What In The Name Of Google Is Going On?

In February of this year, Google® released yet another update to their system called Panda. The aims of Panda are simple, remove poor quality sites from the top of Google’s results pages. What is crazy is that many business owners are just now putting 2 and 2 together. So, what does this mean to you as a business owner or publication manager? The aim of the update is noble, but the results to your ranking could be disastrous.

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Perhaps you have noticed a slight decline in ranking and/or web traffic? Your ranking could be slipping due to this new update if you have deployed SEO measures on your website like listing the same article in multiple categories or pulling in data from other sites via feeds and re-purposing it as your own.

There are literally hundreds of things you may be doing wrong and not even know it. Matt Cutts, Google’s head of spam, said in a blog post about Panda: "This update is designed to reduce rankings for low quality sites—sites which are low-value for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high quality sites—sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on."

The next steps from my perspective are simple…

1. Ask an SEO expert to review your SEO plan. Contact Brain Swell Media now for a FREE SEO review. helpdesk@brainswellmedia.com

2. Take a close look at your most recent SEO ranking report.

3. Re-run your keyword research and match that against #2.

4. If your rankings are slipping, there are four keys ways to potentially fix the issue. Be ready to make changes if needed.

Having perfect SEO is not a hard task. There are rules to follow and if you follow these rules, Google® will reward you for your hard work.

Contact Brain Swell Media now for a FREE SEO review at helpdesk@brainswellmedia.com.

Ryan Dohrn is an industry leading internet consultant. He advises business owners on SEO every day. He is a sales and strategy pioneer training sales and management teams large and small around the globe.

Sales Training: Waking Up The Dead Prospect

How often does a prospect sound engaged and interested and then drop into a back hole of no response? Even the best laid sales plans can end in this black hole. Here are six ideas to bring the client back to life.

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1. Set a timeline. Hopefully your timeline was set in the sales process. But, if not, give them one now. You can either tell them that the deal you have presented will go away or that the cost will change.

2. Vary your message. When emailing or leaving voice mails vary your message in an effort to wake them up. Try a professional yet funny message. Perhaps, share a quick success story.

3. Use a video. I like to have a Youtube video in the hopper that contains a testimonial from a happy client. Send them this link.

4. Order pizza. Being creative is often the best way to reignite an old conversation. I sent a pizza to a client once at lunch time with a note.

5. Offer a discount. Often if price is a factor, a “management authorized” price break might get the conversation going again.

6. Give them an out. If something on their end has changed, then they may be feeling bad about having to tell you no. I like to say, “You will not upset me if things have changed on your end. Just let me know.” Most sales trainers 100% disagree with this philosophy. My point is this…if the prospect has a legit reason to not move forward, why continue to hassle them?

There are truly hundreds of ways to re-ignite a dead sales prospect. When I train sales teams, we cover this in great detail. Overall, the biggest point is that you should not have this issue if your sales process is clean and tight. But, even the best laid plans fall short on occasion. Do not give up. Be professionally persistent.

Ryan Dohrn is a industry leading internet consultant. He is a sales and strategy pioneer training sales and management teams large and small around the globe.

Why Is Accountability Dead?

When advising clients, I often hear that their team is great, but just not meeting their goals. When I ask how long this has been occurring, the answer is almost always…“four to six months.” WHAT!? The next question I ask is about the metrics in place to gauge their actions and goals. The answer is almost always…“Well, we used to track it and ask about it, but we have not been so good lately.” WHAT!? Help is only one conversation away…accountability is dead.

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When I wrote my book, How To Be A Manager Without Being A Jerk, one of the ideas addressed is the fact that most managers feel that, if they hold people accountable for their actions, they will be perceived as a jerk. This is a fundamental flaw in your role as a manager. Accountability can be a very positive thing and should be seen as a part of daily life in your organization. I like to use accountability as a time to learn, share and grow. In sales meetings I want to know the details and then figure out ways to address common issues. In web design meetings, I want to know the details and then figure out ways to address common issues. Grow together as a group. Remember this simple saying, “That which is tracked gets reported. That which is reported can be fixed.”

