FFA Should You Or Shouldn’t You?

FFA Should You Or Shouldn’t You?

by: Randy Justason

Whether you are an experienced online marketer or just starting out in your own home based business, youกve probably heard someone tell you to FFA.

No, they were not being rude!

Actually FFA stands for Free For All, and Free For All sites are advertising sites. Whether you should use them or not is your choice.

In order to help you make an informed decision, I offer you this article.

There are literally millions of FFA sites on the internet. All one has to do is to go to any search engine and type FFA into the search box. With most of them you have to register before you can submit an ad and there is good reason for this, as you will see below.

Normally all you get to put on FFA sites is a one line ad linking to one URL. You usually get the opportunity to choose a category for your ad, so that may help a bit. Unfortunately, you can’t say much in one line so you better make your ad stand out.

Another thing you should know is that most of the people visiting FFA sites are other advertisers placing their ads. That could actually be a plus if you are advertising something that online marketers may be looking for.

Of course, there is always a downfall to that. Today many marketers have access to programs that will submit their ads to the FFA sites automatically, therefore there may actually be very few visitors to the site.

Something else you should be aware of is that every time you place an ad on a FFA site you will receive an email back confirming your submission. If you place hundreds of these daily, you are going to get hundreds of emails. A good idea is to get yourself a free email account (such as Hotmail, Yahoo, Lycos, etc) and use that email address instead of your normal home email address. It won’t take long before it is overloaded with spam.

Now you may ask yourself, why use FFA sites if I can’t say much about my product, nobody is going to read it anyway and Iกm going to get tons of spam?

Good question.

Remember I mentioned about registering? Well, the owner of the FFA site gets to send a confirmation email out to every advertiser who posts an ad. If you think about it for a minute you will see that could mean sending hundreds of emails a day. And hundreds of ads!

Thatกs right, every confirmation email will have the owners ad in it. And that, my friends, is the upside of FFAs. Free advertising for you!

You simply sign up for a free FFA site of your own, set up your email using the siteกs autoresponder and let it do itกs thing. Every time someone places an ad, they automatically receive your email with your ad in it. And, if you have your own web site, simply put a small ad on it somewhere giving people the opportunity to place free ads and send them to your FFA site.

Most FFA sites will also let you upgrade, for a fee, and be able to collect the email addresses of every person who posts an ad. This could help you build your own email list, however, unless you have something of value to keep them interested, most of them will unsubscribe.

There is another small plus for using FFA sites. If you are advertising your own web site all of the ads you place using your web siteกs URL gives you another link back to your site. Although most search engines place little value on this type of link for ranking purposes, I believe any link back to your site is of value, especially since many search engines use spiders to find sites by following links.

So there you have it, FFA sites, should you use them or not? Itกs up to you.

About The Author

Randy Justason is the Owner/Webmaster of MLM Wonders http://www.mlmwonders.com A website dedicated to opportunities, ideas and resources for starting a home based business on the internet. Subscribe to the MLM Wonders Newsletter at: mailto:[email protected].

This article was posted on March 07

by Randy Justason

Understanding the Difference Between Marketing and

Understanding the Difference Between Marketing and Promotion

by: Stone Evans

Are you an online marketer? Or do you simply promote affiliate programs? Marketing is truly the most misunderstood word in use today on the Internet. Let me see if I can clarify this issue just a bit.

In Marketing 101 at your local university, marketing is actually the process of Product, Place, Price and Promotion.

PRODUCT

No business can exist without a product or service to sell.

In a nutshell, entrepreneurs are the people who believe in a product, service or idea, so much that they are willing to invest their lives into the development of their dream.

Historically, every major corporation in the world was started by an entrepreneur with a dream and the drive to make it a reality.

However, there comes a time in the life of every corporation when those who fear the gambling nature of their founder, squash the entrepreneurial drive that made the company a viable concern in the first place. The entrepreneur will either submit to the careful nature of the stockholders, or he will be forced to leave the company he created.

The only entrepreneurs who withstand the pressure to move more carefully are those who have maintained majority control over their companies.

PLACE

In the offline world, place is defined by location. On the Internet, place is defined by domain name and the web hosting service chosen.

Both online and offline, place can make or break a company without respect to the quality and value of the product, service or idea.

PRICE

Selecting a price is determined first on a basis of whether the company wants to be seen as a discount or a value company.

Take for example WalMart and Staples.

WalMart is the lead discounter in the marketplace. Staples on the other hand is the specialist in office supplies.

Both sell a significant number of office supplies despite the fact that the lowest price can usually be found at WalMart. As a value dealer, Staples can afford to charge more for their products than WalMart.

So the question for you is whether you want to position your company as a discount or value company.

Testing has shown that products and services can be sold at any number of prices and still reach a significant number of people.

The challenge of selecting the best price for your product or service will require a certain amount of testing.

