget.

Today's press releases are incredibly affordable, are accessible by both the media and your prospects, and can be written and submitted whenever you have news to share with your public.

Read Jessica's entire article 15 Press Release Topics For the Small Business Owner

Jessica Swanson, our official Shoestring Marketing Expert

6 Reasons Your Small Business Needs a Public Relations Campaign

Most people have heard of public relations, however, they're not entirely sure what it entails. In fact, ask twenty different small business owners to give you the definition of public relations and you'll receive twenty different answers.

Here is my definition of public relations: public relations is the process of building awareness, visibility and positive interactions with your prospective clients and customers through a variety of communication channels and tools.

Read Jessica's entire article 6 Reasons Your Small Business Needs a Public Relations Campaign

Jessica Swanson, our official Shoestring Marketing Expert

50 Free and Fabulous Traffic Strategies

As a small business owner, you probably already know the obvious ways to generate free traffic back to your website. (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging, video marketing, etc.)

But as a Shoestring Marketer, you're going to need to tap into an arsenal of creative, high-impact and hard-hitting tools.

Here are 50 fabulous traffic strategies that you may not be currently using.

And remember, the best part is that every one of these marketing tools is totally, completely and absolutely free:

Read Jessica's entire article 50 Free and Fabulous Traffic Strategies

Jessica Swanson, our official Shoestring Marketing Expert

21 Shoestring Marketing Secrets That All Small Business Owners Need to Know

Unfortunately, many small business owners believe in the motto, "it takes money to make money" in the world of small business. The good news is that nothing could be further from the truth.

There are twenty-one shoestring marketing secrets that will provide you with the right frame of mind so that you can begin the process of building a thriving small business without spending a dime on marketing.

What every small business needs to know is that Shoestring Marketing is:

1. Low-cost. In today's internet and social media age, there are now more low-cost marketing options than ever before.

Read Jessica's entire article 21 Shoestring Marketing Secrets That All Small Business Owners Need to Know

Jessica Swanson, our official Shoestring Marketing Expert

Blog Like a Rockstar . . . 21 Tips To Get You Rocking!

If you're up on stage blogging your heart out to an empty stadium, don't quit . . . here are 21 quick and easy ways to blog like a rockstar and fill your stadium with die-hard fans.

1. Write compelling headlines. Your headline is how people decide if they're going to read your blog post of not. So make sure that it reaches out and grabs hold of your reader.

2. Capture your reader's attention in the first paragraph. Your first paragraph should draw in your reader and entice them to keep reading. Keep it simple, snappy and sassy.

Read Jessica's entire article Blog Like a Rockstar . . . 21 Tips To Get You Rocking!

Jessica Swanson, our official Shoestring Marketing Expert