Why Small Business Internet Marketing Makes Sense For Your School

Posted by Mike Massie on December 2, 2009

Investing in effective small business internet marketing just makes good sense.

A short while back a client forwarded an article to me that said SEO was a waste of money. (Note: In case you don’t know, SEO stands for “search engine optimization” – basically, fixing your website so it ranks well in search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing)

I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair – besides the fact that the article was a crock, I had a very good reason for doing so.  Immediately prior to receiving the email I just finished a meeting with a very successful local entrepreneur… and in that meeting we discussed (at length) the importance of SEO in the ongoing success of her business.

She informed me that she has spent something close to $25,000 on search engine optimization services over the last two years – which she credits (along with her social media marketing efforts) for her position as the dominant market leader in a very competitive field.

In fact, while approximately 20% of her competition bowed out last year (due to the recession) her business actually grew. She credits it all to her savvy use of online marketing technologies, which have allowed her to stay well ahead of her competition.

Now, I know most of you don’t have the cash to spend $12,000 a year on your online marketing. However, when small business owners overlook and ignore the importance of online marketing, I can only shake my head at the sheer ignorance of their decision.

So, if you’re still with me to this point, and you think you could use some help in this area, I’m going to provide you with some guidelines as to where you should be spending your online advertising and marketing dollars, and in what order of priority.

Pay close attention, because this is going to actually be the most cost-effective method of marketing your school in 2010. Feel free to print out this article for future reference and ignore me at your own peril…

Priority #1: Your Lead-Capture Website

(Cost: Anywhere from $500 to $2,500)

This is the first thing you should invest in when you start spending money for marketing online. Your lead generation website will work for you 24/7/365 to capture leads, whether you’re at work, answering the phones, or at home asleep or on the training floor.

Yes, you can DIY this one – but it probably won’t rank well because it won’t be optimized for Google and Yahoo, and you’ll just end up having it redone in the end anyway. Skip a few display ads and drop some money up front on this – you’ll only pay for it once, and it’ll keep paying for itself over and over for years to come.

Note: If you’re on a tight budget, you can combine this into your blog. I’ve been doing it for a lot of my clients recently, and they are still getting great results.

Priority #2: Search Engine Optimization and Website Promotion

(Cost: Anywhere from $500 to $3,000, depending on your market and competition)

Although I always include this service for all my web design clients, you’ll typically have to pay a separate fee for it when you’re dealing with other web design and SEO companies.

But, it’s worth it – because a website no one visits is like a billboard in the desert… absolutely worthless.

And, you get site visitors from getting a high search engine ranking (top five spots) in the local Google and Yahoo results for targeted, relevant, popular search terms.

Once again, this can be done DIY – but SEO is a lot more sophisticated than just optimizing your meta tags. You have to think about on-page factors and off-page factors, and know how each will affect your site’s trust and ranking with Google.

Messing up any of this stuff can have a negative result as minor as not getting a desirable ranking, or as serious as getting your site blackballed by Google (and good luck getting back in again).

Trust me, hire a pro – someone you can trust that has references – to do this for you.

Priority #3: A Custom Blog

(Cost: Anywhere from $500 to $5,000)

Once again, this is something I include with all my web design packages for my clients. However, other firms will charge you a separate fee for creating a custom blog theme to match your site, to install it and set it up, and to optimize the blog so your articles get indexed in Google and rank high in the search engine results.

Blogs are easy to DIY – in fact, a lot of businesses will try to use a free blog for their business website. However, this can be a big mistake… and here’s why.

Free isn’t necessarily cheap. The big issues with free blogs are that they are not very customizable, and you run the risk of the blog host losing all your data and posts.

In addition, a free blog is not going to be set up to effectively leverage the blogging technologies available to you right now. Blogs have come a long way in the last few years, and a properly optimized blog will basically promote itself in the search engines – all you have to do is add content on a regular basis.

Quick Shameless Plug: Quick sidebar here – I can do all of the above for any school owner who reads my blog for about $1,500, definitely on the low end of the cost scale. Despite the low cost, the results you’ll get will be worth many times your investment. And yes, I’ll allow you to make payments on your website. Feel free to contact me to order.

Final Thought – Any Small Business Internet Marketing Activity Is Better Than None!

It’s true… anything is better than nothing. So, if you have to start with a free blog, do it. And if you have to DIY your own website at first, that’s much better than having no website at all.

The bottom line is, internet marketing for small businesses is something sort of like gardening – it takes time and energy to start seeing results, and nothing happens until you start planting seeds. So, take action now so you can start seeing results from your internet marketing efforts and investment in 2010 and beyond.

