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By Delia Passi

Salesperson Rick escorts prospective customer Sandra to the door, and shakes her hand, then turns back to his office.

Rick (to himself): “That went great. I managed to hit every selling point and ask all the important questions. I am sure she is confident that we have what she wants. She will go home, get permission from her husband and probably bring him back, and sign the papers. If I don’t hear from her by the end of the week, I’ll follow up.”

Sandra (to herself): “What a waste of time, and like I have time to waste! I do not think he listened once to what I was saying, or maybe he was too preoccupied trying to get through his pitch. I hope I find someone soon who will be the right person to help me find the right car and the best deal. This is so frustrating.”

Selling is a communication process. Communication means the transmission of ideas or information. With women, the communication process becomes a bit more complex than just making your pitch or gathering information. It is apparent through my many years of training salespeople that selling to women is harder than selling to men. Women take longer, need more input, expect service that is more attentive, and require more follow-up. I have heard the same story repeatedly: Women are tougher customers to do business with, and they demand more service than men do.

So why bother? By now, you already know the drill. For one thing, anyone who succeeds in selling and servicing women customers will tell you that the extra effort will pay you back in multiples. You could say that 1 + 1 = 3. That means, sell well to one woman and she will reward you with her business, her loyalty (more business), and probably a large number of referrals to other women (and the beat goes on).

For another, there is an even larger payoff as well: Once you can effectively sell, market to, and retain women customers, you will have the tools to sell more successfully to anyone. Men may not need the extra attention—but will appreciate it. In addition, almost any target market you can name demands attentive adjustments to their way of shopping, deciding, and buying. Think minority markets. Think ethnic markets. Think Baby Boomers. Think seniors. Think about it: That means a lot of new business.

Now whether she likes the sales experience or not, eventually she has got to buy from someone. However, when given a choice, a woman will go out of her way to do business with someone who provides the experience she prefers.

What does this mean to you? As a salesperson, you can create an advantage for your product by providing an experience that cannot be found at your competitors.

Being the first one on your block to master the technique of selling to women is also more valuable than her business alone. Let’s face it: women talk. They like to share stories and compare notes. They care about sparing their friends or family unpleasant experiences.

The New Woman Customer

Women today have the discretionary and disposable income to buy more of whatever they want. They are the largest and best growth market out there—and they are never going back to the way things were.

The growing ranks of well-educated women are the ones who will go on to become the high earners in their professions. In addition, in corporate America, right now women hold the majority—50.5%—of management and professional jobs, according to Catalyst, even though they make up only 46.5% of the U.S. labor force.

That spells serious money to spend. Now that their lives have grown, women act even more decisively not only as buyers, but also as gatekeepers and deal-breakers. Clearly, we are well past the era of the dependent woman, whose access to financial wherewithal and purchasing decision-making was more passive and secondhand. The new breed of woman consumer today is educated, informed, and more empowered than ever.

Tips for car dealers:

1. Get your business in order first. That means making sure your showrooms and your environment/individual offices are women friendly.

2. Create a business and marketing plan to increase your business among women. Dealers who made the effort to create a plan have increased their sales among women up to 50%.

3. Put your active listening skills into high gear. Women claim that they are often “not heard” or understood.

4. Be patient. Recognize that women take more time in the sales process. Use this time to learn more about her.

5. Build trust with your women clients. That means returning her calls the same day, calling her quarterly just to connect, create anywhere from 5 to 10 points of contact throughout the year which can include newsletters, emails, holiday cards, etc. The more valuable the client, the more points of contact!

6. Be religious about the seven-step process to selling to women so that you will exceed her expectations and build your business through loyalty and referrals!

Delia Passi is president of MedeliaCommunications and former Group Publisher of Working Woman and Working Mother magazines. She is a nationally recognized speaker, sales trainer and author of the Winning Strategies for Marketing and Selling to Women, audio book series. For more information visit http://www.deliapassi.com.

Delia Passi is the nation’s leading authority on Selling to Women. As President and CEO of MedeliaCommunications, Passi supports companies in their efforts to be the very best in their industry at closing the deal with the woman customer and retaining that customer forever. Passi is a prominent speaker, trains thousands of sales representatives each year on how to better sell to women, and couples through a series of sales development, training programs that she has created. Passi is also the author of Winning the Toughest Customer, The Essential Guide to Selling to Women (Kaplan, 2006)

As a consultant to numerous Fortune 500 companies, Passi has had great success in forging strategic partnerships with corporations through sophisticated and unique programs that increased product/brand visibility, strengthened brand/product position, created greater credibility, and delivered a larger audience among women. Client companies include Washington Mutual, UPS, Xerox, Office Depot, HP and UBS.

Passi’s knowledge is complimented from a successful career of proven sales, marketing, branding, and entrepreneurial experience. Prior to founding MedeliaCommunications, Passi was the Group Publisher of Working Woman and Working Mother magazines. She began her career with the Xerox Corporation and quickly became one of the company’s top producers. It was when she switched to selling advertising that she recognized how a different approach worked so effectively when selling to women, who dominate the publishing environment.

Passi regularly speaks on Selling to Women, Marketing to Women, Target Selling, Target Marketing, Selling to Baby Boomer Women, Selling to Affluent Women, and Selling and Marketing to Women Business Owners across the nation. From 1998-2003, Passi sat on several advisory boards including Women in Communication’s Golf Matrix, Save the Children, NOW, and Boardroom Bound. She recently joined the New World Symphony in Miami as the Branding Committee Co-Chairperson for the Board of Directors.

Passi earned her BA degree in Psychology/Business and a certification in education, graduating Magna Cum Laude from the College of New Rochelle, NY. She resides in Aventura, Florida with her husband and three daughters.

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By Liz Tahir

Curt and Justin were life long fishing buddies. Now, in their retirement, together, they had taken up the art of ‘do-it-yourself home-improvers’. Curt decided to tackle wallpapering his living room. When he finished the job, he proudly called his friend over to see his handiwork. Justin was very impressed. In fact, he liked it so much; he asked his friend if he could get the same wallpaper for his living room. Their homes were practically identical in size and layout. Curt thought this was a great idea. Therefore, Justin asked him, “how many rolls of wallpaper he bought for the job?” Seven was the reply.

Justin went right to work and when he finished, called his friend over to his house. “Ah, man, that looks really good”, said Curt. Then Justin said to his friend, “But you know, Curt, it’s a funny thing; our living rooms are the same size, but I had two rolls of wallpaper left over! How come?” To which Curt replied, “You, too? That’s exactly what I had left over!”

Poor Justin; he asked his friend the wrong question. He should have asked how many rolls of wallpaper he needed to use for the job, not…how many rolls of wallpaper had Curt bought for the job.