UNDERSTANDING THE PRICING EQUATION

Letกs assume we are selling a product. Let us also assume that we know that the product can be sold for $10 or $50. Let us also assume that if the price dips below $10 or rises above $50, then the product sales fall off significantly.

Our challenge is to determine the best rate at which to sell our product.

Testing has shown us that we can sell 1000 items a week at $10. Testing has also shown that we can sell 500 items per week at $50. And testing has shown that we can sell 650 items per week at $45.

At $10, our projected weekly earnings are $10,000. When we sell the product at $50, we know that we can earn $25,000 per week. Most importantly, we know that we can earn $29,250 when our product is priced at $45.

With the imaginary testing we have done on our imaginary product, we can easily see that selling our product at $45 per item will earn us more money over the long haul.

Thus, when we make the decision for a national rollout of our product, then we will price our product at $45.

Of course, this is a very simplistic analysis of the point I am trying to make. Though simple, I believe this analogy will help you understand the methods of developing a productกs prices.

PROMOTION

Promotion, on the other hand, is the process of notifying the consumers for your product or service of your availability to serve them.

Methods of promotion vary distinctly and should be arranged to meet very specific goals.

As with product, place and price, promotion should not be left to chance. You should test every ad, every media, and every price point to determine the best bang for your promotional dollars.

HEADS UP!

If you are an online promoter or marketer, please factor in the most important element concerning the cost of your promotions.

What element is that? Your time!

Value your time at a certain dollar amount, and figure in your time into the cost of your promotional accounting.

I say this because too many online promoters lose sight of this concept and spend 20 hours to generate one sale while using free advertising. Even if you rate your time at the federal minimum wage, then you will have invested $105 of your time for one sale that might only net you a gross sale of $45!

ARE YOU TRULY A MARKETER OR ARE YOU JUST A PROMOTER?

Most people who run a business on the Internet call themselves marketers. Yet, most of these same people are really just promoters wrapped in the label of a marketer.

True marketers do not promote without a lot of advance work. They spend time planning, testing and measuring their actions and results to get the most out of every dollar spent and earned.

Entrepreneurs finesse the art of marketing as they build their company into a major enterprise.

If you are a promoter who does not keep an eye on the total marketing equation, then you are bound to fail.

If you do call yourself a marketer, then do what a professional marketer does. Make sure that every dollar spent is spent well. Make sure that every dollar earned is put to good use. Market well so that when the people of the next generation look at your life, they will see a fine example of a successful entrepreneur that they will strive to emulate.

About The Author

Stone Evans owns the Home Business Resource Directory where you can find everything youกll ever need to start, run and grow a home based business at: http://www.HomeBusiness.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 19, 2004

by Stone Evans

13 Ways To A Build A List Of Readers Of Your Ezine

13 Ways To A Build A List Of Readers Of Your Ezine

by: Joop Liefaard

If you have an ezine or online newsletter you want to send it to potential customers. In order to send it you need a list of people who want to receive it. This article is about how you build a list of subscribers to your ezine.

There are many ways to approach people and ask them to join your list. Because that is what it is all about.

Building your list

What is already available?

Maybe your business exists for some time and you have already customers. Add them to your list. If you have salesmen or women in your staff (in case part of your business is offline), ask them about their contacts as well. Check business cards and business correspondence (bills, invoices etc.).

A form on your web site.

Place a form on your web site where visitors can subscribe to your ezine. You can find the html code for a form on the internet and often your web host company offers forms for free.

Ezine directories

Ezine directories are a great place for you to promote your ezine. There are ezine categories for any kind of business. Before you submit your ezine you have to make a description of it. The description has to be short and compelling and reflect what your ezine is about. Search in an ezine directory for ezines like yours and read the descriptions. This gives you an idea about how the description should be.

Here is a list of directories where you can submit your ezine. There are more. You can find them in any search engine.

www.bestezines.com

www.ezineaction.com

www.ezinedir.com

www.ezinesplus.com

www.ezineuniverse.com

www.ezinelocator.com

www.ezinesearch.com

www.ezineswap.com

www.newsletteraccess.com/

www.promotefree.com/

newlist.com

www.newsletterdirectory.com/

Zinos

Ezines Hub

EzineLinks.com

www.ezinedepot.net

Electric Pen

Online advertising

Place ads online to promote your ezine.

Announcement Lists

Announcements Lists are email lists where publishers can announce their ezine. Every list has some rules you have to follow before announcing, like name of the ezine, circulation, a short description, age category, where to subscribe etc. You also have to subscribe to the group before you can post.

Here are urlกs of some announcement lists:

1 List Advertising

100Sightings

2000 Publications

A1Promo

Add Your List

All My Lists

List Your List

List Announcement

eAnnounce

List Advertise

Get More Subs

Get More Subs (Topica)

Promote List

List Builder

Promote your List

Offline advertising

Place ads about your ezine in magazines, journals etc., that are related to your business and promote your ezine or online newsletter there. If you sell products about dog food, you may advertise your ezine in magazines and trade journals about dogs. You can also place a small ad in the pets section of your local newspaper and the pet store.

