The Chuck Woo Marketing Blog

Do You Have 90 Minutes To Be A Better Marketer?

2009-05-29T11:16:00.006-04:00

If you Google Armand Morin you will find
hundreds of thousands of pages, websites, books,
ezines & webcasts that either mention him or
teach some of his marketing secrets. I have been
a Armand student for many years.

I will keep this brief, because you need to watch
Armand's latest video. This just went live... But
you only have 72 hours to watch this video before
it's removed.

Armand Morin Video Expires May 31st

It's a 90 minute video (available for free)
from one of the world's top online marketers.

In it Armand discusses his latest strategies and
techniques for making lots of money with
Google Adwords and Membership Sites.

The only thing you need to be aware of is
that this video will be taken down on Sunday
night (so make sure you watch it before
then).

Here is the link again:

Armand Morin Video Expires May 31st

Enjoy!

P.S Remember, the video will be removed on
Sunday night (after that I think they might
be selling it). So watch it while it's free!

Here is the link:

Armand Morin Video Expires May 31st Click Here

Advertising and Internet Viral Marketing

2009-05-07T00:37:00.002-04:00

We've all heard the age old adage, "Treat your business like a business and it will make you money, treat your business like a hobby and it will cost you money." If there is one key element to running a successful business, it's advertising. Without effective advertising, even the best business will have a hard time surviving. Can you imagine IBM or Ford trying to increase market share without a consistent advertising campaign? No CEO would approve a business plan that didn't include consistent marketing.

Given the age we all live in, there's nothing more crucial to the success of your business than advertising on the Internet. Let's face it, the Internet has changed the very face of home-based business. If you have an online business, website or Blog, you must figure out how to market your business to the billions of Internet users. If not, you might as well be building your business in a vacuum.

The unprecedented success of cyberspace relates to four main characteristics - 1) Speed, 2) Reach, 3) Focus, and 4) Cost. Where else can you reach billions of consumers so quickly and for such a small investment? Comparing Internet advertising to conventional means of advertising (TV, Radio, Newspaper) is like comparing a horse drawn buggy to a Ferrari. There really is no comparison.

By advertising on the Web, you can instantly reach people who are actively seeking what you have to offer. People who read the newspaper or watch TV are a passive audience and most consider the advertising to be a nuisance. Even if they were interested, they would need to stop what they're doing to take action (make a phone call or visit a website). On the Internet, all they do is click a link and they're instantly visiting your site.

The Internet offers so many great opportunities for anyone and everyone, as long as you do your homework and think outside the box. Research is Key! Even if you're just starting to ponder an online business venture, remember that consistent advertising on the Internet is crucial to your business' success. Millions of individuals are connected to the Internet at any given time from all around the globe. The web opens up doors and opportunities galore.

Almost every type of business owner advertises on the Internet these days. A perfect example is the amazing success of the low-budget film "The Blair Witch Project" a few years ago. You probably didn't really see this "reality" style horror flick advertised on TV. Instead, the student film makers who came up with the idea thought it would be wise to advertise on the Internet.

They did this by building a website that cost them next to nothing. They then started a Viral Marketing campaign to spread the word. Once the word got out, through movie trailers & clips, everyone jumped on the Blair Witch bandwagon. No matter what you thought of the film, you have to admire the ingenuity behind this low-budget project that made millions of dollars. This is just one example of how strategic advertising on the Internet can be excellent for your business or website success. The success of Blair Witch all happened before the popularity of Blogs, Twitter and YouTube.

One great way to earn serious residual income online is by promoting affiliate sites via your websites and Blog. This way, you have a very low overhead (the affiliate company handles everything from website creation to products to shipping to paying commissions), very low risk, and the opportunity to leverage your time and money to generate serious residual income.

Advertising on the Internet can provide quick & massive growth for any legitimate business including your home based business. Just remember to choose your target audience wisely and focus your advertising on a very specific group. If not, you could waste a huge portion of your marketing budget on the wrong people. Picture someone trying to sell ice cubes to Eskimos.

Take the time to sit down and systematically come up with a game plan (business plan & marketing plan) for your business. (Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail!) Again, it comes down to treating your business like a business. All too often we see people attempting the "Shotgun Approach" of trying everything and focusing on nothing. This is a surefire way to max out your credit card with no guarantee of results.

A word of caution - Any form of advertising you choose should be the direct result of thorough research, careful planning, and due diligence. This time tested method of decision making has led to business success for centuries. Don't let anyone pressure you into anything that you haven't carefully and logically thought out.

The Internet and Viral Marketing can provide a great deal of exposure in record time. If you plan to succeed in your home business, be sure to leverage the speed and power of the Internet to your advantage!

Happy Viral Business Marketing,

Follow me on Twitter,
www.twitter.com/chuckwoo

Chuck Woo
www.chuckwoo.com
www.woomediaworks.com

www.onlinemarketingtools.net
www.googlebusinesscards.com

www.musicbiztoolbox.com
www.myspacehelperpro.com
www.musicbizinfo.com

Efficient & Effective Viral Marketing!

2008-10-05T20:39:00.010-04:00

Viral Marketing has been around since 1996, but has been in a constant state of flux since it was first used as a marketing tool. Although many people have heard the term for years, it is very surprising how few people actually know what Viral Marketing is and how it works.

When used correctly, Viral Marketing can make a huge impact almost immediately. On the other hand, incorrect viral marketing can be a major waste of both time and money. How can we ensure that our viral marketing efforts deliver the desired results?

First, let's make sure we are all on the same page regarding this mysterious advertising technique. What exactly is viral marketing? The definition of viral marketing is ... a method of advertising products or services that causes recipients to pass them on to friends, associates and family members. Viral marketing got its odd name because the word spreads like a virus.

When done correctly, one person will give it to a few people who in turn will pass it on to several other people. This is what makes viral marketing so effective. For instance, let’s say you developed an MLM training website (like the MLM Resource Center you're on right now) and offered the training FREE to 10 people, who in turn forwarded the site to 10 people, who in turn passed it on to 10 people each. This simple viral campaign would put your website in front of 1,000 people almost immediately.

Now here’s where it gets fun … if everyone passes it on to 10 people and this progression continues just three more times, one million people will have access to YOUR website. Continue the progression twice more and 100,000,000 people (100 million people) will have been exposed to YOUR website. And because the Internet is so efficient, it could realistically happen in a matter of days, weeks or months.

In the beginning, email was the only way to effectively start and execute a viral marketing campaign. In the decade since, viral marketing has evolved from a marketing strategy to an art form and there are many ways to accomplish the objective of creating a successful viral marketing campaign. Here a just of few of the ways you can start a successful viral marketing promotion:

* Email - This is where it all started. This is still the most widely used viral marketing medium, but government and ISP restrictions have made email marketing more challenging. Before investing in an extensive email marketing campaign, make sure you are working with a proven vendor and technology. When done correctly, this is still the best way to start and stimulate your viral advertising promotion.

* Blogging - Providing the tools on your website to enable bloggers to interact with one another is a terrific way to get the message about your product of service out there and being talked about. Bloggers have their ears to the ground for new products and services.

* Training Articles - By providing valuable resources to a targeted audience (home business owners, Internet marketers, pet owners, chefs, etc.), you can easily penetrate the market through the 'back door.' By offering high quality FREE training to specific niches, you increase your exposure and credibility, all in one fell swoop.

* Newsletters - eNewsletter and eZines are a variation of email marketing and can be very effective tools. If you include enough timely and valuable information, a good newsletter can drive up the number of visits to your website.

* Refer-A-Friend - If you add this with a statement saying that e-mail addresses supplied will never be shared with third parties, you can increase your potential customer list greatly.

The main thing to remember about effective Viral Marketing is that it all starts with a valuable tool or resource. The most effective viral advertising includes a product or service must provide tangible, measurable benefits at no cost to the recipient.

Once you have a product or service of value to offer, you have to get the ball rolling by 'seeding' your viral marketing campaign. Think of it like a snowball rolling down a hill. In the beginning, you have to work hard to push the snowball while it gathers mass and speed. After the snowball reaches 'critical mass', it begins to take on a life of its own. Your viral marketing promotion is no different. Get it started, keep working at it, and soon it will begin to promote itself.

Happy Viral Business Marketing,

Follow me on Twitter,
www.twitter.com/chuckwoo

Chuck Woo
www.chuckwoo.com
www.woomediaworks.com

www.onlinemarketingtools.net
www.googlebusinesscards.com

www.musicbiztoolbox.com
www.myspacehelperpro.com
www.musicbizinfo.com

The Email List & Your Business: An Ideal Partnership

2008-08-10T10:33:00.013-04:00

In any kind of business, marketing is such an important tool in the growth and development of your business or any kind of financial venture.

For this reason, even with the technology that covers online businesses, still, it needs highly revolutionized and very effective marketing strategies in order to boost productivity and sales.

Since the advent of the Internet, people started to flock to this new medium of information without even knowing its fundamental principles, how it works, things that are needed to survive in it, etc. Many people literally bombarded the Internet thinking that life would be a lot easier if they would invest in an online businesses.

