Email Fundraising

One of the paramount challenges for churches and para-churches is fundraising.  While there are a number of “tried and true” methods available, the advent of the Internetand email has created paradigm shifts that mandate to enjoy continued success it is going to be necessary to stay on the “cutting edge” of technology.  Since ministry is the major concern of these institutions, it is probable that they will want to benefit from the experience and expertise of an email-marketing specialist with a successful email marketing firm such as Randall Mains and PATHMAKER MARKETING LLC.

            Randall, a PK, grew up understanding the importance of fundraising.  If you're like his Dad, the Rev. David Mains, asking for money isn't your favorite pastoral activity. But, you do it because that's how you fund everything from keeping the lights on in the sanctuary to paying salaries to supporting ministries that present the life-changing message of the Gospel to hungry souls.

Over the past 25+ years, God has blessed Randall to help numerous churches and ministries with their fundraising needs through some specific skills that he has learned in life. His experience spans a variety of areas... radio, direct mail, various fundraisers, publishing, product sales, but (most recently), raising hundreds of thousands of dollars through online efforts such as email fundraising.

To Read More, Click HERE. 

Email Fundraising: General

One of the most frustrating, and on-going challenges for churches, para church ministries and non-profit organizations is fundraising.  There are of course, some “tried and true” methods, but everyone is always looking for new ways to accomplish this goal. Technology is opening some new doors, and one of those is email fundraising.

Pathmaker Marketing, LLC, an E-mail Marketing Firm, has been most successful in assisting their clients with e-mail fundraising. Truly E-Mail Marketing Specialists, they know that there are several things to keep in mind when you begin your email fundraising campaign.

First, you need to use your common sense.  You are, after all, raising money for a cause.  As a result, you are going to be most successful when you contact individuals who are already supporters of that cause.  Here, you do want to “preach to the choir.”  Your goal is not to solicit new supporters.  As a result, you will want to use your current database of supporters.  Again, this is not a “prospecting tool”!

You also need to consider that this program works best when it is part of an over-all communications strategy.  This includes utilizing the mail, phone, and “in person” contacts.  These all have their own individual strengths and, when combined with your e-mail campaign, will result in you being most effective.

As any Professional E-Mail Marketing Service will tell you, email has its own set of metrics.  First of all, you need to keep in mind that e-mail is always lower than direct mail.  It is, however, still profitable as there are no printing or postage charges.  Too, seldom will an email campaign yield “monster” gifts, as the largest we have seen were between $1000 - $2000 each.  Keeping this all in mind should allow you to ensure that your expectations are within the parameters of not only possibility but probability, allowing you to view the results with realistic insight.

Just as in any mode of fundraising, you must remember that “people give to people” more than organizations.  As a result, you want your e-mail to come from your chief fundraiser, such as your CEO or pastor.  Have the email look like a letter and be personalized.  “Dear Fred” goes a lot farther than “Dear Friend.”

To “enhance the chance” of filling your coffers via an email campaign, you need a substantial e-mail list.  As a result, you may need to go an E-Mail Marketing Company and spend some money to help bolster your list.  Do know that a really small list can be cost prohibitive for using HTML, and you may want to employ TEXT as a result.

How to Use Email and Facebook to Promote a Local Fundraising Event

Before there was Facebook, email is the way to send our words for fundraising and it still a very effective tool to inform. A lot of infomercials are still using emails and the trend will like to continue in the years to come. Here’s how you can use email to send the word out:

1.  Design the flow of mails - You don’t just send the mails blindly, it has to follow a design flow. For example, you can start with a request, then you follow it up with supporting quotes and related client’s story. You can then send a third mail encouraging people to donate and a fourth, thanking them.

2.  Build an subscriber list - We have put together an article detailing the importance of a quality subscriber list. If the list is not qualified, you cannot expect a good performance.

3.  Create an effective email - When writing an email for fundraising, make sure that you fill in the necessary details but don’t make it too verbose that the recipient will be tempted to delete it.

4.  Choose the best broadcast tool - This is the caveat of email; without a good broadcast tool, you will be sending it one by one or you can cc it to everybody in the list. A broadcast tool will make the job a lot easier because it can send thousands of emails at once.

When creating a charity event, your goal should be to minimize the overall expenses so that all the proceeds raised will go directly to the charity. Using Facebook and email accomplished just this so if you haven’t done it yet, you better start now.

E-mail Fundraising Strategies

It is obvious that any successful endeavor is the result of someone developing and implementing a specific, successful strategy.  Email Fundraising is no exception.  Any e-mail marketing professional worth their salt knows this to be true.  And, a real e-mail marketing specialist will tell you that there are actually five strategies that you can employ to ensure that your email marketing program is, in fact, a successful one.

E-MAILS TIED TO CURRENT EVENTS

   - This is pretty self-explanatory.  What you need to do is keep abreast with the news and develop an email campaign that revolves around what is transpiring.  This, of course, is dependent on the fact that your cause is one that is news worthy.  A good example of this might be if you are part of a Tornado Relief Fund.  During

DIRECT MAIL/E-MAIL COMBO

    - E-Mail Marketing Firms will tell you that the advent of an email marketing campaign should not be the demise of other fundraisers that have worked for you in the past.  In this instance, you should come up with a Direct Mail offer and send it out.  Then, some seven to ten days later you follow up with an e-mail version of the same offer.  Together these allow you to really enhance the chance of success of your fundraising efforts.

