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How to Build an Inbound Marketing Firm: Sales and Outbound Marketing

August 18, 2010 By 1 Comment

Outbound Marketing to Build an Inbound Marketing Consultancy

Inbound marketing, as you have no doubt heard over and over again, is primarily about developing permission, what Seth Godin calls Permission Marketing in his book by the same name. Permission is based on a relationship built over time and based on initial approval of something a “seller” is “selling,” a message or a product in one way, shape, or form.

But stay with me, I am going to use “sell” and “selling” and “seller” a lot…and for good reason.

Seller?

Selling?

Yes, seller and selling!

I understand that selling is about how we phrase our message and all the requisite terminology:

  • Investment
  • Proposal
  • Purchase and Purchase Agreement
  • Agreement
  • Approval
  • Suggest/Suggested
  • And so on…

However, when we cut through all the sales training “stuff,” we are all selling something to someone and they are either buying it or not.

Every single one of us…simple as that!

  • We are selling our services based on our knowledge, knowledge few others have by the way. We are selling our prospects on the notion that, as inbound marketing consultants, we are the only marketing consultants competent enough to take their Internet image to the next level.*
  • Info marketers are selling information.
  • MLM entreprenuers are selling an opportunity, usually based on the home-based business, residual income model.
  • Retail businesses are selling widgets or cars or bagels or pet supplies or whatever.
  • Service-oriented businesses are selling their ability to solve a problem by way of “specific knowledge” and also being able to access the parts and the trained labor force to accomplish that task.
  • Professional people are selling themselves and their expertise in a given field, often based on years of training and hands-on experience.
  • I cound go on and on into virtually any and every walk of life and sell you on the idea that we are all selling something, everyone from salesmen to waitresses to ministers to teachers to coaches to…..

You get the idea?

I don’t need to beat this to death.

First and foremost, we are selling ourselves!

Selling ourselves means getting out in front of the right audience; with just the right message; backed up by the right experience; and, at just the right time.

And that ain’t always easy!

Interestingly, in order to build an inbound marketing consultancy, you basically have two choices:

  • One - You can develop permission over time by providing valuable information and allow your business to grow organically? Getting your brand anywhere and everywhere online and then hoping your messsage resonates with your target audience enough for them to act upon it.
  • Two - You can go out and get it! Inbound and outbound marketing techniques? Heresy, you say!

In the case of inbound marketing strategies, you will be selling yourself by way of:

  • Google Maps for the local search possibilities
  • Blogging to connect and build relationships
  • Article marketing to build authority, as well as for SEO and traffic
  • Video marketing for a myraid of reasons beyond the scope of this article
  • Social media because it is absolutely necessary in today’s online world, again for a myriad of reasons
  • And the rest. And there is a lot of “the rest!”

As far as building your inbound marketing business, so you can serve others, you need to do everything you can to grow your business organically.

That goes without saying…or at least I hope it does!

Throw in some pay-per-click (PPC) for good measure and you are on your way.

Yes, there are a few people out there who have never created a website and, in spite of that, have done and continue to do quite well as inbound marketing consultants. And yes, if you apply inbound marketing strategies to your business it will flourish in time.

However, as I tell each and every client I acquire for The Ultimate Internet Image, inbound marketing is like farming.

Yes, there are some immediate results and they are exciting.

But immediate results should never be overstated or you will lose clients faster than you acqire them!

Back to Inbound Marketing and Farming

Most of inbound marketing is about working yourself to the bone, planting; and then, for a while, you may see nothing but bare ground; and finally, one day, you are standing 6 feet high in corn!

And that is exciting!

In the case of outbound marketing, the go out and get it side of the equation, and yes we do go out and get it in inbound marketing too, unless you have deep pockets, are independently wealthy, and/or have the patience of a saint, you are going to have enter the dark side, the outbound marketing side, and create business in order to have a business, keep the lights on at home, and do what you love.

Many of the strategies we sell as inbound marketing consultants are based on one thing, getting out in front of our target audience and then playing to that audience enough times so resonates with them.

Then, once we have an opportunity to serve our clients, we give them what they need, not necessarily what they want, to build their online image and relieve the pain!

