Home Business The Easy Way 482 Update http://www.blogmoneymiracle.com en-us EasyRSS
By Carsten Cumbrowski

Why you should look into Pay Per Click Marketing if you are an Affiliate Marketing Newbie. Tips and tricks for beginners and why you should look beyond PPC to be successful in the long term.

If you are a newbie to Affiliate Marketing, I do recommend to look into Pay-Per-Click Advertising at the beginning, because it is still one of the more easy ways (or less difficult would probably be more true) to get started in this industry AND get fast results. Results referring to earning commission. No more and no less.

Using the PPC services of the big three US Search Engines, Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, Microsoft AdCenter, or services of "second tier" Search Engines like Miva, Kanoodle, Ask.com, or Looksmart is still not as complicated as most people believe. It will get harder as time progresses though. Nobody would argue this fact. Also bid prices will most likely continue to rise and not get back to what they were just a few years ago.

The "golden age" of PPC marketing might be over, but it is still much easier to earn some commissions with it compared to most other, older and more mature marketing strategies.

Take Search Engine Optimization for example. If you start a new site today, chances are you will not see very much, if any results for 3 to 6 months, assuming that you already know SEO, what is probably unlikely. "Trial and Error" is a concept that translates to years of trying and failing in SEO compared to hours, days or weeks for trying something new in Pay-Per-Click marketing.

It will not work without spending and loosing some money up-front, while you learn to get the basics straight. Set low spending limits for new test campaigns, if the feature is available. Wait a few days, spending only a little bit of money, and watch how it converts. If you make money, which is simple to find out, by subtracting the number of click, multiplied by the average cost per click, (= spending for the PPC Service) from the earned commissions. If the dollar amount is a positive amount, you made profit.

Do not go over board because of it, though. You can increase spending a bit, but I do not recommend going full force without a spending limit and buy every click you can get at this point. Wait at least until you have posted your first commission check successfully to your bank account. I would wait even two commission checks with a bit of increase in spending and hopefully commission each payment cycle.

Also loosing money on the first few campaigns should not discourage you and make you stop. See breaking even as a success and progress. It is not very likely, nor impossible, to make profits right from the start. If you do, good for you, If you don't, try to find out why. Once you did use the services, you will at least know how the process works and understand a lot more of discussions at forums, related articles, and tips from professionals. You will not, if you do not do anything and give up before you even started.

You should not just stop at PPC though and only rely on paid traffic to your site; especially, if you rely completely on direct or redirected traffic to the merchant where you are merely a proxy in the conversion process without the customer being aware of your existence at all. If you have a site or "Landing Page" the customer sees first, you will get the chance to do something with visitors that do not convert for the specific offer you are promoting via PPC Ad.

The visitor you paid for is on your site and not the merchants and you might be able to get him interested in something else. Merchants do that too and so can you. Be careful though. Don't create a conflict which could result in a "Lower Conversion Rate" of your "Landing Page" for the original offer. This "something else" should be a "Secondary Conversion Goal" for your Ad and landing page; not just for non-converting traffic, but also as "secondary goal" for the traffic that you actually convert for your "Primary Goal".

May be a similar offer to the one he showed obvious interest in; remember, he clicked the link from your paid Ad; but then decided not to follow through with it for whatever reason. Similar does not mean the same thing, but from another brand or merchant, but similar in topic. Don't offer another TV Set when you promote a TV Set. Offer a TV Program Guide or Magazine instead for example.

This goes beyond the topic of this article, but I wanted to provide you with some "Keywords" and "Terms" for further research. You should look into all the other opportunities and possibilities available for promotion of products and services as well, but with long-term goals in mind. Paid Search can help you financially while you get something more substantial going.

Paid search will only work long term if you really dig deep into this type of marketing and become an expert yourself. This requires many technical Health Fitness Articles, mathematical and analytical skills, and most people do not have them.

Carsten Cumbrowski is doing Affiliate Marketing since 2001and Search Marketing since 2003. He also operates the portal Cumbrowski.com, which provides free resources to paid search (http://www.cumbrowski.com/CarstenC/searchenginemarketing.asp), landing page optimization, keyword research (http://www.cumbrowski.com/CarstenC/seosem_keyword_research.asp) and much more that are vital to success for internet marketers.

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By Miki Zakay

I will keep it as simple as I can - a PRACTICAL TOOL.

First, I would like you to consider these four facts:

*A DIRECT MAIL PIECE costs about 50-cents in postage alone. (Then you have to factor in paper and printing costs).

*A PHONE CALL can cost just as much - or more - than a direct mail piece.

*A PHONE CALL wastes time (and time is money) because you will spend precious minutes - sometimes hours or days - trying to contact the right person.

