Internet marketing

9 ways to spy on your competitors online

10/16/2010 By Joan 9 Comments

Writer Ed Davis asked me to pass along tips on how coffee shops can do competitive intelligence online, for an article in Specialty Coffee Retailer Magazine.

These tips work just as well for any retailer selling online or offline, or anyone who wants to spy on their competitors, or any Publicity Hound who wants more publicity than the competition:

1. Start at your competitor’s website.

They might have an RSS feed (subscribe to the feed) or links to their social media profiles or a blog.

While you’re there, be on the lookout for any customer service type things you see that make it easy for customers to contact or interact with them. Example: A phone number placed prominently on the homepage. If you see something you like—an introductory video, a “contact us” form, etc.—steal the idea and add it to your own website (but don’t plagiarize).

2. Create Google Alerts.

Create separate Google Alerts for every major competitor’s business name and website URL. Google will deliver to your email inbox, as often as you wish, information it finds on the web about your competitors or their website.

When creating the Alert, choose “Everything,” “Once a day” and “Only the best results.” Be sure to set up Google Alerts for your own name and business, too, so you know instantly what people are saying about you online.

3. Look for their blog.

Are they blogging? If so, subscribe to the RSS feed.

Check to see how many comments they’re getting. Are the comments positive or negative or both? Do they seem to have a loyal following? Join the conversation if you wish, but do not post a snarky comment at their blog under your own name or a fake name. Often, it’s more valuable to just sit on the sidelines and watch.

4. Look on Facebook.

Do they have a Facebook profile or Fan Page? If so, become a friend and a fan and watch closely to see what they’re sharing with their followers. Read comments from their friends and followers. Are they offering discounts, coupons or anything special for their fans? (See 11 Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on Facebook)

5. Look on Twitter.

If they have an account, follow them. Their tweets might tip you off to new products and services they’ll be offering, events they’re hosting, etc.

Have they created Twitter lists? If so, review them. You might see lists that include marketers or coaches who they’re learning from, or others who are passing along valuable information that you, too, can learn from. (See How to Use Twitter Lists & Directories to Generate Publicity & Build Your Brand.)

6. Use SocialMention.com.

This is just like Google Alerts, but for social media. Receive free daily email alerts of your brand or your competitor’s brand, company, CEO, marketing campaign, etc. Social Mention monitors more than 80 social media properties including Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, YouTube, Digg, Google, etc.

7. Use Grader.com.

This website has a nice selection of tools that help you measure and analyze your marketing efforts, or those of your competitor. You’ll find tools for measuring on FourSquare, Twitter, Facebook, a blog, and more.

8. Search for their videos.

Have they created videos that are pulling in traffic to their website? Go to YouTube and search under their name. Or, do a Google search for their name and then click on ”Videos” in the upper left corner.

9. Check their search engine ranking.

How well do they rank on Google’s organic search list? Let’s say you’re a coffee shop in Port Washington, Wisconsin, where I live. Search ”coffee shop + Port Washington, Wi.” and compare how each of you rank.

There are dozens more tools for keeping track of what your competitors are doing, but these are the best and easiest places to start. What tools do you use to spy?

Filed Under: Blogs, Facebook, Search engine optimization, Twitter, YouTube Tagged With: competitive intelligence, foursquare, google alerts, grader.com, Internet marketing, social mention, spy on competitors

9 of 10 pet owners say ‘I love you’ to their dogs & cats

5/1/2010 By Joan Leave a Comment

If you have a dog or cat, I’m betting that, at least once, you’ve looked it in the eyes and said “I love you.”

That’s because a clever survey by Iams, the pet food company, showed that 91 percent of customers it contacted several years ago admitted whispering those three little words to their furry friends.

The company wisely publicized the survey results to coincide with Valentine’s Day. Hundreds of newspapers, magazines and TV and radio stations picked up the story.

Surveys on topics that are fun, edgy, heart-warming, controversial, timely or compelling can generate mountains of publicity. They can also do something else.

They can tell you EXACTLY what products and services your customers want and EXACTLY how much they’d be willing to pay for them.

Surveys have been the best-kept secret among Publicity Hounds and successful entrepreneurs–the cute little trick that has boosted PR campaigns and let top marketers create products to order, get proof to convert prospects and keep customers buying, and find the ticking time bombs in our businesses before they explode.

Let the Survey Expert Help You

My business partner, Jeanne Hurlbert, PhD, is one of the world’s foremost survey experts. She’s so good at surveys that she’s helped people like The Tony Robbins Companies, Ali Brown, and Joe Polish. She also created my own customer profile survey last spring, and I’m using the results as a roadmap to guide my business.