Indeed, it is a well-known fact that you can find and earn money online, but only for those who know their way around and employ the best marketing strategy there is online. It's more than putting up a website and or Myspace page.

What people do not know is that online marketing does not have to be very complicated. It just needs the right techniques to keep you moving in the right direction.

Take for example the use of mailing lists, particularly opt in lists. Before, anyone ever dare to use opt in list thinking that it will not do any good for their business, think again. Some entrepreneurs think that building an opt in list is just a waste of time, energy and money. What they do not know is that, according to the “golden rule of the Internet,” money is in the list. More importantly, the lists and what you do with those lists.

It has probably been mentioned before, and is worth mentioning again, money is really in the list.

Why? Because with opt in lists, you get to keep your readers/subscribers on the hook by providing them with information, promotions, and other campaigns in order to entice them to buy again from you. Very few sales are made the first time someone lands on your website. Who are you anyway?

Basically, opt in lists are lists of email addresses of customers with their consent. This means that after the customer had closed the transaction in a particular web site, there is an option on whether or not they wish to subscribe to the mailing list of the online business for any future promotions, newsletters, or campaigns that they would like to be informed of.

Some websites use a free gift to entice the visitor to subscribe. You might use a free ebook, or a free song or ringtone if you are in the music business. If you are in the music business, ReverbNation has several fan tools to help you grow your list.

And because it is an option, the customers/visitors are not compelled to provide their email addresses to the web site. Plus, the web site owners will not be accused of spamming because emails that will be sent to the customers have the consent of the customer.

Creating an opt in list will be very beneficial to your site. In fact, it has been proven that in the two-step concept of selling, follow-ups are important to sustain the interest of the consumers. The other step is to obtain the interest of the buyer. Studies have shown that it takes a person at least 7 times before they recognize and remember your message.

Hence, in order to sustain the interest of your buying public, it is best to create an opt in list so that you can always give your buyers the chance to remember your products, your business, and your services, in which they have been satisfied with.

To know more of the advantages of creating an opt in list for your business; here is a list that would tell you the reasons why it is beneficial.

1. Opt in lists are the business’ most valuable asset

If you were to ask the owners of some online business about their most valuable asset, they will tell you that it is their opt in list. This is because opt in lists are customers’ lists that can provide higher probability sales in a more consistent and stable condition. Because with opt in lists, all you have to do is to follow up orders or sales through promotions and ad campaigns.

2. It is always available

The best thing about opt in list is that it never grows old. As long as your customer needs something to survive, your contact with them will never grow old. This means that you can always have a fresh, new transaction with them every time you inform them that you have new products or services. Every transaction is a new way of increasing your sales. Simply put, no opt in list = no sales (at the most).

3. Bigger opt in list would mean bigger profits

The more customer’s names and email addresses you have on your list, the more chances you have in increasing your online sales. Every name, every email address can be worth a hundred dollars that can be accumulated with each transaction

Hence, the bigger your list, the more money you will have the opportunity to make.

There are a number of opt in building services which provide list management and automatic responders. An autoresponder is a tool which will allow you to automate your follow up responses to your opt in lists. An autoresponder will allow you to follow up with timely messages which will reduce your workload. Some autoresponders are better than others. You want to choose one which has a high delivery rate.

Here are a few services that you should consider: Constant Contact will allow you to manage your database effectively. CC also has templates for your newsletter, business letters, press releases etc. They are very affordable and easy to use. CC provides analytics and timely information. CC doesn't offer an autoresponder. Click here for a Free Trial with Constant Contact.

Aweber is another service that most professional online marketers use. Aweber has an extremely high email delivery rate. They do require a double opt in, which means that your subscriber opts in to your list but receives an email with a link for confirmation that they really want to subscribe to your list. A double opt in list is a much stronger lists and keeps you from being labeled a Spammer. Aweber is only $19.95 per month and you can cancel at anytime. Aweber provides analytics, newsletter templates and a host of make sense features. Enter your name and email address in the signup box below and you can test drive Aweber Free. You can also signup for their service by visiting Aweber here.

If you are in the music business FanBridge offers email database tools to help you grow your fan base. They also provide tools to help you capture mobile phone numbers so that you can grow your text message opt in lists. Text Messaging is another subject for another day, however it is the future of online and mobile marketing. Every marketer should be building their text messaging opt in lists too. Click here to sign up with FanBridge. Fanbridge provides several free services.

Boiled down, opt in lists are not just ordinary mailing lists. They are the very core of any online business’ existence and survival. That is why for people who value most their businesses, they extend the same value they give to their email and text message opt in list. No wonder why most people regard it as the best partnership available online.

Happy Viral Business Marketing,

Follow me on Twitter,
www.twitter.com/chuckwoo

Chuck Woo
www.chuckwoo.com
www.woomediaworks.com

www.onlinemarketingtools.net
www.googlebusinesscards.com

www.musicbiztoolbox.com
www.myspacehelperpro.com
www.musicbizinfo.com

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Music Business Conference, Your Phone or Computer July 7th

2008-06-30T19:03:00.001-04:00

http://www.TheMusicBusinessTeleWebinar.com - Today's New Music Industry What You Must Know to Win! July 7, 8, 9, 14, 15 & 16th. 6 90 minute Knowledge Sessions - Industry Experts Share Trends, Tips, Tools & Technology. Free Label Software - Recorded Live

2008 Music Business TeleWebinar - July 7th

2008-06-28T11:56:00.010-04:00

OK, I have finally done it! Anyone that has heard me talk about my involvement with various music panels over the years knew sooner or later I was going to Just Do It.

So here it is . . . I am finally hosting The 2008 Music Business TeleWebinar - Winning In Today's New Music Industry starting on July 7th. It's a 6 night 90 minute Telewebinar spread out over 2 weeks. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday the first and second week. We start 9:00 PM EST/6:00 PM PST and Panel discuss timely topics for 90 minutes. We're recording it live, so even if you can't attend live, you can listen and watch around your schedule. Watch it over and over until you Get It! I am calling this 2008's Most Important Music Business Knowledge Event! Why?

www.TheMusicBusinssTelewebinar.com

I get invited to speak on a variety of music panels across the country. Usually these panels are about Marketing, Technology or Music Distribution. When I talk about Trends, Tools, Techniques, Planning and offer Tips . . . I can look in the attendees' faces and see that they are not getting it. SEO tactics, social network strategies, back-linking, videotone marketing and autoresponders are better demonstrated than orally described in 10 to 15 minutes.

Unfortunately, most of the hotel conferences and seminars don't offer multi media presentations, attendees are there listening to a panel discussion. There's usually no outline of the panel discussion. Then there's no recording, so by the time you get home, attendees have forgotten all of what they heard. Or, if they make it to a remembered website it's . . . "What am I here for again?" I am also always amazed on how many people come to these learning events and don't take notes. Don't even have pen and paper.

In 2007 I was fortunate to participate with Ernie Singleton, former President of MCA Records, Ty Cohen, online music marketing guru, & Lynn Jeter, PR for the Hollywood Stars, on Ernie & Ty's Music Business Teleconference. This was a Music Business Coaching Club call that happened once a week by phone. Fantastic Calls! Those coaching club members learned and heard from some great guest. It was more of an intimate call. Teena Marie was on our Publishing call. Her story was amazing. She's still helping artist learn about this business. Ernie's phonebook is so large though, I mean he can call Clive, Quincy, Diddy, Jay and a ton of other resources and get them on the phone.

Teleconferences are great ways to learn and are very popular. Distance learning is growing like wildfire. You only need your phone. Usually there's a recording so you learn better. There's no gas, hotel or new outfit needed. The 2008 Music Business TeleWebinar, slightly different from a Teleconference, gives you the option to either listen by phone or watch live from your computer. Watching from your computer allows you to see the websites that we are talking about. You can view the outline, you can view a Panelists presentation. Don't you love Technology!

I am excited about our Panel Topics and Panelists. We have Panelists who know a thing or two about their working professions. These are the people I speak with,listen to and or do business with. Our TeleWebinar attendees get contact information from all of our panelists. Most Panelists are providing a Panelist Premium from their business. So far we have over $1000 in Premiums for each registered attendee.

Week 1
July 7th - The Business, The Music Business
July 8th - Publishing, SESAC, BMI, ASCAP, Sound Exchange
July 9th - Songwriting, Producing, Showcasing, The Studio

Week 2
July 14th - Marketing, Social Media, Promotion,
July 15th - Radio, Distribution, Sell My Music
July 16th - Tools, Techniques, Online Widgets, Video

www.TheMusicBusinessTeleWebinar.com

Here are a few of the Panelists joining me: Patrick Faucher, Crystal Potts, Madalyn Sklar, Chris Knab, Allen Johnston, Ernie Singleton, Ty Cohen, Fiona Bloom, Chris Cabbott, Jason Rome, Candice Clark. Here are some of the companies represented on the call who will be sharing their knowledge and resources: Nimbit, Sound Exchange, NARAS, ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, Synchronicity Live, Sonicbids, SelectoHits, Disc Makers, Myxertones and a few I will announce later this week. Stay tuned.

