Marketing Time Tools and Resources: November 2006

To Blog Or Not To Blog: The Ups And Downs Of Blogging
Saturday, November 25, 2006

Whenever the subject of the phenomenon called blogging is
raised, most people immediately think associated it with an
online diary or weblog. The term weblog refers to key words.
First is web from the World Wide Web and log, as in keeping a
log. Even though it's not that difficult to pronounce it was
eventually still shortened to just "blog".

From the time that the first 'blogs' made its appearance in
1994, the act of recording thoughts and experiences online
spread like fire all across the globe. Today, blogging become
an Internet sensation.

Actually most people are unaware that there's much more to
blogging than what we usually see online, where individuals
simply write down their daily routine in a diary-like way.
Blogging is now seen as a viable way to spread information and
more and more professionals are getting in on the act to report
on areas that interest them. It has now expanded so much that a
blog can be made into practically just about anything you want
it to be.

However, not everyone is enthusiastically jumping in the
blogging bandwagon. There are still those remaining few who are
still taking their own sweet time making the decision whether to
blog or not to blog. So, what are the reasons why they are not
blogging?

There are several reasons but most simply do not realize the
huge the benefits of blogging. All they see is the downside
like the monetary and time costs involved. Another reason is
that they are intimidated with the technical side of blogging.

Also, most articles found on the net only talks about how great
blogging is, without telling you why or showing you how. Or we
tell you how to get the best results with your blog, but don't
tell you where to start. So here are some basic facts you might
be interested in.

If have envisioned your site going from getting 10 hits a month
to getting a couple of dozen visitors a day from search engines,
well blogging can make that possible if you do it right. The
structure of a blog, and the fact that most of them
automatically generate content feeds, also make them the best
food for your friendly neighborhood search engine spider.

Now, if you wish for your visitors to keep coming back to your
site over and over again until they finally make a purchase,
then you might want to try your hand at a blogging. An
informative blog that engages your audience will cut down the
sales cycle, plus it also creates a courtship period. Blogs
make it possible for your visitors to subscribe to your
thoughts, see if they like you and even get to know more about
you.

Keep in mind that people usually buy from the people that they
like. So if your visitors do not feel like they are getting a
personality vibe from you, they are often less likely to buy.
Vibe means buy, so keep that in mind. Furthermore, remember
that blogs make it easy for you to vibe.

Another benefit you can gain from blogging is that you can
create new targeted search engine pages for your site without
the need to hand-code a new page, or fire up your HTML editor
every time. All you need to do is simply log in to your blog
admin panel, type your thoughts, proofread, and press publish.
Voila! You have a blog!

Blogging can also help you with free one-way links back to your
site that contains your lucrative keywords. So, even if your SEO
efforts all went down the drain, or been the unsuspecting victim
of an algorithm change, as long as you aren't banned by a search
engine, blogging can help bring you back into top results. Why
you ask? Well, it simply because blogs have a search engine
friendly architecture, and can make use of your keywords
automatically, without being gratuitous. Blogs are the easiest
way to get into a search engine and stay in.

Downside to blogging number 2. Blogging can be hard and
expensive. This may be true enough, particularly if you're
busy, or have a medium sized to large business. In which you
may have to hire one of the few consultants that works on these
types of issues. Unfortunately, it means expenses.

But there is a way you can get away with that, if you're a
small business owner or a home-based business with an online
element then you can get away with firing up a free blog. All
you have to pay for is the very affordable custom template if
you can't install one on your own. Most blog consultants will
do all the keyword research, etc for you, so that all you'll
have to do is log in and blog.

Many of the most common blog software systems are free or
inexpensive, especially when weighed against the cost of only
using paid methods to attract visitors.

Another reason why people do not have blogs is because they are
under the impression that it will not work unless they are a
competent writer. This is a fallacy. With blogging you can
easily get away with just a few simple paragraphs. There is no
need for you to write in professional manner or use industry
jargon. By nature, blogging is done in a casual, conversational
tone. Otherwise, it loses its spontaneity that is its trademark.

Moreover your blog posts do not have to be long article-type
entries like either. Keep in mind that some of the articles you
often find in a blog are done by an avid writer. Your audience
will be thrilled with a few paragraphs every day, as long as
they're informative, consistent and understandable.

So why not take that plunge? Start blogging today and see for
yourself. As for those who tried just once and immediately gave
up, give it another shot. Remember that the positive out weighs
the negative. Think of all the good things you're missing.
Start blogging now!

About The Author: http://www.theinternetone.net

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 7:12 PM, ,

How To Build A List Using Free Giveaway Events

There are a number of different ways in which you can get
people to join your mailing list; however, participating in
free giveaway events is perhaps the eaiest and most
cost-effective of all. The only problem you will encounter is
actually figuring out how to participate in such events. So how
can you do it?

The first way in which you can build a mailing list through
free giveaway events is to actually create the events yourself.
You can do this by organizing other business owners in your
given niche and asking them if they are interested in giving
away products in order to build mailing lists. In most cases,
you will want to use some sort of event as a reason for
conducting the giveaway. Perhaps you will organize a massive
Christmas giveaway - or perhaps you will use some other
Holiday. Regardless of what event you select, remember to use
some sort of a premise to help it build momentum.

Once you have selected a premise, you will also want to start
contacting everyone who sells a product in your given niche.
This works especially well if you contact business owners who
sell multiple products - some of which are relatively old. They
will usually be looking to make some money off of older products
by giving them away for free.

Let each of your potential partners know upfront what you plan
to do. Let them know that you plan to organize a giveaway
event, in which all product owners will allow visitors to
download free copies of their software in exchange for
providing them with an email address.

You can organize this in several different ways. One way is to
allow each owner who joins to give away all the products of all
the members in exchange for email addresses. Another way is to
attempt to get several different email addresses per giveaway
sign-up. The first is probably a better option to select if you
are creating it yourself, as it is more likely to attract
partners.

Now, if you don't want to start such an event yourself, you can
always wait for someone else in your given niche to organize it
for you. Again, look out for these events around Holidays,
including Christmas and New Years.

Once you actually get the email addresses of those who sign up
for the products, you will then want to carefully cultivate
them into buyers. You may want to do this by either using an
autoresponder or sending out periodic emails before you ever
try to pitch anything.

About The Author: Aurelius Tjin is The Publisher of The
'Unstoppable Internet Marketing' Newsletter. Discover His
Secret Strategies To Skyrocket Your Internet Marketing
Business. To Find Out More Go To
http://www.UnstoppableInternetMarketing.com

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 7:12 PM, ,

Directory Submission Guide And Link Building With Directory Submissions
Friday, November 17, 2006

Link Building is very crucial in search engine optimization. It
denotes the process of building external links so that a user
browsing a website could easily find more or other relevant
info on the same topic by referring to those links. Search
engines give due weightage to similar practices and rank such
websites higher than ordinary ones. In their ranking process,
search engines consider links pointing to a website as 'votes'
to the respective website, an appreciation to its relevance or
importance given by other websites, and hence rates such
websites higher in the order amongst search results. In short,
the more the links pointing towards a website, the better will
be its page rank. But, on a finer scale, it should also be kept
in mind that most of the links pointing towards a website must
be from high ranked pages for better page rankings. Further,
out of context links does more damage than providing any real
benefit.

So, how to get other websites link to your website? Well, one
way to achieve that is through directory submissions. There is
an assortment of search engine friendly directories available -
such as open directory project, MSN and Yahoo - that will be
ready to link to your website provided it includes relevant
information and confirms with their guidelines and rules of
submission. But, care must be taken that you are submitting
your website to only relevant directories and to the right
categories and not anything in random. Well, it may take a bit
of research and effort to get your website submitted in the
relevant and popular directories, but once your website could
make a permanent listing in the popular directory or
directories, soon the traffic to the website will increase and
more advertisements and permanent links starts to flow in with
enhanced ease. Once reached that level, the link building will
become self sustaining and the search engine rankings also will
improve accordingly, provided your website continues to provide
useful and relevant contents in a consistent manner.

Tail Piece: The difference between search engines and directory
submissions is that in the latter, it is human editors who
decide on the final submission location and not any automated
tool. Since it is human editors who are making the final call,
chances are high that a website might reach its right
destination in terms of directory/category, most of the times.

How to Get Better Acceptance in Directory Submission

It is clear from the foregoing that directory submission could
contribute immensely to link building. But, how to get your
website acceptable to directories? In order to get better
acceptance in directory submissions, the first thing to take
note is to make your website relevant to the directories. Any
thing junk or random is not entertained by any of the popular
directories. Further, submitting your webpage in to right
categories makes the process quicker and such pages will
generally gets listed without any delay. Remember, it is manual
editors who accepts or rejects applications for submissions, and
for a person who might be viewing thousands of web pages daily,
it is far easier to reject a page than accepting it. So, how
simple and straight you could make your submissions as
possible, the more are the chances of it getting listed in the
directories.

