Archive for the 'Marketing' Category

Jun 19 2008

Why Online Newsletters Are Critical For A Successful Internet Marketing Strategy

Published by vagabondetteva under Marketing

By: Bob Withers

Online newsletters are used for multiple reasons and in multiple ways. Online newsletters are used to increase sales to current and new customers and generate new leads. They are gaining in popularity and for good reason. They are a great way to build and manage effective relationships with your customers and they are an effective fast and affordable method of communicating to your target audience on a regular basis.

Online newsletters are formatted for your Web site and are usually delivered via email, however, some are sent as HTML pages located on a web site. They are contained within your website and offer a great way of keeping your website fresh and up to date. Online newsletters are a great way to gain instant market feedback either through surveys or by response to articles.

Newsletters are a way to lock in your consumers and remind them on a periodic basis of the value you provide. Newsletters once required expensive printing and mailing costs, but today’s online newsletters have changed the rules of the game. They have four times the readership of a traditional ad and can be instantly delivered to readers throughout the world.

Online newsletters give you reasons to send potential customers emails packed with informative articles and, of course, one or more carefully crafted sales messages. They are great for building trust and relationships online if your newsletter provides regular, quality content which your subscribers can really use. Newsletters allow individuals and groups to control messaging and deliver it with great precision to a target audience.

Online newsletters are often made available free of charge to subscribers who complete a short profile and they produce targeted leads as a result. As the number of Internet surfers using the Web for gathering information and making purchases increased, many businesses began using online newsletters to promote company Web sites, products, and services. Businesses also use them to provide information and as an additional source of revenue through advertising.

As well as being environmentally friendly, online newsletters save the publisher time and cut costs by reducing postage, paper, and other supplies costs. Along with being less expensive and easier to produce, online newsletters can also reach a much larger customer base. While many newsletters exist solely as an information source and do not utilize advertising, many others are published as a source of revenue.

With an increasing number of online newsletters in circulation and online traffic increasing, businesses began viewing the electronic medium as an attractive place to advertise. In fact, advertising in online newsletters is often more effective than placing a banner ad on a Web site. According to Forrester Research, advertisements in email newsletters had an average response rate of 18 percent in 2000, versus a banner ad click through rate of less than one percent.

Online newsletters are considered to be the best marketing tool to promote small business over the World Wide Web. They are an internet phenomenon and they can be crucial to the success of your enterprise. Newsletters have been, and continue to be, one of the most efficient marketing and communication tools used by both small and large companies alike.

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Author Resource:-> Bob Withers is a professional sales and marketing person with over twenty years in the field. He has also turned his sights on network marketing to apply his trade. If you want to get in touch with Bob or learn more about sales and marketing please visit:

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Jun 10 2008

Tell A Friend Scripts Drive Viral Traffic Fast

Published by vagabondetteva under Marketing

by Tyler James Ellison

More and more webmasters have the recurring dilemma on how to increase the flow of traffic in the websites. During the past few years many methods that been developed to solve this predicament. While most of them would work there are those that would not make even a small impact.

One of the methods that have spawned many success stories in driving traffic into websites is viral marketing. Viral marketing makes use of the tendency of a person to share something to find informative, entertaining or amazing.

Many companies bank on this behavior to spread their products and increase the popularity of their company or their website. Viral marketing makes use of many mediums in enticing this behavior. It might be in the form of an interesting story, an addicting flash game, an amusing video and many others that may catch a person’s fancy.

This ingenious form of marketing is typically low cost and is a wonderful tool for any company to utilize. The benefit greatly overshadows the cost or efforts to initialize this marketing scheme. Any website would greatly benefit with viral marketing.

Tell A Friend Script

One of the easiest methods in viral marketing is using a tell a friend script. This is a simple programming script that you can attach to your website. Generally, tell a friend scripts are installed in pages where a media is placed so that a person can easily send the media to any of his friends or his family members.

The basic concept of a tell a friend script is a script wherein a person may input his name, e-mail address, the recipient’s e-mail address and send the media to the intended recipient much like an e-mail with an attachment. As the recipient receives the e-mail he wouldn’t think of the mail a spam mail because he would see the sender’s name as someone he or she knows and trust.

Tell a friend scripts greatly eliminate the chances of being blocked because they use the information inputted by the sender. This allows for wider spreading of this marketing method. It can be quite sneaky but it is very effective.

With the e-mail sent and opened the sent media will either be read, viewed or played. Also along with the mail would be a brief description of the company or site that sponsors the media sent. This allows for the introduction of either the site, company name or its products. The along with it is another tell a friend script.