She and Mike Koenigs are hosting a webinar called “Your Cash-Generating Crystal Ball: How to Use Simple Surveys to Read Your Prospects’ and Customers’ Minds, Build Lists, Create Products, and Make Money.” It will be at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, May 4.

They’ll show you how to jumpstart your business by putting your publicity, and your profits, on steroids.

And if you don’t HAVE a business yet, the news is just as good: They’ll help you start one, create products that generate revenue, and build your email list, in as little as 2 weeks.

You will learn:

How you can use your own surveys and other people’s surveys to generate buzz in traditional media and social media.
How you can create and use good data that will capture the media’s attention and tie into your expertise.
The 3 key questions that can build a bond and trust with your customers, and spell the difference between falling victim to this economy or making a fortune from it.
How the first question can increase your click-through and conversion rates by as much as 45%–and how the next big wave in social media can let you increase those conversions even more.
How the second question will let you create products to order and how you can make your customers feel so invested in those products they’ll beg to buy them.
How the third question can generate 3 forms of “social proof” that convert prospects and keep customers buying, over and over.
Why thousands of online marketers are leaving money on the table and risking trouble with the FTC by relying on testimonials for social proof.
How you can use 3 simple skills to ramp up your profits through social networking, social media, and surveys.

And then, she and Mike will explain the secret weapon that lets you know who your prospects are, what they want and how they think.

P. S. When you sign up, you get 2 special reports—and one is about how a survey transformed my business. On the call, Jeanne and Mike are giving away two things to five lucky winners: a cool new product that will be sold for at least $97 and another helpful special report.

(Shutterstock photo)

Filed Under: Business Promotion, Holidays, Information Products, Magazine Publicity, Newspaper Publicity, Pitching the Media, Press Releases/News Releases, Radio Publicity, TV Publicity Tagged With: Iams pet food, info products, Internet marketing, Jeanne Hurlbert, pet owners, publicity, survey data, surveys

StomperNet taking new members: Here’s what you’ll get

9/22/2009 By Joan 2 Comments

If you sell anything online, from dog sweaters to corporate training programs, StomperNet is the single best resource for Internet training.

I’ve been a member for two years, and there’s no way I could possibly do what I’m doing today without this group. One of the biggest complaints from my own followers, however, is that Stompernet’s $800-a-month fee is too far out of reach for most business owners.

StomperNet has reworked its fee structure, added a whole bunch of terrific tools and resources, and they’re opening up membership tomorrow for as little as $197 a month. This is a STEAL. Depending on your level of membership, here’s what you can get:

—They’ll train you in every facet you need to be successful online, whether it’s how to make sense of the millions of social networking sites to the quickest way to edit video.

—You’ll have access to their library of more than 14,000 pieces of training, including thousands of videos that show you how to do everything from optimize your website for the search engines to make your Google pay-per-click ads convert to sales.

—They’ll teach your their strategy that’s critical to online success: the proper business model, the most profitable niche, and ensuring that you understand which are your “money” keywords.

—Their state-of-the-art portal delivers has more than 200,000 forum posts, well-organized and easy to find, that probably have 95 percent of your questions already answered.

—The 21 faculty members, some of the most successful Internet marketers on earth, answer your questions via telephone Faculty Office Hours, patrolling the StomperNet forums, or backed into a corner at a live StomperNet live event.

–If, after that, you still have questions, StomperNet members and moderators will gladly help you out in the portal.

–If you need more strategic guidance, you can get it from a StomperNet coach, either in a group setting, or via a Mastermind group, or one-on-one.

–Live events several times a year for hands-on, in-person training. They’ve even announced the StomperNet World Tour—18 cities next year—and StomperLocal to bring StomperNet to the rest of the world.

That’s what StomperNet WAS for three years. And that was enough for many members to build great businesses.

But tools were missing…

But StomperNet concluded that if one thing was missing, it was tools. So they hand-picked the software and tools they considered to be MUST HAVES for online success and to create competitive advantage for your business. They’re called StomperTools and they’re included in a StomperNet Membership:

—Market Samurai: Best-in-class Market and Keyword Research tool

—Traffic Geyser: An automated video submission tool to social media sites

—StomperStorm: An incredibly easy-to-use split testing and Taguchi testing tool. Use this to test two sales pages against each other to see which of two headlines, graphics or copy converts more sales.