Knowing the right questions to ask can have a dramatic effect on our success. Not having good information, or not getting the answers we need in doing our jobs can make all the difference in the world. What is hard to realize is that this is often of our own doing. How many times have you been surprised to learn of a turn of events and then asked your employees “Why didn’t you tell me that?” only to have they reply “You didn’t ask me.” Since it is illegal to strangle them when they say something like that, the best course is to figure out how to avoid such communication traps.

The secret weapon of power negotiators is being skilled in asking questions. Why? One of the reasons is that questions get the communication going and encourages the other party to talk, to share information with you. In addition, what you always, always, are looking for is information, particularly something you do not know. Even when you think, you know the answers, get in the habit of asking questions; at least, it will confirm your knowledge. In addition, if you have somehow missed asking the right question, the answer you require will come out, the more the other party talks, and you are talking less.

Of course, we are not talking here about hard interrogation. There is a difference between asking relevant questions and the demanding, rat-a-tat-tat fire of interrogation, as if you were the chief of police. Such action can rank anywhere from offensive to intimidating. In addition, you do not want to put people on the defensive. Asking a question like “How could you possibly have made that mistake?” will solve nothing. The person will just feel compelled to defend his actions. Something as if “What do we need to do to avoid this happening again?” is more likely to get you the answers you require. Your goal is to make sure people are comfortable about opening up and communicating with you.

Train yourself to ask open-ended questions, ones that require complete answers, not by just yes or no, but that require longer, answers that are more expansive. Questions that begin with ‘Why’ or ‘What’ or ‘Who’ will tend to elicit more communication. In addition, you will have more chance of getting all the information you need.

I have a question I try to remember to ask every time an associate discusses a situation with me. At the end of our discussion, I ask, “Is there anything else I need to know?” Alternatively, it may take the form of “Is there anything else we need to discuss?” It is the words “anything else” that are important here. Once asked, I pause and wait for a reply. That is my fair warning of their obligation and their opportunity to tell me everything that is relevant to this situation. No surprises later. So get in the habit of performing this little routine. You will have fewer surprises and no one will ever again be able to hide behind the cloak of “well, you didn’t ask me” or “I didn’t know you wanted to know.”

Sometimes, we do not get the answers we need because we do not listen. Learn to be a good listener. Be sensitive to the possibility that you may be asking your associates the right questions, but not listening to them when they try to answer. Alternatively, maybe you are so fast and sure in your own thought process, that you interrupt and do not give them the opportunity to finish what they are saying before you jump in. Alternatively, you finish their answer for them. Curb these tendencies.

Listening is not passive; a good listener can take complete control of an exchange between people. When you listen well, you earn the trust of others. People come to you with their problems, and their opportunities, when they feel they can trust you to listen.

Your ears may be the receptor for the sounds you hear when you are listening, but something else about you is equally important: your eyes. If you are not making good eye contact or are continually moving around, the other person will not “feel” listened to. They will know you did not hear them. Look directly at the person the whole time they are talking. If it is a particularly long dissertation, you can look away or look down to jot a note, but only for a second before looking right back at them. When you do not maintain this direct eye focus, the person will feel that you do not think what they have to say is valuable to you anyway, so why bother fully answering your questions or coming to you with information.

Having good information is critical in business today. It is yours for the (right) asking!

Copyright 2006, Liz Tahir

Liz Tahir is an international marketing consultant, speaker, and seminar leader, whose mission is to help companies be more effective and profitable. Based in New Orleans, LA, USA, she can be contacted at (504)-569-1670; liz@liztahir.com; http://www.liztahir.com.

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By James Saunders

Did you know that you could dramatically increase the number of visitors that come to your site on a daily basis from Google?

Web Content (Mass + Keywords) + Links = SEO

Image Text or JavaScript?

Question: Navigation is based on images, again if these are images of text?

Answer: Search engines obtain links very considerable, and only read text. They like to match the topic of the target page to the text in the link that pointed to the page. Avoid JavaScript.

What to do? Use text only navigation. The text and containing elements can be styles with CSS to set them up, look like images, give a background image, or at least rearrange them to look a little fancier. The optional is to ensure that there is some text based navigation elsewhere on the page.

Gains: Search engines will be able to match the topic of the target page with the reputation (link text). A higher relevancy is better. Ensuring there is text on the page will also help the visually impaired who use text only browsers, in conjunction with Braille output devices, or text to speech software.

Links and Link Relevancy

Question: You want many links to your website?

Answer: Although links may be great for visitors and search engine spiders, the true appraisal of the link may not be fully clear to you. Visitors are unlikely to click on irrelevant links and search engines hate them. Reciprocal links, (you link to me, and I will link to you), can be of use when associated, but carry less weight in the search engines than one-way inbound links.

What to do? Avoid link farms (pages of links, for the sake of links), treat reciprocal link requests with anticipation and stay associated.

Gains: Spending time and thought on your link profile will ensure natural growth of links. Search engines hate anything that looks artificial, or anything that could be interpreted as 'Search engine Trick'.

Duplicate Content

Question: Webmaster copies content from another website, or sets up numerous sites, which are identical, or very similar. Does this mechanism work?

Answer: Search engines apply echo content filters to the search results. Although the idea of increasing the market share is a bona fide idea, a thousand similar sites is not the way to go about doing it. Efforts put into the secondary sites will be forfeited.

What to do? Endorse all of the pages so each of your sites is unique. Querying a search engine for an exact match of long strings of text will show you, if the content is bringing up elsewhere. If a webmaster does have facsimile pages and wishes to avoid any penalties or filters, the webmaster must choose one page to have the other identical pages redirect to. Redirects are covered later. You may also use random RSS Feeds that are mixed before they show up on each page. The RSS have the ability that they always have fresh content, but only if you mix 3 or more RSS feeds, you will get a unique result and not what all the other sites have that are using the same RSS feeds.

Gains: Your efforts are not wasted; time and money can be saved. Always-Fresh content from the RSS Feeds.

Numerous Sites

Question: Following on from identical content, there are numerous sites. A single webmaster has a certain number of closely themed sites, all inter-linked and hosted on the same IP address.

Answer: This is seen as search engine Frame-up, the linking structure and numerous sites just are not natural. Penalties can apply.

What to do? Such site structures can work if set up properly. This means that each site must reside on its own IP address where, at least, the C class is different. IP address is covered later.

Gains: Increased market share, effectively linked and spiderable sites, no penalties applied.

Unfriendly URLs

Question: The URL (web address) of some of your sites pages look like domain dot com/product.php?id=2346&category=665&sid=f29a3483270cc10b3783706916216e3a

Answer: Search engine spiders are getting better, and following, and indexing these form of URLs, but not all of them. The spiders are scared of being caught in an endless loop of identical pages with 1000s of different URLs. They are also off putting to your site visitors who could surely remember mydomain dot com/products/cars/boostvalves.

What to do? Use Search Engine Friendly URLs. If you are running the Apache web server on Linux enabled server use mod_rewrite to translate the URLs into something nicer.