Another aspect that goes a long way in enhancing acceptance in
directories is the way the titles, description and keywords are
organized for a web page. Every directory will have their own
rules and regulations, and hence web pages must also be
organized around such constraints. Regarding descriptions, most
directories require it to be short - in the range of 100 - 250
words that may vary from one directory to another - crisp, and
to the point. Descriptions that are huge or of 'beating around
the bush' type are generally showed the door by the directory
editors. The same is the benchmark for keywords as well - it
needs to be more organized and focused, and not just another
group of irrelevant and relevant ones mixed randomly. In that
regard, it will be prudent to make a short list of all
prospective keywords first before finalizing the most optimal
keyword for submission. That will ease the job for you.

Finally, do not spam your directory listings with words being
used uncontrollably and insensibly. Directory editors hate such
practices and similar applications are rejected outright without
any chance for a second consideration.

About The Author: Manish Mathukiya is President of Inetzeal SEO
Services ( http://www.inetzeal.com/ ). He offers Quality
Directory Submission Service (
http://www.directory-submission.inetzeal.com/ ) to SEO Friendly
Directories. He is editor of SiteMatrix Directory (
http://www.sitematrix.org/ )

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 2:56 PM, ,

Top 3 Affiliate Networks for Beginners

If you're new to affiliate marketing, you're probably a bit confused
about which programs to join, and which affiliate networks are the
best choice. So here is a brief summary of the top three networks for
beginner affiliate marketers:

1. Click Bank - Clickbank is a very easy affiliate network to join,
and they pay like clockwork every two weeks. That's one of the reasons
it's in the top three affiliate networks I recommend beginners start
with. When you first start out in affiliate marketing, cash flow is a
very important - sometimes critical factor in the success of your
business. And waiting a month or more to actually receive money you've
earned can be downright difficult.

Clickbank deals exclusively in electronic, or digital products. These
are usually EBooks, but you'll also find excellent software programs
to promote at Clickbank as well. Clickbank is also very easy to sign
up for, and they have thousands of products you can choose to promote.
Many of these products pay 50% or higher commissions too, so there's
ample opportunity to make loads of money quickly through this network.

2. Commission Junction - CJ for short, this affiliate network is quite
large. Products vary too... you can promote hard goods such as
exercise equipment or vitamins, digital products such as weight loss
memberships, and even just generate leads to for things such as
college scholarships to credit cards.

CJ pays around the 20th of every month, and you can choose to be paid
through a paper check, or a direct deposit to your bank account. They
also have a comprehensive affiliate learning center, and many ready
made promotional tools for affiliates to use.

3. Share a Sale - This affiliate network, often referred to as SAS, is
a bit new compared to the previous two. But it has quickly become one
of the favorites of top affiliates because it cares about the
affiliate marketers. It offers many tools and learning resources, plus
there are busy third party message boards that come in handy for new
affiliates too.

SAS also pays around the 20th of each month for any commissions earned
in the previous full month. You can also choose between receiving
payments via a paper check, or direct deposit to your bank account.

© 2006, Kathy Burns-Millyard. Want to learn more about <A
HREF="http://www.easysidemoney.com/affiliate-project-x.html">affiliate
marketing</A> now? Learn powerful, profitable affiliate marketing
techniques with <A
HREF="http://www.easysidemoney.com/affiliate-project-x.html">Affiliate
Project X</A>

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 2:56 PM, ,

Tripping SEO Traps

The contract arrived and read in part, "A keyword density of 10
percent in required." The writer who had originally agreed to
craft an article based on a keyword let out a low whistle as a
mental image of the finished product assaulted his good sense.

In a five hundred word article this would mean the keyword
would be used fifty times. That's not bad if the keyword is
'the', but for a product keyword or phrase this is called
'keyword stuffing'. The practice is not limited to online
content.

In the end, an article with a keyword density that high does
not connect well with readers. You may ask yourself why someone
would request an article like this. The answer is simple - the
belief that this approach helps them achieve higher rankings in
search engines. The truth is this article will eventually be
detected as spamming and will cause the overall site to be
penalized for the 'get rich quick' mentality that requested the
article.

Keyword stuffing is also a problem in Meta title information
and other descriptions. When you compromise the message of your
website to get visitors to your site, it is possible that your
site will not have anything relevant to say to your visitor
because it reads like a foreign language or broken record.

Perhaps it is a lack of patience, but there are many online
businesses that can't seem to wait for legitimate SEO
strategies to take effect. Many of these individuals will spend
hundreds of dollars with SEO firms that promise top ten
listings. What many of these 'businesses' do is find a search
term nobody is using (and may not even be related to your
product or service) and optimize your website through Meta
titles and other html language to ensure that an often bizarre
term comes up first in the search engines when that exact term
is used. If you're asking yourself how this helps, you have
just asked a very good question.

The old adage that there is "no such thing as a free lunch" is
true in site optimization strategies. The proper strengthening
of your site position takes time, instruction and a deference
to honorable SEO techniques that result in positive long-term
rankings. By taking this approach you will also find that your
site visitors will have the best opportunity to take your site,
products and services seriously.

Techniques like 'keyword stuffing' are generally a turn-off to
both search engines as well as visitors. In the end what use is
increased site traffic if you have little substance to sustain
the visit and maintain the long-term connection with potential
clients.

About The Author: Scott Lindsay is a web developer and
entrepreneur. He is the founder of HighPowerSites and many
other web projects. HighPowerSites is the easiest
do-it-yourself website builder on the web. Get your own website
online in just 5 minutes with http://HighPowerSites.com at:
http://www.highpowersites.com

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 2:53 PM, ,

Why Your Business Needs A Peer-Led MasterMind Group

My friend Ken, who teaches at the National College of
Naturopathic Medicine, describes the 'Big Gulp' that most new
doctors face.

The 'Big Gulp' is what happens when the new doctor has been
through years of school, amassed a six-figure medical school
debt, and graduated with her friends and colleagues. She
excitedly rents a space to open her medical practice, hangs out
her shingle, and waits for clients.

Gulp. Big Gulp.

Even if you aren't a doctor, I bet you know the Big Gulp.

There are a lot of reasons for the Big Gulp- lack of business
knowledge, lack of marketing knowledge, fear of failure,
financial pressures, fear of failing her patients, even fear of
success.

But, as a doctor might say, those are just symptoms. They aren't
the true cause of the Big Gulp. What's really happened is our
young doctor friend has been kicked out of the nest to fly on her
own. She's spent years with mentors, colleagues, classmates,
clinics, and study groups, learning and growing the whole time.
Can you imagine becoming a doctor, a good doctor, a confident
doctor, using a home study course? The Big Gulp is really about
isolation and lack of support. The trouble is that while there
are many different ways to get support, only certain kinds of
support really work to move you forward. The support that many
business owners end up getting falls into one of two categories:

* Knowledge acquisition.

This includes books, CDs, even live classes. But it's all
information, and doesn't actually give you the support to
integrate knowledge and follow-through with it.

* Maintenance support.

Maintenance support is a shoulder to cry on, friends who will
commiserate with you about your situation, an empathetic
colleague.

I'm a big believer in both of these- you should get plenty of
them. But, on their own, they won't move your business forward.
So, what will?

Enter: The MasterMind

A MasterMind is a peer-led group that comes together to combine
some elements of information and maintenance support, but also
has what I call 'Progressive Support.' Progressive support
includes a critical element: compassionate accountability.

Compassionate accountability comes from folks you trust enough to
be able to tell you the truth, to nudge you forward, to support
you moving into uncomfortable areas of learning and application.

Compassionate accountability is NOT what drill sergeants dish
out, nor is it what your nightmare coach from whatever high
school sport you tortured yourself with did to you. :)

You can get Progressive Support from certain types of classes,
and I recommend taking those classes (heck, that's why I offer
them myself. Plus, I'm taking one with another teacher, too.)

But, don't rely on classes as the be-all, end-all. Instead, you
want a peer-led MasterMind group.

There are three simple reasons why you want a MasterMind group as
a foundation in your business.

1. It's free.

Classes cost money. Money is an important element in any
business, and there are many things you need to invest in. But,
getting your basic, foundational support for free as a give and
take with trusted colleagues builds a whole different level of
relationship.

2. It can last forever.

What if a class you are taking ends and you don't find another
one? A Mastermind group can last for years, and provide
consistency and perspective no matter what you are learning, or
what your business is needing.

