We are going with JASON PRANCE as BEST SOLUTION for Alan’s problem.

We are interviewing Jason this week and so expect to see his post on Monday. Check back soon!

http://www.jasonprance.com

Meet the public:
Generate ways of community outreach. Invite the pubic to meet comic book artist, writers and creators.This event should always be set on a comic book release dates. This will encourage guest who are not regulars at your store to purchase the items (that they cannot wait for) at your place.

Develop gaming tables. Include Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering and Bakugan RPGS. This has a great value, seeing the the age group is elementary school age to parents. Keep in mind what you liked in elementary school is completely different today. Have and open mind and see what odd thing these kids are enjoying. Stock RPG books, games, cards and pieces.

Encourage guest to visit your store by having an incentive. Go to the local theater when they have a opening movie night and give coupons on these midnight showings. This will encourage guest to visit the store.

I have been out of the comic book reading realm for almost ten years. I go in to see about picking something up, the biggest problem is: I am overwhelmed and have no clue where to start. Educate your staff, so when I ask where is a great pickup point they can take me in the right direction or start me on a good series.

Inbound marketing is NOT waiting for people to call off of your ads or respond to your unsolicited email from that list you rented. Inbound Marketing is about getting found, converting visitors to leads and leads to sales, and then analyzing and repeating the process. Let’s unpack.

GET FOUND. Do your SEO? YES. On page – titles, keywords, meta data & descriptions, alt tags all need to be there. Off page – INBOUND LINKS!!! Preferably anchor text links. Alan should be finding blogs relevant to his customers and commenting there. Alan should be looking to authoritative sites relevant to his content and finding ways to create alliances that give him inbound links (with follow credit).

On his site Alan needs his own blog (fastest way to rank on Google) and needs to optimize every post. Each post will count as a page for Google. More posts =more pages = more chances to rank for keywords. He needs compelling content to get people to stick once they are at his site. Alan will become a trusted, thought leader if he does this. His landing pages need to be centered around ONE KEYWORD EACH. For a little info, visitors can take advantage of his stunning offer.

In addition to his comments on other blogs, Alan needs to enter into a conversation (NOT SELL) on twitter. Occasionally pointing back to his blog is one thing but spammy hey look at this great deal, how to get a bizillion followers, let me sell you stuff comments are not conversation and shouldn’t be part of the mix. If Alan knows his stuff, people are smart enough to figure it out. Alan needs a facebook group and a FAN PAGE in addition to his personal page. By tying the three together, his friends and fans get to see him as the three dimensional person he is – not just get sold or shouted at all the time. They’ll feel the love and find Alan’s passion.

They’ll also get to visit his flickr stream to see the cover shots of the latest additions to inventory. If they opted in, they even get an email to tell them new items are posted. People will DIGG Alan’s store, and his posts.

Finally, Alan needs to be registered with all the blog searches and with Google & Yahoo local directories so he’ll show at the top of the page when someone wants “Comic Books in Vinings”.

CONVERT.Once his visitors are there, Alan needs a clear call to action on each page that leads to a stunning offer. It may be an auction of a rare item, a webinar, a seminar at his shop, or a valuation page. Alan has to decide what is best for his target persona and offer accordingly.

The folks that are not yet ready to buy need to go into his lead nurturing plan so they receive regular follow up in a varied and personal way until they are ready to buy.

ANALYZE AND REPEAT Alan has now learned how to do simple A/B testing on his landing pages and calls to action to see which pulls best. He is constantly measuring those crucial ratios to see where the gaps in his process are. Alan learns which offers pull better and, because he has a consistent SEO program and regular blog posts, Alan is now first page on Google on most of his search terms and #1 or #2 on several – especially the geo tagged ones.

Because Alan now tests, improves and repeats, he is building GLOBAL business from his little shop in Vinings.

Welcome to ALAN 2.0

But before proposing these ideas to Alan, I’d first sell him on the concept that his shop (himself, really) is a brand. He must understand what a brand is (and isn’t) and why he will be judged by it by his customers.

Since he’s an “old-school” kind of guy we must be sure he knows his brand is the most important thing he has because, with the exception of rare, collectible, or limited edition products, he’s selling a commodity. Consumers have tons of choices for acquiring this commodity now, and Alan must set himself apart to succeed.

Once Alan understands why he must do these things, I believe he will pursue them with more enthusiasm and drive. It’s all about him and his attitude. The best ideas from the best consultants won’t help him if he doesn’t implement them with intelligence and determination. And it’s got to be about more than just making money. Alan seems like the kind of guy who will make the commitment to win, and with these great suggestions, he will!