Gains: Higher chance of being indexed by more of the search engines, keywords in your URL, higher chance of being clicked on in the SERPs

Redirects

There are two main redirects, based on the HTTP specification

301 - moved permanently

302 - moved temporarily

You should use 301 redirects wherever possible. This can be done in your server side scripting, eg

Code: php

header("HTTP/1.1 301 Found");

header("Location: w w w newdomain dot com/");

redirects can also be set up in your .htaccess file, if you run the Apache web server

IP addresses (C class)

IP addresses are the numerical addresses of computers connected to the internet. For ease of reading, they are broken down into four parts, each called an octet as they contain 8 bits of data when written in binary form. An example my be 62.85.68.114. in this case, the C class is 68 (and everything up to it), so if you have a few sites hosted on this IP they would all have identical IP addresses. If each had a single IP address that started 62.85.68. then they all share the same C-class IP address. As the allocation of IP addresses within a server involvement is usually configured so that each server has it's own C-class; this means that a search engine knows that all sites on the same C-class IP address are all located on the same server

Your competitors might not be standing still; neither should you.

James Saunders is the owner of TrafficBoosterPro, the SEO software which makes Unique Content pages Quickly and Easily! Software that bring massive Traffic from RSS Feeds in AutoPilot, now in it's 2nd revision at http://TrafficBoosterPro.com.

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By Mark Spall

Most marketing gurus now agree on two key facts that apply to almost any business:

* it takes at least seven ‘touches’ to turn a prospect into a sale.
* it costs at least seven times as much to secure a new customer as to keep an existing one.

Which means every successful business needs to have three tools at its disposal:

* One to secure the loyalty of its customer base.
* A second, to deliver those seven ‘touches’ after a prospective client first makes contact.
* A third, that allows existing satisfied customers to pass referrals to friends, colleagues, and contacts.

In addition, one simple marketing technique can do all three jobs – efficiently, measurably, and cost-effectively. That tool is a carefully crafted and targeted newsletter.

Groaning at the thought of the effort required on your part. Then groan no more! There are companies out there that will design, write, and deliver your newsletter! All you have to do is service the extra business that will generate from your client base.

Knowing there are people who will do the painful stuff for you, read on to find how newsletters make such a difference.

It is a fair bet that someone out there right now is ready to buy what you are selling. However, they will buy from your competition, either because they do not know you, or because they have forgotten about you.

With newsletters, you can reach out on a regular basis to your customer base. This valuable content will raise your profile, encourage repeat business, generate referrals, and be a permanent reminder of your brand and the value you offer.

…but it has to be professional!

Keeping your existing customers should be at the front of your mind. In fact, it should be the first thing you think about when you are looking at the marketing budget. This is where carefully targeted spending can and will deliver the best return on investment.

A quality newsletter, delivered just often enough (but not too often), and offering something genuinely interesting or valuable to your customers, will ensure that customers are:

* reminded about your company, and its products and services, at regular intervals
* inspired and excited by stories from other satisfied clients
* informed about new offerings – and, perhaps, given valuable introductory offers
* encouraged to pass on your details to friends and colleagues

Many businesses make the mistake of writing a newsletter ‘in-house’, – but its common knowledge that unless a business specializes in copywriting and design, it can accidentally create a lasting negative impression, and do more harm than good.

For example:

Imagine: You have just opened a bookstore. Your first customer comes in. They probably will only say ‘hello’ to you. Then they will start looking at the books – browsing. If you are very lucky, they will buy one. More likely, they will put the book back on the shelf, and depart without more ado.

So how would you respond?

Well, you could say ‘Excuse me, are you planning to buy a book?’
You could say, ‘This isn’t a library, you know.’
Alternatively, you could say, ‘That’s an interesting one, isn’t it? Have you seen his latest?’

In other words, you could actively encourage that customer to come back and keep browsing until they find something they want to buy.

A good newsletter is just like that. It was not written to sell your product directly – or at the very least, not all the time. It was written to encourage active browsing. To make your visitors come back to your website, repeatedly, until they are ready to buy. Think about that bookshop again. Suppose, as your browser was leaving, you said this: ‘I can see you’re a keen reader. Would you like to sign up for our free newsletter?’ Why is that so important? Well, think about it. If the customer says ‘yes’ you’re going to get their name and address. You are going to be able to send things to them – and get a better idea of their likes and dislikes.

In addition, you will know that when there is a new thriller on the market, that first customer will be eagerly awaiting the chance to buy it. The equivalent tool on your website is a form inviting visitors to sign up to the newsletter – and it should be there on every page. Because what you really want, is that visitor’s e-mail address – along with their permission to send them your newsletter. In marketing terms, that is pure gold. In the course of time, you will be able to build up an ever-growing list of people who are actively interested in what you do. You really could not ask for much more!

Therefore, your first contact with that customer was not a sale. It was that friendly invitation to sign up for your newsletter. The sale came much later – possibly after six or seven newsletters.

To sum up:

A good newsletter can:

* Secure the loyalty of existing customers – and remind them about the full range of products/services you offer
* Win the confidence and interest of potential new customers who have paid only one visit to your website
* Make it easy for existing customers to pass referrals to people they know who are likely to be interested.

Mark Spall is a Business Coach and helps his clients with practical advice on how to develop their businesses. More on using newsletters to power drive your business can be found at http://tinyurl.com/ylaqew.

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By Bobette Kyle

A popular way to segment customers is by revenue or profit generated, with "A-list" customers receiving more benefits and personal service than "lower" categories. There are right and wrong ways to do this.

Doing it right means cultivating customers so they all feel appreciated, by developing or improving products to meet each customer ‘segments' needs. Result: pleased customers and higher profit.

Doing it wrong creates risk of sub-standard service for "unimportant" customers, making them feel unappreciated and resentful. Result: missed profit opportunities and disgruntled customers.

Brand Image

When deciding how to service each customer segment, remember that every point of contact with a customer reflects on the brand, regardless of customer "importance." Over time, this has an impact on brand image and company reputation.

With the Internet so prevalent today, each individual has more power to voice his/her opinion than in times past, which directly affects brand image and goodwill associated with the name. Each mistreated customer has the means to tell the world of her/his experience on Web sites that allow reviews (such as bizrate.com and Amazon.com) and online discussion forums.

An Example of Bad Service from the Customer Viewpoint

The way each of my credit card issuers treats me is a prime example. I always pay my bill in full (often early) and belong to the "cash back" rebate programs, so I imagine I'm in a similar customer segment for each and would expect to be treated similarly by these three competitors.

Not the case. Two of the companies make me feel like a valued customer. The third made me feel so unappreciated I closed the account. How the three companies handle "suspicious" activity on my account demonstrates the varying degrees of service:

- Discover card has a fraud specialist, (or customer service representative), call me in person to ask that I review recent transactions with her/him.

