Final Post for Class - A Review of the Last Seven Weeks

It's hard to believe that this class is over. I really enjoyed it and all that I have learned about Internet Marketing.

For starters, I learned how to set up tracking on my blog pages so that I can see how to direct my marketing. Through tracking, I am able to see which areas of my marketing are the most productive, in specific, which social media site: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. I am also able to see what times my blog posts are looked at and from where. Another thing that I am shown is how a person views my blogs - from a computer or mobile.

I learned that when preparing to market a product, it is always important to first put together a marketing plan - a strategy, that involves how to acquire customers, commit customers and retain customers. (I might have used different terminology than that which was used in class.

Being that I work as a direct consultant for a candle wax company, I found all of this information very helpful as my main goal in sales is to get my product noticed, encourage sales, and retain customers.

This class has definitely caused me to step outside of my comfort zone in the area of marketing. I have opened two other blog pages - ESSENCEdePink.wordpress.com and MyNameIsJodi.blogspot.com. I have learned that video marketing is a very powerful strategy and have stepped outside of my own comfort zone to try to incorporate it into my marketing strategy.

In all that I have learned, I think what the most striking has been that just as I have learned to track others in order to increase my ability to get my product viewed, I also learned that others are also tracking me - not just me but all of us. With every click of the buttons that we push, with every website we visit, with every piece of information that we enter into the computer, we are being tracked by other companies. There are many reasons why we are tracked. Mostly it has to do with the same reasons that I would track another - to get my product seen and acknowledged. 

This is actually the area that I think will see the most change in the next 10 or so years. Tracking is a necessary part marketing. It is used to help the company better direct their efforts in a way that is cost-efficient. Yet with the fear of hackers, which have been a real threat when it comes to all of the personal information that is readily available via the internet, there is no doubt some changes that will occur in the way out information is held, used, and even shared.

I found all that was learned in this class very invaluable and I am looking forward to utilizing all that I have learned this as I continue to market my products to consumers. 

MAKE IT or BREAK IT: The Power of the Website

In week 6 of class, I have been looking at websites and how they are designed. I have been learning about what makes a really good website such as it needs to be usable and have good utilities (the features needed to do what the user wants). 

There are five components of a good website:

1. Learnability - it must be easy for users to navigate and accomplish the basic tasks the first time they use the site.
2. Efficiency - Once the user knows how to use the website, they must be able to easily perform tasks on it.
3. Memorability - If the user leaves off using the website for some time, they must be able to return to it and continue to use it as if they never stopped using it. They must be able to easily use the website with each attempt
4. Error - IF they make an error while using the website, they need to be able to easily recover from it, and
5. Satisfaction - it must be a pleasant experience using the website. (Nielsen, 2012)

Considering these components listed, I looked at a website that I spend a lot of time on, and that I have studied closely for this class - Pinkzebrahome.com/ESSENCEdePinkbyJodiLynn.

Here is a picture of the home page 

It is definitely appealing to the eye. But as far as usability how does it measure up?

1. Learnability: It is definitely straight to the point. It is clear that this is a Pink Zebra website. The Logo stands out, and if I needed to reach out to the company it is very clear where I can click to do so with the Contact Us button to the far right of the navigation bar. 

2. Efficiency: Most people come to the website to learn more about the product. There are four products that many visit the website to get: fragrances, simming lights, shades and the soaks products. The customer does not have to go looking for links to what they are interested in. The links are placed up front on the navigation bar so that it is easily accessible. Even the sale items are easily accessible by clicking on the outlet store button.  

3. Errors: If the customer was to hit the wrong button they can easily hit another button and go to the product listing that they are interested in or they can hit the back button to back out of the page that was accessed by accident making it easy to recover from errors. 

4. Satisfaction: the set up of the page and the bright colors are visually satisfying along with the easy to use design.

5. Memorability: Even if the website is not used everyday, it is very easy to remember what to do when returning to it. 

The homepage does clearly state what is offered, and there is no way to get lost using this website because the navigation bar is static.

