An update to a talk I gave months ago, this touches more on website development, marketing automation, and lead management. Marketing for Startups: Read notes and talking points at http://seobrien.com/entre-internet-marketing-startups

1. Entre to the Internet
Paul O'Brien
@seobrien
@entreapp & @Fovnders

3. Marketing for Startups
Spot the Difference

4. - Peter Drucker; invented
Management by Objectives
The only things that matter

5. Because the purpose of
business is to create a
customer, the business
enterprise has two–and
only two–basic
functions: marketing and
innovation.
Marketing and
innovation produce
results; all the rest are
costs. Marketing is the
distinguishing, unique
function of the business.

6. And yet...
Typical Priorities
1. Finance
2. Sales
3. Production
4. Management
5. Legal
6. People
1. Finance
2. Sales
3. Production
4. Management
5. Legal
6. People
1. Finance
2. Sales
3. Production
4. Management
5. Legal
6. People
1. Finances
2. Sales
3. Production
4. Management
5. Legal
6. People

7. There's hope
1. Finance
2. Sales
3. Production
4. Management
5. Legal
6. People
1. Finance
2. Sales
3. Production
4. Management
5. Legal
6. People
Typical Priorities
1. Finance
2. Sales
3. Production
4. Management
5. Legal
6. People
1. Finances
2. Sales
3. Production
4. Management
5. Legal
6. People
Startup Priorities
1. Talking to customers
2. Improving account metrics
3. Understanding the market
4. Content marketing
5. Acquisition
- Activation
- Retention
- Referral
- Revenue
Ideas popularized by Steve Blank and
Dave McClure

8. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
1. Fail, fail fast, fail frequently
2. Collaboration and focus create synergy
3. The results that matter are not the results that matter

9. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
1. Foundation
2. Function
3. Finesse
Allocate everything accordingly

10. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
- Website
- Analytics
- Technical SEO
- Optimization
- Lead capture and email
Your Foundation

11. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
- Theme Forest
Your Foundation: Website
IMPACT?
Cost : $250
Investment: $50-$2000
Opportunity: Conversion
– Build your site in WordPress – pay $50 for the design
– Host with WPEngine
–- Hire a WordPress designer if you MUST have something custom
--- WP developers in India run $7-$10 / hour
– Good Designers are worth their weight in gold
–- But are they worth the investment?

17. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
- Google Analytics
Your Foundation: Analytics
IMPACT?
Cost : $0
Investment: <$500
Opportunity: Knowing
– Set up and value goal and event tracking
– Enable remarketing
– Enable Google Webmaster Tools
– Use segmentation
– Use funnels, reverse goal paths, and assisted conversions
– How you organize and use campaign tracking is critical
– Set up dashboards for everyone in the organization

18. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
- Responsible for this? Developers / Designers
Your Foundation: Technical SEO
IMPACT?
Cost : Org. Culture
Investment: $2000
Opportunity: Organic
– WordPress SEO or All-In-One help
– Site architecture
– Prioritization and organization of pages
– Recognizing the impact of bounce rates (design & performance)
– Appreciating the importance of user experience on social media
– Best done in house

19. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
- Google Analytics Experiments
Your Foundation: Optimization
IMPACT?
Cost : $0
Investment: Org. Culture
Opportunity: Conversion
– Puts testing in everyone's hands
– Very least:
Messaging
Buttons
Call to action
Forms

21. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
- MailChimp (in WordPress: GravityForms)
- See also: Fliptop.com
Your Foundation: Lead Capture & Email
IMPACT?
Cost : < $100 / month
Investment: $500 / month
Opportunity: Database
– Every opportunity to capture an email address
– Segment database by location and context
– Email twice a month
BE CREATIVE!
Contact Us or Coffee with Paul

22. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
- Search Engine Marketing
- Social Advertising
- Marketing Automation
- Lead Marketing
Functional Marketing

23. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
- Google AdWords
Functional Marketing: SEM
IMPACT?
Cost : ~$500
Investment: Perf. Based
Opportunity: $$$ & Data
– Start simple: brand terms and product names
– Work into category and industry terms
– Appreciate the data as much as the customers
– Always be optimizing!!
– Understand the importance of contextual relevance

24. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
- Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook
Functional Marketing: Social Advertising
IMPACT?
Cost : Perf. Based
Investment: $1000
Opportunity: $$$ & Partner
– Twitter: Use “Cards,” Auto tweet, and always @ someone
– LinkedIn: Target precisely, use Lead Capture
– Facebook: Promote viral content to build your audience

25. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
- ORBTR or Net-Results
Functional Marketing: Marketing Automation
IMPACT?
Cost : $500+
Investment: Variable
Opportunity: Conv. & $$$
– Track known individuals on your site
---- Score them for Sales or BD
---- Automatically email them depending on their actions
– Remember: we're capturing EVERY email address
– Automate customer support, appear to care, personalize your site

26. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
- Get lists overseas and consider how to use them
Functional Marketing: Lead Marketing
IMPACT?
Cost : $200
Investment: $1500
Opportunity: $$$
– Data.com is an incredible data source
– Spam is illegal but tweets are not
– Work with a print designer on the mailing – yes Mail. It works.
– Send letters, not ads (true of email and postal)

27. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
- Marketing SEO & Content
- Public Relations
- Social Marketing
- Lead Management
The Finesse

28. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
- Raven Tools
The Finesse: Marketing SEO & Content
IMPACT?
Cost : $500
Investment: $1500
Opportunity: $$$ & Data
– Think like your audience. Google does.
– Track every imaginable keyword – leverage that data for SEM
– Create Pages for every key concept, location, product, and service
– Develop relationships with bloggers in your industry
– Content creation is often best outsourced

29. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
- PUBLIC RELATIONS not “Press”
The Finesse: Public Relations
IMPACT?
Cost : $500
Investment: $2000 - $3000
Opportunity: Awareness
– Deal with the press directly. Press releases only mark milestones.
---- Industry stories in which you are merely featured
---- “Macro” stories that involve your competitors & industry
– Bloggers often more valuable – they understand SEO
– Consider the role of Sales and Business Development
---- HARO is a great place to start

30. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
- Starts with your blog
The Finesse: Social Marketing
IMPACT?
Cost : $500 / $75 per post
Investment: $1000
Opportunity: Growth
– Social marketing is about telling stories
---- Blog > Facebook > Twitter
---- Social validation affects SEO
– Understand the impact of the @ (on Facebook too)
– Trying to reach customers or partners, influencers, or media?
– Fans affect conversion rates (get to 1,000)

31. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
- Nimble & Pipedrive
The Finesse: Lead Management
IMPACT?
Cost : $50 per month
Investment: $500
Opportunity: Growth
– Automated contact management
– Deal flow tracking and collaboration
– Integrate EVERYTHING:
Site w/ analytics > Forms > Mailchimp > Orbtr > Nimble > Pipedrive

32. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
Foundation
Function
Finesse

33. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
Foundation
Function
Finesse
Fail, fail fast, fail
frequently
Collaboration and focus
creates synergy
The results that matter
are not the results that
matter

34. The Art of Startup MarketingThe Art of Startup Marketing
seobrien.com
seobrien
512-944-0007
Paul O'Brien