Goal setting and planning are big parts of the success of any business. Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail. It's that simple! A number of musicians, artist and so called business people don't have a clue on how to set up their business properly. Should you incorporate? What state? Why Nevada? Why Delaware? How do I keep my credit for my business separate? What if someone sues me? The University of Corporate Building joins us on the Business Panel. They are going to answer those questions as well as how to build over $50,000 in corporate credit in 90 days. They say it's possible even if you have challenged credit. That should be a great call because financing music projects isn't cheap.

Here's another Bonus that we've added. I have been promoting label management software for musicians for some time. Even if they have no desire to have their own label, in today's music market you have to operate like a label. Even if, for some reason, you are still shopping for a major record deal. This software, that we are giving away Free, will organize your music business like never before. It does things like manage your BDS spins, intellectual property, expenses, radio play, marketing, promotions, various music projects etc. (Visit the website for more details on the software and how you can get your very own FREE Copy.)

Who should attend This TeleWebinar? Anyone that is in the music business. From the newbie to the group that's marketing their music. If you are trying to make money with your music. Or if you are thinking about getting in the music business. There are a lot of parents who have kids who want to be in the music business. The Trends, Tools, Tips and Techniques that we share are priceless. Just one technique which can help tweak your plan can be the difference of success and failure in this competitive business.

Registration:

You can choose week 1 or week 2 depending on your needs. Each week is only $99.00. You receive all of the Panelists Premiums. You also receive the convenient playback recording of your chosen week.

Register for both weeks before July 5th and get a 50% discount off of week 2. So for $149.00 you get both weeks. You get all of the Panelists Premiums and you get the Music Label Software Free.

Register for both weeks after July 5th @ 5PM EST and get a 30% discount off of week 2. So for $169.00 you get both weeks. You get all of the Panelists Premiums and you get the Music Label Software Free.

www.TheMusicBusinessTeleWebinar.com

There you have it. The cause of my excitement! The 2008 Music Business Telewebinar.

Join Us. Visit the website you can share this Music Business TeleWebinar Information with your entire email list just by clicking the share button. Thanks.

(Call me, comment here or email me if you have any questions. Just Google Chuck Woo, I am the first name at the top. You can find my number and email address from that link.)

I want to personally thank everyone that has had a part in helping me put this TeleWebinar together. Our Panelists, Each and everyone of you . . . Thank You for sharing your time, and knowledge. I didn't do this by myself. Ty Cohen, Ernie Singleton, Michelangelo, Mom, Thank You Thank You. Alan Palmer has been my life saver with his friendship, excellent graphics, timeliness and suggestions. If you need help with your graphics, image, brochures etc. Call Alan! Alan's story and health challenge is one of courage and determination. His resolve and positive attitude is what we all could use in our lives. Thank You Alan! Visit Alan's blog and send him a hello. psiplex.blogspot.com Visit His Graphics website here www.grfx1.com

Happy Business Marketing,

Chuck Woo
www.chuckwoo.com
www.woomediaworks.com

www.onlinemarketingtools.net
www.googlebusinesscards.com
www.doingbusinesswithpaypal.com

www.musicbiztoolbox.com
www.myspacehelperpro.com
www.musicbizinfo.com

What It Takes To Succeed In Business!

2008-06-18T00:52:00.007-04:00

Depending on who you listen to, there are somewhere between 120 million and 150 million entrepreneurs working from home. Again, depending on where you get your statistics from, a staggering 94-96% of those home-based business owners will not succeed with their enterprise. These figures are troubling for those of us who have achieved success in this amazing industry. Is there a hidden success formula that only a select few stumble upon?

For some time now, I have wondered, "Why is it that some home business owners experience such fantastic results and others struggle to even get their business off the ground?" I have studied the industry and characteristics of many successful people. I have compiled a short list of major characteristics that determine success.

According to Webster; en·tre·pre·neur [ahn-truh-pruh-nur, -noor] a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.

Fortunately for home-based Internet Entrepreneurs, we can minimize the risk as long as we maximize the initiative. I do want to preface this list with the following disclaimer - we have seen all types of individuals, from all walks of life, with all different backgrounds and skill sets succeed in their chosen home business. the 2 most important things that determine your success will be:

Persistent Commitment - this can best be described by the following cliché, "Refuse to lose." The most successful people in this business are not always the most talented, they are those who just never give up. This attitude starts with the belief in yourself, your team, and the industry. You can be certain that you will face challenges on the path to success, how you react to them will determine your fate. You must have the dedication and drive to make it work ... no matter what! Refuse To Lose!

Productive Action - the best planning and systems will do you no good without consistent AND productive action. You can have the most compelling websites, state-of-the-art Flash movies, and fantastic emails ... but if nobody sees them you are simply spinning your wheels. It all comes back to that famous question, "If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there, does it make a sound?" Your websites and business will be like that forgotten tree if you don't consistently take productive action and drive traffic to your site(s).

So once we start with the foundation of Persistent Commitment and Persistent Action, what other attributes will contribute to your success in your home Internet business? The list below is by no means all inclusive, but it will give you a good start:

Optimism – eternal optimism is the fuel that can drive you to dizzying heights, especially when you encounter frequent challenges. Those who view challenges as just another test and focus on the solution typically succeed. If every home business owner threw in the towel when they encountered challenges, we wouldn't have any home business owners. Always see the glass as half full, make that full (half with water, half with air) and you have given yourself a great chance to reach the top.

Consistency – the top people in any field always practice their craft. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Larry Legend did not rise to the top of their respective sports by practicing when they felt like it. Barbara Walters, Dustin Hoffman and Denzel Washington did not become megastars by showing up for rehearsals when they were in the mood. They decided what they wanted and consistently worked at it. The same is true with your home business. Consistency & Perseverance!

Creativity – thinking outside the box. Expanding one’s mind beyond conventional thinking. There are hundreds of way to build a home business, and who's to say which is the best. The key thing is to always be 'pushing the envelope', learning new techniques, and stimulating your brain. What the mind can conceive and believe, it can definitely achieve.

Stability – your team is looking to you for guidance. Stable, consistent leaders can count on a stable, consistent team. Make decisions based on thorough research, chart a course (plan of action) and then stick with it. Be stable enough to handle difficult situations during tough times.

Charisma – defined as a personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people. All good entrepreneurs/leaders possess a certain magic sparkle in their eye and are able to paint pictures and visions of the future. You can't motivate others (they must do it themselves), but you can certainly inspire them.

Risk-Taking – a true leader (make no mistake, this business is about leading others) is not afraid of taking chances when opportunity presents itself. Successful entrepreneurs understand that often "You have to go out on a limb to find the best fruit." This doesn't mean jumping into things before you complete your due diligence (like all those 'Get in now before it's too late' emails). Intelligent risk taking also includes thorough research and careful planning.

Energy – couch potatoes rarely become proficient at anything other than the remote control. Successful home business owners are willing to do whatever it takes to reach to the finish line. They understand that balancing their life is also important, so they must have the energy to drive their business and also spend quality time with family and friends. Working overtime is not uncommon on your way to the top.

The wonderful thing about a home Internet business is it provides a level playing field. Yes, you can succeed, as long as you are willing to grow, learn, and do what's necessary. When push comes to shove, most people simply aren't willing to do what it takes. Are you? If so ... Think BIG. Act BIG. Take Action Right Now and Make your business dreams come true.

Happy Viral Business Marketing,

Follow me on Twitter,
www.twitter.com/chuckwoo

Chuck Woo
www.chuckwoo.com
www.woomediaworks.com

www.onlinemarketingtools.net
www.googlebusinesscards.com

www.musicbiztoolbox.com
www.myspacehelperpro.com
www.musicbizinfo.com

Increasing Your Sales With Location Marketing

2008-05-31T17:28:00.016-04:00

Recently, I was called upon to review a client's Location Marketing Strategy for his weight loss centers.

Location marketing has come a long way since brochure/application "Take One" boxes were seen littered on store checkout counters. The location wall ads have turned into touch screen kiosks and WIFI Hotspot location home page banners. The old "Guess how many marbles in the jar" to win a health club membership were early location marketing campaigns.

Location marketing can be highly successful if you are located near or service the area of the location you are targeting. Locations that offer advertising opportunities usually attract a lot of people. Remember the bowling alley ads? Since people support businesses near their home, the chance to reach these people is greater at these popular locations. If you are a rental car company, it just makes sense to advertise at the airport.

The opportunity recently presented to my client was to have a 30 second commercial played on the overhead loudspeaker of selected Kroger Grocery and Walgreen's Drug Stores in Georgia. A professional 30 second audio commercial which will play once an hour for an entire year. They can choose zip codes or counties. Both Kroger and Walgreens are respected, popular and successful brands in their markets. Kroger is a billion dollar company and Walgreens is the largest drug chain in the US. hmmm

Currently my client is running print ads in neighborhood newspapers and zip code coupon mailers with moderate success. His question to me was whether there was value in trying to reach people in grocery and drug stores compared to what he was already doing. He explained that he was looking to open up more locations locally and nationally. Seems, there were other top market grocery and drug store locations available nationwide also. He explained that there were only 3 local companies that were going to be allowed in any 1 store at any 1 time, so he wanted to make a decision soon on some stores while they were still available. What were my thoughts? I told him that I would have to get back with him.

