Free Article Use on Your Web Site

Free Article Use on Your Web Site

by: C Brackney

If you are trying to drive traffic to your web site and have researched your options, you have probably reached one conclusion. Content is essential.

They say content is king and that mantra is oftrepeated for a reason. It’s true.

Content is a key component in driving topnotch search engine placement. Content attracts visitors and keeps them longer. Content can help to reinforce your sales message. For those involved in affiliate marketing, content can fill space and increase the perceived legitimacy of a site.

You want traffic and you need content. You have three means of acquiring it. You can author it yourself, purchase it from someone else, or cull and use free articles widely available on the internet.

Selfauthorship offers some appeal. After all, who knows your business the way you do? However, the significant amount of time and energy required to develop the written content you need may very well be disproportionate to its benefit—especially when you remind yourself that you are an entrepreneur, not a writer.

Odds are that you would prefer to leave the monotonous process of authoring articles to someone else while you made better use of your time finetuning the other aspects of your business.

You would prefer to have content authored by a genuine writer—someone who knows how to use the written word to maximum effectiveness.

The decision between purchasing materials and using free content may seem relatively simple. Free articles have many benefits.

They don’t increase your overhead. They are easy to find. They cover topics related to your site and products. There is no delay—you can access them immediately. Free content has some immediately visible advantages.

However, free articles have a significant and oftenoverlooked downside.

Initially, the competitive arena of the internet is populated by thousands like you who are looking for a content edge. Those who may be in direct competition for your traffic are thinking about content and may be reaching for free content, too.

The result? The same free content appears over and over again at site after site.

The reason content is so important is because it gives you an opportunity to attract surfers and keep them at your site. They are attracted to content that provides them with information they cannot readily find elsewhere and materials that are engaging and unique. A chief component of content’s power is diluted by its repetitive use in hundreds of locations.

Additionally, free content is generally advertising in disguise. Unfortunately, it’s not your advertising. Authors of free content are not writing out of love—they are writing for their own profit.

Take for instance, this free article. I am seeking to provide you with information about free materials and their weaknesses. However, I am not performing this function out of a sense of civic duty. I write custom content for web sites. My URL will appear at the bottom of this article. I am seeking to persuade readers to consider purchasing unique content and, of course, to consider using me as their supplier.

All free articles are advertising copy, in a sense. Do you really want to use someone else’s advertising on your site? If your visitors read the content, and the content is wellwritten, it should spur them to at least consider leaving your site to find out more about the author, the ideas the author mentions, or the products and services to which the author alludes.

Content should serve to make your site sticky—keeping surfers on your site. Free content may perform the opposite function by drawing them to other venues.

Third, free articles are not written with you in mind. Free articles may have been written with particular keywords or concepts in mind, but they were not constructed for your site with your specific needs under consideration. Their tone and content are unlikely to be a perfect fit for your needs, further decreasing their effectiveness.

Using a custom content provider allows you to receive all of the benefits of great content while avoiding the pitfalls associated with free materials.

You can hire a professional writer to produce entertaining and informative content that is completely unique to your web site. The result is better search engine placement and a reason for visitors to come back again and again—and to stay longer when they do.

Custom articles also promise a complete commitment to your site and your needs. The author can produce exactly what you need and do so in a way that reinforces your message and your objectives. It can blend seamlessly with your site and help presell your product or service in ways free articles never could.

There are costs, of course. You will need to pay your writer and you will have some period of brief delay before your content is ready. However, if you work with an effective content provider who understands the nature of internet business, costs should be reasonable and turnaround quick.

Free articles seem like a wonderful solution to the content gap from which so many sites suffer. Unfortunately, free articles fail to deliver the full advantage of great content and may actually reduce the effectiveness of your site. The alternative, a professional internet content provider, is the best way to insure your content will do what you need it to do.

About The Author

C. Brackney is an internet content provider. Content One provides unique custom content of all types for web sites.

http://content1.bravehost.com

[email protected]

Copyright 2005 C. Brackney/Content One. All rights reserved.

This article was posted on February 05

by C Brackney

5 HighImpact Marketing Tips

5 HighImpact Marketing Tips

by: Bob Leduc

Here are 5 highimpact marketing tips you can use to boost your sales quickly. All are simple to implement and they involve little or no new expense.

1. Promote Only One Thing at a Time

Promote only 1 product or service each time you advertise. Many people have difficulty selecting one product when their decision forces them to delay or reject buying something else they also want. When prospects cannot make an easy choice they often make no decision at all …and you lose the sale.

Tip: Offer new customers a related product or service immediately after they buy from you. Many will accept your offer, producing an easy sale without jeopardizing the initial purchase.

2. Provide Multiple Ways for Customers to Buy

Providing choices of what to buy will reduce your sales. But providing choices of how to buy will increase your sales. Offer many different ways for customers to buy from you. The same method is not convenient for everybody. Prospective customers are more likely to act immediately when their favorite way of ordering is available.

3. Avoid Your Competitors

Look for some new niche markets you and your competitors overlooked. You may uncover a market you can dominate with little or no competition.

One quick and easy way to find profitable new markets is to subdivide your current market into several narrowly defined niche markets. Then customize your advertising to the unique needs of prospects in each niche market.

Tip: You can narrow the appeal of an existing web site without losing its effectiveness with your main market. Just create customized web pages for each market segment you want to target. Then add a link to each of these specialized pages on your home page.

4. Use Alternative Marketing

Look for alternative media your competitors may be overlooking. For example, many internet marketers are beginning to use direct mail postcards to generate traffic to their web sites. It?s a low cost way to bypass the heavy competition online.

A brief captivating message on a postcard with an enticing offer sent to the right prospects will generate a flood of traffic to your website or a large number of sales leads.

Tip: Postcards are also an excellent lowcost alternative to email. People get so much email today that even legitimate messages are getting deleted unread. But they get few if any postcards. Your message is guaranteed to get their attention when itกs delivered on a postcard.

5. Encourage Questions

You?re walking away from a lot of easy sales if you don?t encourage prospects to ask questions about your product or service.