The pain being anything from a terrible, 5-page static website to little traffic, and on to zero conversions. The pain most businesses are experiencing when it comes to their Internet image is, in and of itself, enough to fill an ebook.

For a great blog post that deals in part with the pain, go to Copyblogger’s Four Sales Page Elements That Get People To Buy Now…but wait until you are done here and have left a comment…OK?!

The Inbound Outbound Conundrum

As you build your inbound marketing consultancy, often from scratch, you have to get yourself in front of people who may:

  • Not be online at all
  • May have a website they never visit
  • May have a website but think of it as an online billboard
  • May not have a lot of time to spend online even if they do go online occassionally
  • May not know there is something better, or know they have a problem, but don’t know the solution they seek is often a click away

In other words, one of three things are possible:

1)      They are oblivious to the whole “online thing.”

2)      They are aware but don’t really care, it simply isn’t a priority for them. This is usually because they are unaware of the power of the Internet, they lack information.

3)      They know they have a problem but don’t know how to solve it or where to find someone to solve it for them. Most business people never speak to a marketing consultant about their advertising or their Internet image, other than perhaps a webmaster (and even that is rare). And a webmaster is usually not the greatest source of marketing information.

Prospecting is the bane of almost every salesperson; and ultimately, as we have established above, we are all salepeople.

If you weren’t before…you know you are now!

In the next article in this series, out very soon, we will discuss how you bridge the gap between marketing methods and thus apply both outbound and inbound marketing strategies to build your inbound marketing consultancy and the ultimate Internet image for your consulting firm and your clients.

Please let me know what you think! Also, check out the contest rules on the home page and enter today!

The deadline has been extended to September 7, 2010 in order to accommodate Labor Day in the States.

The ebook alone will be worth it, Inbound Marketing A through Z, and you have a super chance of winning the prize package too!

Contact us anytime!

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio
Skype: johnzajaros1
216-712-7004

PS, Check out our new blog at Ultimate Inbound Marketing for more inbound marketing related articles. audios, videos, and resources!

*Yes, there are a number of individuals out there calling themselves inbound marketing consultants who have never gone beyond purchasing an info product for $997 but they rarely get beyond square one. If you have real world experience, you are part of a very select enterprise. If you have gone so far as to purchase one of these products and are now stuck? Contact The Ultimate Internet Image and we will do our best to help you along…one colleague to another.

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Filed Under: How to Build an Inbound Marketing Firm: Sales and Outbound Marketing, How to Build an Internet Marketing Business, Inbound Marketing, Inbound Marketing Consulting, Inbound Marketing Strategies, Outbound Marketing Inbound Marketing and the Ultimate Internet Image, Sales and Marketing, Selling and Inbound Marketing, The Ultimate Internet Image, Ultimate Internet Image, Ultimate Internet Image and Inbound Marketing, Ultimate Internet Image Consultation, Ultimate Internet Image Consulting Tagged With: , , ,

Shooting Stars, Abraham Lincoln, Prayer, The Beatles, and Commitment

August 17, 2010 By 2 Comments

Inbound Marketing A through Z – A Reprise:

C is for Commitment

It is a funny thing about life and goals. Once you set out on a path, clearly defining your destination, it’s as if the blinders are removed and the floodgates of knowledge are opened. Information, resources, and people seem to materialize, all with one purpose, to help you get that much closer to your destination.

I once heard Tony Robbins say,

“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

In my experience, that statement is extremely accurate.

But why?

Is it something mystical or magical? Some sort of attraction thing that happens as soon as we remove the blinders and set off on our journey?

Many think so.

Many believe so!

At one time, I may have been among them.

OK! I was!

“A magical, mystery tour!” to quote The Beatles.

Yes, I think we all go through that at one time or another in our lives.

I think it is part of who we are as entrepreneurs:

  • Open
  • Receptive
  • Creative
  • Different…definitely different!

Chanting manic mantras into a mirror and the rest.

Come on, admit it!

Interestingly, we all come to the realization, sooner or later, that all of that activity without forward motion is worthless.

Today?

Today I am more practical.

I haven’t left it all behind…but a lot of it. It comes with age, experience, and getting beat up by life often enough.

I guess that’s experience!

It also comes from the realization that forward motion is essential…if only to break the strangle hold of inertia.