I jumped on Google with my new research mission; In Store Marketing, grocery and drug store statistics. I needed fast facts so that I could at least sound intelligent and justify my worth.

I was up for the challenge because I had recently read somewhere that In Store Marketing has been growing faster than Internet/online advertising. Most retail stores have some kind of in store music and branded store special ads running. In store marketing/advertising is shown to increase sales anywhere from 9% to 26% on packaged goods sold in store. K-mart had huge success with the Blue Light Special.

I discovered a study by the A.C. Nielson Company reporting that Americans are 7 times more likely to visit a supermarket than a convenience store and 3 times more likely to visit a supermarket than anywhere else in their community. How interesting, seems food doesn't discriminate.

Did you know that the average grocery store has between 15,000 to 30,000 customers per week? 90% of the weight loss center's customers live within 6 miles of the local supermarket. If you are a location driven with your business, chances are that this stat is true for you too. The average person/family visits the grocery store 2 times per week with each visit averaging between 45-60 minutes.

Not only do black consumers make more trips to the grocery store than the average shopper (2.2 trips per week vs. 1.9 trips), they spend more per week as well ($94 vs. $85), this according to a study by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) entitled "The African American Grocery Shopper 2000."

It was interesting to find that grocery stores spend approximately $20,000 a week for their own marketing. Grocery stores also employ more than 3.5 million workers across the country. These workers, their friends and family are potential customers too.

Who Shops in Grocery Stores? Not surprising that Female Head of Household - 69% Male Head of Household - 19% - Both - 11%. This is exactly who my client targets!

When I looked at drug stores, consumers are not only visiting drug stores more often, they are spending more when they are there. In spite of gas prices, drug stores have been able to increase weekly trips. Leading drug store retailers have also invested in marketing, merchandising and private label development to establish stores as beauty care destinations.

So, after all of my research, what were my thoughts? Well, let's look at some principles of advertising.

Advertising is supposed to have people think of you and your service more often than your competition! How do you stand out in your community? How do you become a "Top Of The Mind" brand? How do you turn your brand into a working verb like Xerox and Google?

Repetition, Repetition, and more Repetition! Too many companies run 1 ad and expect immediate miracles.

Branding is not going to happen with just one form of advertising. Coke, Pepsi, IBM, Xerox didn't get to be household and top of the mind brands by advertising just one way!

When considering any advertising, you should consider the following:

1) Targeting - By concentrating on those closest to you geographically or those demographically relevant, you target those most likely to buy or use your services.

2) Exposure - People have to see and or hear your ad frequently in order for it to be successful! It takes people on average 8 times to see or hear your ad before they remember that they saw or heard your ad in the first place.

I reminded my client that people could look away from his ad, but while in the grocery or drug store, they can't listen away from the sound of his ad. We have been conditioned to listen to sound from above, i.e. airport, hospital, grade school, car dealers, retail, UFO's etc.

3) Repetition - Customers must see/hear your ad frequently for 2 specific reasons

A) People have short term memory.

B) You will never know exactly when they will need your services or
know someone who does.

This form of Location Marketing definitely offered all of the above for my client.

Based upon the locations chosen, pricing for these commercials will cost my client less than 30 cents per spot. They will receive about 6000 grocery and 12,000 drug store ads per store per year. This campaign will place their ad in front of millions of people. This will run them about $200 per month per store chosen.

I contacted my client's in store sales rep and requested some references of companies currently advertising in stores. He supplied testimonial letters from car dealers, hospitals, real estate and jewelry companies. These companies were renewing their 2nd and 3rd time with them, which made sense for these kinds of businesses. Car dealers really benefit from repetition advertising. This is why you see them in print, radio and TV.

One thing's for sure, in order for advertising to work, you have to advertise!

After reviewing my client's advertising budget, goals and timing for new locations. After considering people's lack of nutrition knowledge, reaching people in the grocery and drug stores made sense for this client too.

I recommended that they offer a FREE nutrition assessment to gain shopper's attention. People like Free Things! I recommended that their ad sound more like a public service announcement (PSA), showing people that they care concentrating on branding their nearby locations and website. The message truly is the message!

Will Location Marketing work for your business? If you service an area close to one of the grocery or drug stores in the network, great chance that it will. Want to know more and get a list of top market stores in the network? Send me an email and I will put you in direct touch.

Happy Viral Business Marketing,

Follow me on Twitter,
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Chuck Woo
www.chuckwoo.com
www.woomediaworks.com

www.onlinemarketingtools.net
www.googlebusinesscards.com

www.musicbiztoolbox.com
www.myspacehelperpro.com
www.musicbizinfo.com

The Greatest Salesman Ever

2008-05-03T20:20:00.009-04:00

When you think about the greatest salesman ever, theoretically, arguments would last forever as to who that person should be. That rich guy in Babylon, Joe Vitale, Zig Ziglar, Dubya, Jay Abraham, Madame CJ Walker, Ray Croc, Charles Goggins would all have legitimate arguments for their respective ideologies, companies, products and/or services.

My friend Adam Bush recently passed after fighting Leukemia. Adam loved life and he persevered and fought long and hard! Although his chances were slim from the start of his treatments, I thought that if anyone could win that battle, it would be Adam. I never once heard Adam complain, wince or cry aloud about what he was going through. He blamed no one and continued to do what he loved all the way to his last days. He was a great man, son and father!

I met Adam 20+ years ago by fate. Adam had called in inquiring about the technology services of Megaplex the company I worked for at the time. I don't remember how, but one of our operators, Laverne Heard personally walked his lead slip back to me. Being one of 5 reps, any one of us could have got that lead but for some reason she gave it to me and told me that she felt I should call him. After my stint with Megaplex, I ended up working in sales for Adam.

Adam, in his twenties, had recently created Georgia Beeper an upstart communications company. GA Beeper's twist was that we didn't require a credit check for our customers. We were the only company doing this. It's hard to remember now but in the mid 80's beepers were the only way to instantly communicate. Back then, depending on the paging company, beepers might require a $450 deposit. So when GA Beeper came out with the no credit check hook, GA Beeper was an instant success. We also delivered the beeper to your residence or business. Brilliant!

We sold beepers in Atlanta like you wouldn't believe. Adam grew and employed 20+ people at one time. Adam was an innovator. He invented the "Super Beeper" which was a tone only pager matched with a feature rich voice mail box. Tone pagers had become obsolete once digital pagers were introduced. Adam found a way to buy cheap inventories of tone only pagers and extend their life by combining them with this voice mail box. Voice mail was new and just catching on and people saw value in voice recorded messaging. Adam was quick to find opportunity where no one else was looking.

Adam went into his studio and cut some catchy commercials and put them on the radio. Needless to say, the "Super Beeper" and GA Beeper sold thousands. Adam later changed the name of the company to BeepSouth Paging and ended up with 20+ locations spread around the metro. What was significant about this was that no one else was doing this. The other paging companies had offices that you visited to get your beepers. Adam brought the stores to the suburbs. This was well before the Verizons, Sprints and other communication stores as we know them today. Adam invented the communication distribution method that they use to this day.

Adam was a brilliant marketer! Brilliant in Sales. Brilliant people person. Adam was like a chameleon, he could blend with the janitorial staff, CEO or Heads of State. Positive attitude like you wouldn't believe. Always unashamedly optimistic! He was always a student to learn and he could quickly apply principles and concepts better than anyone I had ever seen. His early marketing training came with internships at NBC and ABC New York. It was with Jay Abraham and Dave Del Dotto that he learned his early marketing secrets. Adam would attend seminars, marketing and diversity workshops and conferences where he would learn new strategies. He was always 8 steps ahead of whoever he was talking to and was able to call on many people when he needed.

Adam moved into advertising where he worked with some of the biggest companies in ad placement and creation. Eventually, he came full circle and started a video production company where he produced and directed music videos, commercials and corporate videos. He was moving toward feature film production before his illness. Adam's work was always the best. Low budget music videos never looked low budget. www.adambushfilms.com

Adam and I shared a lot of similar interest. We were both technology and gadget people. We were fathers who loved, nurtured and supported our children. We shared a love for the art of marketing, advertising and sales. We loved video production and often talked about camera angles and music used in NY Under Cover and MTV. We worked on music projects together. There was nothing that this guy couldn't set his mind to doing and Just Do It! I could write a long book on why Adam Bush is a candidate for being one of the Greatest Salesman Ever.