Overall, Pink Zebra Home did a very good job setting up their website to be user friendly. Because of the ease of use of this website, I give them a rating of MAKE IT. 

Now looking at the mobile website

The Mobile app follows the same format as the website which is good for branding. It has the same ease of usability as the website. What is different is that you don't see the navigation bar as on the website. But what you do see is the three dashes at the top that opens up the navigation bar when it is clicked on...

Clicking the three highlighted bars at the top will give you the same navigation options as on the website. So the mobile website is just as functional and also gets a MAKE IT rating for usability. 

 Now the true test of website usability is what the customer thinks when they use it. So I invite you to check out the Pink Zebra Website by clicking this link

Pink Zebra Website

Then comment below to let me know what you think about this site. I would love to hear your comments. 

Reference:

Nielsen, J. (2012, January 4). Usability 101: Introduction to Usability. Retrieved February 11, 2018, from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/usability-101-introduction-to-usability/

Using AD formats that follow IAB Guidelines

This weeks blog post assignment required that I research a few separate websites to see what ad format that they used. I found myself looking at Vistaprint and Pink Zebra, two websites that I use frequently. 

I found that they both follow the IAB guidelines for their ad format and that they use several different types of ad formats include the Display Rising Stars ad unit. 

To give an idea of what the Display Rising Stars ad unit format looks like, here is a picture: 

A lot of times we look at these various sites, attracted to the layout of some and not attracted to others and we dont realize what we are looking at and how the layout/ design that is chosen for ads on the website plays a key role in drawing customers to the site. 

Here is a picture of the Pink Zebra website showing different ad format: 

Do you think that this site would move you to click on it.? 

Would you like to see this site in person? Click the following link:

bit.ly/ESSENCEdePink

Week 5 Class Blog Assignment

After about 4 tries, all different videos, and after finding out that Microsoft Movie Maker is no longer available on Windows 10, I finally decided to try doing different sized videos to see if that would upload. 

This week we are looking at video marketing and having watched many different videos, this one that I just posted is nowhere near skilled as a tool for marketing. But...

... this is a start and what I found in reference to doing videos here on Blogger from my phone is that I have less that one minute if I want the video to post. This is important to know and actually can be done considering radio advertisements are in 30-second and 60-second increments.

So now I thank everyone who has clicked on this blog to help me with my school assignment and now, its pregame time for the Super Bowl so I will catch everyone later.

Search Engine Optimization for New Business Marketing

This blog will not be that long and wordy. So I say now. 

This is the end of week 4 of class and I have not only found out how important it is to use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as a part of marketing, but I also found out that I need to make sure that I am setting up the analytics for each post otherwise I cannot measure how well my marketing efforts are. 

Its amazing the mistakes one has to make before they can learn. Yet I am in good company. (For a minute I remembered Thomas Edison who failed many times before he succeeded. I needed that reminder.)

I recently learned the difference between Paid searches (those are the searches that show pictures or have the word [AD] in the beginning of the description); and the organic searches which have detailed descriptions to help direct to you what you are searching for. I also learned the importance of using keywords so that when a consumer types in a specific search, if they use the keyword that you set your website will appear for them. This is important when it comes to generating leads. 

This is the area that I am working on - generating leads which leads to potential customers. Unfortunately because I didnt have the analytics set correctly in this blog for the last couple of weeks posts, I missed out on the gathering of some very valuable information that would have directed me on how to proceed in my marketing. But, I am in there for this week. Not only did I correct the errors from the last couple of weeks, but also, I set up today's post correct. 

"Mistakes are the stepping stones to success. " - Jodi Lynn 

Knowing how to set up your blogs for search engine optimization is very important because it helps you to reach the target market with your product. I do a lot of searching when I am writing for some of my other blogs, I never really considered before that I can have my information set up so that others can search for my work. I am really looking forward to incorporating this information not only in my writings, but also in the work that I do of selling fragrances for the home. 

Here is what the search engine looks like:

Now imagine that for your business you can set up a search engine so that whenever someone looks for a product that you may sell and they include a keyword, your website will come up. This is very possible and important when it comes to generating leads. 

