The Best Advertisement For Your Business

The Best Advertisement For Your Business

by: Mark Daoust

It is no secret among internet marketers that writing articles is a great way to market your website. With all the article distribution services and all the websites looking for free, unique content, writing a quality article can bring you more links to your website in one day than an entire month of working out link exchanges and submitting to directories. The benefits of writing articles have been written about time and time again. Yet in order to enjoy the benefits of article writing, your article must first be accepted by the publishers who receive your submissions. This article will focus on a few key points to help increase your chances of getting your article accepted by the Internet’s top publishers.

Proofread Your Own Writing

Proofreading is very time consuming. If you want your article to be widely accepted, it is your job to make the publisher’s job easier. The first step in making the publisher’s job easier is to check, double check, and triple check your spelling and grammar. If you have someone that can review your article, have them read it over. Tell this person to look for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and poorly worded sentences. They will be able to point out mistakes that you may never have seen. When you write an article there is a tendency of getting overly familiar with the content and thus you could miss a glaring mistake in your writing. Consider the following exercise by reading aloud what is written:

London

in the

the

spring

x x x

What did you read? If you identified that the word ‘the’ is written twice, than you can consider yourself one of only 5% of people who get this exercise correct. 95% of people who read this exercise only see ขLondon in the spring X X Xข. (If you still do not see it, read it aloud again, but this time point to each word as you read it.)

The point of this exercise is to show you just how easy it is to miss obvious mistakes. Add in the element of familiarity with the writing and you are likely to miss even more mistakes. By asking someone else to read over your work, you greatly reduce the chances of missing a glaring error in your writing.

Rule to Remember: Proofread Your Own Writing, and then Proofread Again

Offer Something of Real Value

Articles are an incredible source of free traffic and free advertising for your business. However, articles are not supposed to be advertisements themselves. There is nothing you can do to get a publisher to delete your article faster than writing an article that is nothing more than a longwinded ad copy.

If you want to get your article published, once again you must get into the publisher’s mind. The publisher is always looking to offer his or her readers with fresh, insightful, and helpful information. Commentaries on industry trends, useful strategies, tutorials, observations and theories all make good articles. As an owner of a business, reviewing one of your products, offering a teaser of the information you sell, or blatantly marketing your products by including your hyperlink throughout the article makes for a horrible article that will likely not be published.

Think back to the time when you first started your online venture (this may not be very long ago) and remember how thirsty you were for good, quality information. When writing your article, remember how valuable this information was to you when you found it. Every author has the right to a resource box which serves as your advertisement; if you prove to the reader that you are an expert in your field and give them information that only you can provide, this will serve as a stronger advertisement than if you spend 2,000 words on a longwinded, selfpromotional article.

Finally, when writing your resource box, it is best to be as concise as possible. Resource boxes that appear to be about as long as the article themselves show that the author has no concern about the content of his or her article. Limit the number of links you put into your resource box to no more than three links and keep the resource box to no more than four or five lines.

Rule to Remember: Write a Good Article, not a Good Advertisement

Be Clear and Concise

Many people fall into the trap of thinking they have to develop an eloquent, graceful writing style in order to be published. What these people seem to forget is that an article is written with one main point: to deliver information. Be concise, be clear, and be direct. When writing your article, you should actually aim to be slightly boring with your writing style. What is slightly boring to you is probably very clear and direct to the reader.

It is important to note that most online publishers have much more to deal with than the writing styles of the authors who submit articles to them. Publishers are more concerned with grammar, spelling, and content than they are with how eloquently a writer can make his or her point. One thing that a publisher will take notice of, however, is a writer who has a confusing and difficult to follow writing style.

Your article should encourage readers to read through the entire article. If a reader gets a few lines into the article, or even a few paragraphs, and finds themselves confused, you can be sure that they will never get to your resource box and thus never visit your website. To keep a reader interested in your article, give them quality information and give it to them directly and clearly. A reader will only continue to read an article if they believe there is a good chance that they will gain something further by finishing the article. Although it may be counterintuitive, boring writing does just that.

