Marketing Notes

Marketing news, tips, articles, ideas to help you target your prospects, generate leads, increase sales and grow your business.

How WordPress “custom post types” can make your website maintenance a whole lot easier

Once your website’s up and running, one of the toughest things to do is keep it updated – even if it’s a simple task, such as updating a listing or

Could social media advertising be the worst use of your advertising dollar?

I’ve long felt that advertising on social media – approaches like Facebook ads and even post “boosts” – were not an effective way to reach your audience. While Facebook makes

Ecommerce webinar – tips to help launch your online storefront

When Ben Frisch, Digital Service Squad CO for the South Georgian Bay Small Business Enterprise Centre, invited me to take part in “Tools & Tech For Making Your Online Store

Vic Michener – Copywriter – Copywriting Samples

Browse copywriting samples, including direct-response mail materials, website content marketing, case studies, newsletters, articles, and more. Since 1987, I’ve helped businesses across North America generate leads, increase sales and grow

Ecommerce website development for businesses in Owen Sound, Collingwood, Thornbury, Meaford

Attention, businesses affected by COVID-19 in Owen Sound, Collingwood, Thornbury and Meaford: Adding ecommerce to your website keeps your staff and customers safe, your business active, and your customers in

Why this Meaford content writer (serving Owen Sound, Collingwood, and much farther afield) is happy to be called a copywriter

The Internet loves catchphrases. At one time, as this Meaford marketing writer well knows, the term “copywriter” sufficed to describe someone who wrote ads, brochures, case studies, company profiles, advertorials,

Native advertising, discovery advertising, in-feed ads. Advertorial approach hits the digital big time.

How you can use programmatic native ads to drive a powerful (and affordable) online campaign Traditional advertorials have found new online life in sponsored content – paid articles in major

How custom WordPress themes serve these Owen Sound/Collingwood area businesses

WordPress themes (or templates) are a great benefit to web developers. Someone has already taken the time to develop, or incorporate, various styles, effects and layouts for you. The back-end

Meaford Big Red Chair Tour wins Ontario economic development marketing award

If you visited anywhere from Leith to Memorial Park in Meaford last summer, you may have noticed one of Meaford’s Brobdingnagian Muskoka chairs. Simply put, they’re the “best seats in

Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation – Don’t panic! Do it right.

In less than a week, Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation comes into effect. From the emails I’ve been receiving, this has sent companies into panic mode. “This will be your last email

Why a customer story’s better than a PowerPoint any day

Here’s an article that encapsulates our fundamental philosophy, and adds some science and psych to back it up. It explains how storytelling can convey complex concepts at a deeper level.

Collingwood-area landscaper generates huge ROI with website content marketing

It was 2013 before Mark Higginson decided to create a website for his successful landscape design and construction business. But within weeks of launching naturalstonescapes.ca, the website had generated $200,000

Content marketing/SEO brings Collingwood-Owen Sound area business 4000% ROI

We knew the website was working well from the get-go, but until I interviewed my client this week to get some details, I hadn’t realized just how well. Stay tuned

Meaford International Film Festival kicks off new season with new responsive website design

Since 2007, Meaford, Ontario has had its own International Film Festival, affectionately known as MIFF, which treats festival goers to “four nights, four films, and four parties” every Labour Day

Warning for website design clients of Catherine Anderson, NBV Studio, Thornbury

Business owners in the Owen Sound, Meaford, Thornbury, Beaver Valley, Blue Mountains and Collingwood area who had websites designed by a “local” website design firm during the last few years

You can’t have SEO without content (and that means copywriting)

Last night, at a business event, I learned about a local contractor with a very unique product – one that interested me as a homeowner and as a “handy-guy”. So

Dahlquist Speakers ad campaign creatively demonstrates USP

This ad campaign was quickly put together to capitalize on a glowing review in an audiophile magazine. Working to a layout which allowed little room for copy, we had to

Lora Bay Living – newsletter helps build community and attract buyers

Lora Bay has become of the most successful real estate developments in the Southern Georgian Bay area. Located between Meaford and Thornbury on a beautiful sweep of Nottawasaga Bay, the

Marketing materials for Northridge Homes at Cobble Beach include brochure, ads

Northridge Homes positioned itself as the official custom builder at Cobble Beach, offering lots on prime locations at this prestigious golf course north of Owen Sound, Ontario. For this completely

Grassroots marketing and networking take Meaford food bank to the top

When Fionnuala Sparling handed me the little slip of paper at the community event we were both participating in, it seemed like a charming, low-tech – old fashioned, you might

