Doug - Avatar Marketing Works

Automate your stream of leads, and mine those that you already have.

September 15, 2022

Automate your stream of leads, and mine those that you already have.

No surprise.
It’s not going to shock anyone that has been successful in business to market yourself and to retarget those that are already your (past) customers. But, then why are businesses struggling? It can be hard to do, and keep up with. Even marketing companies have difficulty marketing them selves when they are busy helping customers with their marketing.

Why not automate it?
Setting up automation can take time, and ironing out the kinks will also take time, but once you get it, you will kick yourself for not doing it sooner. No shame here! We all do it. This is just your friendly reminder to get it done, put it on top of your list, stay late, work weekends, but get it done.

Love starts at home.
First, retarget those that already know you. Low-hanging fruit is the easiest to pick, right? They don’t have to be educated as to how wonderful you are, they already know. The success that come from recapturing them will help fund the effort to educate new prospective customers online.

Learn from the past.
Because you have customers, you know what kind of folks that they are, what they like, and expect. That info will greatly inform you when you build a “Buyer’s Persona.” A fancy term for a potential new customer. I like to make a few, and diversify them. Diversify by gender, age, location, whatever you think gives you some unique ideas. Get to really understand the current customers, and leverage that to create as detailed personas as possible. Marketing online will allow you to specify dozens of variables so that when you do spend any money, you can first test a market for a tiny bit, to confirm you’re on the right track before you spend much more.

Quicksand or firm ground?
This testing is invaluable, you spend a tiny amount to verify the bigger cost later. Smart. What if the results from the test is inconclusive? Most online advertising will give you the breakdown of genders and ages inside each test to see if some part is performing while the rest isn’t. I consider this “panning for gold.” If there isn’t any ray of sunshine inside the results, perhaps a new or different creative approach. Once you have some creative that is getting positive results, run it, or try to best it with another ads. Pit them against each other with A/B comparison tests. It can be just a little cost but yield great results. Your audience will tell you in 1-2 days what works with a tiny test. Then run the best ad until results start to run dry.

Second verse, same as the first.
If the ad is running well, scale it up if you can. Don’t overwhelm your business or your team though! Once you see begin start to wane, start developing some new ads to test and run the best one again, same as before.

A molehill, not a mountain.
Yes, it does take time and money. But, if you have a customer base to educate yourself with who they are, and what they like, you are really halfway there. Once you get in the rhythm of developing ads, or working with a team that will do that for you, it doesn’t have to be difficult. You are attempting to create a goose that lays golden eggs here. But once you do, you just have to feed it once and awhile. You’ll reap great results “almost” automatically. After the initial ramp up of the first few ads, the effort is minuscule to keep the ball rolling. Have faith! If you have a product of service that is better in some way than your competition, then by all means, promote that first, then keep doing that. Add new qualities to promote while continually reminding your potential customers why you are the obvious choice.

All you have to do is start.

Online Marketing Effectiveness 101: Consistency is Key.

August 17, 2022

Online Marketing Effectiveness 101: Consistency is Key.

8 times.
On average, (for effective online marketing, or any marketing) it takes 8 times before a message gets into our mind enough to take action. Sounds like a lot, but when considered all the information we get inundated with everyday, it’s a drop in the bucket. And those 8 times should be spread out between 7 days through 30 days.

Play nice.
These “8 times” should be informational, and not “pushy-cheesy-sales” kind of messages. We are trying to introduce ourselves and show what we can do to help our prospective customers to overcome a problem, or perhaps see a solution. Promote what makes you and your company better, or unique. Then drive that message home in as many ways as possible.

Get to the point.
Unless you are the next coming of Shakespeare, leave the prose to the masters and be concise. We are all busy and and barely have time to just skim the subheads. Let folks know what you can do for them, offer them a painless way to get the info (ie: a downloadable eBook), then follow up asap. Within 20-30 minutes is best. Why? It’s back to that “busy thing” and folks may not remember what the “eff” they did yesterday, since they solved 1,000 issues between here and there.

