Marketing to Your Past Present and Future

On April 3, 2024   /   Featured Article, Success with Local Marketing  
Marketing to Your Past Present and Future

When experiencing a downturn in business, the tendency is to cut or reduce your marketing budget. Most business experts would agree that quitting your marketing will lead to greater losses down the road. When cash flow is tight, or the economy is changing, you need to change your marketing tactics. If the economy is doing great, you can invest more marketing dollars toward success in the future. Building reviews, adding more emails to your list, or expanding your website’s content will help you be found on Google now and in the future. But, when things get tight, and your cash

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Your Networking Momentum

On July 19, 2020   /   Success with Local Marketing  
Your Networking Momentum

Networking Expectations Many people view networking as a once in a while activity.  The truth is, you need to apply yourself to the process to gain momentum and referrals.  Here, we review some guidelines to make your networking mindset and your marketing plan more effective! Keep Making Mistakes My son, who was nineteen at the time, posted something on social media. He must have been down on himself. He asked for forgiveness for making mistakes and not being perfect. My response was that I was proud he had made so many mistakes. I explained the only real mistake would have

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Quotes from Main Street

On July 19, 2020   /   Success with Local Marketing  
Quotes from Main Street

One of the advantages of being a leader in successful local networking is gaining insight from leaders in business.  I’d like to share with you a collection of quotes that I’ve put together over the years.  I hope you get as much benefit from them as I have. “Entrepreneurs are #1 Open to Learn #2 Optimistic #3 Accountable.” ~ Paul Riecks, InSight Paul leads several professional peer groups in the Baltimore region. After interviewing hundreds of entrepreneurs over his career, Paul says that these are the three most prominent commonalities. “Don’t let the distractions become the attraction.” ~ Casey Coven

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Four Ways to Measure Success

On July 19, 2020   /   Success with Local Marketing  
Four Ways to Measure Success

Often, we busy ourselves with the activities of marketing, but don’t stop to evaluate and measure success. If you don’t measure success, how do you know you are achieving it? There are certain formulas you can use to check and see how your marketing is (or isn’t) working for you. Are you familiar with the term “floundering”? My Dad used to tell me I was floundering. I wasn’t sure what he meant, but now as a fisherman, I understand the analogy. Think of a fish swimming in the water with direction. Now, think of a fish flopping around on the

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Too Many Social Media Sites?

On July 19, 2020   /   Success with Local Marketing  
Too Many Social Media Sites?

With so many social media options and platforms available today, how should you go about deciding where and how to post? It’s probably not a good idea to post to all of them. You should be more targeted and strategic. There are several factors to consider. One factor is the type of business you have. A marketing company can benefit from showing great graphics on a visually based social media platform like Instagram or Snapchat. A business that is best represented by words will do well on Linkedin or Reddit. Arguably the most important thing to consider is your target

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Creating Fantastic Content

On July 19, 2020   /   Success with Local Marketing  
Creating Fantastic Content

What’s The Point of Creating Content Anyway? You’ve heard that you need to be blogging, but why? They say it is hard to get motivated when you do not know what the result will bring. We all know success rates plummet without planning and motivation. You are about to spend a considerable amount of time and effort creating content and  “blogging,” so there better be a game plan! Google Search Traffic When you are blogging, you are creating pages that will be listed in Google’s Search Results. When you search for a keyword, Google attempts to connect you with a

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Build or Buy Website Traffic?

On July 19, 2020   /   Success with Local Marketing  
Build or Buy Website Traffic?

Getting Social Trying to increase Website Traffic? Use social media, but be in control of your sales funnel. When boosting posts on Social Media, ALWAYS LINK BACK TO YOUR LANDING PAGES! All of those likes and shares DO VERY LITTLE to get visitors into your sales funnel. Linking back to your content is crucial to controlling the environment and promoting a higher conversion rate. You’ve installed proven conversion elements. You have Strong Calls to Action, and you have Quick Contact Forms on every page. You have tested your site, and you know your conversion rates. Your site is the best

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Google Rankings! What Does Google Want?

On July 19, 2020   /   Success with Local Marketing  
Google Rankings! What Does Google Want?

