Publish by: InvestingHouse Inc


Creating an online marketing plan and having a digital strategy are extremely important in todays information age.  Online Marketing can be one of the most cost effective and rewarding tools to engage with consumers who are already looking for you on the web.  

There is money to be made and lots of it, but with no plan in place it is hard to know where to begin.  On Cyber Monday, there was $1.5 billion made online alone, according to Reuters.com.

Below are 5 steps to create a winning plan online:

1. Start with the end game in mind.  Before you even begin producing content and information to put online, there needs to be some thought put into what you want to get out of internet marketing.  Is it more clients? Is it more exposure? How much ROI do you want in the first year? What % increase do you require to continue with your marketing efforts online...etc?

2. Think about your strategies and tactics.  How are you going to achieve these goals? Do you need to hire help to implement your plan?  What areas of focus do you prefer: More social media, online advertising, or search engine optimization? (Hint: should be a combination of all three, but figure out where you want to invest the majority of your time)

3. Create an Outline.  An online marketing outline can either be stand alone or integrated with your entire busines marketing strategy.  Be sure to write out measureable goals and a time-frame for when you hope to reach those goals. Will it be a monthly review, quarterly, or yearly?  For inspiration, check out a book called The New Rules of Marketing & P R, by David Meerman Scott, published in 2011.

4. Think about your content.  The key to marketing online is engaging content that your customers understand and can relate to. How much time do you have a week to invest in creating new and relevant content?  This may seem overwhelming to look at holistically, but if you break it down by day or week it becomes much more managable. Post information that you tell your clients and customers daily.  Now you can use your online marketing strategy to have the same voice online, while capturing a much greater audience.

5. Maintain brand consistency and be where the conversation is online.  Have a consistent message with lots of valuable information.  Social media is important, but get involved with sites that have a conversation about your business type.  Have a presence that includes your website, web platforms, social media and more.  Does your online brand match your offline efforts?

These are only broad guidlines for creating an online marketing plan, but a good start to building your brand online.  I challenge all of you to make a plan in the coming year.  

Want to take this further? Need help implementing? We're here to help! Feel free to contact us at 619.408.5381 or by email at info@investinghouse.com.

Publish by: InvestingHouse Inc


The internet has come a long way in the past couple of decades.  It can be a scary place, but if used correctly in business, can be one of the most cost effective, efficient and beneficial tools out there for businesses today.  

The internet gives you...

1. The power to be discovered: No matter where you are located in the world, you have the ability to project your message to your desired audience and beyond.  On the other hand, you can also hone in on a local area of focus.  

2. The ability to have a voice: Now you are able to compete with huge corporations since the internet lowers barriers to entry.  Digitize your business because people are searching for you.

3. The magnitude of expanding word of mouth through social media: Now you can take part in the conversation with your clients and customers.  There are conversations going on in every industry and social media has made it easier to participate.

4. The new world of customer engagement: Now the customer is the driving force in business. They are using the internet to search more then ever before and want to be educated when making a buying decision.  Therefore, if you post valuable content that answers their questions and educates them, then they will find you and use you.

In todays digital world, every business owner should realize they must participate by publishing valuable content, which is the new marketing, sales, advertising and public relations opportunity. Stay ahead of the competition, don't fall behind!

Publish by: InvestingHouse Inc


Content Marketing has become a bit of a buzz word over the last year. It's really an old concept modernized by accessibility via the internet. The way to market your business has always been by providing an interested or potentially interested consumer with the right information at the right time to create value and interest. The only thing that has really changed over the last hundred years is the medium with which we display that information. The evolution of the internet and devices has created access to information for an unprecedented number of businesses and consumers alike.


So now the challenge is, how do you use the internet to communicate effectively with the people who are looking for you? The answer is pretty simple. You create a comprehensive digital marketing strategy with emphasis on the distribution channels that your audience is participating in. Then fill those channels with engaging information and content to educate and bring value to those consumers. Easy enough right?

