Some say we are in a recession. Others say we haven’t had any negative growth yet through the 2nd quarter of 2008 and you need 2 consecutive quarters of negative GDP for a textbook recession. The financial and credit markets are predictors of the future and they are telling us that, any way you want to measure it, 2009 will be a year of recession

Does this mean to go and hideout in a bunker until the weather clears? If you do, this will be a mistake which you will regret for a very long time. Tough times call for action, not passivity. It calls for greater precision and targeting for the most efficient and ROI-driven strategies to maintain and improve your sales and profits. Yes, I said improve … even in a recession.

The following from Emarketer was just released showing the estimates of online advertising spending growth:

The doom and gloom crowd don’t believe these numbers and therefore won’t share them with you as we are here. However, according to a June McKinsey & Co. survey of 340 senior marketing executives worldwide, 91% are using online advertising, and over one-half indicate that their companies plan to maintain or exceed current levels where possible. Even more telling, 55% of marketers said they’re cutting expenditures on traditional media, precisely in order to increase funding for online efforts.

Why is this? Why do marketing experts believe that shifting precious marketing dollars online and taking away from the traditional media is the way to go? It all comes down to results.

Here are the key reasons for the phenomenon:

1. The buyer is finding your website as a result of their personal initiative; all at a time and place of their choosing. Traditional media reach less than .05% of their target market at enormous cost; this is the quintessential example of inefficiency and waste and cannot be tolerated by all those on a tight marketing budget.
2. The web is, more than anything else, an instrument of measurement. Therefore it is vastly more measurable and accountable than traditional methods.
3. The web is clearly more targeted and provides us much granularity as the buyer or the seller desires. The information is all there and always available.
4. The web is just simply gaining viewer time. Traditional media commercials are ignored or “fast-forwarded” using new technology. When online, viewers are in buyer mode when searching for a product or service; they have the confidence that the web / Google et al will lead them to the right information and the right purchase.
5. Traditional media provide you only the information they want you to know in the time or space they are allowed. The web provides no barrier; buyers can check out products, prices, terms and conditions. They can use the social media and other supportive tools to gain the confidence and peace of mind they need before making a buying decision.

So here is what you need to do to overcome the challenge of recession:

1. Improve your Internet Marketing Strategy. This includes many factors:

a. Hire an Internet Marketing Company
b. Generate a game plan to generate targeted traffic through SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Sponsored Search or PPC (Pay per Click).
c. Make a major commitment to content with the company you select. Content is life-blood of quality SEO results.
d. Improve your website to optimize conversions as well. The right SEO Company will actually include this service as an integral part of Search Engine Marketing and Website Design.

2. Start e-publishing a monthly newsletter for your existing clientèle. Keep your name in front of your customers and new prospects that sign up through the sign-up on your website.

3. Consider Affiliate Marketing - depending on your business, you can take advantage of thousands of online sales agents that only earn a commission after the sale is made or the lead is generated … a true meritocracy.

Do all of these things and more and you will be found by precisely those people who are seeking your products and services.

Love life, not just the weekends. You only have one life, Live It! @ www.NicciAndLee.com

Here are some tips to start your own business on a low budget. If you want to start your own company and you don’t have enough money to think about entertainment rooms or even a simple cubicle, here is a way to get your company lifted onto its feet with a low and sometimes even no budget at all.

The first and most important tip of all is to think about starting online. The internet is the last haven of the cheap entrepreneur and it is an idea place where you can apply marketing strategies and start selling your service online, and looking at the responses, you can then reformulate strategies or even change your product cycles to fit the needs of your market. Don’t sweat the internet, there are people who have virtually just launched their business online and now are making tons of money from it. Reaching up to and over $50, 000 a month in revenue is not unheard of and the internet is the place with the potential to reach sky rocket profits and lift your brand up and over for everyone to see. The internet has many ways that you can make money. First all you need is a website, and that usually costs just a few dollars a month and some hosting websites will throw in a limited email service as well. With the website you have access 6 million people who are online at any one time. Use it as an online store and start selling products. Direct marketing on the internet is one the biggest booming businesses on the internet and the thing is you can sell anything online, from property all the way to perishables. Another thing, the top money spinner on the internet is affiliate marketing and this is something that everyone should know about. It is big business on the internet and it is basically representing another person’s product and using all the backend and frontend channels of the internet to drive volume to your website selling this very product and taking a cut everytime someone decides to purchase it. With affiliate marketing, you are able to represent many products at once, and once you get the hang of it ,you will be able to open up several revenue streams and watch as your PayPal account grows with every waking and unwaking moment.

The internet is the ideal place for anyone to start a business with a low budget and with it; even the person with the lowest budget in the world can bring an idea into fruition. Cyberspace is a lot like the real world, only it is more fluid, more dynamic and you are unlimited in most senses in access to the millions of people online. This is how to start your own business on a low budget and the internet has advanced to such a level that 60% of the worlds traditional businesses have online counterparts. The internet is a turnkey for anyone to start a business on a low budget.

1. Set your budget, and set your daily limit. (The most you can spend in any one day – start small)
2. Use a tool to help you choose your keywords. I recommend Wordtracker* for this. (Wordtracker shows you words that are being searched by you and me on the internet, so real time data)
3. Research Keywords that are applicable for you and separate these keywords into different ad groups.
4. Test and Measure with writing your ads. Don’t underestimate this stage. Write different adverts and test them against each other.

Helpful hints for Writing Ads
Make your ad more appealing to others so they want to click on your ad over someone else selling a similar product. Make it more appealing so you will be the one who gets the clicks. The higher your click rate, the higher up the page your ad will appear.

When writing your ad think about the following…
Do you have a unique selling distinction/point (USD) ?
What have you got that your competitors have not?
Then test your ad on yourself. Would you click on this ad? Would it interest you? Is it the same as all the rest? Are you selling benefits or features?

Test And Measure
Always test and measure and ensure you have your ad formula that works for you. We have found through extensive testing that we still need to test and measure!
We (www.NicciAndLee.com) separate our ads into different categories to ensure we capture the whole audience. We will write an ad that may be a question on the first line, we will also write one which is the first line not finished to make someone read on, and we will also write one with a statement and benefit in the first line.

Test and measure all 3 ads at the same time and see what one works for you?

5. Do you want to match your keywords exactly or do you want to use a broad match? You can choose to do either in the set up phase. (With exact match you bid on specific keywords only, with broad match you bid on all keywords containing the word you are bidding on)

6. Make sure you align your advert with your keywords that are in your landing page. This will mean you will rank higher and move up pages resulting in less costs and more profit.

7. Geo-target your ads and ensure they are only showing during relevant times. Make sure your ads only appear for searchers in regions that you can sell to and during times relevant to your company and/or product

8. Test and Measure. Use the free tools available to you (for example Google Analytics)

The objective is always to gain more for your buck or get a higher return on your investment.

The key to success with PPC is Test And Measure

Love life, Not just the weekends. You only have one life, live it @ www.NicciAndLee.com