So You Want To Be A Consultant?

So You Want To Be A Consultant?

by: Matt Bacak

Letกs say you have more than 20 years experience in your chosen field. For the sake of this article, letกs say you have been in the nonprofit field for 25 years and are at the very top of your game. And letกs say you’re a bit bored with the humdrum daytoday routine of being an executive director. You love nonprofit sector, but you need more of a challenge and you yearn to help people grow and achieve success in their nonprofit careers. Plus, youกd like to earn a little bit more money and are a bit tired of the board of directors overseeing everything you do.

Perhaps itกs time to go into business for yourself. Perhaps itกs time to become a consultant, a coach, a speaker and trainer. The thought is exciting, albeit a little frightening. You’re current salary is certainly respectable for a person with your skills and experience, and the health insurance and retirement plan are comforting benefits that you don’t want to relinquish. But none of these factors have been able to sufficiently scratch that darned itch that keeps telling you itกs time to start your own nonprofit consulting business.

Going into business for yourself as a consultant, coach, or speaker (or all of the above) requires determination, a little selfsacrifice (in the beginning), and a lot of experience. People hire consultants because they need the expertise of someone who has been there and done that…hundreds of times. There are consultants in literally every career field, and once they become accustomed to the process of generating clientele, they can make over double what they were earning as employees. In fact, recent statistics show that successful and established consultants can make anywhere from $1,200 to $5,000 per day.

There is power and prestige in consulting that can rarely be found in management positions, even executive positions. The power comes from calling the shots as a business owner and making sure people know they need you; the prestige comes from being the very best in your field…and making sure people know it.

But thereกs a not so subtle difference in owning your own business and owning your own consulting firm. Lots of people own businesses. My fiancé owns a deli, my father owns a small publishing business, and my mother owns a bakery. But owning your own consulting firm lets people know that you’re the crème de la crème in your field and if they want to rise to the top like you have, theyกll hire you to help them.

Consulting firms, like the one you will soon own, can be anything from a one man show to a large agency boasting senior and junior associates. Most consultants make their day to day income from coaching and mentoring individuals in the field charging anywhere from $300 (for junior level staffers) to $500 (for senior executives) per hour. They also assist clients with organizational development, strategic and financial planning, and a host of other services including workshop facilitation and board and staff retreats. And if they like to speak in front of audiences, many consultants make thousands of dollars simply talking to a crowd for a few hours about their experiences and knowledge.

While itกs not as easy as 123 to quite your job and start making $5,000 a day as a consultant, itกs certainly not as difficult as it looks especially if you’re very very good at what you do and have expertise that few can match. Start off as a moonlighter, which is the term used when someone has a ขday jobข but works on their own business in the evenings. Make a simple business card for yourself and during your lunch hour at work, go to chamber of commerce or rotary meetings where you can network and talk to people about your new consulting practice.

Itกs not too difficult to pick up a small client or two this way, and once you do a good job for them and build confidence in yourself youกll begin to branch out and up. People will hear about you, your phone will start ringing, those simple business cards you handed out at the rotary meetings will change hands and generate bigger clients, and youกll begin to realize that maybe you really can quit that humdrum job and make it big on your very own.

About The Author

Matt Bacak became ก#1 Best Selling Authorก in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s eBiz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets http://promotingtips.com

This article was posted on August 08

by Matt Bacak

Making Money Online: What You Really Want To Know

Making Money Online: What You Really Want To Know

by: Sopan Greene

So youกve been thinking of doing some internet marketing or youกve done some and you’re not making money yet. What does it really take? Even more importantly, how long does it take and how much does it cost? Isn’t that what you really want to know?

The problem with this question is that there isn’t a black and white answer. Itกs not like you can spend $500 and you will definitely get a specific result. For some reason though thatกs how people think it works.

A lot of folks buy this or that กhow toก product and think itกs going to magically make them money. The key ingredient to making money from these products you buy is to take action and do what they tell you to do.

Just like buying a piece of excercise equipment won’t make you lose weight, buying the greatest กhow to make money on the internetก product won’t make you money if you don’t use it.

But if you buy proven products and do what they tell you, then itกs simple to build a great business. It can happen for you though it probably won’t happen overnight.

We all know the internet is full of hype and also has a lot of genuine success stories. The biggest truth or lie, depending on how you see it, is that you can make good money fast. Whether this is true or false depends on what you’re willing to do and what you think กfastก is.

Internet marketing is not a get rich quick scheme. Itกs a business which means there is time, money and work involved. If you think becoming rich in 3 to 5 years is quick then I guess this can be a get rich vehicle for you. If you don’t think 5 or even 10 years is quick for getting rich, then think about how many people you know who have done it in 5 years. Or in 20? Or in their lifetimes?

The only people I know who have done this have done it through internet marketing, direct marketing, network marketing or through owning their own company. None of them are just employees. The cheapest and fastest way to get there is through internet marketing.

FACT: 74% of the wealthiest people in America own their own business. If thereกs one thing they have that maybe you don’t, itกs their own business.

Even the internet marketing gurus will tell you that itกs never been easier to make good money online. If you listen to the folks who are the biggest successes today most of them started at least 3 years ago. Some of them started back before the internet was called the internet. It was a lot rougher then. Even 3 years ago they didn’t have the advantages we have today.

You can buy subscribers to build your ezine lists. You can use payperclick search engines. You can read hundreds of ezines for great free tips. You can make money through free affiliate programs. You can swap for free ads that reach over 10,000 people at a time. You can make a lot of money from ebay and online auctions. You have a lot more potential partners for joint ventures than they ever had.

Most importantly, you can buy กhow toก products from the people who are internet marketing millionaires. You can follow their directions to get where they are. They had to make it up from scratch when times were harder and now you can do it faster with fewer mistakes.

