Is your web site easy to navigate? If visitors can’t navigate your site quickly and easily, they’ll flee. When we build sites, we ask our clients to imagine their clients’ agendas. What are visitors expecting to do when on your site? The answers will vary for different audiences.

For example, some visitors may be clients seeking to track an order. Others may be prospects looking for products and pricing information. Imagine all the audiences that might visit your site and create menu links that act as signposts for their journeys.

Make your links unambiguous. Ask yourself, “If I see this link, what content should I expect to find?” If the answer is hazy, you should probably rename the link or change the content and structure.

Prior to writing this column, I searched for some examples of poor navigation. I didn’t have to look very hard. On one site, we found main navigation links for “About Us” and “Our Approach.” The “About Us” page had a hodge-podge of information — company history, some clients, and a lengthy paragraph describing the company’s philosophy. The “Our Approach” page described the company’s methodology and philosophy. Redundant content. Ambiguous links.

Finally, test your navigation with informal focus groups — before you build the site. Show people the navigation scheme. Ask them what they would expect to find if they clicked the links you’ve outlined. If their expectations don’t jibe with yours, go back to the drawing board.

Want more tips for building an effective web site? Go to www.marketvolt.com/web-checklist for a free, report: 15 Essential Elements to Maximize the Impact of your Website.

Tom Ruwitch writes a monthly marketing column for St. Louis Small Business Monthly. This post first appeared as one of those columns.

I just plowed through my inbox after an afternoon of meetings and came across the monthly email newsletter from Habitat for Humanity St. Louis, one of our long-time clients. I had to put aside what I was doing to write this shout-out for Habitat. Aside from the fact that it’s a great cause, Habitat produces some great emails.

Here’s a link to an online version of the newsletter (MarketVolt automatically generates a version of every mailing you create with the system).

Here are five of the things I like about it:

• Great subject line. “Open Plea for Construction Volunteers! Rain barrel workshop in the ReStore next week!” It’s a bit long. But it includes two topics from the newsletter. Too many organizations use subject lines like “August Newsletter” or “Email Update.” This subject line piques your interest. And it remains readers that the email is full of good content — some not even mentioned in the subject line. So readers wonder, “What else will I find?” as they click to open.
• Attractive, clean design. Habitat has done a great job customizing one of MarketVolt’s built-in, do-it-yourself templates with an outstanding banner image and eye-catching colors. The email is neither too long, nor too busy. Short paragraphs with links to read more.
• Great use of immediacy. Email is great for delivering the last-minute message. And Habitat is a master at doing this. I’ve seen an email from Habitat that says we need volunteers on a building site now. Today’s mailing has several items about events just a few days away. This helps bump up attendance at those events. It also gives the emails a fresh, up-to-the-minute quality. Recipients will open and read these emails because they announce what’s happening now.
• Excellent use of calls-to-action. Every item in this newsletter has a link with an explicit or implicit call-to-action. The “Open Plea for Construction Volunteers” includes a link to “visit our blog for more information.” Habitat can track who clicks that link and identify them as “prospective volunteers.” A follow-up email a day or two before the event may follow. Even if Habitat doesn’t follow-up this way, the organization has some idea of the people who have interest in volunteering. Link-tracking reveals a lot about your recipients — information that you can use to land the prospect. This applies whether you’re a non-profit like Habitat or a for-profit. You can’t track clicks if you don’t include links.
• Prominent Social Media Links. Readers can’t miss the links to Habitat’s pages on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites. If you have them on your email list, get them to follow your social media efforts — and vice-versa. Habitat does that well!

Way to go Habitat for Humanity.

The following is a special invitation from my friend Skip Bryan. Skip and his partner Bill Hebert are two of the best marketers I know. They run St. Louis Marketing Experts (GKIC – St. Louis). They’ve invited me to speak at the “Results Based Marketing Seminar” — a great event on Tuesday, August 10, 2-4 p.m. It’s FREE, and you’re invited to attend. Again, it’s free, but you have to register in advance at http://www.StLMarketingSeminar.com..

All of the details are in Skip’s letter below. I hope to see you there!

- Tom Ruwitch

FREE Seminar Reveals Secrets to Increased Profits,
Cash Flow and Return On Investment…

 Get More Bang From Your Marketing Dollars!!

Greetings.