I sincerely believe the number one enemy of achievement is inertia!

The first step in breaking the strangle hold of inertia is commitment to a Goal. I believe success is about more than simply setting goals. Success is about committing to your Self and the Goal.

Both in capital letters:

Self and Goal

I know some people go around telling people goals are counterproductive, that you shouldn’t set goals, that they don’t work, and all that other mumbo jumbo.

Try getting anywhere in life, literally or figuratively, without a map.

Ain’t gonna happen!

Commitment is the First Step on the Road to Success

Commitment is the First Step on the Road to Success: "You're either in or you're out. This is no such thing as life in between!"

A Goal is a Map

If you want to reach your destination, focus on a Goal and start looking in the right direction.

Success in business, in any aspect of life, is about setting a Goal, seeing the end result, at least how you envision it today, because it will change, and making a commitment to work towards that Goal.

Commitment is one of the “C” words in the Inbound Marketing A through Z, our ebook to be released on September 7, 2010.

Goal is obviously one of the “G” words and will be covered in depth as well.

Commitment is a solitary act. Commitment can’t be superimposed from On High or by way of some self-help “guru.” And, commitment can’t be made easier for you.

Coming to terms with and making a commitment is one things and one of those times when you do have to step in front of the mirror, look yourself in the eye, and ask:

“Am I willing to pay this price? Am I willing to do whatever it takes to get to where I want to go? Is this Goal really worth it?”

Those are hard questions and you must be deadly serious when asked and answered.

Why?

Because your life will change forever once they are answered!

The magic of achievement is understood best in the context of commitment because, without commitment to a Goal or a Destination, achievement is impossible; or, at the very least, highly unlikely.

Shooting Stars on Summer Nights

Setting out on a journey, setting any kind of a Goal, a deliberate path in life as the result of your Primary Desire, is like going out on your lawn on a summer’s night, lying down on the grass, and looking up at the sky.

You are looking in a new direction, shifting your focus, looking at something new. Yes, it is something familiar, something you always knew was there, but you never really paid much attention to it before, at least not the way you are now, looking up to the heavens.

When you begin to look up, things become apparent, you notice things. Interestingly, the things you notice were there all the time. However, they were not available to you because you weren’t focused on them and you weren’t looking in the right direction.

So, there you are, lying on your back and looking skyward on a summer’s evening!

You are seeing things differently. All of the sudden, a shooting star appears, then another, and still another. By the end of the evening you get up off your back, walk into the house, and announce to everyone that there are a lot more shooting stars than there used to be. You are convinced that this is the case. You are sure of it…there are simply more than ever before.

And you would be wrong!

You see, the shooting stars were there all the time, you just never took the time to notice them before. As soon as you shifted your focus and looked to the heavens, the shooting stars were everywhere.

The same thing happens when we set a Goal or set out on a particular path in life, our eyes open and information, resources, and people who were there all the time materialize before our eyes.

“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

Or

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Luke 11.9-13

No, I am not getting all religious on you, there is a time and place for everything and I take my beliefs seriously and hold them privately, but I am including the passage above because it illustrates just how long this mindset, the belief in the possible, if you seek it out…if we just ask.

The wisdom of the ages!

Ask who? Ask God? For some the answer is emphatically:

“Yes!”

For others, it is simply a matter of asking, even demanding, it of our Selves.

Many believe both are applicable.

Abraham Lincoln and Prayer

Abraham Lincoln is said to have been asked about God and the power of prayer in his life. Whether another myth about the man or not, and Lincoln’s religious beliefs have been hotly debated by historians.

However, I like the answer he is said to have given with respect to prayer:

“I pray like He will answer and I work like He won’t.”

Whether historically accurate or not, it sounds like Lincoln who was a pragmatist in all things.

Getting Back to Our Goal and Our Shift in Focus

Setting out on our journey, a journey to a destination we are willing to pay the price demanded of us, is our first step. To get there, we must shift our focus, create a new vision, and be open and receptive to where it takes us. The fact is, we will receive information unavailable to us previously. We will gain access to resources we were unable access before. And, people will appear and offer assistance when for many years we may have been going it alone.

Something magical does seem to occur, something amazing, something almost mystical!

