Slump Marketing Tips from Jay Berkowitz

Free Tools You Can Use to Prepare For A Recession And Maximize Your Website Traffic Through Tough Times

This article from my S. Florida colleague Jay Berkowitz details the following tips:
1. Companies can maximize web site traffic by using Free Search Engine Optimization techniques.
2. Create a FREE Offer on your site to get leads.
3. Measure the cost to acquire a lead and a sale.
4. Intelligence Tools such as Spyfu.com and Compete.com
5. Take advantage of FREE Internet products like Google Optimizer to improve conversion on your web site.
6. Generate greater awareness for your business or product by using Free or low cost Internet Press Releases.
7. Develop an eNewsletter. eNewsletters are a staple of effective online communications
8. Create a virtual internet sales force using Affiliate Marketing.
9. Build your company’s position on high traffic Social Media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn.
10. Cut out the middle man by selling direct at eBay, Amazon and Yahoo stores.

Read Slump Marketing Tips from Jay Berkowitz of TenGoldenRules.com

http://snipr.com/slt-berkowitz

Is Twitter a Good Channel for Slump Marketing?

This article from Marketing Sherpa does a good job outlining how is being used successfully for marketing: (warning this article is not free after May 23)

“Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service that costs nothing for users to access and little effort to keep in touch with busy friends. It can also help you build your brand or brand you as an expert.

Here’s a guide to help you get started ‘tweeting’ that includes 10 strategies to market your company and 5 to market yourself, plus lots of useful links.”

My Twitter url is: www.twitter.com/jlawlor — come on by.

Seth Godin on Recession Marketing Mindsets

Marketing strategist, author and speaker Seth Godin blog entry titled: Marketing in a recession makes an interesting point about consumer’s perceptions of recession economics (how a person that needs to downsize the size of their apartment might still buy their coffee at Starbucks) and why marketers need to “figure out how to change the story they are living so that their customers can change the story they tell themselves.”

Web Video SEO Tips: Read This Article If You Produce Web Video

How best to optimize web videos for search engine optimization (SEO) has long been a challenging topic.

In this article from WebVideoReport- Onil Gunawardana, vice president/general manager of Advertising at Blinkx does an excellent job of laying out the steps that need to be taken to help turn web video into a slump marketing strategy.

• Tip 1: Make your tags relevant
• Tip 2: The more tags the merrier
• Tip 3: Use consistent tags
• Tip 4: Use adjectives in tags
• Tip 5: Use tags that describe categories
• Tip 6: Match titles and descriptions to tags
• Tip 7: Don’t use natural language in tags

Click to read the “How to Maximize Search Engine Optimization for Web Video” article.

1st Radio Show [Slump Marketing Success] Show Notes Posted

The Show Notes for – SLUMP MARKETING SUCCESS: Overcoming Your Marketing Comfort Zone (show #1) have been posted on the BlogTalkRadio site along with an archived version of the program.

A podcast version of  online strategist john Lawlor’s SlumpMarketingSuccess program is available http://www.blogtalkradio.com/OnlineStrategist/2008/05/05/Slump-Marketing-Tactics-Tips-.mp3

article: Successful Strategies in a Down Market

Here is quote from the MerchantCircle Journal April 2008 newsletter:

“If you don’t invest in promoting your business, especially when times are tough, you lose momentum. Customers lose touch with you and your business is no longer top-of-mind when they are searching the web for the products and services you offer.

Online advertising, email marketing, online coupons are some of the most cost effective marketing tools available to local businesses. The businesses who are make it through a downturn are those that plan ahead and turn up the volume of their marketing activities.”

link to MerchantCircle article

Looking for a clever slump marketing tagline

I am looking to paraphrase Yogi Berra’s famous line “When you come to a fork in the road, take it” s it applies to slump marketing (aka recession marketing).

What do you think of these?

1) “When you come to a slump in the road — keep moving.”

2) “When you come to a slump in the road — keep looking up.”

3) “When you come to a slump in the road — slump on through.”

Seth Godin has posted a great tip — is this a useful slump marketing tactic?

Seth Godin has posted a useful tip — could it be a slump marketing tip?

What do you think?

Seth Godin’s blog with cartoon and tip

“Skip at least one meeting every day for the next two weeks. Watch what happens.” Seth Godin May 1, 2008

My slump marketing tip based on Seth’s post – turn one physical meeting into an online meeting..and watch what happens?

“The Internet economy is almost counter-recessional…”

According to a report earlier this week in the San Jose mercury news — “Internet commerce continues its robust growth, defying a sluggish economy that’s teetering on recession…”

Citing data from Forrester Research, he said 53 percent of all computer hardware and software sales take place online, along with 30 percent of all toys, video products and auto parts. One survey showed that two-thirds of all Internet users have bought products online.

Read San Jose Mercury News article titled: “No Economic Slowdown On The Internet”

Article includes quotes from:

Ed Garrubbo, chairman of the Electronic Retailing Association – “online sales jumped 17 percent in the first quarter of this year”

Hal Varian, economist – Electronic commerce has grown about 22 percent in the past two years

Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a non-partisan tech think tank – “The Internet economy is almost counter-recessional…comparisons with past slowdowns are difficult because this is the first downturn in which online commerce has played such a big role.”

Forrester Research – “53 percent of all computer hardware and software sales take place online, along with 30 percent of all toys, video products and auto parts”

Is Learning Web 2.0 Marketing From Politicians an Oxymoron?

When was the last time that you donated to some cause and found that you were so engaged by a web-based thank you page that you were ready to start promoting the cause to your entire email list?

The Obama campaign has managed to do just that with their “thank you for donating” page. (view Barak Obama viral video on thank you page for donating page)

What does this have to do with slump marketing tips? Short Answer: the Obama video may be start studded but the technique is very simple (it is mostly a series of portraits of supporters filmed against a neutral background) and doesn’t require a much of a budget or skill to produce…you could even use a series of still images from your digital camera — perhaps of people holding signs that support your company or organization.

I was impressed by the simplicity of the concept that I emailed my wife, the development director for a non-profit natre center, a link to the viral video along with a few ideas about how they could use incorporate a “I love being a member of this place” video on their donation thank you page.
disclaimer — this posting shouldn’t be taken as a political endorsement — I found out about this video from Ann Holland of MarketingSherpa’s blog. click here to read Ann Holland’s post about the Obama thank you page