Only interested prospects will take the time to ask questions. Many will buy …especially if you answer their question quickly and completely. You can even include a promotion for your product or service as part of your answer.

Make it easy for prospects to ask questions when they are at your web site or in other selling situations where there is no personal contact. For example, provide a phone number or an email address they can use to ask questions.

Tip: If you find yourself personally answering a lot of questions, add a Questions and Answers section to your web site or your sales brochure. Include the answers to the most frequently asked questions. It will reduce the number of questions you have to answer personally.

Each of these 5 marketing tips provides a simple way for you to boost your sales quickly …and for little or no new expense.

Copyright 2004 Bob Leduc

http://BobLeduc.com

About The Author

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards …and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. Youกll find his lowcost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com or call: 7026581707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

This article was posted on October 26, 2004

by Bob Leduc

8 Common Marketing Mistakes

8 Common Marketing Mistakes

by: Charlie Cook

Advertising can be one of the fastest ways to market and grow your business or it can be one of the quickest ways to go out of business. With the right ad you can attract clients to your business and increase your profits. With the wrong ad you can spend your way into bankruptcy.

To grow your business you need to attract the attention of your prospects, advertising can help you do so if used correctly. Unfortunately, many small businesses owners waste thousands of dollars on advertising efforts that only achieve minimal results.

If you want to get the most from the money you spend to promote your products and services, make sure to avoid these common mistakes.

Focusing on Your Products and Services

If you want to get the attention of your prospects, speak to their needs and wants. Your prospectsก primary concern isn’t that youกve been in business for 25 years; it is do you know the problem they want to solve. Use your ad to identify at least one common problem of your prospects and the benefit of using your product or service.

Having a Weak Marketing Message

All to often you hear ads and it takes some thought to figure out what they are even promoting. Make sure your advertisement includes a 710 word description of whom you serve and the problems you solve so people who read or hear your ad know how you can help them.

Using the Wrong Words

A word here, a phrase there can change your response rate by hundreds of percent. When you spend money on advertising, first test a number of versions of your copy to identify the one that works best. Just by revising her ad copy so it was client and problem centered, I helped one small business owner achieve her best month in sales ever.

Missing Motivation

Most ads miss the mark in moving prospects to action. If you want to prompt prospects to visit your web site or your store or to contact you, include an offer that motivates them to do so.

Lacking in Frequency

Some people make spur of the moment buying decisions, but most need to become familiar with your services and products, and this takes time. If you want your advertising to work, you need to ensure that your prospects see or hear it regularly.

Web Sites that Don’t Move Prospects to Action

Many small business owners direct prospects to a web site where they have more extensive content covering available services and products. I constantly get calls from people who have been successful at attracting prospects to their web site, but generate few sales.

Once prospects get to your web site make sure the content and visual organization moves them to take the action you want them to. Whether it is providing them with ample opportunities to fill in your service inquiry form, or including a subset of your product catalog in your web page navigation bars, help prospects move to client and customer status.

Lack of Follow Up

Sometimes making a sale requires sending a note or picking up the phone and calling your prospects. If you have an effective lead generation strategy, prospects will provide you with their contact information and the problem they want solved. Use the web, email, and the phone to follow up and close the sale.

Lack of Tracking

If you are making more from your advertising than you are spending, you’re ahead. Frequently small business owners can’t tell you which of their efforts helped bring in the business. Track each of your ad campaigns and youกll know where to spend your money in the future, what to modify and what to eliminate.

Do you know how many sales and how much money you made as a result of each of your advertising campaigns?

Are you making any of the above common marketing mistakes?

What elements of your marketing should you change?

Put your marketing house in order. Fix your strategy and your materials. If you don’t know what to change or how to change it, use experts to help you with strategy, copyrighting, design, PR, and media placement.

Avoid these common marketing mistakes and youกll find ore people contacting you about your products and services and that your making more than your spending on your advertising.

2004 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.

About The Author

The author, Charlie Cook, helps independent professionals and small business owners attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up to receive the F*ree Marketing Guide and the กMore Businessก newsletter, full of practical tips you can use at http://www.charliecook.net

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 24, 2004

by Charlie Cook

3 Simple Ways to Start Your Home Based Internet Bu

3 Simple Ways to Start Your Home Based Internet Business Right Now

by: Andrea Hayhurst

So, youกve finally decided to take that giant leap of faith and start your very own home based internet business. Youกve decided that itกs finally time to step up to the plate and claim your share of all those internet riches you keep hearing about. Only problem is, now that youกve finally made your decision, it seems like a pretty daunting task deciding what to do next. Using the term กinformation overloadก to describe the problem seems like a huge understatement.

Well, if you’re really serious about starting your own home based internet business, the next step really doesn’t have to be that difficult at all. There are 3 relatively simple ways to start making an online income and one of them is sure to fit your particular idea of what it is you would like to do. So, just relax, take a deep breath, and peruse the following list until you find something that strikes the right cord.

1Join One or Several Affiliate Programs

This is probably one of the easiest and quickest ways to get started making money online. The internet is full of products that have affiliate programs you can join and most of them pay generous commissions. When you join an affiliate program, you are simply making an agreement with the owner of a product that you will receive a commision in exchange for referring a prospect to that personกs product (usually a sales page that you have sent the prospect to via your affiliate link) if that prospect ends up making a purchase.

Start by choosing a product or service that you’re interested in and then visit some of the websites which have achieved top rankings for the keywords which describe that topic. You’re sure to find the top affiliate programs for that industry relatively quickly. Or, try visiting one of the many affiliate program directories (you can find them quickly enough in Google) and scan their listings and recommendations until you find something that appeals to you.

This is a good one for newbies since you don’t even need your own website to get started. You will, however, need to learn how to use the pay per clicks so you can get some targeted traffic to your affiliate link. Once you start generating some income from the pay per clicks, you can then start reinvesting some of your profits and get yourself set up with your own website. By that time the prospect of getting set up with your own website won’t seem so daunting.