MONTHLY “THEMED” E-MAIL CAMPAIGNS

   

    - Virtually every month has a holiday or event that you can “build” an e-mail fundraising campaign around.  For example, May lends itself to two causes:  Unwed Mothers and Veterans.  Mothers Day allows you to touch people’s heartstrings regarding those moms who have no one to help care for them and their needs, and Memorial Day is a “natural” for seeking aid for our War Veterans.

“STAND ALONE” E-MAIL FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN

     - Here, you want to make an offer that is totally exclusive to the e-mail you send.  To make these most effective, it is wise to have a time limit in which recipients must respond to benefit from your offer. Remember, all such offers should revolve around and be related to the cause you are trying to raise funds for.

Tornado Season there are ample news stories for you to mount a most effective e-mail program around.

MEDIA/E-MAIL COMBO 

    - Again, you are utilizing more than one method to supplement your fundraising efforts.  In this situation, you make your offer on either the Radio or TV.  Then, you follow up later that same day with an e-mail that re-enforces your initial offer.  This should not be a “Current Event” driven email but, rather, be centered around a pre-conceived offer that you present.

If you find all of this a little overwhelming, you may want to contact a Professional E-Mail Marketing Service like PATHMAKER MARKETING, LLC to assist you with your email marketing undertakings.  An e-mail marketing company of long standing, we not only know how to implement these five strategies, we also have a track record of success that you will find most impressive!

E-mail Fundraising Strategies

It is obvious that any successful endeavor is the result of someone developing and implementing a specific, successful strategy.  Email Fundraising is no exception.  Any e-mail marketing professional worth their salt knows this to be true.  And, a real e-mail marketing specialist will tell you that there are actually five strategies that you can employ to ensure that your email marketing program is, in fact, a successful one. 

      I.        E-MAILS TIED TO CURRENT EVENTS - This is pretty self-explanatory.  What you need to do is keep abreast with the news and develops an email campaign that revolves around what is transpiring.  This, of course, is dependent on the fact that your cause is one that is news worthy.  A good example of this might be if you are part of a Tornado Relief Fund.  During Tornado Season there are ample news stories for you to mount a most effective e-mail program around. 

To read more, click HERE.

Email Fundraising: General

One of the most frustrating, and on-going challenges for churches, para church ministries and non-profit organizations is fundraising.  There are of course, some “tried and true” methods, but everyone is always looking for new ways to accomplish this goal. Technology is opening some new doors, and one of those is email fundraising.

Pathmaker Marketing, LLC, an E-mail Marketing Firm, has been most successful in assisting their clients with e-mail fundraising. Truly E-Mail Marketing Specialists, they know that there are several things to keep in mind when you begin your email fundraising campaign.

First, you need to use your common sense.  You are, after all, raising money for a cause.  As a result, you are going to be most successful when you contact individuals who are already supporters of that cause.  Here, you do want to “preach to the choir.”  Your goal is not to solicit new supporters.  As a result, you will want to use your current database of supporters.  Again, this is not a “prospecting tool”!

To read more, click HERE. 

Church Outreach Ideas -- How to Use a Prayer Wall

A prayer wall is a web application where you can conveniently post prayers and pray for others as well. It’s so easy to use and the convenience will put prayer chains to shame. Updates on past prayers are easy to do; you don’t need to send hundreds of emails to keep people informed. Talk about Church outreach ideas, this is the best there is. Here is how to use it:  
  
1. Post your prayer request like a tweet - The best way to post a prayer is to make it concise so that those who will pray for you will not have a hard time remembering your request. Added to that, there are also details that you want to intentionally miss out especially if they are too personal. You can think of this as a tweet except that it’s a prayer.

To read more, click HERE.

Basic HTML

While the number of changes regarding the Internet seems to come Geometrically rather than Arithmetically, email marketing experts know that there is one standard that is vitally important to successful E-Mail Campaigns: HTML. The abbreviated form of Hyper Text Markup Language, HTML is basically the "Computer Language” that is read by browsers and lets it know how to display things in your E-Mail, from Font to Colors and from where images are positioned to paragraph breaks!

The email marketing professional is aware that while there are a number of Internet Languages, not all are suitable for E-Mails. For example, a popular, and effective, language for Websites is CSS or Custom Style Sheet. However, most ISPs tend to "strip out” CSS in e-mails, thus making the E-mail that was CSS unreadable and, obviously, ineffective. While your designated recipient will receive your E-Mail, there is no idea what it will look like, so avoid CSS when designing HTML E-Mails. Another language not supported by E-Mail is Flash. Avoid that in HTML E-Mails as well.

Another Language, and a relatively simple one, is simply known as "Text.” Unfortunately, Text has some major disadvantages compared to HTML. For example, you cannot include any images in Text, nor can you "track” your E-Mails to determine who’s opening them and who isn’t. Inasmuch as both of these are vitally important in an effective E-Mail Campaign, it is most apparent why HTML is superior to Text.  Any professional email marketing service will be quick to point this out to you.
 

