Welcome to Rev It Up!

If you are a minister, civil officiant, celebrant, Justice of the Peace, Marriage Commissioner or anyone who creates and performs wedding ceremonies Rev It Up can help you grow your business.

Rev It Up Marketing is a collaboration between Claire Goodman, an Interfaith Wedding Minister in Virginia (Sacred Ground Ceremonies) and Chris Jaeger, an Internet Marketing Consultant who specializes in the Wedding Industry (Book More Weddings).

For more information call Chris at (978) 283-8295 or Claire at (434) 296-9885.

2009 Online Marketing To Brides Checklist

1) Search Engine Optimization

Make no mistake, search engine optimization (SEO) is not easy and the competition is tough, especially for any popular keyword or keyword phrases, but it's smart to make an effort and doing it right is the key to success. Why?80% of the brides and grooms who start an Internet session start with a search. 70% (or more, depending on who you believe) start with Google. In other words, having a top ranked site, listed on the first page of the search engine results page (SERPS), or in the "top ten" is like having a money tree in your back yard - that is if your website can CONVERT the brides and grooms who visit into inquiries and sales.

2) Conversion

Speaking of CONVERSION... conversion is what it's all about. All the traffic in the world means nothing if it doesn't convert into some form of action - an inquiry, a phone call, or a sale. Sure, your website may "look great" but does it convert your visiting traffic into inquiries and phone calls? If you have 1000 qualified visitor sessions this month and don't get at least 100 inquiries (10% conversion) you have a problem at your website. It means there is something at your website that is actually hurting your sales and it's pretty safe to say you are losing business to a competitor.

3) Search Engine Marketing

Also known as pay-per-click (PPC), pay-for-performance search engine MARKETING is a smart move, particularly if your CONVERSION is good or very good. Pay-per-click advertising is also called "sponsored link" advertising (at Google, Yahoo! and MSN). Think about it for a minute and it makes perfect sense. You put an ad on a page that shows up when a bride types in the keywords you want to appear for. She reads it. She says "hey, I need a wedding caterer (or fill-in-the-blank), this ad sounds good, maybe they can help me. Click. Frankly, you can't get better traffic than that. Don't be fooled though, PPC campaign design and management isn't for do-it-yourselfers. Get professional help and you'll get a solid return-on-investment (that is quite easy to measure).

4) Leverage Technology

When a bride or groom makes an inquiry there is no reason NOT to give them the information they need immediately and do it using an auto-responder. Your prompt follow-up will leave a good impression and often the first person to follow-up can close the sale! I'm sure you've heard this yourself: "We made so many inquiries and you're the only person who followed up with us." Don't assume brides/grooms read your website A to Z. Don't assume they read your unique value proposition, understand why you are different, have clearly understood your value/benefits! An auto-responder / immediate follow-up to an email inquiry with a summary of your services, prices, UVP, value/benefit, and a few choice testimonials... is the perfect door opener and segway to closing a sale... which brings me to #5...

5) Follow Up By Phone On All Inquiries Immediately

Do you want to close more sales in 2009? It's simple. Pick up the phone and CALL the brides and grooms who have made inquiries immediately. I mean within 10 minutes if you're online. Without any excuse, the same day or first thing in the morning if it's an inquiry that came in over night. Increase your sales 30%, 40%, even 50% or more this year by just calling back the brides and grooms who make inquiries via your website IMMEDIATELY. Combine this with an auto-responder and get double the bang!

What Makes A Great Website?

A lot of things! But one thing that is critically important is: Give a bride what she came looking for.

You can have all the traffic in the world but if you don't give brides what they came for - they just leave.

A bride wants to know five things:

* What you do?

* What you will do for her?

* Why you are different than the last five websites she's visited (unique value proposition)?

* What you have done for others (testimonials)?

* How to contact you?

Believe it or not, you have about 8 seconds to deliver this information on your home page. You do this with WORDS (your marketing copy) and PICTURES( that support and re-emphasize the message in your marketing copy).

If I visited your home page today, would I be able to tell what you do, where you do it, what you'll do for me, why you are different than your competition (because I was just at their website too)? Do you show me happy customers (pictures and testimonials) and do you give me at least six options on every page to contact you or get to your contact form?

For more information about Rev It Up Marketing call Chris Jaeger at (978) 283-8295 or Claire Goodman at (434) 296-9885.

Internet Marketing Myths

Here are some of the common Internet marketing myths and misconceptions that are flying around. Understanding what is real from what is not will save you money and time. It will help you achieve success with your online marketing strategy faster and more effectively.

Myth #1: If You Build It They Will Come

Building a website is no guarantee of online success. If you build it, don't assume people will find it. This is a guaranteed losing strategy. For your online marketing to succeed your website will need quality traffic and convert your visitors into a desired form of action.

Myth #2: Search Engines Are All You'll Need

It is a very common misconception, and costly mistake, to think that the search engines and organic search engine positioning is all you need for online success. While a top ranked website is a very valuable asset, and it can drive a lot of qualified traffic to your website, it can take months, or years, to achieve that positioning -- if you can get it at all. You'll need a multi-pronged approach to building traffic, including search engines, buying advertising, pay-per-click advertising (SEM), integration of your offline marketing with your online marketing, and of course, search engine optimization (SEO).

Myth #3: All Traffic Is Good

Not true! To get real results from your website, inquiries, phone calls, or sales, you'll need find and attract qualified traffic - people who are actually potential customers and can purchase your products and services.

Myth #4: Hits Are A Good Measure Of Success

Wrong! If you are measuring "hits" you're not even in the game. A "hit" is a technical term that describes activity on a hosting server. Unfortunately, most webmasters use this term casually and it is interpreted to mean you have lots of traffic Hits are not real people. Real people, who visit your website, are logged as "visitor sessions."

Myth #5: You Can Do This All Yourself

If you are in any competitive category of products or services, or in a geographically competitive marketplace, the chances that you can build a website, develop the traffic, and manage your ongoing online marketing yourself are less than 50-50. A competitor who has hired the expertise with design and online marketing behind them will make it very difficult for you to succeed.

Myth #6: It's Easy To Get Traffic From Search Engines

In today's competitive marketplace it is more difficult than ever to get top ranking with Google, Yahoo!, or MSN. It is very likely going to take you more six to twelve months to see your website achieve a top ranked position for any competitive keyword/keyword phrase that people are searching for. If your website is brand new, it can take 12 to 24 months or longer, in any competitive category.

Myth #7: Submitting Your Website To Search Engines Actually Works

Submitting your website to the search engines each month is probably useless. Services that provide this service will gladly take your money and it is unlikely you'll see any benefit. The best way to get your website indexed in the search engines is for them to find your website at another regularly crawled website. A Google Sitemap will also help you get your website indexed or an existing website crawled more effectively.

Myth #8: Search Engine Optimization Is Easy

Search engine optimization is not difficult, but understanding the fundamentals of the search engine optimization process is critical to your success. There are dozens of different variables, including "on-page" variables and "off-page" variables. Add to that hundreds of so-called "experts" and their advice (which is incorrect, incomplete, or misleading), and it's pretty hard to call the search engine optimization process easy. Making it even more challenging will be any competitor who has hired a reputable SEO expert to help them with their website and online marketing strategy.

Myth #9: Meta-Tags Are The Key To A Top Ranked Website

Meta-tags are specific lines of code that appear behind-the-scenes at your website. Search engines see them but your visitors do not. Search engines use meta-tags as one of the factors in determining relevancy. They are important but only one of more than two dozen factors related to the overall optimization of your website.