Mason Works Blog

Stay On Track With Your Web Stats

2011-06-27T14:48:00.001-06:00

Successful online marketers can tell you their web stats from memory: how many hits their site gets every day, week or month, their bounce rate, their best traffic sources and keywords, and much, much more.

Those who sell products from their websites can also tell you their sales numbers: total volume, average sale, their refund rate – even the earnings per click! How do they know all of this? Analytics.

As a business owner seeking more business from the web, how can you tell if your labors are bearing fruit unless you look at your stats regularly? Short answer: you can’t.

Only by checking your stats consistently and understanding what they represent can you make the changes necessary to get the most bang for your online marketing bucks.

First Things First

The first thing you want to do is to bookmark the analytics reports page in your browser. It should take you no more than two seconds to open a browser window to check your stats.

Whether you use Google Analytics or a more robust paid service, just log in, make your way to the main report section, and bookmark the page. If your browser supports a bookmark toolbar, create a button so a single click gives you instant access.

OK, now that you can see your stats quickly, let’s review some of what gets measured, then figure out what you need to look for.

The Basics

Virtually everything that occurs on your website is tracked. Every individual page view. Every download. Every visitor’s IP address, what type of computer they have, even the web browser they use. Key figures include:

Visits: also referred to as user sessions, a visit is recorded each time someone interacts with your site.

Page Views: the number of pages requested and displayed during all user sessions.

Pages/Visit: the average number of pages displayed for each visit. (Much more useful than total page views.)

Avg. Time on Site: How long, on average, visitors stayed on your site.

Bounce Rate: the percentage of visitors who left immediately. In other words, they got to your site, looked around the first page a bit, and then thought to themselves something like, “No, not what I wanted!” and clicked the back button.

Absolute Unique Visitors: This is your best indicator of how many actual people came to your web site.

Beyond The Basics

Now let’s take a look at some of the more interesting information, such as where these people are located physically, and how they found your site.

Map Overlay: Check this to see where your visitors are in the world.

Mobile Devices: People love to surf the web from their phones and tablet computers, and this report will show you exactly which ones have been used to view your site.

Referring Sites: Listed here are all the sites that link to yours and have sent you visitors. You can also see the percentage of traffic from each source.

Keywords: These are the terms people searched for and clicked on when they reached your site through a search engine. Check this often, as you might find some terms you never expected – terms that might be useful for future marketing efforts.

Direct Traffic: These visitors typed your URL in directly, or have your site bookmarked. The pages you publish in your print advertising will appear here.

OK, Now What?

All of this information may be interesting, but how is it useful? For starters, if you compare the numbers from last week to this week, or last month to this month, you’ll begin to notice trends. Identify your site's biggest shortcomings from these trends, and that will help you figure out what to fix.

Is overall traffic your main issue? If you just need more visitors, you may want to consider pay-per-click advertising, or work on getting more sites to link to yours.

Not seeing enough downloads of your “Special Report” PDF? Perhaps it needs a bigger graphic to help people find it, or maybe the copy that “sells” the download needs to be reworked.

How is your “Average Time on Site?” Do you have plenty of visits, but a high bounce rate and a very low pages/visit number? In this case, your problem could be that people aren’t having their expectations met.

For example, if a person searches for “dog training” and lands on your homepage, but then finds nothing about dogs or training – they are likely to leave rather quickly. This could indicate an “on-page SEO” problem.

Your specific challenge could be any of these or something else entirely. The appropriate plan of action to address your needs is likewise unique. Consult with the rest of your marketing team to fine tune your strategy.

Set Goals and Alerts

After you have identified a problem and implemented a solution, use your analytics goal setting feature to track the success of your changes.

For example, let’s say you launched a new ad campaign and your goal is to double your traffic from 100 unique visitors a day to 200. Just create a goal with those parameters, and set up an alert that emails you when that goal is reached.

Goals can be negative, too. You could set one up that notifies you when your traffic dips below what you consider a minimum acceptable level, or when your bounce rate exceeds a certain percentage. Whatever is important can be tracked with an analytics goal.

Press Release Headlines Are Important

2011-06-02T13:06:00.002-06:00

Without a headline that demands attention, your press release will never have a chance of getting serious exposure. It doesn't matter if your press release is being sent to editors at the top industry news outlets or if you're publishing it online yourself, everyone - from editors to your customers - is in a hurry. Their decision as to whether or not to read your press release depends on if they find your headline interesting.

So, what can you do to write headlines that suck readers in?

Here are some tips for better headline writing.

1. Keep it short - The first thing you need to do is trim the fat from your press release headline. Remember, the people reading your headline are in a hurry, and they might only skim through it. Keeping it short helps to ensure your message gets across quickly and effectively. Don't try to put too many details in your headline; let the rest of the story take care of the tiny details. Less is more.

2. Clarity is key - Whenever an editor or anyone else reads your headline, they should instantly know exactly what the rest of your press release is about. Never mislead readers by promising something in your headline that you don't deliver on in the story. And while you're at it, get rid of tech jargon that will go over the head of most readers.

3. Stop trying to too clever - There is a very thin line between an effectively-clever headline and an overly-clever headline. If your headline is too clever or cutesy, it could instantly turn off readers. When you try to be too clever, you also risk losing the clarity of your headline. If in doubt, tone it down a little bit.

4. Beware of sounding gimmicky - Sure, the ultimate goal of a press release is to get your name out there, but that doesn't mean you should treat it as an advertisement. If your headline is "New Miracle Product by ABC Company will Change Your Life Forever and Catches Fish!!!", you're way too over the top. Eliminate the hype, and ditch any words that sound to much like ad copy.

5. Always proofread before sending - It seems like common sense, but you'd be surprised how many companies send out press releases with typos or other errors in the headline. Here's a tip: Set your press release aside for 24 hours (if you have the time) before trying to proofread it. This allows you to come at it with a fresh set of eyes, making it much easier to spot mistakes.

What tips would you add to this list?

Great Screen Capture Tool for you

2011-04-26T17:28:00.003-06:00

SnapaShot, free screen capture software

The smallest free tool for taking screen shots of different size. Just open Snapa, resize its window to fit the area you want to save, and press "Save" button. You don't need to install it, just download and use Snapa anywhere.

Thanks to Daniel Hall for this information!

Japan Emergency Fund

2011-03-15T12:42:00.002-06:00

Please consider helping the injured people of Japan. Whatever you can donate is appreciated! Go to http://www.globalgiving.org by clicking the button below.

Thank you!

Article Directory Sites

2010-09-27T16:10:00.002-06:00

Express your gratitude for the brave firefighters fighting for Boulder's beloved mountain lands and communities in the Fourmile Canyon Fire.

2010-09-15T21:54:00.002-06:00

Please join us on Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 2pm on the Boulder Mall to celebrate and thank the firefighters. For more information, contact Parade Organizer Alexia Parks, 303-443-3697, director of The Education Exchange Network.

Twitter Tools for Online Marketing Success

2010-07-28T14:49:00.002-06:00

Once you've built your list of twitter followers, you'll want to use some of the great tools created to update your communications. Here are a list of several tools to consider using now:
TweetDeck
Twittercounter
TwitTHis
TinyUrl
TwitPic
Future Tweets
and more!

Please let us know if you need help using any of these tools.
Best wishes,
Kathy

An Inspiration for You Today

2010-03-04T13:05:00.002-07:00

I just got this link to an inspiring video from Justin Brooke. He said, "When you feel like you can't keep going or it's too hard just watch this video and ask yourself again if you can keep going."
I hope you enjoy this!

Be inspired!
Best wishes,
Kathy

Pepsi and Coke doing Cause Marketing Campaigns!

