shawn857
asked on
What's the best automated marketing platform for me? (ie. Marketing360, SeoSamba, Acquisio, etc)
Dear Marketing Experts, I'm an independent software developer and I'm *nearly* completed a software project that I'll soon be launching from my website. I'm looking at one of these "all-in-one", "automated" marketing software platforms to help me with the PPC marketing and other modes of marketing... because as a one man operation, it's just too much work for me to try to wear all the hats... it would leave me no time for further software development. Anyway, googling around, there seems to be quite a few of them out there - SeoSamba, Marketing360, Marketo, Acquisio, etc. I had a good talk the other day with a rep from Marketing360 and checked out all their videos and literature on their site... the fellow sent me their Pricing Plans as well:
http://www.marketing360.com/plans-and-pricing
It actually looks almost *exactly* what I'm needing - essentially a "right-hand man" that will take care of all the advertising and marketing for my new software - PPC, Display Networks, creating and testing ad copy, optimizing ads, retargeting, etc. I'm no marketing expert by any means, but I know a bit and at least on the surface, am familiar with most of these things. As part of their base package, they even offer some services that I really wouldn't need :
"Call Tracking" (I won't be trying to acquire leads/sales over the phone)
"Local Listing Ads"
"Top Rated Local"
"Web Hosting" (I have my own webhost)
As I plan to sell my software online internationally, I don't have any need for any of those "local" advertising options - I don't think they're applicable to me. I asked the rep if it would be possible to "swap out" some of these items I don't need in lieu of other services but he was totally inflexible and said they are not an "a la carte" service. That was disappointing. Something also I really didn't quite understand under the Marketing360 Pricing Plans, was the concept of the "Fuel" for SEO ($150) and PPC. Well, for SEO I suppose it is simply their monthly charge to do SEO work for my site, I get that... but the varying amount ($250, $450, $750) for the PPC "Fuel" was a little confusing. Shouldn't I be allowed to decide on what to spend for my own PPC campaigns? Also, the rep said that I would pay them first, then they would buy my PPC credits. I don't feel quite right about that... for a couple of reasons. First, I'd like to be able to have control of my own PPC account and buy my own PPC credits directly. Secondly, would the Marketing360 people be taking my FULL $250 (.. or $450, or $750) and spending that on PPC ads - or do they pocket some of that money as part of their "fees"? I'm leery about that...
Anyway, I guess the bottom line of what I'm trying to get at is - is the Marketing360 platform a good deal, and suitable for my situation. Or would another option like SeoSamba be better and cheaper (as at this point, my budget is tight)? The thing with SeoSamba is they don't appear to do PPC at all. Should I even be *entertaining* the notion of getting involved with one of these "automated marketing" platforms... or are they not worth it??
Would appreciate any guidance to steer me through this whole big crazy minefield!!
Thanks
Shawn
http://www.marketing360.com/plans-and-pricing
It actually looks almost *exactly* what I'm needing - essentially a "right-hand man" that will take care of all the advertising and marketing for my new software - PPC, Display Networks, creating and testing ad copy, optimizing ads, retargeting, etc. I'm no marketing expert by any means, but I know a bit and at least on the surface, am familiar with most of these things. As part of their base package, they even offer some services that I really wouldn't need :
"Call Tracking" (I won't be trying to acquire leads/sales over the phone)
"Local Listing Ads"
"Top Rated Local"
"Web Hosting" (I have my own webhost)
As I plan to sell my software online internationally, I don't have any need for any of those "local" advertising options - I don't think they're applicable to me. I asked the rep if it would be possible to "swap out" some of these items I don't need in lieu of other services but he was totally inflexible and said they are not an "a la carte" service. That was disappointing. Something also I really didn't quite understand under the Marketing360 Pricing Plans, was the concept of the "Fuel" for SEO ($150) and PPC. Well, for SEO I suppose it is simply their monthly charge to do SEO work for my site, I get that... but the varying amount ($250, $450, $750) for the PPC "Fuel" was a little confusing. Shouldn't I be allowed to decide on what to spend for my own PPC campaigns? Also, the rep said that I would pay them first, then they would buy my PPC credits. I don't feel quite right about that... for a couple of reasons. First, I'd like to be able to have control of my own PPC account and buy my own PPC credits directly. Secondly, would the Marketing360 people be taking my FULL $250 (.. or $450, or $750) and spending that on PPC ads - or do they pocket some of that money as part of their "fees"? I'm leery about that...