As I get better at setting this up, I look forward to sharing more. 

The Things That Matter In Direct Marketing

This week I had to consider one of the websites that I have been following and researching in order to learn about direct marketing. Of the three that I had chosen (Amazon, Vista Print, and Pink Zebra Home), I decided to focus on the company that best exemplifies good direct marketing strategies - online and offline.

At the offset, I mention that my affiliation with the company not be taken into consideration because due to this being a class assignment it was important that I be objectionable. Therefore, I was looking for things that could have been done different in the way of marketing, but instead I found myself even more impressed by Pink Zebra Home the company.

Looking at their offline direct marketing strategies first, considering an email that was sent to me in regards to an order that I started but never completed, not as a consultant but as a customer, I am impressed that they kept track of the items and then reached out to me to see if I still wanted to purchase those items before they are no longer available considering that the catalog of scents are preparing to change in about a week.

If you have received any emails from Pink Zebra, you would notice that they make it easy for you to contact them. Their emails are interactive where you can click on them and be taken directly to the order page. You can also opt out from receiving the emails if you no longer want to be bothered. This all shows that they are CAN-SPAM compliant which is a government requirement for all marketing materials.

Now taking a look at their online direct marketing strategies by means of their website, they show that they understand the marketing mix that is used for direct marketing programs. It is slightly different from the 4P's of the traditional marketing mix (Price, Product, Position(place), and Promotion). The marketing mix that supports direct marketing programs are the offer, the list, the media used, the creative execution, and the service support.

One visit to the Pink Zebra website (www.pinkzebrahome.com/ESSENCEdePinkbyJodiLynn) shows that the company has a lot of product variations to offer to those who enjoy fragrances and home decorations. They are easily accessible from computer, tablet or smart phone. They are very creative in how they present their product whether using email service providers or by allowing the consultants to create their own marketing materials to be used on the social media sites.  Also, the website is very interactive and easy to use. One of the things that I really like about the website is that you don't have to guess at the prices of the product. Everything is right there and easily navigable.

Consistency Is the Rule of the Day

When I began this week of study, I stated that one of the changes that I would make is that I would blog daily. The reason for this change is because I wanted to see if that would drive more views to my site and maybe some communication. Baby steps for me.

Well, already I failed my attempt to blog daily. That is crazy because I write daily. I post on Facebook daily. I have no idea why blogging daily is such a challenge. But, water under the bridge, I am here today, and what is my topic? None other than...

Consistency 

Keeping in mind that I am studying Internet Marketing. I am looking at how to use online and offline strategies for marketing. I am getting a lot out of this class because I am able to apply it to what I do with Pink Zebra. BUT...

I am finding that I am not sure that Pink Zebra is what I really want to Blog about. I am finding that my blogs, and vlogs, should be my writings. I remember stating when I first began my classes in  2010 (or maybe it was 2011 when I got this realization),  that the product that I am really marketing is myself as a writer. 

But through this class I am able to see if I am really reaching anyone or if I am just speaking words into the wind. I really hope that I am blessing someone. I really hope that even in my school blogs that I am helping someone in the area of the direct sales projects. 

As for me, consistency is very important, I have found, because with so many voices vying to be heard on the Internet, I realize now that I must be consistent in speaking. The minute I slow down, the minute that I back away, the minute that I get silent, I am replaced. I have seen this as I have stepped away from Facebook several times. BUT...

I have also learned that when stepping away from Facebook, there should be a purpose for it. Sort of like redefining oneself. METAMORPHOSIS is what I once called it. That moment when I go into a shell as one thing but emerge as another. It is my growth process. 

In this period of growth, where I am being called upon to find my voice, to not be as silent as I can be, I find that the message is to be consistent. Consistent in speaking to the public. Consistent in sharing. 

I already know what my next lesson will be. It will have to do with the delivery of the message. It will have to do with the presentation which plays a big part in engaging the public. For that lesson, I have been looking a lot at YouTube. I have been paying attention to the personality of the video. So much I have to learn. To be consistent and not be camera shy. 

Im getting there. One day at a time. This week I simply need to focus on consistency.