2010-02-06T16:53:00.001-07:00

Many of you may know that we are producing 2 books on Cause Marketing this year. Now that we're looking at Cause Marketing, it seems to be showing up everywhere! Please click on this link so you can see what Coke is doing to compete with Pepsi's Cause Marketing campaign:

http://causeintegration.wordpress.com/2010/01/28/coke-launches-cause-marketing-campaign-to-rival-pepsi/

The 20 Most Important Search Engine Optimization Tips

2010-02-01T19:18:00.003-07:00

1. The number one optimization technique is to create useful and relevant content for your visitors. This is extremely vital to your success. It should be always be your first thought when you are creating your pages for your site.
2. Choose your keyword search terms so that reflect the theme of your site and the business market you wish to target. However, don't go crazy with hundreds of keywords. This will kill your ranking, not help it. Limit your keywords to only 5 to 10.
3. Use your keyword search terms throughout your web page. Most importantly, use your keywords or keyphrase(s) as close to the top of the you pages as possible, within the first 600 characters.
4. Your meta title tag should use your most important keyword phrase or keyword at least once and keep the entire title tag to 60 characters or less.
5. Use your keywords or phrase in your heading tags as well to increase the relevance for that keyword phrase on your page.
6. Be sure to use the "alt" image tag for all the graphics on your pages. Use your keyword phrases in these tags.
7. Never try to hide or "stuff" your keyword text by making it the same color as the background color of your page or the search engines will consider this spam and dump you.
8. Set up your own domain name. Do not host your site on a free web hosting service or on a shared domain name. If you do the search engines will consider your site"unimportant" and ignore it. Plus, it also shows a lack of professionalism on your part and will hurt your sales - if you are a sales orientated site.
9. With domain names so inexpensive these days ($8.95 at goDaddy.com for example you can afford to buy variations and misspellings of your domain name to prevent others from capitalizing on your web site's success, and to help those who can't spell!
10. Using your keyword phrase in your domain name can actually help boost rankings in the search engines. Using dashes (---) in your domain may also help you rank higher for your chosen keywords. Just be sure to link these sort of domains to your main site.
11. Name your web pages with the primary keyword phrase chosen for that particular web page.
12. If you are starting a new web business, include your keyword phrase as part of the name of your business if you can. This will help both for "branding" purposes and make it easier for your site to be found on the web.
13. Create a professional looking web site. Your site is your storefront and reflects your business image. An attractive site builds credibility and trust with your visitors.
14. ALWAYS test your site to be sure that it displays correctly in IE, Netscape and on the Mac. You'd be shocked at how the different browsers interpret html and can ruin your page design.
15. ALWAYS test your site for broken links BEFORE submitting to the engines.
16. Have a friend proofread your site for typos, spelling and grammatical errors.
17. Include a button or text link back to your home page on every page at your site. But DO NOT call it "home.html"! Give your home page link a name that uses your most popular keyword.
18. The first page of your site should be fast loading. Search engines cannot index graphic words --- only words in text will be indexed and ranked by the engines. Though we break this rule on our site, you should avoid using flash and all graphics home pages.
19. Google considers any type of cloaking (creating artificial site pages for the sole purpose of gaining higher search engine rankings) to be spam.
20. Create a site map for your web site. This allows both visitors and search engines to see all the pages at your site.
Here's a GREAT gift ebook that could put your website at #1- enjoy! It's called 101 Ways to Bullseye the Search Engines! Make 2010 your best online year yet!

6 Ways to Save the Earth with Mushrooms

2010-01-28T11:11:00.001-07:00

Please watch this if you have a chance!

I hope this stimulates your mind!
Best wishes,
Kathy

Starbucks is making the world better!

2009-12-29T14:02:00.005-07:00

On December 7th, 2009 at 1:30pm GMT Starbucks invited musicians from all over the world to sing together at the same time to raise awareness for AIDS in Africa. In that one breathtaking moment, musicians from 156 countries played "All You Need is Love" together. Watch now, as musicians from all around the world come together and share a song.

Join in by lending your own voice to http://StarbucksLoveProject.com Watch streaming video from countries around the world and then join in by singing All You Need is Love yourself. For each video submitted, Starbucks will make a contribution to the Global Fund to help fight against AIDS in Africa. You can also help increase the Starbucks contribution to the Global Fund by submitting a drawing to the Love Gallery.

The global sing-along is part of our continuing efforts to help fight AIDS in Africa. In just one year in partnership with (RED)™, Starbucks has generated money equivalent to more than 7 million days of medicine to help those living with HIV in Africa.

See what Cause Marketing can do in the world??

Do You Know about Scoopler?

2009-12-14T11:28:00.003-07:00

I just recieved a newsletter from Larry Chase and he recommended http://www.scoopler.com/

This new search engine mashes up four hot trends in search:

* Real-time results from live posts on Twitter, Flickr, Digg and Delicious
* Concierge-level search categories that automatically filter out irrelevant results and sort results into links, videos and images
* One-click sharing that lets you spread the word about your results to your key social networks
* Trending topics that show what's resonating with other searchers.

It sounds as if Scoopler delivers a bewildering array of options, but its page navigation sorts the results into easily scannable sections that quickly train the brain to hone in on the most relevant results: pure search results on the left side of the page and "live" posts streaming in real time on the right. This is a great way to collect trend information!

For the rest of this article, go to http://www.wdfm.com/marketing-tips/internet-marketing-sites-2009.php

Great Video-Did You Know 4.0

2009-12-12T14:41:00.002-07:00

My friend Amy sent me this video on Facebook- I hope you enjoy. It's amazing how quickly the internet is changing!

I hope your head doesn't hurt now...

Have you discovered Google Maps yet?

2009-12-12T14:39:00.002-07:00

I'm not sure how I got on an email list but I somehow I got a link to http://www.googlemapscash.com/ and it looks like it works like a charm. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Future Decisions

2009-12-01T20:39:00.003-07:00

We have just published a book, Soul Proprietorship- 8 Critical Steps to Overcome Problems in Business and Life by executive coach, Al Killeen. His book (available at http://www.soulproprietorshipbook.com/) is packed full of tools to use to help you select the best choices for you to have a better life. Wouldn't you like to have help making better decisions for 2010? I want to be able to select the best choices for myself and my company and have true soul proprietorship.This Soul Proprietorship book is a must for better decision making tools.
Do you know what obstacles are in your future? Sony played this mind-blowing video at their executive conference this year. Quite astonishing, and thought provoking.

Google has TV ads!

2009-11-24T10:02:00.003-07:00

Leave it to the geniuses at Google to figure a way to capture advertising from online video. We believe that this will be bigger than adsense very soon. The statistics are compelling that video will be used for search more than text in the coming years. To see Google's new offering, go to http://www.google.com/adwords/tvads/index.html#

LinkedIn The Right Way by Paul Castian

2009-08-05T16:59:00.001-06:00

I found this great post and Paul says that I can use it so here it is for you! Enjoy
In the spring of 2008 I addressed the Consolidated Graphics national sales force and told them they needed to get Linkedin! I told them it was the best thing since sliced bread and how their personal brand depended on a venue like LI. A month later, I scratched my head, clueless, wondering what all the fuss was about. 2 months later, I thought it sucked, wrote it off and moved on!

After some serious soul searching in November 2008, I had to face the hard, cold reality that I basically showed up to Linkedin, sat on the sidelines and expected the world to beat a path to my computer. I don't think I'm the only one, who went about it all wrong and offer the following 25 tips for you to leverage this powerful venue to enhance your personal brand.

Warning: This is gonna be a lengthy post. I wasn't about to milk 3 blog posts out of this. If you are like me, you want the info and you want it now. So fasten your seat belts!

1) Change your expectation of Social Networking. There is no quick fix, silver bullet, get rich quick. This is a long term strategy to say the least. Kind of sucks, huh? Well I think its safe to say that thanks to this economy many things are now long term strategies so perhaps a little patience is in order! Social Media Jedi Master Chris Brogan says "It's not the kind of project where you show up, build your profiles, friend a few people and call it good. It's a lot like tending the farm" Be sure to check out Chris's blog by visiting http://www.chrisbrogan.com/

2) Put some thought into your profile and make sure it does justice to the wonderful brand we call you! Want to improve your "Googleability"? Then by all means make your profile public by clicking here http://www.linkedin.com/myprofile?editwp= By the way, you Google potential clients, don't you? Think they Google you? This will give you at least one good result that comes back. Consider using the privacy settings if you don't want people to know that you viewed their profile. This way you can check out a potential client without them thinking you're a stalker.