Knowing HTML and using it to code your E-Mails is just the first step. To ensure that your recipients are receiving the E-Mail the way it looked when you sent it, you need to follow up and discover how each "E-Mail Box” is rendering the E-Mail when it comes in. There are a number of "ISPs,” with the most prevalent being AOL, G-Mail, Hotmail, Yahoo, and Outlook. Prior to doing a "Mass Mailer” it is imperative that you send a sample to each "Box” and verify that it is being rendered properly. As can be imagined, a poor looking E-mail does not speak well of your company and/or organization.

Not everyone understands the subtlety of HTML and the way to "check” an E-Mail’s rendering in any of the Boxes. As a result, it may be wise to have a direct email marketing firm like Pathmaker Marketing LLC, whom employs a group of talented experts who stand ready to assist clients in the skillful art of HTML Coding. Dedicated to producing effective E-mails and making sure that they are rendered properly in every Box, these email marketing companies produce E-mail Campaigns that not only present their client’s position but also deliver results.

Email Fundraising

Raised a PK, Randall Mains, Pathmaker Marketing LLC co-owner, understands the importance of Fundraising, and has a soft spot in his heart for those who have to perform this less than enjoyable task. As he developed a program withinPathmaker Marketing LLC to help with this activity he designed it with a three-prong attack in mind: To Help Charities Raise More Funds, Grow their Ministries, and Expand their Outreach! Combining his experience from such areas as Radio, Direct Mail, Product Sales and Online Efforts including Websites and Email Fundraising, he has made Pathmaker Marketing LLC a Premier eFundraising entity in the Internet realm, as we’ve been able to use email alone to raise over $950,000 for our clients to date!

The procedure employed is all encompassing, as we help our clients build their email lists and improve their Website, in some instances with the advent of an eNewsletter and the inclusion of multi-week series of Welcome Emails. Our efforts run the full scope when developing these entities, from Writing, Designing, Coding, Installing and even the implementation of eAppeal Blasts. To learn more about this service, visit us at www.pathmakermarketing.com/EmailFundraising .

To read more, click here.

Bring Qualified Traffic Through Search Engine Marketing

Gone are the days when all you need to do to run an online business is to build a website, send it to the major Search Engines and wait for visitors to come. Today, you need to proactively drive highly qualified traffic to it and convert visitors into clients. 

Search Engine Marketing is not just presenting flashy website, people are no longer buying that. What you need today is to find a hungry niche and sell them your product or services. The question then is how to drive a great deal of hungry visitors into your website. Here is a five-tiered approach to accomplish that:

1. Search Engine Optimization - It is a fact in online marketing that people will mostly see your website through the Search Engines. It is therefore imperative that the major ones at least (Google, Yahoo and Bing), will find it so that they can feed it to those who are searching. This means that your website should be Search Engine Optimized so their robots can crawl and index your pages. This will greatly influence your ranking in the search results.

2. PPC advertising - Instead of waiting for months to see results from organic SEO strategies, pay-per-click or PPC will give you results within weeks. Through paid advertising, you can then identify which keywords are often search and thus, will be viable in your organic SEO. Although this means you have to spend a little bit of money, the returns are great and that is why you should not neglect this strategy as well.

3. Social networking - The success of websites like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube has taken Internet marketing to new territories. No longer do we bring clients to our websites, we bring our websites to where they are gathered and from there, hope that things will take off. It is therefore the job of the online marketer to seize the opportunities presented by captured and possibly hungry niche because these websites have the power to bring huge awareness to your brand.

Know the other 2 ways to bring qualified traffic. Click here. 

Simple Ways to Grow Your Facebook Page from Zero to 5,000

Rule Number 1: Let People Know You Are There. - Tell people that you are “in the square and open for business.” Tell people you are on Facebook and tell them where to find you. Tell them everywhere you go. Advertise everywhere they go. It’s called cross-promotion. Put up banner ads on associate websites. Do you have a business card? Put your Facebook address on it – and do it prominently, not in teeny- tiny fine print. PROMOTE IT! Every email you send should have a link to your Facebook page. Every print ad should feature your Facebook page. Incorporate “Like” buttons for your page on other websites. And always – underline that – always talk about your Facebook page during every phone call, incoming or outgoing. Finally, create a sense of urgency. For example, “Don’t miss out on this one-time offer.” HERE’S A BONUS IDEA: Create a QR code and put in on all of your print collateral, even your business cards. They are cheap and easy to create and they can drive anyone with a smart phone to your page or website almost instantly.

Check out the other Ways to Grow Your Facebook Page, Click HERE. 

How to Use Animated GIFs for Email Fundraising Impact

We have emphasized the importance of a tailored message in your email fundraising campaign and animated GIF is just another way to infuse more personality to it. Although this technique is no longer as famous as it used to be in Internet business marketing promotion still, it’s very effective and as a professional fundraiser it’s still worth your time.

With the exception of Outlook, animated GIFs are compatible with most email clients and therefore, you can be sure that your animation will be viewed by your recipient. Here are a few tips on how to do it:

1. Display a complete message in the first frame - In case the entire animation does not display well with the recipient’s email client, make sure that the first frame conveys the entire message. This is to ensure that what you wanted your clients to know will get to them even when things don’t work as expected.