Flyers

Distribute flyers at busy traffic points in your city or at markets, related to your business.

Business card

Mention your ezine and the subscribe email address on your business card.

Free Ads

Offer space for free ads. This attracts subscribers. If you consider doing this, don’t forget to include this option in the description of your ezine. When potential subscribers search the directories they can see that you offer space for free ads.

Signatures files

Include at the end of your outgoing emails a short message about your ezine. Mention in the sig file where they can find your ezine and how they can subscribe. Don’t forget to include the sig file also in your replies to emails.

Ad Swaps

Offer colleague publishers space for an ad in which he promotes his eziner. In return you can advertise your own ezine in his. Make for this purpose a compelling ad. The description of your ezine can be a guide for this. Here are some nice places for an ad swap:

The Free Directory of Ezines

Internetmarketingsuccess.com

List Directory

Ezineswap.com

Shannกs Ezine

Money Minute Ezine

SwapResources .com

Binkyกs Ad Swap Club

BizPromo.com

HomeBasedProfit.Com

KCD Webdesign and Hosting

Ad Coops

An ad coop means that you place ads that are delivered to you by an intermediate. A person who offers ad space on the net. You place the ads he acquires and in return you can add the email address of the person who advertises to your list.

Ad coops contribute a great deal in building your list and you will see a rapid grow but the subscribers are not always the subscribers you want. The importance is often exaggerated

Recommendation

Ask your subscribers to recommend your ezine to family, friends, acquaintances, colleagues, business relations etc. You can e.g. put a small form in your ezine where subscribers can enter the email address of friends, family etc.

In closing

As you see… there are many ways to promote your ezine and build a list. When you do a brainstorm session you may even find more.

About The Author

Joop Liefaard uses his experience as a human resources manager to help home business owners to better organize themselves and their enterprises. Visit his website at http://www.compazz.com for information about home business opportunities and resources.

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 18, 2004

by Joop Liefaard

How to Build a Worldwide Distributor Network

How to Build a Worldwide Distributor Network

by: Emma okafor

When your product is market ready and has a good bargain, it will be no value to you if you don’t know whoกs going to buy it, or how you are going to tell the world about it. Your product will only sell if it has a good wide distribution network.

Letกs say that youกve written a กGuide toก make $120,000 a year compiling and selling mailing lists. You calculate the production cost of $1.50 per book in lots of $1,000. The advertisement will cost you $1.50 per book. This brings the basic cost of your book to $3per copy with a paintsticking survey you found out you can sell this book at $10per copy. Thus making $7 gain per copy. Thatกs not a bad business. The problem you’re going to encounter here is selling the book. Lets say you’re the best sales man in town selling the book, it will keep you busy 25 hours a day, 8days a week, 366 days a year doing it alone.

The best way out of it is recruiting as many people as you can to help you do the selling. You need to give your agents an offer they can’t refuse. Letกs use this example, a $10 book that costs you $1.50 to produce 1,000 pieces. You could cut your profit $1per book, and sell it for $2.50 per book for people who buy in lots of 100 pieces and let them do the advertising and selling.

This is setting up your own distributor network. Thus, make up a series of กDealers Wantedก ads and place them on many different publications as you can. The national กopportunityก magazine is the best place to place your ads and place them in many different publications as you can.

To actually get these interested opportunities seekers to sell your products, you will need a dynamic sales letter and sellerกs kit to send out in response to your advertising. In addition to your sales letter, you should have at least three cameraready opportunity seekers to advertise your product. They should include a classified ad, oneinch display ad, and a larger 2 column by 3inch ad with blank spaces for insertion of his own name and address.

You should also include at least one fullpage camera ready circular he can use as an กOriginalก in ordering printing of his own direct mail circulars. I don’t advice an กupfrontก charge for dealerกs registration fee. It has lots of disadvantages mainly Great number of people who might want to try selling your product might be discouraged when asked to pay for it.

In contrast to this, if you charge for the dealership set up, you should include a sample of your product for the more elaborate sales kits and expensive products, most people ask for deposit, which Is refunded after a certain number of sales are made by the dealer. Don’t mention charges more than $5 in your กDealers Wantedก advertisement but instead explain it fully in your sales letter.

In summary this is how you set up a dealer/distributor network. Get other people to sell the product for you! You can, and should be prepared from the beginning before you place first dealers wanted ad, and proceed only as you can afford the advertising cost for profits of sales of your product. Itกs simple, and itกs easy, and it can make you rich! I hope this report has motivated you with an entrepreneur spirit, and that you act on it.

About The Author

Emma okafor, an online market researcher and writer. His blueprint success in online marketing is available in his site http://bizacumen.8k.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on December 02, 2002

by Emma okafor

Website Backgrounds: 5 Cool Tricks for a Professio

Website Backgrounds: 5 Cool Tricks for a Professional Look

by: David Leonhardt

Most websites feature white backgrounds. Or they sit on a navy or gray background but most of the screen is still white, like a page of paper set against the darker background. Occasionally, you might run across more interesting colors reds and purples and greens and rust – often looking more gaudy than professional.

