French to English: Marketing, Part 2

 

Online marketing has morphed into a sophisticated package of multiple strategies that it is difficult to decide which strategy works best.  Marketing gurus will say:  it all depends on what you want to accomplish, what your web site or blog is all about and who your target audience is.  Ah, target audience - I love that word.

Because I do plenty of research on the Web and have shopped online for merchandise like books, kitchenware, electronics and software, I frequently receive marketing e-mails.  Sometimes I regret signing up for newsletters and other e-mail offerings.  My box gets flooded and I don't even get to read them, either because I've reached a saturation point or just don't have the time.  Of course I can always unsubscribe, but there are times the e-mails come back despite the fact that I've requested to be taken off their mailing list. 

I've become weary (and wary) of repetitive e-mails from retailers I've bought from in the past.  I wonder if their aggressive online marketing efforts are hurting sales instead of boosting them.

Take this example:  I bought software three months ago from a retailer. While I like the software, it comes with a steep learning curve.  Joining discussion forums to learn some neat tricks was exciting at first but I soon lost interest.  Besides I have yet to decode the intricacies of the software.  Since I purchased the product, I must have received at least 50 promotional e-mails from the retailer telling me about this other cool software that they're sure I won't be able to live without. 

Because of my work, I probably know more about online marketing than most people.  Part of my job as a freelance writer is to  write marketing content for clients who sell a product or service.  Landing and squeeze pages and e-mail campaigns are a few examples of marketing content I have written.

Most online marketing campaigns focus on the "call to action" factor.  Retailers like to turn site visitors into buying customers - there's a whole science to it.  Writers who can churn excellent marketing content and get visitors to respond by signing up or buying a product are in demand.  One of the things that I'm learning - and will never stop learning - is how to attain a high conversion rate.  I'm referring to site visitors converting into points of sale.

Applying Some Marketing Principles

Let's take this blog.  It does not attract a lot of visitor traffic.  I even doubt that Google has "picked it up" and indexed it for search engine purposes.  The reason is obvious:  I have not initiated any marketing effort to make this blog more popular.  They say blogs take time and monumental effort before search engines notice it.

If I really wanted to monetize this blog and make it a passive income stream, what kind of online marketing strategies can I employ, in addition to Adsense?

• Spread the word - I'd have to be more active in Facebook and Twitter and build a network of friends.  I tell them about my blog or sign off with my signature and my blog's URL.  I'd probably also need to join discussion forums that focus on translation and languages.  But I wish there were more hours in the day to build various networks on cyberspace.  One network already takes up a lot of time.
• I would offer a free newsletter to people who want to receive additional French to English terms that they can add to their existing inventory.  This newsletter will not only contain a new lexicon every week, but also articles, leads, and the latest translation trends.
• Let's not forget blogosphere.  You may have heard of Technorati, DIGG, StumbleUpon, and others.  I remember signing up with Technorati but have not seen results.  I have not tried DIGG or StumbleUpon which I hear are also effective.
• Article submissions - submitting to an article directory like Ezine would enable me to link back to my blog.  For example, I could write a 500-word article on the best schools to study French to English translation.  In the resource box, I write a blurb about myself with my blog's link included.  People reading that article will probably want to know more about me so they click on the link that takes them to this blog.
• SEO service - I'd probably need to pay for a service that will scrutinize my blog for an SEO assessment.  An SEO guru would explain to me why there are days I have zero visitor traffic.
• Product sale - I could  write an e-book and sell it.

Plus I could do this and I could do that.  Online marketing strategies abound.  It's up to us to decide how far we want to take our marketing efforts.  Numerous companies specialize in it, some more focused and more niche-driven than others.

I'm guilty of using the "lack of time" excuse to explain why I don't market my blogs more aggressively.  Maybe I prefer to keep my blogs personal and small.  It's easier to manage them that way.  I'm not sure I can deal with becoming a popular blogger answering 250 e-mails a day from followers.  I can't neglect my clients. 

Perhaps one day I would actively market my blogs when I'm no longer writing for clients. In the meantime, I'll enjoy this free platform courtesy of Google, and build a lexicon for students and other individuals who are passionate about the French and English languages.

Here are your terms:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
clients réguliers	repeat clients
slogan	slogan (or tag line)
excellent contenu	great (or excellent) content
site dépouillé	clean, uncluttered site
processus d'acuat complet	full purchase site
offres promotionnelles	promotional offers
bandeau publicitaire	banner ad
phase de lancement	introduction (launch) phase
phase du croissance	growth phase
phase de maturation	maturity phase
stratégie concurrentielle	competitive strategy
stratégie de fidélisation	customer loyalty strategy (or retentive strategy)
canal de distribution	distribution channel