eBay Anything Points: Useful?

Keywords: Ebay

Anything Points (AP) are an incentive eBay has created as a way for sellers to motivate buyers. An AP is worth one penny towards anything on eBay, including: fees, items, etc. Since it is a straight one-to-one trade (one penny from the seller to the buyer), there is no money "created" for this incentive.

The way it works is very simple. As a seller, you ad incentive to your item listings by offering so many APs per dollar of bidding. In other words, if you were to offer, say, one point per dollar spent and if the item ends at $6, the buyer gets six APs. The APs are only collected if the auction is paid via PayPal. When the APs are rewarded to the buyer, the seller is charged one penny per AP given.

I've been trying this out on my own auctions for about two weeks now. Adding the AP offer to your auction is easy: you log into the AP Offer Manager (via your seller screens) and choose how many to give per dollar and which auctions (or all) to ad them to. Easy!

7 Super Ways To Drum Up More Sales

Keywords: Profitable Sales

1. Use subheads throughout your ad copy.

Subheads are great to use to break up your long ad copy. Your subheads will keep your visitor's interest in your marketing copy and help you to break up your information into short manageable chunks.

Your subheads should act like your headlines. Use your subheads to increase your visitor's interest in what you're talking about, draw your visitor into your ad copy, and to emphasize the benefits of purchasing your product.

2. Use call to actions, such as "click here to order now" throughout your ad copy.

Use your call to actions after your testimonials, after listing benefits your visitors will get from purchasing your product, or along with your subheads.

Are Your Marketing Dollars Being Spent on the Right People?

Keywords: Marketing Groups

When it comes to bringing in new clients, the biggest mistake I see people make over and over again is that they don't target their marketing. They tend to go after EVERYBODY'S business instead of going after the business of the people who might actually be prepared to purchase their product or service.

The end result is that many of their marketing efforts are diluted and many of their marketing dollars are wasted. To make sure that doesn't happen to you, think Madison Avenue.

Do you think it's just placement luck that you don't see a beer commercial during Sesame Street or an ad for skin cream during wrestling matches? Trust me, luck has nothing to do with it.

Advertising agencies are charged with the responsibility of spending their clients' money for the print ads and TV and radio spots that are going to bring them the biggest bang for their buck.

How to Use Advertising to Drum Up New Business

Keywords: Advertising

When you are starting out in a new home business and no one knows who you are, one of the greatest challenges you will face is how to drum up new business.

If there were not people in your community or marketplace that you knew who needed your products or services, you probably would not have started your business to begin with. But, once you have talked to those who you personally knew who needed your what you offer, then your next task is to find others who will help keep your doors open.

Many people know that they must turn to advertising at some point in the future, but they hope that day will be long down the road. For some, this utopian concept will come to fruition. But for the rest of us in the real world, we must come up with creative solutions for meeting our home business advertising needs while working within our budget.

Swapping Ads and Articles For Fr~ee Promotion

Keywords: Newsletters and Advertising

Once you start publishing an email newsletter or ezine, a world of fr~ee promotion opportunities will instantly appear. You would have to spend hundreds in advertising to get the same exposure that using just a few fr~ee promotion methods will produce.

Submitting your newsletter to the right online directories will let other publishers know you're out there. When you can get a reader base of around 2500, other publishers will start contacting you with joint venture proposals. Combine these opportunities with the ones that you actively search out, and you will have a lot of fr~ee promotion on your hands. Effective online promotion turns into targeted visitors to your website. Lots of them.

Swapping original articles with a newsletter publisher that targets the same market as you can produce some of the highest quality leads you can get. These readers have now been exposed to your writing style and message. If they like what you have to say, they will click on the link in your author bio at the end of the article to find out more.

Landing Page Optimization Techniques Lower Acquisition Costs

Keywords: Search Engine Marketing

Any marketer that has been involved in search engine marketing and search engine optimization understands the never-ending quest to attract customers at a reasonable cost. With acquisition costs that can rise to $60 to $100 per customer or more, there is a constant demand for better word lists, better bidding, and better ad copy to compel click-throughs on the meatiest words.

The reality is that there often simply is not enough highly affordable traffic to sustain business growth unless the marketer optimizes the landing page offer as well as the search terms and makes them work as a team!

Search Engine Marketing works -- provided you are selling a product that has some demand, that is priced reasonably, and that you are able to satisfy the basics of security and fulfillment. We can buy product names, brand names, and other hot terms that are very specific to a product we specialize in, and qualified customers will find us.

Flooding Your Site with No-Cost Traffic

Keywords: Website Traffic

Free. Zero cost. No risk. All profit.

No matter how you say it, kinda has a ring, doesn't it?

No matter what you are selling online, no matter what your sales strategy, no-cost traffic is always a good thing.

One of the best ways to generate traffic to any website is through writing articles. Here are some keys to effective traffic generating articles:

1. Choose a compelling Title

Most webmasters and ezine (email newsletter) publishers will determine just from reading your title whether or not they are interesting in publishing your article. Consider the following for a "Health" related article on an over-the-counter supplement which reduces arthritis pain. Which would you be more interested in publishing:

"New Supplement for Arthritis"

or

"Reduce the Pain of Arthritis with Low-Cost OTC Supplement"

Creating An Online Marketing System That Actually Works!

Keywords: Online Marketing

I wrote this simple little report to do one thing: Help you make money online. You may be brand new to internet marketing and wondering how to start, or you may be an internet marketing veteran with some degree of success.

Either way, you have probably encountered the numerous lies thrown your way, disguised as “promises,” that guarantee you $1000 per day, or $250 000 per year, with little or no work necessary on your part.

Let me be the first to tell you: It doesn’t work that way. Honestly, you can buy all the ebooks, special reports, and website memberships you want, but most of those projects and programs do not tell you what you need to succeed online. The secret is this:

You need a business system that works for you.

How to Interest the News Media in Your Company's Story

Keywords: Effective Publicity

Take a moment to study this lead paragraph from a story by reporter Marilyn Adams, found on the front of a recent USA Today MONEY section:

"Independence Air, the first low-fare airline to launch with 50-seat jets, began selling tickets Wednesday for flights to and from Washington, setting off a fare war."

Here's a story that touches on all four elements of news: Change, conflict, aberration and problem. Every good news story has all four of these elements.

There is change, because Independence Air is launching its services.

And there is problem, in that Independence Air is seeking to solve a problem: the high cost of air travel for Americans who live in smaller towns.

Four Models of Successful Internet Business Sites

Keywords: Online Marketing

One of the best methods of learning how to succeed in your Internet business is to first find a successful site to model your business on.

Over the years I have studied many successful web sites to try to find out what it is that is making them a successful Internet business. And not just in one particular field, but many fields, from the many different types of websites out there. Next time you view an Internet site that you know is very successful, stop for a moment to try and decipher why it is so successful.

You will find successful sites on just about any subject matter you care to think about. There seems to be no barrier to developing a successful site in any field. You name it, people are probably making money out of their website in that specialized area.

One-Two-Three Punch Marketing

Keywords: Marketing

Printed material is just as important today as it was before the Internet. With sp*a*m getting out of hand, it’s a wise choice to rev up, update or create printed material, ads, catalogs, direct mail, press releases, letters, templates and the like.

You will notice that I didn't add brochures to this list. Brochures are not a good investment for a first piece. When someone asks for a brochure and you don't have one, this doesn't mean you ignore their request. Worse scenario, you may run wildly around using up a large portion of your year’s marketing budget completing one.

If you move or update your materials frequently, it isn't wise to spend thousands of dollars on new material. Here are a few alternatives. You can use a professionally created folding business card as a main document. Another option to expensive letterhead is to print your own in a two-pass process. Use a color printer in the first pass for your logo and use a black and white pass through for the content. Use Kinko's if you don't have a color printer (http://www.kinkos.com). At Kinko’s you can send them a file via Internet, have them print the color portion on high quality paper.

Marketing strategies for small manufacturers

Keywords: Manufacturing

Don’t get tripped up by marketing myths. Use these customized techniques to build a successful marketing plan.

Marketing industrial products is a different game than selling consumer items. If you make a DVD player, a good advertising campaign can virtually guarantee sales. But if you’re a small manufacturer supplying parts to General Motors, consumer-marketing techniques are not very effective.

Good business-to-business marketing calls for a customer-focused approach that uses your limited resources wisely. Unfortunately, several marketing myths obscure the importance of finding your best customers and determining what they need. By avoiding these myths, you can build a sound marketing plan based on principles that are effective for small manufacturers.

How One Sentence Can Multiply Profits

Keywords: Slogans

Can you summarize how your website is uniquely better to serve the needs of consumers than your competition? If you can, chances are you will see much higher traffic, sales and profits.

Not being obviously unique is one of the chief reasons websites fail to make a profit.

Websites and products can be unique based on several criteria:

* Unique product - no one else has it. * Unique price - same product, best price. * Unique market - same product, only in German or for Teens. * Unique expertise - Is your site the result of your own unique experience, education or expertise? This can be your key to differentiation. * Unique service - same product, better support.

Of course, having a combination can make your site even more appealing: Better price AND better service, for example, can be a powerful combination.

What's your Selling Sentence?

Keywords: Slogans

If you have a business, you need a selling sentence.

Sometimes called the Defining Sentence or the Secondary Statement, the Selling Sentence is the group of words that clarify and refine the nature of your business when seen or heard with the name or logo of your business. You tell ‘em what you do for them' with your Selling Sentence.

