AlterWind Log Analyzer Professional 3.0

AlterWind Log Analyzer Professional 3.0

by: Pavel Grusha

New log analyzer may leave thousands of SEO specialists without work.

AlterWind Log Analyzer Professional 3.0 is a new website traffic analysis tool that helps regular webmasters do search engine optimization (SEO), website promotion and PPC campaign management on their own, without hiring highfee consultants. This product is truly unique and here is the proof.

AlterWind Log Analyzer Professional offers over 50 reports, critical to building a successful and profitable website. For example, in addition to offering standard and ubiquitous reports like กEntry Pagesก and กPage Viewsก, this log analyzer has the กPages Not Visited from Search Enginesก report that instantly shows which pages are underperforming in search engines. Armed with this information, webmasters can change tags, content or links and get search engine traffic theyกve been missing.

Another extremely beneficial feature of the program is fake referrer and referring spam filters. The tidal wave of กscraperก websites, fake referrers and PPC fraud costs webmasters millions of dollars and pollute logs with bogus traffic that never converts and distorts statistics, inflating numbers. AlterWind Log Analyzer Professional helps webmaster get a realistic picture of genuine traffic and identifies the sources of referring spam/fraudulent clicks.

AlterWind Log Analyzer Professional also comes with a powerful traffic conversion reports module. These reports help webmaster rank referring websites not by the number of visitors they generate, but rather by the quality of the traffic (quality being judged by the number of sales, for example).

Plus, the program offers a wealth of reports specific to PPC and contextual traffic only Paths by Search Phrases or URLs, View Depth by Search Phrases or Referring Websites and others. These reports help website owners calculate ROI rates for each particular ad campaign or bid term.

AlterWind Log Analyzer Professional supports over 430 search engines and over 120 catalogs from 120 different countries. Importantly, the program has multiple unique algorithms for processing search queries and extracts exact search phrases from them.

AlterWind Log Analyzer Professional 3.0 is available at http://www.alterwind.com for free evaluation. The program supports standard and customized log files. The price of registering the software is 69.00 US Dollars for the standard version and 99 for the professional one.

If you have any questions, would like to request editorกs copy, want to inquire about special prices for volume buyers/software resellers, or have a business proposal, please contact Pavel Grusha at [email protected]

System Requirements: Intel or AMD processor (CPU); 64 MB RAM; 10 MB free hard disk drive space; operation systems: Windows 98/ Me/ 2000/ XP/ 2003.

Company Website http://www.alterwind.com

Product Page http://www.alterwind.com/loganalyzer/loganalyzerprofessional.html

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About The Author

Contact information:

[Responsible person] Pavel Grusha

[Phone] +7 (8412) 400477

[Fax]

[Email] [email protected]

[Website] http://www.alterwind.com

This article was posted on August 26

by Pavel Grusha

7 Profit Producing Reasons Why Every Successful Se

7 Profit Producing Reasons Why Every Successful Service Professional Needs A Web Presence

by: Michael Port

Your business website is a critical aspect of being able to start and continue conversations with potential clients. It’s the ultimate selfservice window for potential and current clients who come to you interested in your services and/or products.

Every service professional needs a web presence. It’s almost impossible to find a successful service professional who doesn’t have one. Here are the top 7 reasons why:

1. Your website positions you as an expert.

Perception is everything on the internet. Having your own website increases your visibility, credibility and trust.

2. A strong web presence adds to your brand identity.

Your website represents you and your business in the marketplace.

3. Your website expands your reach into the global marketplace.

If you have a product available on your website you’ll expand your geographic marketplace from local neighborhoods where your product sits on a shelf, to the entire world via your website.

4. A website creates a 24/7, passive revenue, profit machine.

The internet never sleeps which means that you can literally turn your computer and website into a cash register around the clock, and many, if not all, of the processes can be automated.

5. Your website instantly increases the effectiveness of your sales cycle.

The sales cycle is especially critical for service professionals. A website with an optin incentive allows you to build your database, while building rapport with prospective clients. By offering something of value, like a free report, ecourse, or audio file, in exchange for an email address, your visitors begin to see your offer and your services as an investable opportunity.