Anyway, I guess the bottom line of what I'm trying to get at is - is the Marketing360 platform a good deal, and suitable for my situation. Or would another option like SeoSamba be better and cheaper (as at this point, my budget is tight)? The thing with SeoSamba is they don't appear to do PPC at all. Should I even be *entertaining* the notion of getting involved with one of these "automated marketing" platforms... or are they not worth it??
Would appreciate any guidance to steer me through this whole big crazy minefield!!
Thanks
Shawn
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OP:
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ASKER
Sorry Michael, I've been wrestling with a crashed computer since yesterday. Thanks to all for the input and I will respond soon!
Thanks
Shawn
Thanks
Shawn
ASKER
Excellent info Gentlemen, thank you. My responses:
Lucas - Most aspects of Marketing360 look good to me, and $385 is not all that bad - better than a 1k startup fee with % of ad spend (at this point for me anyway). It's just that "fuel" that I'm leery about. My software's site will only be actually 5 pages... maybe I can negotiate with them to do additional, different SEO work since I don't have a 10-page site. It doesn't hurt to ask them. As far as the PPC "fuel" goes, I really need to discuss that further with them and get the full lowdown on where every dollar goes. I like your advice to perhaps use Marketing360 to get my feet wet... then when I get a better feel and understand what works for me, maybe move up to your recommended MOZ and WordStream and take things into my own hands more. Good advice. (By the way, my software is stand-alone Windows software... not a mobile app at all).
David - My keywords won't be too expensive, my software is a 'Search & Replace' utility based upon 'regex' (regualr expressions", but from a unique angle with ease of use for the user in mind, while delivering the same power and flexibility. Not for everyone, admittedly, but i hope I can carve out a niche. The keywords should be cheap - it's not a hard fought arena, this one. The site's not live yet as there are a few final kinks to work out, so I don't have an idea of approx # of visitors. Good idea about CNET, ZDNET, etc. I had thought of that too, and I will certainly do it. beginning marketing budget will be small to start: $300-$500/month. Thanks!
Michael - Thanks Michael, but those calculations don't really apply to me as my software is not SaaS, but one-time cost of approx $77 (I'll start at this and adjust up or down based on sales). I'm a one-man home-based operation and I really have practically zero overhead - my only costs of operations are the web hosting for my site, that's about it... so my expenses are pretty low. Anything I make is pure profit really.
Regarding your comments on SEO, this is something I've wondered about. getting high rankings means constantly updating your website with fresh content, or having a blog, doesn't it? I can't see how this can really apply to my software product. It's not like I can make daily comments on what is happening in the "fast-paced world" of "Search & Replace" utilities or regex programming. I'll have to give this one some thought... and if I go with marketing360, ask them what they think about it.
I will look into the "joint venture" angle, good advice, thanks. I already have a good autoresponder and a decent website (I think) prepared. The blog thing as I mentioned, might be an issue for my particular niche. I agree too, with your view on Bing. They have an incentive for new customers for a couple hundred dollars of free PPC credits... I'm going to take advantage of that and do my own PPC with my own keywords. That will be a valuable experience, I agree.
Guys, instead of a company like Marketing360... what about hiring someone on oDesk or eLance who could be my dedicated PPC/marketing expert? There seems to be folks in places like Philippines or India that could be hired exclusively for $800 a month or so. Could that be a viable alternative, or a waste of money?
Thanks All!
Shawn
Lucas - Most aspects of Marketing360 look good to me, and $385 is not all that bad - better than a 1k startup fee with % of ad spend (at this point for me anyway). It's just that "fuel" that I'm leery about. My software's site will only be actually 5 pages... maybe I can negotiate with them to do additional, different SEO work since I don't have a 10-page site. It doesn't hurt to ask them. As far as the PPC "fuel" goes, I really need to discuss that further with them and get the full lowdown on where every dollar goes. I like your advice to perhaps use Marketing360 to get my feet wet... then when I get a better feel and understand what works for me, maybe move up to your recommended MOZ and WordStream and take things into my own hands more. Good advice. (By the way, my software is stand-alone Windows software... not a mobile app at all).