The Selling Sentence clearly differentiates your business in the eyes of your current and potential customers or clients. "When it absolutely, positively, has to be there overnight" reinforces the FedEx brand.

McDonald's has used Selling Sentences for individual products. "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun"

What Rich Internet Marketers Know That You Don't

Keywords: Successful Internet Marketing

Thirty years ago, I sold information via small classified ads in "ad-sheets" on how to make money teaching others how to make money. We sent out these packets of flyers called "Big Mails." We sent them to people who answered out ads and sent us the postage or a self-addressed stamped envelope.

One of the most prevalent plans back then sold for $1. It offered to teach you how to make one hundred dollars a day stuffing envelopes. This plan cost you a dollar plus a self-addressed stamped envelope. When someone responded to your ad, you sent them a sheet of paper telling them to run the same ad and do the same things that you were doing. You also included flyers for other brilliant plans in the envelope :-)

Fast forward 25 years, and I found myself in that same world transposed online.

They were the same because in both cases I found myself in a world where there were tens of thousands of people offering to sell others information on how to finally break free of the rat-race and create their own outrageously profitable businesses.

Easy Ways To Suck Prospects Into Your Sales Letter And Keep Them Reading!

Keywords: Sales Letters

If you want your sales letters to hold your prospect’s attention like a car accident … if you want readers to stick inside your ads like flies stuck in a glob of glue… then keep reading because I’m going to reveal the secret for creating your own "stick like glue" sales letters and ads.

The biggest challenge we face when writing a sales letter is keeping the prospect engaged. Lose them for a moment and they’ll drift off into slumber, or more likely, click away from your web page. Either way, you’ll lose them forever.

To really boost the effectiveness of your sales letter, you need to feed your prospects ALL of the information they need to make a decision to order.

How can you keep prospects hanging on your next words so you can give them all the information you need to? Here’s two powerful ways…

Beautiful Web Sites Seldom Make More Sales

Keywords: Websites

Designing an E-commerce Web site is not as simple as having a "pretty" site that is a pleasure to visit. While it is important to have an attractive site, as much thought must be given to functionality as to appearance.

Many Web designers seem to focus more on appearance than functionality, and while an attractive site is helpful, visitors that become frustrated by the inability of a site to function well, will leave almost immediately, never to return!

Just as important in designing an e-commerce-style Web site, is a somewhat basic knowledge of Web site design, with some simple design skills included. While a thorough knowledge of design and functionality is not important, designing an e-commerce site does have some requirements, or else you'll always find yourself going back relentlessly and changing the features and functionality in a vain effort to stay abreast of your site visitor's needs.

E-commerce sites need to focus on some main areas of functionality in order to ensure maximum sales:

Moving Beyond Marketing Rituals To Increase Profits

Keywords: Business Cards

You're at a networking meeting and someone asks for your business card. You hand them a fairly typical card with your company's name, your name and title, and contact information on it. What happens next? Do they get in touch with you? Do they become a client?

Nine times out of ten, the conversation ends when you hand someone you've just met your business card, and you never hear from them again. Wouldn't you like to use these opportunities to generate interest, get a conversation going and have prospects contact you?

All of your marketing materials should be written and designed to prompt prospects to take action. When you meet potential clients or customers, whether in person or through your brochure or web site, you want to lead them to ask you how you can help them and to call or email you later for more information. A typical business card does neither of these things.

3 Keys to Making Small Talk Easy to Do

Keywords: Conversations

Small talk used to be really hard work for me. I never knew what to say and I always worried about saying the wrong thing.

Then something awful happened to me....

I had to take a job dealing with the public. My worst fears came true and I had to make small talk with a whole range of people each and every day.

I found it difficult, tedious and nerve wracking.

Eventually after a lot of trial and error I got the hang of it. And today I find it easy to do and even enjoyable.

You can do the same when you learn a few key distinctions:

I'm A Second Story Man

Keywords: Speeches

Can you say who you are and what you do in two sentences or less?

If someone should ask (in an elevator, get it?) what do you do? You should be able to recite the answer as fast as Robin Williams comes up with a quick one liner.

Robin Williams can do it because he has rehearsed every line. He is just waiting for the opportunity to bring up another fully rehearsed blurb. There is no "ad-lib" from Robin, he has carefully worked out every retort to be very funny.

Your elevator speech should be delivered completely rehearsed, no thinking to it, when you get the question: "What do you do?"..

We're not talking labels here, or vague references. "I'm in Hardware" "I'm a Plumber" "I sell life insurance and used cars". "I'm a consultant " "My company sells printing presses" Or the worst of all "I'm in sales"

Neutralize Unspoken Objections to Increase Your Sales

Keywords: Increasing Sales

You can increase the sales you get from your web pages, sales letters and personal presentations by neutralizing the unspoken objections your prospects may have to buying from you - before you ask them to buy.

Neutralizing objections is easier than it sounds. Most of your prospect's objections to buying fall into 1 of only 3 categories. Let's look at these 3 categories of objections...and some proven tactics you can use to neutralize them.

1. The Money Objection

Most of your prospects have (or can get) the money to buy what you're selling. But they have a money objection. Some think your price is too high. Others believe they can get a better value from a competitor.

You Can't Direct the Wind But You Can Adjust the Sails

Keywords: Effective Marketing

Dear Friend,

Today I would like to provide you with a new perspective and new insights to help you define effective marketing strategies and tactics that will insure the growth of your online business.

First of all, let's take a look at the meaning of the word "metamorphosis" and how it can possibly be of interest to marketing.

Metamorphosis: Noun (plural metamorphoses - say metuh´mawfuhseez) … “the change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation; the structural or functional modification of a plant organ or structure during its development.”

Applied to marketing, this does clearly suggest a process by which we can possibly transform ourselves and adapt to an ever-changing and complex environment or marketplace with the clear intent to become and remain successful.

The 2 Best-Kept Secrets Of The Internet

Keywords: Websites

It's a difficult task creating a website that brings you business. It's a full-time job where things seem easy at first but as soon as you start to explore the possibilities and appreciate the complexity of the task at hand it can soon start taking up ever increasing amounts of your time. There is a plethora of people out there offering you conflicting advice and it's often difficult to know what to focus on.

This article cuts through all that and reveals to you the two most important things you need to know about creating a website that brings more profit to your business..

Secret Number 1 - Information

Yes - that's all it is - information. Just think about this for a minute - what is the sole reason for anyone surfing any website anywhere across the world? Every single one of them is looking for just one thing - information. The information might take the form of text, an image, a sound file or whatever but at the end of the day it is information. This is the first biggest and best-kept secret of success on the internet and now you know it!

Solve Big Problems To Make Big Money

Keywords: Increasing Profits

One of the fundamental truths I've learned about Internet Marketing is that no one really wants to pay for information. The truth is, the only reason people will ever pay you for your information right now is because you can solve their most immediate and important problems right now.

For example, promise someone your eBook will take away their fear or pain regarding some specific issue and they will gladly part with their hard earned cash to see if you have the solution to their problem.

So what does that mean to small online dating and relationship oriented Website operators like you and I? Essentially it means that people on the Internet will only pursue and pay for the products and services that solve their most immediate problems. For example:

* A sick person will pursue a doctor * A person with legal problems will pursue a lawyer * A person needing a mortgage will pursue a banker

So in our Online Dating & Relationship oriented businesses...

A Killer App Many Online Marketers Missed

Keywords: Successful Internet Marketing

Have you completely missed a simple, yet extremely powerful "killer application" that MOST online businesses seem to have missed?

This simple app can help you completely solve the following problems:

1) Your server logs show plenty of hits to your home page but the vast majority stay less than a minute. They stop by, look and leave...never to be heard from again.

2) You've done everything to your site the "Guru's" have recommended... and yet your sales-to-traffic ratios are far below what you expected them to be at the ABSOLUTE minimum.

Can Your PR Do This?

Keywords: Public Relations

Can your PR do something positive about the behaviors of those outside audiences that most affect your business, non-profit or association?

Can your PR deliver external stakeholder behavior change -- the kind that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives?

Can your PR persuade those important outside folks to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that help your department, division or subsidiary succeed?

Or does the money you spend on public relations pretty much buy personnel mentions in the newspaper and product plugs on radio talk shows?

EZ traffic from Google and Yahoo Traffic

Keywords: Higher Traffic

This is a sly traffic idea I got from my Kentucky cohort Garrett French. Garrett writes for WebProWorld.com.

Garrett and others in the search engine optimization forum noticed a large number of visits from people using either Google's image search:

http://www.google.com/imghp

or Yahoo's:

http://search.yahoo.com/images

The basic idea is this: Some people-likely many-use the image search rather than a strict word search to find websites, products and other information they are interested in.

The Toughest Part of the Advertising Equation

Keywords:

No business can survive the long run without some form of consistent advertising. As a result, most business owners will eventually consider using advertising to promote their business.

The toughest part of the advertising equation is in determining where and how to spend your advertising dollars. If you do it wrong, you could plunk down your entire advertising budget and receive absolutely no return on your investment. But, if you do it right, your advertising could continue to bring a nice return for years to come.

HOW DO I MAKE THE RIGHT ADVERTISING DECISIONS

In order to make good decisions concerning how to spend your advertising budget, you must first have a good understanding of the different types of advertising and promotion available and what can be expected to be achieved by each.

7 Tips for Better Ads

Keywords: Ads

The content of advertising is basically the same no matter what the media. It is good and it works, or it is bad. Some TV ads are so clever people tend to remember the cleverness and forget the product.

