Tips for Marketing a New Website
by Matt •
05.11 two zero zero ten 
So, 3 short months ago you went out and bought a web domain, and after a few weeks of searching, you've found some quality freelancers to bring your vision to life, and after many sleepless nights and pots of coffee, your ready to launch your new website. I'm sure you are eager to get your hands dirty and cut the fabric on some new projects, perhaps driven by the idea of making some money through Internet marketing. What steps should you follow to ensure success?
1) Be Realistic and Determined - The reality is your website will not rank for generic, non-branded keywords in a day, month, or even 3 months after launch. How do you counter this? The answer is simple - reach across multiple touch points throughout the web to gain attention to your website and business. Some examples are press releases (1-2x per month) to syndicate your message, link, and gain some attention. Http://www.prweb.com is what we've been using, and they are straightforward and easy to use. Be determined and don't give up - aim to make your website a little better everyday by blogging, interviewing people, or improving your navigation or content.
2) PPC Campaign - Create a small but detailed paid search program to help catapult your website forward and above your competitors. The benefits are two fold: Immediate results and you'll also be able to monitor and access keywords to see which terms are converting, and more importantly, which aren't.
3) Grass Roots - Tell everyone you know about your new business! Beg, borrow, or lie (White lie, please) to get links and attention. Put your website in your email signature, Linkedin, create a Twitter account, Facebook page, and business cards. Not a designer? Moo.com offers exceptional details on cards that can pass on the creative front any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Offer to crate blog posts or articles for friends in related fields or career-type of websites.
Define SEO & Word of Mouth Advertising
by Matt •
12.08 two zero zero nine 
Organic Search marketing (Or "SEO" for short) has really grown a bad rep - it seems as if everyone has a different opinion on what works and what is "garbage" and if you can spell it, by gosh you are an expert. The truth is that SEO within itself really isn't overly difficult - you probably have an understanding of what keywords you should use to have people find you, and you can probably go out there and get some very basic links - but it's the small parts to search marketing that add up that can be overwhelming. For example, I've had clients ask me: how do we optimize a page made entirely in flash if we cannot change the look and feel? If we have 10,000 pages of content that are all different, how can we optimize every single page so that all the title tags are different? How do I check the server headers? What can I do to rank if my vertical is extremely competitive?
One thing that really makes Lionwish different is that our SEO deliverables and documents are closely tied into fundamental marketing principles and are tailored for your brand within your vertical. One thing that makes me strong at doing search is that I initially came from an IT background, so I understand code. I then worked for an agency, and got an understanding of various project management styles, and then I worked for a marketing consulting firm. I taught myself search along the way with help from a friend, and I continued to learn, refine, and practice different theories on my own test sites.
Recently, we were working on a project and the client came to us about increasing their search rankings, and the first thing we asked instread of "What's your budget?" was "What are you currently doing now to market yourself?" Although online marketing is powerful and growing(!), it is key to cover the basic principles of marketing. One question I like to ask clients who are in the midst of a startup is "how many people do you know, know what it is you do?"
What's baffling is that many people who are trying a startup fail to tell a majority of their friends, contacts, or co-workers what it is they are trying to do. The first thing I did when creating Lionwish was call everyone I know and introduce my company to them, and offer to take them out for a coffee or lunch. I'm not trying to sell anyone on something they don't need, but my goal was to simply connect with a friend for lunch and tell them that I am available, and if they knew of anyone, to shoot me an email. Your close friends, business contacts, and family members will be your strongest brand advocates, and if it's been a while since you have spoken to them, you never know who may have come into their network.
A New Lionwish.com is Launched!
by Matt •
10.08 two zero zero nine 
A brand new Lionwish.com has finally launched! I am very excited this time around, because we're doing some amazing work and we're having some very cool moments when everything just comes together perfectly. We have a lot left to do before this site is 100% complete (Like, make a logo!), and we have a lot of links and contacts to create, but the future looks very bright.
5 Effective Uses for Twitter in Marketing
by Matt •
10.07 two zero zero nine 
1) Register a user account for Twitter.com and start connecting with people, brands, or companies within your space by “following” them. I generally try to grab my brand as my user name, but keywords don’t hurt you within the URL either – why not ride off the coat tails of Twitter’s massive link popularity? Many people also brand the wallpaper – leaving their contact information clearly visible in the background.
2) Add a personal touch – Generally, I use personal images or an appropriate logo for my Twitter accounts. I like to see whom I am talking to, and so do your customers. Take advantage of the bio lines and add a brief description about your business and put a clean link in there. Simple and direct works best here.
3) Leave good content within your “tweets” and occasionally, add a link back to your site or blog for continued/further reading on the topic. Obtaining a small but steadily growing group of natural followers by adding value will benefit your company’s visibility. Nobody wants to sift through endless “Click here for more!” spam, so use links appropriately and sparingly.
4) Ask intriguing, open-ended questions and provide expertise responses by actively using the service. You can “@Reply” several people at once when replying or asking questions – this is a fast time saver and an efficient way to communicate.
5) Be realistic about the outcome - Be patient and slowly let things take their course. You can’t make 500 new people follow you in 1 day, but what you can do is add value to Twitter and ask good questions, and the followers will come.