3. It's peer-led.

In a class situation, you are paying someone to lead. But, as a
business owner, you need certain strengths in leadership. A
peer-led group gives you the opportunity to both lead and be led.
It develops needed aspects that may never come up when you are
paying someone to lead you.

My MasterMind group is the biggest key to why my business has
been so successful. Without my MasterMind, I can name at least a
dozen major successes (including finishing my book, and getting
the Business Oasis up and running) that wouldn't have happened,
or would've taken a LOT longer without that support.

So, I hope I've convinced you. Let me give you some pointers to
starting your own Mastermind

Keys to a Powerful Mastermind

Although the MasterMind for the Heart booklet goes into much more
detail, here are some starting points.

* The People

Obviously, without members, you aren't anywhere. You don't need
more than four, and you should look for the following
characteristics:

1. You like them.

2. Their business is in -roughly- (very roughly) the same place
as yours.

3. They have skills, abilities and knowledge that are outside
your experience.

* The Commitment

You will want to make at least a one-year initial commitment. A
MasterMind is a living, breathing organic structure, and it will
take time to get through the bumps. Don't expect miracles from
the get-go.

But, by making a one-year commitment, you'll be able to get into
a groove with each other.

* The Structure

My own MasterMind combines partnering up one-on-one for
individual help, as well as our group conference calls. And the
daily check-in done on a private forum.

Incorporate those three structures: group meetings, individual
one-on-one time, and a convenient place for a quick daily
check-in, and you've got a lot of the basics in place.

Now, stop doing it all alone, and go ye forth and MasterMind.

My very best to you and your business,

Mark Silver

----------------------------------------------------------
Mark Silver is the author of Unveiling the Heart of Your
Business: How Money, Marketing and Sales can Deepen Your
Heart, Heal the World, and Still Add to Your Bottom Line.
He has helped hundreds of small business owners around
the globe succeed in business without losing their
hearts. Get three free chapters of the book online:
http://www.heartofbusiness.com

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 2:51 PM, ,

Why I Am A Search Engine Optimization Renegade
Thursday, November 16, 2006

I want to share with you the question that turned the LIGHTS on
for me as far as Search Engine Optimization is concerned.

Ready?

OK. Now before I share the question with you, I want to make
sure you understand that I am not AGAINST the Search Engines. I
have leaned that being against stuff is not very effective. Anti
War simply promotes the idea of WAR....you have to be pro PEACE.
You'll soon come to recognize I am all about building a better
internet.

SEARCH today is very barbaric, ambiguous and arbitrary. I am
not the only one who thinks this way. A few years ago, Mr. Bill
Gates stated that "Search is pathetic. It really does not
exist!" Makes you wonder whether he was saying that because
Google was kicking his butt. Or did he know something that you
should know?

OK...here is the question that turned the lights on for me...

"Why is it that the Search Engines DO NOT have an ongoing
workable definition of QUALITY?"

I have wrestled with that question for years.

Ebay has a workable definition of quality. You can easily see
the feedback rating of every ebay member and it clearly defines
the potential risk of the transaction.

Amazon has a workable definition of quality. You can easily see
the ranking of the book in terms of sales and the reviews of
people who have read the book.

All businesses have to have a workable definition of quality.

However, when it comes to Search Engines none of these
monstrocities are capable of providing us with a workable
definition of quality.

I wonder why that is?

Every other profession has a workable definition of quality.

When we were in school all of our teachers had workable
definitions of quality. Imagine how horrible school would have
been if they hadn't?

Or imagine what a restaurant would be like if it did not have a
working definition of quality.

Here is the point. If an industry does not have a workable
definition of quality....how can they deliver "quality and
relevant" results?

The obvious logical conclusion is that they CANNOT.

So what is it then that search engines actually deliver?

The answer to that question is OPTIMIZED RESULTS.

And there is a HUGE difference between QUALITY RESULTS and
OPTIMIZED RESULTS.

Optimized Results is a far, far cry from QUALITY.

This is what the SEARCH ENGINES never want you to discover.

About The Author: Harald Anderson is a Barbaric Link Calculator
Expert and a popular speaker on Search Engine Optimization at
conferences throughout the world. He writes a free newsletter
called "Feed The Spiders" which is available ay
http://www.haraldanderson.com

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 5:47 AM, ,

Benefits Of Directory Submissions

Achieving good search engine visibility has become a necessity
for every website today. Hundreds and thousands of businesses
compete with one another in order to generate more and more
business through their websites. There are many ways by which a
website can get high rankings in major search engines. One such
important method is directory submission.

Directory submission involves submitting a particular website
in general and relevant web directories. Once a website is
submitted it takes anywhere between 1 day to 3 months for the
website link to be added into the directory. Some of the
popular web directories includes http://Dmoz.org, Yahoo
directory etc. Each directory organizes its contents by
categories where all the related websites get listed. To ensure
that your site gets added into the directory, one must submit it
in the most appropriate category otherwise it can be rejected.

A website once listed gets a one way link from the directory.
This free link helps the listed site in a lot of ways. Firstly,
it provides a way for search engine spiders (also known as
crawlers) to find the website and index it in their own
database. As soon as a site is hosted, it must be submitted in
web directories so that search engine robots can crawl it.
Since these robots visit directories more often than other
sites, probability remains high that your site will be indexed
soon. You as the owner of the site does not have to submit your
site to search engines, instead they themselves come and find
your site. Thus, it helps in saving a webmaster's time.
Indexing is crucial for every website that wish to achieve high
rankings since it's the first step for any site to ensure
visibility in search engines.

Secondly, a directory placement provides the extra benefit of
getting relevant traffic to your website. Since people who are
actively looking for new websites and portals often visit these
web directories, chances remain high that such people may also
visit your site and thus provide your site free traffic. This
traffic is important since it's highly pertinent. These people
might also turn out to be your customers, which will boost your
sales in the long run.

The most significant benefit of directory submission is
increasing your link popularity, which simply is a measure of
the quality and quantity of incoming links to your site. Search
engines like Google, yahoo and msn provides a lot of importance
to links while evaluating the rankings of a site for a
particular keyword. Google for example takes into account the
PR (Page Rank) of the page along with the anchor text of the
link while deciding the rankings for a keyword. Gaining
incoming links from high PR directories is considered an
essential activity of search engine optimization (SEO).

In essence, directory submission is a central part of any SEO
effort. Without submitting a site in relevant directories, one
cannot hope to garner high rankings in search engines. Thus,
one must definitely go for directory submissions since the time
and effort is worth it.

About The Author: Manish Mathukiya Offers Directory Submissions
( http://www.inetzeal.com/ ) Services. He also offer best
quality Article directory submission
(http://www.article-submission.inetzeal.com/) service. He is
editor of Oh Search directory ( http://www.ohsearch.org/ )

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 5:47 AM, ,

Effective Copy Step-by-step

Anyone can launch a new product. Making it take off requires
marketing. But keeping a product above the crowd requires
advertising with all the right elements, including effective
copy.

Advertising copy can be as simple as a slogan or as extensive
as an editorial. The key isn't in how much you say, but what
you say. The success of your product rests on effective copy
that conveys a clear message about the product. With an obscure
message, or no message at all, the product will have a very
little chance of taking off.

Creating effective advertising starts with knowing the key
elements to a successful ad:

The Headline

To be effective, headlines must be clear and bold. A short
burst of carefully chosen words has the best chance of being
noticed, and will convey a strong and memorable message. These
words can be intriguing, dramatic, elegant, dignified, silly or
grand. Choosing effective copy depends entirely on your target
market or audience. Know your market, and you will understand
what words will catch the eye and motive the customers to read
on. Your headline needs to convey a very clear message.

* Free Offers: Try grabbing your audience's attention with the
"shocking claim" technique. "Half Price" and "Free Offer" are
often used to get attention. Just make sure that you're able to
follow through on the claim. Don't use the old "Store Closing"
technique if you have no intention of shutting down. This just
causes distrust.

* KISS: Keep it Simple, Stupid. Or, if you just can't decide
what to edit out of your headline copy, you can always add a
sub-heading. Be sure that the secondary text improves on the
headline.

* Logo: Every successful business has a logo. Develop a logo
and use it every time you advertise. Nike could put its
trademark "swoosh" on a blank page of paper, with no other copy
or graphics, and everyone will still know it's a Nike ad. Logos
are effective eye-catchers and give a company an identity. Once
your logo is established, people will recognize an ad for your
business before they even read the copy.

* Satisfy a Need: Give customers a reason to buy your product
of service. Determine what niche your business can fill, and
focus your advertising copy on that area. Why should people buy
your product rather than going to the competitor? You need to
convince your audience that they need your product. If created
with discretion, your ad can even make them feel foolish for
not buying your product.

