SENSIBLE MARKETING for Startups and Small Business

How Marketing Gimmicks Killed Helio

Sensible Marketing — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:32:31 +0000

Yesterday an email from Helio caught my eye since I’m considering switching cell phone providers. The email promotes one of their slick handsets, The Ocean, for just $99.00– a great price considering it is normally over $300! In case you didn’t know, Helio is a cell phone company–founded by serial entrepreneur Sky Dayton and backed by SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) and Atlanta-based EarthLink (NASDAQ: ELNK).

I’ve always admired Helio for their no-nonsense approach to marketing. In fact, when they launched in October 2005, Helio and Sky Dayton promised to “End Confusing Rate Plans and Cheap Gimmicks.” Something went terribly wrong….

Reduce your marketing costs while getting more qualified leads and improving sales! That's what Sensible Marketing is all about! Call +1-310-861-7572 or email michael@SensibleMarketing.biz for more information.

Describe Your Company in 60 Seconds

Sensible Marketing — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:28:59 +0000

Can you describe your company in a clear, compelling way in 60 seconds? Many people refer to this as an “elevator pitch”, because you of the hypothetical situation where you may be in an elevator with an investor and you have one uninterrupted minute to tell your story before he gets off the elevator at his penthouse. Happens all the time..right?

It will happen, most likely not in the elevator, so I recommend that you prepare yourself with 60 seconds of important information about your company that you can use in various situations and timeframes….

Raising Capital – Top VC questions & how to answer!

Sensible Marketing — Sat, 30 May 2009 00:05:16 +0000

Some entrepreneurs are great at presenting and terrible at Q&A. Some are the opposite. It is important to shine during both portions of a pitch. A quality presentation shows that you understand your business and can explain it well. A quality Q&A session shows how you process and respond to challenges and gives a glimpse of your personality.

B2B Marketing in a Recession: 7 Secrets for Success

Sensible Marketing Guest Author — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:45:43 +0000

Should B2B marketers change their strategies during a recession? Does a recession always mean marketers have to work even harder to find ways to do more with less? Can a recession create opportunity for smart marketers to grow and thrive?

Are we in a recession?
First off, let me explain I do not think we’re in a [...]

Pay For Action Adsense A Fundamental Problem

Sensible Marketing — Thu, 21 May 2009 16:32:26 +0000

Ever inventive, Google has been sending out emails to select Adsense publishers regarding a new pay for action program. This is bad news for publishers promoting Adsense.

Marketing and design best practices to help your brand succeed in tough times

Sensible Marketing — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:41:04 +0000

Internal branding and brand evaluation: what you can do to reinforce your brand.
1. Live your brand at all times. You never know when you may be talking to a potential customer or investor. If your brand image is modern and professional, make sure you portray that image in all your activities, both in and out [...]

A Successful Newsletter: What Is It And How Do You Get One?

Sensible Marketing Guest Author — Sat, 09 May 2009 18:34:21 +0000

Newsletters have long been a great way for businesses and organizations to keep in touch with their customers and members. Even in these days of the internet, a successful newsletter is a valuable commodity.

11 Internet Marketing Skills That Must Be Second Nature

Sensible Marketing Guest Author — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:53:57 +0000

There are certain skills that you must firmly grasp before you tell folks you’re an internet marketer. If you don’t, and I hear you tell someone “I’m an internet marketer!”, I’m going to stalk you in my Toyota Prius and pin you to a fence.
You need to know the following, inside-out, backwards and forwards. They [...]

Environment-friendly Ways to Obtain Full Color Prints for Advertising

Sensible Marketing Guest Author — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:37:14 +0000

Going green is now the hot new trend. I hate to say that, but if being “trendy” is what it takes to get people and business to clean up their acts and save our planet, so be it! It seems now that many consumers (at least the “trendy ones”) are now looking for more environment-friendly products, and in effect, producers are scampering [...]

Online Marketing To Increase Sales

Sensible Marketing — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:45:21 +0000

There are many useful ways to advertise your business on the Internet.