At Adam's memorial service State of Man, one of Adam's video clients performed their song Swallow Your Fears. Adam directed this song's video and special requested that they play it at his service. They mentioned that they were a little nervous playing a rock song at a funeral. But once you heard this, guitar only, version of the song it melted your heart to tears. You understood why Adam loved it! It was truly his lifetime creed and theme . . . Swallow Your Fears! (See the video here)

At the service, others came forward to say how Adam had helped them to be better people. Many pointed to successes in their lives that they could attribute to his words, actions or examples. Many spoke in awe of things that they witnessed with Adam. How they were just amazed at how Adam worked any situation to his favor against all seeming odds. When trouble he was beset, he moved forward! I can remember that about him too! The next day, I sat down with Randy Fling and Adam's childhood friend John Johnson and we had a chance to "Exhale" about our friend.

I have sooo many stories that I could tell. I too am a better person, better marketer, communicator and sales person all for knowing and being associated with Adam Bush. No more Fiddle Faddle for me! Thanks Adam.

Friendship Is Truly Essential To The Soul and I will truly miss my Brother! Long Live The Spirit of Samuel Adam Bush! I miss you Sammy! Rest In Peace

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Website Mistakes That Kill Your Sales - Pt. 2

2008-04-26T15:45:00.009-04:00

In the first part of this blog, I covered 5 basic website design mistakes. This week I am going to highlight 5 more. Stay clear of these 10 mistakes to have a chance of a successful sales driven website.

Mistake # 6 – Confusing Navigation

Never require your visitor to have to figure out how to get around on your site, like a maze. Have a simple, clear navigation layout. It’s frustrating for your visitors to have to guess about your website, or to not know exactly where they are going when they click a link. A confused mind does not do what you want! A confused mind rarely makes a purchase.

Mistake # 7 - Music

Unless you are a band selling your songs, having music start playing automatically when your visitor reaches your home page is not a good idea. It’s subpar-cheesy and screams “I designed this site myself.” Plus, people have their own tastes in their music – most of them different than yours. Having music play/loop on your website might be just about the quickest way to cause your visitors to hit the back button as fast as they can.

Mistake # 8 – Frames/Too Much Java

Avoid the use of frames in the structure of your website. Search engines don’t like them. To prevent phishing, most updated browsers don't like them. They also increase the time it takes for your site to load. Pages using frames often can’t be printed. If your visitor likes an article they read in a frame, they often can’t book mark it from your page. This could have an effect on your return traffic.

Mistake # 9 - Boring and Wordy Writing

You can’t sell by boring your reader. Your headline has to get your scanner reading. But if your first sentence is boring, your reader will go on to the next site. The easiest next step for a reader to take is always to stop reading and find something else that’s more interesting. Each sentence must be so interesting that your reader reads the next sentence. Don't be ashamed to hire a sales writer. Watch the wordiness.

Mistake # 10 – Making it too difficult to buy

Make it as easy to buy from you as possible. The more steps that a buyer has to take, the less likely they are to buy. Sites often require too much information from the buyer. And filling out the order form is a multi-click process. The first page you provide your name and email address. The next page your provide your address. The next page you provide your credit card information. There’s too much friction.

Half of your shoppers, who are trying to buy, abandon the "Buy" process half way through. You've made it too difficult to do business. People shop on the Internet primarily because it’s convenient.

Always strive to reduce friction to buying your goods. Always strive to simplify!

There you have them, my top 10 Website Design Mistakes That Kill Your Sales. Are there more than these 10? Sure. Is there room for improvement from your website? Are your sales increasing from your website? Chances are you have some of these same design mistakes. Retool & Simplify!

Here's some additional great reading: Writing Sales Copy That Get Results!

Happy Viral Business Marketing,

Follow me on Twitter,
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Chuck Woo
www.chuckwoo.com
www.woomediaworks.com

www.onlinemarketingtools.net
www.googlebusinesscards.com

www.musicbiztoolbox.com
www.myspacehelperpro.com
www.musicbizinfo.com

Website Design Mistakes That Kill Your Sales

2008-04-13T19:50:00.005-04:00

I often get hired to critique websites after they are up. Oft my clients want to find out why their sites aren't hitting the sales numbers that they initially projected. Most of the time my client's have hired a web design person to build this award winning sales idea that they have for a product or service.

Web designers are great, but just because they can design doesn't mean that they understand online sales and marketing design. Just because they can create a website doesn't mean that they know how to maximize layouts for the sales of your products. Most of the time, to get paid, they want to make you happy by providing what You say you want. Here lies part of the problem. So what you get is a great graphical site that makes no sales. Looks great though!

Having ample traffic to your site also helps, because you can have the greatest website in the world, but if no one knows you are there, it is just a great website. For this blog post, I am going to concentrate on design mistakes which if corrected will help increase your sales. We will delve into building traffic another time.

Instead of placing all of my suggestions in just one posting, I am going to spread them out over a few postings over the next few days. Here goes:

Mistake # 1 - Opening your website with a Flash page

Opening a website with Flash (a mini-movie) can be very cool looking. Website designers and graphic artists love them because they are so pretty and it showcases their technical skills. But Internet surfers can’t stand them because they are usually searching for information.

A Flash page (which often takes a LONG time to load) stands between your visitor and the key information they are looking for -- also between your reader and your sales pitch.

When people type keywords into a search engine, they are looking for information. No one types “show me sites with Flash page introductions.” In fact, if a searcher gets to your site and is greeted with an elaborate Flash presentation, half will leave your site before they ever get to your sales presentation. Search engines also hate Flash pages. Search engines are interested in content and in delivering information to searchers.

Mistake #2 - Requiring readers to click a link rather than scroll to finish reading the information or sales presentation.

Award-winning websites want all information on a page to fit on your screen because it looks neater and tighter -- more award winning. It’s easier for readers to scroll than to click a link.

Scrolling allows readers to hold their finger on a button and scan your headlines and subheads. If something grabs their interest, they can read (without clicking). Clicking and waiting for another page to load takes time. It’s annoying to a reader. It’s a stopper -- kind of like intermission at a long movie or play. If the movie isn’t much good, the Intermission is often when they leave, for good.

The average time a surfer spends on a Website is about six seconds. Don’t waste time by making your reader click and wait to read. Put the entire article, your entire sales presentation on one page, even if your reader must scroll and scroll and scroll to read everything on the sales page. Now that's not saying that you shouldn't have sections to your website. But if you are selling a widget, have all the information about that widget on the same page.

Mistake #3 - Too many graphics, not enough attention to your sales copy

Copy sells. Pictures and graphics are supporting exhibits for the copy. The award-winning websites are mixed with copy and graphics -- and beautiful to look.

Copy sells because copy is needed to provide your readers reasons and compelling arguments for why they should buy and buy now. And copy allows you to start building a relationship with your reader, essential for having any chance of closing a sale. The Bible has no pictures, no photos -- just lots of text. And it’s the bestselling book of all time.

People search the internet for information (text), not graphics or pretty layouts. No one types “beautiful site with pictures” as a modifier to keywords describing their topic of interest. Plus, search engines can’t read graphics and so they can’t index graphics. And graphics take time to load.

What you want for your site is a nice, clean professional layout that’s almost all text. Pay attention to correct spelling!

Mistake #4 - Lack of focus

So often I get to a website and or Myspace page and can’t quite figure out what the website is selling or what I’m being asked to do. What is the message? Websites should be dedicated to selling one thing or one service, or asking your reader to take one and only one action (even if the only action is to read the article).

If you sell many different products and services, you should have many different Websites dedicated to each product and service you sell. The reason is, when people search the internet with their keywords, they are looking for one and only one thing. They will buy from the website that is selling that one and only one thing --because it appears to visitors that this is your area of specialty.

If you have a car problem, you want a mechanic to fix it -- not a jack of all trades handyman. If you have foot problem, you want to see a foot specialist, not a general practitioner. So if you make hats and pressure wash houses, have two websites, one dedicated to your hat designs, the other pressure washing houses. Narrow has always been the gate to paradise in direct marketing. This is even more true in the age of the Internet, where people are looking for your service or product with highly focused keyword searches.

Mistake #5 - No attention-getting headlines or subheads.

Web surfers are scanners. A headline is like a hand that taps your scanner on the shoulder and says “look right here.” Headlines and subheads tell your scanners what all this text is about. And it’s good for your headlines to say something unusual --if possible to peak “human interest.” Here’s a pretty good one: “How My 9-Year-Old Son Earned $750 Last Week With His New Online Business.” Free offers make good headlines, i.e.: “Here’s Your Free . . .”

Headlines are what literally suck your readers into your copy. If your headlines are fascinating, your readers won’t mind reading a lot of small print to get the details.

Ok, these are a few of the mistakes that I see on most websites. There are many more and over the next few days, I am going to post several more. As always I welcome your comments and emails.

Happy Viral Business Marketing,

Follow me on Twitter,
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Chuck Woo
www.chuckwoo.com
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www.onlinemarketingtools.net
www.googlebusinesscards.com

www.musicbiztoolbox.com
www.myspacehelperpro.com
www.musicbizinfo.com

Indie Label 101-MusicBizToolBox.com is A Must!