2Join a Residual Income Program

Residual income programs are somewhat similiar to affiliate programs in that you typically get paid for referring a prospect to the programกs website if that prospect decides to make a purchase. However, the difference lies in the fact that with these programs you also have the opportunity to earn a monthly recurring income if the prospect you refer becomes a paying member of the residual income opportunity program. For example, I belong to one of these programs myself. If a prospect comes to my website and clicks on a link which takes them to the sales page for the product and they buy, then I get a commission. However, if that prospect also decides to become a member of the residual income opportunity program, then I get a check every month as long as that prospect remains a member of that program.

People tend to be skeptical of these programs and get them confused with pyramid schemes. The way to tell if one of these programs is a pyramid scheme is to simply determine if the company in question offers a real honest to goodness product or service. If so, it cannot be classified as a pyramid scheme and you should be okay. Don’t be scared off by the fact that you will most likely have to pay a monthly fee to participate in the residual income opportunity. If you can build a downline for yourself in one of these programs, the monthly fee will be negligible compared to the potential residual income you could earn. Alot of these programs will provide you with your own cookie cutter website, which is okay if you are just getting started. Again, use the pay per clicks to start generating some traffic and then work on getting your own site up so you can start to build your own opt in list.

3Sell a Hard Good or Downloadable Infoproduct

Okay, okay, I know this one doesn’t sound so simple or easy, but to be honest, itกs really not as hard as it might first appear. Selling a hard good entails offering a real physical product (like fishing poles, for instance) for sale in your own online retail store. If this idea really appeals to you, go for it. Brainstorm some products you would enjoy selling, then do some keyword research in Wordtracker to develop a targeted niche within that market (deep sea fishing poles?).

After that, you can use a drop ship source directory or the search engines to find manufacturers or distributors who will drop ship the merchandise for you (meaning they ship it directly to the customer and you don’t have to carry any inventory). Then go to Ebay or Yahoo and sign up for one of their stores. I know from personal experience that Yahoo has some merchant hosting packages that are great and super easy to use. Theyกll even provide you with a shopping cart feature and help get you set up with a merchant account (so you can accept credit cards). Plus, youกll get some traffic already built in since millions of people are using their shopping directory to browse for products every day.

As for the website itself, don’t worry. Most hosting companies today have some type of site builidng solution available for those customers who wouldn’t know an html code from a java script. Believe me folks, if I, a completely technically useless and html challenged technophobe can do this, ANYONE can.

Now, as to the infoproduct. By the way, I mean YOUR OWN infoproduct. Everyone on the web and their mother will tell you that this is the best way to make the really big bucks online. Write about something you know and/or love. The topic of internet marketing seems to have been way overdone. Unless, of course, you are a true expert on some niche internet marketing subject, then definitely do it. Just don’t do it because everyone else is.

As for the actual writing, you don’t even have to do that if you really don’t want to. You can check out a site like elance.com and post your project and have writers bid on completing the project for you! And there are so many easy to use PDF ebook creators available that formatting the book should pose no technical challenge whatsoever. Set up a simple little one sales page website with a link for payment processing, optimize the site for the engines, use the pay per clicks, find some JV partners, and you’re in the money!

By the way, I know of some guys who have about 10 or 15 of these little mini sites set up selling little reports on niche topics and raking in an average of $2,000 a month from each site. And they’re incredibly easy to set up and practically run on autopilot once you do!

Well, there you have it. Just a few relatively simple ways to get you started on the way to raking in YOUR share of the internet gold mine!

About The Author

Andrea Hayhurst is an internet marketing professional and publishes กHow to Succeed Onlineก, a fresh and informative newsletter dedicated to supporting people like YOU! If you`re looking for the top rated home business opportunities, the latest time saving tools and helpful support from a friend in the business, come by and grab a free subscription today at http://www.YourESource.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 07, 2004

by Andrea Hayhurst

Secret F/r/ee Ingredient Transforms Web Sites Into

Secret F/r/ee Ingredient Transforms Web Sites Into Money Machines

by: Jorge M Vega

The key to transforming your website into a serious income generator that consistently converts visitors into cash customers is right in front of your nose. Without beating around the bush, the often overlooked secret ingredient is, quite simply, to pay very close attention to the proper use of language on your site. As a professional marketer, you can’t afford to undermine your own image, or tarnish your good reputation, by using imperfect ad copy anywhere on your website.

Itกs plain and simple, words sell!

You have to choose them wisely and กpackageก them correctly. They’re the only vehicle you really have for making the sale. Everything else is just fluff along for the ride.

Recognizing the importance of this key ingredient, which costs you nothing, and taking appropriate action as suggested below, will set you apart from the millions of other webmasters who are just spinning their wheels…and making no sales!

Negligence on your part in this department, on the other hand, will cast all your marketing efforts into an uncontrolled tailspin, and turn your visitors away faster than if you stood before them wearing a big sign around your neck reading: กDanger Infected With Contagious Diseaseก

This key ingredient is all the more critical on the Internet because it is, and I think we can all agree, a text driven medium: words are its fundamental building materials.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROBLEM

All the fancy pictures in the world, even with just the right combination of colors, in the most imaginative layout, along with the most creative use of popup and popunder windows, cannot help your marketing efforts one iota if you use the wrong words in an incorrect manner. Meaning, do not expect miracles if, to use common street vernacular, กYou’re just trying to get over.ก

These props can only enhance, but never replace, your fundamental written message. Dignified, careful use of the English language is a prerequisite to successful online marketing. But, many marketers are blatantly disregarding many, if not most, of the basic rules of English usage. Sad, but true, just about everywhere you look online, the English language is suffering a fate worse than death.

Now, please note, Iกm not suggesting that before you design your website youกll need a Ph.D. in English literature, or be a noted, prize winning author. But, what I am suggesting is that you should be as careful as you possibly can with the contents of your website if you wish to attain recognition as a professional marketer. A professional marketer makes every effort to show his/her target audience that their approval, and their respect, are valued.