Rule to Remember: Being Boring is Better than Being Confusing

Writing good articles is not difficult. When writing your article, think first about what publishers are looking for in an article. Focus on your grammar, spelling, clarity, conciseness, and content. Remember that your article should actually help people beyond just selling your product or service. Offer valuable information to your readers and they will pay you back tenfold. Offer valuable information to a publisher’s readers and they will be certain to publish your article and provide you with the best free advertisement for your business.

Copyright 2004 Mark Daoust

About The Author

Mark Daoust is the owner of http://www.sitereference.com. Discuss this article further at http://forums.sitereference.com/t120/s.html.

This article was posted on November 25, 2004

by Mark Daoust

Top 7 Tips for New Businesses

Top 7 Tips for New Businesses

by: Mary Ellen Martelli

The marketing decisions you make for your new business are the most important part of making your business a success. Marketing is about building a strong presence, name recognition and credibility through various methods. Here are 7 things you can do to get a new business off the ground.

All of the time and money you invest in getting your business off the ground is wasted if you don’t make the additional efforts and expenditures to market effectively. Marketing is the process and procedures that get your name out to the public. Your advertising is only a part of marketing. You should have a plan for at least the first year of operations on a monthly basis. With a new business, your marketing is about building a presence, name recognition, status and reputation through a variety methods.

1. Have a Written Business Plan: Having your business plan in order allows you to see a very clear path to where you want your business to go. There are many resources available on the internet to guide you in this process, but basically, your business plan should include: Business Description, Key Initiatives and Objectives, Marketing Strategy and Budget, Business Overview, Location and Facilities, Description of Products and Services, Industry Overview & Outlook, Regulatory Issues Related to Your Industry, Implementation Plan and a Financial Plan.

2. Begin Your Business Branding Immediately: Have business cards, a logo, letterhead, brochure, signage and collateral materials professionally designed and printed. It will be worth the investment as your first steps towards building your business’s image. Steer clear of ขdo it yourselfข products that can be found in most office supply stores. Although it may seem cost effective for a new business, the real cost comes in the toll it will take on your company’s image. For more advice on Business Branding go to: http://maremaxconsulting.com/brandingtips.html

3. Get a Business Website. In today’s marketplace, a business without a website is like a house without a front door. If you don’t have one, you’re missing out on a very big opportunity to drive business directly to you. Have your website professionally written and designed. Make sure it is an extension of your advertising and print materials. Your branding has to extend and flourish on your home page. Prospective clients should be able to utilize your site for more information than what is already available to them through your brochure, print ads, and other collateral materials. Update your website often and give people a reason to return again and again.

4. Advertise with Consistency. One of the most powerful keys to successful advertising is frequency. A smaller ad that you run 10 times will generate much more presence that an ad 10 times the size you can only afford to run once. Start with local or regional newspapers or magazines, and set up an ongoing plan that will allow you to build your presence. Your advertising message has to speak to the consumer’s needs and most importantly give them a solid reason to call you. But, more importantly, the message needs to in front of them on a regular, consistent basis. Always be sure to use your web address in all of your advertising.

5. Get Your Business Publicized:

• Send a press release to all local newspapers and magazines in your area announcing the opening of your new business, plans for Grand Opening, and services offered. Keep your press releases short, doublespaced, and error free.

• Write letters to the editor and/or send out press releases on a consistent basis that include a professional photo that is captioned (readers are much more likely to view a photo if there is a caption to read). If you, as a business owner, do something new, such as receive an award, appoint someone in your business to a new position, join a board or professional organization or offer your services to a nonprofit organization, be sure to get all the mileage you can out of it by using it as a tool to communicate with the press. If you can plan your marketing budget to include a few professionally written and placed press releases, especially in the beginning, all the better.

• Also consider writing and submitting articles to editors of related business journals and local publications. They are often looking for articles from local businesses. Youกll get your name print, as a credible source, which has a lot more standing than any ad you can purchase in the same publication.

6. Network Network Network! Facetoface networking is one of your best sources of advertising. Be sure to take advantage of every connection opportunity you can. Getting involved will get your business name out there. Become a member of the Chamber of Commerce and be an active participant. Joining a committee, going to meetings, networking breakfasts, and special events extends the opportunities to interact with prospective clients. Volunteer to join a local arts council, charity board, or school board. You’re not only servicing your community, you’re putting yourself and your business out in front of the public.