* Key words: Highlight important words in your text with bold
type, underlining and different fonts, or with the use of
colour. While your headline is most important, you can create
effective copy by making key words stand out.

* Toot Your Horn: Don't be afraid to highlight the features,
virtues and attributes of your product or service. Bear in mind
the areas that are most important to your clients. But remember
to keep it honest. If your restaurant serves award-winning pie
but lousy coffee, advertise your pie. Don't mention the coffee.

* What's In It For You: Remind your customer of unique benefits
you can provide. Tell them about free bonuses, money back
guarantees, time-limited offers or special discounts for
certain customers. Use incentives to stretch the pulling power
of your ad.

* Keep it Short: Use short sentences. Try sentence fragments.
These get attention. Fewer words work with skim readers.

* Awesome Adjectives: Use attention grabbing adjectives to your
advantage, but stay away from over-used phrases and cliches.
Terms like unbelievable, super, ultra, eye-popping and
incredible just aren't that incredible anymore. Stay away from
cliches as well. Intelligent readers feel annoyed and
patronized when faced with statements like "You don't' want to
miss this sale."

Graphics

Effective advertising is achieved with the right balance of
clever copy and eye-catching graphics.

* Photography: If a picture tells a thousand words, make sure
the photograph or illustration you choose puts your product in
its best possible light. Provide a high-resolution photo or a
professionally created illustration. Make sure your audience
gets a clear image of your product, or is intrigued enough to
find out more information.

* Proof: If your ad is making a claim about quality, back it
up. Use colorful charts, graphs and other details to support
your claim, and satisfy any lingering doubts in your readers'
minds.

Other Elements of Effective Copy

* Contact Information: Invite customers to act. Let them know
where they can find your product. Provide a website, telephone
number, address or retail outlet. Don't assume that people will
know where to find you.

* Disclaimer: This is usually located at the bottom center or
the bottom right hand of the page. Disclaimers cover the legal
aspects of your advertising claims, such as "some conditions
apply" or "limited time offer". You'll likely want to use a
smaller font size for the disclaimer, but don't make it so tiny
that it looks like you have something to hide.

* White Space: Sometimes a message that reads loud and clear
can say almost nothing at all. White space can be extremely
eye-catching, because other advertisers cram as much copy as
possible into an ad. Advertisers in traditional media have used
white space as a marketing tactic for many years, and now the
trend is also shifting to Internet advertisers. Allowing ample
white space makes your ad easier to read and infinitely more
effective.

The first step to making a sale is selling your product.
Effective copy and smart advertising techniques are essential
in getting attention and establishing an audience. Include the
key elements in your advertising, and increase your chances of
success.

About The Author: Linda Miller contributes to several web
sites, such as http://wetid.com and http://nugoz.com

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 5:47 AM, ,

Thinking Offshore Web Design? Think Again!

Offshore web design firms promise ultimate convenience and
savings to businesses around the world. Many companies even
decide to hop aboard the outsource wagon and hire these design
firms. In many cases, they get more than they bargained for.

While it is true that many offshore web design firms promise
low, low prices for web design services, far too many companies
learn that you get what you pay for. Many companies based
outside the US simply cannot offer the services and quality of
a home-grown business. When dealing with overseas companies,
businesses need to adjust to time zone differences, which often
make contact and meetings virtually impossible. Sending money to
pay for services is often time-consuming and expensive. Wiring
money and sending overseas transfers to pay for web design is
not even always safe and can leave company owners vulnerable to
identity theft.

Overseas companies often do try hard to compete on the global
stage, but the truth is that any US company needing web design
for the competitive North American and European market needs
top quality. Many companies who hire overseas web design
services often have to spend extra money to repair sloppy,
ungrammatical copywriting. Unfortunately, not every offshore
company can deliver professional web design - in many cases,
fly-by-night overseas firms deliver amateurish, unusable work.
After all, anyone can set up a company half-way around the
world and promise design services. There is often no way for
you to verify their qualifications.

Even when an offshore web design company tries very hard, the
truth is that someone based half-way around the world simply
cannot know North American marketing thoroughly. Even major
companies are finding that their offshore outsourcing isn't
working - the experienced web design talent is simply not
there. In far too many cases, companies look at the bottom line
and hire these web design services only to realize after the
fact that they need to pay to have their web redesigned all
over again. Does your company really want to pay TWICE for web
design services?

Before companies sign on the dotted line and hire an overseas
web design service, they also need to think twice about the
"deal" they are getting. In many cases, offshore companies
offer an impressively low hourly charge, but take longer to
finish a project. Even though a web design company only charges
a fraction of its US counterpart in terms of hourly price, it
can easily end up charging a similar amount, simply by taking
longer to complete the same amount of work. Since your company
could end up paying just as much for an overseas web design
service, doesn't it make more sense to hire a US-based firm and
get guaranteed, quality work for the same price?

The biggest problem with overseas web design services is that
offshore services come with no legal protection whatsoever.
Laws are simply very different in other parts of the world and
when a company decides to choose an overseas firm, they are in
effect resigning themselves to no legal protection. If a web
design company turns in a plagiarized product or a product that
violates intellectual property laws, the company that hired the
web design service will have a very hard time finding legal
redress. Worse, it is the US company that may have to face the
US legal system if any laws have been violated. In many cases,
offshore companies operate only via email, which means that
when there is a problem with a delivered service, there is no
way to get a fast response. Companies may simply disappear when
there is a legal problem. Buying offshore is buying "as is" -
not the way you want to hire the web design services that will
make your business succeed!

About The Author: Ciplex is committed to provide the best
services below market prices. Our http://www.ciplex.com has
real offices our clients can visit, and we have phone lines
that work during US office hours.

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 5:45 AM, ,

Color Psychology - Logo Design

When we see colors, we connect with them instantly on a
subliminal level. No one can be sure if our reactions are the
result of our very human nature or if they are shaped by our
socialization, but the reactions are very real. The human mind
is hardwired to respond to color.

Marketing experts know about that powerful connection between
consumers and color. They've done a great deal of research
using carefully controlled experiments and have decided that
color does have a big role in forming people's perceptions of
products and logos. That research is confirmed by real world
actions, too. Companies have found that changing a logo's color
scheme even a little bit can have a giant impact on sales.

When we see colors, we react right away. It happens faster than
we can read a single word. In fact, the mind makes color
connections and forms opinions before the conscious mind even
knows what we are looking at!

A logo is the most repeated and frequently displayed symbol of
your business. It's on your letterhead, your website, business
cards, products and more. It's your "brand" and it's an
inseparable part of your business.

When you think about how important your logo is and consider
the power of colors, it's pretty obvious that color psychology
should be a big part of logo design. If you overlook the color
choices in your logo, you might be "turning off" possible
customers instead of attracting new buyers.

Using color psychology to your advantage isn't easy. You can
look at a simple chart that lists common colors and explains
what they tend to represent--one is even included with this
article just to give you some ideas. Doing that, however,
really only scratches the surface of what color psychology is
all about.

An effective logo designer will go beyond those simple color
connections. He or she can take that information and combine it
with knowledge of negative color connotations. A logo design
specialist will also understand how people react to different
combinations of colors and will be able to merge the messages
of color psychology with great design skills. The result will
be a logo that is both memorable and optimized for color use.

Today, many of us are in love with the "do it yourself" plan.
We think that if we do a little research and work hard, we can
do things just as effectively as can a professional. That might
be true in some cases, but logo design is a perfect example of
when we really need an expert's help.

Logo experts understand design. They recognize the power of
various forms and can create logos that communicate the nature
of a company instantly. They have special skills and knowledge
that helps them produce winning logos that look a lot better
than our amateur creations.

The wise use of color psychology is a perfect example of how
the talents and knowledge of a professional logo creator can
make a lot of difference. A good designer will know how to
choose colors to communicate a client's message effectively
without risking the mistakes "do it yourselfers" often commit.

If you are in the market for a logo, consult with a talented
logo expert who can use the science of color psychology to your
advantage!

Color Psychology Basics

Here are some of the most frequently used colors and the
positive messages they communicate. As noted, this basic chart
isn't comprehensive. It doesn't list negative associations and
it doesn't discuss the best ways to combine colors. However, it
is an interesting introduction to color psychology

BLACK: Mystery, secrecy, tradition.
BLUE: Power, calmness, success, trustworthiness.
BROWN: Earth and nature, simplicity, seriousness.
GREEN: Harmony, health and healing, nature and animals, money.
ORANGE: Affordability, fun, youth, creativity, celebration.
PURPLE: Fantasy and dreams, justice, royalty.
RED:Excitement, action, adventure, love, passion, food.
WHITE: Simplicity, cleanliness, innocence.
YELLOW: Cheerfulness, playfulness, curiosity, amusement.