David - My keywords won't be too expensive, my software is a 'Search & Replace' utility based upon 'regex' (regualr expressions", but from a unique angle with ease of use for the user in mind, while delivering the same power and flexibility. Not for everyone, admittedly, but i hope I can carve out a niche. The keywords should be cheap - it's not a hard fought arena, this one. The site's not live yet as there are a few final kinks to work out, so I don't have an idea of approx # of visitors. Good idea about CNET, ZDNET, etc. I had thought of that too, and I will certainly do it. beginning marketing budget will be small to start: $300-$500/month. Thanks!
Michael - Thanks Michael, but those calculations don't really apply to me as my software is not SaaS, but one-time cost of approx $77 (I'll start at this and adjust up or down based on sales). I'm a one-man home-based operation and I really have practically zero overhead - my only costs of operations are the web hosting for my site, that's about it... so my expenses are pretty low. Anything I make is pure profit really.
Regarding your comments on SEO, this is something I've wondered about. getting high rankings means constantly updating your website with fresh content, or having a blog, doesn't it? I can't see how this can really apply to my software product. It's not like I can make daily comments on what is happening in the "fast-paced world" of "Search & Replace" utilities or regex programming. I'll have to give this one some thought... and if I go with marketing360, ask them what they think about it.
I will look into the "joint venture" angle, good advice, thanks. I already have a good autoresponder and a decent website (I think) prepared. The blog thing as I mentioned, might be an issue for my particular niche. I agree too, with your view on Bing. They have an incentive for new customers for a couple hundred dollars of free PPC credits... I'm going to take advantage of that and do my own PPC with my own keywords. That will be a valuable experience, I agree.
Guys, instead of a company like Marketing360... what about hiring someone on oDesk or eLance who could be my dedicated PPC/marketing expert? There seems to be folks in places like Philippines or India that could be hired exclusively for $800 a month or so. Could that be a viable alternative, or a waste of money?
Thanks All!
Shawn
ASKER
Hi guys, thank you for the great advice... would you be able to comment on my responses to that please?
Thanks!
Shawn
Thanks!
Shawn
ASKER
Hi guys, are you still with me...?
Thanks
Shawn
Thanks
Shawn
ASKER
Hi guys... still there?
Shawn
Shawn
Hi Shawn, It doesn't look like you posed the last Q's to me, but I'll give you some advice on them anyway:
The one thing you must avoid, is having someone search for "regex utility" or "regex tool" ... click on your link from Google, then immediately bounce back to Google and click a different link. This is the type of low-quality indicator that will slowly drop you out of the running.
If you can figure out how to do that, you'll well be on your way to having a site that has the potential to outrank your competitors who have been around forever and likely have hundreds of links pointing at their sites already.
For SEO, NO. Absolutely not.
For PPC, I would only consider them if they had real verifiable customer references that you could speak with.
Regarding your comments on SEO, this is something I've wondered about. getting high rankings means constantly updating your website with fresh content, or having a blog, doesn't it?Really having content that keeps visitors engaged on your site for an extended time, is the key. For a product like yours, I'd think you could put together videos/how-tos on different creative ways to use your app. You could build a training/onboarding series, etc.
The one thing you must avoid, is having someone search for "regex utility" or "regex tool" ... click on your link from Google, then immediately bounce back to Google and click a different link. This is the type of low-quality indicator that will slowly drop you out of the running.
If you can figure out how to do that, you'll well be on your way to having a site that has the potential to outrank your competitors who have been around forever and likely have hundreds of links pointing at their sites already.
instead of a company like Marketing360... what about hiring someone on oDesk or eLance who could be my dedicated PPC/marketing expert? There seems to be folks in places like Philippines or India that could be hired exclusively for $800 a month or so. Could that be a viable alternative, or a waste of money?
For SEO, NO. Absolutely not.
For PPC, I would only consider them if they had real verifiable customer references that you could speak with.
ASKER
Thank you all, for the very very good insight. I really appreciate it.
Cheers!
Shawn
Cheers!
Shawn
Rich Snippets for Apps for organic search and if you have a mobile app then the app extension feature and App install campaigns for Adwords should also be a higher priority.