To read more, click here.

TIPS I CAN GIVE YOU FOR E-MAIL FUNDRAISING

1.    TEST - TEST - TEST - Constantly.  In email fundraising there are some variables that you can control and some that you can’t.  What you can control is when you send and how you design your emails and how you design your Landing Pages.  What you can’t control is what’s happening in the news and how people feel about the economy.  As a result, you want to make sure that you are using your very best efforts in the areas you do control in your quest for funds.

2.    BUILD YOUR INTERNAL FILES - Understandably, your donor file will always give you the most return on any given e-mail.  Next would be your internal prospecting file and finally any external prospecting file.

3.    GET A DECENT ESP - To conduct an E-mail Fundraising campaign you must have an Email Service Provider (ESP).  Basically, there are three types - Entry Level, Intermediate, and Advanced.

4.    NO CSS WHEN CODING E-MAIL IN HTML - What is often overlooked is the fact that that if you use CSS it will be stripped by many email clients.  For example, G-mail, Hotmail, Yahoo, and MacMail all tend to strip out CSS.

5.    DESIGN AND CODE TO 600 PIXELS WIDE - At that width your e-mail will render okay in a number of environments, such as PC, iPad and mobile phones.  If you code to wider you will force people to sideward scroll, which some may consider too much work!

6.    PUT MORE EFFORT INTO YOUR LANDING PAGES THAN YOUR E-MAIL ‘CAUSE YOU CAN'T’ TRANSACT ANY BUSINESS IN AN E-MAIL - Remember, no matter how good your email is you can’t take a credit card with it!  If your landing page is “broken,” the whole process is broken.

7.    UTULIZE E-MAIL FUNDRAISING STRATEGIES - Any successful endeavor is the result of developing and implementing specific strategies, and e-mail fundraising is no exception.

8.    E-MAIL CAN WORK WITH DIRECT MAIL - Send your Direct Mail offer first.  Then, send an email with the same offer seven to ten days later.  This over-all combination will give you lift, as the email will remind people of the mailer they received.

9.    ADD “READ MORE” LINKS INTO YOUR COPY - Writing an e-mail fundraiser piece is a little different than writing a direct mailer piece.  In the former you might stop a thought in mid-paragraph and put in a “read more,” having your email serve as somewhat of a “teaser.”

10.  STUDY THIS HEURISTIC TO LEARN A SIGNIFICANT LESSON FROM E-MAIL EXPERT FLINT McGOUGHLIN.

Check the complete details here plus a Bonus TIP!

E-MAIL FUNDRAISING

One of the paramount challenges for churches and para-churches isfundraising.  While there are a number of “tried and true” methods available, the advent of the Internetand email has created paradigm shifts that mandate to enjoy continued success it is going to be necessary to stay on the “cutting edge” of technology.  Since ministry is the major concern of these institutions, it is probable that they will want to benefit from the experience and expertise of an email-marketing specialist with a successful email marketing firm such as Randall Mains and PATHMAKER MARKETING LLC.

            Randall, a PK, grew up understanding the importance of fundraising.  If you're like his Dad, the Rev. David Mains, asking for money isn't your favorite pastoral activity. But, you do it because that's how you fund everything from keeping the lights on in the sanctuary to paying salaries to supporting ministries that present the life-changing message of the Gospel to hungry souls.

Over the past 25+ years, God has blessed Randall to help numerous churches and ministries with their fundraising needs through some specific skills that he has learned in life. His experience spans a variety of areas... radio, direct mail, various fundraisers, publishing, product sales, but (most recently), raising hundreds of thousands of dollars through online efforts such as email fundraising.

20 Ways to Market Your Church on the Internet - SEO

Search Engine Optimize Your Website      
                        
            At the request of my Pastor I created a 20 Step program for Marketing our Church on the Internet. To make it as inclusive as possible, I recruited the assistance of Randall Mains of Pathmaker Marketing LLC. Realizing that the results of our efforts would be beneficial to a number of Churches, I decided to do a 20 part series and place it on the Internet so as many people/churches as possible can be Blessed by it!

            To date we have discussed launching a blogging process and doing keyword research. Today, I want to discuss search engine optimization - both what it is and why it is important to you as part of your church marketing program. As we discussed last time, the paradigm shifts in our society mandates that churches utilize small business marketing strategies, and an effective website is an excellent church outreach Idea!

To read more, click here.

E-MAIL MARKETING 101: GETTING STARTED

  

If yours is an enterprise that can be considered "B to C” - Business to Consumer - then E-mail Marketing is something that you not only need to be aware of, but need to be participatingin. This is especially true if "coupons,” or special offers/special events serves a vital role in your Marketing Program. With Restaurants and certain Retail Shops, E-Mail Marketing is pretty apt to be your ticket to "Marketing Paradise.” It can work well for churches as well!

     In order to explain the process in detail, let’s use a Restaurant and a church as our examples as to how the program works. To begin with, we need to realize that there are two major challenges in implementing an effective E-Mail Marketing Program: Building your contact list and coming up with viableoffers to send to your list. The key to building your list is that you have to provide a reason for people to join. In the case of the Restaurant, you might offer a "2 for 1” coupon, or a "20% Off” your next order when they sign up. You provide patrons the opportunity to enroll while they are in your establishment, and at that time you explain that future coupons will be forthcoming when they "enroll” with you.  A Church might offer a free White Paper on Prayer or How to Enjoy Better Family Life for signing up. 