- Citibank's computer calls me with an alert, asking that I call a number or go online to verify transactions through a computerized process.

- Advanta locks the account and sends a letter informing me they have done so. In my experience, the letter arrived a week after the incident and I was not notified by telephone (I called them when the "offending" vendor notified me of the decline). I asked customer service to allow future charges from that vendor, but they could not do so. Presumably, this meant an account freeze each time my authorized vendor attempted to process a legitimate charge.

All three of my card companies require that I take some sort of action to verify suspicious charges, which I can expect to happen. The approach, however, leaves a very different impression. Citibank and Discover both apologize for the inconvenience of transaction verifications, and -- while I have to go through an extra step with Citibank, -- both fall within my subjective definition of quality customer service. Advanta, however, does not apologize for the hardships of declined transactions and a frozen account.

To be fair, I do not know that my negative experience would have been handled differently, if I were in a more profitably customer segment. It could have been the result of badly trained customer service representatives, or perhaps this is standard procedure on all accounts.

Tips for Segmenting Customers without Sacrificing Service

Customer segmentation is a good thing. It helps you recognize how customers are different and it should draw your attention to needs of different segments, prompting you to meet those needs. Some ideas on successful segmentation:

- Segment by need rather than profit or revenue. A low-profit customer today could be high-profit tomorrow if you offer products and services to meet her/his needs.

- Look for ways some customer segments can effectively be”self-service," which cuts costs for the company while meeting customer service needs.

- Build in ways to create exceptions in automated customer service processes, so as not to alienate those with special situations (in my example, by allowing a way to preauthorize account activity).

- If offering promotions, rewards, or other incentives to some segments but not others, "spell it out" for customer service representatives. Structure your Web site and promotional mailings accordingly. By taking steps to assure customers receive consistent information across all channels of communication, you avoid exposure of customers to offers for which they do not qualify.

There are ways to segment customers without lowering customer service. By doing so effectively, you nurture business growth and reputation.

Bobette Kyle draws upon 15+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, online marketing experience, and marketing MBA as inspiration for her writing. You can find more of her free marketing planning articles at: http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com.

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By Alvin Phang

Before you decide what to sell on the internet, you have to develop an Internet Marketing Strategy. That is the essential part of your online success on the Internet.

You have to take into consideration the following:

1. Find a large and easy to reach niche market
2. Find a Product or Service the niche market demands
3. Set up your website
4. Have a great sales copy (your 24/7 sales man)
5. Create an opt-in page to collect email address
6. Have a great sales process
7. Make your website scalable and search engine friendly
8. Backend, backend and backend

Each step plays an important role to the success in your Internet Marketing Strategy Planning. If you miss even one-step, you will not be able to see the results you would like to see, as each step is equally important to the other.

1. Find a large and easy to reach niche market.

Your first step in your Internet Marketing Strategy planning requires you to do your research. Locate a large and easy to reach niche market to market your product. Now, go to Free Keywords, tools, and search for niche keywords that have high click through and low competitions.

Example, the keyword “Dog Food for Sale”, when you search for that on Google there is actually 5,650,000, which is not a lot of competition. You also have to check; is there a demand for it, by using tools from www.seobook.com to look at the KEI rate. The higher the KEI rate the better the keyword.

2. Find a Product or Service the niche market demands.

After you have found two or three keywords that you would like to target, you would want to find products that will serve the market that has a demand for it.

Example, like the keyword “Dog Food for Sale”, you would not want to promote Cat Food, as it does not relate to the topic you want to promote. So find related products like an eBook “where to find a great sale for dog food” or “dog products that dogs like to eat”.

3. Set up your website.

After you have decided what product or service you want to sell online, you would want to set up a website to promote your product. The best way to do it is by creating a Blog to talk only about “Dog Food that is for Sale”. Because Google and Yahoo search engine loves Blogs so much that you virtually get listed in just 24 hours upon updating, compared to a normal website, which will take at least a few weeks to be 'cached' into the search engine.

4. Have a great sales copy (your 24/7 salesman).

Do not be mistaken, sales copy is not the sale. A sales copy is a page with descriptions and details to promote your product on your website. When I first heard of this term, sales copy, I was very stunned how important it was to have a sales copy.

Depending on how good your own copy writing skills are, you can get people to write your sales copy, or simply teach yourself to write one. If you try to write it yourself, as copy, writing is a very good skill to learn, especially when you are an Internet Marketer who plans Internet Marketing Strategy.

5. Create an opt-in page to collect email address.

The opt-in page is another important step that many do not have, and it is the most important. Why? It is because they fail to collect email address from their website. With the email address, you can design out your sales process in the next step, which I will explain further.

6. Have a great sales process.

With your opt-in page in place, you can use the captured email address and name to follow up with people who are interested in knowing more about what you are promoting on your opt-in page. One way to build your list of emails is to send them information or promotional products, and to sell those products again in the future.

7. Make your website scalable and search engine friendly.

With all that done, you would now need to read up on Search Engine Optimization. Practicing this will allow search engines like Yahoo and Google to spider your website, easily. The good thing about Blogs is you can ping the search engines to spider your site, and you can be listed very quickly within 24 hours.

8. Backend, backend, and backend.

Upon completion of all seven steps, you just need to keep on sending backend information to your list from your opt-in emails that you receive, and keep on driving traffic to your opt-in page to get more email address to sent out promotions to your customers.

If you constantly follow this eight-step formula for your Internet Marketing Strategy Plan, you will see massive results after 3 months upon your set up. So do the math and start planning your Internet Marketing Strategy today!

Alvin Phang is the owner of http://www.GatherSuccess.com . Get the right Internet Marketing Strategy for your Internet Business with our free resource of Internet Marketing Strategy Planning, Tips, Tutorials, Videos, Reviews, and click the following link for more http://www.gathersuccess.com.

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By Marc de Bruin

It is not what you know; it is whom you know. That saying goes around quite a lot. It definitely has a lot truth in it. I do not think it is the only truth about getting and keeping your business up and running. There are many, many more options. For the sake of this article, I will focus on networking as a client generator, and it can make you see the usefulness of having many business relations.

Networking forms a very important part of every small and medium sized business owner’s activities. There is a lot of business done over breakfasts, beers and barbecues with fellow business people. Let’s face it; it’s an easy way. Not only can you have a good time getting together for a couple of drinks, when you know it can benefit your business, as well, the fun just gets better!

When I first started as an attorney in the Netherlands, I didn’t understand much about the concept of networking. I didn’t even have a concept. The older partners suggested that I join groups like Rotary or Lions, and business oriented ones. I started to get an idea. The joining wasn’t for the fun; ultimately, I had to join the groups for the good of the firm and my practice.