However, while it is amazing, it is neither magical nor mystical, we have simply changed our focus by setting out on an amazing journey and our eyes are now open to the myriad possibilities before us.

The inertia, self-doubt, and inaction have been replaced by a flood of success tools that were always there, just waiting for us, along with the people who were ready, willing, and able to help us use them…once we were ready.

Because we are no longer looking down, we are now looking up, focused on the possibilities, our prospects for future achievement, like the heavens, seem endless!

“More important than all the talent, all the resources and all the opportunities – is a solitary act of commitment” Peter Baskerville

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. This is something of a switch and I would love to hear what you think. Please leave a comment below and don’t forget about The Ultimate Internet Image contest (just click the link the details are on the home page)! The date has been pushed back to September 7, 2010 in order to allow for a few more entries and because of Labor Day in the States.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this and comment.

Please subscribe to our newsletter!

John Zajaros
 The Ultimate Internet Image
 Lakewood, Ohio 44107
 Skype: johnzajaros1
 216-712-7004

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Filed Under: Commitment, Inspiration, Motivation, Overcoming Inertia: The Ultimate Internet Image and Inbound Marketing, Shooting Stars Abraham Lincoln Prayer The Beatles and Commitment, The A through Z of Inbound Marketing, The Ultimate Internet Image, Ultimate Internet Image Tagged With: , ,

Understanding Inbound Marketing: Learning from Outbound Marketing Methods

August 13, 2010 By 2 Comments

Applying the Lessons Learned from the Yellow Pages

and other Traditional “Offline” Media

There was a time when a Yellow Pages marketing position was the sales job to have in the United States; and, the competition for those jobs was fierce. I have a friend, a very good friend, who is an incredible advertising salesman. In fact, he got me my first advertising and marketing position.

“Dave” and his wife worked for a Yellow Pages sales and marketing firm selling ad space througout the Midwest. They made a comfortable living and had a very nice life together.

Aside from the traveling, a Yellow Pages advertising sales position was a great gig to have. I was offered a job with the company they worked for and, mainly because I just can’t stand that kind of “living out of a suitcase existence,” I turned them down. There were times afterwards when I regretted the decision, mainly because of the money, but it all worked out for the best.

As a result of my relationship with “Dave,” I learned a lot about the ins-and-outs of Yellow Pages marketing. It was a real eye-opener. You see, Yellow Pages ads are sold once a year. Or at least they were. The sales and marketing team was dispatched to an area and they’d canvas business-to-business.

However, unlike cold calling or other door-to-door methods, they almost always got in to see the owner or the general manager; and, they were almost never treated as a nuisance. No gatekeeper issues to speak of.

The message was simple:

“Take-it-or-leave-it, we’re the only game in town!”

Quite the sales pitch.

The only game in town!

Remember those days?

Some of you will.

It was the hayday of sales and marketing in the USA. Interestingly, because they were the only game in town at the time, it was pretty much a laydown…a full-price transaction with virtually no resistance.

Significantly, there weren’t a lot of off-shoot or generic brands of the YellowPages at the time, a few local editions and some small town directories, but that was it.

Consequently, the competition that would later “mess up a really good thing,” particularly for the Yellow Pages, the marketing company, and the sales people had yet to appear.

So, businesses were at the mercy of the sales and marketing team; and, from year to year, retail businesses, from mom and pop stores to big chains, service businesses of every kind (i.e, plumbers, HVAC, etc) to professional practices, would guard their territory make sure they were available for the annual sales visit from the “Yellow Pages guy or gal.” Their terminology, not mine.

If not?

They might lose their ad space for an entire year. And that was a huge gamble, often resulting in a very big hit to the bottom line.

Like I said, it was a great gig.

But all things change and, so it is said, all good things come to an end…or at least evolve.

In retrospect, the change from outbound advertising to inbound marketing has been dramatic. However, while the transition was taking place, the changes seemed more like minor irritants than a major shift in the sales, advertising, and marketing landscape.

Isn’t 20/20 great?

In the course of twenty-five years we have watched a major institution crumble before our eyes because, like many of the offline institutions, it failed to make the transition from an old media, outbound marketing model to a significant online presence by way of the right inbound marketing strategy.