But every now and then, there is a website with a photo or a drawing or a pattern background. This tutorial will show you not just how to place a background on your website, but five clever ticks to spice up the background without resorting to gaudiness.

The basic html code to place a background on your web page is very simple:

To place a background in a table, perhaps set against a solid color page background, here is the basic html code:

The image file called image.jpg now becomes your background. A typical image would show up ’tiledก. In other words, it repeats itself horizontally and vertically to fill the screen. This usually does not look very professional, so here are five tricks to clean it up and spice it up.

1. Use กstripก graphics. Strip graphics are simply very long images that stretch across the screen. When they repeat, they repeat one below the other. To see this in action, view my page at http://www.thehappyguy.com/SEO.html. The yellow strip along the right side looks like it is part of the top banner image. But it is a 650 by 20 strip image, mostly white, with a touch of yellow along the left side. This works well with patterns that vary only from left to right

2. Hold the background in place. When a visitor scrolls down, the text rolls over the image. I used this trick at my personal website: http://www.leonhardtonline.com (Please forgive the mess – I never seem to find the time to clean it up.) The html code to do this is:

This works for patterns, but it works best for photos or drawings, such as a faded image of your company logo or a faded scenery shot or a faded photo of people interacting. (Remember that the background should not stand out at the expense of the foreground text and images, which is why you want faded images.)

3. Another great background trick is to place a smaller picture in the background, such as your company logo or some other image that you do not want to take up the entire screen. This works best against a white background. Here is the html code:

If you want the image to show up just in a table:

I used this function in just one cell of a table by inserting it in my tag for my navigation menu at http://www.vitaminsupplementsstore.net . Notice how the faded bottle is in the background behind the navigation links, but it does not repeat down the page.

4. You can further control the position of the background image. Consider the following code:

We now have a background that fills the top right corner of the page. Depending how big it is, it might cover most of the screen or just the corner.

5. Another way to use background images are as navigation buttons. While search engines can easily follow image links, they don’t carry the same relevancy as keywordrich text links. A background button image can make a text link look like a button. Each navigation link would have to be placed within its own table or cell, then apply the code used in the previous example.

Used properly, background images can greatly enhance the appeal of your website. If you are looking for a way to spice up your website, these four tricks can help.

About The Author

David Leonhardt is a freelance writer and SEO specialist. Contact him at [email protected] or visit his website at http://www.thehappyguy.com. Read more webmastering and online marketing articles at http://www.thehappyguy.com/marketingarticles.html or pick up a free motivation ebook at http://www.thehappyguy.com/l/dailymotivationinspiration.php

This article was posted on August 21, 2004

by David Leonhardt

Using Forums to Promote Your Business

Using Forums to Promote Your Business

by: Megan Corwin

When is work not really work? When itกs fun!

Using online forums, also called message boards, can be a fun way to promote your business in a low key way.

Benefits:

You cultivate relationships with others

You learn about all kinds of topics

Your marketing message is presented without screaming advertisement

By answering questions related to your topic, you are positioned as an expert in your field

How to Use a Forum for Promotion:

First, find a forum that is of interest to you and frequented by people in your target market. A great place to start is to go to ezboard.com and search for forums by keywords that reflect your target market.

Next, I suggest you กlurkก or just watch the activity for a few days to get a feel for the tone of the forum. When you feel confident this is an appropriate place to represent your business, introduce yourself. Often message boards have a กNew Membersก type place to post your first message.

After you have been welcomed, scan through the topics and post answers to questions others may have about your area of expertise. Repeat daily or weekly.

Tips:

Of utmost importance is to have a signature line that is added to the end of each message you post. This is like your calling card, and is what makes this method so subtle. You may be posting a famous recipe, but everyone who checks it out will see your business name. Most forums have an account setting or options area where you can set up an automatic signature or you can cut and paste your signature each time, but this is much more cumbersome.

Don’t spam boards by visiting once and posting an advert everywhere. It will give you a bad reputation not what you need to increase sales.

Check the regulations of the board to be sure signature lines are allowed. Some forums strictly prohibit marketing of any type.

Revisit your posting frequently to address any replies. Also, add new postings of interest every few days to keep your business in the message boardกs eye.

Message boards and forums can be a very valuable marketing tool. While you’re at it, be sure to check out the fun topics, too!

About The Author

Megan Corwin is a personal coach who enjoys helping work at home professionals grow their businesses while maintaining an organized household. Download Megan’s free ebook กHow to Market Your Small Business Online for FREEก: http://marketonlinefree.wahwoman.com

This article was posted on December 10, 2003

by Megan Corwin

The Clickbank Crash of 2003: Lessons Learned

The Clickbank Crash of 2003: Lessons Learned

by: Timothy Kerber

I had a rude awakening recently. I checked the days worth of sales from one of my sites and there were none. This had never happened before and of course I was anxious to find out what was wrong.