A shabbily written website conveys just the opposite sentiment. In fact, poor grammar, sloppy punctuation, and misspelled words galore tell the reader that they are not worthy of your very best effort; you are saying, กHereกs the best I could muster under the circumstances. Take it, or leave it. Pay me the $29.95 on the way out for taking a look.ก How inconsiderate!

Of course, this is not to suggest that all, or even most, sites are carelessly and sloppily contrived. Quite obviously, most webmasters invest a great deal of attention in all aspects of their creation. And, letกs face it, web design is a creative process.

ELEMENTS OF THE UNPROFESSIONAL SITES

At one end of the spectrum, there are enough กbad penniesก around to keep any surfer busy for hours rinsing out the bad taste from their mouths after a visit.

At the extreme end of the same category, encounters with sites where the choice of vocabulary is not in the best of taste, where reasonable attention to grammar and spelling have been grossly disregarded, and where simple English been battered beyond recognition, may leave an uprepared visitor with permanent, debilitating, psychological damage, such as a hard to diagnose speech impediment, or maybe an involuntary nervous twitch across one cheek.

In my personal case, after so many chance meetings with disastrous, unacceptable sites, Iกm left with a uncontrollable, drooping eyelid over my left eye which makes Bank tellers stir nervously whenever I announce a withdrawal. : )

Sites that have been compiled irresponsibly indicate a questionable professional intent by their owners, and a lack of interest in putting forth their best effort. Not only would I not buy anything from them, but you can bet your bottom penny that Iกll never revisit.

SOME SHINING EXAMPLES

At the opposite end of the spectrum, among the most professionally done websites I have visited are those belonging to Corey Rudl (this is not a plug, the man makes enough money without my help.)

Obviously, his sites are carefully reviewed for grammatical errors, punctuation is exemplary, spelling mistakes are usually nonexistent; they’re, all in all, a clean, crisp, professional rendering truly worthy of their creatorกs pride.

Two other marketers whose websites are a joy to visit, given their fastidious attention to the proper use of language in the manner described throughout this article are Bryan Winters, of www.pushbuttonpublishing.com, and Chris Carpenter, of www.googlecash.com. Again, as in the case cited above, both these gentlemen care enough about the impression they make on prospective customers to always กput their best foot forward.ก

Their websitesก content has been double checked for common usage errors, relieving the reader from any undue distractions; their sales messages come through as clear as a bell. Like Corey Rudl, they leave you with the image of a polished and sophisticated marketing professional. Your ultimate buying decision is based solely on the merits of their products, not on whether they botched up their sales pitch with carelessness.

Please note, my mention of these three particular marketers should not be considered endorsements of their products. I am a happy customer, but they are simply being singled out in this article as prime examples of how, in my modest opinion, one should handle the use of language as a skilled, responsible, Internet marketer.

SUGGESTIONS AND RESOURCES

A professional looking website, within the parameters I have pointed out, is not that hard to achieve. There are inexpensive, easy to use tools and aids to help you accomplish this indispensable goal.

For example, if, like most of us, you have a tendency to misspell words, take advantage of the SpellCheck feature built right into most word processor programs to double check your work. Or, better yet, since youกll be actively engaged in the process, buy yourself a pocket Dictionary for about six bucks to look up words. Personally, I own several of these, with a few foreign language versions for both Spanish and French.

If punctuation and grammar give you migraines, buy yourself a College level English Usage or Style handbook at any used bookstore in town. Then, when in doubt about any facet of your written work, leaf through it to find an acceptable solution. In no time at all, with just a little effort on your part, youกll gain mastery over any aspect of the English language which previously derailed you.

Personally, I use one, or both of the following when I run into a grammar roadblock: William Strunkกs Elements of Style, and American Heritage Book of English Usage.

And, if you’re fortunate enough to have, either a member of your family, or as a friend or neighbor, an educator who teaches English and whose expertise you trust, ask them to review your written work prior to publishing it as a website.

Youกll receive invaluable insights and suggestions from a specialized professional, at zero cost to you. Naturally, for your own peace of mind, refrain from taking their suggestions personally; it might be helpful to pretend that the work being reviewed by them is not your own.

Additionally, should be inclined to doing your revisions online, I offer up this list of grammar related resources with accompanying descriptions. They’re all fr*ee:

1. http://www.chompchomp.com/terms.htm Grammar terms are listed and each is linked to its own page of explanation and examples of correct and incorrect usage. There are also online exercises. By one Robin L. Simmons.

2. http://www2.ncsu.edu:8010/ncsu/grammar/ Home of the Grammar Hotline. Has tips and links. From North Carolina State University.

3. http://www.well.com/user/mmcadams/words.html Glossary of grammar terms and their meanings. From magazineediting guru Mindy McAdams.

4. http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/errors.html Paul Brians of the Department of English at Washington State University talks about common mistakes and about perfect English that is often changed in error by wellmeaning editors.

5. http://www.worldwidewords.org/ All the pieces here are about English words and phrases—what they mean, where they came from, how they have evolved, and the ways in which people sometimes misuse them.

CONCLUSION

Thankfully, for the kind of writing that we do for the Web, you will not have to become adept at unraveling such mysteries as: What emotions dictate the use of the Subjunctive voice? Or, define a prepositional phrase. How about, what is the difference between a definite and an idefinite article? Or, can a personal pronoun be used in the possessive form? Better still, how would you indicate possession for a noun ending in the letter กs?ก Last but not least, does the English language have a future perfect tense?

Cast all your fears aside, because not only would answering those questions be beyond the scope of this narrative, they would surely be well beyond my own limited and flawed intelligence, as well! For website publishing, we only have to concentrate on writing clearly, sharply, and concisely; clean, simple, and well thought out copy is all we’re after. A basic common sense approach. Pulitzer prize winning authors are bred elsewhere.

Youกll find that, by taking the simple precautions and suggestions I have oulined here to spruce up your website, your professionalism will shine through, making you feel proud and empowered, your feelings of self worth will rise dramatically, giving you added confidence to tackle more and more written projects, praise from others will allow you to recognize your dormant talents, helping to fuel your creativity to a higher level…and your bottom line will inevitably soar as a result!