7. Assess and Redirect Along the Way. Just because you have a written business plan doesn’t mean you should shut your eyes to anything but what you have written. After several months of being fully operational, if you find your business is taking off in one area more then another, you may have stumbled onto a genuine need that wasn’t being filled. Go with it! Assess and redirect. If you find your newspaper advertising is pulling more than your direct mail campaign it may be time to adjust the advertising budget. First, be very sure you’re not being too quick to judge. Some areas of business take longer to cultivate than others. Just as some advertising will adjust according to season, campaign, and frequency.

About The Author

Mary Ellen Martelli is President of MareMax Consulting, a full service Advertising, Marketing & Website Consulting firm, located in the Southern New Jersey / Philadelphia area. You can reach her at her website: http://maremaxconsulting.com/

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 08

by Mary Ellen Martelli

AdWords Campaign Set Up Tips Part Two

AdWords Campaign Set Up Tips Part Two

by: Chris Burgess

Ready for more tips on how to make your AdWords campaign work more effectively for your business?

Start with a Modest Budget

Just as you should start with a smaller geographical region, start with a modest campaign budget. Spend a few days or a few weeks fine tuning your ads before you really decide to pump up the budget. The more กfinishedก and tuned your ads are before you start spending serious amounts of money on advertising, the better.

Patience in building a strong ad group before you expand will benefit you and your bottom line.

Remember Your Audience

Write ad text that will appeal to your audience and bring in the traffic you want. If your products appeal to hobbiests, use terms that hobbiests would understand. If your products are directed mainly at younger customers, use youthful verbage and terms that will draw their attention.

You only have your ad text to convince the กrightก customers to visit your website. Make those words count by making sure that you target the message toward them.

Attract the กRightก Customer

There is a fine line between writing ads that appeal to customers enough to get a high clickthrough rate and writing ads that merely draw anyone. You want to have a high click through rate on your ads, since it will get you higher placement and save you money. You don’t want to attract customers who won’t ever becom customers though.

Use strong action words in your ads. Include powerful selling points and benefits. Try to stay away from phrases that will draw everyone though such as กfreeก and กbargain.ก Write an ad that will bring you viewers who have a good chance of becoming customers too.

About The Author

Chris Burgess is a Marketing Expert with BuyItSellIt.com Online Stores (http://www.buyitsellit.com). He has established and maintained successful pay per click campaigns for BuyItSellIt.com and many of its customers. To build an online store for your small business quickly and easily, sign up for your own free 30day trial online store at BuyItSellIt.com.

This article was posted on August 22

by Chris Burgess

A Book Review: ขThe Hidden Power of Photoshop Elem

A Book Review: ขThe Hidden Power of Photoshop Elementsก

by: Nash Ville

You can never find a graphic art professional who doesn’t know about Adobe Photoshop. This wellknown professional digital imaging tool has been widely used in the world of web and graphic design. Adobe Photoshop Elements, on the other hand, is the studentfriendly version of Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop Elements allow even novice users who work with digital or traditional photographs to eliminate redeye, change tone and color, crop and smooth pictures, repair overexposed areas, and finally, prepare the edited images for print, email or web posting.

According to the article ขThe Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements 2 by Richard Lynchข by Sue Chastain which was posted at http://graphicssoft.about.com, this book and the bonus Power Tools provided on the attached CD can help those who are looking for the full power of Photoshop without the high price to achieve that with Photoshop Elements.

The Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements 2 is a unique book that does what other books on the same topic don’t do. Photoshop Elements is treated by the author not just as a tool for aspiring Photoshop users, but as an advanced and powerful application for those who are serious about image editing. The book doesn’t only contain great advanced techniques for correcting and creating images but also provides tools that add functionality. If you are looking for a real alternative to Photoshop at an affordable cost, never hesitate to use Elements and obtain all the knowledge you need in web and graphic designing.

Here are the other things that you can learn from this book: you can totally improve the quality of your color results using channels, custom separations, and image luminosity; change reality by creating new photorealistic objects and adding them to existing images; create dynamic images for the web using animation and rollovers; correct and improve image tone and color with curves, color balance, and custom layerblending tools; make complicated masks and advanced selections to easily target your corrections; and create creative, scalable line art for logos by harnessing the power of personalized vectors.