Thought: Do you want your connections visible to everyone in your network? Do you have some clients that may get a tad pissed if they find out you are doing work for their competitors? Then click here and change that bad boy https://www.linkedin.com/secure/settings?browse=&goback=%2Eaas

3) Use a cool tagline to help set you apart from the masses. Examples: Craig Wilson is the Chief Appreciation Officer of his Sendout Cards business. Mi Amigo Hank Trisler isn't the President of The Trisler Companies . . . He's the Supreme Commander! Desire McBride is The Print Diva. My favorite is John Hudson who is The Dark Lord of Staffing. Our biggest challenge these days folks is being memorable. These people get it!

4) Join Groups: The biggest mistake many people make is joining groups in their industry exclusively. I think that's great, but you better branch out. I mean how many widgets do you think other widget dudes are gonna buy from ya Gomer? My advice to you is to join some sales groups as well. First, it will help you keep your finger on the pulse right now since sales people are pretty much out there on the front line. Second, you will pick up some good best practices and lastly, sales people can be a point of entry often overlooked in getting in the door. I would also recommend that you join some industry groups for the verticals you want to penetrate. Go where the money is right now. What industries aren't hurting as much?

Did you know?: You can join up to 50 groups. When you share a group with someone you can usually send them a direct email without paying for inmails.

Did you also know? That emails sent through LI have a much higher open rate than traditional emails. Can you leverage that as a sales rep? Damn right you can!

5) Get off the damn sidelines! This is where I screwed up big time. I joined groups but didn't participate. Get the feel of your group. Contribute! Add value. By the way, doesn't this help make you more visible and help with the whole branding thing? If you do it right it does! Start your own discussions in those groups. This is how you stand out! What are some thought provoking. appropriate discussions you could start in your group(s)?

6) Want to look like a Grade A, Ahole? Then spam the discussions with ridiculous infomercials on your company, start discussions that are blatant self promotions or get cute and start a discussion with the old "For the rest of the story, click here" That's how you build a brand as a jackass real quick.

Do you belong to a group that is littered with spam and self promotion? Tell the group moderator and if that doesn't work, then put your efforts in elsewhere. They aren't worth your time!

7) Facilitate your discussions for God's sake! This is by far one of my biggest pet peeves on LI. If you start a discussion and then disappear, you are an idiot! You not only display bad manners in doing the disappearing act, you allow your discussion to go inactive, sooner. Why wouldn't you want your discussion up at the top of the first page of discussions? Isn't that a great visibility position? Check out my rant on this subject here http://salesplaybook.blogspot.com/2009/04/play-39-david-copperfield-and-linkedin.html

8) Show appreciation for those who contribute to your discussions 2 ways. First, you should always thank people in the discussion with a simple "Thank you for your input (insert name here)" By the way, do we all enjoy being acknowledged in front of our peers? Do you think acknowledging contributions encourages additional contributions as well as folks following you to other discussions and groups? Worked for me. The other way I show appreciation is by sending a TY in a quick email. It's a great door opener and helps me differentiate from the masses!

9) Avoid ninjas like your online life depended on it. It amazes me how many otherwise intelligent adults will attack someone online in front of thousands. Trust me, when I tell you it will happen to you and if you are like me you will want to stick your virtual foot up their virtual ass. In a word, DON'T! You won't change ignorant people and you will damage your brand in the process. Doesn't mean you have to like it folks!

10) Use a hyperlink in your signature when you contribute to a discussion. If all you do is put the old "www" it would read as a link. Here's how ya do it the right way: Put a handy dandy http:// in front of your domain and viola. Check out how I do it.

Respectfully,
Paul Castain
Vice President Consolidated Graphics
http://salesplaybook.blogspot.com/

11) Don't use the automated invites, they are lame and you will sound like every other clueless person. Take a moment to make your invite personal. Think about the power of first impressions and more importantly, the power of being memorable. Reference something you have observed about them in the groups, a point they made, their company, some common ground or simply:

Dear Jake:

I would be honored if you would join my network.

12) How to minimize IDK's: IDK's stand for I Don't Know. If you invite someone and they select I don't know you get a real nifty snotgram from LI. If you continue to get them, LI can remove your ability to invite, because everyone has basically labeled you a dick. The real problem isn't with LI its in the ignorance of the recipient. They simply don't know how to tell you to piss off gracefully. That's why you have to educate them.

Dear Jake:

I would be honored if you would join my network.

Should you choose not to connect, that's fine, simply hit the "archive" button rather than the dreaded "I don't know" button.

13) Start your own group: One bit of advice I always give in conventional networking is to get on a board in a leadership position. The same can be said for LI. I waited until I had enough involvement in the groups and started The Sales Playbook group. Its grown by more than 2300 members in 3 months and it has dramatically enhanced my brand. I'm also happy to say that I have done so by enhancing other people's brands.

Come join our Linkedin Sales Playbook community by clicking here: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=1832739&trk=anet_ug_grppro

14) Post interesting articles in the news section. Use the "share" button to alert other folks in your network when you read an article of value to them. Comment on interesting articles. This contributes value to your group and keeps you visible in the process!

15) Add value to your network: One of the best ways you can do this is to be a matchmaker. Introduce them to people they want and need to meet. With so many displaced workers in these challenging times keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities. Not a bad idea to have a recruiter or three in your network while we are at it. Neil Wood replied to me privately when I asked for advice on some good branding books. He told me he had an extra copy of a really good book and sent it to me. Stacy Stateham has given her time very freely to folks that have needed advice and I too try my best to give value (even to my competitors believe it or not) When you do these types of things ladies and gentlemen, you don't create followers, you create evangelists spreading the good news of your brand!

Branding 101 Moment With Uncle Paul: Do you think it packs more punch when someone else says cool things about you and your company or when you self promote? Sorry to get basic on ya but if you are on LI then you know there are many who didn't get the spam memo!

16) Use LI as part of your meticulous pre call planning. I think its an incredible way for me to get inside my prospect's head by getting a feel for how they think in the groups, perhaps they link to a blog etc. This is a great way for you to get the inside track!

17) Let people get inside your head by using the applications such as amazon bookshelf, slideshare and links to your blog. Tip: People buy from people they trust. One of the first steps towards trust is familiarity. Make sure you give your network every opportunity to experience "Brand YOU"

18) Cross pollinate your efforts by putting a link to your LI profile in your email auto signature.

19) Status updates: This is a great way for you to stay on your network's radar screen. Avoid boring play by play. Donna Highfill puts inspirational quotes in her status updates. Others will put a link to a timely article, links to articles and blogs you have written. The key here is to stay on the radar screen by continuing to add value and avoidance of over saturation and taking it easy on the self promotion. You also need to use your head. Trust me when I tell you that your network doesn't find value in a status update that informs us that a bottle of Cuervo has your name on it or that you are having a meltdown. I can't make this shit up! Make sure you comment on status updates from your network. Example: someone in your network just mentioned that they started working at ABC company this week. Leave a congratulatory comment etc.

Tip: Scan the home page daily. There are tons of opportunities for you there but you have to remember Everyone's favorite subject is usually them self so make it about them!

20) Want to expand your reach? Comment on the blogs of your connections. Doing this opens you up to their community. In today's online world, it's not who you know, it's who knows you and who knows those who know those who know you and, well you get the picture.

21) Be consistent: You won't build your brand worth a damn if you show up two days in a row, take two weeks off, come back for a day or two. This needs to be a daily investment. Remember, this is a long term investment. Don't ever forget that!

22) Recommendations: Use your head on this one. Please! One of the quickest ways for me to yell Jackass is when someone I barely know, hits me up for a recommendation. When I call them out on it, I'm usually given an explanation that they used the automated send to all feature which is just plain stupid if you ask me. Be selective who you ask and be selective who you give recommendation's to. Remember, its your credibility dude!

