With regards to online trading, may I ask whether you mean share trading or commercial trading (i.e. in goods and services) David?
Personally, I have found that FB Groups are hit and miss. If you join a new FB group there is likely to be a buzz around it for a few weeks which may well fade. The problem is that they are often taken over by people…[Read more]
Thanks for this, uptrends produces a very thorough analysis. Ben recommended that I move from Fasthosts to TSO, so I don’t think that hosting is a problem. However, other than by reviews how do I benchmark a hosting company.
* If possible, cut down the number of WordPress plugins.
* Make your images smaller and use few images if you can.
* Do not use inexpenisive hosting as this is a false economy.
* Check the loading speed here: https://www.uptrends.com/tools/website-speed-test
Thanks for this, uptrends produces a very thorough analysis. Ben recommended that I move from Fasthosts to TSO, so I don’t think that hosting is a problem. However, other than by reviews how do I benchmark a hosting company.
Benchmarking a hosting company is a challenge, David. I have looked at dozens of them. We have used TSO Host for a long time, however you could take a look at: https://premium.wpmudev.org/hosting
@dkl I recall Nigel suggesting the use of tinypng.com to reduce the size of the image file in terms of MB, but not the size you see, important distinction perhaps. Oh, and it’s easy to use and works well – just upload images the download the reduced size ones. Thanks Nigel.
What is the average lifetime of the visual aspect of a website? There seems to be a fashion thing going on where substantial sites modify their look every three years.
Interesting point, David. I have visited a few websites recently which looked like they were created sometime in the last century. IMHO (In My Humble Opinion) a business website should load quickly, use a consistent set of colours, work properly on a smartphone and have a clean, modern look. I realise that the latter is subjective.
PS An update…[Read more]
Following on from the initial need to target a specific niche, what do you think that the balance between inward and outward marketing should be at the onset of a campaign?
If you are keen to get customers in the short term, the answer will be outbound sales and marketing activities (GDPR compliant of course!)
For example, you could use LinkedIn messaging: start by asking an open question and see who responds.
If you are making calls, it is a good idea to keep track of these within your CRM i.e. Capsule https://capsulecrm.com
The digital world gives small business more options for low-cost access to than traditional marketing. Because there is so much to choose from, what is the first and most important thing to get right?
I think it is choosing which customers you want to serve.
Marketing is all about customers.
Digital marketing can make it easier to reach them.
Having a clear picture of the customer and their needs, where they are, what issues they are facing and how you can help them will clarify your thinking.
Positioning can then be discussed, as well as how…[Read more]
Yes, quite so, David. There are opportunities everywhere, aren’t there? In this instance, conference organisers, speakers’ agencies and organisations that have C Suite members would be a starting point.
I am updating my websites and as I have three of them I want to clear about what differentiates them. The main dk-l site used to do everything referencing my thoughts on decision-making and promoting products and services; the two satellite sites decisionmakingspeaker and decisionmakingcoach were set up to be SEO effective in offering my two main…[Read more]
Hi David, From the visitor’s (customer’s) perspective I would view each site as standalone. Assume that they need to find everything that they are likely to require within the site that they are visiting, without having to go elsewhere. I hope that this helps. Kind regards, Nigel PS This strategy has worked well for me with my satellite websites.
I do have an app in mind, but that comes after refreshing the speaking and coaching offers, the book, systematic blogging and social media posting, a newsletter, an online course, and a membership group.
Thanks for the marketing strategy session, and for the mind map.All very useful.
My strategy is to have distinctive products and services that get people to think and act more effectively when making decisions.
I think that this is a positioning strategy, David. It is all about linking your name with decision making. As well as books, articles, blogs and talks there may a software product that could be developed. This is the way that Tony Buzan went with Mind Mapping (books first, followed by a software product).
I do have an app in mind, but that comes after refreshing the speaking and coaching offers, the book, systematic blogging and social media posting, a newsletter, an online course, and a membership group.
I now have a decent giveaway or lead magnet and want to maximise my effectiveness in using it. I will work it into my website, provide links in blogs and posts, and put it on my social media profiles. Should I go live with it everywhere at the same time or, selectively introduce it?
I heard a great speech the other day that thought selling was simple. The guy only made two points, one was that his phone was his most important gadget, and secondly, that he made friends with people. He got to know them, and either texted or spoke to them often.
Interesting, David. The phone is certainly a powerful sales aid. I always try to call people, when I receive a sales enquiry. There is so much new technology available to us with regards to phones, however, fear of rejection puts many people off from trying to ‘make that call!’
My three priorities together with my ongoing tasks are:
1. Uniformity of brand across three websites with more defined offers to potential clients.
2. I have years of contacts in my files and I want to access them selectively and use them where possible to build my email list whilst being GDP compliant.
3. Refine…[Read more]
Hi David, Yes, brand is of paramount importance. A strong brand helps with awareness, pricing, enquiries and, over the longer term, opportunities to team up with other brands.
As I know you know, email marketing is effective and it can be hard work to build your list; however, this is time well spent.
Social media is an interesting topic in its…[Read more]
With regards to online trading, may I ask whether you mean share trading or commercial trading (i.e. in goods and services) David?
Personally, I have found that FB Groups are hit and miss. If you join a new FB group there is likely to be a buzz around it for a few weeks which may well fade. The problem is that they are often taken over by people…[Read more]
The finger of death. I meant to say trading not trading.