I didn’t particularly like the whole idea of joining up with people, not because of me as a person, but because of the potential business that might come from being part of the group. That didn’t align with my values at the time (we’re talking 1994-1997). Now, several years later, and immigrated to Australia, I honestly enjoy networking, and am always on the lookout for other interest groups I can join.

It took me years to see and understand the value of networking in terms of creating relationships and building up businesses, and in my current practice, I absolutely make a point of stressing the importance of it to my clients.

For me, the value of knowing people became very apparent, when I moved to Australia with my family. Knowing no one at first, starting completely afresh with no history whatsoever, networking has proven highly valuable in getting my Coaching and Body Stress Release practices running. I linked up with Toastmasters International and two breakfast business referral groups, created a Dutch networking group, and set up a “coaches coffee club”, together with a fellow business coach.

My intentions were two-fold: getting to know people for the sake of getting to know them and to build new friendships, and of course for the sake of establishing business relationships and promoting my work. The two go very well together. There is not a part in me anymore that feels uncomfortable with it. Establishing friendships often is serious, and establishing business relationships often means friendships.

If you are serious about getting and keeping your business running, I urge you to look at many networking opportunities. I must confess, my personality type, (according to the Myers Briggs Type Indicator), is not naturally inclined to network and mingle easily, so for me, it was a learning curve. Factually, tapping into networks is so valuable, and made doing so a lot easier. Do not get discouraged. If you do not particularly like large crowds, just be clear about your outcome, and enjoy the process!

Here are a couple of resources for you to tap into when you are looking for networking opportunities:

- Referral Groups: Breakfast Network International (BNI), the Leads Club, local business referral groups, to be found via your Chamber of Commerce or Small Business Field Officer (or similar authority).

- Service Clubs: Lions, Rotary, Zonta, Kiwanis, Round Table, Junior Chamber, Soroptimist, to name but a few.

- Public Speaking Groups: Toastmasters International, Rostrum, National Speakers Association, etc.

- Special interest groups within your line of work, in my case for instance the International Coaching Federation, the Australian Life Coaching Society, Coachville. There are many others to be found in your specific expertise.

- Local business groups like Chambers of Commerce, Business Women’s Networks, Networking events organized by local government, etc.

- Self-initiated interest groups, like my Dutch networking group, the Coaches Coffee Club, etc.

- Local hobby groups: bridge, crafts, cars, motors, plants, or whatever it is that takes your fancy.

- Any other online and offline networks you can find in local, daily, or weekly newspapers, on the internet, through referrals, in Yellow Pages, and via local business advise bureaus. You will have to keep your eyes peeled for opportunities, and scour through all available means of communication.

- Make “being in contact” a structural thing on your to-do list. If you haven’t spoken to someone you know for a couple of months, send him/her an email, or give him/her a ring. They’ll appreciate it, and brings you back into their awareness, which is where you want to be for sure!

Go out and do something. Sitting still and waiting for the clients/customers to come in based upon your current contact lists may pay off in the long run, if you are able to stick around long enough…..It is smarter to take pro-active action, and create your own network of people you meet or speak to regularly. This will absolutely increase your business volume in the short term, and give you a very steady base in the future as well.

Marc is a certified life/business coach, master NLP Practitioner on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. He specializes in restoring people's health, and coaching professionals and small business owners at critical junctions in their careers and/or lives, so they can move to the "next level".

Marc de Bruin is a certified life/business coach and master NLP practitioner on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. Email him for a free phone or face-to-face session on marc@landmarc.info

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By Ian Simpson

You want to start an online business, but do not have your own product to sell. However, you do have the option of starting with affiliate marketing - selling other peoples' products for a commission. Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money. In just the last few years, affiliate marketing has become a very powerful force in ecommerce. Everyday, thousands, if not millions, of merchants rely on affiliate marketing to drive their businesses.

So, is online affiliate marketing right for you? You will never know unless you take the necessary steps. If you do not try, then you cannot expect to succeed. Make today the day that you commit to changing the direction of your life. However, like any other business, whether it is online or off line, affiliate marketing cannot guarantee you success unless you work at it.

As with any business, start up, and affiliate marketing is no exception, you will need to spend some money on the basics to get you started. Through proper budgeting, you can reduce your initial outlay. Therefore, decide how much money you can afford to invest in your affiliate marketing business. You will have some expenses, if you want to be successful, and you can put off, until the time you start earning income from your affiliate products. Some items that you will need to budget for are:

Domain Name. The domain name should relate to the subject and keep your domain name simple and easy to remember. There is quite a span between the low-cost and the high-end cost of domain names. If you shop around, you may even be able to find something less expensive. However, make sure it is a well-established company! You do not want to lose your domain name once you have decided on it! You will likely get a better deal if you register your domain name for two or more years in advance. Namecheap.com and Godaddy.com are both excellent domain providers.

Website Hosting. Web hosting fees will vary dramatically between hosting providers. Set up a comparison chart and write down each company you are considering. Some companies offer rates as low as $2 a month, while others charge over $100. The highest rates do not always translate into the best service. Some of the lower-priced hosts offer a reliable, stable environment that allows your website to have access around the clock for years. Hostgator.com provides quality hosting at reasonable prices. Shop carefully, and if possible, avoid free hosting which can be unreliable.

Merchant Account. You do not have to invest thousands of dollars to open a merchant account. Find a merchant account vendor through a local financial institution, like a bank, and discuss the possibilities that will best suit your business and your customers. A merchant account will let you start accepting credit card payments for customer purchases, which will enhance the shopping experience for most customers and earn your company a progressive reputation. Never assume you will have extravagant monthly charges when you open a merchant account. Shop around, ask questions, and compare costs to get the best, low cost merchant account available for your business. Your customers will thank you with repeat and additional business.

Software. You will need to track your expenses and income from your affiliate business and the simplest way is to use Microsoft Excel or similar program. Seeing your expenses for the whole year is a great way to keep them under control. What is the final total? Does that seem extreme? Remember, this is for an entire year. Keep it in perspective. If you intend to have a real business, you must treat it as a real business.

Advertising. The best marketing tip you will ever hear is to advertise your product or business. In today's market, anyone in business knows that advertising is the backbone to his or her success. Even with the greatest product on the planet, a product that you know everyone needs and wants, without advertising, it is just an idea going nowhere. Make sure you check out the best ways to advertise your business. It can be a fun, profitable, and easy experience with the right tools.

Education. Ongoing education is going to be extremely important to your affiliate marketing success. You will not have to purchase many educational materials if you do not want to. There are many free resources, such as newsletters, that you can study. Sign up for a few newsletters and use the information to gain experience.

Affiliate marketing can be a great way to create a business on the internet. You will need to learn and understand the basics before you set off on your online adventure. Choose your affiliate programs carefully and make sure you get the support and backup from the affiliate program.

Ian Simpson reviews and writes about software and informational products on the internet. Further affiliate business advice can be found at http://information4income.com/sfpr.