Quick question: Would you like to spend the same amount of money, energy and time you’re spending today on your marketing and get increased response, sales and repeat business?

Would you invest just two hours to discover tried and true direct marketing strategies used by successful companies, around the world and right here in St. Louis, right now, today, in the midst of the Great Recession?

All for FREE?

Market Volt and Glazer – Kennedy Insider’s Circle of St. Louis, in association with the Northwest Chamber of Commerce, invite you to join us for just such an afternoon on Tuesday, August 10th, from 2 – 4 at the Maryland Heights Community Centre.

 FREE, huh? What’s the catch?

 NO CATCH! You see, when speaking at last week’s Northwest Chamber of Commerce Lunch ‘n Learn, Tom Ruwitch (President of Market Volt) and Bill Hebert and Skip Bryan (GKIC – St. Louis Chapter Directors) realized there just wasn’t enough time to really get into the strategies that are most effective, why they’re effective and to interact with the audience and show them how simple it is for them to adapt the strategies for their own businesses.

We needed a little more time to get beyond the broad strokes of what differentiates marketing that gets results (quality leads, sales, $$$) and marketing that sucks up money and time and leaves you frustrated and contemplating a career change!

Strategies You’ll Discover:

 From Market Volt President Tom Ruwitch, You’ll discover how to put more leads into the sales funnel and convert more to customers by “marketing to the maybes.” He’ll reveal proven strategies and tactics to connect with those who are not ready buyers but who are willing to raise their hand and ask for more information. And Tom will show you how to turn those maybes into customers — with maximum efficiency and minimum hassle.

• Acquire more leads than you ever imagined.
• Convert more leads to warm prospects and then to clients.
• Maximize the lifetime value of clients.
• Maximize the efficiency and minimize the hassle in your marketing and sales efforts.

 Make YOUR Marketing “Magnetic”

Just imagine…your phone rings and your “ideal” prospect is on the line. They saw your ad, read your free report, and are dying to purchase your product or service (think Wal Mart the day after Thanksgiving). Believe it or not, this happens every day in real life, all over the world…to a very small number of businesses. Businesses that understand their customers wants and needs and develops products specifically for them.

 On August 10th, you’ll discover:

• The 11 elements of effective marketing pieces
• Practical solutions of attracting new customers/clients/patients in both B2B & B2C
• How to replace cold calls and prospecting
• How to cut through marketing clutter
• Proven techniques to level the playing field against bigger competitors
• Strategies for attracting only your ideal customer/client/patient
• How to develop an effective marketing system
• How to turn your customer list/mailing list into more money
• The dozen top promotions to use in your industry whether it’s B2B & B2C
• And much, much more…

 Space Is Limited…Register Today!

 Due to the play Seussical performing at the Maryland Heights Community Centre, the room we were able to secure is not very big. Soooo, if you want to be one of the few people in St. Louis that actually markets effectively, giving you an advantage over your competitors, you need to go to www.StLMarketingSeminar.com

NOW and register for this 100 % FREE event!

Plus, a smaller group allows for more interaction with attendee’s and allows you to get your questions answered and share with others what is working in your business.

Results-Based Marketing Seminar
Tuesday, August 10th
2:00 – 4:00 PM (Sign-in starts at 1:30)
Maryland Heights Community Centre
www.StLMarketingSeminar.com

Bonus Hour!

Would you like some FREE, expert advice on your current marketing piece? From 1 – 2, bring your flyer, brochure, sales letter, etc. and we’ll critique them for you at no charge! That’s right! On a first come, first serve basis, Tom, Bill and Skip will provide you the kind of critique they normally charge hundreds of dollars for. Yours free when you register at www.StLMarketingSeminar.com.

Marketing Material Review BONUS HOUR
1 – 2 PM (Sign-in starts at 12:45 PM)

Don’t miss this opportunity to become a better, more profitable marketer!

Register NOW at www.StLMarketingSeminar.com

To your improved success,

Skip Bryan
GKIC – St. Louis Chapter Director
Skip@GKICStLouis.com
636-373-4566

Have you asked happy clients for testimonials in the past three months? Do you publish testimonials in all of your marketing material? If you answered no to either of these questions, you have some work to do.
Testimonials sell. Every time you make a claim about your products and services, skeptical prospects are thinking, “Prove it!” Testimonials offer such proof. Here are a few tips to collect and use testimonials most effectively.