The Yellow Pages failed to react early to what appeared to be a growing trend, perhaps believing they were well-established and indispensible. The same sort of failure to react can now be said of the New York Times, Barnes and Noble, American Express, the music industry, and now, seemingly, the book industry.

And old mentor of mine used to say:

“If you think you are irreplacable or indispensible? You are!”

He was always fond of saying:

“If the President of the United States passed away tonight, they would have his replacement sworn in and doing the job by morning. So, how irreplacable and indispensable are you?”

Good point!

In the case of the above-mentioned examples (and there are myriad of other examples):

  • Yellow Pages to the Internet — and on to “Googling”
  • The New York Times — the newspaper industry failed to react in time and is now feeling, and reeling from, the impact of the Internet — to the Huffington Post
  • Barnes and Noble fails to buy (or become) Amazon — the entire book industry has failed to make the transition – now fighting digital books
  • American Express fails to buy PayPal — eBay does for 1.5 billion

And so on!

Is the Yellow Pages phone book dead?

Not entirely, but I think we have yet to see its next incarnation. There is still a sizable percentage of the world that does not use the Internet, so their will always be a demand for a Yellow Pages-type directory. However, the YellowPages of the future will undoubtedly look very different from the one we have come to know for the last several decades.

The Marketing Takeaway: Nothing is set in stone and failure to adapt to current marketing trends may have a profound impact on your business’ sales, profitability, and ultimately its future.

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
Skype: johnzajaros1
216-712-7004

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Filed Under: Brick and Mortar Business and Inbound Marketing, Inbound Marketing, Inbound Marketing Strategies, Outbound Marketing Inbound Marketing and the Ultimate Internet Image, Outbound Marketing Lessons, The Ultimate Internet Image, The Yellow Pages and Outbound Marketing, Ultimate Internet Image, Ultimate Internet Image and Inbound Marketing, Understanding Inbound Marketing, Understanding Outbound Advertising versus Inbound Marketing

The A through Z of Inbound Marketing: B is for Backbone

August 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Building an Inbound Marketing Consultancy

If A is for Attitude then B is for Backbone!

In The Inbound Marketing Week in Review: What are the A, B, Cs of Inbound Marketing we spoke of the “A” letter resources, concepts, and ideas, those adding to our knowledge-base as we strive to build an inbound marketing consulting firm and serve our clients.

Naturally, many of the terms discussed can be applied to Internet marketing, online business across a variety of niches, MLM, and, of course, “offline” businesses, particularly as they seek to make the transition from outbound to inbound marketing and build an Internet image or online presence.

NOTE: We will continue to refine the list as we work toward September 1, 2010. Anyone who is a subscriber to the UII Newsletter and email list on or before August 31st will receive a free copy of the completed ebook on August 31, 2010. So subscribe today!

So, here are the B resources, concepts, and ideas, in part. Please leave your comments and ideas below. Have we left anything out? Can you add something to our list? Please feel free to offer your feedback and, if appropriate, we will attempt to include it in the final draft.

B – Backbone: Internet consulting, online business consulting, or inbound marketing consulting, whatever you choose to call it, is not only about knowing the Internet, it’s about being able to understand and relate to the “real world,” the offline business world…and sales.

Having a backbone is a must!

By that I mean, you must be able to take rejection. And, you must be able to say no yourself when it is necessary. Meaning, you must be wise enough to walk away from a sale and a big check when you know a prospective client is the wrong fit for you and your consulting business. That takes backbone, particularly when you are first starting out.

Additionally, asking for the kind of fees you will require, and deserve, will take backbone…at least until you have some experience and feel confident in your abilities. Interestingly, once you understand that you are, in fact, able to deliver a service few others can, that you are indeed an expert, it will no longer take backbone to ask for your fee. Your knowledge and service will convert either a nonexistent Internet image or one that is all but nonexistent into The Ultimate Internet Image. And there aren’t a lot of people or businesses that can do that.

While it is true that the more knowledgeable you become and the more experience you gain, the stronger your backbone will become, you must demand it of yourself from the get-go or you will be swamped with the wrong clients paying you far too little for your services…and you will be miserable.

Make sure you learn to say no and walk away from the wrong situation.