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By Laurie Brown

Maximize the Profit Potential of Your Retail Customer

Let us be honest. It is getting harder and harder to make a decent profit from our retail customers. The internet abounds with articles such as ” “ “ “ etc. Our customers are coming in and telling us how much over invoice they are willing to pay. So how can we maximize their profit potential?

1. Build value

A Purdue University study showed that when the customers perceived value exceeds the price, meaning that customers felt that they were getting more than they were paying for, eight of ten would buy. So where do we build value. Look to build value in each of the three p’s…Product, Place, and Person.

PRODUCT

Know your product inside and out. Find the interesting details that customers might not be aware of. When doing your walk around, it does not just spout off features. Make sure you tie features to your customer’s hot buttons. Use the phrase (or something like this) ‘and what that means to you is’…. It is best to talk about an average of three features per walk around position . It may seem like “more is better”, but studies show that customers tend to get overloaded and can have a negative reaction to too many features. Spend at least 15 minutes a day on a Power break, learn something new about your product, read owners manuals and articles about your product, walk the used car lot, talk to a mentor in your dealership. Do what it takes to be an “expert.”

PLACE

Then ask yourself “what sets my dealership apart?” Have we been in business for 40 years, are we a family business, are we a “no hassle” dealership, do we have more inventory than our competitors? How are we distinct? Once you have answered the questions, make sure your customers know it. Does your dealership have a mission statement? Do you know what it is? Talk about the goals of your dealership with pride.

PERSONAL

However, the most important place to build value is doing business with you. First, it is the only thing that you have to offer that they cannot get anywhere else. Your willingness to “go the extra mile”, be patient, be well informed, help a customer buy a vehicle, rather than “sell them” will go a long way towards setting you apart from your competitors. The world is changing fast, make sure you are aware of new technology that will help you stay connected to your customers.

Check your “bad attitude” at the door. Your customer is making an impression of you in the first 90 seconds that they are spending with you. Your smile, eye contact, warm handshake, and enthusiastic greeting will prove to them you are someone they want to do business with, repeatedly.

2. Follow-up! This is the place most sales consultants fall down. We are so busy dealing with ups that we forget that our best and easiest customers are the ones that have already bought from us. Get a customer contact program such as ACT and use it. Call your customers within 24 hours after the purchase to make sure, if everything is ok. If not, move heaven and earth to fix the problem. Write a handwritten thank you note. Then check in (with their permission) via a phone call, email, or newsletter at regular intervals. Make the contact personal. Use the information you learned when you were building rapport to continue that process. Ask how Johnny did in little league. Congratulate them on Becky’s graduation. The more personal the conversation, the more effective it will be. There are sales consultants who make their clients service appointments. The goal is to add value and have your name be on the tip of their tongues. In addition, be assured that they will come back to you when they buy their next vehicle.

3. Ask for referrals, your happy customers are your best salespeople. Let their great experience be a story that they tell repeatedly. In addition, if you have done an exceptional job, do not hesitate to ask them to recommend you to their friends, co-workers, and family. If you explain that you build your business by positive word of mouth, they most likely will be happy to help you out. Do not forget to thank them for their referrals. Again, a hand written note is essential. Some states allow bird-dogging. IF yours does not, you could “thank them” in a variety of other ways. A dinner at a local restaurant, or free oil change will tell them that you are grateful.

Following these simple steps will allow you to maximize the profit you can get from your customers. Remember it makes better sense to work smarter, not harder.

Laurie Brown is an international speaker, trainer and consultant who work to help people improve their sales, service, and presentation skills. She is the author of The Teleprompter Manual, for Executives, Politicians, Broadcasters, and Speakers. Laurie can be contacted through http://www.thedifference.net, or 1-877.999.3433, or at lauriebrown@thedifference.net

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By Verena

There is no disagreement that effective branding through 'use of a name, term, symbol or design, or a combination of these', (Quester et al, 2001), can create brand awareness and recognition in the quickest manner. Companies use different kinds of 'Brand Name', that is: a word, letter or a group of words such as AOL, Intel Pentium III, etc., to project their companies. Sometimes, such words, symbols or marks are legally registered and copy righted to a single company known as trademarks (for product oriented companies), and service marks (for service offering companies), (Perreault & McCarthy, 2000).

However, in any form, use branding to create brand familiarity among consumers in terms of brand recognition and brand preference, (Papers4you.com, 2006). The advantage of using branding effectively is for consumers and marketers. For instance, it becomes easy for a customer to choose preferred brand among 1000s of other items just because of famous well-recognized symbol, word, or trademark that cannot be possible without effective branding, (Quester et al, 2001). For example, imagine you are driving down the road with hunger. Suddenly you see a symbol 'M' on a signboard with red background and yellow font. It is not difficult to realize that McDonalds is waiting for you, easily manifest effective projection of McDonalds' through brand symbol 'M'. Similarly imagine buying a computer accessory from among thousands of unknown brands, suddenly you observe 'Intel (r)' sign. A quick reminder prompts recognition of this symbol. It is a well-known brand symbol common everywhere in media and at your own computer.

Keep these examples in mind. It is obvious that marketers can cash in such advantages as well, (Papers4you.com, 2006). One way to use word and symbols is while launching new products under same brand names, (Quester et al, 2001). Every one is aware of 'Coca Cola (tm)'; any new soft drink introduced under this brand name has a high probable chance to achieve awareness and attention of coca cola lovers. Similarly, no matter if 'IBM' entered into so many IT related services, it initially became famous for IBM computers. Whenever you observe its trade mark of 'IBM' written in horizontal lines, the consumer is not bothered about checking the background of the company. As a result, it also saves huge promotion costs that a company with less famous brand names and symbols needs to incur.

To conclude discussion, see the outcome of effective branding in terms of 'brand equity', that is the value of a brand in terms of its perceived brand awareness, recognition, loyalty, and associations from customers. To give the advantage of effective branding, the brand equity of the Coca Cola brand is valued at $ 43 Billion, IBM brand at $ 18 billion, and Kodak's at $ 12 billion, (Kotler & Armstrong, 1999).

References

Kotler, P & Armstrong, G, (1999), 'Principles of Marketing', Eight Edition, New Jersey: Prentice- Hall Inc

Quester, P, G, McGuiggan, R, L, McCarthy, E, J & Perreault, W, D (2001), Basic Marketing- A Managerial Perspective', Australia: McGraw Hill Book Company Australia Pty Limited

Papers For You (2006) "P/M/457. What is successful branding?" Available from http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtmrk31.htm [19/06/2006]

Papers For You (2006) "P/M/270. A consistent brand identity can only exist because of a well-planned advertising strategy, which has clearly stated communication effects and one, which considers exposure to appropriate target audiences and positioning strategies. Discuss", Available from Papers4you.com [19/06/2006]

Perreault, W, D & McCarthy, E, J, (2000), 'Essentials of Marketing- A Global Management Approach' International Edition, USA: McGraw Hill Companies Inc

Papers4you.com.