2008-03-21T17:36:00.011-04:00

About a year ago Bryan Calhoun, music industry insider, told me about his latest software project that he was working on. He was calling it Music Business Toolbox. It was going to be a working tool box solving several business issues that Indie Artist and Indie Labels face in the music industry. It was going to automate a lot of the grunt work of running the label and managing the artist projects. (If you read my blog you know I am a big fan of automation.)

We compared notes on what were the most pressing issues facing today's music artist and labels. Bryan consults a number of major and Indie labels. One of his major artist just won several Grammys and is one of the hottest artist out right now. Bryan regularly speaks or moderates panels at all of the major music conferences. Some of the hottest names in today's music market call on Bryan to help negotiate their revenue deals and solve their problems. I tell you this only to show that Bryan knows a thing or two about the music business.

We agreed that most Indie Artist/Labels didn't know how to identify business opportunities and revenue streams in Today's music market. How to set up the automated label to run like a major label. How to sell music online and how to track sales. How to track publishing payments from various royalty collectors. From a label's perspective, how to track expenses for several artist at the same time. When do they get paid? How to track expenses associated from various projects? How to do co publishing deals and track those payments? How to keep up with the release schedule? How do you track your intellectual properties? Is this CD too expensive to put out? What price do I have to sell it for to break even? How many radio spins did we have last week? How will marketing expenses impact the overall budget? Should we even do this project?

After my conversation with Bryan, I knew that this was going to be a huge undertaking for him. Bryan called me a few weeks ago and after months of hard work, told me that Music Biz Toolbox was finally ready. He asked me to check it out and to give him my honest opinion. I just finished my review and here's what I can tell you. WOW, It is exactly what you have been looking for! By far it's the best set of music tools that I have ever seen under one package. The part that I like is that the features are integrated. The part that you will like is that it comes with a FREE DEMO. I have all of my music clients outfitted with the Tool Box.

The Music Biz Toolbox (MBT) is not just an electronic book. It is a complete set of templates, spreadsheets, forms, applications, information and instructions for you. These music business tools provide easy-to-understand experienced guidance to help new and established label executives manage their companies and releases. Whether you are putting out your own album or starting a record label with several artists, the MBT will help you achieve your goals. Marketing, forms, radio, royalties, trademarks, publishing, splits, release schedules all included.

One of the things that I remember that Bryan said a year ago was that he wanted to make the Tool Box affordable for the mass artist and labels. I think that he has accomplished that by pricing it at only $49.95. Remember that there's a FREE DEMO, which makes this a real no brainer. Once you take a close look at the features and benefits, you will understand that he could be charging a whole lot more. Here's the link to his site www.musicbiztoolbox.com.

Much Success with your music!

Happy Viral Marketing,

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Chuck Woo
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www.musicbiztoolbox.com
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www.musicbizinfo.com

Making $$ Online In Your Underwear -Truth or Fiction?

2008-03-16T15:17:00.011-04:00

Back in 1996, I read somewhere that in the future people would make money with their computers online. In fact the caption headline was something like "Work from home in your underwear and Make Money!" As I sat and daydreamed about the day I could be making money from home in MY Underwear, I set out to learn as much as I could about Internet marketing.

At the time, I just wanted to subsidize my income from my then 9 to 5. Then 911 came and my six figure tech job decided to use the opportunity to clean house. I was laid off and I haven't had a 9 to 5 since! It hasn't been easy but I have been able to consistently grow a successful online marketing business. I sell all kinds of products and services. At last count, I have over 40 websites selling or sales supporting something.

My strength seems to be able to take products and or services, create a squeeze page with split testing, run some traffic and make sales. Sounds one two three easy when I say it, but it's not. I sometimes forget that I have been online for 11 years. I have been playing around with computers for about the same time. I studied marketing in college and I have been in sales for years. I believe in working smarter not harder so I automate a number of my basic daily functions. Many people don't have this experience and online marketing and admin is challenging to say the least.

Most people I speak with want to subsidize their income with online marketing. Some of these people have their own products and services and some don't. Some have bought into the online courses and joined a number of the "get rich quick" make 100K tonight schemes. They can always get excited about the online marketing potential but when it comes down to getting the work done . . . This is where their limited knowledge kicks in.

Everyone wants the quick one two three when it comes to making money online. Who has 10 years to putz around learning this stuff? Like the music business, everyone wants to be an overnight success!

If you find yourself in a similar situation, my words to you are that nothing happens overnight! I suggest always to learn and understand the basics. Once you learn the basics of online marketing you're in the drivers seat. Knowledge is power!

Kathie Lucas and Denise Hall have put together 47 Newbie Marketing Training Videos. I suggest these videos to my clients. They cover a ton of basic topics like . . . How to purchase a domain name, how to use FTP, HTML basics, how to set up your sales page, how to optimize your site for search engines. For $15.00, the price of a pizza, you could be well on your way to a successful career with online marketing.

Now true, you could just hire someone but then not understanding what they are doing doesn't help you in the long run. Why I suggest the videos is because you can watch them over and over or watch them while you are actually doing the work. You can use stop and pause functionality to learn while you work. Later if you still decide to hire someone at least they won't be able to take advantage of your lack of knowledge.

My experience says that making money online is both truth and fiction. Everyone marketing online is not making money but there are a lot of people who make hundreds, thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars every day/week/month/year online while in their underwear. Those are my kind of people! Now if I could just learn how to make money while I sleep!

Click Here to get more information and order Kathie and Denise's 47 Newbie Videos.

Happy Viral Business Marketing,

Follow me on Twitter,
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Chuck Woo
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www.googlebusinesscards.com

www.musicbiztoolbox.com
www.myspacehelperpro.com
www.musicbizinfo.com

Is Myspace Marketing Still Relevant?

2008-03-12T16:35:00.010-04:00

It seems like forever since I have had a chance to sit and write. Sales calls, new clients, new products and then on top of that, we moved Earwax ATL. With finding a building, negotiating the lease and 4000 boxes of vinyl records to move, there was little time to write.

Since I work with labels, artist and various businesses with their marketing. I have been answering questions lately about the relevancy of Myspace Marketing, so I thought it appropriate to address the subject globally.

The questions have come up because Myspace is not the media darling that it once was a year or two ago. Since Myspace has hit mainstream America, meaning all age groups, you don't hear people talking about it as much. A year ago, every day there was an article or TV news story either good or bad concerning Myspace. So the question remains, who's left on Myspace and do they really matter?

Several months ago, there was an article that came out that attempted to identify the demographics of Myspace compared to Facebook. You might remember that the implications were that Myspace was for the social misfits and Facebook was more of the affluent and educated. Hmmm. What are the code word messages here?

Although the initial upswing fever may have subsided, Myspace is still a source of great opportunity! Like all opportunities though, You have to be prepared for them. You have to recognize the gold mine opportunities and know how to extract them. Millions of people still use Myspace every day! For millions of people worldwide, their Myspace profile is their contribution and they take their space seriously!

Last year at music marketing panels that I would attend, people/artist/some fellow panelist would say "You know that all those people on Myspace are not real!" I would reply ok, so let's take 200 million Myspace profiles and cut that number in half. Let's go further and cut that in half, let's cut that in half and then take half of that number. If my math is correct that's still 12.5 million people/Myspace profiles. Still a population larger than Atlanta. Do you as a artist/person/panelist have any other source where you have the potential to reach 12.5 million people sitting in front of your computer daily? Free? Ok, cut that last number in half, do you have any other source to reach 6.25 million people? Free?

Myspace reaches several demographics. The problem that most people, artist, labels, businesses have with their Myspace marketing is that they don't have a Myspace/Social Network marketing plan. What do we really want out of our social network marketing experience? Usually, there's no focus on the profile page with a plan to extract any results.

On a minimum, Myspace or any social network should assist you in increasing your email list. Smart marketers know that the money is in the list or the things that you can do with the list once you have it. Many artist/business pages have so much irrelevant gooney goo goo, that the poor visitor is confused as to what they are supposed to do. Are they there to buy music/product? Listen to music? Read the unrelated blogs, view pictures, date you, view your scantily clad friends? In marketing, a confused mind never does what you want them to do!

Online, you have roughly 30 seconds to impress/excite someone or they are gone. They may be interrupted unexpectedly and may never return. How long does it take for your page to load with the 3 flash slide shows? What is your message once they are on your page? My marketing philosophy? "The Message is The Message! No message? No message!"

How often do you update your page/blog/schedule? Are you using all of the tools available on Myspace? Do you know how to target certain groups of people on Myspace? Did you know that Google is a great source to search Myspace information? Have you visited the Myspace forums? Did you know that leaving comments linking your website on your friends pages is a great way to achieve back links to your own website? Did you know back links help increase your organic search success? Did you know that you could integrate Myspace, Facebook and Youtube to your own website marketing building massive traffic?

Are you building your own brand while using Myspace or are you using your Myspace address as your website? You should be using your own domain name! Does your profile page have the look of buzz? Are your friend's comments relative to the rest of the information on your page? If you are an online marketer using social networks, is your sales message clear? Are you being creative with your messages and promotions? There are several web 2.0 widgets and tools that can help you gain Myspace marketing traction.