Variety is the spice of life.
This is where your branding becomes really important, have several messages and ways of showing what you can do, and all displayed with 2-5 different headlines, images/videos, all with your consistent (there’s that word again) branding. Your beating the drum in a rhythm, not the same beat-after-beat. This way you will get into a buyer’s mind from a few different angles. And, the potential customer won’t get tired of the same ad.

Know your prey.
The more you know the potential customer’s likes and dislikes, needs and wants, the better chance you have of crafting a message that will resonate with them when you discuss how you might be of help to them. (It’s called the buyer’s persona) Treat people the way you would like to be treated. Start off with bite-size information, and they will let you know if they would like more.

Set it and forget it.
At least for awhile. You know your buyer’s persona and set up your ad buy with just the right demographics to show the and not a lot of others, giving your ads the best chance of getting you customers eventually. You have those ads set up with various headlines, images/videos, and call to actions. Determine how much to spend, and press play. Within a few days results will come in and in your online media platform “should’ be showing you which of the pieces work best, then let that run, and (with that new information) attempt to make better-and-better versions. More and more effective

Photo by Tom Swinnen

Fail your way to online marketing success.

July 26, 2022

Fail your way to success.

Fear. It’s what stops us. It makes it hard to start. “What if I fail?” We all know it, we all feel it. So, what to do about it?

How to fly a plane.

Once a plane takes off, say a New York to Tokyo flight. The plane takes off, and heads for Tokyo … easy, right? Well, yes and no. If the plane just heads out and nothing is adjusted or taken in to account, then the plane could land in Australia, Moscow, Being, almost wherever. Why? The plane has to fly in the real world where there is atmospheric conditions, which includes winds that can throw the plane off course. So, the plane computers (or pilots) constantly adjust as they go, keeping their goal (Tokyo) in mind.

Now back to fear.

If you are going to succeed, you need to start, then adjust. Keep going, adjust. And do that until you land your plane (marketing campaign) wherever you wanted to go. Every single success in the world, had many failures as they went to the overall success.

The most important thing.

The most important thing is knowing how to get to your goal. The second most important thing is know how not to get to your goal. (Really!) Thomas Edison said “I have not failed. I’ve just found ten thousand ways that won’t work.” Even Steve Jobs had stumbles on his way to success, it’s part of the journey. The major takeaway is that you have to start, then adjust.

The next most important thing.

You have to start, and adjust, but just start. (Are you getting the message here?) Yes, there’s that fear thing, but doing nothing will get you more nothing. So start. Find someone that you trust to help you reach your goal and get going. Then, learn to do it yourself if you have time, if not, oversee the results from the team you hired, and discuss regularly about the results.

Comparing ads.

The nice thing about advertising online is that it can be really cheap. You can set your parameters for your specific market (age, gender, race, location, education, etc.). You can develop a handful of ads, or maybe just 2 and test one and see how it does, then test the next and see how it does. This is where it gets cool, the online platform (Google, Facebook, Instagram) will m make it obvious which ad is better very quickly. Now that you have a successful ad, try to beat it with a new ad, and keep doing that over and over again. Each ad, no matter how good it is will eventually run out of steam, and have diminishing results, that is why it is important to keep developing ads and testing for the new champ.

If you takeaway anything, it is start, then adjust.

If you would like to chat about how your online marketing can be better, click here and sign up for a free chat about your website, and then your marketing. That would be a good starts and at least you might pick up a few things not to do, and you time will be used well from there on.

Big marketing companies are worth every penny! Just one caveat.

July 15, 2022

Big marketing companies are worth every penny!
Just one caveat.

Most of us in business have heard about “Big Business” and how they spend multiple thousands and millions on their marketing budgets. And Big Business isn’t stupid and they wouldn’t keep doing that if they didn’t get a return on their investment (ROI). They hire big marketing firms and off they go.

