Internet Marketing

Monetize your Business

by Melvin · May 12, 2018

This is a guest post by Daniel Bailey.

No one ever wakes up and wishes they had less cash flow. In fact, there are so many people who would love to make more money without a ton of effort. Thankfully, this can be your reality. If you have access to the internet, you have access to money. There are a few major keys that you’ll want to implement in order to monetize your business.

Passion. Pick a topic that you already talk about on the internet. Find something that you’re extremely passionate about and thoroughly enjoy researching. In the beginning stages of building a presence that’s monetizable, you’re going to need to do some heavy lifting and ground work to get things started. If it’s not a topic you particularly enjoy, it’s going to be harder to lean in to the process. The Internet is such a huge space and there’s so much room for all niches. It doesn’t matter which niche you choose. Just be sure to pick one that you love. It’ll help you feel curiously alive.

Discipline. To achieve anything great in life, you’ve got to put forth a certain amount of commitment and discipline. Surprisingly, there are many people who just aren’t disciplined. Discipline is what separates the good people from the great people. Sometimes, you’ll have to spend long hours working. Eliminate distractions, focus on the task at hand and get it done.

Home Base. While it’s good to use social media to drum up more excitement and conversation around your brand, you’ll want to maintain a home base that you actually own. Purchase your own piece of online real estate through a website and domain. To start a passive income stream, create digital products and sell them on the website. Set up the shopping section of the website and make sure that you have great web design and development in place. Elements like online shopping cart design and website speed are important to consider and perfect for a streamlined customer experience.

Automation. If there’s one thing you’ll want to automate, it’d be your marketing efforts. You can consider hiring a social media manager to take manage the Facebook Ad initiatives and interacting with clients. You can also decide to work on content creation one day each week and put it in a scheduling system that’ll automate the posts throughout the week. Whatever systems you choose to implement, make sure to do so. It’ll save you the headache and frenzy of managing a long to-do list. Lean into the process and be prepared to learn. As you learn more, implement those lessons. The more you commit to the process, the more results you’ll achieve. Before you know it, your efforts will have a compounded effect. Start the process now and one day, you’ll wake up and realize you are experiencing cash flow in your sleep.

Take the Boring Out of Your Online Meeting

by Melvin · Jun 14, 2016

This is a guest post by Tim Hamilton.

On average, half the people who register for your online meeting will not pitch.

When it comes to the crunch and your meeting is about to start, many of your registered participants will be too tired from the day, or life will get in the way, or they will have forgotten.

But you can entice them beforehand so that the event will be viewed as fun, unforgettable and coveted. And this will increase your registrations and those who actually attend.

When life’s so short, who wants to willingly and happily attend a boring online meeting? Take the following tips and make your event pop.

MelvinBlog has been Nominated for Bloggys Awards 2015

by Melvin · Sep 26, 2015

I am very happy to report that this blog, MelvinBlog.com has been nominated for this year’s Bloggys awards night! That in itself is a big honor as we all know there are many talented bloggers in the country and being recognized as one of them means a lot. But it doesn’t end there as I have also been invited to come to their Philippine Blogging Awards “Gala Night” this coming November 21 2015. Really, what more can I ask for?

Blogging for Local Audience

by Melvin · Feb 22, 2015

I started blogging in 2008 when I was still a college student. During the time I was taught to target a broader audience that can easily relate to the topic that I’m writing about. These audience were considered the ‘paying’ audience as they tend to buy stuff online and even if you’re not selling anything, these people will theoretically make you more money if you have ads on your site.

Cost Vs Quality: Do Not Skimp On These Elements for an Excellent Website Design

by Melvin · Aug 31, 2014

This is a guest post by Charlie Brown.

Any sensible entrepreneur wants to squeeze a dollar out a dime because after all, you are out there to make money, right? You need to be able to get the best quality of products and services for your business at the lowest possible price in order to make any kind of profit.

While that is good business sense, it can sometimes be taken too far. There are areas where quality can be compromised because of cost (not recommended but understood) and there are other areas where you money should not be an object. One of these areas is web design.

Your website, in fact, every one of your web pages is the face of your business to the world. Potential investors and clients will get a feel for who you are and what you are about from how your website looks and functions, and of course the content it has. So you really must put your best foot forward here and spend as much as you can on good quality web design.

There are certain irreducible minimums when it comes to the elements on your website and these are the things that you should concentrate on when requesting for web development. That way, you don’t go over budget but still get great quality work done.

The first thing you need to do is ensure that your website has good hosting. You do not need to be on a server that has anything less than 99% uptime. In addition, the company should have great technical support and customer service to help you navigate around technical issues efficiently. Make sure to compare prices here as well and ask around for a recommendation before you settle on one. Your web designer should also have some ideas on a good hosting site.

