time for a marketing checkupHave sales at your business stalled? Then maybe it’s time for a marketing checkup.

SEO

When was the last time you updated your keywords and search phrases? The way people search is always changing, particularly since a lot of people are now speaking their searches into their phones as opposed to typing them. So try typing your main product word, i.e. “dog collars” into the search boxes of Google, Amazon, Etsy, even Pinterest and see what types of searches fill down, and then update your keywords accordingly.

Advertising

You have to advertise your business as it is still the number one way to drive traffic that actually converts into a sale. The money you invest you will make back and then some, so don’t fear it. A good rule is to make sure that advertising costs are no more than 25% of the revenue the ad generates. You have a variety of options Google ads to social media ads to online or print ads. If sales have stalled it is time to try at least one and measure the results.

Publicity

If you are not sending out at least one publicity pitch a week, you are missing out on free traffic. Make a list of all of the blogs that your target market reads and pitch the blogger a story idea that would include your product. Start with the smaller blogs as they are more receptive to submissions. Need a refresher? Read my blog post, “How to Pitch Your Products to Editors“.

Email Marketing

What about all those people who have previously purchased from you? Maybe it’s time to get in touch with a special offer (buy one, get one half off), seasonal sale, a giveaway or just to show new product releases.

Social Media

Which social media site brings you the most traffic? Then double your “posting” and “following” efforts on this site and you will likely double your traffic. Maybe there is a social media site you haven’t tried yet, like Instagram. Now is the time to see what traffic it can drive. If you can’t come up with interesting content ideas try my 365 Social Media Ideas Calendar, which gives you creative content ideas for every day of the year.

 

© 2017 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Time for a Marketing Checkup