So if you really want to make good money online what do you do? Research the big dogs. Do whatกs been proven to work. And treat your business like a business or youกll end up with an expensive hobby. If you’re just kicking the tires to see whatกll happen, nothing will. This is true with anything you do in life, not just internet marketing.

Internet marketing is a tremendous vehicle for making great money. Like any vehicle, it won’t go down the road if you don’t gas it up, turn the key and push on the accelerator.

How long it takes to get to the top of the hill at the end of the road depends on how much gas you put in, how hard you press the accelerator, how well you steer and how good your map is.

The first year you drove a car did you drive as well as you do now? No. Youกve gotten better with experience. So don’t expect money to fall out of the sky the first year you do internet marketing. Can you make good money the first year? Sure. But it depends on how much work you do to pay your dues and get some experience.

Like driving a car, the longer you do it the better you get (which means the more money you make).

If you’re a tire kicker I suggest you put your money in your pocket, walk away now and spend your time on something you love to do. If you’re driven to build your own business I suggest you invest your time, energy and money into internet marketing. The payoff can be priceless. See you at the top of the hill at the end of the road.

About The Author

Sopan Greene, M.A. is a marketing & life coach & editor of the Net Profits newsletter. Get 2 FREE eBooks & a FREE report: กMillion Dollar Emailsก,กHow To Start Your Own Traffic Virusก & ‘the 13 Deadly Internet Marketing Mistakes Almost Every Business Is Making…ก

mailto:[email protected]

www.NetMarketingMastery.com

This article was posted on December 05, 2003

by Sopan Greene

New Medium, New Rules

New Medium, New Rules

by: Dave Collins

Life is thought to have begun on Earth somewhere around three billion years ago, and of all the species, only an estimated one in a thousand is still alive today. Academics continue to debate over whether this is a natural part of the evolution process, or a direct result of the changing environment. Whichever opinion is right, one thingกs for sure itกs bad news for the victims. If theyกd have adapted to their changing environment early on, they could very well still be around today.

One of the big mistakes made in understanding what works on the web is to simply assume that itกs a new form of an old medium. From parchment to paper to the web. The fact is that the web is much more than an updated version of paper, and applying the same set of rules to both is a recipe for extinction.

Your Monitor Is Not a Newspaper.

Letกs start with the absolute basics. The common newspaper has to be one of the most popular formats for gathering information in the modern world. Do you read yours at arms length, hold it at eye level, or hold it above your head? Of course not almost everybody holds or places the newspaper lower than eye level, usually around 30 to 40 cm away from their eyes. When is the last time you read data from your monitor like that?

Reading from a screen means staring straight ahead, focusing a little further away than usual, usually accompanied by very little blinking and consequently quite dry and often uncomfortable eyes.

One Click And The Visitor Is Away.

So this is your starting point for your site visitor when they read your site. Aside from the fact that it is relatively uncomfortable, and near impossible to curl up on the couch or read over lunch, thereกs the added threat of the dreaded mouse click. One click, taking around a third of a second, will take your visitor away out of site and out of mind. Itกs a whole lot easier and quicker than turning over a page.

So you have a very short amount of time to convey your message don’t wait for them to scroll down the page, and certainly don’t assume theyกll have the patience to read through a long text.

Use bullets, tables and lots of space these three methods will aid the fight against the click. Once youกve got their interest, then they may well want to read more, but those first two seconds are critical. Grab them.

Once they’re in, you need them to read your information, then decide whether theyกll take it further. The words you choose and how you write them will be the single biggest factor in their making the decision. Make them short, snappy, and easy to read.

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind.

Letกs assume that their quick scan of your front page has whetted their appetite. Now what? Go back to the basics. ORDER NOW should be very visible, or at least GET MORE INFO, BUY etc. The big thing is to force them to act right now, this very second. A magazine can be left on the coffee table for the next week or two, but your page will be off their browser and forgotten faster than you can say กmissed customerก!

If you’re going to wait for them to make the leap from passing interest into action, chances are that youกve already lost them. Grab them, show them your message and help them go for it now. Your call for action should be strong, clear and decisive. กPlease click here to orderก is bland. BUY is better, and I WANT THIS NOW is best of all.

At this stage, there could be any number of worries holding them back from placing their order they may want to know about your refunds policy, they may be worried about ordering online. Help them and make it clear where they can find this information. กWe use secure serverก won’t be noticed as clearly as a bright กWorried about Security?ก button.

Give Them What They Want.

You have to look through the eyes of the consumer imagine that they’re interested in the product but… but what? They may worry about the safety of using a credit card, ordering online, privacy, system compatibility, getting unwanted junk mail and so on. A significant advantage of being online is that unlike the newspaper ad, you have the ability to place all the information they need right in front of them. All they have to do is click on it.

And make sure you put your message across with the right tone. Business users have very different needs and ways of expressing themselves from the average home user. Make sure you don’t throw streetslang at the IT guy, or CPU usage patterns at the young game player.

Another universal technique that works is the use of testimonials. If Iกm visiting a website looking at a product that appeals to me, the testimonials can swing it. But make sure they look genuine, or you’re wasting your time. กCool Dave in Finlandก doesn’t inspire nearly as much confidence as a three sentence praise of features, attributed to a personกs full name and company. Keep them short, to the point, and lots of them!

Once you have the sale, you’re in there. But even then you could be letting further opportunity pass you by. I recently purchased Macromediaกs DreamWeaver online. I wanted the downloadable version, but when it came to the order form, I was offered other additional options such as having the manual mailed, a copy on CD, courses in using the software, additional licences and so on. Once someone has decided they’re going to part with their cash, you already have a significant psychological advantage, and they may well be receptive to getting one or two additional items as well. Make sure the opportunity is there for them.

Impulse Clicking.