Next is to have a beautiful home page. This is the face of your business and should be made to look perfect for your kind of business and target demographic. Your home page’s design and function will go a long way in building your reputation for professionalism, relevance, excellence and a host of other factors, so make it count. The same level of quality should be reflected on the rest of the web pages as well.

You should ensure that your website is user-friendly. This refers both to you and to your visitors. It should be designed in an organized manner and be easy to navigate so that the visitors can be led through the site to the product or service desired and eventually make a decision on it. Don’t make it cluttered or complicated; just clear and simple. You should also be able to make necessary changes and updates without calling your web developer all the time so ask for a good content management system with your website.

It is also important to have a clear call to action on all your pages. Make sure each page directs the visitors to doing something regarding what they have just read and seen. This simple function will ensure that your website is successful and that your business will also be successful.

About the Author

There are few things that people look for in a good website and once you have them, you will be well on your way to success without breaking the bank. For more information on how you can get an affordable website design for your brand or business, visit our site by clicking on the link.

Leveraging Mobile App Discovery

by Melvin · Dec 10, 2013

This is a guest post by Paul Malicki.

On October 30-31, the 7^th Search Engine Marketing Conference took place in Hotel Intercontinental. The event featured some of the biggest digital marketing agencies and speakers from the Philippines, US, Australia, and Europe. Among various theme related primarily to new trends in SEO and search engine advertising, only a few speeches extensive elaborated on mobile marketing. My topic, i.e. “Leveraging Mobile App Discovery” was probably the only one, which fully focused on mobile.

Marketing objectives VS app discovery

Any business engaging in mobile app industry (on a different note, isn’t it a right time to start referring to it as an “industry”?) should start with defining the objectives of their campaign. There are two main marketing objective, one being direct response and the other– branding. Let’s treat SEO as an external universe to these two, although we all know that SEO primarily aims at increasing conversion rates. Thus, during the user acquisition stage most of the efforts should focus on the former. Branding is a great way to increase the brand loyalty and brand awareness and it should be underestimated. However, still many businesses underestimate the fact that user acquisition demands separate type of marketing. Whether these are Facebook ads or AdWords or even social media content, choosing the right type of bidding, tracking and target URL is a must. Once we define the objectives we can finally understand what app discovery is all about. Just look at the definition below:

Most successful app discovery channels

How do most of the users find out about your app? The results shown by the biggest research I found on this topic, suggest that mobile is a totally different world. Remember all those articles about how great Google AdWords and SEO is for the desktop conversions? Leveraging mobile app discovery is not anymore about Google AdWords and SEO. Focusing on app reviews, positive word-of-mouth, and social media seems to be key to increasing the user base. As much as 63% of the users find out about the app through… searching in the online store! Nearly 50% – by speaking with their friends or family, while another 34% – browsing through certain categories in the app store. The fact that a typical digital marketing channel comes only on the 5^th place signifies to the fact that creating good vibes and optimizing app store present are a must!

How do we do it at Easy Taxi?

Let me briefly introduce you an interesting startup. Easy Taxi is world’s biggest taxi hailing application, available on iOS and Android devices. With the app you can easily, with one-click, request for a taxi (and track it in real time). Although the company has been present globally for nearly 2 years, the local operations and marketing are so unique, that each local branch we initiate is a true startup.

Mobile ads

Our approach to marketing is very holistic. In the explanation below I would like to focus on my favorite user acquisition channel, which is Facebook ads.

Have you noticed that social media was mentioned as the 5^th most popular channel in the diagram above? Not without a reason. One unique thing about using Facebook as an acquisition channel is that it creates a brand environment that surrounds an ad. Each viewer is able to see the fan count, company description and additional graphics, which accompany brand’s Facebook presence. This makes them more convinced about the product. And although the relative conversion rate is quite low, in the developing countries, where advertisers don’t fully utilize that platform, you can easily get a Click-Through-Rate on mobile of 2%+, which assures the Cost Per Click which is close to zero.

What are the features of a good mobile ad on Facebook? Let’s analyze a sample ad of Easy Taxi.

1. Pricing Model

Choose Cost per Install. It’s good for user acquisition since Facebook will automatically optimize the best performing ads.

2. Campaign Structure

This is a general structure I recommend to all advertisers. It’s simple and straight to the point. At the same time it allows you to distinguish between the test and main campaigns and track what works and what doesn’t.