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By Leah Lee

In many cases, business owners can come up with several traditional ways to improve their bottom line. Some may cut expenses, relocate for cheaper lease options, or even cut back on employees. With many corporate budgets being so tight, consider corporate gifts. How can this expense improve the budget? How can you justify spending money on gifts when it is not necessary? In this article, we will find sure-fire answers to these questions and analyze the facts and benefits behind corporate gifting.

We all know that a business thank you gift is no scientific evolution. Corporate gift giving is a payment, which benefits potential clients, partners, employees, employers, and associates. So far, the benefit does not seem to be for the business owner. In this case, why should corporate gifting be of any value? Well, here some good reasons to chew on:

• To keep employees.

Employees are expensive. Recruiting employees is expensive because you have to spend money on advertising and/or agencies to find the employees and test them for employability skills, personality compatibility, drugs, and criminal background. Training employees costs even more money. A valuable employee knows how things work, because of the years with the company. Finally, employee turnover is bad for morale and occasionally brings with it nasty law suits, not to mention all of the problems caused by understaffing. Therefore, it makes sense to invest a little money in corporate gifting. Go ahead; get your exemplary assistant a fancy leather business card holder or even a nice gift the whole family would enjoy, like a picnic basket. Rest assured, these noble alms will make your employees feel like you have gone out of your way for them and you appreciate them.

• To keep clients.

Finding good clients can be just as expensive as finding good employees. Once again, you often have to revert to extra advertising and/or networking. You may have to go through several new clients to find one, as good as, the one you have lost. Then you have to spend time educating them and breaking them in, or getting used to their policies. In the mean time, your business is less stable, and that can cause all sorts of problems. Losing a client is also bad because they may take their friends with them. Therefore, when you lose one client, you lose a lot. Keep your good clients by treating them well, doing good business, and giving them that grand slam corporate gift basket, or even, company engraved business gifts. It only makes sense.

• For good public relations.

If you are nice to people, they will spread the word, and it will give your company a good image.

• Just to make people feel good.

Some people believe there is no room for altruism in business. That is a shame. When they start to put money first and people second, it withers their souls. They would do best to remember what is important.

The making of business gifts have been standard practice in all sectors of business and helps to build and establish lasting relationships for development. When a company has invested in implementing and maintaining a corporate incentive program, it benefits everyone. Employees generally feel appreciated, which in turn increases moral, clients feel important, and you plant a seed of good will. If you are generous in business, generosity will come back to you. Now, take all these factors and add them up. With long term employees, clients that will return to you for services, and the public who will spread the word of good cheer for your enterprise, it all adds up to a black bottom line.

Leah Lee is editor for Corporate Snobs.com. For more unique business gift ideas, visit us today!

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By Jerry Bader

Everyone Has an Agenda

When we watch our favorite television programs like 'CSI' or 'House', we knowingly and even gladly allow ourselves to be manipulated. When we watch the evening news, we are manipulated by the selection and presentation of stories that have been filtered through a series of network agendas. These range from the benign time constraints of a thirty-minute broadcast to the more suspicious dictates of network and sponsor interests.

Websites are vehicles for communicating content to an audience. Like your favorite television show, or evening news; that communication is not neutral; it comes with an agenda and that agenda should be yours.

If your website designer is not developing your site within a framework created to communicate your marketing information, then you are not getting the website you need. If your website designer is merely a technical programmer and not a communicator, then you have picked the wrong supplier.

Whether you are selling an idea, a product, or a service does not matter; it matters that you are trying to convince your audience your offer will benefit them in some way. You are manipulating your presentation to your advantage. That does not mean you should be dishonest or deceitful, but rather just skilled in getting your message across.

To manipulate, as defined, in part by wordreference.com, means to 'control or influence skillfully, usually to one's advantage'. That is the job of a professional website designer: to influence an audience skillfully to the website owner's advantage.

Defining an Appropriate Website Agenda

Build your website to be an affective marketing communication vehicle that accomplishes these tasks:

1. Attract interest
2. Focus attention
3. Convey attitude
4. Enhance understanding
5. Generate confidence
6. Stimulate desire
7. Motivate action

Attract Interest

Check your website logs, if you find people are leaving your site as fast as they are arriving, then you have a problem. The time and effort you spent on optimizing your site, for the search engines to attract visitors, is wasted if those visitors do not stay long enough to get your marketing message. Visitors will leave your site within seconds if your splash page is confusing or irrelevant to their needs. The initial contact with your audience must capture their attention and quickly establish that you are the source of the information, products, or services they are looking for.

Focus Attention

Your established site has the information your audience wants, so you must make it easy for people to find it. Organize information, products, and services for quick access and easy navigation between options and alternatives.

Visitors focus on finding what they came for; and locate it. Now they will be more receptive to notice the items you want to direct them to. The moment when visitors are ready to focus on your pitch, Jared Spool, of "User Interface Engineering", calls this the 'seducible moment'.

Enhance Understanding

Design the presentation of your information for human understanding, not the search engine robots. People absorb more information, have better comprehension, and retain more of what you want them to, when information is presented by a real person.

If you want to see the future of the Web, visit Wyeth's menopause related website at http://www.knowmenopause.com. This site provides visitors with these options:
- going to a text-based version that is index-able by search engines and where visitors can print out the material;
- and a multimedia version that features video presentations by doctors discussing the medical issues,
- and interviews with ordinary women discussing their personal experiences.

Generate Confidence

Since the Web is a remote environment, it is important to create confidence in your company, the products, and services you provide. Easily create this confidence by providing visitors with email addresses, phone numbers, physical locations, and contact names. Many websites fail to provide this kind of information. If you do not provide proper contact information, it looks like you have something to hide.

Relating people with people is critical in building confidence. The Wyeth knowmenopause.com site does a brilliant job of providing expert video advice from qualified professionals, as well as, video commentary from average people relating their personal experience with the subject matter. In addition, you do not have to be a multinational pharmaceutical company to do this. Every business has access to expertise and knowledge. If you stop pitching and start informing, you may find you are further ahead.

Convey Attitude

Every business conveys a personality to the clients through their experiences with that company. When you rely on your website as your main point of customer and prospect interaction, then your website has to present an attitude appropriate for your audience. You convey this attitude via the graphics, copy, and multimedia presentation of the information, products, and services you provide. When it comes to 'attitude', the medium is very much the message. The Web is such an impersonal environment. It is important to design your presentation so that it delivers the attitude and personality that will relate to your audience.

Stimulate Desire

The desire to buy a particular product or service is based on more than functional utility; no one really needs a Rolex or a Lexus. People buy most of what they buy based on emotional and psychological desire rather than functional need. Functionality often comes into play merely as a justification for the purchase. Part of your website's job is to create the emotional and psychological desire for the product in question.