I quickly found out that the credit card processor Clickbank was under a hacker attack. Their service was effectively paralyzed by computers around the world flooding Clickbanks computers with bogus requests for information.

They weren’t the only web site being attacked. Similar attacks have happened against Yahoo and CNN in the past.

This is the first one that effected me directly… right in the wallet.

Time For Emergency Action

Nobody knew how long Clickbank would be down.

I wasn’t going to wait around to find out! I had to take emergency measures to cope with it.

I was not only losing sales that couldn’t be placed, I was also losing money on online advertising. Pay per click accounts were sending people to my site which they couldn’t order from.

The first thing I did was pause my pay per click accounts until I got things under control. This saved me from wasting money on useless advertising.

Alternate Payment Choice

I needed another credit card processor to handle my sales and quick! I was lucky that I already had a Paypal account in place.

I quickly created Paypal payment links so that customers could pay for my products. It was a matter of creating the links correctly and changing the webpages to handle the paypal transactions.

I don’t normally use Paypal because Clickbankกs affiliate program is exceptional. In this case, I did not have much choice and it was easy for me to start accepting money again.

Once Paypal was up and running, I reactivated my pay per click campaigns. I was happily rewarded within the hour with a sale… My first in a day.

Thankfully Clickbank was back on its feet after about 3 days or so. I then switched things back to normal.

Handling My Affiliates

By using Paypal instead of Clickbank, I was denying my affiliates commissions on traffic they had sent me during this incident. I wanted to make it up to them as I didn’t think it was fair to them.

I did this by averaging out how much commission they had earned in the 30 days prior to the incident. I divided that total amount by 30 to come up with an average amount per day they had earned. I then gave them 3 days worth of this commission with an explaination of what happened. Ironically, I sent them their commissions through Paypal so they got them instantly.

I received excellent feedback from appreciative affiliates. Some of them stated that my commissions were the only money they made during the time that Clickbank was down.

How You Can Prepare Ahead Of Time

There is no guarantee that Clickbank or any other payment processor won’t be attacked by hackers again. It is extremely difficult to defend against.

It would be smart getting a backup plan in place just in case.

Hereกs a good back up plan:

Get a paypal account in place now in case you need it

Create your alternate order pages with the Paypal links and keep them ready กjust in caseก

In the event something does happen, keep good communication going with your affiliates. They will appreciate it and will likely reward you with more loyal sales in the future for you

I am sure a lot of lessons were learned during this time. I still love Clickbank, but now I have the experience of having a backup plan I can quickly put into place should anything like this happen again. You may want to prepare ahead of time also.

About The Author

Article by Tim Kerber from the Small Business Web Site. Learn proven secrets to make your web site a profitable success. Tips, tutorials, videos, interviews and more. Click here now http://www.SmallBusinessWebSite.com

This article was posted on September 09, 2003

by Timothy Kerber

How To Set Up an Ezine Encyclopedia

How To Set Up an Ezine Encyclopedia

by: Michael Southon

Do you read all your Ezines? Or do you file them away in special folders and then forget about them?

I used to be like that.

When I first started subscribing to ezines I was amazed at the quantity of valuable information that was available for free.

But I soon became complacent about it. If anything, the 60odd newsletters I was receiving each month became a burden. I was suffering from กinformation overloadก.

Ezines contain a wealth of information. Every week, in hundreds of newsletters across the Web, experts share with their readers the latest tips, techniques and resources they’re using to succeed in the world of online business.

But if you don’t have a system for processing and organizing that information, youกll quickly become overwhelmed by it.

I use a system that I call the กEzine Encyclopediaก. This is how it works:

1. Open a document in Microsoft Word. At the top of this Word document, type in 15 to 20 กCategory Headingsก, one per line. These are the categories I use:

Ad Tracking

Affiliate Programs

Auction Sites

Auto Responders

Banner Advertising

Copy Writing

Credit Card Processing

Discussion Boards

eBook Compilers

eBook Promotion

eBook Publishing

Email Marketing

Ezine Advertising

Ezine Articles, Writing and Publishing

Ezine Promoting

Ezine Publishing

Free Classifieds

Free Software

HTML coding

Internet Marketing

Java Script

Joint Ventures

Online Community

Portal Websites

Search Engine Positioning

Traffic Building

Viral Marketing

Visitor Management

Web Hosts

Website Design

Website Promotion

Webstats

2. Now highlight all of these category headings. Then go to the toolbar at the top of your Word screen and click on กFormatก. In the dropdown menu, click on กStyleก. A new window will open with a box titled กStylesก. Click on กHeading 1ก and press กOKก. These category headings will now all appear in กHeading 1ก format.