To read more, click here.

Grow Your Facebook Page

Facebook is far more than the name “social media” implies. It has become one of the most effective marketing venues the world has even seen. So why is it that, although you’ve created a Facebook page for their business, it just sits there? Why don’t people notice it? With countless people with Facebook accounts, why do you have only two fans after an entire year of exposure? Well, it might depend on your concept of exposure. And it might amaze you that there is nothing new under the sun. 

Imagine, if you will, a town square a century or more ago. People are coming and going, walking around, visiting friends and neighbors. Scattered around the square are merchants with carts filled with various and sundry goods for sale. There’s even a ‘snake oil salesman’ touting his latest cure for the gout. Amidst all the product there is a stand where a politician is making promises he won’t keep if elected. And there’s the charity, Mothers Against Chewing Tobacco Husbands (MATCH), handing out samples so the public can taste the nasty stuff themselves. 

Now hold that thought. What you’ve got in that town square is an early form of Facebook. It’s a public place where the community comes together to visit, to gossip, to learn what’s going on, to get up on the soapbox to share their opinions, and to market their company or cause. 

To Read More, Click HERE.

E-MAIL FUNDRAISING

One of the paramount challenges for churches and para-churches isfundraising.  While there are a number of “tried and true” methods available, the advent of the Internetand email has created paradigm shifts that mandate to enjoy continued success it is going to be necessary to stay on the “cutting edge” of technology.  Since ministry is the major concern of these institutions, it is probable that they will want to benefit from the experience and expertise of an email-marketing specialist with a successful email marketing firm such as Randall Mains and PATHMAKER MARKETING LLC.

        

Randall, a PK, grew up understanding the importance of fundraising.  If you're like his Dad, the Rev. David Mains, asking for money isn't your favorite pastoral activity. But, you do it because that's how you fund everything from keeping the lights on in the sanctuary to paying salaries to supporting ministries that present the life-changing message of the Gospel to hungry souls.

Read more...

The Bottom Line to Successful Email Fundraising & Marketing

The bottom line to successful email fundraising & email marketing consists of the following four simple steps to help you stay on track:

4 STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL EMAIL FUNDRAISING OR EMAIL MARKETING

An excellent way to communicate, email has become so efficient that it has the U.S. Postal Service trembling in its boots!  But seriously, if you're still doing direct mail only, you need to add email marketing to your mix of online fund raising tools. And to get the most out of your email fundraising or email marketing program you need to implement the following four strategic steps to success:

1)    Build Your Email House File - The most successful professional fundraisers are using email marketing programs to solicit their house files.  I know this may be a long process to develop these lists, but once you have a robust house file acquisition process in place, your email lists will grow and your efundraising or emarketing communications to those lists will deliver for you maximum results, way above any external list file rentals.

Typically, your house file consists of various sub lists like your customer file (first or two time buyers); your best customer file (regular, large or monthly donors, for example); and your prospecting file of requestors who have asked for call backs, downloaded white papers,  signed up for your newsletters, etc. 

In as much as your email success will mostly be measured in dollars raised, or as a conversion rate percent of the overall send, it stands to reason that a larger size internal file will deliver you a greater number of positive replies, once you've found ways to convert the list into sales or gifts.  In other words, make a commitment to building your house file, and then ensure that's an on-going part of your marketing efforts.

2)    Test, Test, Test - There are several ways to proceed in this realm.  First, you will want to conduct a basic Email Split Test.  This is where you send out two or three different versions of the same email to determine which one(s) give you the best results.  You can test different subject lines, different email creative or different landing pages. By determining which ones perform best, you can fix the underperforming ones and/or concentrate instead on the ones that were productive and successful.

A basic protocol we use as a basis for testing fundraising for non-profits is the following:
1. Short cause-centric email to longer cause-based landing page
2. Long cause-centric email to shorter cause-based landing page
3. Premium-centric version email to basic premium (i.e. product Offer) landing page

Read more...

5 Steps In Getting Your Business Found In Local Internet

In the day and age that we live one thing is as true as it ever was - - it doesn’t matter how good you are or how competitive your prices are if no one knows about you!  As a result, the age-old challenge of making sure that potential clients find you continues to rage on.  Currently, however, the secret to achieving this goal no longer revolves around the yellow pages, billboards nor, to some extent, even radio and TV advertising.  Rather, the key, the “secret” if you would, to marketing success pretty much revolves around the Internet andSocial Media!

This realm can, without a doubt, be over-whelming to the average businessman.  While volumes and volumes have been written on this topic, there are five “golden nuggets’ that will at least give you a “jump-start” in the Marketing World of the 21^st Century!

1. CREATE A LOCAL PRESENCE ON THE BIG THREE SEARCH ENGINES - These are, of course, GOOGLE PLACES, YAHOO LOCAL, and BING LOCAL (BUSINESS PORTAL).