How can you increase your Google rankings? Let’s put a little personality behind Google. For instance, what does Google want? Google wants to keep people using its search engine. For that to happen, useful search results are a must. So, in turn, Google wants you to be an excellent result for their customers, the searchers. Therefore, becoming a consistent and trustworthy source of good results is the best way to grow your monthly search traffic. The Manual – Just the Facts Ma’am! In October 2015, Google released a one hundred sixty page manual for all to see. It gave some

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Turn Your Website Into a Sales Funnel

On July 19, 2020   /   Success with Local Marketing  
Turn Your Website Into a Sales Funnel

Think of Your Website as a Sales Funnel. You load your prospects at the top of the funnel and expect a certain percentage to convert into a lead or sale. This percentage is referred to as the conversion rate. The rate at which prospects become clients. There are things you can do to your website that can drastically improve your conversion rate. Working at the shoe store, we had to learn some tough web site usability lessons. We created a website that sold New Balance Shoes based on which foot problem you had. We couldn’t compete on broad keywords such

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Leveraging Email and Automation

On July 19, 2020   /   Success with Local Marketing  
Leveraging Email and Automation

Email  & Authomation is Still #1 Give your customers what they want. When polled, over ninety percent of people wanted to receive an email from brands they have an interest in. Eighty-six percent wanted an email monthly. Shockingly, fifteen percent asked for daily emails. When you are leveraging email and automation, you’re getting fantastic ROI on your marketing budget, and you’re giving your clients and prospects what they want! Over 3.7 billion people are using email, and that number is growing fast. By 2021 the projected number of email users will exceed four billion. In contrast, in 2019, Facebook reached

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Leveraging Mobile Business Apps

On July 19, 2020   /   Success with Local Marketing  
Leveraging Mobile Business Apps

In the early ’90s, many resisted computers. Folks thought they didn’t need to adapt. Today, everyone walks around with one in their back pocket. Cell phone technology and the race to the “next best” has advanced our toolsets (and mindsets) greatly. Here are eight types of apps available both on Google Android phones and iPhones that can help us tremendously throughout our day. #1 To-Do Lists & Note-Taking Apps Taking notes, making lists, and adding contacts on the fly is crucial. Making sure you have the ability to record information with the swipe of your finger will come in handy

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Do You Even Network?

On July 19, 2020   /   Success with Local Marketing  
Do You Even Network?

Attitude is Everything If you think that building your network can’t bring results, then read on and learn how to leverage your network to find prospects and clients.  When it comes to attitude, you are in control.  Remember… Positive Thoughts Create Positive Feelings And Positive Feelings Create Positive Actions Then Positive Actions Create Positive Results Are you facing a huge challenge? A milestone you are unsure of? How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! To keep a positive mindset, track your daily behaviors. Meaning, track your at-bats, not your home runs. Million-dollar professional baseball players miss

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Your 8 Second Elevator Pitch

On July 19, 2020   /   Success with Local Marketing  
Your 8 Second Elevator Pitch

Before we started training people to do an eight-second elevator pitch, many folks had very long elevator pitches. These thirty-second commercials would often drone on into ninety seconds, and sometimes longer. At the time, everyone was talking about building the perfect thirty-second commercial. Workshops were revolving around the subject, and professionals were even charging folks to help them craft their own. So, there I was, trying to build a system around my “perfect thirty-second elevator pitch.” How Long is Too Long For an Elevator Pitch? I remember writing and re-writing my speech, preparing to present it in front of a

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Asking for Warm Introductions

On July 19, 2020   /   Success with Local Marketing  
Asking for Warm Introductions

I was feeling enthusiastic after a LinkedIn Workshop from Steve Hall, and another Aha moment occurred. Steve was showing us how to search our contact’s connection lists to look for possible prospects. Maybe that LinkedIn contact would be willing to send out a warm introduction message to their connection. I asked myself, why not ask the people from networking for warm introductions? Learn to Ask for Warm Introductions Immediately I called Chuck MacDonald and asked him for a coffee. Everyone loved Chuck! With a bright smile and brighter disposition, you were lucky to have some of Chuck’s positive vibes rub

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Building Your Sales Funnel

On July 19, 2020   /   Success with Local Marketing  
Building Your Sales Funnel

If you are new to networking, hopefully, you already know that you cannot “hard sell” the other members of the networking group. If you have experience with networking, you can spot the newer guys and gals from a mile away. Many start networking, but eventually lose interest or feel that they do not get the results they should. The secret to successful networking is taking things one step further, and developing a sales funnel. Here’s an old networking question to ask yourself before an event. How many people came to the networking event to sell something today? Everyone, yes? How

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A Networking Sales System

On July 19, 2020   /   Success with Local Marketing  
A Networking Sales System

How We Started Hawk Marketing It’s important to be aware that everything can change in an instant. For me and my sister Michelle, that’s what happened when our good gigs at a large local marketing company disappeared. Like many other people, we were disappointed when we lost our jobs as the company self-imploded. We had no idea that networking could turn things around for us… and so many others. We went to Baltimore immediately to file our trade name, so that we could start our new company, Hawk Marketing. Choosing a name was easy. You see, our Dad owned a

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A Marketing Mindset to Win

On July 19, 2020   /   Success with Local Marketing  
A Marketing Mindset to Win

If you don’t have a plan, all you have is a dream. Having a marketing mindset to win means keeping your mind positive, maintaining momentum, and staying on track. Big Goals Lead to Big Success If you want to have awesome success in achieving big goals, you must have a PLAN. A BIG PLAN! It has to be bigger than any plan you’ve had before. If you’ve achieved the same goal before… that’s not the type of goal we are talking about. If you accomplished a goal last year, and you want to do ten percent or fifteen percent better…