3. Now place your cursor at the end of the first line (in my example, กAd Trackingก) and press RETURN twice. Two paragraph marks (in กNormalก style) will appear beneath your first category heading (this is where you will insert the text of your articles). Repeat this for each category heading (place your cursor at the end of the line, and hit RETURN twice).

4. When you see an ezine article that contains valuable information, highlight it, copy it, and paste it under the appropriate กCategory Headingก.

5. Highlight the title of the ezine article and use the same procedure described above, but choose กHeading 2ก (instead of Heading 1).

6. Now click on INSERT in the toolbar of your Word screen and go down to กINDEX AND TABLESก. In the new window that opens up, click on ‘table of Contentsก. In the lower right of that window is a box with a white background that allows you to set the levels between 1 and 9. Choose 2. Then click กOKก.

Youกll find that your กInformation Categoriesก appear as Chapter Headings and the Title of the ezine articles appear as a Sections within a Chapter.

Notice that the page numbers at the far right of your Table of Contents are hyperlinked; you can go to any ezine article with the click of a mouse.

This Word document will become your personal กEzine Encyclopediaก.

It will contain everything important that youกve ever read in an ezine. Isn’t that better than having that information scattered amongst 20 or 30 ezines?

When you have in place a well organized system like this, it changes the way you view new information. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by new information, youกll simply place it under the appropriate Information Category.

And when you need that information, instead of searching through dozens of folders in your email client, youกll know exactly where it is. This system has saved me an enormous amount of time.

Eventually youกll end up with a large document that contains as much valuable information as any web marketing book. And itกll be much more up to date!

(c) 2000, by Michael Southon

About The Author

Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3 years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this simple technique to get massive free publicity and dramatically increase traffic and sales. Click here to find out more: http://www.ezinewriter.com

This article was posted on August 30, 2002

by Michael Southon

The 3 Rules To Maximizing Profits From Banner Ads

The 3 Rules To Maximizing Profits From Banner Ads

by: Derek Arnold

Placing those ads on your site are designed to do just one thing, make you and the advertiser money. No it’s not rocket science but there is a science to doing it right.
There are 3 simple rules to follow and you will convert those ads into the revenue you intended them to be when you decided to place them in the first place.
1. Don’t sell Viagra to pregnant women! – Basically what this means is that each page on your site probably offers something different than all the other pages on your site, otherwise you would have terrible redundancy on your site and that would be bad, but that’s for another discussion. Let’s say you have a site offers travel services, and this particular page is about a certain destination that you offer. Then your ads should fit the page, an offer such as ขHome Loansข, or ขGrocery Couponsข would be what is know as ขShotgun Marketingข, which basically means that you are just firing an ad at there and praying that someone who sees it will be interested. This click and buy ratio will prove to be VERY disappointing. A proper ad such as ขdiscount air ticketsข, or ขTravel Insuranceข will produce a much higher, click and buy ratio, this is what is referred to as ขTarget Marketingข. Remember, the internet is a spontaneous buying medium, so when the visitor is on that particular page, this is when the interest in this particular subject is at it’s peak! They are already thinking travel, you are offering them the ขUp sellข, meaning you not changing the visitors train of thought, your offer is just blending in.
2. Put the steak in the middle, and leave the salad on the side! – Where do you place you banners? On the side? At the bottom of the page? Somewhere between the ขI’m offering this for freeข and ขLook at my fancy graphicsข area of the page? Obviously the most profitable place to set the banner is on the top of the page, and is highly recommended if that space is available! Most of the time website owners have reserved that spot for they’re own offers and the like. The second best place on a page is just before your start the page content. An animated 468 x 60 banner should be centered and placed just before you begin your page content. Remember these banners are what pay you money to keep your site going, and if all goes right, some change in your pocket. Move other items on your site to the side and make room for those banners. Banners placed inside the test of the page content (not at the end) would be the third option.
3. I don’t read the fine print, do you? What size banners do you use? DO NOT waste your time placing small banners on your site (unless they are for banner exchange partners)! Small banners are a waste of space, first of all, how much information can the seller fit into such a small area? How noticeable will it be to your site visitor? If you’re trying to sell something, then SELL IT! Ad size should be 468 x 60 or larger, and centered on the page, this ad WILL NOT be missed by the roving eye of your potential buyer. Although they may have not elected to click on it, odds are they certainly did not miss it, because it was big enough to at least catch they’re eye.
Finding the right advertiser, who pays the right commission, and who is offering the right product for a particular page on your site, will require a bit more work than the standard ขsnatch and addข type of banner farming, but the rewards will be much greater and prove to be well worth it in the long run. Remember this, ขanything worth having, is worth working for, and money is worth havingข

About The Author

Derek Arnold is the President of BullMarketer.com, a webmaster resource site offering many tools for webmasters, marketers, and designers.

Homepage: http://www.bullmarketer.com

This article was posted on July 05, 2004

by Derek Arnold

Your Thinking To Breed Success

Your Thinking To Breed Success

by: Dave Jones

There is a place in the Northern Hemisphere where the night time dark remains most of the year and the sky is showcased by a flickering light show. You would all know this well as the Northern Lights.