The problem comes in when we start asking HOW to do that. Build a website? Blog? Social Media? Ask 10 people and you'll get 10 different answers. So as a business, where do you even start? Even if you come up with a plan, it's going to be expensive and time consuming to execute... and that's a lot to invest without any proof of concept.

With that problem in mind, we've created a software that takes a holistic look at marketing a business online and integrates all of the moving pieces necessary, automates all of the processes necessary and allows you to optimize your business quickly, easily and affordably.

Check out this video or call us to find out how you can get started for free and be actively marketing your business by tomorrow.

Publish by: InvestingHouse Inc

Search Engine and Social Entry Points

Search engines see websites in terms of URLs – each page on your website has a unique URL. This means that each page on your website is a potential landing page for search engines. We call these landing pages ENTRY POINTS because they are pages through which users can access your information.

Let me demonstrate, follow me…

SO let’s say your website is 10 pages – that’s 10 entry points

Then let’s say your Facebook page is another entry point

Maybe you have a blog – maybe 2 more entry points (more if you're using custom URLs)

Then, just for sake of saving time, let’s give you the benefit and say you have 20 more various entry points…

You’ve now got 33 entry points across the web that are loosely stitched together by links.
Pretty good, right? Yes, traditionally that’s not bad.

BUT, check this out…

What if you could post the exact same information in one place that created these entry points automatically and grew them exponentially?

Let’s assume you still have those initial 13 entry points from your website, Facebook and Blog.

Now let’s assume you post 10 images, 10 videos, 10 articles, 10 reviews and 10 Deals on a platform that gives each piece of content a unique URL. That’s 50 additional entry points!
Pretty cool, right?

But what if each piece of that content was automatically syndicated to 3 networks when you posted it? That’s 150.

But NOW let’s assume the 300+ businesses in other industries on the platform do the same thing… That’s 45,000 potential entry points into your digital presence. All together that’s 45,163…

Just by doing what you are already doing, but in a more effective place, you increase your chances of being found by over 1,368% from 33 to 45,063 total entry points!

Publish by: InvestingHouse Inc

The concept of a Website versus a Digital Presence

One small change in thinking makes a very big difference in the opportunities you have to market your business online. The idea that your website IS your digital strategy and that everything needs to point back to it is both outdated and impractical...

Why, you ask? The internet has changed drastically since the early days of websites. No longer is the way people search linear. The rise of social networks, platforms, review sites, etc. has changed the way people search and shop completely. MOST people actually give more credibility to a review on a 3rd party platform than on a businesses own website.

With this change in mind, we can begin to think about the concept of a DIGITAL PRESENCE. The idea of creating a web of information and knowledge that is linked to your COMPANY, not necessarily your WEBSITE. If a consumer is searching for information and finds your company, it's a good thing. WHERE they came from is much less important than the fact that they found you.

Trying to take an outdated website and make it effective in today's online world is like taking a knife to a gun fight. Unless you have some crazy ninja moves, you probably aren't going to win.

I'm not implying that that a website is useless. In fact, it is still very valuable as a piece of your larger digital presence. What you need to do is figure out where your consumers are searching and discussing and how to get your business there. The answer may be a website, but more likely it will be a website and a several other mediums integrated into a comprehensive digital strategy.

With enough time, money and patience you can definitely accomplish all of this on your own. If your head is currently about to explode thinking about what it would take to do that, we provide a comprehensive digital business strategy in a box.

Publish by: InvestingHouse Inc

What is Effective Online Marketing for Contractors in San Diego?

With so many companies offering online marketing and search engine optimization in san diego and across the country, it's hard for a small business to get clarity about what really works and what is a waste of money. Things like buying leads, Pay-per-click and other short term solutions work for some companies but leave others with a bad taste in their mouth.