Don’t be shy. If you have happy clients, you have people who will give you testimonials. Just ask – when you’re on the phone with them, in client feedback surveys, when you see them at a networking event. Make it a regular part of your client communications.

Include testimonials in all of your marketing content – your web site, email newsletters, print brochures and anything else your prospects will see. Update testimonials frequently.

Be careful what you claim in testimonials. Responding to outrageous advertising claims (“I lost 150 pounds without exercising”), the federal government has established new rules that govern testimonials. Don’t let the rules frighten you away from using testimonials, but make sure you follow them.

For more details about these rules and more detailed tips about how to use testimonials to grow your business, go to www.marketvolt.com/testimonial-tips

Remember the Jackson 5 hit “I Want You Back?” Michael and his brothers sing, “Oh baby give me one more chance (show you that I love you). Won’t you please let me (back in your heart)?” You should add this song to your marketing playlist.

Reach out to your former customers and tell them you want them back. It can be one of the most cost-efficient ways to increase sales – especially in a down economy.

Here’s how:

1)      Search your database for lapsed customers. For example, you might find those who made purchase in the past three years but not in the past six months.

2)      Send an email that says, “We want you back.” I received such an email this week from a video editing and hosting service called Animoto. The subject line: “We miss you – free Animoto.” The email offered me 18 months of service for the price of 12 if I renewed within one week. It also described great new features (with links for more information).

3)      Use an email marketing system that tracks who opens the email and clicks links and then follow-up. For example, you can call or send another email to those who click a link but don’t renew by the deadline.

4)      Include a survey that asks lapsed customers where they’ve been, why they left, and what you can do to win them back.

Take these steps at least once a year, and you’ll win back customers who would otherwise be lost forever.

This article by MarketVolt’s Tom Ruwitch originally appeared in St. Louis Small Business Monthly

John Reese, one of the world’s top internet marketers, quit twitter yesterday.  He left behind 25,000 followers! In a note to his email list, Reese said, “About a year ago, I really loved Twitter.  It was a lot of fun and it was great for communicating with people and for getting into all sorts of discussions. But as Twitter has grown, it’s become full of NOISE. Even, though, my follower count has risen, the response to my tweets has been on a steady decline.”

In his final Twitter posts on March 1, Reese said the response rate to his tweets has declined 75% from its peak. He checked with other marketers who reported similar declines. He said he will focus his social media efforts on Facebook (I happen to agree that you should focus most of your social media energy on Facebook).

So…should we all quit Twitter? Reese is a master of traffic generation. He knows how to drive traffic to his site and convert that traffic to sales. I trust his judgment…

But I don’t think “quit Twitter now” is the lesson to be learned from Reese’s actions. The key takeaway for me: Measure your results! Reese walks away with confidence because he knows his conversion rate has declined by 75%. When he posts a link to Twitter, he measures the number of clicks. He measures the number of people who click then register for his email list. He measures the number of people who click and then purchase his products. He measures the time he spends on Twitter (and thus the cost). So he can calculate his investment against the return. The numbers simply don’t work for him.

Does Twitter work for you? How do you know? What are you trying to accomplish with your tweets?

Reese is right about the noise on Twitter. Many tweeters spend countless hours posting trivial stuff…for what? What are your business goals? How do your tweets serve those goals? How do you measure your success?

At the very least, you should use a URL shortening program such as bit.ly that lets you measure click-throughs. Better yet, include tracking software on your site (such as Google analytics) that tracks where your Twitter traffic goes once it reaches your site. Don’t guess. Measure.

In a previous post, I said businesses ignore social media at their own peril. I still believe that. But then and now, I cautioned that you should engage in social media only if you have a purpose.

My goal is to strengthen my company’s reputation as a leading resource for interactive marketing solutions and tools. Occasionally, I’ll link to pages on my web site, where visitors download tips. This serves the same goal, plus people who visit that page can sign up for my email list. That helps me achieve my goal to identify, acquire and convert new leads. The bottom line: Begin by familiarizing yourself with Twitter and having some fun. As you continue with Twitter, ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” If your answer is not in line with specific business goals, you probably can find better ways to kill time.

Do I plan to quit Twitter? Not yet. But I know that if I stick with Twitter, I’ll be able to justify the decision, and if I eventually quit, I’ll know exactly why.