2. GET LISTED IN AS MANY LOCAL DIRECTORIES AS POSSIBLE - These can run the gamut from “Angie’s List” to “Hot Frog” and includes things like:

1. superpages.com                    
2. kudzu.com
3. ​yellowpages.com                   
4. local.com
5. yelp.com                                
6. citysearch.com
7. ​myhuckleberry.com             
8. company.com
9. ​showmelocal.com                  
10. ezlocal.com

3. CREATE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES - Including Company Accounts (not personal) in  FOURSQUARE, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, LINKED IN and YOU TUBE.

4. ENCOURAGE CLIENTS TO WRITE AND POST POSITIVE REVIEW IN GOOGLE PLACES (and YAHOO AND BING) and LOCAL DIRECTORIES such as ANGIE’S LIST  - There are several excellent ways to accomplish this.

5. PURSUE SEARCH ENGINE RANKING ON YOUR TARGETED LOCAL KEYWORDS  - Example:  Plumber - Dallas - Texas

As you can imagine, there are numerous steps necessary to accomplish the above steps, and, to learn what they are, go to Pathmaker Marketing.

Facebook and Local Fundraising

How to use Facebook

Facebook is not only a good way to connect with relatives and friends, it also an excellent tool to announce a fundraising event. Think about it, what you’ve got in there is already a captured audience, compared to flyers and tarpaulins wherein people can choose not to read or even look at them. People on Facebook can choose to ignore you as well but, it is less likely because what you’ve got there are people who know and trust you. Here’s how you can use Facebook topromote a fundraising event:

1. Create and event - Create an event in Facebook ideally on the Fundraiser’s own account. Make sure that after you filled in the necessary details, that you click “anyone can view and RSVP” so that it is made public. You should also click “show guest list on event page” so that people can see who are invited and can invite new people.
Once the event goes live and you have invited your friends and they have RSVP, their friends can now see it on their wall too. This will make your invitation viral.

2. Post the event on your wall - On your personal Facebook account, you can also post the event on your wall and invite your friends too. If this is a ticket event, make sure to post a link to where they can buy the tickets.

3. Post regular updates - Make sure to post regular updates so that those who are coming will be informed. Soon the event will be on your friend’s, friends and friends wall too.

Read More...

Animated Emails

Make no mistake about it, we do live in an entertaining world!  And, whatever entertains us the most is going to get our attention.  That is why the talented e-mail marketing experts at Pathmaker Marketing LLCstand ready to help you design and employ a major technological breakthrough - - Animated E-Mails!

One of the main things that you need to know, and keep in mind, regarding Animated E-mails is the fact that the methods used to generate Animation on a Web page are restricted for an E-Mail.  For example, websites can use FLASH, JAVA and a variety of other technologies.  With E-Mails, however, the major technology is Animated Gifs.

Most professional email marketing services will tell you that Animated Gifs is “old school,” and has been around for quite some time.  Like most forms of technology, there are a number of people around who dabble in this particular medium without being really proficient in it.  That’s where Pathmaker Marketing LLC , an email marketing firm, comes in— as they are  qualified, experienced, and immensely prolific!

Read more...

Is your Website Effective?

So you’ve got a website for your business.  How is that working out for you?  Are people finding you on the internet?  Are you gaining customers from your website?  Or is it like one of those tools you have lying on the workbench in the garage – It’s there, but nobody is using it.

More than likely you have a beautiful, colorful and well-designed web page.  If it’s like most websites, it has a counter to show how many hits your site has been getting.  A 100 on that counter is like saying, “We’ve gone a hundred miles,” but it doesn’t tell you which direction you are going or how much farther you need to go.   And it doesn’t tell you how many of those hits, if any, have become new customers. 

Let’s illustrate it another way.  Say you’re going to have a garage sale.  You’re probably going to place a classified ad and put up some posters.  Simply putting an ad in a newspaper doesn’t mean that it’s going to get read.  You make sure that your ad is listed under “Garage Sales” because that is where people who are “garage sailing” will look.  You might even specify a bold border around your ad to make it stand out in the crowd.  Then there are the posters.  Where are you going to post them?  You are going to pick out highly-visible, strategic locations where they will catch people’s attention.  Now imagine that your garage sale is your website.  You not only set up your garage sale site, but common sense told you to utilize at least two powerful, but simple ways to DIRECT PEOPLE TO YOUR SITE.

The same methodology applies to having an effective website.  Except that there are many more ways to direct potential customers to your site.  These methods cost less than a newspaper ad, magic markers, and poster board.  In fact, they cost you NOTHING.

The only way to know if something is effective is to measure its potential and its results.  Having a cool website is good, but having a website that increases your business is GREAT!  And there is a way to KNOW how effective your site is.  Pathmaker Marketing LLC has developed a unique method for measuring the potential and effectiveness of your site.  It’s called a Visibility Report.  And here’s the best part:  It’s FREE – absolutely FREE.  And it’s accessible right here on the Pathmaker website.

With no obligation whatsoever on your part, Pathmaker will generate a custom, metrics-based report that will give you a precise assessment of how your website measures up against its potential to be DYNAMIC and to be a tool that drives customers to your business. 