Copyright 2004 Jorge M. Vega After struggling for years trying to figure out what worked and what didn’t work online, the author has started to กbring home the baconก marketing on the Internet. See the few select, surefire ways he has found that anyone can use to begin making a comfortable homebased living, starting today: http://www.earnlarge.com/pbi

About The Author

Jorge M. Vega is foreignborn, and thanks God daily for the privilege of living in the land he loves, the good olกUSA. Taming the Internet beast took several years, but heกs found several easy ways to online profits which he gladly shares.

This article was posted on April 19, 2004

by Jorge M Vega

The 5 Biggest Mistakes Almost All Web Designers Ma

The 5 Biggest Mistakes Almost All Web Designers Make And Why These Mistakes Could Cost YOU A Fortune!

by: Jason Mangrum

Huge Mistake #1: Creating a Website with Flash Did you know in a recent study, top internet marketers discovered that having a website created with Flash, actually DECREASED the response from prospects and customers by as much as threehundredandseventy percent?

Hereกs why: Your prospects and customers are most likely visiting your website using all types of different computers, connection speeds and internet configuration settings…

What may look GREAT to one visitor, may not even appear for another! You could very easily have shelled out hundreds or even thousands of dollars to have a website created using the Flash technology, only to find out that some of your visitors will never see it! (not to mention the loading times can cause your visitor to close your site, never to return again.)

Huge Mistake #2: The กInternet Catalogก Approach You see this everywhere. Good, honest and hardworking businessmen and women get online to sell their products or services, and have a site created for them that contains a link to just about everything they offer on one page. Their thinking goes along the lines of, ก…well, I don’t want to leave anyone out. If they come to my site, I want to make sure I have what they’re looking for…ก This way of thinking could not be further from the truth.

Hereกs why: Thereกs an ancient rule that goes back to the very beginning of directmarketing on the internet, taught by the richest, most legendary and wellrespected internet marketers of all time…

กWhen you give your prospects too many choices, they become confused and aren’t sure what to do next. Confused people never buy anything.ก

Huge Mistake #3: Optimizing Your Sales Site for the Search Engines Youกll see this taught in nearly every กinternet marketingก course, manual or eBook out there… กYou must optimize every page of your website for the search engines!ก In fact, this false teaching is accepted as กgospel truthก so often, that most web designers will offer to do this for you at no, or little extra cost…

What they DON’t understand is that certain words and phrases must be either reworded (to make it กkeyword richก) or taken out completely, just to be looked upon highly by the mighty search engines and this could KILL your sales, literally overnight.

Hereกs why: When you or a hired web designer optimize your SALES page (i.e. any web page designed to sell your products and services) to get a higher listing in the search engines, you’re going to have to sacrifice the pullingpower of your sales copy (i.e. written sales material) just to get those higher listings. Sure, this can bring you more traffic but what good is all the traffic in the world, if your visitors arrive at your website and aren’t compelled enough to read why they should order your product?

For years, it has been taught that you should always try to find a กbalanceก of SEO (SearchEngineOptimization) mixed with promotional copy designed to sell your products and services…

WRONG AGAIN! The truth is that you should NEVER optimize your sales page for the Search Engines. Instead, you should create tiny กentry pagesก for each keyword related to your product or service, (highly optimized for the Search Engines) and have them link to your main sales site! (we can show you exactly how to do this quickly and easily and get *massive* targeted traffic from the Search Engines without ever *touching* your sales site!)

Huge Mistake #4: Having a กGraphicsBasedก Website Sure, graphics can certainly help us to visualize a particular situation or circumstance, product or service… But did you know that having a graphicallydriven website can actually DISTRACT your visitor away from your sales message?

After all, your sales message (or กweb copyก) is THE #1 most important factor in a website that makes money. If your visitors are paying more attention to your กprofessional graphicsก than your sales message… youกve just lost another sale.

Hereกs why: Youกve got approximately seven seconds from the time your visitor arrives at your site, to the time they decide whether to buy your product, get more information or LEAVE. If youกve got a graphicallyintensive website, your website will most likely still be loading past your sevensecond time limit.

Thatกs a กcustomerkillerก in and of itself however, the real reason lies within the fact that the bigger, brighter and more beautiful your graphics are, the more they will distract your visitor from your sales message. And if your visitor is distracted even for one second, it could mean the difference between getting a sale, and losing a customer.

Huge Mistake #5: Designing a Website with ZERO Marketing Experience Most web designers have no idea how to make money on the internet, with anything other than their design services. Itกs not their fault they simply have no or very little marketing and sales experience. After all, they’re just website designers…

However, having your website designed by someone with ZERO internet marketing experience is like buying a streetcar without an engine… it won’t go anywhere, and itกll just waste your time and money!

For more information on how to have your website designed (or redesigned) by a wellknown expert in the field of directresponse internet marketing, go here: http://www.ImmWebDesign.com

About The Author

Jason Mangrum is CEO of ImmWebDesign.com, a Joint Venture specialist, contributing author to such #1 bestsellers as ‘the ECodeก, กDesperate for Moneyก, ก30 Days to Internet Marketing Successก, author of ‘the Path of Manifestationก and creator of the กInstant Marketing Miracle Automated Joint Venture Software.ก He has also been a featured speaker at prestigous events such as Marc Goldmanกs กJoint Venture Summit of the Centuryก and the worldfamous กSpiritual Marketing Super Summit.ก

This article was posted on November 13, 2004

by Jason Mangrum

Golden Rules For the Use of Autoresponders

Golden Rules For the Use of Autoresponders

by: Nial Robbins

Autoresponders are a perfect way to increase traffic to your site. They can save many valuable hours by automatically answering emails concerning frequently asked questions about a service or product or by sending a welcome letter to new members of your program. There are many ways that autoresponders can help your business. One of the most important is their ability to track the effectiveness of your promotions. Since autoresponders are one of the most popular marketing tools available today, they are being used by a lot of different kinds of business and websites. Some of these take advantage of the system to use the autoresponders in a negative manner. You should be aware of some of the ขGolden Rulesข when using autoresponders.