Once the sale is in the bag, the offer of a reduced price on further purchases of your other software can’t do any harm, and who knows, you just may end up getting some more sales. Itกs no coincidence that supermarkets have all those impulse items by the checkout. It works.

The use of your website as an online version of a printed ad or press release is worse than a wasted opportunity itกs inappropriate, and it really won’t work very well. The web isn’t a digital newspaper or magazine, itกs a whole new medium with new opportunities, but it requires some new techniques. Don’t let your products or company join the dodo be seen, be sold.

Copyright 2004 Dave Collins

About The Author

Dave Collins is the CEO of SharewarePromotions Ltd., a well established UKbased company working with software and shareware marketing activities, utilising all aspects of the internet. http://www.sharewarepromotions.com and http://www.davetalks.com.

This article was posted on December 05, 2004

by Dave Collins

Home Business Itกs for Free?

Home Business Itกs for Free?

by: Gert Ljungqvist

Most people realize that when you start a business offline it will cost money. But, when it comes to online business most people don’t want to pay anything to get started. The bottom line is you can’t start any business with out some costs. The difference between online and offline business are that online business can be done with a tight budget.
When you first start your online business there are some tools you must have. You must have an autoresponder, now you might wonder what is a autoresponder? This is a form of email where you store prewritten follow up sales letter, newsletter or articles depending of what your business are. These messages are sent out to your customer at time you decide.
There are free autoresponders and there are autoresponders that will charge you a monthly fee. The free autoresponder have less features. And some of the autoresponder will put ads in your follow up letters, and that is not an good idea for you. You don’t want others to promote there products or services in your letters where you are promoting your own product or service. Therefore a paid autoresponder is much better, there will only be your own promoting in it.
You have to build an optin list with customer, itกs here the autoresponder show its greatness. To get interested customer to your list you have to place an ad and from that ad you will have your customer to visit your web site. When the customer subscribed they end up in your autoresponder and will be send your prewritten follow up letters at time you set up.
There are lots of places where you can put your ad in.
Here are some examples:
Google Adword
Overture
There are more, just search the Internet.
There are also company where you can buy leads for your list. Some examples:
Cutting Edge Media
Lead Factory
For more just search the Internet.
When you buy leads this will go directly to your autoresponder they will not be directed to your web site, but thats okey you will have your link to your web site in your follow up letters.
Itกs also important to have a website, you use the web site to promote your business. Itกs in the web site you place your sales letter to convince your customer of your product or services greatness so they will subscribe to your list.
If you are involved in affiliate programs they will some times provide you with a web site, often you will have several web sites depending of there products. The problem with these web sites are that you can’t build your optin list.
You have probably heard that the success is in the list, and I have to agree. Itกs much easier to promote products or services whit customer in a list then try to get new customer all the time.
Optin list are a database where all of your customer are gathered when they subscribe to your list. Itกs from these list your autoresponder gets the email address to your customer.
So what I suggest you to do is to build your own web site and from this you promote your affiliate programs and let people subscribe for your prewritten follow up letters in your autoresponder.
If you don’t know how to build your own web site there are several on line that will help you with this, of course they will charge you but if you don’t know how, these will be well spent money.
There are also some business partners who will build your web site for free with ready to go affiliate programs as long as you join them with these affiliate programs. This is a good idea if you have none or little knowledge in Internet business, you will get started in a easy way, and some of them will also have stepbystep guides how to run your business.
How about affiliate programs are they free of charge? It depends on what product or service they are offering. For example if they offer a software product that can be used on web sites, they will almost certain charge you with a monthly fee, and that is understandable, if they don’t you could use it on your web site and promoting some one Elseกs product and get to use the software for free. There are also other reasons for a monthly fee, there are administrative costs, they may provide you with a web site and follow up letters and they have to track your sales so you get paid properly, won’t you agree that this is important.
So now you will understand that running an Home Business is not totally free of charge. But itกs much More affordable than an offline business. You don’t have to spend that much money to be successful.
I spend about 100 to 150 $ a month on advertising, autoresponder and affiliate fees. But thats me you can spend more or less it depends on your budget.
To your success.
Gert Ljungqvist

About The Author

Gert Ljungqvist publishes Home Business Tips, a fresh and informative newsletter dedicated to supporting people like YOU! If you’re looking for home business opportunities then grab your own Free subscription today at: http://www.marketingbusinessteam.com/biztipspop.html
Get your Free stepbystep how to run your business ebook here: http://www.marketingbusinessteam.com/30daystosuccess.exe

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 09, 2004

by Gert Ljungqvist

Email Follow Up Tips, 8 Of Them…

Email Follow Up Tips, 8 Of Them…

by: Daniel Levis

The first thing you need to do is get your emails opened & read. Spend at least as much time worrying about the subject line of each e mail in your sequence as you do worrying about the body.

Brainstorm at least five subject lines, pick the one most likely to stop your prospects dead in their tracks (tip, the only way to know for sure is to test), and use the rest of them in the body of the message. And ALWAYS begin your title with the person’s first name.

Curiosity Killed The Cat Itกs human nature to be curious. One of the most effective ways to get your message opened is to throw a little mystery into the heading. Mystery, mixed with relevant benefit, will get your message opened. But thatกs not all.

Itกs still easy to bail after the first paragraph, so curiosity can also help to drive your prospect deeper into the body of the message. Remember, the deeper your readers go into your copy, the more difficult it will be for them to STOP reading it.

It doesn’t hurt to tell a little bit about what your offer isn’t, to build up the suspense, and help drive your reader further down the page.

Tell A Story In 1919, a Russian immigrant named Max Sackheim, stumbled upon a fascinating discovery. He had been hired by the Sherwin Cody School of English to come up with a mail order advertisement, and his original headline read, กDo You Make Mistakes In Englishก?

The ad didn’t pull.

By adding one magic little word to the headline, Max was able to make the very same ad produce amazing results. The ad became so profitable that it ran for over 40 years straight, when Max changed the headline to, กDo You Make These Mistakes In Englishก?

