Hey guys, hope you all had a great weekend. Today we are introducing something new – MH Newspaper. Sometimes we feel like some of the short informational posts should be easy to print and file away so you can always go back and look at them. Of course, you can always bookmark the posts but sometimes its just plain old fun reading them in an old fashioned way.

We are introducing MH Newspaper and every once in a while we will present articles in this format so its easier to download and print for reference. We sure do hope you like it. Here is the very first volume of MH Newspaper which talks a bit about Social Media Marketing,
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quick thought on social media marketing

The reason Social Media Marketing has peaked is because it gives businesses a chance to connect with their existing and potential clients on a personal level and vice versa. Social Media marketing isn’t about marketing your products and services directly. It is about marketing your business and brand through humanization of your company, by letting your consumers know that there is a person behind the company that is willing to talk, learn and engage with their potential customers into their day to day life. It is about engagement and participation on a personal level. I am more likely to buy from a company that is referred to me rather than shooting darts in the dark.

Social Media marketing is about humanization, personalization and building a community around your business to keep the word flowing about you/business through your own community.

Twitter without a doubt is one of the best communication and networking tool available on the web. I enjoy it so much that the first thing I do before I even open my email is check my Twitter profile. I love to connect with others and participate. I love to take a deep look into other people’s lives as they share what they are doing and tie it in with mine to see how similar we are. All in all, Twitter has become an integral part of my online life.

I exist on Twitter to connect, to increase my knowledge on certain things and spread mine as well. However, Twitter lately has become a cluttered a billboard with links swarming from everywhere. Do I link my articles on twitter? You bet I do. But I do it because I think I put enough time participating and being a part of the community. I don’t just throw random links just for the sake of traffic.

How can I compare Twitter to a cluttered Billboard?

Out of 100 tweets 50 are bound to be promotional links that exist for the sake of traffic and nothing else. Not as bad as in real life but a billboard cluttered with ads usually have 80% of ads that doesn’t provide any value and exist just cause everyone else is using that space. Let Twitter be a communication tool to delve into others life as they share their personal lives, their thoughts and links on topics that matter. You do the same but don’t use it just because its a space everyone else is using. Don’t let it be a cluttered billboard.

Share your thoughts.

If you would like to connect with me on twitter please follow this link ritubpant. I have been pretty quite on twitter lately but I should be getting back to my normal twitter addiction soon .

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Trade shows can prove to be an excellent source of marketing. If you want to get noticed in the public eye and have a great headstart, then trade shows are the thing for you. If you are a small business owner, you would understand the importance of it and are probably already using this tool. Trade shows are organized exhibitions by companies of a specific industry where they come together to showcase their products and services. This is easily one of the best ways to promote your offerings and get hold of new clients in the process. For scoring better clients and getting highlighted during one of the trade shows, you need to promote yourself well and be seen frequently.

The best part about trade shows are that they are easily accessible and are generally promoted on big platforms. Most of them are open for the public in general and that is when you can strike a blow on your potential clients. Every now and then you will come across companies which organize industry specific or client specific trade shows. Getting the right display is what draws the line between successful and failed company stalls. What should be paid attention to is getting an attractive display which will attract more customers and force them to come and check out your products/services. In fact if you are planning to get noticed in any trade show soon, some of the following pointers could be helpful:- Read the rest of this entry

Anybody who owns a business understands the importance of a market research. Market research can practically help you predict the success of your products or services. It is a great indicator of who you are targeting and what your potential market will be like. An understanding of the existing competition, targeted audience, profitability and feasibility of the business becomes clear as a crystal if you carry out an extensive and unbiased market research. Also it is important to do so as you may never get to know the market you are missing. A good market research will answer a lot of questions like: What is the best marketing strategy to be used? What age group is the targeted audience? What and how much is needed? Etc.

First of all, we need to be clear about the types of research that can be done. There are primarily two kinds of research:-

Primary research

This is the type of research that you do either yourself or hire someone to do it for you. It means collection of data about the product or the market directly. This is the first form of data and can be collected through various forms like questionnaires and telephonic interviews etc. There are mainly 3 ways of conducting primary research :-

• Direct Mail: In this method, you can send out a letter to people carrying a survey and ask them to mail it back. Although not very effective, there are many businesses which still use this form of researching. Make sure it is addressed to a specific individual and give them a free coupon or an offer to make it look worthwhile. Do not forget to send out a follow-up mail after a couple of weeks to remind them.
• Telephonic Surveys: This is one of the most widely used ways of collecting first hand data. It is a cost effective method and is a cheap method of getting raw data. You can call up the person and ask for his views and opinions or ask for a plain “yes” or “no”. It is now being used by many companies out there.
• Personal Interviews: With this method you can have a group called the focus group to brainstorm ideas related to what you want to know or just plainly have a set of pre-selected questions and ask them in a personal interview.