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Success with Local Marketing Summit 2019

On July 31, 2019   /   Events  

Thank All Who Attended on 11/6/19! Next Summit TBA! SUCCESS WITH LOCAL MARKETING SUMMIT 2019 Be Seen in Nineteen So You Make More Money in 2020! Let’s Make More Money in 2020! Strengthen Your Skills and Grow Your Network. Join Hundreds of Business Professionals on Nov 6th in Annapolis for The Success with Local Marketing Summit 2019! A day that’s infused with Success, Education and Inspiration! We’ll see you at the Success with Local Marketing Summit on November 6th in Annapolis, Maryland. Tickets available below. EVENT SCHEDULE Multiple National Speakers! SWLM19′ Sponsors     Charity Partners In partnership with Ethan Brennan,

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Success with Local Marketing Book

On July 29, 2019   /   Featured Article  
Success with Local Marketing Book

Get the book every Networker needs to read, Success with Local Marketing! This book is a step-by-step tool that will take you through the process of converting business cards to a full online marketing plan. 200+ pages packed with actionable processes that will ignite your sales pipeline and keep it full. From creating your eight second elevator pitch to choosing which social media is best for your business. ($49 value) Over 200 Pages of advice, workshops and actionable items Make the Sales Process Comfortable Create a Networking Funnel Convert Social Media into Sales Email Market Like a Pro Create Awesome

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How to Make SMARTER Goals

On July 18, 2017   /   News  

How to Make S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goals Specific | Measurable | Attainable | Relevant | Time Bound | Enjoyable | Rewarding How to set SMARTER Goals S – Specific When setting goals, answer your five Whys. Get specific in your planning and execution. • Who: Who is involved and who is affected • What: What do I want to accomplish • Where: Identify a location to work (i.e. networking events, office, gym, etc.) • When: Start, and finish dates • Why: Why is this important and how does this goal align with my other goals M – Measurable Use metrics to help map out your Goals. Deconstruct your

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4 Simple Formulas to Measure Online Marketing

On July 18, 2017   /   News  

4 Simple Formulas to Measure Online Success Conversion Rate Number of Visits / Number of Goals Complete = Conversion Rate Goals are actions by the visitor that continue the conversation.  Some examples include; a phone call, form submission, or subscription sign up. If your website receives 100 visits and those visits resulted in 2 phone calls, your conversion rate is 2%. Out of 100 attempts, 2 visitors made a call. 100 visitors / 2 goals = 2% *The national average is 1-3% but with good strong calls to action you can reach results of 10-20% Cost Per Conversion Budget /

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Getting Results with Online Marketing

On July 18, 2017   /   News  

Getting Results with Online Marketing This article discusses the basics of how internet marketing works and how you can create new leads and opportunities through your inbound marketing efforts. Why do we Market and Promote? RESULTS! Marketing is when you spend money to advertise your business and promotion is when you spend time to advertise your business. When you spend  money, and time you expect RESULTS! Think of Your Website as a Sales Funnel You load your prospects in the top of the sales funnel , and expect a certain percentage of prospects to convert into a lead or sale. This percentage

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Google My Business Finally Allows You to Verify via Email

On July 19, 2016   /   News  

Google My Business Finally Allows You to Verify via Email It has recently been reported that Google is now allowing some businesses to verify their Google My Business page thought their email. This has been a feature agencies have longed for. What is Google My Business? Google My Business controls many aspects of a companies online presence and reputation. This includes online reviews, your local map listing, your google profile and googles social media platform G+. Many of these profiles are linked to your website address and other social media platforms and directory listings. Something so important to a business’

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Security a BIG DEAL in Google’s Top Ten

On July 12, 2016   /   News  

Security a BIG DEAL in Google’s Top Ten Is Your Site Secure? This August will be the two year anniversary of Google announcing that it was going to start using a website’s security as a ranking signal. Some agencies acted promptly, some agencies did not act at all. In the end, it is clear that having an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificate installed on your hosting account is clearly going to benefit your online presence in more ways than one. A little less that two years ago data showed that only 7-8% of Google’s first page results were secure. Fast

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Is Your Website a Hawk or a Pigeon ?

On July 12, 2016   /   News  

Is your website a Hawk or a Pigeon? What is the difference? As you know there are more than enough options when it comes to marketing your business. Often it can be overwhelming and usually these so called great opportunities don’t prove results. When it comes to digital marketing the field is wide and competition thick. You can get a website for FREE or you can pay $30,000! With so many options to choose from it is very difficult to determine whether you have made a good choice with your online marketing in the past. Hawk has spent the last 20

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