People’s curiosity got the better of them. They just couldn’t resist reading Maxกs advertisement. They were all wondering if they might be making ‘theseก mistakes in English. Max was able to slip right under the buyer’s natural resistance to being sold, and suck them right into the advertisement.

Story telling has the same effect.

You Can Never Over Educate Nobody ever bought a hammer, because they wanted a hammer. What they wanted was a bunch of nails tapped home just right. Sequential email follow up is ideal for showing your prospects how to achieve their goals with your product.

Remember, the more comfortable your prospects are about the กHow Toก of using your product or service to solve their problem, the more confidence theyกll have in your ability & willingness to really help them. One of the most effective things you can do with your autoresponder, is to offer free courses & tutorials that show your prospects how to use your products to get the results they’re looking for.

It’s the ultimate soft sell, and it’s very effective!

Warts & All Itกs all about trust. Thatกs why you’re following up on your prospects in the first place, right? Your prospects need to be exposed an average of 7 to 9 times before succumbing to your seduction.

Pointing out the imperfections of your product can go a long way toward building that trust. You don’t necessarily have to slam your product, but giving the straight goods on the pitfalls that the buyer might encounter when using it, and helping them to avoid them, demonstrates your honesty, and openness.

Itกs like showing the front of your hands, in a facetoface encounter.

Be Specific Details, exact numbers, & vivid descriptions worked into your copy are worth their weight in gold, because they’re far more believable than generalities. When you make a claim, back it up with facts & figures.

Your prospects are both naturally skeptical, and hungry for truth.

Don’t Be Shy About Objections Every product has natural objections. Don’t be afraid to bring them up.

Read your copy after being away from it for a while, and at some point in the message youกll feel them creeping in. Thatกs the point when you add something like, กOK, you’re probably thinking . I can understand why you might feel that way, many others who looked at this product felt just the same way, until they found out about .ก

You need to come up with a list of reasons why your prospect would want to buy your product or service, and also the reasons why not.

The Fear of Loss Is Greater Than The Desire For Gain Often the fear of losing something, sometimes even something that we do not yet have, is a stronger motivator than our desire for gain.

The fear of missing out on a special price or promotion is a good example of this.

Don’t we all want what we can’t have? Work hard to find ways to make your product scarce, or at least make your offer scarce, by offering it for a limited time.

Justify Your Offer People know that you’re in business to make a profit, and that you don’t give things away out of the goodness of your heart.

When they see a sale, or a special price, or a bonus offer, the wheels naturally start turning in the back of their heads. Whatกs the catch? While itกs our emotions that truly motivate us, logic does have a nasty habit of getting in the way.

When you are open with your prospects about the reason why you’re offering them a special deal, itกs amazing how easily theyกll accept your reasoning, and abandon their resistance. The same applies to giving a legitimate reason why your special offer absolutely expires on a specific date.

So there you have it. Eight email follow up secrets, revealed.

Until next time, Good Selling!

Copyright 2005 Daniel Levis

About The Author

Daniel Levis is a top marketing consultant & direct response copywriter based in Toronto Canada. Recently, Daniel & worldrenowned publicist & copywriter Joe Vitale teamed up to co author ขMillion Dollar Online Advertising Strategies – From The Greatest Letter Writer Of The 20th Century!ข, a tribute to the late, great Robert Collier.

Let the legendary Robert Collier show you how to write words that sell…Visit the below site & get 3 FREE Chapters!

http://www.AdvertisingOnlineStrategies.com/adstrategies.html

This article was posted on March 19

by Daniel Levis

Basics of Affiliate Marketing

Basics of Affiliate Marketing

by: Matt Bacak

Whether you realize it or not, if youกve been on the Internet today, you have encountered affiliate marketing. If you have ever ขclicked thruข one site to order something from another, the first site probably received a portion of the sale. For instance, independent booksellers have limited shelf space for books. But they can offer their customers an almost unlimited inventory of titles by affiliating with companies like Amazon or Powellกs. The more orders, the bigger the affiliate percentage.

Visitors to your site are interested in lots of things that may or may not be related to your product. But when you know your customers well, itกs simply a matter of affiliating yourself with sites that offer what they want. What you receive is just a small percentage of the sale, but it adds up, especially when you consider that all it costs you is a link on your web page. And usually, the more sales your affiliate makes from your ขclick thruข traffic, the bigger your percentage will be.

The key to success in affiliate marketing is being able to track referred customers. As an affiliate manager, you want a system that reliably tracks what you want, with minimal effort on your part, and without affecting the performance of your site or server. Over the last few years a variety of technologies and strategies have been developed in an attempt to improve accuracy, convenience, and flexibility.

There are at least half a dozen methods, but by far the most preferred method is Cookie Tracking. Itกs popular because it makes tracking affiliatereferred sales so convenient, without negatively impacting your site. This system writes a small text file, called a ขcookie,ข to a userกs browser when they click on an affiliate link. When you are the referring affiliate, the cookie holds your ID, so that at the merchantกs order page, you get credit for referring the sale. One drawback is that many computer users disable cookies, although most choose not to, since their favorite sites require them. One bonus is that the merchant can save the information, so that even if a customer buys long after clicking through your site, you still get credit for the sale.

Affiliate marketing, at its best, is a winwin scenario. Itกs an easy way to offer your customers more of what they want, while you benefit, both in terms of building goodwill and making money.

About The Author

Matt Bacak became ก#1 Best Selling Authorก in just a few short hours.

Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s eBiz radio show host is

turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories.

Discover The Secrets http://promotingtips.com

This article was posted on September 06

by Matt Bacak

The New 5 Pกs!

The New 5 Pกs!

by: Jaruda Boonsuwan

NO! When I say ก5 Pกsก, Iกm not talking about the big 5 Pกs of marketing everyoneกs familiar with.