While Snickers, Doritos, Go Daddy, Budweiser and the other usual suspects get props for their entertaining Super Bowl ads, I award my top prize to an ad that few are discussing: Honda’s “Everybody Knows Somebody…”

In case you missed it:  The spot opened with a still shot of a couple leaning against a Honda vehicle, parked beside a lake. A women’s voice says, “My boyfriend has one.” As the image slides to the left, a man’s voice (presumably the “boyfriend”) says, “My older sister has one.” A new image slides into the screen with a young woman (the “older sister” and two young children). A child’s voice says, “She has two kids.” A woman’s voice (the older sister with the two children) says, “My college roommate…” as a new photo of a different woman with kids slides into view. Then a photo of an older couple appears as another woman (the college roommate) says, “Our neighbors…”

And on it goes…A scrolling film strip of different people — different ages, various races, appearing in front of different size homes, standing next to their Hondas — naming people they know who “have one.”

“Our neighbors…My daughter…My husband has one…The fella I work with…on so on…”

As the filmstrip ends, the spokesperson declares: “Everybody knows somebody who loves a Honda. Who do you know?”

Then the address for Honda’s Facebook page appears on the screen: facebook.com/honda

Go there and you’ll see a page with more than 300,000 fans (as of Feb. 10)!

I love this ad for several reasons. First, in a simple but brilliant way, it uses social proof to persuade people to choose Honda. “Social proof” is the persuasion principle that says people tend to follow the crowd — even those who like to think of themselves as rebels.

Everybody knows somebody who loves a Honda. And the ad represents the enormous range of Honda-lovers — young, old, rich, poor, black, white. Marketing that effectively employs social proof  dares the target to make a choice: Are you with us or are you going to stand outside the social norm? The tug is strong, and Honda applies it subtly but forcefully in this ad.

Secondly, the ad has a great call to action: Go to our facebook page and share your story with us. I didn’t check Honda’s fan page after the game, but I’m sure there were far fewer than the 300,000+ fans Honda has today.

Honda practiced what we so often preach: Your marketing should not be solely about extending your brand or enhancing your image. With interactive technology, you can make targets act immediately with simple, low-risk calls to action.

People aren’t running from their houses after the Super Bowl to buy a Honda, and the company knows that. But Honda also knows that people who might eventually buy — the people we call the “maybes” — will be warmer prospects if the company can interact with them. So Honda asked them to do a simple thing that didn’t require people to sit with a car salesman or take much risk — visit our facebook page.

Now Honda can communicate with those 300,000+ fans. Without that call to action, Honda would have had no connection with these people until and unless they chose to act.

That’s a great example of using social proof to persuade people to act, and using a simple call-to-action to connect with and market to the maybes

Want to know more about social proof and other persuasion principles? Check out 7 Proven Ways to Make Your Marketing Messages More Persuasive, available for download at www.marketvolt.com/persuasion.

The following is an excerpt from 7 Proven Ways to Make Your Marketing Messages More Persuasive, available for download at www.marketvolt.com/persuasion…

We’ve all heard the phrase, “You owe me one.” That’s a powerful concept that you can use to your benefit when marketing. If you offer something to prospects, they will be more inclined to say “yes” when you ultimately make your sales pitch. They wish to reciprocate. When they used to solicit in airports, Hare Krishnas would hand small flowers to people before asking for a donation. The Krishnas noticed that many people would refuse the request and toss the flowers in the trash. The Krishnas then switched from flowers to small American flags – a token that people were reluctant to toss in the trash. Saddled with a “gift” they could not refuse, people felt more obligated to return the favor. Donations rose dramatically, according to persuasion expert and author Robert Cialdini.

You can apply this principle in countless ways in your marketing efforts. If you give, you will get.

Want more persuasion tips. Get “7 Proven Ways to Make Your Marketing Messages More Persuasive”, available for download at www.marketvolt.com/persuasion…

Have you seen the cool video on my web site about internet marketing? If not, you can watch it at www.marketvolt.com/video.

Many people who read that opening paragraph will follow my suggestion and watch the video. In fact, some who read this column at a computer may have jumped to the video before even reading this far.

How do I know? Because video works. The promise of video drives people to web sites, and the presence of video converts prospects to customers. If you want to drive traffic and convert prospects (what business doesn’t?), it’s time for you to join the video revolution.

