Hello from PageOne Website Design and welcome to our 2nd quarterly newsletter. The goal of our newsletters will be to provide useful and practical information that you can implement into your business. If you have any suggestions or request for specific topics of interest for future newsletters please email them to me directly at davidk@pageonewd.com.
In this newsletter we will cover:
1. Small Businesses and the internet
2. A Weekly Networking opportunity in Schuylkill County you probably don’t know about
3. Marketing of yesterday versus marketing today
4. Pottsville Business Association – Media Day – What advertising options do you really have?
5. A message to all business owners from David Kunstek – PageOne Website Design Owner
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Small Businesses And The Internet
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The fact of the matter is that hundreds if not thousands of people are searching the internet for YOUR local product or service every day. The question is, can they find you? Typically what they will do is go to their favorite search engine, whether that is Google, Yahoo, MSN, ect… Then they will type in either the service they are looking for or the name of the profession followed by a locality. An example of this would be if someone living in Pottsville PA wanted to find a local landscaper they would type something into Google to the effect of “Landscaper Pottsville PA” or “Pottsville PA Landscaper”. With this type of a search they are most likely to get back a list of local landscapers and their website addresses.
Now, if your business does not have a website OR you have a website that does not get found for relevant searches, where does that leave you? Marketing your business online in this day and age is absolutely essential for its survival. If you really think about it the main purpose of your website is merely to position yourself in front of these people who are looking for your business at the exact moment when they are searching for and researching information about your profession or service.
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Networking / Marketing Opportunity In Schuylkill County
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In case you haven’t heard, there is networking group here in Schuylkill County called LeTip. It is a local chapter of a national organization, check out their website at www.LeTip.Com. I am proud to say that PageOne is a member of that group and occupies the profession of website designer. The nice part about the group is that only one representative per profession is allowed so there is NO internal conflicts of interest. We meet once per week over lunch, get referrals, give referrals and tell the group what kind of referrals we are looking to get the following week.
The really nice part about it is that everyone in the group gets to know your business well enough that when they hear of a potential lead they know just what to say to get you that referral. It’s very powerful stuff, and I can attribute about 40% of our business in the last six months has come from LeTip member referrals. There are a number professions that are currently unrepresented in our local chapter. If you would like more information please feel free to call out office at 570-794-5089, ask for Dave and we will answer any questions you may have.
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Marketing of Yesterday Versus Marketing Today
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All the traditional forms of marketing (Yellow Pages, Television Commercials, Newspaper Advertising, Radio, Billboards, ect…) that you may have used in some combination over the years was all done in order to position your business in front of a large audience and throw your message out there to the masses. This was done in the hopes that some of it will find the right people. All things being equal, your broad message was delivered to an untargeted and unqualified audience.
The main exception to the above methods was direct marketing, which follows the same basic concept of online marketing today. In direct marketing you would deliver your marketing materials to an audience that has either requested it or fits into a tightly targeted demographic of people that would be very likely to respond to your offer. Everyone that received your message is a potential buyer.
Internet marketing today is the taking of that very same concept and using it to position yourself online in front of an audience who is actively and purposefully seeking out someone that provides your very service. Now, you will not be delivering your message to 100,000 people, but you will be right there when someone from your service area goes to their favorite search engine and searches for someone who provides your very service in their local area. How’s that for efficient?
The bottom line is that your business needs to be on the internet. It needs look professional, it needs to convey the right message to your target market and it needs to get found.
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Pottsville Business Association – Media Day
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Have you ever wondered how many different types of advertising there is actually available to your business? Have you been considering looking at some different angles or options to try and get the word out about your business? While I would absolutely love to be able to tell you that a website and online advertising is the only way to go, I’d be lying if I did.
The bottom line is that every business today needs to be online, but they also need to examine all of their option for themselves. With that said the Pottsville Business Association is holding their 3rd annual Media Day on Thursday June 11th, 8:00 AM, at the chamber of commerce building. There will be brief presentations from a wide range of advertising media providers. It is a great opportunity to get some firsthand knowledge of what is available right here in the local community. PageOne Website Design will be among the presenters and we hope to see you there.
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A Message From David Kunstek – PageOne Website Design Owner
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It’s hard to believe it has been 3 months since we sent out our last newsletter. The response and support we have received has been absolutely overwhelming. We have been very busy considering the current economic conditions. We believe this is because we are offing much more than just attractive websites, we are offering solutions to help a business attract more clients.
But all that aside, the internet CAN SAVE a struggling business, small or large, size does not matter. If you offer a unique product or service or have a highly targeted audience to reach chances are you can do quite well in a local or regional market by being online, with a little work…..
Don’t think it is as simple as putting up a website and now you get flooded with appointments or online orders. You still need to do some marketing in the beginning to help make it known to your target audience that your website is there and you are ready for business.
For starters add your website address to all you materials, business cards, invoices, estimates, vehicles, any other advertising you do, add it to everything! Next you may want to look at some online strategies like Local Search Optimization, Social Media and even Pay Per Click advertising. The possibilities are endless!
What you end up with is an online extension of your business for potential clients to find. Maybe more importantly, you will have a place that your loyal and satisfied customers can direct their friends, family and business associates. Chances are that if they wanted to recommend your business in this day and age the easiest thing for them to do would be to rattle off your website address. My advice is to make it as easy as possible for them to do so and give your business that extra boost it needs to survive and even thrive in these tough economic times.
Until next time, thank you for reading and if you have any kind of website or internet related question please call me personally at (570) 794-5089.
Warmest Regards,
David Kunstek
PageOne Website Design
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