Here are seven tips to help you create better ads. Better ads for Newspaper, Radio, Billboards, Cable, Yellow Pages, anything with your name on it.

1 It's Not About YOU. Sell the benefits. The benefits of coming to your store or doing business with you is what the customer wants, They say "What's In It For Me?" Your mug shot on a 40 foot billboard can't answer that question.

2 Be Consistent Pick a theme and stick with it, in all your print, radio and TV ads. Pick a look and stick with it. Every ad builds on your brand, don't change the concept because YOU are getting tired of it. The exposure level with potential customers is much less than with you.

Do Your Radio Ads Work?

Keywords: Radio

Most small businesses don't have a high powered advertising agency to produce selling radio commercials for them and end up with something akin to a high school play, or with the business owner reading tired copy.

The radio salesperson knows that by suggesting the owner be the star, visions of Dave from Wendys or that guy with the talking dog who says "roll that beautiful bean footage" come to mind.

Worse, most businesses don't have a plan to coordinate all advertising to the same message. The newspaper ad says one thing, yellow pages another and the radio commercial is off in its own world.

The radio ad person should know all about your campaign and image before leaving with the order. You should be promised a "proof" of your radio ad before it goes on the air. There should be at least two commercials, better four, selling the benefits.

How To Increase traffic and get a better rank on Google

Keywords: Ranking

You have a business you want to promote. You're looking for more traffic to your web site. But, how do you get that traffic and how do you get it for nothing?

Here's a technique I use to increase web site traffic and get a better rank on Google. But, you need your own web site first. This won't work for your otherwise.

Having said that, even if you don't own a web site you should follow some of the steps here. The reason will become very clear nearer the end of this email.

What you are doing is researching for sites with a Google page rank of at least 4 and upwards that are relevant to the content of your site. Then link with them and have them link back to you.

To do this set up another page on your site for the purpose of including good quality links from other relevant sites.

Here's how to do it...

Juggle Much?

Keywords: Organization

They say it's easy! Anyone can do it!!

Yeah, right!!!

If you're an online marketer, then you know that you need the skills of a Juggler to compete in the business. Every last detail has to be ironed out before you can successfully sell a product. Believe me, I've learned the hard way that you not only have to be a great writer, but you also have to be an IT technician.

Oh, all the tools are available, and all you have to do is plug into it and voila!, you're in business. However, it's the plugging in that you have to watch out for. Unless you've crossed all the "t's" and dotted all the "i's", you could just be blowing smoke.

I know, I've done it! I've spent weeks preparing a product for sale, spent another several days working out the best sales copy I could think of writing, compiled all the places to market the product, utilized all the nifty little devices my web hosting company offered me, pushed a few buttons on my computer, then sat back and waited for all the money to start rolling in.

But alas, nothing happened. . .

Confession of an Internet Marketing Expert!

Keywords: Internet Marketing

Do you really believe that there are people making VERY comfortable livings selling stuff over the Internet? Or do you believe that they're just a bunch of fakes who'll tell you ANYTHING just to get your money?

Like many of you, when I first came online I believed that it WAS possible. Then, meeting with marginal success for a while... as I marketed many different products, I began to doubt. It was during this time that I watched many friends who've come online at the same time that I did, simply give up and go back to their regular jobs. I never seriously considered doing that despite my wife's "suggestions."

Eventually, I was exposed to those actually doing what I dreamed of doing. I met them at conference and workshops. I talked to them on networking calls and teleseminars. Slowly, I began to believe again. I saw people offering irrefutable proof that they were really making the big bucks. Like many people, I reasoned that if they could do it then so could I.

Google AdSense Adds New Enhancements for Users

Keywords: Google Adwords

If you have a website and don't mind displaying ads that relate to your website's content, you can earn a decent income with Google AdSense. Every time someone clicks on one of the ads on your site, you make money. It's not a bad gig for doing absolutely nothing.

Here are the new enhancements Google has added to the AdSense program:

1) Channels: It used to be hard to tell which ad layouts and webpages were performing the best. Google added what they call "channels" to make it easy to track which ads on which pages of your site are receiving the most clicks. To start using channels, you'll need to set them up from within your Google control panel and then paste the code on your webpages. You can set up to 20 channels and deactivate them at will. You can also assign channels to multiple domains if you run ads on them, in order to track performance of each. If you like to test and track, you'll love using channels.

Does Email Work?

Keywords: Emails

Have you noticed how much email marketers are sounding like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz lately: "Filters and spammers and laws, Oh My!"

Pretty much everywhere I go I hear people reading the obituary of email marketing. Everywhere, that is, except the companies that actually measure the effectiveness of real-life email campaigns.

Here are the real-world results Double Click found for the second quarter of 2003:

For every 1,000 emails sent, here are the average results:

Doing business online — Private B2B Exchanges

Keywords: Business Process Automation

Business processes are the building blocks of an enterprise. If one of these processes fails to live up to its expectation, business starts to flounder. How to minimize the risks, get a better monitoring of the processes and, at the same time, reduce costs involved? The answer is – business process automation.

Although, automated business processes based on online technologies can create incredible value to existing business, many companies are slow to adopt technological innovations and reap benefits from them. However, lately, things have started to change! According to a recent poll conducted among mid size companies shows 52 percent of respondents plan to spend over a million dollar on business process automation. Large companies – early adopters of online business processes – have been immensely profiting from the value created by process automation. Intel recently announced that it saved one billion dollar last year alone thanks to online business process management.

Can You Really Make Money with Surf for Cash Programs?

Keywords: Cash Programs

This article will focus on the Spedia Surf for Cash Program.

I first came across spedia.net from my Alexa Toolbar as a result of visiting another non related site. I was looking for programs to promote and spedia sounded good on the outside and I almost signed up in order to refer others into the program.

It all sounded too good to be true. The 5 level deep payout structure would ensure a decent income after some heavy promoting but my intuition told me to do a quick search for the term "spedia scam" and see if there was any negative spedia information around. The results speak for themselves.

An abundance of warnings and people's negative experiences with spedia. The most common complaints seem to be that they don't pay. Other complains include system crashes and spam if you cancel your account.

Why Should I Buy your Book?

Keywords: Product Summaries

How would you like to have countless people clamoring for your books and willing to visit your Web site to buy them?

Most entrepreneurs wait until their Web site is designed before they think about marketing their products on it. What a shame!

Maybe you've said, "My book is about¦." You mention the features such as tips in a book or your story. Your story may be too long and bore your prospective readers. What they want is a quick billboard visual of your book--your 30-60 second "tell and sell."

Without your "30 Second Tell and Sell" that strongly states the main benefit, audience, and what makes your product unique, you will bore your visitor and lose that attention you need to entice him or her to take out their wallets and pay you on the spot.

Direct Marketing Truth in Numbers

Keywords: Direct Marketing

Direct Marketing works!

Why? It works because it is personal. It carries a message, answers questions and gets orders. Direct Response Marketing works because it is "conversation in writing".

It works because, no matter what you have heard, read or believe... most people look forward to personal communication. They like being treated as a person - as an individual.

So, if Direct Response Marketing is so powerful, how can we as marketers use it effectively? To keep the business we have ... to find new business?

As with most disciplines, the "Truths of Direct Marketing" are common sense. Here's a list of a few "Truths", to make your Direct Response Marketing work for you;

10 Tips to Use Giveaways Effectively

Keywords: Complimentary Gifts

1. What do you want to achieve by giving away a premium item?

Your giveaway items should be designed to increase your memorability, communicate, motivate, promote or increase recognition. It is important not only that the message have an impact, but also the premium itself.

2. How will you select your premium item?

There is a multitude of different items you could consider as a premium. However, which one will best suit your purpose? To select the right item, you need to decide your objective. Do you want it to enhance a theme; convey a specific message or educate your target audience? A clear purpose should help make your selection process easier. A promotional specialist can also help you make an effective selection. Remember that your company image is reflected in whatever you choose to give away.

The Problem With MLM For NetPreneurs

Keywords: Multi-level Marketing

Yes, there's a problem out there with MLM programs... not the good ones... the scams.

In fact, Budding NetPreneurs really need a good network marketing opportunity in their portfolio...

Network marketing opportunities can give a NetPreneur significantly more income than most any 2 or 3 tier affiliate program because of the potential for "viral" income growth as a distrbutor base grows.

If you can find a viable opportunity and build a team, you have a good shot at building true residual income.

But there are many pitfalls in finding one that viable opportunity.

Recognizing the Promotional Money Pits

Keywords: Promotions

Did you realize there are only three types of online promotion?... This statement may seem odd and even untrue in your mind, but I am speaking in more general terms than you might be thinking.

Let me explain.

The three types of promotion are Junk, Active and Passive promotions.

JUNK PROMOTIONS ARE MONEY PITS

Junk promotions are those that seem to produce results, but by their very nature are really only illusionary promotions.

For example, let me begin with FFA (Free For All) pages. You might find yourself subscribing to a submission program that tricks you into believing you are submitting your links to tens of thousands search engines.

The Top Five 2004 Required Marketing Tips Needed to Succeed

Keywords: Marketing

When marketing your practice, as well as designing your brochure, web site, business card, flier, advertisement, or other marketing effort, we recommend investing the time and effort needed to effectively address all these tips. Not one of them can be omitted.