Consistency with your efforts is important too. You can't plant seeds this morning and expect a well kept garden overnight. Same with Myspace. i.e. People email you and you don't respond for months. Not good. Part of building a "SOCIAL Network" is to be social and timely. Work smarter not harder. Having a few standard reply emails saved can save you time.

Consistent friend building is important. It's not the size of your list but the relevancy of your targeted list that really counts in marketing. Give me 100 sure buyers over 10,000 tire kickers any day!

Videos. If you are not using video with your marketing, you are missing out on a huge branding opportunity. Fan base optimization, audience building etc. If you have the time to use Mypace and Youtube, you can really win! If you are marketing Videotones, Myspace is a great place to build an audience. Ask me how to monetize your videos with videotones.

SMS Text Messaging. There are several text message list building widgets that you should be using for any business or music page. Subscription or non subscription based text fan clubs are here. Myspace lends itself to help you build a great list too!

When people ask me for examples of good Mypace pages, I always use my friend Chris V of Soulful Playground's www.soulfulplayground.com Myspace page. Chris V has a music artist/music business Myspace page that works. (Chris recently changed his Myspace page and I am having to get used to this new one. His last one was my personal favorite.)

Notice that Chris V uses his own domain name and points it to his Myspace page. Smart branding! Once on the page, you will notice how clean and readable his page is. The page uses colors, clear images, well placed pictures, good music, solid backgrounds and snippets of information that draw you in. You read something new on this page on every visit. Makes you want to bookmark the page. Chris provides a number of music related services but he has separated them with graphics that command individual attention.

Notice how he uses "FREE" rewards as inducement for desired visitor action. He also gives the visitor several ways to reach him, this technique allows him to grow his list. Through this one Myspace page Chris has collaborated on hundreds of music/ merchandise related projects worldwide. Chris also communicates on message boards and forums promoting his site. By using various innovative promotions Chris is able to keep his audience interactive. Just look at his page stats.

For Earwax Records we targeted our Myspace friends within a 50 mile radius of the retail store. We also target local people new to Myspace. Why? Myspace bulletins automatically appear on Myspace profile back office pages on profiles with less than 1000 friends. This way we have the majority of our friends able to easily view our in store sales bulletins when we send them out. We also allow labels, artist and businesses to reach our local targeted audience with our timed bulletins. The Earwax Jazz Myspace page targets Myspace profiles that use jazz keywords on their pages. No sense in trying to target and convert a pop music fan into a jazz music fan. Our Gospel page targets gospel related keywords and provides over 1500 daily views to our Gospel Video Network etc etc.

Learn to use niche marketing strategies with your targeted Myspace Marketing!

One of my clients used targeted Myspace marketing to grow their business by $60,000 per month. How? They are a restaurant/lounge in a small South Carolina Community. We targeted their potential Myspace audience within a 50 mile radius of the restaurant. They started Myspace emailing and commenting about their upcoming list of music showcase events. They included select menu specials and grew their lunch, dinner, lounge, bar and weekend business revenue by 200%.

So the question still remains . . . Is Myspace Marketing Still Relevant? Yes and No! Not relevant, if you don't know what you are doing. Yes relevant if you do! One thing is for certain; If you keep doing what you are doing, you will continue to get the results that you are receiving! Listen to me now, believe me later on!

Here are a couple of websites which might also help your music marketing.

www.musicbiztoolbox.com
- This will help you run your label like a major.
www.myspacehelperpro.com
- This will keep you buzzing on Myspace
www.mysocialnetworkhelper.com
- This is software if you want to handle your own Myspace promotions.
www.musicbizinfo.com
- This site has hundreds of video excerpts from music marketing conferences.

Here are a few winning Myspace pages

www.Myspace.com/findyourwhy

Happy Viral Business Marketing,

Follow me on Twitter,
www.twitter.com/chuckwoo

Chuck Woo
www.chuckwoo.com
www.woomediaworks.com

www.onlinemarketingtools.net
www.googlebusinesscards.com

www.musicbiztoolbox.com
www.myspacehelperpro.com
www.musicbizinfo.com

Get Paid on 100% of Your Website Traffic -

2008-01-26T20:28:00.003-05:00

I know this is shocking to see two blog post from me in less than a week but between websites, clients and a growing online business, I am trying to do better!

The purpose of The Chuck Woo Marketing Blog is to share marketing information that will help my readers improve their online and offline marketing. I am always looking out for new ways for my readers to make more money online with less effort. I am always looking to provide you with the best marketing tools which will make your marketing efforts automated or as close to it as possible. Work Smart Not Hard is definitely my marching orders to my readers.

Recently I came across a new innovation that you need to hear about because it may affect the way you earn with your website in the very near future. It definitely will add another revenue stream to your website. When I read this following headline, I had to find out more . . . "Get paid on 100% of your website traffic, no clicks necessary!" My first question was . . . How is this possible?

Well, as you may know, major television and radio networks are in trouble and scrambling because their advertising revenue is dropping. They are losing market share and revenue at a dramatic pace.

For the first time in history, website owners are sharing in the ad revenue that was formerly spent with the giant TV and radio networks.

Advertisers like Harley Davidson, HBO & Taco Bell are willing to pay website owners like you on 100% of your website traffic to make up for the loss of viewers that the big TV networks are experiencing. Most of your websites are niche or target focused. Advertisers love this! You can choose whether you will allow political ads, but think of the revenue you could earn allowing the party of your choice to run ads on your website. This is the voting year!

Do your online business and your pockets a huge favor. Stop what you are doing for just a moment and learn how you can earn revenue on 100% of your website traffic even if your visitors don't click any links on your page. If you can keep your visitor on your site for 2 seconds, you can win with Pay Per Play. Why hurry? They are still in Beta and could close the door on adding additional websites at anytime. So while the door is open . . .

This is a F*R*E*E, let me repeat that, This is a FREE Opportunity that is taking the online advertising community by storm. I signed up as soon as I read the details on their website. I have the code placed on my sites waiting for official launch day. Think of the benefit of having association from your website(s) with recognized national advertisers.

This is bigger than radio, television and all other forms of media combined because it involves You and Your website plus it's viral viral viral! All you have to do is continue driving traffic to your website. There's also no obligation to keep the service for any length of time.

Get full details and sign up here by following this link. PAY PER PLAY BETA FREE LINK

Don't have a website? Enter your name and email address to the left of my blog page. For a limited time only, I will immediately email you "Bloggers Secrets" which is a step by step book on creating, marketing and monetizing a blog on Blogger. You could have your blog up in minutes. I used this same book to create this blog. Setting up a 'Blogger' Blog is FREEEEEEEEEEE. I Love Google!

BTW, when you enter your email address, I will first send you a confirmation email, make sure you click the link in that email to confirm your membership to receive your Free Blog Setup Book.

Happy Viral Business Marketing,

Follow me on Twitter,
www.twitter.com/chuckwoo

Chuck Woo
www.chuckwoo.com
www.woomediaworks.com

www.onlinemarketingtools.net
www.googlebusinesscards.com

www.musicbiztoolbox.com
www.myspacehelperpro.com
www.musicbizinfo.com

MusicBizInfo.com - Music Biz Video Tutorials

2008-01-24T21:55:00.003-05:00

As a Marketing Consultant connected to the music industry, I speak with a number of artist and record labels daily about their online and offline music marketing. Help me sell my music is usually the battle cry. Today's global music marketing seems to change every week. If you don't take action today, today's innovation and techniques quickly become tomorrow's "been there done that".

Nowadays it's not enough to be talented, you must also be creative, focused, connected etc. To really stand out you must have a plan, business plan, team and a budget. Majors are not handing out contracts like years before. Majors are not building careers like in the past. Want to get a Major deal? You almost have to become a Major on your own first. Maybe that's not such a bad thing. Never before in the history of the music industry has the playing field been so level. Artist and Indie labels can really win big in today's music market.

Overall, I find that artist have lots of passion and desire but are usually really short on understanding real business, the total business of music and what it takes to succeed. Too many times artist want to be famous but don't want to take the time to learn how to do real business in the music business. This is one of the reasons why you see Indie artist who are hot for a minute and then they disappear forever. One thing's for sure fame doesn't equate to fortune! There's nothing worse than being famous and broke!

Artist don't always grasp the intricacies of what it takes to launch a successful music project. They also don't fully understand the best ways to market themselves. How to get paid with their music other than pressing up CDs and hoping they sell. Have you developed 7 streams of income with your music?

I also find many labels who don't understand online or off line marketing. Online marketing i.e. how to build consistent online traffic, how to use social networks to win, how to convert visitors into fans then into buying and returning customers. How to build opt in fan lists online and via mobile. How to automate simple web functions that can save time and money. How to use interns. How to properly set up a selling Myspace page. How to market and sell music internationally. How to get music placed on TV, movies, games. How to collect royalties, copyrights, Sound Exchange, properly setting up the corporation, etc. How to raise money from investors is usually a missing element too.