Then the process begins again. As more people use the tell a friend script, more and more people will know of the existence of the sponsoring company or site. People who read the ads inside the mail who liked what they see would go and click on the link and visit the site. This drives traffic into the site resulting to great number of potential customers.

Script Availability

A tell a friend script is very simple and does not require a complicated method of programming. In fact, you can copy paste a script and simply put it on an intended page. Finding one is even simpler. All you have to do is go to a search engine and type in the search box “tell a friend script” then press enter or click go.

In the search results page you will see many links that will direct you to a site where you can get a tell a friend script. It would just be a simple matter of looking and searching for the script and copying it to your intended web page.

With a tell a friend script viral marketing strategy you can drive traffic into your site which could potentially spell profits. This is a simple harmless script that offers great benefits for low cost paired with great creativity and foresight.

It is imperative that you have patience in using a scrip like this. If your chosen media doesn’t get the mileage that is expected of it, it may take some time before it gets spread or shared. But surely many people will see your ads and there is great probability that they will visit your site increasing your traffic flow.

Tyler Ellison is a successful entrepreneur who teaches the Free Fully Automated Traffic System and encourages others to join the community at Little Guy Co-op .

Article Source: Keyword Articles

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May 24 2008

Its in the BLOG

Published by vagabondetteva under Blogging, Marketing

by Nicholas Nanton

If you’re looking to grow your business, then a BLOG is a great tool to add to your tool chest. In this article we will discuss BLOG basics and how you can use them in your business.

1. What’s a BLOG?

What’s a BLOG you ask? Well, let me tell you. According to Wikipedia.com:

A blog (short for web log) is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order [newest entries are at the top].

So, its really just an online journal or diary that is written by anyone who wants to tell the world what’s on their mind. (Side note: When I say “the world” I really mean it, so be careful what you write.)

Ok, so how can this help you grow your business? Great question. To understand the answer you have to know just a bit about how search engines work.

2. BLOGs and Search Engines

Search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN and all the others use what they call “spiders.” Spiders are software programs that “crawl” the internet looking for new content, and rank it based on its contents and its relevance to a certain topic. This is all done by some very complex math, but the important thing you need to know is that if you write often and/or discuss topics that are getting searched online a lot (i.e. topics in the news), the search engines will consider your site “relevant” and if you include “key words” (popular search terms) in your content, that you know your potential customers are searching for, there is a much better chance that they will actually be able to find you.

So to recap, my 3 Principles of BLOGging for Search Engines are:

1)Write Often

2)Write Relevant

3)Write Using Key Words

3. What makes a good BLOG?

This is a rhetorical question. The only thing that really matters is the opinion of the audience you are trying to reach. So here are a few tips that will help you stay on track.

1. Know who you are writing for - If your audience is 13 year olds, writing about retiring next year probably isn’t going to get you a lot of return visitors

2. Keep it short and to the point - 100-300 words is all most people will have the time to read, so keep your articles short and to the point. Over time this will build a great deal of credibility with your readers.

3. Write actionable content - “How To” and “Top 10″ lists are great. It gives your readers action steps they can take to use your content in their everyday lives. Think about ways to use these to point out how you are different from your competitors.

4. Don’t be afraid to tell some of your secrets - People love to hear about how to make something happen, then they love to pay someone else to do it. Let’s be honest, even though you just told me how I can edit my html code on my website to make it stick out like neon lights in a search engine, that doesn’t mean I want to do it myself. Just give me a way to contact you to hire you. After all, you just showed me that you are the expert.

5. Allow Comments - Consider allowing people to post comments about your BLOG. In fact, you should be the first one to post a comment after each blog, pose a question or comment to simply getting a discussion started. If visitors are interacting and writing comments about your BLOG, they are actually adding relevant content that the search engines are going to like.

Well, there you have it, BLOG basics.

JW Dicks & Nick Nanton, founders of TheBusinessGrowthLawyers.com, publish the Business Growth ezine monthly covering topics that every business, start-up to international powerhouse, needs to know. If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, get more FREE info now at www.TheBusinessGrowthLawyers.com
Article Source: Keyword Articles

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May 19 2008

Self Promotion As Advertising

Published by vagabondetteva under Marketing

By: Kevin Sinclair

Just like any other method of getting the word out about something, self promotion is advertising oneself. A more delicate approach must be taken lest one seem like a braggart. There are different ways to go about this; the best place to start is to gather and create content relevant to the subject of the promotion which is not always easy to do.

In this connected world, having a website for your business is an absolute must. Of course, this has become easier as more and more people have learned web design, bringing prices down for getting a professional looking site. There’s many different kinds of website you could have, but aim high - a one page site isn’t going to get you too far. Graphics need to be incorporated to grab the attention of visitors. However, the most important element of a website is the content.