And, whether you listen to Malcolm Gladwell or Perry Marshall or Lee Milteer, they are all telling you one thing:

“Listen to you gut!”

And I would add:

“Use your backbone!”

B – Blogging for business is a necessity. I’ve heard some of the experts, even experts who blog themselves, call blogging for business “lame.”

Or, more accurately, they call business blogs lame.

Perhaps many are?

However, if you set up your inbound marketing clients’ blogs properly and fill them with quality content on a continuous basis, it will pay huge dividends in terms of interest, traffic, and sales for your clients.

Blogging is one of the most effective traffic and relationship building tools available online today. I would argue that the distinction between a website and a full-function blog will disappear in time, perhaps entirely within the next five years.

All you have to do is look through the Studiopress blog themes available or look at what some businesses have done with Thesis themes to understand that I am on the money here.

For inbound marketing purposes?

The blog is a better vehicle for traffic generation than a static website, particularly when starting out, for a myriad of reasons.

If a static page is required?

Many premium blog themes will accommodate you and your client. All-in-all, the blog is the way to go and the amount of traffic and page rank you can gain for your inbound marketing clients in a relatively short period of time makes this one a no-brainer. At the very least, if your client is set on their static website, as is? Integrate a blog immediately and link the two sites or integrate a blog into the exiting website. The boost in traffic and page rank will be significant and will convince your client to go along with other inbound marketing strategies as time goes on.

In today’s online world, if your client isn’t blogging, they might as well be rowing across the Atlantic with one arm.

They will never get where they are going without all the resources available to them…and that includes a professional looking blog!

B – Blogosphere is a term implying that all blogs are made up of a single universe, the blogosphere, and that they are all connected in one community. The blogosphere also refers to various interrelated blogs and their connections. It is an interesting concept and there seems to be at least some validity to it.

One example of the power of this phenomenon is when a video, article, or blog post goes “viral,” spreading across the Internet rapidly, seeming to take on a life of its own.

Interestingly, Jon Hoover recently mentioned how blogs and the blogging community were once like a small town and now the same community is more akin to a major city. I would argue the same is true of the blogosphere. What was once a relatively small and unique, interactive community has spilled over its boundaries and the new manifestation has very little in common with what once was.

The blogosphere of today is a universe apart from the blogosphere of a decade ago.

B – Brand Awareness is a reflection of how many consumers are aware of a particular brand. One of the most important purposes of an inbound marketing campaign is to enhance brand awareness, to increase the overall, positive response to a client’s product or constellation of products. Ultimately, brand awareness is measured using brand recall, brand recognition, top of mind awareness, and other metrics beyond the scope of this post.

However, on a related topic, it is important to realize that many of the sales that are currently being attributed to social media may be more a consequence or at least a reflection of brand awareness.

Two companies, one with brand recognition and one without, will have very different results given the very same social media marketing campaign. We will explore this relationship in greater detail as we go but it goes without saying that brand awareness is central to online success and inbound marketing is crucial for brand building and brand recognition…or whatever you want to call it.

B – Backlinks are also known as incoming links, inbound links, inward links, and inlinks. Backlinks are incoming links to a web page or website and are one of the most important factors in determining a website’s ranking. Backlinks are also a reflection of who is paying attention to a certain website or page within a certain website. Building incoming links can be one of the most challenging tasks for an inbound marketing firm because they take time and the creation of quality content…and a little bit of luck.

As important as the backlinks, perhaps more important, are the quality of the incoming links.

In other words, where the link is coming from is more important than the link itself. A link from a less than reputable site can have an adverse impact on ranking.

Links for sake of more links is gnerally a bad strategy.

B – Benefits: Sell the benefits.

Or, as an old mentor of mine used to say, and I have said time and time again to the people I mentor, coach, and train:

“Sell the sizzle, not the steak!”

If you are selling air conditioners in August?

Sell the feeling you get when you first walk into an air conditioned house after cutting the grass on a 90 degree day. Do not focus on the digital controls or the ease of operation.

Help your inbound marketing client picture a full dining room from 4:30pm until 7pm. Let your client hear the phone ringing off the hook for pizzas at a typically slow period of the day because of an email blast. Get them to see the new car, the kids in college, and all the rest of the benefits of your inbound marketing expertise.

