I Was Terrified of Mobile Marketing!

Being in marketing means you need to be an "expert" in all things marketing-related. In fact, I like to pride myself on being able to have intelligent conversations when thrown into marketing circles. However, there is one area that has always terrified me and that is mobile marketing. Personally I've been able to dodge the mobile marketing topic for some time but recently was asked to make a mobile marketing buy.  As luck would have it, I got "the call" just a day later.

The call? Well, having a popular marketing blog, websites, etc., I seem to get at least a dozen emails and calls each week from people who want me to check out their products, do a write up, or help them shape their ideas. Last week, someone contacted me from YepText about Mobile Marketing. Personally, I never heard of the company but the topic was one I knew I'd have to face sooner or later - Text Messaging/Mobile Marketing.

I Was Blown Away

My understanding of texting has been fairly limited. Until now the majority of texting I've personally engaged in was for mundane tasks like asking my wife if I needed to pick up milk on my way home. I've also been approached by agencies who wanted to sell me "mobile marketing" but never really understood what that meant. Once I saw the Yep Texting platform, my understanding of mobile marketing changed forever. Not only did it impress me as an online texting application, but more importantly, it helped me to see how texting could be used as a marketing tool.

Check this out. If you are a business and want to improve traffic to your website or retail establishment, you can encourage visitors to take advantage of special offers by texting a specific code. This is not about pushing out millions of text message to people you don't know or individuals who never opted in. This model turns everything on its head.

How It Works

You go to a text messaging marketing site like yeptext.com. You register for an account and determine how many text messages you're likely to manage in a given timefream. The next step is simple. You provide a code and a number for people to text on their phone to receive special offers. An example would be a hamburger joint who puts in their ad, "text HAMBURGER to 123456". When the consumer sends the text they receive a special offer... easy as pie.

What I love about this approach is that it puts the control in the consumer's hands and rewards them for taking an action. More importantly, its a great way to build your list of highly qualified prospects. If your know anything about marketing you know how valuable your own list can be. Well, this is the future of list building and right now it's dirt cheap.

Next Steps

To stay on top of your marketing game, you are going to need to learn about Mobile Marketing. Start by visiting Yeptext and check out their site. In addition to the informational video, you'll find information that shows you how the approach works and I guarantee it will open your eyes to a whole new way of marketing.

If you'd like to know more about Mobile marketing let me know. Maybe I can put together a webinar with the YepText Co-founder. At the very least I can ask him to send us a text :)

For more free marketing advice, visit the marketing experts at http://www.MarketingScoop.com.

SEM Rush: Tools You Can't Do Without

Many of you know that I've written a couple of Internet marketing books (SEO Made Simple & PPC Made Simple) and spend a good deal of my time online. That said I'm always looking for helpful tools and resources to improve the effectiveness of my online marketing.

It's a bit embarrassing, but I've been spending so much time on Search Engine Optimization (check out my latest SEO project at SEO Experts: The SEO Provider Directory) that I've been away from PPC for far too long.  I recently logged into my Google AdWords account to find a new interface and new "rules" around PPC marketing.  Yikes!  I hate it when Google goes off and changes stuff - on a monthly basis.



Anyway, I started talking with some Internet marketing colleagues at a recent conference and learned about SEMrush.  I used this tool a number of years ago and just started using again.  The reason I bring it up is because it reminds me just how important it is to have the right tools for marketing online.

SEMRush is a tool for Google organic search and AdWords competitor keyword research.  Essentially, the tool is a huge database that analyzes the first 20 Google results for about eighty to a hundred keywords across more than 40 million domains.



The reason I started using SEMRush again is because you can get information on the keywords your competitors are using as well as:

• -Google keywords for any site


• -AdWords keywords for any site


• -A list of your competitor's organic keywords and and AdWordskeywords


• -A copy of Adwords Ads texts   

At the end of the day, the benefit of using a tool like SEMRush is that you can find hidden profitable keywords that your competitors are using.  This is helpful when you're entering a new niche or expanding your list of keywords.  The benefit of using a database like this is getting access to helpful information you otherwise would never get access to - helping you generate profitable campaigns more quickly and efficiently.



I can encourage you to learn more about SEMrush and other online advertising research tools like SpyFu or Compete.  Leave a comment on the tools you use for your online AdWords marketing!

For more free marketing advice, visit the marketing experts at http://www.MarketingScoop.com.

I'm Fed Up With Get Rich Quick Schemes

As an Internet marketer, I'm always looking for new ways to create value and bring meaningful products to market. From time to time, I'll learn about a new product by receiving emails from potential partners or hearing about the latest from individuals in my circle of influence. Unfortunately, there are a lot of products out there right now that are nothing but "get rich quick" schemes.

Nothing pisses me off more than seeing these "get rich quick schemes" and there are tons of them currently being promoted online.

Just go to ClickBank or PayDotCom and you'll find dozens of these so called affiliate products that oversell themselves and are filled with empty promises. Of course they sound good and even provide evidence of success. However, I can be the first to tell you that many of them don't work for the masses. Rather, the only people making money from these promotional products are the promoters.

I only share products or promote products that I've personally used and personally been successful with. In today's world that's something called honesty and I feel its really lacking in some areas of online marketing. Don't get me wrong, not all online marketers are bad. I have a number of good friends who make a living selling other people's products - but they're honest.

Sorry for the rant but I'm old-school and am a bit fed up with marketers pushing these get rich quick schemes. How do you know if a particular offer is no good? Unfortunately the only thing you have to go on is common sense.

If the product says that you're going to get rich on autopilot, think again. The fact is that no product generates revenues on 100% autopilot. If there is one, and it actually works, I'd love to know about it. I've been marketing online for more than a decade and have yet to find one. If you honestly think you're going to get access to a real product like this through some random email, than go for it.

I'd like to extend the following offer for anyone who has an affiliate product that actually works and delivers what it promises. Show me how effective your product is and I'll write a post on it - no strings attached!

For more free marketing advice, visit the marketing experts at http://www.MarketingScoop.com.