23) Stop with the juvenile "I want to have the most contacts" BS! How in the hell can you realistically connect properly with 12,000 contacts. Seriously dude! Better to have quality contacts. Be selective in who you ask to join your network. Be selective who you allow to connect with you too! Be deliberate and intentional in this department. By the way, I'm in the process of writing a book. When I first started I didn't know a thing about finding an agent, a publisher and all that fun stuff. I purposely hunted folks with experience in these areas and avoided contacts that had nothing to do with what I do or who I can impact.

24) Ask and answer questions to further position you as a thought leader by clicking here:http://www.linkedin.com/answers?trk=hb_tab_ayn

Cool Tip: Want to get a better response and greater visibility when you ask a question? Choose the option to send the question out to up to 200 people in your network.

Hook a fellow Jedi up: by suggesting someone from your network as an expert to a question. This is a nice way for you to continue to add value to your network and encourage a really cool thing called reciprocation!

25) Understand that you must move this virtual online stuff to real time or its absolutely meaningless! One of the things I do is make a goal each week that I will connect live (face to face, phone, coffee, lunch, drink, etc) with at least 2 people from my network. When I do, I make sure my time with them is about them, not me. My goal is to not only get to know them, its to find out who an ideal client would be for them, their goals, their dreams their challenges.

I want to leave you with a bit of a challenge. One that I wish someone told me about when I left Linkedin after only 60 days of half assed effort. Try these things that I mentioned for 90 days. Give it your all. Be consistent and do something daily to enhance your online brand. Give value to people unconditionally and don't keep a scorecard. Learn everything you can and if at the end of 90 days of you getting off the sidelines you feel it was a waste of time, then move on.

I, for one am quite pleased with my results. The Castain brand is alive and ticking and as a bonus, I've made some wonderful friends along the way. Also been talking to a few publishers so its nice to be moving toward that important milestone in my life!

I want you to think about something else that many people don't realize. Your linkedin experience is about community. All human beings want to belong to or be a part of something. Can you leverage that?

There's your million dollar question to chew on!

Please forward this to your community!
Subscribe to Paul Castain's Sales Playbook by Email

PS I've had several requests to post this article on various websites. I'm certainly honored and want you to feel free to do so as long as you credit Paul Castain's Sales Playbook. Thanks :)

Posted by Paul Castain at 10:31 PM

Seth Godin on Business and Social Networking

2009-08-05T13:20:00.003-06:00

I love Seth Godin's views on marketing! And I agree with his statements here. In fact Estes Banks, Jordan Paul and I had this interesting conversation just yesterday. Quality vs quantity...

Beautiful Chalk Drawing Video

2009-07-22T12:24:00.003-06:00

I hope that you enjoy this incredible video!

Firekites - AUTUMN STORY - chalk animation from Lucinda Schreiber on Vimeo.

I'm amazed at the creativity! Enjoy!
Best wishes,
Kathy

Word of Mouth Marketing

2009-06-30T18:02:00.003-06:00

There is one form of advertising that has always worked, and will continue to work, and has nearly a guaranteed positive ROI. It’s the most trusted form of advertising out there, has no shelf life, and will always be well received by your market – so what is it?
Word Of Mouth!
That’s right, possibly the most perfect form of small business marketing your products and services is through word of mouth.
If you’re not sure how powerful word of mouth can be, take a look at these statistics:
• 2/3 of the United States Economy is driven by word of mouth
• 10% of consumers influence the purchasing decisions of the other 90%
• 91% of consumers are “likely” to buy off of a recommendation
• 92% of consumers “prefer” a word of mouth recommendation
These numbers should excite you- they excite us! That's why we have put together marketing programs that work to generate local visibility and positive word of mouth. Stay tuned to learn how you can use these tools to grow a positive buzz for your business.

Cause Marketing Is Good Business

2009-05-27T16:02:00.002-06:00

Please watch this video to see why we are partnering with Make the Difference Network to help small businesses use Cause Marketing.

Please call us or email us for more information. Mason Works- 303-527-2978
Make The Difference Network -Kent McBride 720-227-9224

Good "Cents" Marketing

2009-04-30T11:26:00.003-06:00

In today's challenging economic climate, many businesses are making a terrible mistake in an effort to ride out the tough times. "What mistake they are making? They are trimming back on the keybusiness activity affecting their sales stream - Marketing! Cutting back on marketing is flirting with disaster. Businesses should be concerned with increasing the value of marketing by working with more cost effective marketing tools.

So, how do you get more marketing "bang for your buck?" Try a press release. This will not only protect businesses from declining sales, but will strengthen business threats against opportunistic competitors who view the difficult economy as a great way to outmaneuver you and grab your customers.

Achieving greater marketing value with fewer dollars through use of a press release is becoming more popular than ever. This tool has been in existence for a long time, used by experienced marketers
and is now becoming more popular with smaller businesses as well.

We have a gift for you- a list of low cost or no
cost press release sites! To get your free copy
of these sites, click on the cover-you'll be glad
you did! We've done the work for you- all you
need to do is sign up and write some interesting
press releases to get your company's name visible.

If you need help writing press releases that get great web exposure, call Mason Works at 303-527-2978. We can make the online marketing tools work wonders for you.

What do you choose?

2009-04-24T17:36:00.000-06:00

I love this video- I hope you do too!

We love Twitter! You will too!

2009-04-21T15:19:00.003-06:00

I found this wonderful slide presentation about using Twitter for business.
You really need to start using this fantastic tool. I love Twitter! You can learn so much about what the gurus are doing (things that actually work). To follow me on it, I'm listed at http://www.twitter.com under kathy_mason . Thanks!

Twitter For Business

View more presentations from iangreen.

Crystal Clear Graphics

2009-04-06T16:50:00.002-06:00

I just found a great post on wikipedia for web graphics! Go to:http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Clear to see! Follow their instructions for the best results.

I hope you enjoy!
Best wishes,
Kathy

F.r.e.e (or low cost) Press Release Sites

2009-03-30T12:25:00.002-06:00

We created this list to help you send out Press Releases to get visibility on or off the web. They are:

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/
http://www.1888PressRelease.com/
http://www.addpr.com/
http://www.businesswire.com/
http://www.clickpress.com/
http://www.ecommwire.com/
http://www.emediawi re .com/
http://express-press-release.net/
http://www.free-news-release.com/
http://www.freepressindex.com/
http://www.free-press-release.com/
http://www.free-press-release-center.info/
http://www.freepressreleases.co.uk/
http://www.i-newswire.com/
http://www.marketwire.com/
http://www.newswire.ca/en/
http://www.newswiretoday.com/
http://www.openpress.com/
http://www.pr.com/
http://www.pr9.net/
http://www.prbuzz.com/
http://www.pressabout.com/
http://www.press-base.com/
http://www.pressbox.co.uk/
http://www.pressmethod.com/
http://www.pressreleasenetwork.com/index.html
http://www.prfree.com/
http://www.pr-inside.com/
http://www.prleap.com/
http://www.prlog.org/
http://www.prnewswire.com/
http://www.prweb.com/
http://www.softpressrelease.com/index.php
http://www.theopenpress.com/index.php?a=index
http://www.webwire.com/
You'll need to set up an account with them and then submit your Press Release. Please let us know if you need help.
Best wishes,
Kathy

Incredible-Design Inspiration Sites

2009-03-27T14:33:00.004-06:00

Finding inspiration is not always as simple as it sounds, whether you’ve been designing for years or only weeks. The design team at Mason Works is always coming up with new ideas quickly so inspiration is always welcome.
I found a collection of 100 great web resources to find inspiration and direction on your next project, whether it be online or in print. Its at www.mashable.com.
Look here: http://mashable.com/2009/03/16/design-inspiration/

They have collected galleries of graphic and web design as well as online magazines and a few unconventional sources of inspiration. Please let me know what you think!