Thou Shalt Not Use an Autoresponder Address When Submitting to Search Engines.

Since you will most likely submit your site to search engines such as Google or Yahoo!, directories, classifieds, and free for all sites, you should be made aware of the fact that these sites commonly use an autoresponder as well. If you were to use your autoresponder to contact these companies, their autoresponder will reply to yours and so on and so on. Thus creating a cycle of autoresponses that will flood your email box and theirs as well.

Thou Shalt Not Use an Autoresponder to Subscribe to Ezines or Discussion Forums.

Since most of the time an Ezine will send you updates and new information regularly, your auto responder will send them a message each time. In a discussion forum, every person in the discussion forum will receive your auto response. This can be irritating and most of the time you will be unsubscribed. It is often hard for the administrators of the forum or ezine to determine who is using the autoresponse and therefore it is simply common courtesy to never use an autoresponer in this manner.

Thou Shalt Not Use an Autoresponder to Take Advantage Of Unsuspecting Individuals.

Some very unprofessional companies will use autoresponders to respond to an automated message when this is done the address in the ขfromข field will be automatically subscribed to their mailing list. This is a extremely un ethical use of autoresponders and those who do it are in jeopardy of creating a very negative image of themselves and their company. Rather than promote their service or business, this usually leads to people becoming very upset and spreading a negative word about your company rather than a good one.

The Internet can be a great place to do business and autoresponders can be an excellent way to save time, however when used in an unprofessional way, they can lead to frustration and aggravation for others. Your company will suffer the loss of much business if you choose to participate in these abusive practices. The appropriate use of auto responders can generate a large amount of business, while inappropriate use can drive away that business.

About The Author

Nial Robbins can help YOU start your own profitable business on the Internet within the next 24 hours… To learn more, visit: http://www.NDRHomeBiz.com/pips.html.

This article was posted on September 08

by Nial Robbins

The Fearful, Ignorant Guy Has Got A Blog On The In

The Fearful, Ignorant Guy Has Got A Blog On The Internet. It Must Be Easy!

by: M6.net

Of all people in the world I was easily one of the most pessimistic about computers, the Internet and now that I even know they existblogs. I think blogs are pretty cool but I never thought I could have one. I thought the processes of getting a site; domain name and the actual building of the blog would just be out of my league. I’m a complete novice when it comes to technology, but I do like writing a journal, and I thought having a journal online would be both fun and make life simpler for me. No more writing with pens, other people can read my stuff and comment on it, and I could add pictures to illustrate my points and make things look more interesting.

Well, now I’ve got one! It’s awesome. I won’t lie and say it was easy, but I think if you hook up with a good web hosting company it’s not such a daunting experience as you might expect. I got a few work mates to help me. I went through a couple administrative hitches when filling in my personal information forms for the registrationjust because I’m a bit silly in the head. We had a little trouble with the blog program we used, but these challenges were eventually overcome. My boss says he’s going to make a simple program that people can hook up easily.

I chose my domain name: thepowerofeverythingthatis.com. It’s my own nameno one else on Earth can have it. I own it. I picked a nice picture out for the backgroundit looks really sweet, much better than a blank sheet in a diary. I got it from a site that gives photos out without charging a royalty (the first few): www.istockphoto.com.

I just want you to know the great feeling I got when I first typed in my domain name and my site came up! It was the equivalent to a person who’s afraid of heights being accepted into an astronaut’s mission into outer space. Or maybe it was like a turtle driving a Ferrari 300km per hour. Possibly it was like all the ants in the world getting together for peace talks.

It’s a real blast having this blog. I can write on it any time, anywhere, from my laptop, at an Internet café etc. I can write as much as I want, and I’m hoping one day my writing may inspire others to communicate with me about the subjects that I’m interested in.

Look, if you like writing about anything, and want to have your thoughts and opinions on the Internet, maybe meeting others similar to yourself in the progress; you have to get a blog and get it now. Don’t be afraid any longer, the world is in the palm of your hands; it’s time to get on!

About The Author

Jesse S. Somer is a human hoping to show his fellow Earth citizens the beautiful opportunities the Internet is making available for all our lives.

M6.Net http://www.m6.net

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 09, 2004

by M6.net

Learn The Truth About Your Web Design Company By I

Learn The Truth About Your Web Design Company By Its Portfolio

by: Julia Ramyalg

When you start building your online business and search for a web design company that will implement all your needs for the web site you must understand that it is very serious step because you are entrusting your business along with its reputation and future.

That’s why it’s very important to make the right choice.

There are several factors that must define your choice, and one of them is portfolio of previous web design works the company has done. It can tell you more than all words and promises, just be attentive and try to analyze. I will tell you what you must pay attention to.

1) Presence of portfolio

Yes, it seems to be obvious that web design company must have own web site with portfolio of previous works. But don’t be astonished too much when you see one without it. There can be various reasons for this but I wouldn’t recommend you to tempt fate. Portfolio is like a ขfaceข and it’s pride of web design company, it must be full, substantial, and routinely updated…and IT MUST BE!

2) Total number of works

This can tell you much however there is no standard number that will guarantee you are going to deal with web design guru. Yes, 50 successfully finished projects is better than 5, but their quality is also important. Compare the number with period of time during which the company operates in the market and calculate average number of projects per year, month, or week. Remember that average web site design takes 24 weeks to be finished.

What this information can give you? Firstly, you can see that the company has got enough expertise. Then this shows that it has stable flow of works, adjusted schedule of development process, and enough staff to perform it, so if you commit your web site design to the company you can be sure that the work won’t be for them like a bolt from the blue or wellpaid but not feasible overloading.

3) Type of works

Look attentively at each work in the portfolio. How many projects are similar to the one you need by type of site, technology used, industry, and look and feel? At least 23? Good! More than 5? Excellent!! None? There can be a reason for this – owner didn’t want to make it published, or web site is no more live – so if all other works show professionalism and expertise, you should ask the company if they have ever done the task you need.