6. Your site filters out clients who aren’t wellsuited to your services.

All of your marketing materials should direct potential clients to your website, where you can save precious time by allowing them to familiarize themselves with you and your services. This allows them to determine whether or not they feel they’d be wellsuited to you.

7. Your web presence is a fantastic vehicle for bold selfexpression and learning.

The site is an extension and representation of who you are and what you offer. To get ahead of the curve as a service professional you will need to understand how to master the advantages of technology. And the best way to learn this is by expressing yourself through your website.

And always keep in mind the Award Winning Web Course mantra: ขThe effectiveness of your website is directly proportional to how solutionoriented your offers are with respect to your target audience.ข

Visit www.awardwinningwebcourse.com for a simple, stepbystep guide to developing highly effective websites.

By Michael Port, bestselling Author of Book Yourself Solid, The 7 Keys To Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle and Beth M. Lyons, the Techie Coach.

About The Author

Michael Port is on a crusade for the success of soloprofessionals and is especially well known for his passion, personality, point of view (and unrelenting sense of humor). Under the banner of Michael Port & Associates, LLC, he provides seminars, keynotes, training programs, coaching and a popular ezine to soloprofessionals, helping them build thriving businesses. His expertise lies in the areas of personal brand identity development, motivation, leadership, performance, teamwork and communication. Michael’s mantra: be brave be bold be yourself for profit and fun! http://www.MichaelPort.com

Beth M. Lyons has over 15 years of experience helping the notsotechnical among us get comfortable with, learn, and then master the techniques they need and want to use. She has a gift for seeing implementation and กbestuseก strategies, and communicating them in ‘real english.ก

http://www.techiecoach.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 15

by Michael Port

An Editor Spins Her Thoughts about Web Content

An Editor Spins Her Thoughts about Web Content

by: Linda Jay Geldens

A glossy magazine placed an advertisement on its Web site, targeting the publication’s upscale subscribers. The expensive ad emphasized how perfect the tiniest detail would be for guests who stayed at a certain, very fancy hotel.

There was only one small problem in the ad, but it was big enough to undermine the credibility of the hotel’s claim to perfection. The headline blared, When Everything Has to Just Right.

Uhoh. What happened to the ขBeข before the ขJust Rightข?

You may be losing business or hurting your professional reputation by sending out unedited Web site copy. Text that is riddled with errors will distract present or potential clients. The reader will think, do I really want to buy a product or service from someone whose copy is sloppy?

One way to ensure that your Web site message will be as perfect as possible is to invest in the services of a professional copyeditor/proofreader. In the twinkling of a welltrained eye, a topnotch editor can clean up your Web site copy so it sparkles in the sunlight.

Misplaced modifiers, dangling participles, your’s/yours, two/to, and other hairraising/hareraising errors will melt away. Skilled editors say that mistakes ขleap off the pageข at them. And potential clients will leap off the couch to email or call you because of your magnetic Web site copy.

Horror Stories about Unedited Copy

When Web content is launched into the stratosphere raw and unedited, unfortunate occurrences happen:

A national eNewsletter goes out with the headline ขFor Pubic School Educatorsข (the ขlข is often left out of that pesky word Public)

ขAnd as we stand on the toes of those who have gone before us…ข appears in a scholarly piece (should be ขstand on the shouldersข)

A financial consultant offers a complimentary phone call (which would only have favorable news the word here would be complementary)

$25,000. instead of $250,000. in a document might cause a legal nightmare

The nonword its’ (an apostrophe never follows its) works its way into an otherwise excellent story

ขWe’d like to pedal your ideasข is sent worldwide in a magazine ad, and not just to bicycle owners (peddle is the operative word here)

How Working with an Editor Helps Your Business

Maybe you think that copyediting and proofreading are luxury items in your publications budget. Or that nobody will notice if a few mistakes slip through in your Web site copy. But truthfully, copyediting is a necessity and not a luxury, because people will notice mistakes in your copy.