About The Author: Julia Raven specialises in Writing Articles
about http://www.LogoDesignTeam.com, Graphic Design and
Outsourcing. She also maintains a
http://www.BestLogoCreators.com where you can get the complete
List of Logo Designers in 1 place.

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 5:44 AM, ,

Online Marketing Success Stories

Buffalo, Oklahoma is a town with about 1,200 residents. If most
people know anything about Buffalo it is mostly as a place to
stop between locations they feel are more important.

When the elementary school closed down in a consolidation move
the town sat looking at an aging elementary school building and
another reminder that perhaps an economic boom would never pass
their way again. This is until Faye LaMunyon; a long-time
resident of the area suggested the town sell the property on
ebay.

Long story short, a school curriculum company from Florida
bought the school and relocated their business to Buffalo where
they market their brand of products online as A+ School Supplies
and Core Curriculum. While they have a beautiful building for
their offices the town has several new jobs. An interesting
side-note is the majority of the company product sales take
place online.

Two states away, Scott goes to work each morning at Nazwear
international based in Gering, Nebraska. His business began as
a high school hobby back in 1986 when he became interested in
screen-printing. His original designs may be little remembered,
but today Scott is taking online custom orders from a global
community and is busy enough he has difficulty fitting in local
business although he manages somehow.

These are stories of how the Internet can be harnessed for the
purpose of marketing a product or service. In the case of the
town of Buffalo, Oklahoma they marketed a school. In the case
of A+ School Supplies and Curriculum they market items geared
for students and teachers. In the case of Nazwear they market
the service of printing with the product of shirts, bags and
other screen printed items. In all cases their ability to
conduct business was greatly enhanced through the use of online
marketing.

Faye LeMunyon may have had no idea how to use ebay, but she
understood there was power in the idea of marketing her town
and refusing to let the school deteriorate over time. The job
creation and marketability of the new facility has brought
additional hope to the Oklahoma town.

This is the same type of ingenuity that is needed in the
development of your online marketing plan; take something you
know and love and determine if there is a market for it. If
there is, look forward and move decisively toward the end goal
- a successful online business.

The best news in this series of stories is your business can
originate from anywhere and can be more successful online than
many standard brick and mortar stores.

So, what's your dream?

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 5:44 AM, ,

Press Release: Marketing Good News

Once upon a time a press release was sent to the nearest
newspaper in the hopes that at least some of the release might
make it to newsprint. Today a press release to a local
newspaper may be included only as an afterthought.

In marketing your website the use of a press release can be an
effective means of drawing people to your website.

Certainly there are skills involved in writing a press release
and there are plenty of qualified freelance writers who can
assist you in the development of a solid press release.
However, as with any new process it is possible to learn the
skill of press release writing.

In today's online community the press release is about more
than trying to pass muster with the news media. Today press
releases are routinely found on individual websites and can be
picked up by affiliated websites. In essence when a press
release is written it needs to appeal to the news media, but it
also needs to connect with the public.

Many online businesses will place a 'press release' section on
their website as a means of keeping visitors informed of new
developments within the company or the website.

A press release can be developed for a significant number of
events. For instance, if you provide a new website design you
could send out a press release talking about the new design and
the reasons this design is more functional and useful to your
customers. If you launch a new service, a press release can be
an easy way to encourage the curious to come take a look. If
you have added a new line to your existing offerings, a press
release can alert your customers and potential clients to the
good news. If you've won an industry award a press release can
work to instill a greater degree of trust in your firm.

There are several online companies that handle the distribution
of press release information. Perhaps one of the most well known
is PR Newswire, but there are other services available. Many of
these services require a fee for distribution.

Many online netrepreneurs have learned that the effective
distribution of strategic press releases can provide a sizeable
return on investment in the form of new clients and unique
visitors.

When you have good news you shouldn't hesitate to share it in
the form of a press release. This is just one more online
marketing tool worth exploring.

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 5:44 AM, ,

Let RSS & Blogging Show You The Money

If you have been following all the latest developments in
Internet marketing you will have discovered a few things. Recent
trends are proving to be very lucrative for those savvy marketers
who are taking advantage of these new changes.

First, video is popping up everywhere: on websites, in sales
letters, in testimonials and in training manuals. Google
(reluctant beacon of all things net) is making its move on video
in a big way by videotizing their ads and by snatching up YouTube
for a Billion and some change.

Second, if you have placed a blog and RSS feed on your own
website, your stats will show you that blogging is an excellent
source of traffic. RSS is a simple way to get your content on the
web - including your videos and podcasts.

RSS and Blogging are propelling the social networks which are
burning up the web and video is only adding fuel to the fire.
YouTube and MySpace barely cracks the surface of the online
community building fury that's revving up the web. Social
networking fulfils our need to be connected in a very unconnected
world.

Our need to be a part of a group is universal. RSS and Blogging
are the tools that make this connection possible. We can keep in
touch and connected to the groups or subjects that interest us
the most. We feel a part of the group. We feel connected. We feel
organized. We feel important.

These social networking sites are excellent places to build
good-will and trust among its users. They are also great places
to market or pitch new products as many online marketers have
discovered.

One has to wonder just how the new RSS powered version of Windows
(Vista) will impact social networking sites like MySpace? Will it
explode the already strong interest in Blogging to make it the
dominant form of communication on the web? Will RSS become the
dominant means of connecting all the dots?

Regardless of how all this plays out, RSS and Blogging are
already an online marketer's dream come true. Web marketers are
taking full advantage of this medium within a medium, just look
at the number of marketers who have started blogs such as Neil
Shearing, John Reese... Marlon Sanders has even started his own
MySpace site!

Can you remember a recent launch of any major Internet product
within the last year or so that DIDN'T have a blog attached to
it. From Andy Jenkins & Brad Fallon's "Stomping the Search
Engines" to Brad Callen's "Keyword Elite" to Joel Comm's
"Instant Adsense Templates."

In a similar light, can you think of any major launch that did
not have video as an important feature in its marketing. Joel
Comm even used a video on YouTube to get his Google Adsense
points across.

Why is RSS and Blogging so important to these marketers? Why have
they become essential tools no online marketer can ignore? Why
are they so important?

The answer is quite simple and obvious. It all relates to
keywords. As you probably already know keywords are the exact
words or phrases surfers type into search engines to find what
they're looking for on the web. Keywords powers the web.
Keywords powers much of the online marketing on the net. All this
buying and selling are connected to keywords in one way or
another.

RSS and Blogging have an automatic keyword system built into its
operating structure. It comes preloaded with the means to take
full advantage of keywords and keyword marketing. The whole
system is run by tags or categories. These tags or categories are
recognized by the search engines as keywords.

So if you use a popular free blogging software like WordPress,
you will have a simple way to create keyword targeted content
within seconds. Targeted keyword content that can also be
syndicated around the web instantly. Build a whole blog of
related keyword content and you will have created a powerful
online marketing system.

Marketers are taking advantage of RSS and Blogging for this
reason. It is a quick and simple way of dominating a niche area
and ranking high for the popular and lucrative keywords in their
niche or industry. The advent of video has made these blogs and
feeds much more accessible to a larger audience or marketplace.

Once these marketers have gained dominance for popular keywords
in their niche, they can convert or monetize this traffic in
countless ways: selling their own products, building their lists
or using Google Adsense and affiliate links. For these savvy
online marketers it can be a very lucrative and profitable
system.

RSS and Blogging has indeed shown them the money!

---------------------------------------------------------------------
The author is a full-time online marketer who operates
numerous websites, including two sites on Internet
marketing. For the latest web marketing tools try:
http://www.marketingtoolguide.com Internet Marketing
Tools To add RSS to your site within minutes - download this
simple http://www.bizwaremagic.com/RSS/Lead_Capture_Page.htm
RSS Report and Guide.
Copyright © 2006 Titus Hoskins. This article may be
freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 5:41 AM, ,

Coming Up With Article Topics For Your Business

Ever wonder where the newspapers all come from? I don't mean the
ink and paper, I mean the writing.

Day after day, every newspaper in the country turns out hundreds
of column inches of writing, tens of thousands of words. Often
from the same handful of writers. Where do they get all those
story ideas, day after day?

Meanwhile, you know you need to write articles, workbooks, even a
book to support and promote your business, and you're left
staring at a blank screen. It's not fair- how do they do it, and
how can you write as much as a reporter?

Reporters have beats.

A reporter is assigned to an area of expertise: maybe it's
health, or business, or farming. They know their area, or learn
it, inside and out. They learn who the influential people and
organizations are, and those people, if they are smart, know the
reporter.

And they send press releases to the reporter, which the reporter
reads. The good ones turn into stories.

Well, there you go. Your business is concerned with a certain
area of life- that area of life is your beat. You're all set-
git writin'! Except...