If accountability is dead, have a sit down and talk about the positives that can come from sharing about challenges, deadlines and tasks. Reinforce that you will have this conversation weekly. Peer pressure alone will cause most to step up once they know they will be expected to report on their task list or client list.

Read more from How To Be A Manager Without Being A Jerk, available online at http://GreatManagmentBook.com .

Ryan Dohrn is an industry leading internet consultant and management consultant. He is a sales and strategy pioneer training sales and management teams large and small around the globe.

Best Practices For Advertiser Driven Email Blasts

So, you want to create e-Newsletters for your paying clients that will be sent to your readers? Here are 10 aspects to consider for maximum results.

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1. Subject lines are king, use the person's name that is receiving the email if you can. Always think, what is in it for me/them? What makes me want to open this when I get it.
2. Most email is read in the preview pane, so be aware of that when designing the email layout. Also, be aware of that when looking at results of the push. Open rates are often off by 12% due to reads in the preview pane.
3. Due to picture download issues in email programs do not rely on images to sell the product/service. Text is often better. Use images to reinforce text. Most advertisers want to just place a modified print ad in their email. NO! Keep it simple.
4. I do not advise sending an email on Monday or Friday. Monday is "delete day" and Friday is "do not pay attention day".
5. I like to send emails at 10am or 2pm in the target time zone.
6. Use an ESP with a great deliverability percentage like Contactology or iContact.
7. Test and re-test. Send several tests and look at them on Mac and PC and on mobile.
8. Make sure it is clear that you are sending this to them as a valued member/reader of your publication. Like this sample line, perhaps: "This special offer presented exclusively to valued readers of ..."
9. Approving the creative is so important. Make sure that is in your contract.
10. Think about your spam rating in advance. You do not want to have a spam rating at all. So, will the cash from this advertiser ePush create a ton of spam reports. If so, think twice. Does the ad really work for all your readers. Is it dumb? Is it a gimmick? Use your best judgment.
There is a ton to consider, but consider it you must. Advertiser driven stand alone e-mail can drive revenue for your publication.
I wrote more about eNewsletters in general and making money from eNewsletters at this link: http://tinyurl.com/3cnf2bs.
Click here Part 2 of this article for tips on how to minimize "unsubscribes" from advertiser email blasts...

Ways to Minimize Unsubscribes From Advertiser E-blasts

(Part 2 of "Best Practices For Advertiser Driven Email Blasts")

First, I would advise that when you acquire an email address, you add them to 2 lists, one for editorial and one for sales. You can do this by stating this clearly when the user signs up. For example, "By subscribing to the above e-Newsletter, the publisher may periodically send you offers that are related to the topics covered in our magazine. Your email will be protected by our observance of a dual list sending system allowing you to remove yourself from sales offers at any time and still receive our editorial e-Newsletter."

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There have been several things I have observed from my publishing clients that have caused subscriber revolt from advertising driven e-Newsletters.

1. The offer being sent is not in line with the topic of your publication. Many times the sales team will make a leap from what is acceptable to a reader. For example, I had a B2B client that was in the business news space. The ad based email sent was for personal medial insurance. While this does "apply" to business owners, it is too far from the core topic of the publication so the removal rate was almost 7%.

2. The subject line states the offer and looks like spam. As I said earlier in this thread be careful to be clever, but do not include words like "special offer" or "free".

3. Charge more for stand-alone emails knowing you will lose people.

4. Use your ESP technology to offer the e-News readers the ability to be removed from sales email and not editorial.

5. Keep all offers to text. Graphical emails have a higher unsubscribe in almost all offers I have seen. Try a logo and text or a picture and text rather than a large image.

6. Start off the email with a clear statement that declares why they are getting the offer and state how often you will or will not send these types of offers. Also state, that by unsubscribing they are unsubscribing from your main list. You can also see if your ESP has a re-direct page that says: "Are you sure you want to unsub? If you do, you will be removed form our main eNews...(etc.)" BUT, be aware of CAN-SPAM laws at this point.

BIG POINT...if the offer is in line with the core topics you deliver in editorial, you will be ok. You will get un-subs, but I think you can minimize the effect on your total list.