Here are more ways in which a professional copyeditor can benefit your business, in addition to making suggestions about text additions, deletions, and clarifications:

An editor writes ขzingierข headlines – so potential customers will be drawn into your Web site by the zingine

An editor breaks up dense paragraphs – so potential customers will actually read your copy because it is easy to read

An editor introduces correct punctuation and good grammar – so potential customers will be convinced that your product or service is high quality, since the copy that advertises it is high quality

An editor has ideas about when to italicize or boldface words or phrases – so potential customers will be interested in reading the text

Web site text is different from magazine articles and book chapters. The pages are smaller, the paragraphs are shorter, graphics or photographs often accompany the text. Web site ขvisitorsข are assumed to have a shorter attention span than book or magazine readers.

This means that a reader spends just a few minutes reading the text at your Web site. It makes sense that you will want to present your company or services in as professional a light as possible.

How to Hire a Copyeditor

Copyeditors can be found through professional organizations such as Bay Area Editors’ Forum, Bookbuilders West, consulting and marketing organizations, directories of editorial professionals, ads in newspapers and magazines, and by looking up copyeditors on search engines.

Employing a good copyeditor to shape up your Web site text will ensure that your message is conveyed beautifully – and that’s not just editorial spin!

About The Author

Linda Jay Geldens is an experienced, versatile, lightningfast copyeditor/proofreader/copywriter based in Marin County, near San Francisco. She ขtruly delights in, and has a passion for, working with words.ข Her email address is: [email protected], and her Web site URL (in progress) is: http://www.LindaJayGeldens.com.

This article was posted on March 12

by Linda Jay Geldens

Making ProfessionalLooking Brochures

Making ProfessionalLooking Brochures

by: Florie Lyn Masarate

Brochures are for displaying services. They are also for selling an idea or service. If these purposes are put into a list, then it would be endless. The numerous ways and intentions why people have and use brochures. No matter what the reason for these brochures, the main thing is that it should be kept readable, interesting and very functional in order to become effective. It should be able to get the peoples’ attention long enough for them to read what is inside, and remain useful for them to come back for more in the future.

How can you grab the attention of the readers with just these pieces of papers?

By making your brochures look professional not only in its appearance but also in the designs, the way it is written and printed. To make them appear this way, there are considerations to think about. What are these?

Doing it with questions. Nothing like a question with an impact to grab the attention of even those who may have just sneaked a peak unto these prints. With the right question, even those who do not have the initial intention of reading them may be too aroused with curiosity to see what it is about. And maybe to have the answer to the question that they saw. A style that works most of the time is asking a question not even related to what the brochure is about. Or asking the opposite of what the implication is about. Knowing the question that will work perfectly would mean perfect attention grabbing and perfect results in your favor.

Type matters. It is the thing that people will read in your brochures so typography should be thought of and done properly. You would not want your readers to judge you as an amateur from the way you have done your writing. Or giving them the impression that the services you offer may have that same careless and irresponsible quality. Writing out words that are seldom used or incomprehensive will not work either. Some may not be able to grasp what it is you are trying to say or may not have no idea whatsoever basing from the words that you are using. Just the basic understandable words that are also professional will do just fine.

Making brochures appear professional not only reflects back to you. It also implies the time and effort you spent on checking from the most important to the least important details. To sum it all up, these brochures should cater to the different kinds of people who might chance upon them and take interest.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.digitalprintingcompany.com

About The Author

Florie Lyn Masarate got a flair for reading and writing when she got her first subscription of the school newsletter in kindergarten. She had her first article published on that same newsletter in the third grade.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 31

by Florie Lyn Masarate

Why Choose A Professional Web Designer?

Why Choose A Professional Web Designer?

by: Joe Duchesne

It seems that almost every Tom Dick and Harry do web design in one form or another. Everyone seems to know a friendsก brotherกs son who can build websites for real cheap. Why choose to pay the sometimes high fees that web designers charge?

Thereกs a right way to build websites and thereกs a wrong way to build them.

There are a number of considerations when building a website. The first is that the website being created is search engine friendly. Iกve seen some websites built in such a way that search engines couldn’t see more than the home page. This results in a fraction of the traffic potential that would otherwise result for the website.

Professional or Mickey Mouse?