Here Iกm NOT referring to Product, Price, Place, Promotion and Package!

But Iกm talking about the FRESHEST 5 Pกs I believe will be extra useful for your websites and newsletters.

Are you ready to discover the hottest 5 Pกs?

1. P.S.

This writing technique alone will shoot your sales to the roof!

Count how many times this week you skip reading the whole sales copies and go right for a P.S.

We don’t like reading a long letter. Most of the time, we skip. So, itกs a clever idea to give your prospects a big bang with a P.S. They never skip reading a P.S.

Perhaps they’re too bored or too tired to read กanotherก sales letter. Perhaps they like to cheat and want to see the final punch, if itกs right for them or not.

So, make sure you wrap up all of your ICEMELTING กselling pointsก in here! Shrink your message. Make it precise. Make your prospects feel they can’t live กcomfortablyก without your product or service. After all, itกs your last shot to make a sale!

2. PASS

People love a free pass, even if itกs only temporary!

Don’t worry if you don’t know how to let people type in the password to access your restricted area. Itกs not the end of the world. Hereกs where you can get the script for FREE at…

http://www.dynamicdrive.com

Hereกs a cuttingedge trick: Give them a free password to access your newsletter/ article archives, for example, in exchange for their email addresses. Do not give them the password right at your website. Instead, send them the password by email.

Now, this is important…Set up an autoresponder to do this task. Make sure they get their passwords instantly. They can’t wait another minute longer to access the free section. Itกs a MUST that you have an autoresponder, especially if you publish a newsletter. Get it at…

http://www.mailloop.com/t.cgi/769736/

Now this is important! Do not make this offer sound like a junk! You can say that you’re giving away กfree membershipก. Say it is a กprivilegedก or a กVIPก pass. Or simply say that they’re ‘the chosen oneก. This way, your prospects will be eager to get the free access you’re offering. Itกs human nature. We all want to be a Very Important Person!

3. PROMISE

Youกve got to promise your prospects something important…like moneyback guarantee.

But don’t just say กoneyear, moneyback guaranteeก!

Do say…กAnd if 365 days from now, you decide you want your money back, Iกll ask you absolutely no questions. And even if itกs just because you’re $27 short and can’t buy some beers, I still won’t ask you why. Youกll get your money back as soon as you say so. I can guarantee you that!ก

4. PICK OF THE DAY

When you go to a restaurant, the first thing you always notice is the กMenu of the Dayก! Even if you don’t order it, you’re still curious to see whatกs new for today, right?

The same thing works with your website. Once your prospects leave your site without signing up for your free newsletter, your business depends on pure LUCK.

Too bad people don’t buy the first time they see you. And if you still want to win them back, you might have to spend some more bucks on advertising.

Now, it doesn’t have to be this way…The only one reason thatกll keep people coming back to your site is something NEW every day!

Showcase the กPick of the Dayก. And theyกll come back to your site from time to time to see whatกs new.

See? You don’t even have to pay for the traffic. It can be ‘tip of the Dayก, กSite of the Weekก, กStar of the Monthก, ….anything you can think of!

5. PIECE OF ADVICE

How many times have you read newsletters chock full of the word กbuy nowก?

This is the mistake that can drive your subscribers away faster than jet speed! Your prospects want to read something useful. They simply don’t want another junk mail. If you don’t stop selling to them just for a second youกll risk losing them forever. Theyกll disappear กout of your sightก.

So, in your newsletter, try to give them little tips that teach them how to make their lives easier.

Suppose you’re selling a beauty product, instead of hard selling, try giving them a short makeup tip of how to make their lips look fuller.

If you’re an affiliate for a used car website and running your own ezine, instead of selling cars all the time, try giving them a reliable tip that teaches them how not to get ripped off buying a used car.

P.S. Give it a try. Iกm sure these freshest 5 Pกs can easily add the punch to your websites or newsletters next time you decide to try something new.

About The Author

The author, Jaruda Boonsuwan, is offering oneofitskind, deadlyeffective copywriting ecourse at NO charge.

Beat your competitors now at http://www.groundbreakcopywriting.com

This article was posted on October 23, 2002

by Jaruda Boonsuwan

Have You Got Your Ear To The Ground Or Your Head I

Have You Got Your Ear To The Ground Or Your Head In The Sand?

by: Mike Cheney

What happened on your website yesterday? What about last week or last month? How about in the past hour? How many visitors come to your website as a result of using a search engine? How long do people stay on your website for on average? Which pages do your visitors go to?

If you don’t know the answer to some or all of these questions you are effectively operating a website blind.

This is like riding a bike blindfolded and expecting to arrive at the right destination. Itกs impossible and the likelihood is that you will crash, wreck the bike, lose pride and get left behind.

If you don’t know whatกs happening with your website or how people are using it and how they are finding it how can you hope to ever improve the site? Sure you can rely on secondguessing or asking the opinion of a handful of people but thatกs hardly going to give you accurate information on which to base a decision is it?

กMike I know what you’re saying. Itกs true that I need to track whatกs happening but I don’t have the Xก

X = Money?

X = Time?

X = Knowledge of where to start?

X = Need, as I already do this?

If you answered กMoneyก this would seem to be a valid reason but you can get your hands on the basic information about how your site is performing for nothing (ask your developer or web hosting company for starters and theyกll be able to point you in the right direction or check out the resources below)

If you answered ‘timeก Iกm sorry but if thatกs the case why do you even have a website if you don’t have the time to measure how itกs performing? Would you behave the same way with your business? Thought not..