Placing banner ads, orchestrating an email marketing campaign and tactfully mentioning your business on industry related forums and message boards are just a few of the popular options for Internet marketing. Another Internet marketing strategy involves creating and advertising a website to promote your business. You can use your website in a number of ways. Some of these ways include providing more information about your business and the products or services you offer, letting potential customers know how to reach you and even selling your products and services via the website. This article will highlight the advantages of using a website to market your business and will outline some of the ways the website can be useful.

How to Get Bloggers to Write About You

Sensible Marketing Guest Author — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 15:20:15 +0000

Getting blog coverage for your product or service is now just as (if not more) important than getting written about in traditional media. Blogs are now mainstream, as almost 80% of Internet users report having read a blog within the last year. Blogs are also influential, trusted sources of information for buyers, particularly in the B2B space; the most recent ITtoolbox/PJA IT Social Media Index Wave II report updates earlier findings and concludes that “IT decision-maker and influencer audiences (now) spend more time consuming or participating in social media than they do consuming editorial media or vendor content.” Blog coverage helps increase awareness, build credibility for your brand, and helps with SEO.

Losing Money With Google AdWords?

Sensible Marketing — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:42:15 +0000

Your AdWords™ out of Gas? Stop losing money with Google AdWords. We can cut your PPC costs by 30% and increase conversions by 10%. We’ve done it before, see how. Let us help you and give you a no-obligation analysis of your PPC campaigns.

List Building : Selling Central Heating In Death Valley

Sensible Marketing — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:54:08 +0000

If you don’t know by now that list building should be your primary objective, you’re either a new marketer, or you haven’t been listening. Why to you think the old adage remains… The Money is in the List? Because it’s true! List building should be your primary goal.

The key to success – informative, well written articles

Sensible Marketing Guest Author — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:49:21 +0000

Marketing strategies on the internet are not much different from promotions in newspapers. If you want people to read to your articles, then you need to understand the importance of editing. Thoroughly editing your material shows your commitment toward providing high-quality content, making you appear much more professional and makes your readers yearn for more information about each topic.

10 Ways to Increase Email Marketing Open Rates

Sensible Marketing — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:19:55 +0000

There are many ways to measure the success of an e-mail marketing campaign. But getting your customers to open your message is perhaps the most important area you should focus on..here are a few proven tips…

Targeting Your B2B Lead Generation Efforts

Sales-Lead-Experts.com — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 16:58:36 +0000

Mac McInTosh wrote this great article on, “Targeting Your B2B Lead Generation” that lays out some really useful tips.
When searching for prospects to buy your products or services, you want to find those companies who have a problem for which you have the solution. The methods you use in finding and contacting those companies will determine if [...]

Getting Your Pages Indexed (Video)

Sensible Marketing — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:43:28 +0000

Learn about the importance of search indexing and uncover the secrets to getting your site’s pages indexed…quickly. Whether you have a blog, an enterprise website or a microsite/landing page–this video tutorial will help you get those pages indexed and drive the traffic!

(courtesy of SEOmoz)

Writing E-mail Copy that Grabs Readers

Sensible Marketing — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:45:17 +0000

Writing effective e-mail copy isn’t as easy as you think. Like poor message design, poor copywriting that has grammatical errors, misspellings, or the wrong tone can kill your e-mail marketing campaign before it has a chance to get off the ground.
Five key tips to writing effective e-mail copy
• Hook ‘em. Your first couple sentences should [...]

Design It Well and They Will Click

Sensible Marketing — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:50:40 +0000

If you’re reading this, you’re probably looking for new ways to attract new customers–and maybe build closer relationships with your existing customers too. In a recent study, 54% of small businesses surveyed rated e-mail as the top online promotion mechanism to drive customers to their Web sites and storefronts. (Source: DMA Interactive) In my next [...]

Still Losing Money on AdWords?

Experts — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:56:44 +0000

Losing Money on AdWords? Part II
Focus on Your Landing Pages
Now that you’ve focused on finding the right keywords, setting up your Adwords campaigns, and choosing your bids, it’s time to divert your attention toward landing pages. Internet marketers have proven that a change in landing pages, to accommodate your specific keyword groupings, can have [...]