Until next time,

Michael D. Massie
Blog: http://martialartsbusinessdaily.com/
Adult Curriculum: http://selfdefenseblackbelt.com/
Social Network for Martial Arts Instructors: http://www.masainetwork.com/
Business Manual: http://www.small-dojo-big-profits.com/
Resources: http://www.starting-a-martial-arts-school.com/
Summer Camp Manual: http://startingasummerdaycamp.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MartialArtsBusinessDaily
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mabizdaily

Money-Saving Tip: How To Save On Your Credit Card and ACH Processing

Posted by Mike Massie on May 13, 2009

Every time you do this, you might be losing money.

Most martial arts school owners (and most small business owners, for that matter) are blissfully unaware of what a raw deal they’re getting on their credit card processing and ACH processing rates.

The fact is, the average school owner loses thousands of dollars each year, simply by paying excessively high rates on their credit, debit, and check transactions.

So, in keeping with my recent commitment to give you actionable ideas each week, I am going to use this blog post to explain:

1. How school owners end up overpaying for their payment processing,
2. And what you can do to save money on your merchant credit card processing.

Credit Card Processing, ACH/EFT Service Providers, And How You’re Getting Hosed

Nearly every business uses credit card processing in some shape or form. Most retail businesses have to have a credit card processing machine, because the majority of high-ticket transactions are paid for with credit or debit cards.

If you’re a school owner, I’m sure that you have a merchant credit card processing terminal sitting in your pro shop or office, and that it gets quite a bit of use. And, every time you swipe or key in a card, you’re probably throwing money down the drain (I’ll explain why in a minute).

But, the money you’re losing is not just on credit card transactions… you’re very likely throwing money away every time you process any electronic payment transaction – and that’s because it’s very likely you’re paying rates that are excessively high.

This includes the rates you pay for:

• Swiping credit card transactions in your facility, either for tuition payments, retail sales, or paid-in-full accounts (sometimes called “POS” or “point-of-sale” transactions) -
• Swiping debit card transactions (you may think this is the same, but it’s different – I’ll explain why in a minute) -
• “Keying in” credit or debit transactions, either in your own credit card processing terminal, or into a “virtual” terminal online -
• Processing ACH or electronic check transactions (“ACH” stands for “automated clearing house”, and is the system used to transfer funds between bank accounts in the United States) -
• Any of the above transactions processed on an automatic recurring basis, A.K.A., your monthly tuition billing!

Now, if you’ve been reading my stuff for any length of time, you’ve come to know that I think people who use martial arts billing companies are suckers. Having said that, if you want to pay 7-10% of your gross profits for someone to punch a few keys on a keyboard, be my guest.

But if you’ve been paying attention, you’ve likely done the smart thing and started automating your credit card billing in-house (which is the same thing the billing companies do – with today’s technology, it isn’t that complicated). Bravo! Pat yourself on the back.

However, what you may not realize is that most merchant credit card processing accounts are set up wrong… and most credit card processing sales people overcharge merchants as much as possible on their rates.

Here’s why:

• Banks are the ones who actually process the payments. But in most cases, you don’t buy your merchant credit card processing services from the banks…
• Instead, you buy them from a third party that represents the bank. And, they make money on anything they can charge you over and above what the bank charges them to process your account.
• Ethical companies try to get you the lowest rate possible - So if you lucked out and found one, you’re one of the lucky few…
• But some of these third party organizations are fond of over-charging naive, unsuspecting merchants like you – which ends up costing you a bundle. (Sound familiar? It’s what the martial arts billing companies have been doing to you guys for years – but their rates are considered unethical by even the worst of the folks selling credit card and ACH processing for the banks…)
• How do they get away with it? Because the average business owner doesn’t understand how the whole system works, and half the time you can’t make hide nor hair of your processing statement anyway. Fees for this method of processing, different fees for that method of processing, and if you process on the third Monday of May under a full moon at 3 A.M. you pay “x, y, and z” administrative fees… it’s enough to make your head spin.
• And, quite frankly even the most well-meaning of merchant services sales people often don’t know the best ways of setting up an account for different types of merchants. All too often, they treat every business the same, even though the rates on different types of processing vary considerably (swiped, keyed, recurring, and so on).

So, How Do You Fix It?

Well, first off you should know that you can switch processing companies any time you want. It’s a bit confusing, so it helps if you have someone to walk you through it, especially when it comes to reprogramming your equipment.

Second, you need to get someone who knows the system to audit your merchant credit card statements and see where you’re losing money.

My Recommendation…

I have a contact at a company I work with who knows the “ins and outs” of the business. She specializes in lowering merchant credit card processing costs for small businesses.

At my request, she’ll audit your statement at no charge, and if possible get you a lower rate.

Don’t have a merchant account yet?

It’s not that big of a deal to get one – all you have to do is apply. My contact can also help you get set up to accept credit cards, debit cards, and ACH/EFT payments, at the lowest possible rate.

In addition, she can even set your school up so you can easily bill your students automatically each month via credit card, debit card, checking, or savings account.

Interested? Fill out and submit the following contact request form, and I’ll set up an appointment to have her call you directly within a day or two.

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