Huge budgets
Now, I have worked with many big marketing agencies over the past decades and they all do pretty much the same things. Have much the same steps and procedures. They also have dozens and dozens of people working for them, under one roof, and can strategize and plan for consistent branding, with a new (if needed) campaign that gets the best results.

It ain’t rocket science, but it is a Swiss watch
But, the good news is, us mere mortals, can follow in their huge footsteps. It is a ton of steps and gears, like a fine watch though. We just have to do the same things, run consistent ads, compare one ad with another, making the ads more and more effective. We can just do that with a lot less people for a much smaller budget. Through ads, we can entice potential clients got to the website and download a lead magnet, fill out a quiz, look at a flow chart, and start a dialogue with our clients. Promote what makes our clients better, or different and how that can help their clients with their needs. From there, the client will complete the transaction and deliver what we have been promoting.

The new tools
Until recently, we couldn’t do the same steps effectively simply because there wasn’t the tools to assists us with that process(s). Now, we have a whole slew of great tools, and some of them come bundled into an even more cost effective package called a “CRM”. (See my blog How to choose a CRM). Now a few people can do what a huge marketing firm can do (on a smaller scale for sure.)

Why we are here
That’s why we started Avatar Marketing Works, not to compete with the big marketing firms. But to offer similar help to smaller businesses and entrepreneurs that need the help but can’t afford huge budgets. We are strictly online digital marketers for the most part. That’s where our interests lie. If a Big Business came to me with millions of dollars to spend, and asked my opinion as to who should help them market, I’d send them to a big marketing agency. But for small to medium businesses, with small to medium budgets, I’d tell them to give Avatar Marketing Works a try.

The most important part
It’s consistency that is the most important part, and that is the reason big marketers succeed, they do that part. When I ask a client to write a blog once a month to help with organic SEO, they just don’t find the time to do it. When I ask them to run an ad regularly and tell that that it takes 7 interactions with an ad, or a brand, before it really “registers’ with a potential clients mind, they still don’t do it. That is why I suggest, when you come aboard with Avatar Marketing Works, that we will do that consistency part, that is why the monthly fee is so crucial. Once the plane is in the air, you need to regularly check to see if any wind buffeting has thrown the flight off-course.

So, now … if you have been doing something that isn’t getting the results you desire, may I suggest you do something different and contact us at Avatar Marketing Works. Email us at avatarmarketingworks@gmail.com.

In bad times double down on effective social media marketing to thrive.

June 29, 2022

In bad times double down on effective social media marketing to thrive.

Depressed
These are some pretty interesting times. COVID wiped out many businesses and others made more money during the same period. Same with 2008 and even “The Great Depression” of the thirties.

Campbell Soup
I just gave you the answer … At the beginning of the depression of the thirties, there was over 2 dozen National soup companies, at the end of the depression there was only one. Campbell Soup. Why? Campbell Soup advertised (marketed) throughout the whole Depression. They kept their brand name one everyone’s lips through radio and print advertising.

When the economy is depressed, most people have money but are afraid to spend it. So, our job as marketers is to continue to educate to potential customers that what we are providing is worth buying. Your business should be offering at least one reason that makes your goods or services different from your competition. And hopefully more than one.

In praise of lead-magnets
Then, you continue to beat that drum in everyday that is possible without being cheesy. Today’s potential customers are educated, and don’t like being talked down to, or pushed. They want to be educated in a courteous way. Lead magnets allow these customers read your free-downloadable brochure.

This allows you to continue a dialog with them, which is exactly where you want to be. The possibility goes way up when you actually have their ear. Treat them like you would your best friend.

Look at your ideal customer profile, and make up 1-3 different examples of what they are like. Marketing to a 18-25 person is different than marketing to a 35-55 person. Each uniqueness that can be proven is another way to communicate more effectively with your potential customer. Facebook is chock full of 50+, TikTok has 187-25 year olds. Instagram everyone in between. The better your profiles, the more effective your results will be.