Tip 1. MARKET FOR YOUR DESIRED PROSPECTS, NOT YOURSELF

What looks good to you is not necessarily effective for your desired audience. This is the biggest mistake I see people make over and over again. They come up with an idea, they think it’s great, a few friends, family or nontarget market people give them the thumbs up and they run with the ball. When it doesn't work, they just can't understand why.

Do market research and test your strategies on your target market. Big companies do lots of market research before launching a product or service. The little guys don't have the resources to match this but that doesn't mean you omit it. Even if you are an independent professional, you need to do marketing research. And market research isn't a one-time deal. It needs to be incorporated into your marketing system and it needs to be ongoing.

Targeted Traffic with Pay Per Click’s

Keywords: Pay Per Click

In order for your online business to succeed you must get targeted traffic to your website. No matter what product or service you are selling, if you don’t make sales you won’t be in business for very long!

One of the best ways to get targeted traffic to your website is through Pay Per Click Ads. If you have spent any time surfing the world wide web or used search engines to seek out a particular keyword or phrase then you have more than likely seen Pay Per Click (PPC) ads. Two of the most popular PPC’s are Google Ad words http://www.google.com which are featured prominently on many websites on the net and Overture http://www.overture.com which list sites in search engine results like Yahoo, AltaVista, MSN, etc, across the net. However, there are literally thousands of PPC search engines on the web today to choose from.

PPC ads offer a way to attract relatively cheap targeted traffic to your website and product or service. Here is how PPC ads work.

7 Tips for Better Ads

Keywords: Advertising

The content of advertising is basically the same no matter what the media. It is good and it works, or it is bad. Some TV ads are so clever people tend to remember the cleverness and forget the product.

Here are seven tips to help you create better ads. Better ads for Newspaper, Radio, Billboards, Cable, Yellow Pages, anything with your name on it.

1 It's Not About YOU. Sell the benefits. The benefits of coming to your store or doing business with you is what the customer wants, They say "What's In It For Me?" Your mug shot on a 40 foot billboard can't answer that question.

Elite Positioning Brings Higher Profits

Keywords: Higher Profits

Imagine spending the same amount of money on marketing and performing the same amount of work to deliver your products or services, but earning more money and keeping more after your expenses. That's what happens when you institute elite positioning for your business.

With elite positioning, you are not any old accountant, cabinetmaker, software maker or fitness trainer. You deliver superiority or exclusivity and therefore charge (and get!) more. Here are five ways to add an aura of extraordinariness to your business.

1. Specialization. If as an accountant, you only work with family businesses, clients perceive you as more familiar with and more skillful in dealing with their unique issues and circumstances. Whether or not you really have that much more expertise is not the crucial factor. The clients' knowledge that you specialize makes them comfortable paying more for your services.

The Best Traffic Generation Tool Is Free

Keywords: Search Engine Optimization

Although search engines have been around since the beginning of the Web, many businesses (large and small) are just now waking up to the gigantic benefit search engines provide. What other medium gives you - at absolutely no cost whatsoever - a way to drive unlimited traffic to your site? None. That’s why, once people understand search engine optimization (SEO), they get hooked!

I want to give you some basics to follow in order to help get your site ranked at the top of popular search engines like Yahoo! and Google. I also want to provide you with some exceptional resources so you can further your SEO education in the future.

What Is Search Engine Optimization?

How To Research Keywords For Search Engine Marketing

Keywords: Search Engines

The core element of any type of marketing utilizing the search engines is the keyword. Why is it so important? In terms of general marketing principles keyword search is equivalent to targeting a niche. It can help you focus your advertisements on certain key areas that will already have an interest in what you are offering.

Targeting proper keywords or key phrases, groups of 2 to 5 keywords, is the way to market successfully with pay-per-click search engines and obtain high ranking in search engine indexes. It is a rather arduous task, but one that can yield massive returns in ranking, traffic, and sales if done correctly.

So where do I start?

Tapping The Visual Stimulus of Your Web Site Visitors

Keywords: Website Design

"Oh, my eyes, my eyes! What an eye sore. Quick, click away! Click away!"

Suddenly I wake up in a cold sweat. What happened. Oh, then I realize: it was just a nightmare.

O.k., I'm not crazy, and no I haven't had this dream before. But think about this: what would you do if you came to a site littered with either tons of different colors, loud pinks, purples, greens and reds mixed incoherently, or more animations and graphics than the rods and cones of your inner eye can possibly absorb? If your like me I simply go "click, bye-bye".

Our visual stimulus is ever more so important on the web than almost anywhere else. Most definitely the internet is about information. But, that information is shown graphically. So, if you want to keep people at your site, first appeal to their visual stimulus.

Staying in Touch: Electronic Courtship and Other Rituals

Keywords: Email

Sometimes I bemoan the fact that we have all been scattered to the four winds by our modern transportation systems but have not been held together by those same systems.

Unless you are well-heeled or subsidized through your government or corporate position, air travel is too expensive for anymore than one or two trips per year, if that.

Staying in touch with loved ones is quite a chore. Not too many of us can simply walk up the street and visit our son or daughter for a cup of tea. Often family and close friends live miles away, separated by oceans and expensive travel costs!

My daughter in Holland will often call me - on my card - and "visit" for 45 minutes. If I become concerned about the cost of the phone call, Dana will say something like, "Well, you just took me out to dinner. O.K.?" But I still feel hungry and a phone call is not as satisfying as time spent together.

8 Effective Ezine Publishing Tips To Put You Ahead Of The Game

Keywords: Ezines

1. Swap sponsor, feature, or solo ads with other ezine publishers.

Your swaps will create a win-win situation as both you and the other publisher will successfully get profitable promotion at no cost.

Swap your ads for at least three issues in a row or three solo ads for three solo ads to get the greatest results from these swaps.

2. Provide your visitors with a bonus for subscribing to your ezine such as access to your membership site, ebooks, a complimentary ad, or something else that your visitors would find to be valuable.

Increase the value your visitors place on your bonuses by telling them how much they would be worth if they were to pay for them or by making them available for only a limited amount of time.

3. Write articles.

Your articles will help you to establish yourself as an expert in your field and get more of your subscribers to visit your site.

Finding HOT, Non-Internet Marketing Topics For Your eBooks

Keywords: Marketing Ideas

It's so tempting to write ebooks yet again, on "How To Make Money on the Internet" isn't it?

You see the thousands of books pitching the next big tip, technique or strategy for making money online.

You get a flood of email from guru's who have made it big in the world of internet marketing products, writing ebooks on that topic. Or have they really made it big?

OK, They Are Going To Lynch Me For Saying This!

Could it be that these gurus HAVE to be highly visible, run seminar after seminar and stay in your face to be able to LIVE marketing to this niche?

Honestly, I know many of the best online marketing professionals out there - and they are far from living like Donald Trump.

The Most Important Thing You'll Ever Have to Sell

Keywords: Ethics

With all the problems facing Internet Marketers these days, the anti-spamming software being installed on many ISPs; the potential charging for white listings; not to mention the shear number of competitors doing the exact same thing each and every day. . .

. . .anyone who wants to market successfully needs an edge.

To find that edge, you'd have to go way beyond the concept of becoming a "guru robot", or "duplication clone", and find your own niche in the marketing world.

There's been a lot of talk about "niche marketing" going around lately, and believe me when I say, it's probably the only way to make a decent living online in today's market.

But before you could ever hope to go it alone in your niche, you'll first need to establish your legitimacy and be able to prove it to all oncomers.

PayPal Offers New Merchant Tools

Keywords: Merchant Tools

PayPal is a popular choice for payment proc-essing for many online business owners. Payments are fast, fees low and the money shows up in your account instantly. What else could an online business owner ask for?

Paypal is continually making strides to improve their service. A recent change allows a buyer to make a purchase without having to open their own Paypal account first. If you haven't been paying attention lately, they've also implemented some other new changes that you're really going to love.

Secrets of Building and Maintaining Marketing Momentum

Keywords: Goals

Some people seem to steadily increase their income while others just make enough to pay the bills. What's the difference between the people who make millions and the people who struggle all their lives to get ahead?

If you want to attract more clients in order to build a more profitable business you need three things. You need clear goals, knowledge of how to market your business and a plan of action. Your marketing is like the proverbial three-legged stool. To function effectively, all three legs need to be solidly in place.

Without clear goals you won't move forward. Without marketing knowledge you'll waste your time instead of pulling in many more clients. Without a plan of action, your marketing won't get done.

Setting Your Marketing Goals Staying on track can be a struggle, whether you are trying to stick to a diet or get your marketing in shape. How can you get started and maintain your marketing momentum? What you need to do is make a commitment to specific marketing goals.

Anatomy of an Online Marketing Failure

Keywords: Online Marketing

Wife: "I'm getting sick of these harrassing bill collectors who call me all hours of the night and day."

Husband: "I know Sweetheart. I'm going to turn things around financially for us. Bill, down at the office, says that there's lots of money to be made on the Internet. I think I'll go to him for some advice and see if this is something I can do."

Wife: "Well something has got to change. The mortgage company said that if we were late one more time with our payment that our credit was going to be ruined."

Husband: "Don't worry. I'll figure something out."

**Next Evening At Dinner**

Reciprocal Linking: A Disturbing Trend

Keywords: Search Engine Marketing

In the world of Internet Marketing, and Web site promotion, nothing changes faster than the parameters that rule good Search Engine rankings and placement.

This has led to a developed new science in the last few years, SEM (Search Engine Marketing). This new science, SEM, has been a boon to both Web Masters and the merchants that maintain Web sites as a way to increase exposure and revenue for their products and/or services.