If you need any particular technology to be used for your web site implementation it’s more than necessary to see examples how the web design company worked with it.

However sometimes it happens if the technology is not common used and not very popular that the web design company hasn’t had chance to work with it for commercial purpose but it might be used for internal projects development, so you will loose nothing if ask the company to show you some examples if they exist.

If you need a web site for exact business, for example dating site or real estate site, it’s also better to view such previous works in the portfolio because there are can be specific features and it’s better to make sure that the web design company is experienced with them. Also some web design companies make demo packages that also can show you the abilities and experience.

4) Quality of works

Learn carefully each live site (or the ones which are similar to the site you need). How long does it take to load the site home page? A few seconds? Great, the web designer knows how to optimize images. A few minutes? It’s normal if this is a Flash site because usually the whole site is loaded at one time, not only the home page; or it’s a Flash intro which goes ahead entering the site and also can load longer because of movie and sound. But if a simple HTML web site loads more than 23 minutes and you can’t see all images or they are shown partially, you must be watchful. Check another HTML sites from the portfolio – if they are also loading for ages, it’s better to search for another web design company because this one is not professional.

All of the aforesaid is correct only if bandwidth of your Internet connection is normal and usually you don’t have problems with loading web sites.

Test the site for userfriendly navigation, pay attention to colors combination, and estimate general impression from the site all this must reflect professional work. But sometimes a web design company is forced to design a site strictly according to the customer’s wishes, so if the customer lacks for good taste the site also looks tasteless. There can be one or two such sites in the portfolio, but not all!

5) Happy owners

Web design business is a highly competitive area and as in any business there are honest and dishonest players. Sometimes it happens that you see the same site in portfolio of two different web design companies and it’s difficult to find the truth to which of them the work really belongs. Some quirky companies place cheap templates in their portfolio with fake owners’ contact info.

That’s why it’s very important to know real references of real owners of the web sites the web design company has made. Ideally this info must be accessible on the web design company site under Portfolio, Testimonials, or Clients sections. Try to contact ALL of the persons listed there and compare their opinions. You may get to know some interesting facts.

6) Own site of web design company

And finally compare the own site of the web design company to web sites presented in its portfolio. Are they similar by quality, technology used, and overall feeling? If the works from the portfolio look much poorer than the own site this can mean that the own site was ordered from another web design company, more professional. Yes, it happens sometimes in web design business that startup amateur company commits its web site design to ขolderข professionals. In such case you better to continue searching for another web design company.

So these 6 rules can help you to make the right choice. Don’t be afraid to spend longer time for search and analysis, finally you will only benefit by it getting perfect web site that will give new prospects to your business and make it more successful.

About The Author

Julia Ramyalg

http://www.itinventors.com/

ITInventors is professional offshore web design company that offers affordable custom web site design at rate $10/hr. Services we offer: Corporate web site design, Ecommerce web site design, Content Management Software integration into existing web sites, Real estate web site design.

We are always ready to help you become owner of a great web site for affordable price.

You can view portfolio and references at http://www.itinventors.com/portfolio.php

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 08

by Julia Ramyalg

How To Get Higher Ranking Through Website Promotio

How To Get Higher Ranking Through Website Promotion And Website Optimization?

by: Thomson Joseph

Recent studies suggest that more than 85% of website visitors to any website come from searches done with search engines. If this is to be believed the study suggests getting top placement on search engines is the key to bring quality traffic to your website.

I have few tips how to optimize your website for a better search engine placement .

Search engine friendly website optimization : There are thousands of search engines out there on the web 90 percent of the web traffic comes through these three search engines, Google, Yahoo, and MSN so your website promotion should be focusing on these three search engines. Top search engine placement allows you to target and attract potential buyers and sellers through the Internet and generate qualified leads

Website promotion should targeting you business audience: Do research and figure out what are the closest keywords and phrases your prospective customers would be searching for. This keyword optimization should be related to your business, local area and most common keywords.

Optimize your Meta Tags for Internet Marketing : Most of the Expert in the industry says Meta tags are dead and all search engines doesn’t give priority to Meta tags. But I believe it is still the key to higher placement on search engines. The most important are Title, Description and keyword. All these three should have your targeted keywords.

Title tag for website promotion : is very important because search engines gives weight age to that so place your most specific keyword over there.

Page Heading for search engine placement: As heading in newspapers or any media give importance to media it also gives importance to search engines as well. It is so important to website promotion so place your most important keywords in these Headings tags.

Keyword research and Web site optimization: keyword research and optimization is an important for keyword placement and selection it involves lot of keyword research. I have the expertise in web page keyword placement and optimization to my clients since 1999 successfully.

Highlighted text for website optimization: Search Engines consider Highlighted text like bold and italics tags, so place your targeted keywords here too.

Image optimization for website promotion: Most of the search engines started indexing websites by images found on the website, this is achieve by looking at the ALT description of the image found on the site. The important keywords should be included into this ALT tags.

Title tag on your links for search engine placement: Text link plays an important role on the anchor links of the website. Search engines spiders on these text links. Most of sites still don’t use the link title tag, so when you do, you gain an advantage. The link title should be a short keyword or phrase.