Secondary research

Secondary research provides you with the data that someone else has gathered. It is generally provided by government agencies and research companies. It is also an easier and cheaper way of getting information you want. It could be anything from statistics or a list of things from government agencies, labor unions, chambers of commerce etc. Like primary research, this form of research also has 3 sources:-

• Public: This includes things like public libraries, government agencies etc. where the information is available generally for free. It is a great source of information.
• Commercial: These include research and trade associations or even financial institutions. These are also a great source of information and need to be paid a small amount to get the information out.
• Educational: Unfortunately, many businesses lose out on this source. In fact, high school libraries, universities and college business sections provide a whole lot of information that you may require.

Conducting a market research is not an easy task. It is laborious and back breaking. This is the reason why most of the businesses outsource this work to companies which specialize in the same area. This can take off the load off their minds and can save them a lot of time. Some of the results you will immediately be able to see could be as follows:-

1. Better communication: First hand interaction can be helpful in bettering your communication. You will be able to learn more about your client’s needs and wants.
2. Identification of opportunities: How headstrong is your product as compared to its competitors? Do your clients need anything that nobody else is giving?
3. Minimizing Risk: Keep low and do not expect too much. This ways you will loose less and win more.
4. Measurement of Progress: It will help you measure your strengths, weaknesses and results from the very beginning. If you set your standards high from the very beginning, you will be in a better position for sustained growth.

Hopefully, this format of research will be helpful for you and your business in the future.

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Its amazing how time flies by. It seems like yesterday that we started marketinghackz, but it sure has been a while. We started MH on April 2008 and with time we have grown and surpassed our own expectations. Its a good feeling when you know there are thousands of blogs that start each day and die the next, that you are still alive and rolling like there is no tomorrow. As 2008 comes to an end we would like to link to some of our favorite posts. Of course we like every post thats on here but I guess sometimes you just have to choose a few and let it go. One of the reason for that is because I need to head out in a bit and join the crowd as we welcome the upcoming year.

Here are a few of our favorite articles,

Do Not Ever Promote Your Product or Services

Eating Healthier With Social Media

How To Crash a Server With Site Launch In 3 Easy Steps

Using The Rule of Thirds To Crush Marketing

A Cocktail Guaranteed To Boost Your Marketing

The Secret To Writing Killer Press Releases

10 Unusual Places to Drop Your Business Cards

10 Car Commercials That Make You Wanna Buy

5 Publicity Strategies People Miss Out On

25 Best Slogans of All Time

Cuil’s Marketing Strategy – Not So Cool

5 Reasons To Adopt a Freemium Model To Succeed

Lemonade Stand Marketing – Lessons From a 14 Year Old

10 Creative Ads That Are To The Point

Branding 101 – What You Need To Know

The Big Three Of Internet Marketing

The Secret To Marketing Is……

Twitter For Marketing – What Not To Do

Social Media Marketing – Humanization

And Finally my letter to StumbleUpon : StumbleUpon Can Kiss My Ass

There it is. There are a lot more I wanted to include but that is all I could do given the time crunch. By the way, as of this point we are shutting down marketinghackz for the year 2008. Ohhhh we are definitely coming back in 2009 .

Wishing you the very best of everything in 2009. Have fun and please, please hide the keys before you drink and then drink enough to forget where you hid them .Happy New Year!

In our previous post we talked about email marketing a bit. Today lets dive in a little more into email marketing.