SEM has become a much sought after entity, with SEM specialists, who focus on optimization of a site, routinely adding linking campaign management to their overall repertoire of services. This has resulted in a large influx of Web sites focusing on linking campaigns and reciprocal linking as it has been established that good, solid reciprocal linking campaigns increased traffic and visitors to a site exponentially.

How to Multiply Your Freelance (Writing) Work

Keywords: Freelance Work

You can turn your $200 fee to write a press release into $2,000 to carry out an entire PR campaign simply by convincing clients to invest in campaigns, instead of individual assignments. Campaigns achieve better results and cost less in the long-term for clients, compared to individual assignments. And, of course, as the freelancer, you get paid much more for turning out a succession of assignments that assimilate a successful campaign.

Here's how to multiply your writing sales by convincing clients to invest in long-term campaigns, instead of short-term individual assignments.

How To Promote Your Business – A 10 step guide for beginners

Keywords: Promoting

Often times when people start an internet business they don't have a clue how to go about their marketing campaign. They end up posting ads aimlessly to places that do nothing but send them spam and waste time and money. Then, after a couple weeks without results, they give up. It almost happened to me and I know it happens to others everyday. So, in order to help the newbies, I decided to give a quick overview of some of the widely used techniques for marketing your business. When used correctly these marketing techniques will dramatically increase traffic and sales without emptying your bank account.

Here they are, in no particular order:

1) PPC's (Pay Per Click) - These are a very widely used method of getting traffic to your website. Pretty much everyone uses PPC's at one time or another. The concept is really simple… you bid a certain amount on keywords related to your product or service. Then when someone searches for those keywords they find your ad (assuming you bid high enough). Finally, they click on your ad and you pay the amount you bid. This is great because you only pay for traffic that actually goes to your site and all the traffic is targeted.

How to be Successful in Network Marketing

Keywords: Network Marketing

------------------------------
What is network marketing?
------------------------------
Network marketing or MLM shouldn't be confused with pyramid selling.

It is literally marketing products through a network of people. This form of distribution is word of mouth or recommendation.

It's an intellectual form of distribution as unlike retailing the distributors are often very knowledgeable on the products

Large businesses can be built by sponsoring people and teaching them to sponsor. MLM means multi level marketing and refers to the different levels of compensation provided by the company.

By the 1990's more than 100 billion dollars worth of products were being distributed through Multi level marketing, and that figure is growing rapidly.

Uncover Your Hidden Markets

Keywords: Finding Markets

Want a simple, low-cost way to boost your sales? Just uncover the narrowly defined sub-markets hidden in your main market. Then create special versions of your advertising to focus on the specific needs of prospects in these hidden market segments.

1. How to Find Your Hidden Markets

Start by evaluating your existing customers. Look for groups of customers with similar characteristics you do not currently cater to in your advertising. Then create new versions of your sales message appealing to their specific needs. You will attract a lot more customers just like them.

How To Find the Best Merchant Account For Your Business

Keywords: Merchant Accounts

What a great idea! Start accepting credit cards and watch your profits soar. Nothing could be simpler. Or so you thought until you began researching merchant accounts. It can all get extremely confusing. There is an easy way to find the best deal that suits your business. You'll be able to compare apples to apples and have a clear picture of what the merchant account will cost you.

Let's take a look at some of the phrases you'll encounter (in layman's terms) when you begin to search for a merchant account.

--- Merchant Account Provider - The company who arranges for your payment hardware or software and your ability to accept credit cards.

Use Market Positioning To Identify your Business

Keywords: Identifying Businesses

You must realize that your product or service cannot be all things to all people. Very few items on the market today have universal appeal. Even when dealing in basic commodities like table salt or aspirin, marketing people have gone to all sorts of extremes to create brand awareness and product differentiation. If your product or service is properly positioned, prospective purchasers or users should immediately recognize its unique benefits or advantages and be better able to assess it in comparison to your competition's offering. Positioning is how you give your product or service brand identification.

Positioning involves analyzing each market segment as defined by your research activities and developing a distinct position for each segment. Ask yourself how you want to appear to that segment, or what you must do for that segment to ensure that it buys your product or service. This will dictate different media and advertising appeals for each segment.

Internet Marketing For Micro Businesses

Keywords: Micro Businesses

There are small businesses, and there are "micro" businesses. Micro business is a term I use, for example, to distinguish a small nail salon employing 3 or 4 people from a small manufacturing plant that employs 100 people. In conventional terms, both are small businesses. In reality, and certainly when it comes to marketing, they are worlds apart.

The micro business is not alone, however. In aggregate terms, the total sales volume of micro businesses around the country may well exceed the the entire next rung of small businesses. Today, more and more micro businesses, most of which are local or regional in terms of sales and distribution, are going online with a website. It's a logical move – as more and more consumers search locally online, the micro business community needs to follow. But once they are online, how can they best promote themselves to their local audience?

Clickbank Vendors: Two Simple Ways You Can Help Affiliates Protect Their Sales

Keywords: Affiliates

1) How To Remove Your Affiliates Clickbank Id From The URL.

As a merchant, you can hide the clickbank affiliate id for your affiliates by creating a redirect page and pointing your default hoplink to the redirect.

When some uses your hoplink http://hop.clickbank.net/?affid/yourid, the cookie will be set and they will land on your redirect page.

The redirect will send them to your domain without adding the ?hop= information. The cookie is already set and does not need to be shown.

This will help protect your affiliates commission and give your site a more professional appearance.

In the code examples below, you will need to replace [ and ] with less then and greater then symbols.

Copywriting Is Not One-Size-Fits-All

Keywords: Copywriting

I was in shock. Honestly, I shook my head when I read his email. I meant no disrespect; I just couldn't believe he really felt that way.

"Karon, I want you to write the sales letter for my site. How much will it cost me?" read his note. After looking at his home page and evaluating his target audience, I didn't feel a sales letter would be the best type of copy for his site. When I sent him my suggestion he replied with something along the lines of, "No sales letter? What other kind of copy is there?"

Was he a fan of sales letters? No, not especially. Did his question come with a sarcastic tone? No, it was a genuine question. A lot of what he had been exposed to online was sales letters. So much so that he thought this was the *only* type of copy to have on a website. That's what all the "gurus" were telling him, so it must be true. Even though he had been to countless sites that did not have sales letters, he never realized the differences.

I pointed him to several sites that had a wide range of copy to show him some of the other styles.

Understanding what Reciprocal Linking means

Keywords: Reciprocal Linking

If you have been marketing on the internet for any length of time you have surely heard that reciprocal linking is a great way to boost your google page rank as well as your search engine ranking. But what does reciprocal linking actually mean?

Reciprocal linking is a joint venture of sorts between you and another website owner to exchange links on each others websites. The benefits of reciprocal linking is getting targeted traffic directed to your website and vice-a-versa. Don’t be afraid to put your competitors website on your links page, especially if they have a high Google page rank. Linking to your competitors will actually help you. For example do a search on Google for your keyword(s) and find your competitor with the number 1 ranking position, now check their links page. You will more than likely find other websites that are sending them quality traffic, as well as other potential reciprocal link partners for your website.

6 Winning Subject Lines

Keywords: Subject Lines

Killer subject lines plays a crutial role in any email campaign
ads whether you're using safelists, autoresponders, ezine solo
ads or any opt-list where email is involved. Your headline
will make or break your return on your investment.

Here are six subject lines that have worked for me in the past
which I'm sure will work for you too in the future. The
technology will always change but peoples desire to succeed
will not.

How To Get Slightly Famous in Print

Keywords: Publicity

Early in my career, I wrote an article for a small business magazine about self-publishing as a marketing tool for businesses. Because I specialize in helping businesses get into print, the article only took a few hours to write. A few months later it was published. Almost immediately, my phone began to ring and my email box filled up with inquires.

As a result of "Be An Expert, Get More Business" I landed two clients, submitted several proposals, and added dozens of names to my mailing list. Later I used the article in my email newsletter, made glossy reprints for my marketing materials, and arranged to reprint the article in other magazines targeted at potential clients.

Years later, the benefits continue to roll in as prospects read my article on the Internet, recommend it to associates, and hire my firm because I'm an expert in Slightly Famous marketing strategies.

How To Write E-mail Messages For Phenomenal Results

Keywords: Effective Writing

Would you be interested in getting 10 times better results from your current e-mail marketing campaigns?

While the above is a hypothetical figure, it sure got your attention didn’t it…

Though most successful marketers use e-mail marketing as an income-generator, only the ultra successful are truly maximizing their profits with it.

What sets them apart? And more importantly, how can you create profit-pulling solo e-mails that put thousands more into your bank account fast?

It’s no rocket science. You’ve basically got to get your readers excited and give them a reason to respond quickly.

There IS a simple formula to achieve this. It’s nothing revolutionary, in fact it’s…

How To Really Make Money With Datafeed Merchants

Keywords: Datafeed Merchants

I am not going to describe what a product feed (or a datafeed) is. There is a lot of information out there about how to use one to build sites. Instead, I want to talk about how you can actually make more sales with datafeed sites.

The program that I manage offers a product feed, and I get a chance to see a sad picture of many good affiliates wasting their potential.

Here is my advice from the affiliate manager's perspective.

Whenever you join (or think bout joining) a program, you need to look for two things: - Temporary or permanent opportunities - Flaws of a merchant

Here is an example of an opportunity that was created by an outside factor.