Here's to always being inspired!

A Great Reasearch Tool

2009-02-06T12:26:00.003-07:00

I have been using a great new tool from Jon Ledger, one of my marketing heroes. (He's the creator of 3way links) He has just launched a new product, Answer Analyst, that allows to to collect data from the web very easily and efficiently. He's running a special at 20% off right now-so here's the link to grab your copy today. http://tinyurl.com/bn8r96
You won't be sorry! Think of how much time this product can save you!
Best wishes,
Kathy

A beautiful song for a new era

2009-01-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

I hope you enjoy this beautiful song!
Best wishes,
Kathy

Optimize Your Productivity

2009-01-08T13:02:00.001-07:00

Ever feel like you’re just spinning your wheels and getting little if nothing accomplished?? If your answer is “YES,” (and we all have all felt this way many times in our lives), then a visit to Productivity501 (www.productivity501.com) might just do the trick. Productivity 501 is a blog site dedicated to bringing you regular tips to help you increase your personal productivity.

Productivity501 contains helpful tips in the areas of: Development, Organization, Productivity, Money, Time Management, and Technology. Just keep in mind however, that the publication schedule for Productivity501 is a little slower than other blogs since this site focuses on original content and focuses on posting things that will be beneficial to their readers.

E-mail courses such as the Procrastination Prevention Course and Using the Habit are currently available and the Organized Desk Course and Productive Digital Lifestyle Course are in development.

Location Based Social Networking Services

2008-12-29T12:23:00.003-07:00

I found a great list of Social Networking sites that are specifically designed to communicate with a location or region. The publisher is in my LinkedIN group. Please take a look at this- http://bdnooz.com/lbsn-location-based-social-networking-links/ I will be adding new entries to it as soon as I get a chance to check it all out. I hope some of them help you.
We will be using a lot of these services to gain unfair advantages in 2009!
Please keep me posted.
Thanks,
Kathy

Video in email

2008-12-10T17:01:00.002-07:00

Video is a great way to communicate!

We recommend using video to "talk" to your customers. Most people's email accounts will not allow you to send large files, so historically videos have been housed on a website and then a link is placed in your email letter. Here's the way we suggest you do it:

In order to make sure your video is displayed to recipients, try using a still image (.gif or .jpg) of your video as it appears inside a video player, with the recognizable PLAY button making it clear that a video is contained therein. This can easily be accomplished by taking a screenshot of the video as it appears on your screen, then cropping the image so only the video player remains.

When recipients click on the image of your video, direct them to a landing page on your site containing the video. While this redirection may alarm some members of your audience who expected the video to play, it is a very common email practice. Be sure the landing page they are directed to is designed in such a way that it eases any concerns they may have. Not only should the video in question be front and center on the landing page, but calling out the video specifically in the page's Title tag can prevent users from closing the window if the page takes a few seconds to load. To further optimize your message, use alt text in the filename of the video image and provide a text version of the link to the landing page to make sure that recipients who have images disabled on their incoming messages are made aware that a video is available for viewing.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Kathy

Google can save you time and energy!

2008-12-05T16:40:00.002-07:00

If you are looking for faster ways of doing things for the rest of 2008 and forward, consider working with the new tools at Google.com. Here are some ideas to help you:

1. Use Google Reader to subscribe to blogs. Blogs just like this one are regularly updated with new content. This nature of blogs opens up many ways of tracking the newly posted content. One of the easiest ways to do that is through feeds.

Instead of browsing through each website daily just to check if there's a new article, you can use a special software called Feed Reader to subscribe to the website and do the checking for you.

Google Reader is an online feed reader that you can use to track changes of hundreds of websites. Its robust interface arranges feeds into different folders based on assigned tags.

2. Use Google to automate alerts, search blogs, and go through news items. It's never been easier to follow the news and receive the latest updates on a particular topic.

Google Alerts can be used in many ways, but the easiest way to do it is by creating alerts using keywords related to the subjects you're interested in. Thus, you can sift through the data from blogs and news sites then automatically get updates on your searches via RSS feed.

For searches that are specific to blogs, you can use Google Blog Search.

3. Use Google Books to preview books. Google Books is an ambitious project involving the scanning and indexing of printed books and compiling them in a virtual library. As such, you can either browse the catalog of books or use keywords to find relevant literature. There are thousands of books indexed, so you have a pretty good chance of finding one that suits your taste.

One of its killer features is the Preview, which allows you to download a PDF of selected titles. (These are usually public domain books.) Other books, which are still actively sold and protected by copyright, likewise offer a significant number of scanned pages to give you an idea of what you will get when you buy them.

4. Know what's popular via Google Trends. If you want to find out how one subject compares to another in terms of popularity, Google Trends is the perfect tool. Based on the search requests stats on Google, Trends present you a historical graph of search queries about a particular subject. You only see a guideline and not the exact number of searches. (In any case, that's all you need when you're comparing two or more things.)

There's a list of the most popular trends each day. For each peak in the interest graph, you usually get a link to the source of these developments. Google analyzes the search activity and highlights the hottest topics.

5. Go GMail all the way. My personal favorite, GMail, is the next best thing since sliced bread. It has revolutionized the way we use online email services. In fact, I think it has become a better option than PC-installed email clients like Outlook or Thunderbird.

GMail ups the ante because it has plenty of space for your emails (7GB per mailbox and constantly growing), uses tags for organizing emails, and can collect emails from other mailboxes (POP3).

6. Use Google.com for spelling. Because of the sheer number of searches Google deals with, it is now in the position to suggest corrections to your search requests in case you make a typo.

Besides, you can always look at the number of search results found for your query. Words that are spelled accurately usually appear in more sites or pages.

7. Use Google to do math and convert measurement units. Simply type a math expression in your search bar and Google will be happy to do the calculations for you. You can also try using it to convert various units of measurement.

8. Use Google to find out what time it is anywhere in the world. If you're having a hard time calculating the local time when you're about to call and give birthday greetings to your aunt halfway across the world, use Google to find out if your timing is right.

Simply type your request like this: time in New York.

Then, right under your query, Google will show you the current time. Magic, isn't it?

9. Use the nifty Google Maps. I always use Google Maps to look up places and get driving directions to them. But it offers so much more. I guess the fact that Apple uses this service in their iPod Touch devices proves that it's one of the most efficient mapping services available today.

When you're looking at a map of any major city, you can enjoy schematic or aerial (satellite-imaged) view, browse local businesses in the area, as well as get driving and walking directions in either miles or kilometers. Nothing beats Google Maps' spot-on directions and realistic time estimations.

10. Store your documents online with Google Docs. Many of documents, spreadsheets, and presentations can now be done online using suites of online productivity tools. Google Docs is one of them. You can either create or upload new documents. (GMail likewise offers an option that will enable you to automatically convert attachments from your emails into Google Docs instead of downloading them to your PC.)

With Google Docs, you can easily access all your documents at any location since they're stored on Google servers. Thus, it also facilitates collaboration as it enables you to share documents with others so you and your colleagues can work on any document collectively in real time.

Get more organized with Jott!

2008-11-03T10:11:00.003-07:00

I just discovered a great new tool that I think might help you be more productive. Check this out. It's a great way to capture your thoughts, create to-dos and set reminders. You call and it can even text message you!
It's http://jott.com/
Enjoy!
Kathy

New Software site to watch and bookmark!

2008-10-30T21:28:00.003-06:00

I love to use software programs that speed up tasks. So I was thrilled to find out about a software site that gives away a new product every day! Go to http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/

Each item is reviewed so you can see what everyone else thought about the software before you take the time to download and install it. Looks like I'll be checking it out daily too!

Best wishes,
Kathy

Need Some Great Collateral Ideas?

2008-10-08T18:22:00.002-06:00

Here's a site for the do-it-yourself marketing person -http://www.hp.com/sbso/productivity/office/index.html
They have a series of f.ree templates for you to use with the HP printers and papers.
Enjoy!

Contact Celebrities!