If you answered กKnowledge of where to startก then this is fair enough. To get started try these resources that will help you:

http://www.cryer.co.uk/resources/websitetracking.htm

http://www.netiq.com/webtrends/default.asp

http://www.statcounter.com/

If you answered กI don’t have the need, as I already do thisก congratulations you get a weekกs free pass to the Smug Club. But seriously though you might already get all the statistics about how your website is performing but do you spend time viewing them, interpreting them and most importantly USING them? When was the last time you used the statistics about your websiteกs performance to implement a change on your site and then track the results on subsequent statistics to see what effect it had? Itกs all gone quiet in the Smug corner…

Feeling uncomfortable with all these questions yet? You should be. If you’re not happy with your website you need to dig a little deeper and ask what it is exactly that you’re not happy with. Did you set definite, timelinked and realistic expectations for the websiteกs performance prior to starting out? If you’re not getting the leads or sales you had hoped for you need to work out why this is the case scratching your head won’t do it. Tracking the performance of your site and viewing detailed statistics on how people use it won’t give you definitive answers either but it will propel you several miles in the right direction.

You are the doctor and your website is the patient you need to connect it to an ECG and start monitoring and recording everything. How else can you work out how to make the patient better? Or maybe you have the perfect patient who doesn’t actually have anything wrong with them?

Mike Cheney

www.magnet4web.com

About The Author

You can get free access to lots more articles that will help you to improve your websiteกs performance plus a Free Bonus Special Report กHow To Turn Your Website Into A Customer Magnetก worth a value of £47 ($85) here: http://www.magnet4web.com/website_services/?page=freeguide

This article was posted on August 07, 2004

by Mike Cheney

Advertising for the perplexed part II

Advertising for the perplexed part II

by: Dave Collins

The previous article examined some of the basic ideas involved in advertising. We looked at why a company may want to advertise, the factors involved in choosing a suitable venue and the costs and time involved. We also explored some of the practicalities to consider and how to research your potential venue.

Once youกve chosen where you’re going to advertise, the next critical factor will be how well you know the target audience. The more information that you have to hand, the better you can tailor your content around their needs and expectations.

You need to make sure that you speak in their language, try to give them what they’re already used to, or grab their attention with something new. But be warned, these are pushy and innovative times. Whatever gimmick or spin you use to stand out may well have been tried many times before, so don’t overrely on it.

Like a good informative web page, the ad needs to first of all catch their attention, and compel them to click on it.

There should be more focus on the benefits of the software than the features, and the ad should really push the download or sale. It should also be as compelling and striking as possible not easy when you’re limited by a number of characters, file size or space to work with!

Bear in mind that like any strategy, your advertising will only be as strong as its weakest link. Don’t spend thousands of dollars on good placement, only to use some awful homecreated banner that you knocked together with Paint Shop Pro 4 three years ago.

If graphic design is not your strong point, then get a firm to design some decent graphics for you. The same goes with writing the ad copy. Most people can write, but few are writers. Try to make sure that someone with more than a thesaurusdictionary gift set writes your copy for you.

Aside from the wording, the basic market principles apply. Grab their attention, tempt them, and compel them to act. ก50% discountก is eye catching, as is some form of กonly valid todayก type of offer.

But when the potential customer clicks on your ad, you’re only half way there. You now need to make sure that the page they land on carries on the good work. Realistically, many will click on the ad out of idle curiosity, and very few (if any) will have made up their minds to purchase already.

You should therefore use a separate landing page, as opposed to your regular main website page. It should contain the same information and use the same language, tone and focus of the ad, but now you’re not restricted as to what you can do, or how much space you have to work with. Here, you have all the space you need to go allout with the sales drive.

On a technical level, make sure that your landing page is not linked from anywhere in your website, so as to ensure that everyone coming to this page has been driven there by the ad.

If you’re sharing a landing page, then at least make sure that you use a unique referral string. To be able to evaluate the success of the ad, itกs critical that you can distinguish these visitors from the regular site visitors.

This brings us neatly onto the subject of tracking, without which you are effectively deaf, dumb and blind to the effects of the ad. A unique landing page on your website is ideal, and if possible, make this point to a separate payment page as well. You can also use cookies or referral strings in order to sharpen the accuracy of the tracking.

Usage of decent web log analysis software should let you see how many people came to the landing page, how long they spent there, which links they then clicked on, who downloaded from there, who purchased, and perhaps even who came back to the website later.

The analysis and followup of the campaign is surprisingly often completely overlooked. This is a great loss, as in some respects this is one of the most important stages of the whole process.

When it comes to gauging the level of generated sales and registrations, you need to take into account the final date of the ad, plus the full length of the trial version and then add a little extra time. Some may view the ad, click, download the software, but may not install it for a few days or even longer.

As an example, a company may choose to run a series of ads in a newsletter that is sent out from Monday to Friday of a given week.

Some people may not respond to the ad until the following weekend (or later), and only then download your thirty day trial. So we’re already looking at 35 days after the ad was first run, and thatกs assuming that they install the software as soon as they download it. Some people may even register after the trial has elapsed. So don’t go writing it off as a failure on day two of your advertising campaign.

To accurately evaluate the success of the campaign, you need to go back to your original goals.

If your primary goal was to achieve a higher level of sales, then it should be reasonably easy to see how many were generated by the ad. As with everything related to advertising, your data won’t be 100% accurate, but it should give you a good idea.

If the primary goal was increased exposure, then you should be looking at how many people were exposed to the ad, how many viewed the landing page content and website, and perhaps even downloaded and purchased the software.

At this point, there are four possible scenarios.

(1) The ad appears to be successful.

Your goals have been achieved as a direct result of the ad, and more advertising with this vendor may be considered for the future. Even with this success, don’t rule out the fact that your figures can be further improved, but don’t forget that they can worsen too.

You should also be careful not to immediately engage in a longterm contract with this vendor. Not only because there are other advertising options out there, but also because any ad has a certain lifespan until it reaches its saturation point. At the very least consider trying different products, wording (or graphics) or even a different type of offer or discount.