Don’t tell your inbound marketing prospects about autoresponders, email marketing, and social media profiles…they could care less!

Sell them the sizzle and then they (and you) will have steak!

B – Blogger (blogspot) is Google’s free blogging platform and, while many feel it is not worth the time or the effort, nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, I have heard people say it doesn’t pay to utilize this platform. Significantly, Google allows anyone, and that includes inbound marketing firms, to build an unlimited number of blogs for an unlimited number of purposes. If you are not using this resource, you are missing out on a valuable inbound marketing tool. Do not simply build mirror sites but build blogs with content and then encourage others to link to them and through these blogs back to your clients’ primary site. Imagine one hub connected to another and another, all of them interconnected and pointing links and driving traffic back to your central hub. And, you can do it all for next to nothing!

B – Business Networking is a marketing method that has been around a lot longer than the Internet. Networks of like-minded business people come together to seek and share opportunities and ideas with one another.

There are several well-known online business networking sites, to include:

Inbound marketing firms not only use these networking sites to build their consulting businesses but to build up their clients’ businesses as well.

Social media has transformed business networking.

Some of the most responsive social media sites online are business networking sites like ecademy and LinkedIn.

These sites and others should be an integral part of your inbound marketing strategy…not only your’s but your clients’ as well.

B – Brick and Mortar Businesses, what I often refer to as traditional brick and mortar businesses, are the primary focus of many inbound marketing consultancies because many brick and mortar businesses are having a difficult time making the transition from outbound marketing to inbound marketing. Many brick and mortar businesses have been sold a bill of goods and have been convinced that all they have to do it put up and website, maybe spend a bunch of money on SEO, and the rest will take care of itself.

The “If you build it, they will come!” days are over.

Interestingly, some marketers refer to brick and mortar businesses as “offline” businesses…but that is less than accurate, particularly in 2010.

Brick and mortar businesses are generally considered to be businesses with a physical address in the “real world” and not just an address in the virtual or online world…as “online” or Internet businesses do. When most people think of brick and mortar businesses they think of some sort of retail establishment or a service-oriented business, like a plumbing contractor or an HVAC contractor, any sort of a business with a physical address doing business face-to-face with customers, clients, or patients.

The Ultimate Internet Image serves brick and mortar businesses, assisting them in the transition from outbound advertising to an inbound marketing. UII creates an inbound marketing strategy tailored to the needs of their “offline” clients and appropriate for the individual client’s competitive business environment. It is crucial to understand both the Internet and the “offline” world if we, as inbound marketing consultants, are to properly serve our clients.

It takes empathy, understanding, knowledge, and experience to develop an inbound marketing strategy that works for our brick and mortar business clients!

Next, we will jump to the Cs of inbound marketing. Please add your thoughts and ideas below. I would love to hear from you and it will add immensely to the final product, an inbound marketing guide we can all share in.

Thank you and please comment below!

John Zajaros
The Ultimate Internet Image
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-712-7004
Skype: johnzajaros1

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Filed Under: Blogging for Business, Brick and Mortar Business and Inbound Marketing, Business Blogging, Business Blogs, Inbound and Internet Marketing, Inbound Marketing, The A through Z of Inbound Marketing, The Ultimate Internet Image, Ultimate Internet Image, Ultimate Internet Image and Inbound Marketing, Ultimate Internet Image Consulting Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

What it Takes To Be Number One by Vince Lombardi

August 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Winning is not a sometimes thing; it’s an all the time thing. You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time.

Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.

There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that’s first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don’t ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.

Every time a football player goes to ply his trade he’s got to play from the ground up – from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That’s O.K. you’ve got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you’ve got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you’re lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he’s never going to come off the field second.

Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization – an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win – to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don’t think it is.

It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That’s why they are there – to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules – but to win.

And in truth, I’ve never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart didn’t appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.

I don’t say these things because I believe in the “brute” nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency.

But I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour – his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear – is that moment when he has to work his heart out in a good cause and he’s exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.

Vince Lombardi

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Motivation, The Ultimate Internet Image, Ultimate Internet Image, Vince Lombardi Speeches Tagged With: , ,
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