This is the Artic at its very best and worst because the cold and winds collaborate to bring together one of the harshest environments one could imagine. It speaks well of the humanity who dwell there, albeit few in number, that they religiously celebrate each years return of what begins as a four month long sunny period.

This one occasion warrants attention and a special holiday so with deck chairs resplendent, the locals champion the cold to casually gather and watch the sun make its first tentative 25 minute pass of many more appearances. So begins day one of a very short summer, and with a community revitalized by sunlight, they party with every bit as much lunacy as any new years eve.

So, what is it that makes a people remain and challenge the very hardships such a place holds? That they should muster time and again some inner fortitude to while away those sub zero temperatures. When out of all places one could end up, for whatever reason, they choose to eke out an existence in one of the bleakest landscapes on our Earth?

The mind is a truly wonderful mechanism and when called upon, can adapt to just about any situation shaping the very best outcomes for those with a purpose. The thing is, and itกs in each of us, it’s entirely up to us how we control and apply our minds.

There are lots of external factors and most of those youกll have absolutely no control over, like the number of times you might sight the sun in a year; for example. The way you look at these challenges is everything and the more positive your view the greater your confidence within yourself and the better your likely prospects. But thatกs not the entire picture.

Think back to that last time you felt over the moon about something you did exceptionally well, and it doesn’t necessarily need to be as a result of any particular effort on your part. Iกm sure youกve been there, in that place where you’re on pure adrenalin because something has gone unbelievably well. Ready to take on any challenge. That hole in one on the golf course or at least a no effort golf swing that travels for miles or even that special result in an exam.

Now imagine if you could apply that same euphoria to everyday happenings. Well, thereกs nothing that your mind won’t accept if itกs repeated often enough over and over. Problem is that we generally tend to focus on the not so good. There it is in a nutshell, what your mind is used to seeing is how it will ultimately operate. I mean to say, how would you cope at our earlier sun watching celebration if the cold was too much of a challenge?

Giving up is not something I really have in me and it really stems from wanting to change and improve things until Iกm happy with them. I mention this because if you’re starting out in a business there will be times of frustration where youกll think nothing is working or going right. Bottom line though, you can only get better. From where ever it is that you actually start, the chances are you will only get better, and over time most always you will improve further.

Itกs fairly important then to apply as many of those good things that make us see that special place, into our normal day to day thinking; so that they then become the normal rather than highlights. A series of holes in one if you will.

This applies not only in your business dealings mind you, but into every facet of living because itกs exactly this mindset that uplifts and brings success. The trick is to place it on auto pilot and keep it there.

So if you ever need a reference to stay your mind from an unshakeable negative, spare a thought for our erstwhile inhabitants in our Artic North and find yourself a better place that works for you.

Take a few minutes each hour and progressively go over all of those things that are good and right with you. In no time at all youกll have that sun coming up at the end of a long hard winter….and it will be all that you see. Apply that to your business and thereกs no conceivable frustration that will derail you from getting ahead.

About The Author

Copyright © 2004 Dave Jones, new to the Ecommerce game and hoping to be successful in several ventures. You can find more articles and insights by Dave at http://www.workathomecreateopportunities.blogspot.com located at http://www.workathomecreateopportunities.com

This article was posted on October 10, 2004

by Dave Jones

Interactive MarketingYour Key to Success in 2005

Interactive MarketingYour Key to Success in 2005

by: A l Hanzal

Joe,

You asked me the secret to marketing success in 2005. Here’s my reply.

If you are relying on traditional market thinking and advertising for your business, you are going to be in trouble in 2005. The markets have moved beyond traditional thinking. I am not sure when this occurred or why. Perhaps it’s the speed of today’s market place, the variety of customer options and business competition, or the need for instant gratification. The whys are not important. You only need to recognize that it has changed!

If you are going to make it in 2005, you must adopt an interactive mode of market thinking. Interactive market thinking will gives you a chance, not a guarantee. A rule of the new market place is ขthere are no guarantees!ข

The Traditional Market Thinking

Traditional marketing thinking is about passivity and waiting. You start with a widget you dearly love. You think everyone should buy your widget.

You start your business. You put an ad in the yellow pages. You print up business cards. Someone sells you on the need for a four color brochures that talks about your widget. You put some ads in the local newspaper.

You passively wait for customers to come in the door. Some do, but never enough. You try other advertising techniques. You create a flyer and coupons for Val Pac programs. You create a website. You join a networking group. You get a few more customers but still not enough. You even try good old fashion cold calling. You wait and pray for more business.

Joe, the traditional model is dead!

The Interactive Mode of Market Thinking

If you are going to have a chance in 2005, you must adopt an interactive mode of market thinking. What is this new mode of thinking? I will outline a set of four skills you need for interactive marketing.