The company’s proprietary software will scour the internet to provide you with an analysis of how your website scores relative to six key elements that are absolutely necessary for a successful internet presence.  Those elements include:

1. Your local search engine ratings
2. Your local directory citations
3. Your competitors’ local directory citations
4. Your social media presence
5. Your keyword rankings
6. Your customer reviews

Your site will receive a score for each element, measuring the visibility of your site as a percentage of its potential.  Finally, the report will give you a composite score, revealing the overall visibility of your site.   A clear explanation of the findings accompanies each score, so you know where the gaps are and you have a general idea of how to address those areas that could use some improvement.  You’ll even know how your visibility compares to your competitors’!

We want your website to be effective and your business to be successful.  The Pathmaker Visibility Report will give you an awareness of the reality of your site’s status that will be beyond your expectations.  With the insight you gain, you will know EXACTLY the steps to take to make your site exponentially more effective.  They are all steps that anyone can take.   If you have questions, need assistance, or would simply rather have an experienced professional do the job - Pathmaker Marketing has the resources to quickly and efficiently improve your online visibility and, ultimately, grow your business.

For your FREE Visibility Report, click here.

Email Service Providers

If your goal is to achieve success on the Internet by becoming a viable email Marketing Firm, you need to have at least a working knowledge of ESPs, and be able to decide which one, exactly, will serve your needs best.  That’s why email Marketing Specialists have done the leg-work to identify and research the various ESPs to determine which one will serve you best.

To learn how, exactly, you can involve yourself with the ESP that will best meet your needs, you need to contact an email marketing professional like those at Pathmaker Marketing LLC to schedule a private phone conversation as quickly as possible. After all, reaching people via the proper ESP is an important step in ensuring email Marketing success, and can be easily accomplished with the help of an email marketing company like Pathmaker Marketing LLC!

Typically, unless your Mailing List exceeds 10,000 you need not go above the “Entry” Level.  With this information in mind, email marketing experts can evaluate your needs and help you determine which ESP would be best for you!  If you are involved in Professional email Marketing, choosing the correct ESP is a must!

Make no mistake about it, in this day and age you need to get into an ESP if you haven’t already done so, and many direct mail marketing firms, like PathmakerMarketing LLC, stand ready to help you select the one best suited for your needs.  If you are already in one, they can help maximize its use to increase your level of success!

Drive Traffic Through the Search Engine

Gone are the days when all you need to do to run an online business is to build a website, send it to the major Search Engines and wait for visitors to come. Today, you need to proactively drive highly qualified traffic to it and convert visitors into clients. 

Search Engine Marketing is not just presenting flashy website, people are no longer buying that. What you need today is to find a hungry niche and sell them your product or services. The question then is how to drive a great deal of hungry visitors into your website. Learn the five-tiered approach to accomplish this, click HERE.

Grow Your Facebook Page

Facebook is far more than the name “social media” implies. It has become one of the most effective marketing venues the world has even seen. So why is it that, although you’ve created a Facebook page for their business, it just sits there? Why don’t people notice it? With countless people with Facebook accounts, why do you have only two fans after an entire year of exposure? Well, it might depend on your concept of exposure. And it might amaze you that there is nothing new under the sun. 

Imagine, if you will, a town square a century or more ago. People are coming and going, walking around, visiting friends and neighbors. Scattered around the square are merchants with carts filled with various and sundry goods for sale. There’s even a ‘snake oil salesman’ touting his latest cure for the gout. Amidst all the product there is a stand where a politician is making promises he won’t keep if elected. And there’s the charity, Mothers Against Chewing Tobacco Husbands (MATCH), handing out samples so the public can taste the nasty stuff themselves. 

Now hold that thought. What you’ve got in that town square is an early form of Facebook. It’s a public place where the community comes together to visit, to gossip, to learn what’s going on, to get up on the soapbox to share their opinions, and to market their company or cause. 

Now, let’s go back to the square. As you mingle, you begin to realize that this might just be the right place to sell your new idea for a flyswatter, so you arrange for your own space next week and you set up a table. Then you sit behind your table and wait for people to stop by. There you are, quietly waiting for something to happen – you, your chair, your table, and your flyswatter. A few people have stared in your direction, looking as if they are wondering what you are doing there. After awhile you starting thinking that this was a stupid idea, and you while away your time swatting flies.

Actually, it was the start of a great idea. Just showing up rarely works on its own. But showing up with a plan that gets people’s attention and ideas that draw them to your table will begin to garnish you some sales.

You see, the essence of marketing is the same, whether it’s down at the town square or whether it’s on Facebook. We’re about to share some ideas that will draw crowds to your Facebook page or you table on the town square.

Check the Rules here.

Finding Strategic Terms for Keyword Marketing

THAT’S MORE WORDS THAN IN A SMALL DICTIONARY!
           
  Jim was dumbfounded to the point of being speechless. He just sat there looking at me, trying to determine if I was telling him the truth or not. We were sharing a cola and some small talk, when he asked if I knew anything about keyword marketing. He knew I did, but used the question to get us on the topic. Jim often sought my advice because of my relationship with Randall Mains of PATHMAKER MARKETING. One of the services that Pathmaker offers as part of their small business marketing strategies is Keyword Marketing. He offers it as an online marketing tool, and helps clients accomplish that which they seek by using Pathmaker as their search engine optimization agency. SEO is, of course, a sound search engine marketing idea, and one that Jim, apparently, was hoping to incorporate in the marketing plan for his independent Sporting Goods Store.