Link popularity for optimization : When we talk about website optimization and search engine placement the important aspect is Link popularity. There are different types of link of link building reciprocal links and nonreciprocal links

Check for broken links and errors: Before submitting to search engines and website promotion run your website pages through a HTML checker and a spell check. Search Engines penalize for these errors

This article was written by Thomson Joseph of http://www.websitepromoitonexpert.com

Article source http://www.digitallabz.com

About The Author

This article was written by Thomson Joseph of http://www.websitepromoitonexpert.com

Article source http://www.digitallabz.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 21

by Thomson Joseph

7 Secrets to Explode your eBook Sales! Part 1

7 Secrets to Explode your eBook Sales! Part 1

by: Bluedolphin Crow

Secret #1: How to write an incredible eBook!
Aho!
I shouldn’t be telling you this:
One of the biggest problems that most eBook writers and sellers face is generating eBook sales. It seems like the Internet is full of กideasก however, these กideasก don’t seem to be producing results.
Three reasons come to mind:
Reason # 1: eBooks are not marketed effectively.
Reason # 2: eBook sales pages either do not exist, or they do not capture the buyers interest.
Reason # 3: The eBook is not written and/or organized well.
So many of us hear about the big boom in eBook sales. Most of us have read articles and/or eBooks teaching us that we should have our own product out there to be successful.
Well all of that is true. However, where the กideasก fall short of producing results is in all three reasons listed above.
That is the reason I am writing this 7 part article series for you. In it you will learn how to correct all three reasons above and much more!
Look at what youกll be learning:
Secret #1: How to write an incredible eBook!
Secret #2: Creating your marketing timeline for long term success!
Secret #3: How to create an avalanche of sales with freeware/shareware sites!
Secret #4: Creating passionate articles will explode your sales!
Secret #5: How to build steady sales for years to come with eBook Directories!
Secret #6: Creating momentum and identity through Book Sellers!
Secret #7: How to create a mountain of sales using multiple Royalty Publishers!
Ok, now there is no time like the present. So lets begin:
Secret #1: How to write an incredible eBook!
Why is it essential to you’re marketing success to write an incredible eBook?
Gone are the days of taking marketing information and regurgitating it in a different manner. Then publishing it as an eBook and moving on.
Today people on the web want information. However they are looking for NEW information. New ways of doing things. Not the same old, same old, wrapped in a new cover.
So, with this in mind how do you write an incredible eBook you might be wondering?
Let me first assure you it is not as difficult as you might first suspect.
First, lets set into place the basic foundation steps for your eBook.
Answer the questions in the following steps.
Step 1: What is the main focus of your eBook. In other words, what do you want the reader to take away after reading your eBook?
Step 2: What kind of research do you need to do?
Step 3: What is the order you have to divide your information into?
Now, as you answer the above questions openly and honestly you will build the foundation of your eBook upon which you can build a successful marketing blueprint.
Great! Now it is time for you to begin the basic plan for your eBook.
Step 4: Write a mission statement of why you are writing this eBook.
Step 5: Write out what makes your eBook different from all the rest. For example do you have exclusive information, an original format, and/or an exclusive offer?
Great! Now you’re on a roll. Letกs begin the final phase of planning your eBook.
Step 6: Using all the information above and your research, write out a table of contents.
Step 7: Now rewrite the table of contents into hot selling sentences. For example: instead of Chapter 1: How to increase your eBook sales. Use: 7 Secrets to explode your eBook sales!
Step 8: Write your eBook introduction.
Step 9: Write the forward to your eBook.
Step 10: Write out the closing statement to your eBook.
Step 11: Create a plan of action to finish writing your eBook. Take at least one plan of action step a day!
Step 12: Reread your eBook and correct grammar, punctuation and typographical errors. Try to have at least one other person read and correct your eBook as well.
Wonderful! You have now finished your first eBook.
Next week we continue with this seven part series with:
Secret #2: Creating your marketing timeline for long term success!
Have a great week! Bluedolphin Crow
Copyright 2004 Bluedolphin Crow All Rights Reserved.

About The Author

Bluedolphin Crow Ph.D. is a Native American with 6 years internet Marketing Experience and 20 years Sales and Marketing experience. The above article is an excerpt from her upcoming eBook: eBookMarketingSecretsRevealed! To reserve your FREE copy before publication (A $49 value) send a blank email to: mailto:[email protected]

กHow to eBooks Free eZine: mailto:[email protected]

http://www.lostdazedandconfused.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 28, 2004

by Bluedolphin Crow

Work At Home, But Don’t Become A Slave To Your Bus

Work At Home, But Don’t Become A Slave To Your Business

by: Kirk Bannerman

Although the expressed reasons for wanting to work from home are many and varied, most home based business owners cite the ability to set their own hours as a major factor in their decision to work at home. However, many people that have work at home businesses often fall into a trap that flies directly in the face of their stated desire for time flexibility.

The strong growth in home based business activity continues and, according to the Small Business Administrationกs Office of Advocacy, fiftytwo percent of ALL small businesses are homebased.

Some home based business owners have been known to become กworkaholicsก because their office is so accessible. Don’t become a slave to your business…get out of your home office regularly to renew and revitalize yourself.

Close the door to your office or otherwise remove yourself from your designated กwork areaก and go into your กhomeก area to live your personal life. If your business involves the use of the telephone and you find it difficult to ignore a ringing phone in the office, simply turn the ringer off and turn the volume on the answering machine way down. If your business is internet based, just turn off your computer (or at least get away from the monitor and keyboard).

As a work at home business entrepreneur, you certainly aren’t required to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week just because your business is located in your home. After all, your office or workspace is just an area in your home…its not your home itself!

Working and living under the same roof has a host of advantages, but it can present some challenges (in addition to the workaholic syndrome mentioned, above) and stress factors.

Here are four ways to create a less stressful home business environment:

Remember why you wanted to become involved with a homebased business (i.e. more time for family, work schedule flexibility, etc.)

Have discussions with your family members and get their input about the working arrangements and the amount of time they want with you.

Use good time management techniques. Keep a list of tasks by order of importance. There are many low cost and effective กday plannersก or กorganizersก readily available today.

ALWAYS take a little time to กsmell the rosesก.

While not experiencing the negatives common to a corporate office working environment, the homebased business owner may occasionally experience stresses and frustrations that are unique to working at home. Networking with other homebased and small business owners provides an opportunity to connect with others who may be experiencing the same stresses/frustrations that you are. Sharing stressful and/or frustrating issues with someone else in the same situation can relieve your stress and may bring you good advice from a different point of view.

As a final note, remember to observe HomeBased Business Week (it is always the week of October that includes the second Tuesday).

About The Author

Kirk Bannerman operates a successful home based business and resides in California. For more details, visit his website at http://businessathome.us

This article was posted on December 26, 2003

by Kirk Bannerman