Rinse and repeat
It can be a lot to think about, and consulting a good online marketer can help. They have access to tools that can you be more effective. Once you test your ads, or lead magnets, test one against a second one, the better one will be obvious almost right away. Once the best ad comes forward, run social media ads targeted at your ideal customer profiles. And do it more and more until the ad effectiveness dwindles. No ad works forever, so periodically come up with new ads and test them against. This cycle is meant to run continuously, or as long as you want new customers to purchase your good or services. The initial ads will have an up-hill curve, but once your crested the hill, keeping the ads running is easier.

This online environment is a coordinated concert of social media ads driving people to your website which is also set up to continue marketing to your ideal customer. It takes both to be the most effective.

If you don’t A-S-K, you don’t G-E-T
We at Avatar Marketing Works would love to talk with you about the possibilities for you and your business. It’s free and painless. We can do a quick (15-minute chat) overview of your current website and we can run down the checklist of effective tools that can help every website.

How to choose a CRM.

May 20, 2022

How to choose a CRM.

A Customer Relationship Management program, or CRM, is great at keeping marketing systems in place and running effectively. But, like a computer, “garbage-in-garbage-out.” That means, like any complex machine that makes your life easier, your CRM has to be run correctly and maintained. It doesn’t matter how many bells and whistles the CRM has if it can’t be used correctly. Think of it like an old-fashioned VCR; eventually everyone can run it, but who wants to watch or is compelled to buy my products?

The do it yourself approach
The newer CRMs are easier to use and their costs are lower. But you, or a staff member, will need to be trained properly to run one. If you are being trained by your marketing agency, take good notes and ask questions. See if that CRM has good tutorials on YouTube as well. It may sound odd, but you want a robust system that isn’t watered down – one that a marketing professional would use. If you are going to spend the money on a monthly CRM account, you should not have one with just a few features. Make sure it has the same features as the big CRMs but for less monthly cost.

First things, first
Unless you have a marketing agency and an ad strategy, you may want to get that handled first, then get a CRM. A marketing agency will create ads, lead magnets (eBooks), and videos that showcase your company and what you offer (goods or services) in the best light. That comes first. You must have good quality creative ads that hit the mark (get people to respond) before anything else. Then use the CRM to set up funnels to educate prospective clients.

Learn from the pros
If your marketing agency uses a particular CRM and can make it run really well, purchasing that brand of CRM would be a good idea. Why? Most marketing agencies have to have a lean, robust system that can do it all or that would hamper their business bottom line severely. Think about it: Each client they have is attached to the same CRM. If the agency uses a cheap CRM with fewer features, clients would know immediately, the staff would be putting in too many hours, and the agency would (eventually) go out of business. So, marketing agencies have to know which is best simply to be efficient in business today.

Don’t forget creating and placing the ads (The reason you need a CRM to begin with)
Okay, you have your ads, and now you can use that CRM to keep track of ad placement and funnels. Make sure the agency shows you how to do this. Social media ad placement is a strange world where you can spend a fortune if you don’t know what you’re doing, and nearly all the social media giants will help you track.

Should I, or shouldn’t I?
The moral of the story is you can do this yourself, hire a staff member to do this for several hours each week, or, optimally, have your marketing agency do this for you while you watch. Let them hire someone to make sure the ads are being tested for effectiveness and that they run well. The choice is yours, but in the long run, instead of retraining staff, or doing it yourself, just continue doing what makes you great and let others do what makes them great.

If you would like a completely unbiased assessment of what you should do, email us at Avatar Marketing Works for a 10-minute chat (free of course). This is our way of paying it forward.

Ongoing marketing is the only way to secure an ongoing client stream.

May 20, 2022

Ongoing marketing is the only way to secure an ongoing client stream.