2008-09-22T14:56:00.005-06:00

Do you need a great "guerilla marketing" idea? Here's one for you if you need to find "famous" people to endorse your products or services? Then you might want to consider The Celebrities Database. For an introductory price of only $1 you can test using their database to find your best partners to get visibility for your cause. Go to http://www.contactanycelebrity.com/index.htm

Successful E-commerce blogs

2008-08-26T16:49:00.002-06:00

I just found a great article for you to read on Larry Chase's blog about E-commerce blogs. Go to http://www.wdfm.com/publish/e-commerce_blogs/ to check it out! I hope this helps you.
I'll be writing again soon!
Best wishes,
Kathy

Skype Is Cool!!

2008-07-08T10:12:00.000-06:00

You might already know this but in case you don't.

Most people know this part - users of Skype calling other Skype users via a computer is a free call anywhere in the world. pretty cool. Just need a USB headset or speakers and a mic.

But some people I need to call do not use Skype. For about $2.95/mo you can add the option to make phone calls to phone numbers. I use this to call Mom or when I am traveling and need to attend meetings.
http://www.skype.com/allfeatures/subscriptions/#uscaSubscriptionTab

Skype is available at www.skype.com and is a free download.

Advertise Your Product or Service on Facebook Free

2008-05-19T16:18:00.003-06:00

I just read an interesting article that I think you should try. Facebook is one of the best ways to reach a lot of consumers- and this article explains how to get a posting for your product or service gratis!

http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.html?id=30590

Please let me know what you think!
Best wishes,
Kathy

Great Marketing Blogs

2008-03-31T17:53:00.003-06:00

Are you looking for quality marketing information? Here is a list of blogs for you to check out:

1. Seth's Blog - Seth Godin

Reason: Seth has probably one of the greatest marketing minds of our time. He is a genius and easy to understand. He has a good blog and several great books: Purple Cow, The Big Moo and Meatball Sundae.

2. ProBlogger.net - Darren Rowse

Reason: Darren has been a pro blogger for a number of years. I trust his knowledge and experience.

3. Daily Blog Tips

Reason: The name says it all. These are really good, practical tips on how to have a better blog and WordPress site.

4. Friday Traffic Report - Jack Humphrey

Reason: Jack is the king of Web 2.0 traffic and always has something new and useful on his blog related to getting traffic.

5. Lorelle on WordPress

Reason: Whenever I have a technical or update question about WordPress this is one of the two sites I checkout first.

6. How to Spotter - Alex Sysoef

Reason: Whenever I have a technical or update question about WordPress this is the other one of the two sites I checkout first. Alex has also developed an excellent WordPress theme and training system for new WordPress users.

7. AlexKing.org

Reason: Some of the best WordPress plugins ever released came from Alex. Plus, he now uses WordPress as a CMS for all of his website development. You can learn a lot from this guy.

8. Court's Internet Marketing School - Courtney Tuttle

Reason: Court probably gives out more free, useful, real-world info than any other blogger out there. If you are using a blog to market on the Internet you need to subscribe to Court's feed.

9. Epic Web Strategies - Ben Cope

Reason: Ben is the creator of the WordPress Dream Theme and the Video Blog Dream Theme. He is a very creative WordPress designer and extremely easy to work with.

10. WordPressTraining.com - Kirk Biglion

Reason: This site is a great resource for easy to follow WordPress training videos. His latest is a review of WordPress 2.5

Thanks to 1Cat.biz for the suggestions!

Great SEO information for you!

2008-02-27T14:11:00.002-07:00

I just received an email with a link to a great resource explaining SEO information for coding your websites. I hope you find this useful:
http://www.1automationwiz.com/ecommerce-tips/meta-tags-clinic.html

We just put a video up on a customer's site- check it out:
http://www.salesleadershipdevelopment.com/Videos/index.htm
She's amazing!

I'll write again soon.

Want to get your video seen on YouTube?

2008-01-22T22:25:00.000-07:00

I just ran across a really amazing article about video promotion that I'd like to recommend to you. Please read
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/22/the-secret-strategies-behind-many-viral-videos/ and tell me if you agree. Marketing is changing so quickly- and social marketing is the future.
I look forward to hearing what you think about his post.
See you soon!
Kathy

Widgets offers New Advertising Income Opportunities

2008-01-13T17:07:00.000-07:00

I have just been introduced to another means to generate cash on your websites. Its free and very easy to install. Its called Widgets. To find out more, go to http://www.widgetbucks.com/
More information on Widgets:
Online shopping service Mpire today introduced WidgetBucks, a new e-commerce advertising network that helps publishers, affiliates and bloggers earn three to four times more money compared to traditional ad networks.

WidgetBucks serves Web publishers who are looking for better-performing online ads and ways to make money from the exploding widget market. In August 2007, 239 million widgets were used by Internet users in the U.S., where it is estimated that nearly half the online population — over 87 million people — use widgets, according to comScore.

Using patent-pending technology called MerchSense™, WidgetBucks (http://widgetbucks.com) displays contextual shopping widgets in publishers’ advertising space. Additionally, WidgetBucks is the first ad network to support general Web publishers, as well as be offered as an ad unit within popular social networking sites, such as Facebook.

Over 2,000 publishers and partners, including InfoSpace, RockYou, SixApart, Whateverlife, BuddyTV, WidgetBox and ePage, as well as content partners eBay and Shopping.com, have tested WidgetBucks during the recent private beta period.

News Facts about WidgetBucks

* Automated, scalable ad units complement other networks such as Google AdSense and Yahoo! Publisher Network
* Product offers from 30,000 merchants, including top brands such as Amazon, Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, NewEgg, Macy’s and Gap
* Publishers and bloggers earn money every time consumers click WidgetBucks ad content on their sites and are linked to a merchant’s offer
* MerchSense™ automatically matches products with editorial content, meaning consumers receive more engaging, meaningful and relevant ads
* Flash-based widgets, presented in part as top 10 lists, cover 100 different categories, 300+ configurations and buying trends of 100 million online shoppers
* Constant monitoring auto-optimizes widget rotation based on success rate

* Publishers and bloggers receive a $25 sign-up bonus, and affiliates also earn a 10 percent referral fee based on the commissions earned by the people they refer. The 10 percent commission lasts 12 months from the new publishers’ sign-up date.

As soon as I get results, I'll give your the dollars and cents of how well it has worked for me.
Talk to you again soon,
Kathy

2008 Goal Setting Gift for You!

2008-01-10T16:58:00.001-07:00

Happy New Year!
I created a gift for you to help you achieve your goals in 2008- a Goal Setting Workbook, Achieve Your Goals 2008.

I hope you get to use it to create your best year yet!
Best wishes,
Kathy

Free Blogger Course Available from Mark Joyner!

2007-12-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

The best blogging techniques.
How to get traffic to your blog.
How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

Quickly Create Free Temporary Email Addresses

2007-04-30T10:30:00.000-06:00

We got this great idea from Ricky Martin from Issue #23 of Trafficology:

Many times when you're setting up a marketing campaign you need to use an email address other than your primary account. You can set up a new Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo account but that takes time. Instead, Ricky suggests you try an excellent temporary mailbox at http://www.temporaryinbox.com. He suggests that you use this when you want to anonymously complete an online registration form as well as when you are doing marketing testing.
If you want tons of great Search Engine Optimization ideas, check out www.trafficology.com . They have tons of cutting edge techniques for quick growth!

Do you have any other free email account ideas?

When Is the Right Time to Redesign Your Website?

2007-04-21T13:19:00.000-06:00

If you run a website, chances are you often wonder whether it is the right time to do a total redesign of the layout of your website.

Here are some points to consider:

Are you thinking of a redesign just for the sake of it? If you answered yes to that question, it is not yet the right time to
do a redesign. Remember, a design serves a specific purpose. If you are not
sure whether to do an overhaul of your site, keep in mind that your current
design might have a specific purpose that you might not know about. You will
lose that function if you do a redesign.