5 Steps to Build Your Own Subscriber List

Keywords: Suscriber Lists

Let me ask you this ‘Who can you sell your products or services to over and over again?’

Your subscriber list is an unlimited source to market your products to. You can test your products, run surveys, do anything that might be of interest to your subscribers. You don’t even have to spend any advertising money, your list will do the job. But what should you do if you don't have your own subscriber list? Well, then you should build one (of course, there are thousands of list-owners, who would be pleased to offer your product to their list for a fee, but better yet to build your own). And that’s what you are going to learn in this article.

Ok, let’s jump-start to building your subscriber list.

Characteristics of Internet Marketing "Gurus"

Keywords: Experts

Why is it that some persons are attracting success and money like magnets while others are struggling to get e.g. an affiliate check for $40 a month? What are the factors that make the difference between success and failure? Hint: It's not just luck. It has to do with your personality and some common factors...

What type of person are you?

Do you have a strong desire to succeed, to make your ideas and business work? Are you doing everything that's possible to achieve your goals ? Do you have determination? How strong is your motivation? Are you doing what you love or is it just like a job which you don't like at all? These are the questions you need to be asking yourself. But if you really like it and you go on even if you have suffered from setbacks then you simply can't fail.

Link to get traffic - not search engine rankings!

Keywords: Search Engines

There have been a lot of changes on the web since I wrote the first edition of "Power Linking Your Way to 1 Million Hits" in 2002. Back then I told everyone that the only thing that will never change, despite search engine shake-ups and search technology improvements, is that links will always be the most important part of any website promotion campaign.

In fact, the people best able to withstand major changes and shifts in the search engines that affect their rankings are the people who have a broad, multi-faceted marketing campaign.

In order to weather any drops from single-sources of traffic to your site, you must have a lot of irons in the fire (links). People you have targeted as your best prospects should be able to find your site virtually everywhere they surf.

Ecards as a marketing tool

Keywords: Ecards

As any successful businessman will confirm, having a great product or service is just the beginning. After all, in this day and age, everything comes down to marketing. The more creative you are in your marketing efforts, the more successful your business is. There are many ways to promote your business without spending a fortune. In this article I will describe one of the most powerful tools on the Internet - ecards!

Ecards (electronic greeting cards) are a great example of efficient marketing on the internet. You have a free service open to the Internet users. The ecards they send from your site invariably contain promotion for your company, products or services. They are advertising tools that are immediate, inexpensive, personalized and although sent via email, Spam free.

How to Use Celebrity to Attract the New Media

Keywords: Media

The Dallas Morning News recently offered two stories that demonstrate the power of celebrity to attract the news media's attention to an otherwise mundane situation.

The first is on the front page of the May 12 sports section. It deals with a Dallas-area golf instructor. Why the fuss? Because this golf instructor, Hank Haney, joined Tiger Woods for a practice round this week before the Byron Nelson. Tiger brought in Haney to help him out of his slump. And that got the media's attention. No Tiger, no story.

The second is on the front page of the May 12 business section. It discusses the launch of yet another new magazine aimed at young adult men. The magazine, called Giant, will compete directly with the established Maxim.

Why does the News care?

Write Press Releases That Dazzle

Keywords: Press Releases

When a reporter is wowed, intrigued, surprised or captivated by your press release, you can be pretty sure you’ll get some media coverage. And for most businesses, positive media coverage is worth its weight in gold. The bad news: Although truckloads of news releases fill reporters’ inboxes every day, few of them are dazzling, or even interesting.

As a former editor, I speak from experience when I say that most press releases end up in the garbage can. But don’t let that stop you from sending them — a well-written news release can generate more publicity and goodwill than you could ever accomplish with a paid advertisement. To help keep your release out of the garbage and get it in print, start by following these five guidelines.

10 Essential Steps to Developing a Successful E-Mail Marketing Campaign

Keywords: Email Marketing

Developing and executing a successful e-mail marketing campaign is becoming more challenging. The SPAM problem isn't improving and laws are tightening their grip on e-mail marketing.

So, you need to carefully develop your e-mail marketing campaign with great care.

Here are 10 steps you can use to develop a successful e-mail marketing campaign:

How to Write a News Release that Hooks Reporters

Keywords: Effective Writing

The most important part of any news release is the headline. The second most important is the first paragraph. Everything else is either background or fluff. That's why, when you compose a release, you should spend at least half your time on the headline and the lead. If you fail to hook the reporter with the headline and the lead, you have no chance at news coverage. Period.

The average news outlet gets hundreds of news releases every day. Most of these go right in the trash because the headline and the lead fail to grab attention. Now PR flacks believe you can grab attention by adding exclamation marks, or by setting the headline in all caps, or by casting the lead in boldface, italic and underline. Forget it. PR Rainmakers understand: To write a great headline and a great lead, you must start with a strong news peg. The news peg, also known as "the story hook," is simply the "reason to this news story right now." It is the piece of the overall story that makes the story timely, and thus makes the story news.

7 Essentials To Researching Your Market

Keywords: Market Research

Over the years I have seen a lot of companies waste a lot of money on market research. In many cases they commissioned the research simply because they had allocated a budget for it.

In some cases they didn't even know why they were doing the research, but just wanted to know more about the market. In other cases management could have saved the company a lot of money by just listening to the feedback from the frontline sales reps.

In other instances the company initiating the research failed to ask the right questions or the research was done to postpone a decision rather than to assist in decision-making.

Market research can be an extremely valuable tool when used wisely and it doesn't always need to cost the earth. For example, you could send out a questionnaire to existing customers with your monthly accounts. Telephone surveys can be reasonably inexpensive and students are often keen to do this kind of work.

Low-Cost Marketing With Business Postcards

Keywords: Business Postcards

Modern, low-cost business postcards can drive a high volume of traffic to your web site, generate a flood of new sales leads, or promote any other business activity you want. They are easy to use, cost very little and produce results almost immediately.

Brief And Personal Works Best

Keep the message on your postcard brief. Announce a major benefit. Then ask the person reading the postcard to visit your web site or respond in some other way to get more information.

Set up your postcard to look like a personal message instead of a sales promotion. Prospects cannot resist reading a postcard if looks like a brief personal message - even when they quickly recognize it as a business communication. This happens for several reasons.

Important Lessons in the Land of Advertising

Keywords: New Businesses

When you are starting out in a new home business and no one knows who you are, one of the greatest challenges you will face is how to drum up new business.

If there were not people in your community or marketplace that you knew who needed your products or services, you probably would not have started your business to begin with. But, once you have talked to those who you personally knew who needed your what you offer, then your next task is to find others who will help keep your doors open.

Many people know that they must turn to advertising at some point in the future, but they hope that day will be long down the road. For some, this utopian concept will come to fruition. But for the rest of us in the real world, we must come up with creative solutions for meeting our home business advertising needs while working within our budget.

Beyond Keyword Optimization

Keywords: Keywords

The rate of change online used to be fun. Chasing the cutting edge was an exciting occupation with limited accountability. But now ROI, quarterly budgets, and the need to grow sales AND profits have replaced the cutting edge as the object of our efforts. Yet despite the transition to more traditional business goals and outcomes, the rate change remains the same.

Take keyword buys. This is still a relatively new phenomena, and many businesses are only just beginning to develop an approach to extract the benefits. Nevertheless returns have already been compressed as the cost of key words has quickly been bid up to their marginal rates of return - and in some case beyond. The ease with which results can be tracked has allowed the market to be extremely efficient in pricing keywords, making it harder and harder for the buyers of words to generate a return.

Building A Mailing List

Keywords: Mailing Lists

In most every business building a loyal client base is important to the overall success of your business. Internet marketing is no exception. In order to build your client list you need to capture email addresses from prospects that either sign up to receive your newsletter or buy a product or service from your website.

One of the most important elements of building your mailing list is that you build a trust relationship with your prospect. According to The National Sales Executive Association 80% of sales are made after the 5th contact with a potential client or customer. So this should tell you that you need to have quality content in your newsletter so the prospect will stick around to receive your newsletter past the 5th attempt. Another good thing about building your mailing list is that you can notify your prospects about up coming events or special offers you may be working on or know would be of interest to the prospect.

Let’s examine some of the different ways in which you may be able to build your mailing list.

When is an Ad NOT an Ad?

Keywords: Advertising

One marketing technique used by advertisers old and new is to conceal sales pages as something else.

The Infomercial, for example, extends the TV Advertisment into something that prentends to be an informative program.

Likewise, newspaper and magazine advertisments often mimic the style of news reports or editorials.

In Internet Marketing we can also make use of this technique, in a number of ways.

The Number 1 Reason Most Websites Fail

Keywords: Websites

Failure, just like success, is measured differently by each and every one of us. What one man treats as success another may view as failure. For the purposes of this article a website that fails is one that fails to attract and convert enough targeted visitors into paying customers. Yeah - positive feedback from your website visitors is great but let's face it - we're all in this ultimately to make more money.

Websites do fail. Lots of them fail. You will see many of them every day. Some of them fail to inspire or enthuse. Some fail to get found at all. Some fail to get completed. Some fail to understand the needs of the people visiting them. But there is an underlying common reason for all these failings..

How To Publish a "Blog"... and why you should!

Keywords: Blogging

First, a quick definition for those who do not know what a Blog is. Quite simply, it's a Web Log. In other words, a regularly updated page of your thoughts, ideas, links - whatever.