A poorly designed website reflects on the business that it is attached to. When your prospects visit a website that is poorly created, they will tend to project that first impression onto the rest of the services that your company has to offer. This can affect everything from how often you close sales to how much you can charge a client. In other words, it hurts your bottom line.

Anyone can create a simple web page. How many people can create a professional image?

What kind of recourse do you have?

If a high school kid is creating your website and something goes wrong or you spend months waiting for it only to find out you wouldn’t want to use it anyway what can you do about it? When you choose a professional web design firm that can provide you with a list of satisfied customers, you can at least look to a track record you can count on.

You get what you pay for

If you pay someone to build a simple website for you that ends up turning customers off, how much has that website really cost you? Getting a professional looking website may be more costly up front but it will pay for itself many times over in the long run.

Communicate a consistent Business Image

By having your website created by a professional and having the content of that website written by a good business writer, you can have a powerful ally towards increase business sales and customer satisfaction. Choosing the right professional website designer can go a long way towards helping you achieve your business goals.

About The Author

Joe Duchesne is a professional web designer and founder of Yowling.com. They provide a web site builder that allows anyone to create a professional web site in as little as an hour. Reprint freely as long as you maintain the keyword rich link and this resource box back to our website.

This article was posted on August 04

by Joe Duchesne

How to Use Public Speaking to Attract Clients

How to Use Public Speaking to Attract Clients

by: Steven Van Yoder

When Robert Middleton moved his marketing consulting practice, Action Plan Marketing, to Palo Alto, California several years ago, he started his business from scratch. He had left his wellestablished client base several miles away and now had to find strategies to generate new clients.

Because Middleton had always spoken to promote his business, he turned to public speaking with a vengeance. He researched local organizations whose members comprised professional business owners, his target clientele. He called chambers of commerce, business groups and others likely to be interested in his threehour marketing workshop.

Within a few months, Middleton had spoken at over a dozen organizations, establishing his reputation as a marketing expert for professional service firms. He quickly became a known entity, having personally introduced his business and credentials to hundreds of prospects.

Better yet, Middletonกs speaking strategy helped him land all the business he could handle in a relatively short time period.

Over the course of sixteen talks, he averaged one new client each time. Today, the seminars he conducts at business groups and, increasingly, teleconferences promoted through his web site generate more than 50 percent of his business.

Speaking Is Selling

Many business people never consider standing in the front of their buying public to share professional wisdom. If you’re one of them, you’re missing the boat.

Speaking is a marketing strategy you can immediately embrace to get in front of potential customers. Speaking puts you within handshaking distance of your best prospects, many times helping you close sales before you leave the room.

By speaking regularly you can end the uncertainty of knowing where your next client will come from. Speaking can help you reach dozens, and sometimes hundreds of your best prospects every time. Speakers report that speaking regularly continuously fills their prospect pipelines, ensuring a steady stream of new clients and customers.

Speaking is effective because it showcases your knowledge before groups of people who eagerly show up to hear it. Your prospects may tune out advertising, but theyกll pay attention to your talk because it presents your knowledge in polished form to people who think it will help them.

Speaking gives you tremendous visibility and credibility that increases over time. Whenever you are in the front of a room, you get noticed. People will remember who you are and what your business does. The more people see you speak and see your business name, the more successful people think you are.

Speaking gives prospects a taste of what you offer in a nonthreatening environment. When they are in a room full of people, they feel comfortable. Thereกs safety in numbers. They do not feel the sales pressure of a oneonone meeting. Itกs also low risk, as chances are, they didn’t pay as much to hear you speak as it would cost to hire you.

Get On The Program

You don’t have to be a seasoned speaker to put speaking to work for your business. If you’re willing to speak for free, youกll find that there are more outlets available than youกll know what to do with.

กIf you can get up there and do a decent job you will immediately position yourself as an expert in the minds of an audience,ก says business coach, author and professional speaker Caterina Rando. กYou only have to be กdecentก to make an impact. Even though speaking can be scary at first, anybody can find groups to speak to and master the basics of giving a good speech.ก

Choose the right topics

Before you contact an organization about speaking, create sample talk descriptions with catchy titles. For example, a financial planner could avoid generic descriptions like กPlanning Your Retirement,ก and use a more snappy title like กEnjoying Your Gold Years On A Champagne Budgetก.