On the other hand, if your website has had the
same website design since 1990, perhaps it is high time to do a redesign. The
last thing you would ever want to happen to your site is when visitors leave
your site without taking a look at your content just because the design is old
fashioned. If this is your case, here are some points to ponder before doing
a redesign.

Redesigning your website is like performing plastic
surgery on it. Your website loses its current identity (for the better or worse)
and your regular visitors might not recognize your new design at first glance.
You risk losing them just because they thought they landed on the wrong page.
Hence, it is very important that you retain a characteristic feature from your
old layout. Perhaps it is the logo of your site; perhaps it is the same text
style for the title for your site.

If you want to discuss updating you site, please
call us at 303-527-2978. We'd love to help!

Mobile Communications/Mobile Marketing

2007-04-11T23:35:00.000-06:00

I just read an article about a website called http://www.slideshare.net- where you can upload and share powerpoint presentations. If you have ever uploaded them to the web, you know how BIG the files usually are! That's why people started using Camtasia ( plus they also can add audio...) Anyway, I thought you might enjoy a slide presentation on mobile communications that I found at http://www.slideshare.net/swamicrm/mobile-marketing/
Please let me know what you think!

Thanks,
Kathy

Mobile Marketing Formats

2007-04-09T22:44:00.000-06:00

Have you considered changing your website and email commuincations for mobile marketing? Well we are starting to study this new field and it is very confusing!
Last month at the Colorado American Marketing Association meeting, the marketing manager for MapQuest, Shawna Landers, spoke about mobile marketing. I went up to her at the end of the meeting and asked her for contacts to mobile communication programmers. She was kind enough to email me some names of resources. If you are interested in them, just let me know.
I know that we will need to keep moving forward on this research- my css website looks terrible on my Q phone!
Do you have any suggestions on mobile marketing formats?
PS. I love MapQuest! I don't know I got around before they existed.

Creating Traffic to your site through Keyword Density

2007-03-25T22:30:00.000-06:00

Keyword density is an indicator of the number of times the selected keyword appears in the web page. But mind you, keywords shouldn’t be over used, but should be just sufficient enough to appear at important places.

If you repeat your keywords with every other word on every line, then your site will probably be rejected as an artificial site or spam site.

Keyword density is always expressed as a percentage of the total word content on a given web page.

Suppose you have 100 words on your webpage (not including HMTL code used for writing the web page), and you use a certain keyword for five times in the content. The keyword density on that page is got by simply dividing the total number of keywords, by the total number of words that appear on your web page. So here it is 5 divided by 100 = .05. Because keyword density is a percentage of the total word count on the page, multiply the above by 100, that is 0.05 x 100 = 5%

The accepted standard for a keyword density is between 3% and 5%, to get recognized by the search engines and you should never exceed it.

Remember, that this rule applies to every page on your site. It also applies to not just to one keyword but also a set of keywords that relates to a different product or service. The keyword density should always be between 3% and 5%.

Simple steps to check the density:

Copy and paste the content from an individual web page into a word-processing software program like Word or Word Perfect.
Go to the ‘Edit’ menu and click ‘Select All’. Now go to the ‘Tools’ menu and select ‘Word Count’. Write down the total number of words in the page.
Now select the ‘Find’ function on the ‘Edit’ menu. Go to the ‘Replace’ tab and type in the keyword you want to find. ‘Replace’ that word with the same word, so you don’t change the text.
When you complete the replace function, the system will provide a count of the words you replaced. That gives the number of times you have used the keyword in that page.
Using the total word count for the page and the total number of keywords you can now calculate the keyword density.

Hope you find this information useful! Please let me know.

A Great Tool for uploading Videos!

2007-03-19T23:28:00.000-06:00

Today we uploaded a video for one of our clients, Accents In Water, to Traffic Geyser and then used the service to send the video out to 7 sites! What a time saver. Usually it takes up to 1/2 hour to upload videos to each site, but with this wonderful tool, we were able to get all of them done within the hour. The old way that would have taken 3 1/2 - 4 hours. Videos submission is no longer a tedious task- Thank you Traffic Geyser!

If you'd like to read about this fantastic service, go to http://www.trafficgeyser.com/ to read how you can get website traffic from placing videos on the Internet with ease.

We are always looking for great ways for you to communicate with your customers- please stay tuned for more recommendations as we find them.
If you have any recommendations, please share them here.

A Conversation on Problem Solving

2007-03-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

As a consulting company, we are usually asked to come up with extraordinary solutions to problems. We usually start with using The Harvard Case Study Method. ( sometimes in the military called the Staff Study Method) the procedure is:
1. Define the Central Problem
2. List Relevant Factors
3. List all Alternatives
4. Analyse the Alternatives
5. List your Conclusions
6. Make Recommendations

This process helps the team come up with decisions that have been well thought out and are easier to implement. It works for us. Do you have any other ideas on problem solving?

Rapport building words

2007-02-26T12:18:00.000-07:00

I just found a great list to share of business rapport building words to use for more effective communications. Before I give you the list, please consider the use of: we, us and our. These simple words help you build inclusion, cooperation and alliance. When you communicate to others, using the three words above can create teamwork and great rapport faster. In contrast, when you use: I, mine, you and yours, you create limiting communications. Please try to use we, us and our instead whenever possible.
The other words (from How to Say It at Work by Jack Griffin) to consider using in relationship building and collaboration are:
analysis
answer
brainstorm
collaborate
confer
control
cooperate
good listener
guide
hear
helpful
huddle
idea
learn
listen
manage
offer
open mind
productive
solve
synergy
team
team player
thanks
together
work together
If you incorporate these words into your written and verbal communications with team members and customers, you will reap great rewards!
Please let me know if you have any other great rapport building words to add to this list.

Communications Matter

2007-02-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

There are two parts to communicating- one talking and one listening.
More and more I am finding that listening is an art that needs to be practiced. The listening process has five steps:
Receiving
Understanding
Remembering
Evaluating
and Responding.
At each stage there is an opportnuity to "miss" part of the communication and part of the meaning! Do you ever find that you're in a meeting, thinking that you got the assignment or plan only to realize that by the time you get back to your desk, pieces of the information are lost? This has happened to me alot recently. Do you have any suggestions on how to be a better listener? Stay tuned to our next post for some great ideas.

Too many things to read or study in 2006

2006-12-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel like this?

You've stumbled on a great new concept, ebook or software program and then didn't have time to read or use it? It seems like this happens to me all the time!

Sadly, I seem to have more great ideas than I have time to implement them. I plan on guarding my attention more in 2007 to complete more projects and help more people.

How about you?

Do you have plans yet for 2007?

Best wishes,

Kathy

Did you know that you can create your own holiday?

2006-12-04T19:42:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard of Chases Calendar of Events? It's a book that lists the holidays for every day of the year. You can find out what's going on any day of the year, anywhere across the globe! Chase's Calendar of Events is the most comprehensive and authoritative reference available on special events, worldwide holidays and festivals, civic observances, historic anniversaries, famous birthdays and much more.

Want your own holiday?
They have a request form that you can fill out to request that your holiday be added to their list. To contact them, call Chase's Annual Events at 847-679-5500 or go to http://www.chases.com.

Once you get the holiday approved, then you can have fun promoting it!
Enjoy and have fun!
Kathy Mason

Getting Into The Podcasting Bandwagon

2006-11-21T23:11:00.000-07:00

There are 22 million owners of portable mp3 players in 2005. 29% of them have tried downloading and listening to podcasts at one point in time. We’re talking about 6,380,000 people who have been exposed to podcasts during a period when podcasting was just in its infancy.

These statistics alone will show you the vast potentials that can be found with the podcasting medium. As an online marketer, you’ll be able to reach a lot of people with downloadable podcasts. Not only this, but podcasting offers a slew of benefits that can only gain momentum in the coming months:

People respond more to what they could hear rather than what they simply read.
Podcasts offer a more exciting experience compared to conventional written works.
Podcasts will attract prospects that you will normally fail to tap.
Podcasts offer you more leeway in delivering your business message.
Podcasts would give your business an instant boost in credibility, as people will get to listen to a real voice instead of having to read mere words.