(2) The ad doesn’t appear to be successful.

There has been little generated in terms of exposure or sales, and you can’t help but feel that the venture has been a failure.

The first thing you have to do is to try to determine the reason for this.

It may be the product itself, the ad copy, the ad, or perhaps the targeting was off. It may even be as a result of the ad placement, or the offer or discount not being generous enough.

If the ad failed, it is very important to ascertain exactly why. Don’t just dismiss it as a failure, or a กbadก place to advertise, and don’t be afraid to go back to the vendor for feedback. If you explain that you’re interested in making this work, as opposed to complaining that they didn’t deliver the results you expected, youกll usually get a positive response. See what they can do to help, after all, itกs in their interests that you walk away satisfied by your experience.

(3) The ad appears to breakeven, but little more than this.

Go back and read number (2). Not being a success counts as a failure.

(4) You’re not sure whether the ad was worthwhile or not.

There has been some response, but itกs difficult to see whether it was a worthwhile experience or not.

Itกs very important that you get to the bottom of this. Go through your statistics again, and filter through your logs to see exactly what the visitors did, where they clicked, and why they behaved as they did.

It is extremely important that at the end of the process, you know whether it was worthwhile or not. Failure to do so will result either in a wastage of money or a wastage of opportunities.

Itกs all too easy to throw money away on bad advertising. Itกs just as easy to be scaredoff by risks, or for that matter throw potential opportunities away. Like any form of marketing, there are no guarantees that youกll achieve the results you hope for. But by failing to try, you’re absolutely guaranteed never to reach them. The best you can do is to prepare the ground and cover all options as thoroughly as possible, take a deep breath and then take the plunge. Be seen, be sold.

Copyright 2005 Dave Collins

About The Author

Dave Collins is the CEO of SharewarePromotions Ltd., a well established UKbased company working with software and shareware marketing activities, utilising all aspects of the internet. http://www.sharewarepromotions.com and http://www.davetalks.com

This article was posted on February 03, 2005

by Dave Collins

Yanik Silver Asked Some Questions That Peaked My C

Yanik Silver Asked Some Questions That Peaked My Curiosity

by: Jason Blackston

Itกs so simple! I wish Iกd discovered it a year ago!

There are a few marketers that stand out from the crowd. One of the hippest guyกs on the internet scene these days is Yanik Silver.

Heกs about to turn 30 and has already made a huge name for himself online. Since I am almost a year younger than Yanik, I find his success a tremendous motivator.

So what has Yanik Silver taught me?

Actually lots!

But the one thing that stands out like an 8 foot tall man stepping out of an elevator, is Yanikกs use of questions in his sales copy.

The title of this article is, กYanik Silver asked some questions that peaked my curiosity.ก That title may lead some of you to think that Yanik actually called or emailed me some questions. But this simply is not the case.

The truth of the matter is that when I went to some of Yanikกs web sites and read the sales copy, it was like he was personally speaking to me.

If youกve ever read any of Yanikกs copy, youกll notice how he poses questions. Some questions are simple and obvious questions, while others make you think a little harder. But he doesn’t stop there…

He asks you a question and then he puts you in a situation where you start seeing the benefits. For example, he has a site called กInstant Sales Letters.ก

Hereกs how it starts and here were my initial thoughts:

Dear Friend,

How much is one good sales letter worth?

ME: Iกm not sure…

Suppose you could sit down, write a simple letter to your prospects and customers, mail it and then have your phone start ringing off the hook.

ME: Iกd like that.

Imagine…one letter could bring you tons of hot leads and new customers, get them to keep buying over and over again, reactivate ‘lost’ customers, and even provide you with a constant stream of referrals. So anytime you need more business you simply turn the tap on… it’s like having the goose that lays the golden egg.

ME: WOW! I want to know more!

Yanik asked a simple question then he followed it up with a hypothetical situation. Heกs peaked my interest and I want to know more.

He has hooked me into reading the rest of the sales copy…

And the funny thing is that he never gave me a direct answer. Why does he do this?

Simple. The value of a good sales letter is going to differ depending upon the person. Yanikกs objective is to get you to think about the question on a personal basis.

So what can be learned from this information?

First, don’t just ask a question to your readers! Make them use their imagination. Put them in a position where they want to know more about you and your product.

Itกs kind of like this:

How does a 5 day 4 night all expense paid trip for 2 to Hawaii sound?

Suppose you could lay on the beach and be waited on hand and foot for 5 whole days..

Imagine..seeing some of the worldกs most beautiful scenery and experiencing the peace and tranquility of the Hawaiian islands. And it won’t cost you a penny!

Sure a 5 day 4 night all expense paid trip for 2 to Hawaii sounds nice. But itกs the hypothetical situation that hooks the reader. Just asking the question is not enough…

Itกs imperative that you involve the reader. Make them imagine sitting on the beach being waited on hand and foot! By doing this, you are peaking their curiosity and they will inevitably want to know more.

Asking a question seems so simple, but itกs what you do with that question that makes all the difference!

GoVisitors.com http://www.govisitors.com

Discover how to turn your web site visitors into paying customers! Sign up for your free epackage at:

http://www.govisitors.com/epackage.html

GoVisitors.com © 2003

About The Author

You can download a formatted (60 Character version of this article at http://www.govisitors.com/jb/article6.html * Read the ‘read Me Firstก text file for distribution information. Have a great day!

[email protected]

This article was posted on December 15, 2003

by Jason Blackston

Build Your Marketing Muscle

Build Your Marketing Muscle

by: Sopan Greene, M.A.

During a saxophone lesson the other day I realized how much regular practice can help a part time internet marketer. My teacher taught me a long time ago to just play for 15 minutes a day to progress. I was shocked when I first started doing it, but it works. And it works fast.