Targeting speaking opportunities

Once you are clear about your topic and its benefit to the audience, make some calls and offer yourself as a speaker. Here are ideas of where to look for a free podium. Many of these groups need speakers all the time.

Chambers of Commerce

Service Clubs

Industry Specific Associations

University Extensions

Professional Associations

Getting the most out of your speech

The promotional value of your talks goes beyond your time on the podium. Often, when you speak to a group, the group publicizes the event. Many people who do not attend the event will still read the information, or will hear about you from other attendees, and may give you a call.

Consistency is the big thing. Getting out there and speaking on a regular basis keeps your pipeline full of prospects. When you’re done, put a follow up mechanism in place, even if itกs a simple mailing or newsletter. If you keep in contact with people whoกve heard you speak, you get more longterm leverage from your efforts.

About The Author

Steven Van Yoder is the author of Get Slightly Famous (tm.). He teaches small business owners how to attract more business with less effort by becoming a minicelebrity in your field. Visit www.getslightlyfamous.com to claim your FREE Slightly Famous Marketing Plan Workbook.

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 15, 2004

by Steven Van Yoder

Let Your Brochures Do The Work For You

Let Your Brochures Do The Work For You

by: Florie Lyn Masarate

Brochures are not created just to have your company or business displayed. Like other print jobs, they have a deeper intent that is in favor of you. By giving people your brochures; you display what you have to make them want to have them themselves. If they get it, you get yours. That is, in terms of sales and not to mention, money. Your brochures should have the proper presentation that can make it readable, intriguing and interesting. It should catch the attention of the people and make an impact. These are the things that your brochure should present. If you think more about it, how do these pieces of papers grab peoples’ attention?

With many existing brochures offering different kind of things nowadays, people tend to dismiss all them as something they have already seen and have tired of. If they have seen one, they have seen all is the philosophy that they may have. How do you make your brochures stand out from the rest? The trick is to make your brochure appear professionally designed and written. The image you project can de seen through your brochures. You would not want people to judge you from the sloppy brochures you send them.

Your text is the key. Anyone can write their own text, but only someone with skills and proper training can make a strong yet easy sentence that has an impact. The structures of your written words should be able to clearly show the company’s message. There are specialists who can this job for you. Choosing a copywriter over them is not a very good option. If you want to put your business into somebody’s hands, would you not rather have someone professional to do it? Wither way, you will be spending money hiring them, why not spend it on someone that is more effective and knows how to get on with the job.

Having a question for your opening is better than just a plain statement. This way, the readers’ curiosity is piqued enough to want them to know the answers to these questions. Do not make it a yes or no question. Make it more meaningful with lots of hidden messages and promises contained in them.

Another important thins is the colors that you use. You may already be aware that there are many color and color styles you can use for your brochures and it is difficult to decide which one you like best. Try using colors that appear professional and reflects just that. It would like funny if your texts are so professional yet your choice of colors does not show that.

Make sure you do your brochures perfectly the first time. It would not harm you in any way to know more about styles and strategies to make them work for you. in the end, all you will need is patience.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.losangelesprintingservice.com

About The Author

Florie Lyn Masarate got a flair for reading and writing when she got her first subscription of the school newsletter in kindergarten. She had her first article published on that same newsletter in the third grade.

This article was posted on August 11

by Florie Lyn Masarate

Avoid the Duds: 10 Strategies for Selecting ‘the P

Avoid the Duds: 10 Strategies for Selecting ‘the Perfect Speakerก

by: Susan Friedmann

Today, more than ever, the success of meetings relies heavily on the strength of program content and presentation. Nothing can spoil a meeting more than hiring the wrong speaker. That’s because speakers do more than just convey the overall meeting message. You look to them to provide insights, awareness, and cuttingedge information in an energetic, motivational, entertaining, and professional manner. What more could you ask for? Well, the right speaker can emphasize an important message, offer inspiration, help people cope with new assignments, and lead the way towards change.