Except no one sends you press releases.

Not all reporters work off of press releases. Some work off of
investigative journalism, you know, where all those movies come
from. Like the other beat reporters, investigative journalists
know their area, but instead of writing from press releases, they
go digging for news.

They ask questions. They sniff around what's happening. And,
when they find something, they report about it.

Think of the last time you found out about something interesting
in your circle of friends- did you talk about it? I'm not
talking about nasty gossip, just maybe a friend of yours met
someone and they're getting married. You probably asked all
kinds of questions- Who is this person? How old are they? What do
they do? How did the two of them meet?

By the time you're done with your questions, you have a whole
story. And you tell it to your next friend, with no lack of
content.

At the bottom of every great story is a great question.

Just one great question. Your job isn't to find the article,
it's to find the question. And where do questions naturally come
from?

That's right, they come from your customers and clients. For
instance, this morning one of my clients emailed me: "Mark,
again a newsletter that strikes at the core of what I've been
talking about with other health counselors this week... Can I ask
how you decide what to write about each newsletter?"

Hmmm... what did I end up writing about this week?

It can't really be that simple, can it?

Keys to the Reporter on the Beat

* But my clients' questions are old hat- won't the articles be
humdrum, too?

Well, of course they're old hat, to you, because you've already
answered them for yourself. But, they aren't boring to the
client who is asking it, are they?

I'm guessing that if the client was sitting in front of you
asking the question, you wouldn't be bored answering it, simply
because your heart has a connection to your client or customer.
Let go of thinking that the question needs to be awe-inspiring or
fabulous- the important thing is the quality of heart
connection.

Write the article as if you are just talking to your client, and
you'll see the boredom evaporate like mist in the morning.

* Wisdom needs an empty basin.

I don't know about you, but I find some of my most powerful
answers have come through when I'm in front of a client or a
class, and they've asked me a genuine stumper of a question. And
then, the wisdom pours through, and I'm writing as fast as they
are: "Hey, that's pretty good! I need to remember this one!"

Why does this happen? The need of the moment is what pulls the
help through. If you are trying to write an article by simply
thinking something up and pushing it at them, then you aren't
responding to a genuine need in your readers' hearts.

A sincere question inclines your heart to want to be of help.
Your own sincerity and heart connection allows the wisdom to pour
through.

* Repetition creates flow.

You might not like this one, but you'll want to write an article
more often than once a month or once a quarter. Twice a month or
weekly will give you the best results. Why?

For the same reason that a single drop of water every ten minutes
will take thousands of years longer than the mile-wide Columbia
River takes to wear a channel through the gorge east of
Portland.

The more you write, the easier it will be. It will also take the
weight off of each article needing to be a Pulitzer Prize winner.
It's just the weekly article, answering a question. If it's not
your best, at least it helped someone, and the next one comes
next week.

Try it right now. I wrote this article in 45 minutes,not
including editing time. Pick a question from a client, and answer
it in 12-20 paragraphs. Bingo- that's your next week's
article.

The best to you and your business,

Mark Silver

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 5:36 AM, ,

10 Reasons Not To Go Into The "make Money" Market

There are a number good reasons why you should not go into the
"make money" market. Below, I will give you ten of the more
important reasons.

1. Your competition is highly skilled. If you think it is easy
to compete in the "make money" market, think again. Your
competition has mastered the art of selling, which means he or
she will be an extremely tough competitor.

2. Other markets offer less resistance. The "make money" market
is highly oversatured with sellers. For this reason, it is tough
to claim decent positions on search engines. This is not so with
all niches.

3. The learning curve is high if you're inexperienced selling
"make money" products. Since your ability to train people to
sell will be directly dependent on your ability to sell to
them, many people will be reluctant to buy from you unless your
presentation is far beyond average.

4. Even if you sell within the "make money" market, your target
audience should be small, not large. You want to find a specific
group that can be matched to a specific product you will produce
or have already produced.

5. Other products are easier to market. When it comes down to
it, people are highly suspicious of any type of "make money"
product or service. If you're selling something else to them,
chances are that they will be considerably less likely to worry
that you are trying to rip them off.

6. Buyers in the "make money" market may be more likely to
return products, as they perceive sellers to have tricked them
if they do not succeed in making money with the product (which
they usually don't, no matter how good it is).

7. Buyers wont judge your product on how it "should be"
presented according to protocol that is normally used for "make
money" products. Instead, they will look at the list of features
you have provided.

8. You're better off in the long run if you pursue a field in
which you are interested, rather than simply a "make money"
field. If you don't have any serious interest in your product,
you will more than likely do a poor job creating and marketin
it.

9. Other markets can often be more profitable. Even though
you've heard about those million dollar days, there are other
industries which can be just as profitable, provided that you
spend the time to select the right one and to cultivate
profits.

10. If you don't have a background in "making money" with some
specific system, you may be better off creating a book or
product on some area in which you have specific expertise.

To reiterate, there are many business models you can create;
however, a business model that caters to the "make money" crowd
is almost always a mistake.

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 5:36 AM, ,

Keeping Up Business Momentum This Season

I don't know about you, but once the cooler weather sets in, I
have the urge to head to the Appalachians, sit around a
campfire and sip cocoa with my family. It's a bit harder for me
to focus on business with the Autumn leaves so lovely!

What about you?

Here are a few ideas that will help you keep the momentum going
in your business even while you play a little bit. Soon enough
it will be too cold to spend much time out of doors, so better
go enjoy it now.

Blog When Nobody's Home

Just because you are out playing doesn't mean your blog has to
shut down. If you use WordPress you can schedule blog posts in
advance. Write a bunch of them and have one a day added
automatically. If your blog is on Blogger, you might want to
write several posts, save them as a draft, then pay a Virtual
Assistant to post them for you.

Keep In Touch With Subscribers

Most newsletter management systems allow you to schedule
broadcasts. If yours doesn't, get a new one! I use Aweber and
WahmCart and highly recommend both.

Load up your autoresponder with informative emails to keep
selling your product for you as well as prevent your customers
and subscribers from forgetting you.

Invest In Strategic Advertising

My favorite form of advertising is free, but spending a few
dollars towards some valuable advertising can bring you new
business while you do other things. It's a smart investment.

For instance, Kelly McCausey's WC magazine offers VERY
reasonable advertising costs.

Get Others to Publish You

If you're doing article marketing (and you are, aren't you?!),
why not have an article distribution service like iSnare send
out several of your articles to thousands of publishers?

While you're away from your computer, other people are adding
your articles to their sites and getting you additional
traffic, search engine rankings and expert status. It feels
really nice to log into your email program and have dozens of
emails saying: "We have published your article here..."

The same applies to press releases. Craft an informative
release and send it out to media outlets that reach your target
market.

One of the wonderful things about an Internet business is the
ability to create passive income. If you set things up
properly, you should be able to get away with playing a little
and still earn money. Now, go jump in a pile of leaves
somewhere.

About The Author: Carrie Lauth is the author of
http://www.NaturalMomBusinessGuide.com, a step by step how to
program for Moms who want to start an online business. For more
tips and ideas, visit her blog at
http://www.CarrieLauth.com/blog

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 5:36 AM, ,

Don't Hate The Rich - Be One Of Them!

When I was a child, growing up on the farm in North Carolina (
extremely poor), my grandmother's favorite saying seemed to be
"Money doesn't grow on trees!"

She was also fond of unintentionally misquoting the Bible and
saying "Money is the root of all EVIL!"

As I listened to my elders, and the others around me, I learned
that "It was easier for a camel to pass thought the eye of a
needle, than for a rich man to get into heaven."

It was gradually hammered into my head that the rich were to be
scorned, and that they got that way by stepping on the poor. I
also learned that we were "very lucky" that we didn't have
many things. For example, we didn't have a telephone,
television, a car, or air-conditioning during most of my
pre-adult life. My grandmother use to make us feel better by
pointing out that "Sleeping under a cold air conditioner would
make you sick."

Many of us grew up exposed to similar thinking and similar
teachings. We were taught that there was something inherently
wrong with being rich.

As I grew older, I was exposed to many very rich people. They
taught me that it wasn't wrong to be wealthy, and they also
helped me understand that part of our psyche that makes us feel
better by blaming others for our problems.

I learned that there was a time in history when many of the very
rich did indeed treat the lower classes very badly. This was a
time when people were little more than property, and in most
countries the rich didn't see a reason to be polite to the
working class! Being treated so poorly, the working class did
often refer to the upper class by such terms as "stinking rich"
and other MUCH harsher terms.

Even today, there are places where the rich do treat the poor as
property, or as just "labor." That's the reality, and that's
life. Instead of complaining about it, if you find yourself in
that predicament, your job is to extract yourself from the
extreme poverty... first of all. Then you will have the ability
to help the less fortunate.