Read More, Click Here.

Website Communication & Promotion

Receive Strategic eMarketing Advice in our free eNewsletter from Pathmaker Marketing.


Five Basic Communication Steps:

1. Generate Traffic with Online Promotions
(SEO, PPC, Links, Banners, Email, Co-Registrations, Viral, Media, Press, etc)
2. Convert Traffic into Useable Assets [lists, leads, gifts, sales] with Online Enticements
(Freebies, eNewsletters, Offers, Access to Content, Community)
3. Implement an Electronic Welcome Series
(Present Vision, Establish Tone, Minister)
4. Develop Ongoing Relationships by eMail
(eNewsletters, Announcements, Offers)
5. Synergize Online and Offline Communication
(email, direct mail, telephone, media, etc)

Click here to read more: http://goo.gl/t6fpt

The Bottom Line to Successful Search Engine Marketing

The bottom line to successful search engine optimization services consists of the following six steps to effective internet marketing in search.

6 STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING

 Since the inception of the Internet, one of its most popular uses has been Search.  As a result, Search Engines, such as Google, Yahoo and Bing have became prevalent and Search Engine Marketing has become a viable way for businesses to market themselves online.  But due to fact that you usually have extensive competition when participating in Search Engine Marketing, the successful company needs to know, and adhere, to all of the following practical steps, in order to be successful in search and related internet marketing ideas. Click here to read more: SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING

Getting the Most Out of Your Internet Advertising

What a wonderful business world it would be if we only had to pay for our Marketing and Advertising efforts when they actually work! If we could put up a giant billboard, but only paid when someone called us! Or only had to pay for a magazine ad when someone brought it in and showed it to us. Yet, that's exactly the way Pay Per Click, or Ad Words actually works! And, there is no one who can help you get more out of your Pay Per Click Campaign than PATHMAKER MARKETING LLC! Click here to read more: http://goo.gl/vqcOA

Animated Emails

Make no mistake about it, we do live in an entertaining world!  And, whatever entertains us the most is going to get our attention.  That is why the talented e-mail marketing experts at Pathmaker Marketing LLC stand ready to help you design and employ a major technological breakthrough - - Animated E-Mails! 

One of the main things that you need to know, and keep in mind, regarding Animated E-mails is the fact that the methods used to generate Animation on a Web page are restricted for an E-Mail.  For example, websites can use FLASH, JAVA and a variety of other technologies.  With E-Mails, however, the major technology is Animated Gifs.

Click here to read more: http://goo.gl/Tsm8O

Church Marketing

Helping You Find a Successful Online Strategy for Your Church in the eworlds of commerce and fundraising?

In today's world, numerous churches have a web site and many have some form of electronic communication program in place. But for many, the results have been disappointing, failing to live up to even modest expectations.

Pathmaker provides the strategic direction and professional services necessary to achieve your desired results. We bring our decades of experience in fundraising for churches and non-profits, online marketing and local promotion to bear on behalf of you and your church.

We offer a wide variety of services that can help you develop a website that gets people to interact with you. Ideas like email campaigns and facebook contests work, but we'll help you go far beyond that! In addition to website design and development, we can help with you strategic planning and consulting to get your entire fundraising effort producing through strategies such as email fundraising, monthly giving online, local advertising for new visitors and churchgoers, online branding and more.

Why not get started now? Fill in the form below to request a personal call back on how Pathmaker Marketing can help your church find a successful path for your church's online presence and communications. You have nothing to lose, and potentially a lot to gain, from a simple conversation to talk about your online opportunities.

Executive Branding

Have you GOOGLED yourself lately? My good friend Floyd Allen did and found out he was a convicted killer in Virginia and the Project Manager for the Detroit Medical Center for Legal Activities. In reality he’s neither - - he’s an author in Phoenix, Arizona! Yet, if someone GOOGLES him that is what they will learn. The question is, what will people find out if they GOOGLE you?

While the results can be mildly amusing, as it was for Floyd to discover he was a convicted killer, the humor immediately evaporates when your name is the very basis for the success of your Business or Ministry. Whether you have a common name, or simply one that is the same as someone with less than a stellar reputation, people who may be contemplating doing business with you or supporting your ministry may think twice about it if they GOOGLE you and learn unsavory facts about you - - even if it’s notyou they are actually reading about.

Fortunately, PATHMAKER MARKETING LLC can help you alleviate this problem through Executive Brand Management Online. As alluded to earlier, this is a vital service for anyone whose status directly affects the status of their Business or Ministry. If you are the spokesperson/persona of your livelihood, you want to make sure that when someone runs a GOOGLE SEARCH that they find the real you!

Currently you are in one of three situations: You already have a problem with negative content Online; you are in a "neutral” position, with no content at all and therefore are vulnerable to negativecontent being posted, or you have control over your Personal Brand and have established content that presents a Positive Profile. Either of the first two can put you in a precarious situation, and, as a result, you need to take a proactive role to protect your Branding on the Internet. And, that is exactly whatPATHMAKER MARKETING LLC can accomplish for you!

Learn more about executive branding. Visit us today and we are more than happy to help. Click HERE.