Selecting the right speaker for your event is one of the most important, yet daunting elements for creating a successful meeting. Your speaker can often make or break the event. If he bombs, your reputation not only takes a severe nosedive, but you also have the pleasure of dealing with the barrage of complaints from a disappointed audience. Yet, if he does well, you can walk away with many of the accolades, compliments, and of course, the rave reviews. By now, you probably realize that this massive responsibility is not to be taken lightly.

Raise Your Expectations

The skill to selecting a great speaker is determining what combination of education, motivation, and entertainment best fits your function. Then set out to find a perfect match. But keep your expectations high, since nothing can spoil a meeting faster than booking the wrong speaker. The following 10 guidelines should help you keep your focus and also keep you away from the ขduds.ข

1. Know the program objectives. Before you can start looking for the right speaker, you must know the program objectives. Begin with the end in mind. What are you looking to achieve? Is this an annual meeting, a training program, an incentive gettogether, an awards celebration, or another type of event? This will probably be a committee or management decision, rather than one you will have to make. But you may have to make an intangible concept tangible.

2. Understand the audience’s needs. Along with the program objectives, consider the needs of your audience. Does your group need industryspecific or technical information? Will a mix of motivation and entertainment serve your group’s purpose? Today’s audiences are generally younger, more educated, more diverse, and more sophisticated than in the past. They want content. They want to learn, but they also want it to be fun, so consider the audience needs and exactly what they expect. Consider surveying your audience. Ask them what they want or what skills would most help them in their jobs. For example, sales people may ask for advanced selling skills, but managers may request teambuilding programs.

3. Check for reputation. With countless speakers out there vying for your business, how can you possibly determine which one best meets your needs? Many speakers produce highly professional or glitzy marketing materials to help sell their services. You must look deeper than simply scanning a few brochures and ask pointed questions to find the right fit, such as What experience does this speaker have? How familiar is this speaker with this industry? and, Who else has used this person?

4. ขTest driveข your prospects. If you don’t have the opportunity to preview a speaker in person, then the next best thing is to request a video or audio recording of a previous presentation. A session that was recorded before a live audience gives you a better sense of a person’s real ability.

Watch or listen carefully to how the speaker builds rapport and interacts with the audience. Ask yourself if this person would be right for your group. Is the combination of education, motivation, and entertainment appropriate for your needs? Does the speaker have a message that is appropriate, timely, and relevant to the theme or purpose of your event? Does it conform to your company’s philosophy and policy? Do you feel the speaker is genuine and has the expertise to deliver a solid presentation?

5. Don’t be starstruck. If you are considering celebrity speakers, make sure they can speak! TV personalities do a great job on the air, but sometimes have little public speaking expertise, and you should be aware that the skills needed for being on TV and for speaking live are very different. However, many wellknown personalities make excellent speakers and can add enormous value and clout to your event. Politicians and sports, media, or entertainment celebrities often share life experiences, offer advice, or have an inspirational message to impart.

6. Be wary of grandiose claims. Speakers who claim to be all things to all people are probably desperate for work. Avoid them. True professional speakers, on the other hand, usually have certain areas or topics of expertise. They would much rather refer potential business to a true expert than jeopardize their reputation by trying to do a program outside of their knowledge zone. Also, beware of the charismatic and fluffy speaker as your audience wants good, solid takeaway value.

7. Provide and ask for good information. Reputable speakers want to find out as much as possible about the meeting objectives, the audience, industry challenges, and so on in order to tailor their presentation to the group. Share information on your organization and audience to help the speaker design a program to fit your specific needs. provide them with newsletters, catalogs, or any other publications that highlight industry trends, key people, industry jargon or buzz words, and insider news and views.

Also include as much information as possible about the size and demographics of the audience such as age, gender, and positions.

8. Ask for an outline. Ask prospective speakers for an outline of the presentation to make sure they will be covering the material as you discussed. This will clearly lay out what’s expected as verbal communication is subject to being misunderstood or misinterpreted. Seeing exactly what speakers plan to cover in the sessions should help to ensure that the material is tailored to your specific needs.