For me, the process of escaping poverty really began with
changing my thought process. I had to retrain my mind, pushing
out the old "poverty mentality" and replacing it with a
"wealth mentality."

As I spent more and more time around the rich, I learned and
began to appreciate some of their sayings. Two that really seemed
to stick were:

1) "Rich people have large libraries, poor people have large
televisions." I've seen several variations of that saying, but
they all pass along the same basic message... that constantly
learning new things is one of the keys to moving ahead.
Vegetating in front of the television only allows temporary
escape as we live our "dream lives" by watching those of
others.

Television largely hypnotizes us, and puts us in a state where we
can at least temporarily imagine ourselves in the shoes of the
actors and actresses. That's the only way that we can mentally
get so wrapped up in some of the shows that we watch.

2) "The best thing that I can do for the poor is not be one of
them." When I first heard that saying I thought that it was
cruel, until I saw the truth in the fact that I cannot help out
the poor (financially) unless I'm not poor too. Getting
involved in activities that seek to transfer the wealth from the
rich to the poor doesn't work. Instead, to escape from poverty
you need to learn from the wealthy, and discover ways of creating
more wealth.

A big part of the problem is that many of us grew up with a
poverty mentality. That mentality teaches that "If you have
more, then I must have less." After all, the pie is of a fixed
size, so if you get a bigger piece, then that leaves less for
me.

The rich know that the pie is limitless. Instead of grabbing for
a bigger piece of that pie, you should help the pie to grow
bigger. When the pie is bigger, there is naturally more for
everyone.

The Internet proved to me that the pie is indeed limitless.
Consider creating and selling digital products which is what many
of my mentors and I do. When I create and sell an audio course
that is digitally downloaded, I am selling part of an endless
supply of electrons. After I create an audio product, in
downloadable MP3, I can sell a million copies of that product,
and there is STILL enough for everyone in the world to have more.
By creating that product, I literally produce a pie of unlimited
size.

Once you wrap your mind around that concept, a whole new world of
possibilities opens up. Being on the Internet also opens you up
to a whole new world of possibilities. You'll see that not only
is the pie limitless, but it can also be shared across borders.
We are no longer confined to the effects of, and restrains
imposed by, conditions in our own countries.

As an example, I personally have friends and mentors on several
continents. I teach and speak on several continents. Over the
next five months, I am scheduled to speak at seminars in
Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, The United Kingdom, and all
across the United States. I'm also exploring speaking
possibilities in the Caribbean, Africa, and South America. For a
farm kid that spent most of his youth on welfare (government
subsistence) this is very powerful proof that it's not the rich
that hold us back.

So, how does a poor farm kid move from extreme poverty to an
international speaker who literally has direct access to
international financiers, governmental leaders, and celebrities?
I did it by letting the rich teach me! I read and studied
voraciously. I went through an endless stream of audio tapes, and
lately audio CDs, listening to them and studying what they taught
over and over again until I actually "wore out" many of the
tapes!

In the Internet marketing arena, I studied what people who were
living the lifestyle that I wanted were doing. For example, I
have a friend, and mentor, over in the U.K. who earns an
incredible living from the Internet working just a few hours per
week. I let him teach me how. He spends the rest of his time
managing an offline business, serving as a politician, and doing
other things that are important to him. You can check this friend
out at: http://www.StinkingRich3.com/wc
<http://www.stinkingrich3.com/wc>

The secret is studying what the wealthy are doing, allowing them
to teach you what they are doing, and then doing the same thing.
If it works for them, and you do the same thing, then it should
also work for you. Right?

Your big challenge is identifying accurately what the rich are
actually doing. Often it looks like one thing is the reason for
their success, yet when you talk to them, or manage to get close
enough to really study them and their habits, you discover things
that 99% of the world completely misses about them.

I'm only going to share with you one of my mentors today.
That's the one in the U.K. He works VERY few hours at his online
business, yet earns more than 99.9% of the "Internet marketers"
that I know. He really understands the wealth mentality. He
teaches people like me how to get rid of the "poverty
mentality" and to develop that wealth mentality. Take a few
minutes to get to know one of my mentors now. He's at:
http://www.StinkingRich3.com/wc
<http://www.stinkingrich3.com/wc>

Another secret to success, and increasing your wealth, is closely
managing who you allow to "rub off" on you. Our thinking is
heavily influenced by those that we are around every day. If you
are around negative people, their constantly spewing negative
energy HAS to affect you. If you are constantly exposed to those
who have radically changed their lives, they prove to you that
you can do it too. That's a big reason why I attend seminars,
conferences, and networking events sponsored by the people that I
want to be like... those who have the lifestyle that I desire. I
encourage you to do the same. When you can't actually be
surrounded by them, at a minimum completely IMMERSE yourself in
recorded materials that they so generously make available to you.
There you have the key to gradually becoming one of the rich,
instead of mearely envying them.

----------------------------------------------------------
Willie Crawford has taught thousands how to build successful
online businesses since late-1996. His membership site
contains over 30 interviews of leading online marketers
sharing their views on "How To Break Into The Internet
Marketing Inner Circle." You can access those interviews
at: http://TheInternetMarketingInnerCircle.com
<http://theinternetmarketinginnercircle.com/>

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 5:36 AM, ,

Lucrative List Building: The Squeeze Page

Most internet marketing professionals agree that if you don't
have a list, then you don't really have a business. Building a
lucrative list is essential to your success. A customer list is
the greatest asset of any business. In internet marketing, your
customer list is your personal gold mine.

After you solve the problem of generating traffic to your
website, it then becomes necessary to capture the name and
email address of your visitor so you can build your own
customer list. If you fail to do this, your business will fail.

It's amazing to me how many people spend a ton of effort and
money on getting visitors to their site where they pitch a
product in hopes of getting a sale and then fail to capture
their visitor's name and email address.

You must focus your attention on building your list instead of
on trying to make your initial sale. Remember, only 1 in a 100
people is going to buy your product after arriving at your
website. You must capture the other 99 people's name and email
address so that you can show your product(s) to them again in
the future.

There are a few techniques you can use to capture your
visitor's information and build a lucrative list. Here are the
three "biggies" which are the most effective:

1. The Squeeze Page
2. The Pop-Up, and
3. A Simple Opt-in Form

The best method to use of the three ways to build a list is the
squeeze page. A regular opt-in form might get a 10% to 20%
opt-in rate, while a squeeze page is more likely to produce a
20% to 40% opt-in rate of the total number of visitors who
arrive at your website.

A squeeze page is a web page with only one purpose: to capture
the information details of your visitor. The squeeze page is
different from using a pop-up or normal opt-in form because you
don't allow your visitor access to your website unless they give
you their name and email address, and/or other details.

Therefore, a squeeze page must "sell" the benefits of your
website to your visitor. A good squeeze page must have a strong
benefit driven headline to grab the reader's attention, some
bullet points outlining the benefits of your website, and a
call to action.

The best squeeze pages are not long. Do not make your visitor
scroll down the page to opt-in. Other best practices include
placing your photo on the page, make bold every other bullet
point, and put a box around your "call to action" which is
merely your opt-in form. Tell the visitor exactly what to do in
no uncertain terms.

You must provide enough information to entice your visitors to
leave their name and email address. Use good copywriting and
sales techniques to "squeeze" your customers into joining your
list. To ensure that people opt-in, you usually have to bribe
them.

Offer some kind of free gift to bribe your visitor. A short
report, a mini-course, a subscription to your newsletter, or an
audio or video file is usually enough to get your visitor to
join your list. In your call to action, be sure to let your
visitors know that they will be given their free gift
immediately after clicking the "submit" button located on your
form.

Just a note here: You will not be sending your customers to
your web page immediately after they enter their information
details. Instead, you will send them to your "One Time Offer"
page which is the subject of one of my other articles in this
series of articles on list building.

Newbies are often afraid to use a squeeze page. They think that
not enough people will choose to opt-in to their list. It's true
that you will need to write convincing copy and you will have to
offer a valuable gift to get your visitor to opt-in. But you
need not worry about visitors who don't choose to opt-in. If
your visitors are not even interested enough to give you their
email address, then they probably won't be interested enough to
buy from you either.

About The Author: William Perkins writes about how to start an
online business, affiliate marketing, and making money online.
He has packaged what he knows into a new Affiliate Marketing
Handbook. You can get the first 35 pages of the handbook for
free when you opt-in at his website.
http://www.BigWillySite.com

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 5:36 AM, ,

Are You Using Myspace?