Now, function trumps form
Web design is a wonderful thing and a great place to start, but that’s where it stops. A splashy website was enough in the late 90’s when not everyone had a website. It’s now more effective to have a website that gets you clients than to have a cool-looking website. The best of both worlds is: (1) a website that effectively gets you clients and (2) one that continues your brand design and esthetic. You can be both successful and maintain your image, but let’s make sure “successful” isn’t sacrificed because of old marketing ideas.

Modern marketing
Today’s (successful) marketing technology teaches that after many decades, we in the West, are “sold out.” Or, rather, we are all tired of being “sold to” and would rather make up our own mind (thank you very much) after becoming educated on our looming purchase.

So, we must help our prospective clients become educated about what we offer and, more importantly, what they must look for and how to make a good purchasing decision. It’s called “The Buyers Journey.” (Okay, I won’t asked what to name it.) There’s also something called “A Pain Point” (perhaps a psychological term) which means that all decisions to spend money start out emotionally, then are immediately rationalized. This references the “point” at which something has to be done and action taken.

Note: All purchases come about because of one phrase and how it relates to the purchaser… “How can this ___ make my life easier or better.” This holds true whether you’re buying cosmetics, tires, a concert ticket, or a commercial building in Manhattan.

So now, we need to find these potential customers, then educate them in a not-too-pushy-way to choose us instead of our competition. That takes regular marketing at a watering hole (social media platform) they frequent on a regular basis.

Why regular marketing?
It takes 7-14 days (maybe more) to educate a prospective client, start a dialogue, and make it obvious to them to purchase from you through many eBook, videos, ads, and Zoom meetings. And let’s say you need several new clients a month, each month, forever. Then you need to always be doing this in a regular, effective way. Enter CRMs. (Customer Relationship Management). These tools help keep track of all that is happening with a client’s marketing plan.

An easy visual example
Cook a pound of spaghetti, drain it, and pour it on a platter that is about 24 x 12 inches. This is effectively a representation flow chart of all the ins-and-outs of a regular marketing plan and how difficult it is to track. CRMs make it much easier to keep track of the smallest minutia and (most importantly) keep track of what is working (getting clients) and isn’t working. And the best ones, until recently, are extremely expensive except for the corporations that could afford mega-marketing companies and their 6-figure (plus) fees.

Where small to mid-sized companies typically fall short
Regular marketing is where small and mid-size companies fall short. They can’t afford the mega-marketing agencies but still need marketing help. Now, there are a few new CRMs being created that are more focused on this segment of the market. Unlike the top CRMs that cost thousands per month and need a team to run them properly, these newer CRMs need a much smaller team (one?) that is well-trained to accomplish a successful marketing campaign.

Creatives are still needed
Remember our “eBook, videos, and ads”? Well, they will need to be created and tested against each other to constantly improve results. The new CRMs make that easier too.

Faster than organic SEO
Testing ads for effectiveness is a good feature; you can know within days, not months (like SEO), whether you’re being effective or not.

Introducing Avatar Marketing Works (AMW)
After working with numerous marketing agencies over many decades, I and my team have created a place for those that can’t afford the big mega-marketing agencies. AMW was created by me, Doug Gobel. I’ve been a graphic designer and web developer since before the internet became the internet. Using a new system that started in Australia and is now available in the US, I have brought together writers, coders, and social media marketers in a modular way to create a team sized for exactly what small to mid-sized companies need – and nothing more.

Our offices (do I need to say it?) are in our homes, cutting out overhead. We offer a competitive service for a competitive fee, and are comfortable to be pulled in and released as needed.

Post-COVID world
At AMW, we believe that a la carte marketing, with better prices and no required contracts, is the future.

You have no doubt heard of “The Great Resignation,” and all of our team members were affected by COVID shutdowns. With AMW, their at-home workspaces provide more stability and continuity than old-fashioned offices which may face lockdowns in the future.

Let’s set up a strategy session, look at your current website, and talk about possibilities moving forward.