It's very easy to publish a Blog these days and today I'm going to show you how in a few easy steps. Don't worry - all the sites, services and tools involved are free.

Before we go ahead I should first explain why a Blog is so usefull. A Blog provides a number of benefits to you and your site and all for very little effort.

Hocus Pocus...Your A Millionaire!

Keywords: Profitable Internet Marketing

Have you had a look lately at the different number of ways to make money on the internet? Where do you think the largest chunk of advertising to small online businesses is being focused? Ironically enough it is online marketing itself!

The majority of advertisements on the internet today are geared at trying to help people make money online. From joining different types of forced marketing matrices to programs that exist solely to have you make money by signing others up into the program. You make money if people below you stay in the program, and the people below them, etc., and so forth. Does it not seem that small business internet marketing has taken somewhat of a socialist-communistic swing?

How To Replace Your Regular Income In 30 Days Flat!

Keywords: Internet Businesses

Did you come on-line looking for a way to supplement your regular
income? Did you hope to do as I did and completely replace that
unfulfilling, dead-end, depressing, old JOB?

One of my mentors once explained to me that most people who
start an on-line business actually want to do something I teach
people to do every day. That is - generate $3000 - $5000 per
month from a simple product that they quickly and easily create.
Many people just want enough extra money to pay all of the bills
and not feel like they are constantly RUNNING just to keep up
with life!

If I just described you, here's how to do it... as easy as 1-2-3:

Managers: Can We Agree on This?

Keywords: Management

Your public relations effort really should involve more than press releases, brochures and special events if you are to get your PR money's worth.

In particular, you should be pursuing those three pots of gold at the end of the PR rainbow.

First, when you use the fundamental premise of public relations to produce external stakeholder behavior change – the kind that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives.

Second, when you do something positive about the behaviors of those outside audiences that most affect your business, non-profit or association.

Cutting Down Your Trade Show Budget

Keywords: Budget

Whenever a recession or volatility threatens the economy, companies immediately look at where they can cut budgets. Without much forethought, the first to hit the block is inevitably training, followed closely behind by marketing. Why? Both are viewed on the balance sheet as expenditures rather than income generators, so obviously they're hot contenders for elimination.

This is a very myopic way of thinking, especially for companies who want to remain globally competitive. Instead, at times like these when resources are under severe scrutiny, look at this as a golden opportunity to analyze your strategies. Put your activities under a microscope and closely examine what you're doing and why you're doing it. Often during times of plenty, the finance reins loosen up and some highly creative juggling takes place when budgets exceed their estimations. Obviously, we enjoy the abundant mentality and wish that it could last forever. But just as with all things in the universe there has to be a balance, and shortages add stability to plenty. Whenever highs exist, lows are inevitable.

So, instead of reacting to the highs and lows of the marketplace, what can you do to maintain a steady balance? Marketing and training are definitely keys to your success, so let's examine five benefits and how they relate to your tradeshow participation.

3 Tips For Writing Content That Will Make You Sales

Keywords: Websites

Content is king. Without content your website is an empty shell, a skeleton with no flesh, an empty vessel. Content can redeem the worst designed website. The right content can make your phone ring off the hook and flood your inbox with people wanting your product or service. Content is the most important ingredient in the recipe for your website's success. If you have engrossing, valuable and relevant content you are onto a winner..

Tip 1 - Keep It Customer-Focused - What You Like Is Irrelevant

I land on the homepage. I want to buy a bathroom from this company. I want to know what bathrooms they have available. I want to know how much it will cost, when they can deliver, if they have any special offers and what their previous customers have said about them. Instead, upon landing on the homepage I get the following all-time classic;

4 Softly-Whispered Secrets to Write A Solution-Savvy Sales Letter to Turn Prospective Clients into Paying Clients

Keywords: Sales Letters

Too many sales letters are shaped into paper airplanes and flown into trash cans because freelancers write sales letters that sell their services. These freelancers have never listened to the quietly-whispered secret that says their sales letters should sell solutions, not services, to yield the best results.

Solutions are jewels; they shimmer in sales pieces.

Prospects will peruse your sales letter if they discover you have a solution (or solutions) to their existing or future problem or problems.

To write a "solution-savvy" sales letter follow the copywriter's adage: write "client-centered" copy. Zero in on the prospect, his business, his needs, his problems. Then pitch yourself as the freelancer who can fulfill his needs and solve his problems. Crown your claims with clients whom you've worked for and specific results you've achieved on solving similar problems.

Here are four softly-whispered secrets to write a solution-savvy sales letter:

Is Your MLM/Multilevel Marketing Business Legitimate?

Keywords: Multilevel Marketing

INTRODUCTION

A legitimate multilevel marketing business is a great way to get a legitimate residual income that could change your life from the 9-5 rut to a life of financial freedom. But there are many pitfalls out there that will make achieving this difficult. (Or even illegal depending on the MLM you decide to sign up with.)

There are several ways for a person to ascertain whether or not a multi level marketing company is or is not a legitimate MLM. There are a few things that can be checked to make sure you are not going to get involved in something that breaks the fifty or so statutes that govern this type of company.

Online Marketing: Online Auctions

Keywords: Online Auctions

Many people have not considered the value of using online auction houses, such as eBay and Yahoo! Auctions, to promote their own businesses. No matter your business, with a little creativity, you can use this tool to market yourself.

There are three important pieces to the marketing puzzle when using auction websites: your user name, your profile, and your products.

When signing up, pick a user name that reflects your business. Your business name is preferred, but anything close (even your website name: yourbusiness.com) will do well. For example, my username on eBay is "AaronzWebWorkz."

10 Things You Should Expect From Your Website Copywriter

Keywords: Website Copywriting

As websites and electronic commerce are becoming more and more common, business owners and marketing managers are realising that quality web copy is every bit as important as impressive design. And with the ever increasing importance of search engine presence, the role of web copy has never been more critical.

But in such a relatively new field, customers are still coming to grips with what they can expect of their website copywriter. The question a lot of people are asking is, "How do I know I'll get what I pay for?"

Before engaging a website copywriter for your next project, ask them whether they're able to provide you with the following ten essentials…

Cicadas and Brilliance In Marketing

Keywords: New Products

I have found another nugget of marketing brilliance that I want to share with aspiring entrepreneurs around the world. In this example of marketing brilliance, you will see how innovation and careful planning can result in a brilliant idea and resulting profits.

In the Indiana/Ohio border region there is a 17-year phenomenon that is about to happen this summer. Cicadas will be coming out from their 17-year burrows to eat and breed by the millions.

During the short life-cycle of Cicadas in this region, people will be plagued by Cicadas landing on every surface, getting into every barbecue and backyard party in the area. Women will shriek, pulling Cicadas out of their hair in disgust and fear.

Do you smell opportunity? Well, the folks at http://cicadanator.com sure did, and they are cashing in BIG time!

Writing Tips for Email Distribution of your Article or Message

Keywords: Internet Writing

It has long been understood that writing for the web is different than writing for a print publisher. There have been volumes written on this subject.

I am here to share with you some important lessons that I have discovered about Writing for Email.

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF EMAIL READERS

Now the techies in the audience are scratching their heads and mumbling under their breath that I am a fool... No biggie... I have been called that before.

From the technical side of the equation this statement is wrong. I will fess up on that.

But, for the purposes of this article, it is the absolute truth. Let me explain.

Is Your Search Engine Optimized Content Working?

Keywords: Websites

In the past, most savvy website owners recognized the value of strong, compelling content; they appreciated the importance of copy that commands attention and persuades visitors with reason and with art to buy something or take a particular action.

But there's a change happening. With the growing importance of search engine optimization, many e-businesses have shifted their content priorities. Satisfying the needs of human visitors has taken a back seat to keyword cramming and the scramble for higher search engine positioning.

And this has lead to some stilted and dysfunctional web content.

Search engine copywriting should help improve rankings, deliver traffic, AND convert it. Too many website owners employ search engine copywriting with the sole objective of driving traffic to the site. Period.

Then they cut that traffic loose to fend for itself. All those eager-to-buy prospects are dumped on the doorstep, facing a home page that offers them:

How Can You Be Sure That Your Marketing Efforts Will Generate Profits?

Keywords: Marketing Profits

How can you be sure that your marketing efforts will generate profits?

There are several ways to ensure that your adverts are responsive: let me outline my top ten response boosting techniques:

1. An attention grabbing headline is crucial. Yes, headlines are one of the most important elements within your web pages. The majority of professional copywriters have been known to spend as much time on headlines as they do on all other elements of an advert or web page combined. The purpose of a headline is to grab your targeted prospect's attention and pull them into your advert or web page copy.

2. Get inside the mind of your target audience. Don't write for everyone, write for a real person. When you are writing your advert address it to one specific individual who is representative of your target audience.

7.5 Ways To Get More Sales Through Your Web Site

Keywords: Websites

Yes, apparently - websites are supposed to make money! Somebody came up with the strange idea that it's really not enough to spend thousands on your site, hundreds of hours creating the content and then sitting back to admire you, and your developer's work. No - apparently it is now 'cool' to have a web site that actually makes it onto a sales column in your chart of accounts.. 'Return on in investment' is a good phrase that's being thrown around - what are you actually making from your web site in cash terms? Ever thought about that?

Well, you should be thinking about it. Not only should you be tracking where the money is coming from but also where it's gone to. No point kidding yourself - it wasn't cheap was it? There was the developer's costs, the graphic design costs and hopefully some costs set aside for taking on web site marketing experts to get your site found (see magnet4web - they come highly recommended). So, anyway, track what you've spent and then see what's coming through the door rather than going out when it comes to your website. To help you - in what is a constant review and improve process -here are 7.5 ways to get more sales through your web site.

