One of the biggest complaints we hear from prospective clients is the lack of creativity in the marketing writing.It's an age old question: How do you distinguish yourself from competitors who offer the same product or service? The fact is, most marketing copywriters are average writers who lack the ability to inspire and entice with their writing....

As of this writing, half of Dog Star Media's clients have been with us for more than fifteen years.We have two clients who are going on almost twenty years with us. Our Boutique Service approach is designed to nurture good relationships into great ones, but that is a two-way street. Do you seek the security of a long-term relationship with a market...

If you are like most small businesses you made a fairly sizable investment in your web site.It should have a look and feel that connects with your target market, guides users through an engaging user experience and works to convert visitors into customers. Let's say you had all that build and it's sitting there on the web. Now what? The Valuable Ad...

 A few factors conspire to frustrate small business owners about branding. The first is the idea that an elaborate, creative logo is needed and the second is that anyone can write a winning slogan. Both of these misconceptions bog down marketing and create unrealistic expectations. It's why at Dog Star Media, we always emphasize positioning. T...

Most web site developers, SEO companies and tech support services are not good at explaining how web sites work to the novice. Complicating matters, most small business owners don't want to worry about the small technical details of their web sites. They just want them to work and not have to be concerned with it. So, at Dog Star Media, we start al...

Marketing companies are not interchangeable parts, but that is a common misperception. A business owner who is unsatisfied with his or her marketing company must determine the source of their dissatisfaction before changing companies, or it's likely the problems causing the dissatisfaction will continue. The first thing you want to do is factor out...

Most business owners have a strong personal identification with their web site. Done right, a web site is a personal statement on style and value for a small business owner, which is understandable psychology. Thus, conversations about web sites can get emotional, which is fertile ground for someone trying to sell you a new web site, when your curr...

Win-win or no deal. That's the philosophy practiced by great salespeople and great business owners. If the transaction and service is not a good deal for both parties, why do it? Unfortunately, all of us have experienced the opposite in buying products and services. At Dog Star Media, win-win/no deal is the sales philosophy we teach clients and the...

Nearly twenty years ago, I first asked a client, "Which would you rather swallow, a watermelon or a watermelon seed?" It's an absurd question, but it effectively illustrates how positioning works. The watermelon is a concept that takes a lot of words and effort to be understood. The watermelon seed is an idea that has obvious meaning to most people...

The digital marketing world is in a constant state of change. With every new year comes new technologies, ideas and trends that marketers need to predict to create the best possible outcome for their clients. This year is sure to bring even more of these changes. Here are some trends that are expected to drive the digital marketing field in 2020. 1...

One of the main ways to grow your business in today's world of technology is through digital marketing. Digital marketing is marketing using digital technologies through the internet, mobile apps, online advertising and any other digital medium. As an entrepreneur or business owner, it can be hard to keep up with the work that is already on your pl...

A truly successful digital marketing strategy is about more than just building an awesome website. Sure, that's the cornerstone, and the quality of your website can certainly make or break it, but a well-rounded digital marketing strategy needs several well-executed assets such as content marketing, social media marketing and SEO (search engine opt...

Sure, you've heard the incredibly overused expression that "content is king," but what does that really mean and why should you care? Content marketing is written or sometimes visual information usually provided to potential clients for free or in exchange for something simple such as an email address. Content provides value to the user and can be ...

If your medical or dental practice hasn't expanded your marketing efforts to include Facebook ads, you're missing out on a HUGE opportunity! Healthcare Innovation's data show that more than 75 percent of patients use online reviews as a primary evaluation method when deciding on a new health care provider and there are over 2 billion active monthly...

In March 2019, Google rolled out a new core algorithm update. Like with previous updates, health, wellness and medical sites and YMYL pages were some of the most affected by these changes. Let's see what this could mean for your practice's website. What Is a YMYL page? The acronym YMYL stands for Your Money Your Life. This means that any page with ...

A new survey from New York Enterprise Group has found that 25 percent of business owners work more than 60 hours per week. That number likely doesn't even include things like time spent marketing their business, which is vital to the growth and longevity of a start-up or even a well-established company. Why All Businesses Need Social Media For many...

Have you checked out our blog series The Art and Science of Digital Marketing yet?! You'll find tons of valuable information to help you identify problems with your digital marketing strategy and apply our proven solutions to fix them and get you back on track. Catch up with Chapters 1-5 and Chapters 6-10 or skim through Chapters 11-15 right here a...

Last week, we kicked off the holiday season with Thanksgiving, a national holiday centered around gratitude. Yet most celebrations tend to center on food. Hours, sometimes days, are put into food preparation and presentation. They say food brings us together. They also say being together reminds us to be thankful. Maybe you've experienced it: hours...

Your website is the lynchpin of your marketing. So, when a disconnect occurs on your site, it undoes all the marketing efforts it takes to get visitors there. A disconnect on your site can have long-lasting negative effects, as well. If you don't take care of your website, it will create noise in your marketing. This is the worst kind of noise, bec...

Inflexibility. Stagnation. Resistance. These are terrible words to describe an approach to marketing a business. Unfortunately, many poor marketing decisions (and indecisions) are guided by inflexibility, stagnation and resistance. Some business owners find change difficult, but that doesn't mean marketing strategies and new media are going to wait...

Our hottest blog series of the year, "The Art and Science of Digital Marketing," is in full swing! If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, you could be missing out on extremely valuable information to help your business's digital marketing strategy. Here's a brief summary of chapter six through 10 in case you only have time to read the ones you...

Among the rich media on the Internet today, video is the richest form, hands down. It's got motion, sound and the best potential to create an emotional connection through humor, realism and storytelling. However, not all video is created equally. Metrics measuring video use on social media make it clear that certain types of video work better in ce...

Imagine never changing the oil in your car. It'll run for a long time before finally breaking down. As you reach the point of breakdown, you'll get less and less performance out of the vehicle. Cars need maintenance, and changing the oil is necessary to keep a car running properly. When you do nothing, decay sets in and eventually breaks the machin...

Google's mission has never been more clear, as shown by the newest algorithm update this month: prevent and eliminate the rise of sites with low-quality content so that searchers can find the most relevant and high-quality content when using Google. The No. 1 search engine in the world has never been shy about its commitment to user experience, so ...

There's an important nuance in sales and marketing that has a heavy impact on why a campaign works or fails. The idea is called Improper Placement of Values. Understanding this concept can be the difference between success and failure in a marketing campaign. Improper Placement of Values can be summed up simply like this: "Just because something is...