Six ways to turn your customers into marketing consultants

Your best marketing consultants are closer than you think, and they probably won’t charge you a penny. Your clients and customers can give you insight, advice and actual one-on-one marketing

Articles vs advertising

To promote his home center, Steve Lundon went beyond traditional advertising. Instead, the owner of Northern Do-it Center in Fort Frances, Ontario published weekly how-to and DIY articles in the

Meaford home builder’s extreme website renovation gets results

Todd Robinson Construction offers custom home building, renovations, additions and other building services in the Collingwood, Thornbury, Meaford and Owen Sound areas. After many years of successfully relying on word-of-mouth

Four press release tips to get your business story promoted

A press release that’s truly newsworthy or tells a story worth reading is still a powerful method of getting your business story in online publications, print publications and broadcast media.

Dragons’ Den Meaford champion wins big (including website design and marketing prize from myFavoriteMarketer)

They didn’t breathe a lot of fire. Instead, the Meaford Dragons breathed inspiration, insight and significant investment on the brave businesspeople facing them last night at Meaford Hall. A full

Dragons’ Den Meaford 2012 – don’t miss it!

Meaford, Ontario, has its very own Dragons’ Den. Three years ago, the Meaford Chamber of Commerce introduced our small-town Ontario version of the popular CBC (and BBC) reality business TV

Re-brand and re-position your company to succeed – a lesson from Lisa Simpson

In response to derisive comments from brother Bart regarding her new babysitting business, Lisa retorts, “I’m not just a babysitter. I’m in the business of supplying peace of mind for

Ten newsletter tips to get results

Print, online, or ezine – newsletters are a powerful marketing tool. Maybe you’ve considered the possibility of creating a regular newsletter to send out to your customers, but you’re daunted

How to teach your customers to buy

Customers who frequent Peninsula TIM-BR Mart in Miller Lake, Ontario often come away with more than tools, nails and lumber. They come away with the knowledge to do something with

Event networking tips to make every occasion a marketing success

It’s cheap, it’s easy and it can be a lot of fun. It can also bring you new business opportunities without the expense and hassle of traditional advertising. Event networking

A strategy for better marketing, stronger marketing

To strengthen your marketing, you need to take a hard look at what you’ve done in the past, build on what worked, improve what didn’t and come up with some

Why your business needs a newsletter

Whether you mail it to their post-box or their Outlook inbox, producing a newsletter to promote your business will grow your profits. Here’s why newsletters work. A newsletter helps forge

Stop the Press Release! Check for these qualities before sending out publicity

Every day an editor receives stacks of press releases. Only a few will make it into his publication. These few will: 1. Have something to say. That is, they’ll have

Sample advertorials to spark your print and online marketing

Advertorials placed in print and online publications targeting your customers can be extremely powerful marketing tools. Check out these examples to get ideas on how you can use advertorials in

Four steps to a winning product position

Forget the daily scramble for a minute, and think about what made you passionate about your business in the first place. Take a fresh look at your product or service

Promote your business on a budget – more from the Miserly Marketer

Marketing doesn’t have to cost a lot. Here are five more cheap ways to attract business. 1. Do unique things with discounts. Don’t just give away your profits by mass

Content marketing: Regular, reputable blog achieves top ranking and inbound leads for Meaford Haven retirement community

Meaford Haven was conceived as a Three Seasons Community®, where people could enjoy all of their retirement years, from the active early years on, in one neighbourhood. Incorporating bungalows, mid-rise

Client profiles and focused website landing pages boost response and search engine rankings for CSBF

The Centre for Small Business Financing offers valuable assistance to business people looking to launch or grow their businesses using government grants and financing. In the past, client lead generation

The Miserly Marketer – How to promote your business on the cheap

1. Get a big return for small ads. The price of print advertising may have scared you off, but big half-page or full-page ads don’t always pull more. Try running

How to formulate a marketing strategy

Does this sound familiar? When you’re busy there’s no time, and seemingly, no need, for marketing. When things are slow, it’s crisis management time; you’ve got to get something done

How to find out what your prospects really want

When it comes to targeting the buyers for an industrial or business product, you might have a tough time. First off, you don’t have the same sort of demographic research

Eight ways information-based content marketing will increase response to your website and other marketing materials

The secret to selling more of what you offer is closer than you might think. Your sound understanding of your industry, your customers, and the products and services you offer

Vic and Jocelyn took time to tour our development site and find out everything they could about the project. Because of this, they were able to understand our market and the purpose of our website. I love the site. It is simple, and yet says everything I was hoping for.

...

David Hughes, Riverside Developments

Collingwood, Ontario

Opt in for free marketing ideas

This form’s secured by ReCAPTCHA