“But, Tom, I can barely get text and pictures on my web site. How can you expect me to create and post online videos?” cry the naysayers.

It’s far easier than you may think to produce and distribute effective online video. To demonstrate this, I’ll share a story about my son, the budding rock star.

Jacob, 12, has spent most of his summer at Dave Simon’s Rock School. Roughly 15 kids attend each summer camp session, and they are split into three bands that receive private and group instruction. On the final day of each camp session the bands perform live for adoring audiences (a.k.a. parents and other relatives).

One week before Jacob’s concert, I bought an iPhone, the new model with a built-in video camera. When Jacob and his mates took the stage, I pulled the iPhone from my pocket, tapped once to open the video camera application, tapped again to start recording, and pointed the phone at the band.

Fifteen minutes and three songs later, I had a phone full of ear-splitting, bone-jarring, rock-and-roll video. I then clicked the “Send Video to YouTube” button on the iPhone. Five minutes later the videos were on YouTube, ready for the world to see. Twenty minutes later, the videos were on my web site (see http://marketvolt.com/rockvideo). I would have had the videos on my site sooner, but I had to drive 10 minutes from the camp to my office.

In well under one hour (including a 10-minute drive), I shot 15 minutes of video, posted it on YouTube, and embedded it in a page on my web site.

If you still think this is too hard for you, if you would prefer to wait, consider these facts: Apple sold 5.2 million iPhones in the last quarter. In 2008, pocket-sized video cameras—led by Pure Digital’s Flip camera—accounted for more than 20 percent of all video cameras sold. The Flip costs about $125. And while it can’t transmit video to YouTube wirelessly, it plugs directly into the USB port of your computer (no cables required) and comes with software that makes it easy to edit and post your videos online.

Rest assured, many of your competitors are walking around town with video-enabled iPhones or another tiny video camera in their pockets—ready to shoot and post traffic-generating, sales-converting video.

The day after I bought the iPhone, I met with a prospect who had attended an internet marketing seminar I hosted the previous week. He told me he enjoyed the seminar and learned a lot.

My response: “We’re planning to have more seminars in the months ahead. Would you mind repeating what you said and elaborating on video so I can have a video testimonial when I market future events.”

“Sure,” he said. “When do you want to do that?”

“How about now?” I said, pulling the iPhone from my pocket.

His testimonial and others I collect will be part of a video I post to promote the seminars. Go to www.marketvolt.com/seminars for more information.

What should you know before hopping aboard the iPhone bandwagon or buying a pocket-sized video camera? Here are some guiding principles:

You don’t need to be Spielberg—Don’t fret over the quality of your videos. If you can hold the camera with a steady hand, be concise, and get to the point, your video will work. You’re not competing for an Oscar. You’re promoting your business.

Promote your videos in emails by linking to them, not embedding them. Insert a picture (a screen shot from the video) in the email and link that to a web page where the video will play. It is technically feasible to embed a video inside an email so it will play immediately inside the recipient’s email software. But this is ill-advised. Many people have email software that will not properly display videos.

Include direct calls to action in your video. Your videos should have a purpose tied to specific business goals. We see countless television ads that build brand awareness without having specific calls to action. That’s OK for big corporations with multi-million dollar ad budgets. But in your videos, you need to ask viewers to act—now! Register for the event. Visit our site to download the coupon. Visit our store today—the first 100 people to respond to this offer will get a special bonus. You have their attention. Take advantage of the opportunity.

Distribute your video to multiple sites and link back to your web site from the video. YouTube is the big one, but there are many other sites where you can post your videos. TubeMogul (www.tubemogul.com) is on online service that will distribute your video to multiple sites with one click. By doing this, you will expose the video to a wider audience, drive more traffic to your site, and improve your site’s rankings with the search engines.

Track who watches your videos. My company, MarketVolt, has partnered with Flimp, a company that hosts your videos and can track who watches them. Send an email that links to your video on the Flimp site. When a recipient clicks through, Flimp records that person’s email address and tracks how long that person viewed the video. Imagine sending 1000 prospects an email promoting your new product or service, and then being able to tell which prospects watched the video from start to finish versus which ones quit watching after 15 seconds. That takes prospecting to a new level.

***********************

This article originally appeared in St. Louis Small Business Monthly. Tom Ruwitch writes a monthly column called High-Voltage Marketing. You can read these columns and other great content for small businesses at www.sbmon.com.