INTERNET MARKETING: 5 Telltale Signs That Your Tagline Is Tired

Internet Marketing with Joyanne Sloan

5 Telltale Signs That Your Tagline Is Tired


When it comes to forming a successful Internet marketing strategy, it's important that you have both an effective way to drive traffic to your site and the appropriate components that serve to convert those anonymous visitors into paying customers.

The truth of the matter is that you have mere seconds in which to engage your prospects before they click away. There are myriad reasons why people abandon a particular website but regardless of the cause, it remains an all-too-frequent problem that deserves your full attention.

When Web surfers quickly close the browser window it's known by we Internet Marketing types as a 'bounce rate' and your goal should be to reduce your website's bounce rate as much as possible. Accomplishing that can be done with several methods, perhaps the simplest of which is crafting a useful, concise and relevant tag line.

Tag lines or slogans too often fall into the categories of witty, silly or downright useless.

Here are the top 5 signs that it's time to retire your tag line in place of a far more powerful Unique Value Proposition:

It's Flat
The point here is not to have a plain (and dare I say boring) description of your business or service. Merely telling your customers what type of industry you're in accomplishes little.

It's All About You
Avoid the tendency to inflate the merits of your products or your people. Those who include the suggestion of superiority such as “Sonoma County's #1 Real Estate Agent”, will encounter rampant consumer skepticism.

It Doesn't Distinguish How You're Different
The goal of your tag line is to convey to your would-be customers that you have something of unique value to offer. Bear in mind that saying “we're different”, does not mean that you should say “we're better”. Be certain that whatever value you do bring is relative to your clients rather than your competitors.

It Doesn't Address Any ONE
In this economy, you may be happy to have any business at all. However, it's extremely helpful to identify who your target audience is and refer to them in your value proposition (tag line). For example, in my tag line 'Putting you in control of your business, your results, and your future', it's quickly apparent that my customers are business owners and entrepreneurs.

It Doesn't Speak To Their Pain Point
Because your tag line is focused on your customer and not on you, your credentials, or your superiority... you'll want to turn your attention to the problem or pain that you resolve for your customers. Referring again to my own value proposition, you can see that it clearly speaks to the anxiety experienced by small business owners who suffer from a lack of control over their lives and livelihood.

In the end, crafting a truly excellent and engaging Unique Value Proposition takes some time. Remember to keep it short and sweet. Eliminate any and all unnecessary words because it's not an elevator pitch after all. Do sit down and come up with some variations on your tag line and then pass them around to your best customers and colleagues for their valuable input.

Above all, keep in mind that time is truly of the essence when it comes to the Internet. Speak clearly and boldly to those people whom you wish to serve and tell them how you intend to give them some much-needed relief. When you think about it, selling anything usually comes down to providing pleasure or avoiding pain. If you can deliver that message in the shortest amount of time possible, you not only stand a good chance of keeping that visitor on your website, but of trumping your competition time and time again.

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Joyanne Sloan is a strategic marketing expert sharing insights on effective Internet marketing for low-tech entrepreneurs. Her articles and information products provide practical, plain-English marketing solutions that get real results. For private consulting, you may reach her at 206.388.3882 or by e-mail at synergyseattle@gmail.com

For more information, please visit Joyanne's TNNWC Bio.

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Capital, Traffic Building, International Customers and unique SERVICES.
The National Networker Publications™ produced by TNNWC Group, LLC
“Empowering Emerging Enterprises”

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INTERNET MARKETING: 5 Telltale Signs That Your Tagline Is Tired

INTERNET MARKETING: THE SCIENCE OF SUCCESS: Your website could be making the biggest Internet Marketing mistake of all...

Internet Marketing: The Science of Success with Joyanne Sloan

Your website could be making the biggest Internet Marketing mistake of all...


When it comes to Internet marketing, I've noticed the disproportionately large emphasis that's placed on getting traffic to your website. While reaching top ranking with the major search engines is certainly a very worthwhile goal, it has little to do with whether or not anyone ultimately buys anything from you.

When it comes right down to it, your website's purpose is to make you money and to do so in a 24/7, automated fashion if at all possible. So whether you're peddling goods or services, your Internet marketing strategy must place at least equal weight upon the goal of CONVERTING prospects as it does ATTRACTING prospects.

Conversion rate correlates directly to how well your site succeeds at building trust with skeptical consumers. An exceedingly small minority of the billions of websites in existence ever reach the goal of establishing that trust. And without the value of trust, the Internet becomes increasingly focused on little more than the lowest available price. That said, failing to build trust is not only the biggest Internet Marketing mistake of all... it's all the biggest Internet Marketing opportunity for anyone interested in pursuing it.

What's so truly powerful about marketing on the Internet is that the technology enables you to add, update and interconnect various content in a dynamic, multi-dimensional way; that being particularly true of blogging platforms such as WordPress.

