Simple, Practical Marketing Plan Software
August 29, 2008
Not sure where your small business is going?
Has your phone stopped ringing?
You may need a marketing plan.
Creating a marketing plan doesn’t have to be a month-long project. John Jantsch recommends starting with the simplest marketing plan outline — the 30-minute marketing plan — then circling back to add detail as implementation progresses.
Marketing Plan Pro is the fastest, easiest way to write a marketing plan. More than that, it gives you a live roadmap to implement real programs and marketing activities that will make a measurable difference in your business. Don’t just plan it — do it!
- Focus on action, not words
- Choose your level of detail
- Get practical advice at every step
- Create forecasts and budgets
- Present your plan in style
- Track your progress
- Publish your plan securely online
Should I Start A Wiki?
August 14, 2008
Image via Wikipedia
I have written about several web-based collaboration tools, but have not dedicated any space in this blog to wikis. I often use Wikipedia and have been involved in projects completed by utilizing wikis as collaboration platforms. Now it’s time to shed some light on them as wikis can be very effective in managing group projects.
Tikiwiki.org features a pretty sophisticated collaboration and project management or maybe even an online community platform. TikiWiki can be your Groupware/CMS (Content Management System) solution. It has the following features:
- Wikis (like Wikipedia)
- Forums (like phpBB)
- Blogs (like WordPress)
- Articles (like Digg)
- Image Gallery (like Flickr)
- Map Server (like Google Maps)
- Link Directory (like DMOZ)
- Multilingual (like Babel Fish)
- Bug tracker (like Bugzilla)
- Free source software (LGPL)
DokuWiki provides less customization options than TikiWiki. Small business owners may prefer this solution as it is easy to implement and use. Some organizations may even set DokuWiki up as a website, especially when they need to provide information such as guidelines or purchasing policies.
The most popular wiki (open source) currently available is MediaWiki with familiar interface (Wikipedia).
Creative instructors can use wikis to make courses more interactive and engage today’s students in a range of environments such as high schools, small colleges, universities, and online schools.
For more detailed information about wikis go to Stewart Mader’s blog Grow Your Wiki.
Not convinced? Watch Wikis In Plain English.
Extra credit assignment: Watch Blogs vs. Wikis.
Content is King, President and Pope
August 6, 2008
I just finished re-reading an excellent book The New Rules of Marketing & PR.
Some stuffy PR guys would probably like to challenge the contents of this book as it does not promote the old truths of PR and marketing. David Meerman Scott has focused on explaining the world of opportunities that have opened up for aspiring journalists, marketers and small business owners via web-based tools and services. Free or low cost applications such as blogs, podcasts and social networking tools such as MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn are changing the old rules. Niche buyers can be reached with targeted messages that cost a fraction of big-budget advertising campaign. In addition, these marketing efforts often allow instant feedback and measurable results, so the “train can be stopped much sooner when it’s headed to the wrong direction”.
One-way interruption does not work as well as it used to. Instead, marketers have to create a dialogue with potential buyers and deliver useful content at the moment their prospects, buyers or constituents need it.
Readers learn that online marketing is not about pretty websites either. Per Meerman Scott, content is not only KING, but President and Pope as well. The key to interesting and entertaining content is the collaboration between the different departments of the organization. Websites cannot be stale either – content needs to be fresh and the reactions of the visitors should be measured and analyzed, so the content can be improved. I agree with all these points as I prefer information rich blogs and websites to flashy and design driven sites.
Here are some steps David Meerman Scott suggests for creating thoughtful content. These steps apply to websites and all social media tools in my opinion.
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Do not focus on writing primarily about your company and products. Content should be designed to solve buyer problems or answer questions.
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Define your organizational goals before you design your website.
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Based on your goals, decide whether you want to provide the content for free without any registration, or you want to include some kind of registration mechanism (much lower response rates).
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Think like a publisher. Consider buyer personas.
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Write for your audience. Use examples and stories, make it interesting.
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Choose a great title that grabs attention.
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Promote the effort like crazy. Offer the content with easy-to-find links.
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Alert appropriate bloggers, reporters and analysts that the content is available and send them a download link.
What is the main reason I like The New Rules of PR and Marketing?
It gives easy to read instructions on how to become a thought leader while remaining authentic and transparent. No need to pay a top dollar to reach your audience if you have expertise, find your voice, target a specific group of people and keep improving your skills.
Educate, entertain and motivate!
Quote of The Week
August 1, 2008
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”
-Zig Ziglar