—StomperCommerce: An easy-to-use, SEO-friendly shopping cart.

—SEOQast: A semi-automated massive ranking-oriented syndication tool.

—ArticleQast: Send your articles directly to a network of over 17,000 subscribing sites with YOUR links and link text defined

—StomperQast: Add text messaging to your integrated marketing efforts with this platform that includes text messaging, email, and social media

—CommuniQast: A telephone platform for EACH member (not VOIP). Includes a personal 800 number for inbound calls, plus conferencing, and 21 other features

—ReviewQast: Ethical reviews of your products or service from third parties, that get posted to Google Local or other review sites.

—StomperSocial: Like Tweetdeck on Steroids + Twitter Twenius training program

These tools would cost you well over $500 per month if you got them separately, and that doesn’t count over $1,000 in setup charges and fees.

Shock and Awe

But there’s more. StomperNet is piling on even more tools—worth more than $26,600—which they’re referring to as their “Shock and Awe” offer. You get ‘em if you sign up. Review them now, give StomperNet your email address, and they’ll contact you when membership open tomorrow.

Hope to see you in the StomperNet forums, on the faculty calls, and at the live events.

Filed Under: Advertising, Business Promotion, Social media marketing, Video Tagged With: Google pay-per-click, Internet marketing, online marketing, Search engine optimization, SEO, social media, Stompernet, web 2.0

Use social networking to market your product, service 10 ways

6/30/2009 By Joan 5 Comments

Thousands of people who are being downsized, right-sized and capsized during this bad economy aren’t waiting around for a job offer. They’re looking to the Web for their next career—and maybe even riches.

Enter e-Riches 2.0–Next-Generation Marketing Strategies for Making Millions Online, a new book by Internet success coach Scott Fox.

If you’re one of the victims of this economy and you want to start selling online, or you’re new to Internet marketing, you can learn all about the basics of what it takes to create a successful business online. If you’ve been selling online for several years, the book will bring you up to speed quickly on how to add social media to your marketing mix.

Here are Scott’s 10 recommendations on how to use social networking as a marketing tool.

Invite a half-dozen or more friends to get your network started. Practice using the tools of the social network to communicate with them. For example, you can “add” friends on MySpace, “poke” or “write on the walls” of Facebook connections, or respond to some questions in the LinkedIn “Answers” section. (See Social networking ROI: A testimonial more valuable than an ad.)
Start engaging, publishing, and interacting. Get to know some people—that’s why you’re here.
Be authentic. A big part of being authentic is letting the “real you” out to play. Nobody wants to play with a “suit,” so don’t be afraid to be yourself (within professional and legal limits, of course). Mixing the personal and business sides of your life is more common than it used to be.
Only try to connect with others with whom you really do have common ground. Indiscriminate friend requests are “friend spam.” They are no more appreciated than email spam or junk mail in the real world. (And if people you don’t know starting linking with you, your own network will soon be less valuable, too.)
Ask for help. Most social network users are online to be social, and most are happy to help by sharing their knowledge about how the systems work.
Use feeds to keep up with your friends’ activities and broadcast your own. Posting your own status constantly and cleverly is a great distributed engagement marketing tactic. This is one of the “missed opportunities” I discussed during the teleseminar I hosted this month on 11 Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on Facebook.
If you have a blog, feed its posts into your profile page. This will automatically help keep your pages fresh and share your writings with a new audience, too.
Join some groups—learn the lingo and the tools of the network by using them and observing how others use them, too. Joining groups will also begin to create a natural dialogue with other users that will grow over time.
Be a good and involved citizen in those groups to cultivate new friends. There’s no better way to gain the respect of any community than adding value by sharing info, support, or companionship—and these tools will amplify the effect. If you are an expert, social networks are a great way to spread your reputation cloud for that expertise.
Create your own group. Once you are comfortable, start a group around your product or brand. Position yourself as an expert resource and offer to help and facilitate community. Members usually proudly display the names of the groups to which they belong on their profile pages. This can lead to lots more clicks (and members) as others see your group’s name or logo on friends’ pages and in their feeds.

Scott’s book includes more than a dozen examples of real-life Internet marketing success stories, from a North Carolina furniture store that profitably captures high-end customers using pay-per-click search engine text ads on Google, Yahoo! andMSN (Chapter 21), to the article syndication strategy that has helped a Christian stay-at-home mom to attract lots of profitable traffic for her blog (Chapter 16).

The book is $25 and published by AMACOM, the American Management Association.