One of the primary reasons that blogs are preferable to static websites is that they shift what is typically a “corporate communication” into a personal conversation by way of the comment function which allows website authors and readers to interact in nearly real-time. And it is that personal conversation that gives life to your business by making you a real person with the power to solve your customers' real problems. That, my friend, is relationship marketing at its best.

Unfortunately, what I see far too often is that entrepreneurial types try to make themselves “look BIG” so that they appear to be on equal footing with deep-pocket corporations. This kind of Internet marketing puffery is far too common and in direct opposition to a significant opportunity to distinguish yourself and your business as real, responsive, reachable, and ultimately... TRUSTWORTHY. Remember, when it comes to Internet marketing, small is beautiful!

Think about your own online experience for just a moment and recall the countless times you needed an answer to your burning question, yet every attempt to contact a human being was slowed down, complicated or altogether thwarted. Now imagine how you would feel about a website that allowed you to get to the decision maker or the person who could meet your needs NOW.

Ask yourself how many times you've gone to a company's website for no other reason than to simply find their phone number and get a warm body on the other end of the line. Amazingly, I see website after website that buries or hides their contact information as though somehow they really don't have any interest in doing business with the public.

I trust you'll agree with me that there's nothing more common or frustrating on the web than the aggravation of clicking endlessly through cyberspace with an UNMET need until one gives up and simply goes away, wallet firmly in hand.

At the end of the day, every minute and dollar you spend to drive traffic to your website without getting a handle on establishing trust with prospective clientele, will become precious yet wasted resources.

As I sat down and really thought about what trust means to me (and how often companies espouse their trustworthiness without ever delivering it), I realized that to define trust is to discover its core constituents.

Where Internet marketing is concerned, trust is comprised of three key elements:
1. Integrity
2. Accountability
3. Transparency

So if you want to write powerfully persuasive ad copy for your website, your press releases or any other form of on or off-line marketing, you'll want to consider how each one of these three elements is clearly represented in the final piece.

INTEGRITY
Integrity can be relayed to the buying public by way of showing potential purchasers that your product or service does what it says it will do. You'll want to let them know that their expectations, once fulfilled, will remain fulfilled for a reasonable length of time without further hassle or expense. This can be accomplished through third-party reviews, testimonials, industry awards and any other device that conveys that “It works!”

ACCOUNTABILITY
Accountability can be communicated in myriad ways including endorsements by respected entities, affiliations with recognized brands, favorable ratings through organizations such as the Better Business Bureau and detailed, written guarantees that give customers real confidence throughout the decision making process.

TRANSPARENCY
Transparency is likely the most overlooked but powerful element in the trust-building process required to convert Web visitors into satisfied customers; customers who not only come back for more, but who gladly tell their friends about you along the way.

In my opinion, transparency is accomplished through striking a genuine tone in all of your Internet marketing communications. It's about being a real person (just like the people with whom you'd like to do business) with an informal tone and attitude of being reachable and responsive... not only when it's time to make the sale, but when it's time to truly serve your customers.

So take a good look at your site with an eye for those elements that build trust and increase your conversion rate exponentially. Also take a look at your competitors' sites and other sites that you frequent regularly. Adapt any trust-building device that appeals to you for use on your own website. After all, the goal of effective Internet marketing is not simply to create a good website, but to build an invaluable Web presence.

For further reading on this topic, here's an excellent article including dozens of fascinating statistics about the influence of trust upon e-commerce.

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Joyanne Sloan is a strategic marketing expert sharing insights on effective Internet marketing for low-tech entrepreneurs. Her articles and information products provide practical, plain-English marketing solutions that get real results. For private consulting, you may reach her at 206.388.3882 or by e-mail at synergyseattle@gmail.com

For more information, please visit Joyanne's TNNWC Bio.

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Capital, Traffic Building, International Customers and unique SERVICES.
The National Networker Publications™ produced by TNNWC Group, LLC
“Empowering Emerging Enterprises”

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INTERNET MARKETING: THE SCIENCE OF SUCCESS: Your website could be making the biggest Internet Marketing mistake of all...

UPDATE! Bulletin - TNNWC Weekly Newsletter - 09.05.2010 - Internet Marketing with JOYANNE SLOAN.

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UPDATE! Bulletin - TNNWC Weekly Newsletter - 09.05.2010

Greetings Colleagues, Members and Friends:

It is rare that you find an individual who is truly an accomplished expert at marketing -- particularly internet marketing. Most coaches and consultants can help you with a very narrow, vertical piece of what you need to do, whether it is PR, News Releases, Social Media Buzz, Branding, SEO, customer relations and retention...the list is long. While each of these things is necessary, you must your business "findable" (searchable), accessible, self-explanatory (with benefits and features right up front, plain, simple and obvious), intuitively-navigable (for visitors and prospective customers to find their way around your site, your space or your store, interactive (where customers can engage you and feel that they are being heard), and different than any other prospective competitors within your space.