9. Maximize opportunities. Look for ways to maximize opportunities with your speakers. Discuss different ways they can add extra value and be a significant resource to help improve your meeting’s success. Brainstorm ways that you feel they can assist you in planning, preparing, promoting, and presenting. Some suggestions include serving as an emcee, conducting special sessions or roundtable discussions about current issues for select groups such as company executives or the board of directors, and participating in a spouse program.

10. Trust your instincts. Through your communication with the speaker, you will quickly form an opinion or have a feeling about this person. First reactions count here. ขI like this personข or ขI don’t like this person,ข or ขI feel comfortable or uncomfortable working with this person,ข are strong indicators. These responses usually comes from your gut — a very trustworthy organ. Have confidence in your instincts and trust that socalled sixth sense. If you experience any kind of negative feeling, think about looking for someone else or get another opinion from a colleague. You want to make sure that you can work with this person and that both of you are on the same wavelength.

The true objective of hiring a professional speaker hinges on establishing a partnership where a mutually beneficial relationship grows and flourishes. When this happens, you know you’ve chosen well.

The Perfect Match

Overwhelmed with the plethora of speakers to choose from? You may want to turn to a speaker’s bureau for advice and guidance. A good bureau should act as a consultant and partner to help your event succeed. Even though many hundreds of bureaus are out there, the numbers pale in comparison to the thousands of speakers. A bureau’s sole purpose is simply to make your job easier and provide you with solutions. They want to find the best possible match for your event within your price range. So, where do go looking for one of these bureaus? Here are a few places to start your search: the phone book, chambers of commerce, convention and visitors bureaus, the Internet, industry colleagues, and friends.

A Final Note:

Look for CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) or CPAE (Council of Peers Award for Excellence) designations. Both these are conferred by the National Speakers Association and are considered the speaking professionกs international measure of professional platform skill (http://www.nsaspeaker.org).

Armed with these guidelines and resources, your search for the perfect speaker will be more fruitful. And with a little effort and some time, you will connect with a speaker who will fulfill your goals— one that will be both inform and enlighten. Your audience will thank you.

About The Author

Written by Susan A. Friedmann,CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, author: ขMeeting & Event Planning for Dummies,ข working with companies to improve their meeting and event success through coaching, consulting and training. Go to http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com to sign up for a free copy of ExhibitSmart Tips of the Week.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 26, 2004

by Susan Friedmann

How to Market Your Web Site Like Nobodyกs Business

How to Market Your Web Site Like Nobodyกs Business

by: Elizabeth Kirwin

Fresh Web Content Yields Better Search Engine Results

All too often, companies, organizations, and selfemployed individuals spend a great deal of time and resources launching their web sites. Once the site goes live, people seem to believe internet search engines will bring them the business they need. The truth is, the web site is only one key marketing tool used to represent a company, often from a distance. The marketing genius who creates the site must continue to come up with innovative ways to keep the site ขfreshข and in the minds of consumers who are in need of products or services.

Spam NO MORE

Let’s face it, we all hate SPAM. But many U.S. companies have been reliant upon SPAM as their main internet marketing tool. Why? The top three reasons are because it’s cheap (practically free), fast, and efficient. Yet nobody likes being ขspammedso why annoy a potential customer or client? The good news is that antispam laws have just been passed in the U.S. Sure; companies will still send SPAM from across the border. People will still despise SPAM. Instead of irritating your potential customers and clients, try luring them to your web site in different, more memorable ways.

Lure Them with Content

One thing that does gain you a higher standing on web browsers is changing the content of your web site frequently. No need to change it from top to bottom. Just have your web designer put a few lines of text on your home page indicating you want to give ขexpert adviceข or a ขnews flashข pertaining to your field. Link this to an article that you’ve written about your area of expertise – whatever your business or organizational interests are. Write one per month and post the new article (or a partial link to it) on your home page.

Professional Grade Writing

Professional level writing skills and creative ideas are important. Not many people will read something for long if it isn’t well written and easy to understand. If your writing skills are not professional, consider hiring a writer to help generate ideas, edit the article, or ghost write an article for you. You’ll look great in the eyes of your customers or clients, and you’ll have articles stored for viewing. Should a need arise to educate a client in a particular topic area, you can always direct them to your web page.

