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Free Internet Marketing Classes

Monday, August 9th, 2010

This Fall I’ll again be teaching a set of Internet Marketing classes at the Jefferson County Library, Arnold MO branch.  There are two topics this fall – Marketing Your Business Website (SEO) and Leveraging Twitter & Facebook for Business.

Registration is required for the free classes, and priority will be given to Jefferson County residents.  These classes always fill up so make sure you get yourself on the list early.

To sign up, call 636-296-5171

Note: Attendees to the September classes will receive a promo code for discounted tickets to Market Saint Louis in October!

Class Dates and Times

Title: Marketing Your Business Website
Summary: Learn how to revive a “dead” website. Topics covered include Search Engine Optimization (SEO), online advertising tips and avenues, along with ways to increase your website traffic and offline marketing ideas.
Dates/Times: Sept 23 at 6PM and Oct 15 at 9:30AM

Title: Leverage Twitter & Facebook for Business
Summary: In this class you’ll learn how to set up a Twitter account and Facebook fan page. You’ll learn about some great tools that will help you grow your fanbase, engage your customers, and how to utilize some ‘behind the scenes’ tricks to get the most out of your new accounts.
Dates/Times: Sept 9 at 9:30AM and Oct 20 at 6PM

Download and Print the Flyer

Posted in Marketing, Saint Louis, free stuff, small business | 1 Response »

Searching the Lou

Monday, April 19th, 2010

Is St Louis and Saint Louis the same thing in the eyes of search engines? Should you care?

We’ve got a bit of a unique situation here.  Our fair city is one of the few that is searchable in many different ways – saint louis, st louis, stl and so on.  But does it really matter to you how people searching for local merchants?
Click to continue »

Posted in Saint Louis, St Louis, beginner sem | No Responses »
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Interview: David Siteman Garland from The Rise to the Top

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

David Siteman GarlandToday’s interview is with David Siteman Garland, CEO of The Rise to the Top.  David bills TRTTT as The #1 Non-Boring Resource for Marketing Like an Entreprenuer: Smarter, Faster, Cheaper.  His website is an awesome resource for anyone who is getting started or already in business.  He also hosts a weekly TV show on ABC.

I’ve spoken with David a few times via Twitter (@TheRiseToTheTop) and also met him at the November ‘edition’ of the St Louis Social Media Group.  He’s quite energetic and I enjoyed his presentation.

David, I know your business has been around for several years, what first spurred you to get involved with social media for your business?

Social media for me was a little bit of being in the right place at the right time. I was one of the first 5,000 members on Facebook because I happened to be in college at the time (back when it was called THE Facebook and only for college students) and my school, Washington University in St. Louis, was one of the first schools to be added to Facebook.

For me, it started as a way to communicate with my friends in school and quickly evolved to be encompass forming relationships with other, promoting my businesses and other people’s businesses.
Click to continue »

Posted in Marketing, Saint Louis, St Louis, interviews | 2 Responses »
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Interview with Russ Henneberry from Tiny & Mighty

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Russ HenneberryAs part of a new series, I’m going to be doing interviews with local (Saint Louis area) industry leaders that are using social media and other forms of SEM to increase their overall business revenue and objectives.  This week I’m interviewing Russ Henneberry, owner of Tiny Business, Mighty Profits.

Russ Henneberry writes and speaks about Content Marketing Strategy and how tiny businesses can make mighty profits using a personal computer, a little imagination and a few well-placed dollars.

  1. What first spurred you to get involved with social media for your business?
    I started a business in 2004 that was a massive failure. The most critical take-away from that failure was that I needed to be more connected to colleagues, customers, and prospects. I realized that going it alone was not a good strategy and that social media was a great way for me to grow my support network.
  2. Tell us about T&M’s online strategy. What online tools are you using now to grow your customer base?
    I use a WordPress blog as a hub from which to consistently broadcast valuable and timely content that would be beneficial to my market. I use video sharing sites (YouTube, etc), Email Marketing through aWeber, and social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

    3. Click to continue »

Posted in Marketing, Saint Louis, interviews, local marketing | 4 Responses »
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Just Who’s Thinking About SEO?

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

It’s all over twitter – more and more businesses are looking to SEO, social media and other forms of online “advertising” to get the word out about their services and products.  And I’ve done my share of proposals for these businesses as well.  Some hired me, some didn’t.  But it’s always fun to reflect back and see who contacted me throughout the past year.  Below is a small but interesting list of companies I did SEO proposals for in 2009.
Click to continue »

Posted in SEO, Saint Louis, small business | 1 Response »
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Saint Louis Sees 16% Rise in Business Bankruptcies

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

News came out today that business bankruptcies in Saint Louis have increased some 16% this quarter.  This is apparently below the national average, but still a huge chunk of revenue and jobs going out the window.

I’ve spent some time over the last few weeks talking to business owners about their overall financial and economic situation.  As expected, nearly every industry is down for the year.  Overall, I’d put the average drop at right around 30%.

A 30% downturn in revenue can really hurt a business. One business was down over 50%. Ouch.
Click to continue »

Posted in Saint Louis, St Louis, small business | 1 Response »
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Upcoming Business Series Announcement

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

More and more businesses are getting online every day. Most of these businesses are doing so only because ‘everyone else is’.  This sense of urgency is good, but needs a foundation.  There’s nothing worse than a business that has a website simply because their competition does.  Online strategy should be learned, discussed and acted upon in order to succeed.