You need an expert to scientifically examine your product or service, your prospective customer audience, your presentation (i.e., usually your website or blog), and to optimize the mix of factors that will make it magnetic. This requires an understanding of behavioral psychology, technology, communications and an additional element of artistry, as well as science and metrics. Putting the proper attractants in place requires a thorough review of what your objectives are, the way you are marketing at present, and an actiona list of items to implement in order to improve your profitability. The person undertaking this must be an expert, with time-tested and diverse experience.

TNNWC's Chief Marketing Officer, Joyanne Sloan, is one of those rare individuals who is fully qualified to take you by the hand and bring you to market. Joyanne is not only or CMO, but she also renders her professional services to clients, and sells some of her educational products and assessment tools to businesses wanting to get noticed and get sales.

Here's some information about Joyanne - her resume makes us common folk just a tad jealous...

Joyanne Sloan, Chief Marketing Officer

Joyanne Sloan, as TNNWC™ Group’s Chief Marketing Officer, has more than 20 years of expertise in strategic marketing, branding, consumer psychology and metrics, corporate communications and business development across multiple media platforms.

Ms. Sloan brings a broad range of life experience and formal training to her role as Chief Marketing Officer, applying her enthusiasm, creativity and clarity to corporate growth through better corporate positioning and messaging. Ms. Sloan strikes an important balance between hi-tech and hi-touch marketing solutions that are critical to success.

Ms. Sloan’s responsibilities include but are not limited to: Developing and implementing branding, positioning and marketing strategies for TNNWC™ Group, as well as for each of TNNWC™ Group’s products and services through a customer-centric philosophy; initiating increased client interaction, satisfaction and retention; leveraging social media platforms and technologies to optimize market recognition and access; conducting market research and testing of campaign effectiveness for both TNNWC™ and its clients, and to interface with outside advertisers and media vendors.

Ms. Sloan also has developed programs to help TNNWC™ Group Member Companies market their products and services. As a life-long entrepreneur and Certified Coach, she recognizes the difficulties facing TNNWC™ Group’s Members, many of which are entrepreneurial and emerging companies facing such challenges as limited access to resources, competition, isolation, technical barriers and the stresses of having to "do it all" while operating in a continuous state of crisis management. As a result, she created a proprietary marketing program that is available to our Members called the 'Power Over Profits Academy' (http://www.poweroverprofits.com/) which takes a participating Member company’s management and marketing team through an intensive and highly-focused eight week process of creating a marketing system customized to their unique business and goals.

In 1991, Ms. Sloan founded Ad Grafix, a firm specializing in turn-key marketing solutions for a progressive, multi-billion dollar network of independent office products dealers. Their full spectrum of services covered all marketing genres from print media to e-commerce solutions for Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer channels in support of business owners achieving and exceeding their sales objectives.

Ms. Sloan received her B.F.A. degree from the University of California, Irvine. She studied under Chuck Pettis of Brand.com who has done branding work for Microsoft and Hewlett Packard, among others. Ms. Sloan often speaks and provides training addressing marketing strategies and best practices. She has been awarded the designation of "Expert Author" status from EzineArticles.com for the exceptional quality her written contributions.
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You would be well-advised to get in contact with Joyanne. The biggest error most of us are inclined to make is that we tend to be very subjective (that's Human Nature) and we design our products, promotions and materials to suit ourselves, and not necessarily our marketplace. We get too emotionally involved.

Joyanne offers experience, expertise and objectivity. She can get you to the top of Google and the other principal search engines, and can help you stay there.

Joyanne's Featured TNNWC Column: Internet Marketing: The Science of Success with Joyanne Sloan.

Quick Bio and Contact for Joyanne Sloan:

Joyanne Sloan is a strategic marketing expert sharing insights on effective Internet marketing for low-tech entrepreneurs. Her articles and information products provide practical, plain-English marketing solutions that get real results. For private consulting, you may reach her at 206.388.3882 or by e-mail at synergyseattle@gmail.com .

And remember...we told you so...

Read more about Joyanne in TNNWC Group™ - Community - Executive Team by www.thenationalnetworker.com

With Our Very Best Wishes (and Actionable Plans!),

Adam J. Kovitz and Douglas Castle

TNNWC Group, LLC

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Capital, Traffic Building, International Customers and unique SERVICES.
The National Networker Publications™ produced by TNNWC Group, LLC
“Empowering Emerging Enterprises”

Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:

UPDATE! Bulletin - TNNWC Weekly Newsletter - 09.05.2010 - Internet Marketing with JOYANNE SLOAN.