Another good thing about this book – it has an enclosed CDROM that makes it more than a howto book. Also, it has a collection of tools that reveal powerful features which aren’t accessible through Elementsก standard interface – masks, curves, channels, calculations, clipping paths, color separations, and many more. Therefore, when you think youกve gone as far as you can go with Elements but wish to do more, have The Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements 2 before you consider stepping up to Photoshop.

Up to these days, Adobe’s Photoshop Elements hasn’t been considered powerful enough for serious image manipulation. I must say that this book will surely change that concept forever because it reveals advanced features locked inside Photoshop Elements that are now ready to be turned loose. So, if you want to harness the awesome power of Photoshop Elements, get free answers to the most difficult image editing questions, and learn new techniques that are not found anywhere else, purchase this book and unleash your great designing capabilities now.

About The Author

Nash Ville: Well, I must say that I am not a born writer. I didn’t acquire this gift hereditarily either. However, I’m an adventure book lover and used to read everything that I come across in the Internet that sounds interesting. I think, I only developed it through constant practice and exposure to numerous writing stuff. I was chosen to compete in press conferences that showcased my needsowelldeveloped writing skills. I became part of our school publication staff. I started as a news writer and photojournalist of the school paper. Soon, I was appointed editorinchief. It was during this time when I realized that I needed to be more efficient in writing because duty called for it. I should say that this event in my life opened me wholly to the wonderful world of writing.

For comments and questions about the article you may contact the Author at 888 888 4211 or visit http://www.uprinting.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on January 28

by Nash Ville

Expose Yourself !

Expose Yourself !

by: Jim Peters

Thatกs what you need to do, if you want to maximize the traffic to your website. You need to expose yourself to as many pairs of eyes as you possibly can.
Paying for advertising is one way to accomplish that, but there are many other much more subtle ways to expose yourself, that can often generate much more targeted traffic.
Probably the best way to expose yourself is by writing articles and submitting them to ezines related to the topic. Oh, กIกm not a writer you say.ก Well, that really doesn’t matter. Iกm not a writer either, and here I am.
The only thing you need to expose yourself with this method is knowledge in a specific area. It really matters little whether that area is rocket science, or declawing a cat.
Start by writing a few paragraphs related to your area of expertise. Assume your potential reader has limited knowledge in that area.
Then, develop those paragraphs to convey your knowledge to your reader.
As I said, the topic is really irrelevant. If you can convey something to the reader that expands their knowledge by reading your article, you gain worthwhile exposure
Now comes the hard part: deciding on an eyecatching title for your article. And, I do mean the hard part. I can spend 30 minutes writing an article and another 6 hours coming up with just the right title.
A few things to remember: You really need to keep it short. Thatกs a big part of what makes this process so hard. It also needs to convey a quick and easy to understand message to grab your readerกs attention.
For example, the title of this article must have grabbed your attention. You probably wondered, what could กExpose Yourselfก be about?
Now, assume you have your article written along with an eye catching title. Where do you go from there? Well, the whole idea is to expose yourself. So, the next step is a dynamite กsigก file. Thatกs Internet speak for an expanded signature. One that contains not only your name, but additional data about your background and the enterprise you wrote the article to promote.
Keep your กsigก file short and sweet, not more than 6 to 8 lines formatted the same as your article.
You now have an article with a great title, along with your กsig file. Itกs time to promote it. Have a look at these quick tips http://www.opportunityupdate.com/tips.html for getting your article noticed by a publisher.
Here are a few of the excellent sources for promoting your article:

http://www.opportunityupdate.com/doorwaytosubmit.html
http://www.dimeco.com/articlesub.htm
http://www.ezinearticles.com/
http://www.ideamarketers.com/
http://www.mailbiz.com/mailbiz/magcat/
http://www.netterweb.com/articles/
http://www.powerhomebiz.com/termsofuse/articlesubmission.htm

Now, go out there and expose yourself!

About The Author

Jim Peters is Manager of http://NetServeInt.com NSI กSOLUTIONSก. NSI specializes in esources for webmasters, writers, publishers, and online marketing professionals. In other words กSOLUTIONSก.
Copyright © 2004 by NetServe International, Inc.

This article was posted on July 13, 2004

by Jim Peters