How Cool Online Tools Can Change Your Marketing Game:  Q&A with Internet Marketing Guru, Jamie Gosweiler

We all love cool, online marketing tools, but few more than Jamie Gosweiler, of JG Consulting, and he has a Mary Poppins’-like bag full of them. You can hear all about this in Episode 103 of “Prove it!,” our 10-minute podcast, but if you’re more of a reader than a listener, here’s what Jamie shared.

Debbie Albert:  Today we’re going to look at different tools for inbound marketing that can be used for almost any business or organization. Few things excite me more than these tools (which I really call online toys), many of which I didn’t know about until I met Jamie Gosweiler. 

Jamie and I often have joint client engagements and we’ve been using these tools together. Some are free, some have small fees, but there’s bound to be one that is right for you. Read on to find out more and if you have others you love, please post them in the comments.

DA:  Tell us about some of the online tools that help with inbound marketing. 

JG:  Inbound marketing is all about creating helpful content, and you need tools that help you do that. It is critical to create visual content that catches the eye and pulls the reader in. One of my favorites, and one that is easy to work with, is Canva. What’s cool about Canva is that it allows you to do things that would otherwise take a professional graphic designer to do, including adding text to images, changing fonts, and really making social posts pop. 

Whether you use it for social media posts, blog posts, or LinkedIn ads, Canva is a drag and drop tool that you can use on your computer. Anybody can do it to build really professional-looking graphics. 

DA: Agreed, Canva changed my life. It’s a bummer for graphic designers because it’s an amazing tool, but it’s even more amazing for people who can’t afford a graphic designer. I use it for a non-profit I run to make all sorts of images for social posts. It’s incredible! 

Tell us about other online marketing tools, especially the one that creates a book cover, which blew my mind when you shared it.  

JG:  The one you’re referring to is Myecovermaker. There are several out there, but I’ve been using this program for a while, and once again, it’s a drag and drop with great templates. All you do is upload a graphic, and then hit a button and it will create an image that appears to be a book cover. 

It is great for creating eBook covers, especially when you want to create something that looks like a workbook. It provides a professional look and becomes the graphic for a lead magnet. 

DA:  In addition to those, there are higher level tools like HubSpot and Marketo. We’re not endorsing either, but these tools can be game-changers for marketing a business. I personally use HubSpot, and I like to say it does everything except empty your dishwasher! You can upload your contacts, create online e-newsletters, score potential business leads, manage social posts and I could go on and on. What are your thoughts on these back-end tools?

JG: Each software tool has its own nuance in terms of different features they’ve built into it. For the most part, both allow you to do just about all the automation you would need for digital marketing efforts. 

DA:  If you don’t have the resources to invest in Hubspot or Marketo, Constant Contact, Emma, and Mailchimp, are a few other options. I happen to love MailChimp because it has a personality!  I laugh when someone unsubscribes from your list – which usually isn’t funny – and you get an email that says, “I guess he’s just not that into you.” 

How does a company or a business determine which one of these tools are best for  them?

JG: There are two ways to do it. The first step is to create your strategy to determine your target audience and your budget, including a budget for digital marketing. The next question is to ask what tools will get us there that fit with the budget.  

These discussions will lead to decisions and will help guide a business to uncovering what tools they want to use. Obviously, free tools are great for everyone and every business. 

But when it comes to investing money, if you’re looking to send an email blast, Constant Contact or Mailchimp are great. If you’re looking to do a lot more with an all-in-one suite of software tools, HubSpot or Marketo are options because they are strategy first, tools next. The biggest mistake is when a business decides on a tool before they determine their strategy. 

DA:  You pretty much answered this question, but let me ask it again. What are the most important questions for a business to ask itself before it invests in one of the more expensive options? You mentioned strategy, but what would you add?

JG:  Business goals. What are your goals next year? We all want to grow, but the more specific you get in drilling down into that question, the more your strategy will concretize. And if we want to meet our goals and assign a realistic budget to this project, how are we going to reach our goals?

DA:  We’re up to the “Prove It” part, when we share that what you’ve told us really works. Can you tell us about a client who invested in one of the tools, or used a free one, and how they saw a return on that investment? Whether it was time or money?

JG: Canva is free, so a business will get a return on the time investment for sure. I introduced a customer to that tool and they were able to cut back on their investment with an outside graphic designer. They used it for posts and even a brochure. 

DA:  Let’s clarify one thing. We are not advocating to get rid of graphic designers! Among the offerings of Albert Communications is graphic design and website design and development, but for small organizations who really don’t have the resources, this tool, and others, can be game-changing. 

In addition to the tools shared above, there are many other online tools worth sharing. Among our favorites are those that create online quizzes. HubSpot posted a terrific blog with their top choices and how to use them. Our other favorite is Sniply, which adds a branded call-to-action to news articles or other posted content. Check them out and let us know what you think. 

Here’s to robust communications and marketing efforts, and a wish that no one ever “unsubscribes” from you, even if they’re just not that into you!

Can’t get enough of these tools? Here are more of our favorites!