Motivate Action

Your website should be designed to motivate people to action, but do not construct your site to limit that action to a sale or to nothing. Many sites obviously design the website to entice you to purchase items with little or no attention to enhancing understanding or generating confidence. This 'all or nothing' approach is severely anti-productive and conveys the impression you cannot be trusted. Customers need to have confidence in you and your offerings; and need some reassurance that you are legitimate.

You want a website visitor to do something; anything that demonstrates some interest. That expression of interest could be a phone call to ask a question, signing up for an e-newsletter, requesting a catalog, responding to a survey, poll, or promotion - anything that displays they have some interest in what you are offering. If you can motivate your audience to action, even if that action is not directly sales related, you are on your way to building a relationship with that prospect.

Communication: Turning Content Into a Memorable Experience

In order to achieve your marketing goals, you need to know how to manipulate, or if you prefer, 'seduce' your audience to your advantage using the seven tools of website persuasion.

Position

Web pages are usually made-up of similar types of information. Standard page elements include:

i. Header information - such as logo, company name, address, and basic contact information
ii. Navigation elements - so visitors can find what they need
iii. Content - such as text, graphics, audio, and video
iv. Sidebar information - that might include additional information or links that relate to the content or advertisements
v. Footer information - that might contain further contact or copyright information

The positioning of these elements is critical to the comprehension and retention of your information and marketing message. Various usability studies carried out in the USA and Great Britain have tracked the eye movement of website visitors. These studies help the designer place the various page layout elements on the screen to produce the maximum effect.

Most studies are consistent with their eye movement tracking results:

i. Middle-Center: Visitors first focus on the center of the page searching for anticipated content;

ii. Top-Left: Eyes then move to the top left corner where a logo or company name is expected;

iii. Down Left-hand side: Eyes then move down the left-hand side of the screen where navigation usually occurs;

iv. Top-Middle to Right: Eyes then move back to the top of the screen and move from the center to the right scanning for further navigation elements or additional company identification information;

v. Middle-Center: Eyes then move back to the middle of the screen scanning for relevant content;

vi. Right-hand side: Eyes then move to the right side of the screen looking for additional information or sidebars;

vii. Middle-Center to bottom: Finally, eyes go back to the center and down the page towards the footer scanning for additional content.

It should be noted that these studies also suggest that website visitors will quickly determine where any advertisements are located and then proceed to ignore or avoid them when moving on to other pages of that website.

Size

The size of the various elements will obviously draw attention to, or away from particular information. Logos, graphics, headers, and body-text should all be balanced and proportionate. The use and amount of white space is as important to readability and comprehension, as any of the other elements relate.

Color

The use of color is another obvious feature that draws attention to particular information; color also conveys personality, mood, and image. Blue, silver, and green are calming colors that convey a cool, if somewhat remote image. Reds tend to convey a sense of excitement and boldness, while yellows are bright and friendly. Browns and beiges are earthy, warm and rich, while black, white, and gray convey a sense of sophistication.

These are all generalizations. You can mix and match colors to provide a variety of moods and personalities. It is important to choose a color palette with care; not only to convey personality, but also to direct and focus attention on particular key elements.

Shape

The shape of elements is another way to draw attention to particular information or content. Traditional computer monitors with their 4:3 ratio and the new more extreme 16:9 ratio monitors create particular challenges when trying to present substantial information above the virtual fold; this means the visible area that does not require scrolling. Sometimes you cannot avoid vertical scrolling. If you have a lot to say, think about adding an audio or video option that only requires the click of a button to present your information with no scrolling required.

Sound

Web-audio is the most cost-effective multimedia-format for delivering large amounts of complex information or instructions to website visitors. Web-audio delivers the information in a meaningful, compelling, entertaining, and memorable way, and helps establish a corporate personality and image.

Movement

Movement helps attract and direct attention to certain aspects of your website. The best way to incorporate some action on your site is with Web-video, which uses a Web-host to present information or direct visitors to where they want to go.


Style

The visual style of your site directs attention and focus. It helps establish your personality and helps the relation to your target audience. Styles range from conservative to funky to downright bizarre; but what really matters is your style choice, it tells visitors who you are and what you are. Your website style will help create the attitude aspect of your website presentation.

Conclusion

Designing a website is more than programming and search engine optimization; it is how you communicate to your future customers. This job is too important to leave to someone who does not understand how to use the Web and its full arsenal of presentation elements to communicate your marketing message.

Jerry Bader is Senior Partner at MRPwebmedia, a website design firm that specializes in delivering their clients' marketing messages using the latest audio, video, and Flash presentation techniques to create compelling and memorable Web-experiences that enhance brand personality and increase sales and profits. Visit http://www.mrpwebmedia.com, http://www.136words.com http://www.sonicpersonality.com. Contact at info@mrpwebmedia.com or telephone (905) 764-1246.

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By Michael A. Jones

When it comes to your online email marketing promotions, think out your signature file. It is an important feature of your message not an afterthought. It tells people about YOU, or specifically, it tells what your business is about.

The signature file is a little like a P.S. at the end of a message. It nearly always gets attention.

Here are 10 guidelines for creating a signature file that looks professional and gets clicks:

1. Make it brief, no more than about 6 lines, and make it concise. Put briefly, what you and your business are all about along with the URL, of course.

2. Use a single --- or double === divider across the top and/or across the bottom of the signature.

3. Adjust the signature file for the audience you are reaching. Newsgroups or mailing lists, adopt a soft-sell approach so as not to cause irritation. For an autoresponder message, a hard sell signature file may be acceptable.

4. Include your email address and the URL of your home page.

5. Don't go above eight lines including the divider(s).

6. Format to 60 characters so the line endings will appear neat in your recipient's browser.

7. Left justify the text.

8. Proofread it. That is worth repeating - Proofread it!

9. Cut and paste the URL into a browser and make sure it works! How frustrating to stumble on the fact that after you have sent hundreds of emails or you have been using the signature file for some weeks, the link does not work because of a typo or other error in the URL. Test it!

10. Send an email to yourself with the signature file and check the overall appearance and impression. Is it clean and professional?

In conclusion: Labor hard and long on the wording of your signature until it is just right. Sum up your main selling proposition and construct it into a slogan.

Michael A. Jones is a writer and webmaster with over 10 years experience. Punctuation marks used discreetly and correctly can really add power to your emails. Check Michael's punctuation guide here for ideas:
http://www.about-goal-setting.com/punctuation-guide.html

To utilize a highly successful advertising medium at an unbelievably low cost visit this page:
http://www.vitalstop.com/Marketing/post-free-classified-ads.html

See how to choose the right autoresponder and at the same time get a free 7-part email tutorial:
http://www.vitalstop.com/Business/autoresponders.html

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