Hire the services of copywriters who specialize in search engine optimization (or SEO). This will help your site achieve a high page ranking among the search engines: Google, Yahoo! and so on. Having your site show up high in a list of search results is vital. Get your site noticed by the search engines or you are likely to flounder on the web. Make sure to update your content often to keep attracting new visitors and retaining repeat visitors to your site. A well designed logo is also a must - it is one of the most important parts of building a brand image for your business.

Besides using articles as content on your site, you should attempt to get them published anywhere you can - newspapers, magazines and the like. Try a “ten reasons to try this product” angle. Getting your articles widely disseminated over the web will also lead to better search engine rankings, helping your business to continue growing.

Television is another venue in which you should advertise if at all possible. A commercial aired during prime time will reach a lot of people. If you can, get celebrity endorsements for your product or service and use them in the commercial.

Don’t be afraid to admit it when a part of your advertising campaign isn’t working. You need to continually refine your approach and use what works while dropping what does not. Be sure to spotlight any notable successes of your firm, this will bring in customers.

Keep on top of what the competition is doing. You can examine them and learn from what they do. Your aim should be to fill niches they do not, as well as trying to improve on their product or service.

Direct mail, while a more costly and time consuming angle to advertise can be very effective. People do read their mail and it is an opportunity to inform the public about new products or services your business can offer them. There is of course the updated approach of an email list, which can serve the same function at much lower cost. After all, you can email as many people as you like at once - and with the post this can become prohibitively expensive.

Remember to engage in product test marketing. Give out free samples of any new product before you offer it for sale. Get feedback; this will let you know if the public is interested in your product, whether the product needs some fine tuning and so on. Ask friends, relatives and clients to test your product before turning to the public - you want opinions from people you trust.

The occasional gift to your customers is a good way to retain customer loyalty. Thank them from time to time for using your product or service and offer a discount or a gift. Remember, once you get to the top you want to stay there!

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Author Resource:-> Discover Kevin Sinclair’s system for making profits regardless of whether anyone joins your network marketing business.

Article From Niche Article Directory

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May 18 2008

Ebook Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Published by vagabondetteva under Marketing, Tips

by Harjeet Kaur

Creating a viral ebook marketing campaign can be one of the easiest and most effective ways to promote your product or website. Before you begin writing your viral ebook, you need to know the 5 most common mistakes that can cost you time and potential income.

1) Never Link Directly to Content You Do Not Control

You should always use redirect links placed on your own server instead of direct links to affiliate programs.

You never know when the program you are promoting will change the way its affiliate links work or go out of business. Using redirect links allows you to quickly replace the affiliate links with the new version or redirect to a similar product.

I cannot stress enough how important this step is to you. Once you launch your viral eBook, you cannot get it back to make changes to it. Using redirect links will prevent dead links and lost profit.

2) Avoid Using Dated Information By Providing Too Specific Details.

Do not talk about free trials or time specific discounts.

The affiliate program you are promoting may not always be offering the trials or discounts. You will anger your readers if they cannot get the bargains you promised.

You should also avoid statements like “Just Released” or “Just Launched!”. The program you are talking about may have been around for years by the time your reader gets your ebook.

3) Never Include Information You Do Not Want All Over The World.

Because of the viral nature of your ebook, it will eventually spread to every corner of the world.

If you include personal information like your home phone or your cell phone number, you may be unpleasantly awakened at all hours of the night. The person in England or Japan, may not be aware you live in United States.

It is best to provide only an email address or autoresponder for the initial contact.

4) Do Not Brand the Ebook Yourself

Putting yourself in the position of having to manually brand and send each copy of the ebook is a sure way to turn your campaign into NIGHTMARE.

You may be thinking, “What’s the BIG DEAL?”

Let imagine for a moment that your ebook starts out slowly and only 10 people request a branded version the first week. It takes you about 6 minutes per ebook to brand it and send it to the user. You have just given up an hour of your life.

Now those 10 people each give it away to 10 people that also request branded versions. You now have 100 new requests at 6 minutes each. Now we are talking 60 hours.

As you can see with each passing generation, you will quickly become unable or unwilling to fulfill requests.

The solution is to give your carriers the ability and instructions to rebrand the ebooks themselves. This will take you out of the loop and allow your virus to grow exponentially unattended.

5) Do Not Forget To Launch a New Window for External Links

When linking to any information not found directly in your ebook, you should always open a new window. Many sales processes use javascript that could cause compatibly problems if viewed within your ebook.

It would be terrible if a viewer where ready to buy a product based on your recommendation but was unable to, because you failed to include this simple step.