The problem that many Internet marketers face when it comes to the prospect of creating podcasts is the seeming difficulty associated with their preparation. This is borne from simple unfamiliarity, however. The fact is, anyone – yes, ANYONE – can create their own podcasts without having to avail of special software programs for the same. Just follow the steps below:

Choose a subject.
Choose an engaging aspect of that subject, one which your target market would be interested to know about.
Prepare an outline detailing the important points you wish to discuss about the said subject.
Do some research, if necessary.
Prepare index cards which should contain some summaries of your points. You will refer to these to ensure uninterrupted recording that would streamline the process.
Attach a microphone to your computer. This is the only hardware you will need, aside from the PC terminal itself, of course.
Set up the Sound Recorder program that is bundled with your Windows operating system.
Begin recording.
Once you have finished your podcast, review the same using the Media Player which should also be bundled with your Windows operating system.
Enhance your podcast with the free tools that can be found at www.odeo.com/inbox .
If you wish to earn from your podcast itself, enroll it with www.fruitcast.com . They will include advertisements within your podcast, but you’ll get to earn a certain amount every time it is downloaded.
If everything sounds well, convert your file into .mp3 format.
Use Microsoft Front Page or Dreamweaver to upload the file to your web server.
Include your podcast link in website repositories like www.ipodder.com and www.podcastalley.com .

Just like that, you could have your own podcast ready to be downloaded. You want to limit the length of your podcasts to 10 minutes per episode, however, so that the file size can be kept at a minimum. Additionally, you want to serialize your podcasts into installments to capture the continuous interests of your listeners. They will then become your leads for some marketing purposes.

You can create podcasts for any topic you want. Submitting the same to the websites we have mentioned above would be a start, but try to look for more avenues where you could promote your podcasts and you’re bound to reach more people in the process.

I hope that you enjoy all the benefits that podcasting can offer, and realize that yes, indeed, podcasting is as easy as 1-2-3.

Have fun!
Kathy Mason

Using Articles to gain higher visibility

2006-08-31T08:14:00.000-06:00

Are you looking for an affordable way to publicize your business? With just a little time and energy on your part, you can work wonders! We find that this works better than Press Releases.
Are you aware of how powerful the links from a successful article distribution can be? A keyword enhanced article can raise your search engine ratings within a very short time if done properly. You can write your own articles or have someone else write them for you and then distribute them throughout the internet inexpensively. Please contact us if you want the do-it-yourself method for this- we can point you in the right direction and save you time and money. Or we can offer support from our writing staff if you need help.

Overall Response Rates

2006-07-10T22:46:00.000-06:00

I thought that you might find this information helpful when you are planning your next marketing campaign. As always, if you know your target customer, you have a feel for what will get results. Here is what The DMA 2004 Response Rate Report found:

Telephone	5.45%
Mail	3.20%
E-mail	2.31%
Catalogs	2.23%
Radio	0.31%
Magazine	0.30%
Newspaper	0.15%
Direct Response TV	0.14%

We usually use a variety of commication media to reach our target customers so I wasn't surprised once again that direct mail and the telephone were the best ways to ellicit an active response from your target market.

We love creating marketing plans that generate results- and we really like direct mail.
What do you think?

SEO information

2006-05-26T17:07:00.000-06:00

I just found this great list of SEO tools on the Yahoo store site and wanted to share the information. Here it is:

Ranking Checkers

Digital Point: http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/keywords/Digital Point offers a great free tool for checking your rankings on Google, MSN and Yahoo. Google rankings require you to get a free Google API key. MSN and Yahoo rankings require your to place a small PHP script on any publicly accessible server running PHP.
Word Tracker: http://www.wordtracker.com/ Word Tracker is the industry standard professional (paid) tool for tracking your rankings and identifying new keywords to target. There are free tools that perform most of its functions, but for the fee Word Tracker places some good tolls in one location.

Other SEO Tools

Go Rank: http://www.gorank.com/seotools Great tools for analyzing keyword density of your site vs. top 10 results in Google.
SEO Toolbar: http://www.seoinc.com/toolbar/ SEO Inc. has a toolbar similar to the Google toolbar that provides lots of useful information for SEOs including backlinks for Google, MSN, Yahoo and AOL.
DNS Stuff: http://www.dnsstuff.com/ DNS Stuff is a great collection of DNS lookup tools including whois, reverse DNS lookup, IP whois, smap database lookup, IP location lookup and more.
Rick Swain's HTTP Viewer: http://www.rexswain.com/httpview.html Lets you view the header for any web page. Great for seeing what kind of redirect is being used, what server it is running on, etc.
SEO Tools: http://www.webconfs.com/
Macdar: http://www.mcdar.net/ Mcdar has several SEO tools including link popularity checker and keyword analysis tools.
Li'l Engine: http://www.lilengine.com/ Li'l engine has some nice SEO tools including link popularity checker, backlink comparison tool and PR checker.
SEOMOZ: http://www.socengine.com/seo/tools.php Lots of good SEO Tools. Also good articles for advanced SEO here http://www.socengine.com/seo/advanced.php.
Yahoo Search Marketing (formerly Overture): http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/rc/srch/ Use their Keyword Selector Tool to find out how often keywords are searched and their View Bids Tool to see how competitive they are.

Please let me know if you suggest other tools to add to this list.
Thanks,
Kathy

Blog to Book project

2006-05-07T23:03:00.000-06:00

Hello all!
I just finished listening (several times) to an interview with Tom Antion and the Blog Squad ladies about the Blog to Book project. What a great idea!! They teach a class that explains how you can post bits and pieces of your book on your blog, and organize it into categories on line. This is a brilliant idea! They call it a blook. To find out more about this, go to: http://www.blogtobook.com

To find out more about Tom Antion, go to www.greatinternetmarketing.com
He is a fun teacher and always gives you tons of great ideas!
Hope you are enjoying this beautiful spring weather.
Kathy

2006-04-12T14:52:00.000-06:00

Video and the Internet

I'm taking a class to learn how to make videos to sell products on the internet. I have been doing it in my spare time, so its going slow. But I'm really excited about the medium and what great communication can be created! Plus its really fun!!

To show you what you can do, go to this link, http://www.michaelleeaustin.com/promo.html

Armand Morin created this to sell cds for a country western singer- its brilliant!

Please let me know if you've had success using sound or video on your website.
Thanks,
Kathy

Training Class in Florida

2006-02-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

Hello all! I just came back from an Avatar training class in Daytona Beach, FL. There were 2,000 people there from around the globe! Amazing that the work translates to all cultures!
Here is a picture of sunrise on Daytona Beach. Also a picture of tons of people taking Tai Chi every morning.
What a great adventure! If you want to find out about Avatar and how it can help you, go to www.candoavatar.com . That is the Colorado site and it is connected to the international site. I highly recommend giving yourself the gift of the Avatar tools.
Well, time to get back to work! Talk to you soon- Kathy

Capturing audio on your computer

2006-01-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

Hello from sunny Colorado! Its difficult to stay inside even though it snowed a couple of inches yesterday-the sun is shining and all of the snow is already gone!

We are working on several projects for publication that include using audio to add insight into training materials. We love Camtasia for screen capture. In the next posting I will give you some ideas on how to capture audio and publish. If you have any suggestions, please comment so everyone can benefit from your experience too.

Kathy Mason's blog! Cool, huh!

2006-01-18T21:17:00.000-07:00

Hello! Welcome to our first posts to the Mason Works communication skills blog. We will be sending you information about great communication tools that can help you stay in touch with your friends and clients easily. Please comment and ask questions- we will get back to you as soon as possible.

I don't know about you, but 2006 has started with a bang! So many great things happening. Technology is making it easier than ever to stay in touch. One great new product that I discovered is Skype, http://www.skype.com/products/. Its a big Internet telephony company. Its free and easy to use. Please let me know what you think about it.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts-
Kathy