Email marketing is the cheapest and the easiest way to connect with your customers. The current statistics reveal that more then 1 billion people use internet across the world and almost 92% of them use emails. Nielsen reports further suggest that more then 70% users receive marketing emails and around 82% of the users who receives marketing emails at least make one online purchase. More striking is the fact that almost 33% of the users make the purchase as soon as they receive a promotional email. So to cash upon this figure and making your revenue grow you need to send compelling emails which should be informative, eye catching and doesn’t get deleted as junk or spam! So here are few tips which can be used to come up with professional marketing emails with a personal touch:- Read the rest of this entry

The internet has bought a revolution in the business world. People are on the constant lookout for new ways of selling their products. E-mail being one of the most over-utilized and the most under-rated tool of all. Every now and then, you receive an e-mail giving unnecessary details about a sale or claim to a free gift. The real winners are the people who compel the target audience into buying the product. So how do you spin that web really? This is the e-mailing that will sell. Read on:

1. Truth Prevails: Write a subject line that gives an intro to your offer. But be truthful. Don’t be fake. It should be as compelling as it can be. Have something like Important or Must Open as the subject line. Free, discount, offers are words that consumers grow accustomed as they read it again and again. A subject like “Marketing: Why your company’s future depends on it” is a question which has 2 possibilities of what you’ll gain out of it if you read or what you’ll lose.
2. Clear and concise: People in the 21st century are busy. They don’t have time to figure out what you are offering. So sum the whole thing up in as little as you can, in a nutshell. Be direct and let the first sentence extremely clear as to what you are to offer. Grab the attention with a concise statement which will make them get up and think like “Looking for an effective and easy way out for marketing? Try XYZ services”. Do not leave detailed information in the first go. By the end of the message the reader should have an “opt in” option. Once he feels that he is interested, your work is half done.
3. Send only one message: I’m sure you have come across mails that give you information about all the products they offer, like 2 ipods or free one touch keyboards. Do not do that. Readers do not have very long attention spans. In fact, it is a proven fact that they lose focus after only 10 minutes of reading or listening. Sending a separate e-mail for every product you offer is the best way to go about getting maximum attention. You cram it up with all offers, and you lose a reader. An even better way to deal with it is to send a newsletter to all your regular customers who you think can be considered as prospective buyers.
4. Focus on value: The reader’s time must be compensated by giving them a value offer or a discount. An example of this could be how VeriSign did e-mail marketing. “Does your business have the full security it needs to carry online? To learn what’s securing all the leading websites today, claim your free copy of “Securing Your E-Business” now”.
5. Show the benefits: Just telling the readers about the offer is not enough. You have to show them what else you can give them which will be beneficial for them in way or the other. Eg.: “Our free job matching service will help you find high-paying gigs. We’ll send you the names of at least two potential clients each week.” This will lure some if not all your readers. It is important for you to turn web surfers into prospective buyers. The deal will pull them tomorrow if not today.
6. Final cut – Action! : Your compelling subject line and consumer oriented lead has worked like magic for you: getting the customer to read what you offer. What’s next then? The last thing that leaves an impression on a reader would be to ask him to visit your site. This is not the best idea. Instead ask them to sign up for your free e-zine or a newsletter, enter a lucky draw or to buy your product. Eg: Download the free demo at (URL).

This is how e-marketing is made easy and effective. It has such a strong effect that it reaches the customer within minutes or even seconds. The response is generally immediate – 90% of the times it happens within 4 days of you sending the mail. It is a less complicated, time saving and rather cost effective method of marketing your business.

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So there has to be a good enough reason as to why you will do marketing with the most excruciatingly boring piece of e-mail sent to the customers, right? Right! Marketing with newsletters is not an easy job and may give you the results you are looking for. There are thousands of companies who are leaving out a huge chunk of the market share because their strategy for using them is not very good. Unfortunately, most of the businesses which fail miss out on a very important piece of information. According to them their latest offering is great and keeps them excited as they feel that the customers require their product and will fall for buying what they are offering. Due to this, their newsletter basically just revolves around the features, the company holdings etc. Well, for those who did not know, your clients are not interested in you or your product.

So how does one go about creating a newsletter which will be read and will help expand the possibilities of increasing more sales and clients? Well, frankly there are not management books you will come across which will teach you how to do the same. But you don’t have t be a Harvard graduate as well to write a brilliant newsletter. There are no set rules as such but keeping a few things in mind can actually show some great results. Read on to know a few reminders of how you can achieve brilliance with newsletters:- Read the rest of this entry

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This is the first Christmas for MarketingHackz and we are excited to share this moment with you. We would like to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

We will be back with our usual articles and posts starting Friday. Until then enjoy your friends and family and once again wishing you a very Merry Christmas from MarketingHackz family.