Avoiding these 5 simple viral ebook marketing mistakes will greatly increase the profitability of your campaign while avoiding the pitfalls.

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Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips, hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, do please browse for more information at our websites.

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May 17 2008

Advertising Your Home Based Business the Affordable Way

Published by vagabondetteva under Home/Small, Marketing

by Tove Kou

Having a home based business is great - you can set your own hours, work in your pajamas, and be there for your children and your family at any time. So, when it comes down to it, advertising your home based business the affordable way is an absolute must, because you normally have a small budget, to start with.

You have to be able to draw people in, and you need customers in order to have your website work. You have to have traffic to, whatever site you have, for your home business, and this is important to do, no matter what type of home business you have.

However, not a lot of people that start up a home based businesses are wealthy to start with, and you might find that you don`t really have a budget for advertising. But if you have just started your home based business you might look for an affordable way to advertise, to keep your budget. It is very important to set up a budget, when you start a business online or offline, and to keep the budget.

There are many ways to get lots of advertising but it must be affordable for you. There are things that you can do with limited funds, to make sure that you are getting the customers that you need. First of all, you have to be sure that you are putting up advertising in the correct place.

Are you having a business from home that caters to just your area, such as a hair salon or a photography businesses? If so, then your advertising should be in print, because you don`t need the whole world to see it.

If you are localized, don`t bother spending your money on internet advertising, just do print advertising with your website on it. This is the best way to advertise, and you can always do this affordable by finding a cheap place to have posters and business cards made up.

Advertising your home based business the affordable way could also be fun, because you get in touch with a lot of people when you hang up posters at your local supermarket.

Some of the best advertising in the world is FREE. The best place for your business to be positioned is to be the business on the tips of the tongues of the people asked to make the referral. Tell Your Friends, Family & Everyone You Can About Your new business. It`s called word of mouth. You can do it in person, with a personal letter, a phone call or with an Email.

When your friend is asked to make a referral, they will recommend you. When people ask your friends for a referral and your friend mentions your business, that is passive referral networking.

Active referral networking is when you can get your friends go directly to their friends and say “Hey, I have a friend who just started a business. If you are in need of what he offers or you know someone who will need his services, would you please give my friend a call or make the referral to his business?”

If you can get even a portion of the people in your own circle of influence to actively refer your business, then you have built the foundation to build an advertising campaign even more effective than the average local television advertising campaign.

However if you are running a home based business that is on the internet, this means that you want the whole world to have access to it. In this case, you could also put up flyers in your home town at the local merchant and supermarket.

You can find many free online blogs, that will let you post a link to your site, and there are many places that you can get your name out there. The fact remains that you just have to do it - you have to spend several days surfing the web and getting your name out there in whatever way that you can.

Running a home based business offline or online is the same ,when It comes to advertising the affordable way. The point is that you must always remember to advertise or your business will die slowly because no one know where to find you.

Tove Kou invites you to visit her website design website for more ideas, articles, and products. To see how she earns money at home
please visit her website here now: http://www.tk-cash-flow.biz/

Article Source: Keyword Articles

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May 13 2008

Seth Godin says: Don’t be a Generalist. I disagree.

Published by vagabondetteva under Marketing

On his blog today, Seth Godin suggests that it’s better to be a specialist than a generalist.

While I see his point and agree to some extent, there’s a big part of me that thinks that a statement that general can’t help but be wrong.

I think that it’s possible to be both a generalist and a specialist at the same time. I know a little about a lot of things, but there are things that I specialize in and those are the things I try to focus on. However, knowing a little about those other things allows me to know how to do them, should I be required to, and to know how those things fit with what I do well. It also allows me to know what I’m NOT good at so, if necessary, I can bring in someone with that skill-set. It’s why my customers like me, I’m diverse, I can put out lots of different kinds of fires, and I know exactly what my skills are.

The problem I’ve seen with many specialists is that they get so locked into their specialty of choice that they then have problems applying that specialty when working on more far-reaching projects because they can’t see the big picture, only their small part of the puzzle. They also seem to have problems communicating with people outside of the scope and language of their specialty.

Who hasn’t met the science or tech nerd (and, as a nerd, I use that word in the most loving way possible) who can solve the problems of the math world but who can’t hold a simple conversation? And who would you rather work with? The best in the world - and someone you can’t communicate with, or someone not quite the best but who has well-rounded knowledge that is applicable to several areas of your business? Which gives you more bang for your buck?

I mean, it’s great if you’re the best web coder in the world, but if you don’t know how to translate that into making a site user friendly, SEO optimized and pretty to look at, you aren’t going to get much business.

So, go ahead and be a specialist, just don’t specialize yourself to the extent that you effectively cut yourself off from the rest of the world.

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