The fact is that marketing is marketing. Whether it's online or offline, marketing is sharing your information, knowledge, benefit, value, etc with your potential consumers.

So the question becomes, how can a small business communicate its wealth of knowledge with the masses of people who are seeking that information?

The answer seems daunting until you start to define what the internet really is...

The internet, at it's most basic, is a massively powerful communication tool.

But don't fall into the trap of using the internet like a more traditional medium like TV or Radio. The internet is full of people doing research and seeking information. This has changed the way we shop into a far less LINEAR experience. Think about it. Someone may ask their friends on Facebook for a referral, then Google those companies, find a review site and call the company... without ever seeing the companies website.

This is both powerful and dangerous.

In the above example, if you put all of your eggs into the website basket, you just struck out. (mixed metaphor anyone?)

However, if you are present on those channels where the conversation is happening, and participating in them, you have a good chance of getting your message through to that consumer.

The point I am getting at is that to be effective online, you need to have a comprehensive digital strategy. Not just a website. Not just Social Media. Not just SEO. By themselves, these are just fragmented pieces of the puzzle.

In order to see the big picture, you need to have all of the puzzle pieces integrated and organized holistically into a digital business strategy.

I'm sure most of you are saying "that sounds easy" right? Probably not. There are tools out there that can help you approach this goal, and some that will even get you all the way.

At InvestingHouse, our goal is simple. It is to build the technology that makes this not only possible, but simple. It is to make that technology accessible to the businesses who can benefit from it. We exist not to confuse but to empower. To create connections between business and consumer that are organic and meaningful.

Publish by: San Diego Home/Garden Shows

It’s that time of year again when those of us blessed enough to live in San Diego are still excited about gardening—while the rest of the country is getting ready to close up shop. The Fall Home/Garden Show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds will celebrate our local gardening community this year on September 14, 15, and 16. This is the perfect opportunity for San Diegans to select super-fresh, super-healthy plants from local growers for our region’s most important planting season. 

The show’s Garden Marketplace includes vendors selling hundreds of varieties of plants. The San Diego Horticultural Society and other plant societies will also be on hand with plants for sale, and experts who can answer questions ranging from “What’s eating my roses?” to “Why are my lemon tree’s leaves curling?” These free “ask the experts” consultations are a long tradition at the Fall Home/Garden Show, and home gardeners are even encouraged to bring in a leaf, bud, or flower to help identify the problem.

An Entry Garden area will feature an enticing variety of container gardens by members of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (A.L.P.D.). The gardens demonstrate how to create a beautiful mini-landscape—space constraints not withstanding.

But that’s not all.

During its three-day extravaganza the 23rd-annual Fall Home/Garden Show will also feature interior design displays, remodeling inspiration, hands-on demonstrations, educational seminars and one-stop shopping for everything pertaining to the home and garden. Produced by Westward Expos, the event and its hundreds of exhibitors will showcase the newest products and hottest trends for both inside and outside the home.

An unusual show centerpiece this year will be a six-room interior design walk-thru display featuring the work of talented San Diego American Society of Interior Designers (A.S.I.D.) members.

Show goers can get maximum value from the show’s low ticket price by seeking professional advice from organizations such as ASID, American Institute of Architects (A.I.A.), National Association of the Remodeling Industry (N.A.R.I.), California Landscape Contractors Association (C.L.C.A.), city building department reps, Master Gardeners, San Diego Horticultural Society, and many more. Their experts will be staffing consultation lounges and other areas at the show. Consultations are complimentary.

The show features special pricing and big savings on exhibitors’ products and services. Another big plus: attendees will have the opportunity to arrange for multiple bids on projects from exhibitors. It’s one-stop planning and decision-making at its best.

The show runs Friday, Sept.14, 11am-6pm; Saturday, Sept. 15, 10am-6pm; and Sunday, Sept. 16, 10am-5pm. Admission: $8.00 Click here for free tickets to the San Diego Fall Home/Garden Show!