Small Businesses - Big Marketing

Agency Owner Videocast: Selling Online Marketing 2.0 Packages

At SearchMarketMe, we teach our Agency Owners the value of selling (and strategy to sell) clients comprehensive online marketing packages. The strategy results in much larger contracts for our members and more finite control over their client's success.

Agency Owner Bukie Opanuga joins us today and shares her recent success story. Bukie convinced a client to stop working with multiple independent vendors and instead invest on one larger Online Marketing 2.0 Package with her firm. Watch now for all of the details:

Are you considering launching your own online marketing firm as an Agency Owner? Initiate your own Evaluation Process today by completing the online Agency Owner Application. Once we receive your submission, you can participate in our 3-Part Evaluation Process, which includes:

• Reviewing a 20+ Page Agency Owner Business Plan
• Participating in an hour long web demonstration of our software
• Speaking with, and being recommended by, at least 3 members of our Evaluation Board (existing Agency Owners)

It's a comprehensive process that ensures our program is the right fit for you, and you are the right fit for our network! What are you waiting for?

We've been inked (in Inc. Magazine)

As a budding entrepreneur, one of the primary decisions is whether to launch a business that is based out of their home or one that requires a physical store front. While there are pros and cons to each option, SearchMarketMe believes the best solution is a business that can be launched out of a home office initially to keep start-up costs low, with the option to move to a bricks and mortar office as revenue allows. 

In the February issue of Inc. magazine, SearchMarketMe was mentioned as a home based option. Here's the direct text out of the issue:

While Cybertary uses the Internet to deliver its services, SearchMarketMe of Issaquah, Wash., helps other small business owners conduct Internet-based marketing campaigns. President Jenny Dibble says the company's objective is to fill the niche between solo web designers or SEO practitioners and traditional marketing firms that charge tens of thousands of dollars. "Businesses know enough about online marketing to know they want to do it, but they don't know how to do it themselves," she says."They know the web is where consumers are. But they don't know who to call."

SearchMarketMe's agency owners help design and implement online marketing efforts employing search engines, social media, e-mail, and more. The company has 56 agency owners in its network now, and anticipates adding 10 each month in 2010. "Online marketing is such an amazing field right now to go into," says Dibble."It really is just the perfect storm."

You can check out the full text of the article here, or pick a copy up off of the newsstands today.

Considering launching your own business as a SM2 Agency Owner? Our next Agency Owner Start-Up Training Weekend is February 26-27. Give us a call at 866-326-5480 to learn more.

Rethinking Your Workspace

Whether you currently work from home or are looking into work-at-home options like the SearchMarketMe Agency Owner Program, it's important to create an inspiring and productive environment for yourself.  And let's face it, working and living in the same space can be draining at times.  Perhaps it's time to rethink your workspace and switch things up!

Go to just about any Starbucks or Panera Bread during normal business hours and you'll be amazed at the number of people working from these locations!  So why not try it out for yourself?  Here's 3 reasons it might be worth a shot:

Meet new people.  If you're in the business of lead generation, you're bound to have more luck finding leads at a busy coffee shop than within the confines of your home office.  Not to mention the networking opportunities that abound at these places!  Quick tip: Put 5 business cards in your pocket in the morning and don't go home until you've handed them all out.

Get inspired.  If your work is creative, public places can offer amazing inspiration.  Quick tip: Bring along an observation journal.  Each time you hit a creative block, spend a few minutes writing in your journal.  Sights, sounds, smells, and emotions are all fair game!

Give the sweats a day off.  If it's been awhile since you buttoned a pair of pants, you owe it to yourself to stop the cycle.  Quick tip: Casual wear is okay as long as it's pulled together.  Dress in a way that makes you feel confident to take on your day!

Want more tips on social networking, online marketing, and business development?  Connect with SearchMarketMe on Facebook (www.facebook.com/searchmarketme) and follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/searchmarketme)

3 Tips for Turning Your Failures into Successes

"The great question is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with failure" -Chinese proverb

Entrepreneurs know that failure is a part of life.  Hopefully these failures are insignificant in comparison to your successes, but even larger failures can be turned around.  Like your mother said, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade!

Here are 3 quick tips for turning set-backs around:

1.  Analyze where things went wrong

2.  Outline what you did right (and capitalize on that!)

3.  Measure your goals and results constantly as you go forward

Here's to a tall, refreshing glass of lemonade!

Want more tips on social networking, online marketing, and business development?  Connect with SearchMarketMe on Facebook (www.facebook.com/searchmarketme) and follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/searchmarketme)

How Strong is Your Call to Action?

If you've spent the time, money, and energy into securing your space on the web, you owe it to yourself to make sure your website is working for you.  Hopefully when you designed your website it was with a purpose in mind.  Whether you are looking to generate leads, sell products, or promote a service, you should know what it is you want your website to do and then ASK YOUR VISITORS TO DO IT.

Sounds simple enough, right?  But you'd be amazed at how many websites lack a strong call to action.  Take some time this week to evaluate your website's call to action.  Here's a few ideas for doing just that:

Ask friends (whom you trust to give their honest opinion) to visit your site.  Ask them about their experience. Were they prompted to act?  Did they know where to go?  Were they confused?  Use this feedback as an insight into your average visitor.

Review your website analytics.  What pages are your visitors viewing most?  What is the average progression through your site?  What page(s) are your visitors exiting from the most?

Simplify.  If you know your website has numerous calls to action, try to simplify it for your visitors.  Realize that one strong call to action will be more effective than several competing against each other. 

Remember, it's not just about having a website.  It's about having an effective website that works for you!