Today's music marketing includes mobile, direct marketing, online marketing, email marketing, live shows, soundtracks, media, music cards, International. I tell artist and labels all the time that they can make more money with their videos than with their songs. YouTube and Myspace are excellent places to build a supporting audience for your video music. Viral Viral Viral and more viral.

Here's an example of one of our new music marketing projects. We have a country music artist that we placed 40,000 music cards with a fast food restaurant. The restaurant is going to give the plastic music cards away part of an in store promotion. The Card features a picture of the artist there's also branding for the restaurant. Inside of the music media file is a printable survey from the restaurant. The cardholder rushes to download the music and or print the returnable survey sheet which means more free food.

What's in it for the artist? The artist has 40,000 new people that become familiar with his name, face and hopefully music. There's also the 40,000 email addresses for his opt in fan club. With our music card the artist receives his 40,000 download soundscans. (Huge)Plus the artist made some money and participated in a Free production. The artist also now has a successful promotion project to write about, blog or video blog about, press release about. The restaurant has a cost effective customer friendly, cool web 3.0 measured promotion with a "Be Back with survey" customer. More about effectively marketing music cards in one of my upcoming blogs or call me.

2007 saw me on a number of music industry/seminar/conferences/record pool info panels. From Billboard, SUMC, Soul Summit to Remix Hotel with Hank Shocklee. (I am still apologizing to Hank, long story.) I was also fortunate to be a part of Ernie Singleton's Music Industry Teleseminar with "music marketer" Ty Cohen and "PR to the Stars" Ms Lynn Jeter. From all of this, one thing that stood out to me, was that people listen but they don't always comprehend what we share with them. Some don't even take notes. When I start talking about autoresponders, domain name registering, forwarding, back links, double opt in, split tests, on deck, videotones or online marketing in general, well you get the picture. Our teleseminars worked better than the live seminars, in my opinion, because our guest atleast had replay opportunities where they could study, ponder and reflect.

From these experiences, my mission became to create a music marketing video resource that would give artists and labels video music marketing tips. We wanted music marketing infoseekers to have access to various marketing experts. I wanted a solution that was 24/7 on demand so that infoseekers could visit anytime. Plus, I wanted it to be free. So our web developers came up with a solution that we hope you will find as a valuable music marketing resource.

We relaunched www.musicbizinfo.com as a FREE Music Marketing Video Network. To our knowledge it's the only online video network dedicated to Music Marketing. We have compiled thousands of music marketing and online marketing videos. Videos range from past music seminar recordings to one on one promotional tips from other marketing experts. If you browse the search terms on the left side of the page, you can find marketing videos which are not music specific but still offer great information and resources. The related ads on the page will share books and other resources. Visit the pages and learn!

How have people taken to the new www.musicbizinfo.com? Well, we relaunched only a few days ago and according to our traffic report, which you can see here at Alexa.com, we have dropped from a 4 million site ranking to 1.9 million rank. This past week we dropped below 800k. I am pleasantly surprised to find that on average visitors to the website clicked on over 40+ pages.

We have some very well respected consultants who have legitimate music marketing information. You never know where and when you will get that million dollar idea that you can implement right away. Visit the website, bookmark it and if you feel it can help someone by all means point them in the right direction. www.musicbizinfo.com

Have questions? Feel free to contact me here with a comment or just google me. Google will provide you my name link at the top of the page, click there and you can send me a private email.

While you're here on this page, register on the left for this Blog, for a limited time, I will send you Free the same step by step book that I used to set up this blog.

Happy Viral Business Marketing,

Follow me on Twitter,
www.twitter.com/chuckwoo

Chuck Woo
www.chuckwoo.com
www.woomediaworks.com

www.onlinemarketingtools.net
www.googlebusinesscards.com

www.musicbiztoolbox.com
www.myspacehelperpro.com
www.musicbizinfo.com

Is Your Money Really Safe with PayPal?

2008-01-10T00:42:00.003-05:00

Recently, I had a chance to read the book Doing Business With PayPal. What initially caught my attention was the headline about having your PayPal account frozen. It hit me especially because I use PayPal everyday with a number of my online businesses. The thought of having my account frozen today or tomorrow and being at the mercy of someone maybe in another country wasn't a good thought at all.

As online marketers we take pride in having our website just right, our squeeze pages just right, our products and or services just right, but we give little thought to just how safe our money and transactions are online. What would we do if our accounts were frozen? How would we take orders? How many websites would I have to scramble to change? Who would I use to process my orders? What would happen to the money in my account? All great questions.

What really put my wheels in motion and made me read the book more than once was when I Googled phrases like "PayPal Froze My Account" and "PayPal Horror". Now, I go back with PayPal to the days when they were x.com well before the eBay purchase. Remember back 6 or 7 years ago when most people were really afraid to use their credit cards online? PayPal was instrumental in filling a huge void in online money transactions.

Over the years PayPal has become that well respected "Online Bank". But the fact is, they really are not a bank! They are not a credit union not even a financial institution for that matter. There's no FDIC insuring your deposits. No watchdog group insuring fair practices. No arbitrage for disputes. There's no drive up local bank like my Wachovia. Just a phone support group located in who knows where. BTW have you really read PayPal's Terms & Conditions?

With Internet fraud now approaching the billions, I am sure that PayPal has their hands full with keeping up with phishing scams and the daunting task of monitoring millions of daily transactions, converting currencies etc. With millions of accounts worldwide, this is a challenge in itself. Bottom line you have to use PayPal. Your customers trust them. You might as well learn how to do business with them. How to avoid the pitfalls. Did you know that there are people who have had their account frozen and they were the victims? Read the author of the books story.

What I found helpful about the book Doing Business with PayPal were the tips on what to do and what not to do. Places where you shouldn't ever check your money accounts. How to properly set up your website sale buttons. Alternative online processors that you should have just in case. What to do if your account is frozen. What documentation will you need? This was well worth the price of the book.

I was so impressed with the book that we asked the powers to be if we could offer the book to our blog members at a reduced price. To help get this powerful information out to the public they agreed. If you use PayPal to receive or send money. If you use PayPal to process orders for your website. If you are selling your music using PayPal. You Must Read This Book. www.DoingBusinessWithPayPal.com

Bonus Offer - I am going 2 steps further for my blog members. I always like to make sure that I provide people with additional value for their money. So everyone that orders this book, Doing Business with PayPal and sends me a personal email saying "I ordered, Send Me The Bonuses" I am going to, after I verify you did order, send you two additional bonuses. The first bonus that I am going to send you is "Squeeze Page Generator" which is a fantastic software package which will help you create niche opt in pages in minutes. It's all about the opt in page. This software retails for $67 to $127. Increasing your list is the first step in being successful in online marketing. The second bonus that I am going to send you is the book Positive Thinking To Build Up Your Internet Business And Yourself. I am a super big believer in feeding the brain positive thoughts.

I am interested in hearing about your experiences with PayPal both good and bad. To your success marketing online and off.

www.DoingBusinessWithPayPal.com

Happy Viral Business Marketing,

Follow me on Twitter,
www.twitter.com/chuckwoo

Chuck Woo
www.chuckwoo.com
www.woomediaworks.com

www.onlinemarketingtools.net
www.googlebusinesscards.com

www.musicbiztoolbox.com
www.myspacehelperpro.com
www.musicbizinfo.com

Personal Branding 101 - Show Up On Top!

2007-12-28T23:11:00.002-05:00

Have you ever searched for your name on the web? What did you find? Depending on the commonality of your name you may have appeared on the first page or you may have been buried on page 34,000. Now you can create what you want people to see . . . a web profile that displays your best self.

In business, research shows that if you or your company don't appear on the first few pages on Google or Yahoo, chances of your customers finding you are slim to nil. Well we stumbled on a solution that will get your great name, your bio, your resume, bulletins and your company links to the top of Google and Yahoo.

This solution will cost you $9.99 per month and includes unlimited clicks. There's no SEO involved. There are no long term commitments and your listing will be up in less than an hour although their website says 24 hours. Your name and information will appear on every page searched on using your name . . . even on page 340,000 if there are this many search pages with your name.

Think of the marketing potential as you look to brand your name, business, resume etc. Being at the top of the search engines is great for all types of business including doctors, marketers, musicians and artist to name a few. You benefit when you can control what the web says about you. Add new meaning when you, with confidence tell someone to Google you.

Here's the link that you need to get started www.GoogleBusinessCards.com

Want to see how this tool works in action? Go to www.google.com and search my name Chuck Woo. There I am right on top. Go to page 397,000 and there I am too. Now get over to www.yahoo.com and search Chuck Woo. On Yahoo, I am there on the right. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and there I show up in the sponsor section. How about that? Chuck Woo sponsored over 900,000 pages between Google and Yahoo for only $10.00 and unlimited click thru's.

Look for upcoming marketing tips, information and discoveries at www.chuckwoo.com

Happy Marketing

Chuck Woo
www.chuckwoo.com

www.onlinemarketingtools.net

www.doingbusinesswithpaypal.com
www.musicbiztoolbox.com
www.myspacehelperpro.com
www.musicbizinfo.com