As Iกve applied that theory to my business Iกve seen the same rewards. If you have a tight schedule, itกs actually better to work on marketing for 15 minutes a day than it is to come up with a block of hours to get a lot done.

The reason why is that a habit to make a little time a day to focus on your business keeps the ideas flowing and consistently builds your marketing muscle. Itกs also a lot easier to find 15 minutes every day than it is to find an hour or more.

Think about it. In 15 minutes you can send out some articles, work on an article or send some emails for ad swaps. All of these activities are building your exposure and your list.

Most internet marketers are part timers for at least 6 months to year depending on how much time they spend on their business. If you can go for a half hour or an hour or more a day go for it. But most newbies are struggling to put in 5 hours on weekdays while juggling a full time job and a busy family life.

The key is to pick an amount of time you know you can do. Commit to spending that amount of time every weekday with longer times on the weekend. If you can do it at the same time every day it works easier. Treat this time like itกs an important appointment with an important person. (You are an important person aren’t you? No one else will build your business.) Don’t let anything break your date with your business.

Too many folks fail because they simply don’t treat their business like itกs a business. A hobby is something that costs you money and you work on when you feel like it. A business is something that makes you money and you work on it even when you don’t feel like it. You deserve to reap the rewards that an online business brings.

The profits are bigger down the road, but treating your business with a business attitude will get you there faster. A 15 minute a day habit can build your marketing muscle and accelerate your progress.

Give it a whirl. What have you go to lose?

About The Author

Sopan Greene, M.A. is a marketing & life coach & editor of the Net Profits newsletter. Grab Your 2 FREE eBooks & a FREE report: กMillion Dollar Emailsก กHow To Start Your Own Traffic Virusก & ‘the 13 Deadly Internet Marketing Mistakes Almost Every Business Is Making…ก mail to: [email protected]

http://www.NetMarketingMastery.com

This article was posted on December 05, 2003

by Sopan Greene, M.A.

How To Be A Web Content Provider!

How To Be A Web Content Provider!

by: Stuart Elwell

Would you be happy with reaching literally millions of people by being a web content provider. Whatever you’re selling, it would be nice if you could do this on a regular basis, FOR FREE, through a large number of other peopleกs ezines and websites, wouldn’t it?

Well this is what you can be doing when you start writing content and articles for the countless online newsletters, ezines and webpages that are looking for your input. One thing common to all Internet publishers is that they are all looking for good articles to publish.

If you can be a content provider of interesting and informative articles for them you stand a good chance of getting included in their website/next publication. However you probably won’t get included if it is simply a sales letter disguised as an article. But if you can provide good quality and informative web content you can often be their savior.

Then, they will give you what you need in exchange. They will give you exposure for your business…

How Web Content Providers Benefit:

The publisher will actually expect you to include a small advert at the end of the content you provide. This will get published along with the article itself, and is seen as a fair exchange for the content you have provided. Itกs how you benefit from the deal!

This small ad is usually referred to as a ‘resource boxก, but you can put almost anything you like in here so long as it is only a few lines long. You are free to advertise whatever you are promoting. You could point people back to your website, affiliate program, or tell them how to subscribe to your own newsletter etc.

If you’re like most web content providers you probably don’t consider yourself a writer. It doesn’t matter, it is your knowledge thatกs important. What do you know about your industry? If a friend who understands very little about your specialist subject was to ask you about something related to that industry, what would you say. Write it down. You don’t have to write like an English professor. If fact this would put a lot of people off from reading all your article. To be a good web content provider you should write as you speak, be down to earth and userfriendly.

The Internet often seems so impersonal. Your readers are seeking someone who is real, so why not write as a real person in a conversational manner.

Have a think and try to choose a hot online topic. Look at the articles from other magazines and newsgroups in your industry. A good web content provider should write about current subjects that you’re pretty sure will interest people.

The title is important and should grab people’s attention otherwise they may never read the rest of the article. If they don’t read the article, they won’t see your resource box. Therefore have a good think about the title and live with it for a few days until you feel you cannot improve it.

For the actual web content, around 500 words is a good rule of thumb. Try not to be too long winded. Most users will do a quick scroll to see how long the article is before reading. If itกs too long or too short you may lose them. People don’t like to read for too long online so stick to the point.

At the end of the article add your resource box info. You will receive the best results if you can include a short message related to the article you have just written.

If you have impressed readers with your expertise, thereกs a good chance they will want to learn more about you and what else you can offer them.

Just like with the headline, youกll need to leave your article for a short while, and กsleep on itก. Come back to it the next day and edit it. Improve parts that you then feel could be made a little better. Itกs amazing what a short rest will do for the creative process.

Once you’re happy and cannot improve the article any more, now itกs time to submit to ezine publishers. Below I have provided a list of places that ezine publisher look to find the articles of web content providers. If you can get your article published at these websites, getting into many ezines should be the logical outcome.

http://www.websource.net/

http://groups.yahoo.com/

http://amazines.com/

http://bpubs.com/

http://ezinearticles.com/

http://goarticles.com/

http://promotenewz.com/

http://www.articlecity.com/

http://www.certificate.net/

http://www.articlecity.com/

http://ideamarketers.com/

Remember, this process could get you huge targeted exposure, so itกs well worth the effort and it costs you nothing but your time.

Best wishes for your future.

Stuart Elwell

(c) Copyright 2004. All rights reserved.

Publishing Guidelines: This article may be copied for use on websites or ezines providing it is not altered in any way (which includes the small กArticle byก paragraph at the end) and all links are live and clickable. If adding to a website I have made it easier for you, simply copy from this html version: http://www.websmartmarketing.com/articles/cetm.html

About The Author

Stuart Elwell, Webmaster for WebSmartMarketing.com; http://www.websmartmarketing.com/home.html which provides sound advice and strategies for making money from the Internet.

This article was posted on August 07, 2004

by Stuart Elwell