Click-through-rates are the industry average myth
Click-through-rates (CTRs) are the industry average myth While click-through-rates (CTR) tend to carry a lot of weight with marketing service providers, it is by no means a one-size-fits-all calculation. CTR refers to the percentage of clicks on an ad compared to how many times it was displayed. So, for example, if an ad is displayed […]
Secrets of the Gardens
We’re all soaking up the sunshine here at the AMPM offices. Glancing out the conference room window, we never get tired of seeing this season’s lush leaves and blue skies. Michigan gets to show off during these warmer months. While winter can often keep most of us cooped up indoors, Mother Nature beckons us to […]
My website’s been hacked! Now what?
First of all, don’t panic. A number of things could be the culprit, so stay calm. We’ve put together this handy flowchart to make it easy to figure out what’s happened to your website and what to do about it. There are usually three circumstances you’re dealing with: Redirect attack – anyone attempting to come […]
Five tips to keep your website secure
From time to time I like to revisit websites that we’ve developed. For many of our clients, we design and develop the site and “hand the keys” over to them once it’s up and running. Not too long ago, I visited a site that I noticed had garbled text in place of the text that […]
Planning a successful trade show – an exhibitor’s perspective
AMPM has been designing client trade show displays and coordinating show details for nearly 20 years. In fact, we sort of fell into the trade show business by accident but the knowledge and experience we’ve gained over the years has been invaluable to our clients. As anyone who’s ever been involved in exhibiting and attending […]
Get over yourself
“…big values, a little humility, straight talk and a genuine point of view.” (The Cluetrain Manifesto) Be brave in your communications. Talk like you mean it. And never lose your sense of humor. It is what binds us together – the frail human condition that we all share. I know what you’re thinking – how […]
Are you fully baked?
I follow Seth Godin. He writes simple, quick blog articles. I don’t always subscribe to his thinking, but more often than not, he gives me something to chew on. Recently, he wrote a blog called, “Fully baked.” It was about people he called knowledge workers – those who go to meetings, are in marketing, or […]
The 5 things clients can do to create agency cost efficiencies
The marketing services and client arena has changed dramatically over the last decade. Both clients and agency partners are focused intently on implementing cost efficiencies. Agencies are often afraid of advising the client on ways to save money for fear of insulting the client and negatively impacting the relationship. The agency business is fiercely competitive, […]
I say prŏcess, you say prōcess
At AMPM, we know how to get from here to there without going everywhere. Processes, methods, procedures are the GPS of project management. While flow charts and spreadsheets may be the bane of a creative’s existence, most understand they are a necessity. They not only track progress and costs, they also tell us who did […]
Content is not king
It’s not even a princess. In the castle of all things content-related – web pages, blogs, videos, print materials – content is a peasant. I read lots of content every day. Most of it I throw into the moat to feed the gators. It’s chum. Odds and ends and bits and pieces used to bait […]