Educate Your Clientele

Take some time to educate your clientele about your products or services. If you are mainly a servicefocused company, you should already be educating your clients about what you do on a regular basis. If you’re not, get busy. If you do something technical, avoid jargon and keep it simple. Don’t worry about giving your professional secrets away. Just leak a few. Once people have a better understanding of your knowledge base on a subject, they will come to trust you more, and be more inclined to hire you or purchase your products.

Qualified Leads

Remember, those leads that contact you after reading expert articles written by you are qualified. They already know your capabilities and have some inkling as to why they need to hire you or purchase your products. These leads are educated prior to contacting you. So, in your articles, use the opportunity to crosssell your other products and services but try a subtle approach in the material. Nobody wants to feel like they’re being ‘marketed’ – they’d rather be informed or educated.

Publishing and compiling information and expert advice on your profession or subject area will not only keep your web site in the higher ranks of the search engines, it will help frame you as an excellent resource in your profession. Writing well for a public audience is important and so is regularity and consistency. . Hiring a professional writer can give you these qualities in your work and many writers are willing to ขghostข write under a client’s name. Remember, articulate your subject clearly, and your audience will love you, and hopefully, want more.

About The Author

Elizabeth Kirwin is a writer, editor, researcher and parttime professor at University of North Carolina Asheville. She is cofounder of Sidhe Communications, an Asheville, North Carolina based company. Sidhe has business writing services and also provides professional grade copy to print and electronic publishing outlets.

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 11, 2004

by Elizabeth Kirwin

Use Photos as Part of your Marketing Arsenal

Use Photos as Part of your Marketing Arsenal

by: Soren Breiting

Photos should be important parts of your marketing. The photos are useful

to document your offers

to achieve positive acceptance of what you are displaying

to function as eye catchers

to bring the buyers in a general positive mood

to create identification with the use of your product.

In such a way photographic pictures have other functions than creative art and illustrations that aren’t photographic pictures.

At the same time it is important to acknowledge, that pictures are not selling your offers isolated. It is your copy that sells your service or goods.

In many cases you will need professional looking photos of your products. If possible go for a professional photographer. These photos will enhance your product much better than your own photos.

If you have to do your own photography, use a good digital camera and take plenty of pictures with a simple background. White or blue is often the best background with smaller items. Only use the very best photo of each item, and keep a unifying style of photos displayed at the same webpage.

In between these options you might know a friend or a young person who is much occupied with photography. Such a person might be able to do the job for you with a better result than yourself and at a much lesser expense than the professional photographer.

If you can get good looking models to show the use of your product, include such photos. If you can’t get such persons avoid such pictures.

Your marketing will often benefit from other photos than the product photos, too.

In some cases the socalled free clip art will do the work for you. Especially with small print runs and local distribution of your advertisement. But in larger professional work you should definitely go for stock photos from pro picture agencies and photo libraries.

There are many advantages of the photo libraries:

The pictures in a photo library are not used by กeveryก business, so the money spend on each photo give your work some image of exclusivity.

You will have access to huge quantities of high quality photos.

You will have professional support for your requests and ideas of the images in mind.

You will have the possibility to contact specialist picture agencies when an expertise in the field of your products is needed.

Nowadays many stock agencies have online picture galleries. Some offer licensed stock photos, other offer royaltyfree photos, and some stock photo agencies offer both.

Be aware of that the typical picture agency only has a limited selection of the pictures online accessible for your search. So supplement your picture research by asking the picture editors of the photo agency to help expand your choices.

In conclusion, be critical aware of the function of your copy, your product photos and the other photos at your website and try to make the best interaction between these tools in your marketing arsenal.

About The Author

Get help from Soren Breiting to find ideas for your online marketing at http://www.ALLeMarketingTips.com and receive the latest really useful tips at http://www.StockPhotoNews.com (about pictures and marketing). Soren has written more than 20 printed books, and countless articles in journals and magazines about his special fields of interest. He is widely published on the web, too. Enjoy Soren’s wonderful stock photos at: http://www.azFOTOS.com.

This article was posted on August 31

by Soren Breiting