1. You start with a position that the market will teach you. Your market is quicker, faster, smarter, and more diverse than you can ever be. If you think you know all of the answers your arrogance will kill you. You must start by believing the market will teach you what you need to know!

2. Second, you need to bring a different energy to your marketing activities. Do you remember the pitch men you see at the state fairs? They bring a special energy to their work. At the heart of a pitch man is the willingness to experiment, to change, to adapt, to be creative for the situation, to be a pragmatist. There is no need to be perfect, just good enough! Adopt the energy of a pitch man.

3. Interactive marketing demands work. Most small business owners do not want to do this work. You must test and test and test again. Find out what is working and what is not working with your marketing efforts. Find this out as quickly as possible and make the changes you need to make.

Try a bunch of marketing techniques and test them and retest them. When you find something that works run with it. It will work for a period of time. Then the market moves on and you must move on. The work of testing is the only way to succeed in today’s market place.

4. Have the mindset of an inventor. Thomas Edison did not have 9999 failures on his way to inventing the light bulb. He had 9999 ways the light bulb did not work. Interactive marketing is not a straight line. It zigs and zags. When you recognize this, you will not be frustrated by marketing efforts that do not produce the results you want. You realize you must try again to unlock the keys of your market.

An Example of Interactive Marketing

Everyone will agree that today’s markets demand more credibility, more proof. Look at any marketing manual and you will learn about the various forms of credibility. There are testimonials, written proof, expertise, guarantees, awards, credentials, etc. The critical question for interactive marketing is what proofs or credibility does my market need?

If your customer is a school system that wants you to teach a class, they may ask for a teaching certificate. They may even require the status of graduating from a certain university. If you are going into that same school to fix a water pipe, they may want to see your plumber’s license to see that if you have the expertise to do the job. In some schools, they may ask you for a union card because they will not accept just any plumber.

It makes little difference what you think is good proof or credibility. What your market place wants for proof and credibility is the only thing that really counts.

You identify what your market place wants by interacting with it, going back and forth, testing, asking, failing, succeeding, repackaging, experimenting, creating new offerings and making your pitch! When you use these skills with the market place it begins to teach you what you need to be successful with it.

Conclusion

Joe, interactive marketing is not a cute new phrase. It’s the way your business must relate with today’s market place if you want to get your business a chance for success in 2005.

Free Help to Grow Your Business

Interested in getting off of the small business merrygoround that is leading no where? Call my toll free number 18777145500 and listen to a prerecorded message about a free report that will push your business to the next level. It’s a free call, a free report, no sales pitch, so call any time. 18777145500.

Copyright Al Hanzal, 2004. All Rights Reserved

Hanzal Enterprises, Inc.

4191 Granite Court

Eagan, Minnesota 55123

6514853340

About The Author

Business owners have been using Alกs materials to increase their profits and bring more customers to their businesses.

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 26

by A l Hanzal

10 Killer Ways to Promote Your New MLM Program

10 Killer Ways to Promote Your New MLM Program

by: John stafford

Terrible isn’t it?

You just joined this wonderful new MLM and you’re rearing to go! Then you think… go where and how?? Here are 10 ways to promote your MLM thatกll get you started on the way to your first recruits

1. Free classifieds Though not as great as they once were, if your MLM program is free to join you will get some takers. The trick is to keep posting often and keep your ad up there.

2. Ezine Ads These are cost effective and very targeted so you don’t waste your advertising dollars. Use classified ads if you have a small budget and don’t place any ads in ezines you haven’t read.

3. Your Optin List Even if you have a small optin list, this is a great source for your first MLM affiliates. If you don’t have one start one right away.

4. PPCs The Pay Per Click Search Engines is a good way to get leads but prepare to spend alittle. Itกs very important to switch up your ads because many people use the same ones.

5. Exit Pop You can use an exit pop up to promote your MLM, just place it on any pages getting traffic right now.

6. Articles Writing an article makes good search engine food plus, you can submit it to ezines for even more free exposure.

7. Free Ebook Sometimes all it takes is one good free ebook to increase your traffic like crazy. You can include your MLM sign up link and let it fly.

8. Forum Sig/Email sig Make up a small 5 line ad and put it at the bottom of your posts and mails. Youกd be surprised at how this one thing adds up.

9. Join Traffic Exchanges Free traffic exchanges like traffic swarm let you place your ad free into their network so you can get alot of visitors daily targeted by catagory.

10. Trade Ads with an MLM Ezine Publisher If you own an ezine you can ad swap with him, just make sure the subscribe page has an ad for your new program.

Use these steps to start you off on your new venture and teach them to your recruits. Youกll soon have a florishing downline you can be proud of.

Copyright 2004 John stafford

About The Author

Discover the Completely Risk Free Way to Make Extra Cash On The Side Online (that you can try out free and have set up in less then one hour).

http://www.yoursecondpaycheck.com/free

This article was posted on October 03, 2004

by John stafford