3. A/B Testing

I don’t recommend doing the test without accruing at least 50 clicks. Just choose the best ad and replace the current if it’s underperforming. You can follow this diagram to better understand the process:

4. Targeting

Please note the following:
Target competitive fan pages and phrases
Consider targeting users with higher education
Technology Early Adopters tend to produce lower CPA
Target precise interests and job positions

5. Creatives

A good ad is engaging and has a call-to-action. It also features an image which clearly explains app usage or a user case.

6. Others

On the top of that don’t forget about the following features / functions:

High Ad Rotation
High CTR = low CPC. Quality Score matters
Register your app with Facebook. Use native SDK or third-party SDK for tracking, not iTunes or Google Play ID
Understand Facebook bidding model
Make sure you don’t display your ads towards existing users
Analyze. Analyze. Analyze.

On a final note, let me outline a few recommendations to anyone who wants to start with mobile marketing. The main one is to try different things and stick to those that work. But before you do that, calculate your Customer Lifetime Value. It might happen that your app just won’t monetize and then your efforts will be pointless.

Before you start, calculate your cLTV (Customer Lifetime Value)
Measure your results regularly and make sure that your CAC (Cost per Customer Acquisition) is low
The only right approach is a holistic approach which puts an emphasis on various mobile strategies
However, there are usually 1 or 2 channels that work best
Find a partner
Humanize your brand and do something for others
Offline is not dead

What Is Small Businesses Take In Mobile Apps

by Melvin · Oct 9, 2013

This is a guest post by Katie Lewis

Today a larger crowd depends on mobile to access Internet than laptops or desktops and the number of smart phones and tablets hitting the stores are just mind boggling! Undoubtedly, applications on these devices can get business go pro with the marketing efforts. What more we need to bring a mobile app strategy, if not the data which affirms the importance of apps. The big brands are already there and we have to before our competitor does.

Irrespective of the industry, gaining loyal customers stays the priority goal. And mobile apps have turned more a vendor-agnostic tool for marketers to carry out tasks and reap customers from their fingertips. From hr apps to event apps to the ones you can save money, they make it happen- render support, services smooth and amass loyal customers. Remember, it is always easier and cheaper to keep your existing customers than finding new. Don’t you think the smart solutions are making day-to-day business operations way smarter?

Appsbar co-founder Scott Hirsch said, “apps are the fastest growing thing in the history of consumer products. Everyone is impressed by how fast it’s growing and I think it’s just starting.”

Let’s see what apps can do for you and why your small business need to plan on your app based marketing strategy.

Reach Customers

Understanding the location of your customers’ helps update them with offers relevant to the specific area. Customers love simple, fun and engaging apps that can provide instant perks, which can be a way to keep them happy, entertained and delighted. Business apps help you reach a wider customer base, than with a traditional website. Also, new users can find you via generic search by integration of social networks to expand the scope and reach of your business.

Face Competition

Small businesses still lag behind in developing a mobile strategy to gain a significant edge over competition. As users are clamouring for mobile interaction, they will favour the business that facilitates it. When you’re the only one in your industry, or one of the few with an app, helps secure your reach for paramount or if you are already there, you won’t risk what you have discarding the mobile.

Build Trust, Credibility

An important reason why people have put their trust and time in using mobile apps is the user experience. Custom mobile apps provide customers a one-on-one experience which cannot be found with generic websites. Due to effective interaction and engagement, mobile apps are more likely to bring interest to your services, enhance credibility and reputation.

Generate Extra

There are different ways to monetize business app. When you charge for the app on the marketplace, it will allow you to bring some extra revenue when customers download the app. Also, you can offer products through the app along with purchasing solutions for the customers. No matter how you monetize the app, it makes an extra revenue option.

Invigorate Business

Testing out new business strategies can boost innovation, and open up your thinking to energize your business. With mobile apps, it is easier to find out who is accessing your content, also helps to improve the way you relate to your clients. Keeping contact with current customers will be a platform to expand and expose your brand to potential customers, by leveraging the fastest growing technology of time. Mobile apps are effective and affordable investment that will invigorate your business to enter the new age of media and marketing technology.

Branding

Brand building and extension comes easy with a custom app, where you can exhibit your products and services, how it best converts. This will provide customers the kind of user experience that will make them come back and spread the good word – reputation to the brand. Remember, people trust friends and family more; you have to earn it.

Know Customer Behavior

Being on page with customer behavior is the key to deliver the service that is expected and beyond. Business apps provide you with right insights and info on customer behavior, shopping patterns, letting you tailor everything they want. Proactive communication with customers will help to know them better and provide timely response to their needs. You can say no to guessing, but trust data to improve customer satisfaction and retention.

At least 89% customers started doing business with a competitor on account to a poor customer experience. Yes you always have to do better than your competitor.