The Internet is developing at a fast pace. In the last few
years blogs and then social book-marking became a rage, and to
confess to you honestly I still haven't gotten the hang of how
to use either of these two for marketing purposes. However, I
am not such an old geezer after all, because I really am into
Myspace.com.

Myspace.com is a tremendously interactive medium which is most
frequented by teenagers who like to share their photos and
exchange messages with each other, and with pop music bands,
who set up online presences that attract thousands of new
listeners. In the last year Myspace has become one of the most
visited web destinations around. (Alexa currently ranks it as
the sixth most visited site.).

If you are not a teenager and you are not the lead singer in a
rock band, is there any chance that Myspace could be useful to
you? Large businesses such as Jack in the Box, Nike and Walmart
have Myspace.com presences, all kinds of advocacy organizations
have Myspace profiles, and even local real estate firms are
opening up sites on Myspace. This is in a sign that there must
be something in it for a wide variety of businesses and
organizations.

So, how does it work and how could it be useful to a business
or organization? Basically, you have to go to Myspace.com and
open up an account. If you are indeed a musical group or artist
then you should be sure to open up a music or band profile.
There are also distinct accounts for comedians and filmmakers.
If you need a specific type of profile then go to Myspace
music, film or comedy and click on the artists sign up,
otherwise just open up a new account at Myspace.com .

Once you have your profile set up. You can add an "about me"
section, put up photos, and post blog messages. The Myspace
blog is quite effective, and posts are quickly picked up by the
Technorati blog search engine. You can also display your
favorite song. If you have a basic knowledge of html you can
modify your Myspace site and make it quite distinctive. You can
also use online editors such as those found at
www.Myspacetoolbox.com

The key to Myspace as a marketing tool is the Friends section.
A "friend" is another Myspace user who has agreed to accept
your request to be in contact with him or her. By building up a
large list of friends you are effectively building up a large
mailing list, and as marketers are quick to point out, "the
money is in the list."

You can build up a targeted list of friends by making searches
on Myspace for specific keywords, or by browsing using all
kinds of demographic criteria: age, marital status, zip code
etc.

Once you get a list of friends, you can send bulletins and
messages or make comments on your friend's website. You can't
make a comment on another Myspace website unless you are
already a friend, and I think this is the key factor that makes
Myspace so interactive. Every time you make a comment on another
Myspace website you are in effect making a link back to your
site. Every time you are becoming a "friend" of another Myspace
user, you are making a link back to your Myspace site.

Build up your links and you will get traffic. Build up your
mailing list and you can advertise your events and offerings.
Make a profile that is interesting and informative and you will
build up your online credibility. It sounds like a winning
formula to me.

Can it be effective for your business purposes? I can't answer
that question, you will have to try it and see if it works for
you. One more thing, it is a lot of fun, and can be addictive.

About The Author: Donald Nelson is a web developer, author and
social worker. His firm http://A1-Optimization.com provides
affordable search engine optimization and website promotion
services. You can read more articles like this one or sign up
for a web promotion tips newsletter at
http://www.a1-optimization.com

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 5:34 AM, ,

Why And How To Create An Information Product

Have you put off, or given up entirely, the idea of writing that
book, or creating a CD or DVD, for your business? Maybe you've
let that idea slip away because you thought your business wasn't
suited to it. I mean, what you do is so individual and personal,
or too complicated to explain, or so intuitive in nature, that it
can't be captured in a product. Or maybe you already sell a
product, and you can't imagine what a book or CD would possibly
do for your business.

These kinds of products- books, CDs, DVDs and their digital
downloadable equivalents: pdfs, mp3s, mpegs - are called
information products, 'info products' for short. And, if you
are putting off creating one, you are doing a disservice to all
the people who are waiting for you.

What's the purpose of having an info product?

Some people will tell you the purpose is to have 'multiple
streams of income' or to 'fill your business to overflowing.'
It's true, a good info product can create these kinds of
results.

But that's not why you create one. If you create it for that
reason, you are chasing the money, and you'll end up chasing
away your customers.

The purpose of an info product is to help the wallflowers.

A wallflower is that term used at dances and other social events
where someone who is feeling a little shy or awkward will take a
seat next to a wall, and plant themselves there, and never get
out on the dance floor.

In junior high I was painfully shy, and lived as a wallflower.
High school wasn't much better, but I was able to retreat into
punk rock and avoid the 'popular' high school scene.

Even today, as my 20th high school reunion approaches, I can find
myself in wallflower situations. I have better coping mechanisms,
but it's still painful.

How many wallflowers are in your business' dance hall?

People who are struggling with something are unsure of
themselves. They are upset, insecure, hesitant. They want to
dance the tango, but they don't want to look foolish and be
rejected.

Do you think it might be easier for those wallflowers if you met
them at their seat with a glass of punch, and talked with them
awhile, before you even asked them to dance?

A good information product doesn't recreate your business to
give the full dance-hall experience. It doesn't deliver the same
intimacy, or the same instruction, or the same in-depth support,
or the same results that your main products or services do.
That's not its job.

The job of a good information product is to help people dance
along off to the side, out of the spotlight. This will not only
help them get some of the results they need, but it will also get
them ready to get out on your dance floor and engage more deeply
with what will really help them: your main products and
services.

And, it's not a bad thing that info products can create a nice
flow of income for you as well.

Ready to deliver that glass of punch and create an info product?

Keys to Creating an Info Product

* What seats are your wallflowers sitting in?

Identify the main hesitations of some of your reluctant
customers. Some common hesitations have to do with:

- Is this weird, or is it normal (do people like me do this?).

- Does it really work?

- Do you really know what you're doing?

- How does it work?

There are others, including ones specific to your business or
industry. Search your heart, and also ask your newest clients
what concerns they had before they purchased from you.

* Where does your record skip?

With new clients or customers and in newly-started classes, you
give them explanations, key ideas, and foundational notions.
These notions may be new to your clients, but you've repeated
each of them 1000 times in different situations.

At a dance, if the record skips, maybe it's a DJ working the
grooves, or maybe it's just a bad scratch. (But you hear it
repeating the same line over and over.)

When you repeat yourself it's like a scratched record- and
you've just found a prime place to focus on a product. Stop the
skipping record, and turn it into a workbook, article, or
recorded audio product.

* Don't forget the how-to's.

In your info product, you want to teach them something, and
include instructions on how to actually do it. But, remember,
that this is a 'getting-ready / dance-along' product, and not
the dance itself.

This means that while you want your how-to's to be complete, and
you expect your reader or listener to apply them to some extent,
don't worry about trying to recreate the dance hall experience.
Because you can't.

Instead ask your heart to show you how much (or how little) they
really need to know to feel comfortable dancing. Lead them up to
the edge of the dance floor, maybe have them dance along to the
music a few steps off to the side. And, believe me, people can
get a lot out of dancing along off to the side.

Then, they'll be ready for the dance hall. And that's when
you'll find your dance card overflowing with new customers and
clients.

Go mix up that punch, and start serving out info products to all
of your wallflowers.

My very best to you and your business,

Mark Silver

posted by Dennis Cheesman @ 5:34 AM, ,

Marketing Time Tools and Resources

Tools and resources to help you make a living online!

To Blog Or Not To Blog: The Ups And Downs Of Blogging
Saturday, November 25, 2006

How To Build A List Using Free Giveaway Events

Directory Submission Guide And Link Building With Directory Submissions
Friday, November 17, 2006

Top 3 Affiliate Networks for Beginners

Tripping SEO Traps

Why Your Business Needs A Peer-Led MasterMind Group

Why I Am A Search Engine Optimization Renegade
Thursday, November 16, 2006

Benefits Of Directory Submissions

Effective Copy Step-by-step

Thinking Offshore Web Design? Think Again!

Color Psychology - Logo Design

Online Marketing Success Stories

Press Release: Marketing Good News

Let RSS & Blogging Show You The Money

Coming Up With Article Topics For Your Business

10 Reasons Not To Go Into The "make Money" Market

Keeping Up Business Momentum This Season

Don't Hate The Rich - Be One Of Them!

Lucrative List Building: The Squeeze Page

Are You Using Myspace?

Why And How To Create An Information Product

Archives

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Marketing Time Tools and Resources

Tools and resources to help you make a living online!

To Blog Or Not To Blog: The Ups And Downs Of Blogging Saturday, November 25, 2006

Directory Submission Guide And Link Building With Directory Submissions Friday, November 17, 2006

Why I Am A Search Engine Optimization Renegade Thursday, November 16, 2006

Archives

Previous Posts

To Blog Or Not To Blog: The Ups And Downs Of Blogging
Saturday, November 25, 2006

Directory Submission Guide And Link Building With Directory Submissions
Friday, November 17, 2006

Why I Am A Search Engine Optimization Renegade
Thursday, November 16, 2006