Google AdWords and AdSense - A Dynamic Small Business Marketing Duo

Keywords: Google Adwords Google Adsense Regional Targeting Small Business

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last year or so, you probably know that Google has become the king of the search engine hill. There are many reasons for this but number one in my opinion is that above all else they put value on content. Today I want to introduce you to two very powerful small business advertising options created by Google.

These two ingenious programs have all but revolutionized the way advertising is done on the web. Warning: If you are thinking..."web advertising isn't for me, I just need a few more clients around the block"...you better read this or be prepared to have your competitors eat your lunch.

The Art of Endorsement

Keywords: Endorsements

Remember the old time circus announcer who would shout at all oncomers, "Step Right Up. . ."? Well things haven't changed a whole lot since then. Today, every time you open your email, someone is telling you the very same thing. . .

"Step Right Up and See the Miraculous, Awe-Inspiring, Dynamic, Never-Before-Seen, Guaranteed-to-Save-You-Thousands-and-Make-You-Twice-as-Much-as-Anything-You've-Ever-Seen-Before, Super-Deluxe, All-Powerful, Amazingly-Simple-to-Use, User-Friendly, The One-the-Only, The Most Versitle, Stupendous, Fire-the-Boss, Crazy-to-Pass-Up, Can't-Live-Without, Handy-Dandy (insert product name here)!!!!!!

You see, the old time circus announcer had something on the ball. His entire purpose was to lure people into the Big Top by way of a highly motivational endorsement of the product. And it worked like a charm!

7 Insider Tips To Joint Venture Success

Keywords: Joint Ventures

Most marketers miss out on huge chunks of available profits by not doing enough joint ventures.

It's the easiest way to leverage on resources you wouldn't otherwise have.

There're probably two reasons why joint ventures are not used fully. These are the fear of work and fear of failure. But do you know, you've failed in the first place by having this mindset?

While I'm not here to preach, I do want to emphasize, no marketer is ever an island. You've got to leverage your time and resources with fellow marketers to improve yourself and to maximize your success.

The magic word here is leverage.

European Union Promises Bigger Market

Keywords: Market Opportunities

As the EU welcomes ten new members in its biggest enlargement ever, a significant increase in the number of UK company formations is predicted by Phil Vibrans, Managing Director of Company Registrations Online.

Foreign entities and individuals often incorporate companies locally to improve access to Western European markets. The 1st May enlargement creates a market of over 340 million inhabitants - the largest economic area in the world.

"There are compelling reasons for acceding countries to look to the UK as a base for new limited companies and subsidiaries, regardless of in which EU countries they intend to carry out business," said Phil. "In the UK it is possible to set up a new company within 24 hours. In comparison, Spain hopes to reduce incorporation time from three months to six weeks by 2006," he added.

Free and Low Cost Website Promoting Tools

Keywords: Promoting Websites

Finding free and/or low cost website advertising can be a difficult task.

If you search the internet however you will discover there are several free and low cost tools available to you.

Listed here are some free and low cost techniques for increasing your website traffic.

1. Free Traffic Exchanges Can bring plenty of visitors to your website. They are set up so that your browser opens to a webpage on the exchange. In return, your webpage appears when another members opens their browser. Most offer there is the option of surfing for more credits on the exchange. Visit http://www.freetrafficexchange.cjb.net to see how this can be a powerful tool for promoting your website.

19 Ways to Attract Higher Paying Clients

Keywords: Maintaining Clients

Some people have little difficulty attracting and maintaining clients who have higher discretionary funds to spend for solutions. Others can't get to first base. If you are one of those and want clients that can pay more and you currently aren't attracting them, here is a list of 10 barriers that might be interfering.

Higher paying clients are easier to work with, appreciate your work more, pay quicker and are more profitable.

Whenever I am asked by a independent profession how to get a client to pay more money, the first answer tends to be "you can't." It is very difficult to raise your rates with your existing clients. You generally need to find new, higher-paying clients.

3 Ways To Beat Your Competition

Keywords: Marketing

You will always have competitors. You cannot control their activity. But you can minimize their impact on your business. Here are 3 ways you can position yourself to generate sales with little or no competition.

1. Use Unconventional Marketing Methods

Most businesses use the same marketing methods as their competitors. Adapt some unconventional marketing methods to distinguish yourself from your competitors. Your unique marketing will attract more attention and get more sales.

For example, most online businesses only use online marketing methods to generate traffic to their website. By including some offline marketing, they can bypass the heavy competition online and produce more traffic - and more sales.

Tip: Print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market. Postcards are inexpensive and easy to use. Most recipients will read a brief message on a postcard.

8 Things I have Learned As An Internet Marketer

Keywords: Internet Marketing

I started as an internet marketer, like I am sure a few of you have with various mlm programs. After little success with these types of programs I finally decided it was time I make my own website and get serious about marketing on the internet. Although I have not been doing this as long as some, there have been a few things that I have learned along the way that have helped me achieve much more success than my previous ventures in mlm. I would like to share with you 8 things I have learned since becoming an internet marketer.

Shut Up and Make More Sales!

Keywords: Profitable Sales

Who said that a successful salesperson had to be a "fast talker"?

Anyway, this is the common misconception when it comes to telephone and direct face-to-face selling. But the opposite is more likely. It's the salespeople who talk less and listen to the prospect more that make the most sales.

Listening is a very important part of a salesperson's people skills. `Listen twice as much as you talk' will be a good rule of thumb here. For those who think that they have to "pitch" the customer, this will always be a difficult pill to swallow. Even though you think that you're sure of the prospect's needs, you have to listen because different individuals have totally different reasons why they purchase the same product or service. If you cannot ascertain this reason, it's unlikely that you will close the sale.

The more apt you are to listen to your clients, the more likely they'll tell you what they are looking for! Here are some quick tips to improve your listening skills:

Profitable Sales Don't Happen on the First Try

Keywords: Profitable Sales

Profitable Sales opportunities mean persistance with customers.

It's easy to get discouraged when you make your best effort for
a great sale and you're met with a dead-set "no." But don't let
it get you down. In actuality, 97% of all sales are not made
within the first pitch. In fact, it takes an average of five
to ten exposures - also known as follow-ups - to persuade your
prospect to make the first sale.

Site Marketing & Search Engines (the no-cost approach!)

Keywords: Site Marketing

Site Marketing- use search engines the right way. Don't waste your valuable time and money.

1. There are many ways to grow in the search ranks without spending money on search engine submission...

As a matter of fact, I recommend NOT wasting money on pay inclusion in most cases because it doesn't offer enough of an advantage (and many times the fees give you absolutely no advantage—the only exception are the few sites that guarantee placement within a specific timeline). Focus your online marketing and gain positive and targeted traffic without paying out for "expedited listings" or "submission software."

2. Submission software can appear to save time and effort, but in all reality, it doesn't...

How To Get Reliable Marketing Advice on the Internet

Keywords: Marketing Advice

Marketing Advice is all over the internet. Don't be fooled- It is important to know where you are getting marketing advice.

I am going to show you how to qualify the advice you are given, so you can sort the wheat from the chaff, and help you to survive the information overload on the Internet.

Firstly, you need to find out who is giving the advice. Are they speaking from a position of experience? Is the advice they are giving first-hand? Or is it second-hand advice, something they have heard somewhere else, have not put it into practice themselves, and are simply handing it onto you and presenting it as their own (and perhaps somewhat altered).

Effective writing: the carrot-and-stick strategy

Keywords: Effective Writing

Making your ideas successful can be done using alternate writing styles.

Certain types of writing involve doing your utmost to persuade the reader to accept your recommendations. Business examples of persuasion include:

* arguing for more staff;

* assuring the boss of the merits of a new project;

* convincing management to continue with a worthwhile program;

* encouraging your manager to investigate a safety hazard;

* justifying a budget increase;

* promoting your innovative business strategy;

* selling a product or service; and

* supporting your position over that of others.

Marketing Slogans are the Best Way to Get More Clients

Keywords: Marketing Slogans

Don't beg for clients, help them find you first!

Want more clients? Forget cold calling and expensive direct marketing pieces. The secret is mastering the art of self introduction.

Of course, like everything else, there are tricks involved.

The first one requires that you consider yourself a "product" and introduce yourself with a catchy slogan.

Advertising Secrets From The Pros - Repetitive Advertising

Keywords: Advertising

Advertising isn't a one-shot game. The more often people see your ads, (to a point), the more likely they are to respond to your offer.

I don't know why it is, but some would-be entrepreneurs think one- or two-shot advertising is going to land them in the Internet Money Makers Hall of Fame.

If that were true, we'd ALL have a plaque hanging there!

Advertising is a numbers game. You win by staying in the game, not bailing out when you don't get the immediate responses expected from that great Ad you just sent out.

Frustrating and time-consuming? Yes, of course, but either you're serious about what you're doing or you're just 'talking the talk'.

3 Mindset Changes To Increase Your Sales And Profits

Keywords: Increasing Sales

By Noel Peebles

1. Consumers Are Individual Customers

The idea of mass marketing to consumers is outdated. Consumers are individuals and deserve to be called customers. The days are gone when marketers can think of consumers as a mass audience to "push" advertising out to. In fact, wise marketers will remove the word "consumers" from their vocabulary altogether.