As many of you know, I’m the moving force behind Market Saint Louis, a twice-a-year business conference that focuses on teaching local St Louis businesses the ways of online optimization, advertising and more.  Speakers from around the country fly in to share their expertise on various subjects, from SEO to Pay per Click and Analytics.  2010 is going to be even bigger, with the conferences featuring two separate tracks – one for beginners and one for businesses that are already in the game to some level.

The event isn’t cheap (although the pre-agenda tickets aren’t very expensive) and some small businesses may have a hard time shelling out several hundred dollars in this economy just to learn how to spend more time and money on the Internet.  But it’s crucial for every business to be online now.

To help quell the fears of those business owners, I’ve partnered up with the Jefferson County Library to teach a series of free classes (yes, I said free) on Online Marketing, Social Media and more.  This series of classes will run January through March, and will be very limited both in amount as well as seating.

If you’re wondering just how your competition gets their website to the top of Google searches for items you sell, you’ll learn. If you know your business needs to be on Twitter or Facebook, but you don’t know how to use these tools, you’ll learn.  And if you want to grow your online sales, you’ll learn.

Scheduled Dates

Twitter Basics and Tips

Jan 14 – 9:30AM to Noon or March 4 – 6:00PM to 8:30PM
Learn how to set up a Twitter account and how to ‘tweet’.  You’ll learn about some great tools that will help you get more followers, find great information about your interests, and how to utilize some ‘behind the scenes’ tricks to get the most out of your new account.

Marketing Your Business Website

Feb 4 – 9:30 AM to Noon  or Mar 25 – 6:00PM to 8:30PM
Do you wonder why your website isn’t listed on Yahoo! or other search engines? Are you clueless about search marketing techniques that can draw customers to your site? We will cover topics such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), online advertising tips and avenues, along with ways to increase your website traffic along with other offline marketing ideas.

Social Media for Business – Leverage Community to Build Your Brand

Feb 11 – 6:00PM to 8:30PM
Learn how to leverage blogging, video and social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to grow your business.

Download the flyer / schedule

Sign Up Now

All classes have very limited seating and will be at the Arnold branch of the Jefferson County Library.  To sign up, call 636-296-5171.

These will be the only classes offered this Spring.  For more information on the upcoming Market Saint Louis conference (and to get the cheap ticket price) visit MarketSTL.com

Posted in Marketing, Saint Louis, conferences, free stuff, local marketing, small business, social media | 5 Responses »
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C’mon Social Media, Help Me Create a Radio Spot

Monday, August 10th, 2009

As most of you know, I’m speaking at the upcoming Look at Me seminar in St. Louis on the 27th.  I also happen to be the guy that is (along with a very wonderful and supportive wife) juggling all aspects of the event, including marketing it, setting up the venue, agenda, everything.  It’s stressful, but I believe this event is going to bring some great awareness of the need for SEO to the STL business community.

As part of my promotion effort, I’m going to be doing a radio commercial on a local station that has a great demographic for the event.

Problem is, I’ve been so stressed about getting this all together, that I’m not feeling 100% creative at the moment.  So maybe you can help.

I need some ideas for a :60 second spot on the radio.  What do you suggest would work best, what ‘scenarios’ do you think would best resonate with my target audience (below), and what approach (two people talking/acting, one announcer, etc) do you think would work best?

Unfortunately, with the event coming up quickly, I’ve got to get a decent idea for a spot over to the radio station soon.  That means this post has a short expiration date, as in tomorrow.

Any ideas/suggestions that you have, just post below.  !

Information of Use

Seminar: Look at Me – Getting Your Business in Front of Online Customers
Target: Business owners, execs, maybe a few marketing managers, decision makers
Radio demographic: 76% male, educated, 75k+ yearly salary, ages 25-54
Summary of event: Getting targeted, buying traffic to your website
Longer explanation: Did you spend a bunch of money on a website that isn’t producing the ROI you expected? Or none at all? Are you frustrated with your competitors making so much online, but you don’t know how they’re doing it?  Hear professionals in Internet Marketing tell their secrets.

Let’s see how social media can really help create a fun and informative radio spot!

Posted in Saint Louis, conferences, offline advertising, seminars | 4 Responses »

Upcoming Internet Marketing Seminar in St. Louis MO

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

speaking at upcoming internet marketing event in St. Louis MOI’ll be speaking at the upcoming Look at Me Internet Marketing Seminar in St. Louis on June 11.  I’ll be talking about SEO and how it can help your business create new streams of revenue.

This seminar is the first of it’s kind in the Saint Louis area, and was created for the purpose of helping businesses find new ways to wade through the recession.  It is for St. Louis area business execs, includes a nice lunch and a networking event afterwords.

The event is currently looking for other speakers on various subjects such as PPC, landing pages, and more.  Check it out and maybe you’ll learn something!

Posted in Saint Louis, St Louis, conferences, seminars, small business | No Responses »

New Swimming Pool Site for Saint Louis

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

I have recently completed a project for SwimStL – a website that brings pool contractors and customers in the St Louis area together.  The site, originally launched in 2006, has been redesigned and updated to provide their clients with referrals from the top swimming pool companies in the St. Louis Missouri area.

This business model is a great way to make money.  It is expandable to other markets, and could end up being a great asset to both pool contractors as well as people looking to build an inground or above ground pool in the area.

Client: SwimSTL
Website: http://www.SwimSTL.com
Niche: Inground and Above Ground Pools
Market: St. Louis, MO

Posted in Saint Louis, small business, web design | No Responses »

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