*A MESSAGE left on voice mail is usually a waste of time, and therefore a waste of money.

Depressing? Not at all. After you read today's "Insider Marketing Strategies" lesson, you'll be able to say "NO" to the downside of phone calls and direct mail, and "YES" to the upside of email.

Read on...

Given the inherent problems with traditional marketing techniques, it is important to master the BASIC STRATEGIES FOR INTEGRATING EMAIL into your overall campaign.

As I have just shown you, sending out an EMAIL CAN BE MUCH CHEAPER than other marketing methods. Proceed with caution, however. Email can also cost you a fortune -- in lost opportunities AND cold hard cash -- IF you do not know the basics.

Therefore, that is where we are going to start.

First, always keep in mind that your "primary objective", the master key that unlocks your "Success Vault" in Internet Marketing is to build your mailing list - your EMAIL MAILING LIST. (Often referred to as your "In-house list.").

The addresses you collect are going to mean the difference between the middle-of-the-road results that Average Joe and Jane are achieving and the through the roof, over-the-top, to-the-moon-and-back MEGA-success that top online sellers achieve. (The difference really is that dramatic.) So do not miss the boat: The time is NOW to start building your list of email addresses (prospects).

REVIEW

You can begin to grow your list simply by capturing emails from people who visit your website, as we have already discussed in a previous lesson.

=> Pop Quiz: What is the easiest way to convince people to give you their email address? (Answer: Offer an irresistible freebie with a sign-up form on your site or in a pop-up box, drive traffic to your site, and watch as people start entering their email address. Don't have a freebie? Get a good one from the Cashflow Magic treasure chest!).

Okay, so now you're "in the groove". You're capturing people's emails like crazy. If you are just sitting there - well, you know the old saying, "Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there."

So what is next?

-- Let me take a moment from telling how to build your email list to remind you why. It's been said that - YOU CAN GET RICH WITH AN EMAIL LIST OF JUST 1000 PEOPLE!

Think about that. Then stop thinking and get going on new ways to capture and keep email addresses. (By the way, if you haven't already "gotten with the program" yet, I wanted to remind you that CASHFLOW MAGIC http://mikizakay.cashflow123.com presents an unparalleled opportunity for you to build a mountain of wealth with a program that rewards you quickly and generously).

GIVE 'TIL IT HURTS!

If you want to keep getting addresses, start giving stuff away! Give, give, and keep finding more things to give! In addition, since you can't send a TOASTER through email, why not give the far more valuable -- and far more affordable for you -- INFORMATION PRODUCTS, business tools, and expert advice - maybe even a no-cost/obligation email-marketing course like this one!

DRIP, DRIP, DRIP.

You'll want to have a series of letters already set up so that they can be "dripped" on your prospects on a regular basis. Send a message daily, every other day, or on whatever schedule suits you best, but make contact AT LEAST EVERY 7 DAYS.

If you're not confident in your writing skills, you have two choices: you can hire a professional to write the letters for you or you can use a system already set up with letters to help you build your email list. (I suppose the third choice is to just give up and bury your heard in the sand, but that's no way to make a million!).

If you're serious about this - and you should be, believe me -- you really should consider tapping into the system offered by Paul Birdsall & Cashflow Magic. At Cashflow Magic, you can access an entire AUTOMATED leads/giveaway/database marketing.

ALL-IN-ONE SYSTEM that makes it easy for your revenues to soar.

If you have found that PRACTICAL, which I believe you have, Please do use it. It is only in your power to change your abilities and earn commissions from you E-business.

Remember! "The only LOSERS are the QUITTERS" and "All the beginnings are tough... but it's tougher to stay".

For more information, Please DO CONTACT ME at my FREE INTERNET MARKETING SCHOOL - http://mikizakay.payitforward4profits.com

To your success!
Miki Zakay
MikiZakay@TheNextLeader.ws
http://mikizakay.payitforward4profits.com
http://mikizakay.cashflow123.com

Miki Zakay has been an Internet & Network marketer for the past 8 years.
Miki's monthly income has increased in the past 8 months and is now stable around $25,000 a month. Zakay Served the Israeli Army as an Officers Course Commander and now teaches the skills of war and leadership among the business section as well as the army section. Considered a Pro business consultant, always happy to help others.
All his Knowledge can be found in his Internet Success Guide at http://mikizakay.cashflow123.com

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By Karl Stadler

Some AdSense sites are performing well and others just exist in the abyss of cyberspace. Make sure your AdSense site is the successful one and keep it out of the abyss.

What makes AdSense work? There are many ideas, as there are theories. Some maintain it is the placement of the ad on the page, some say integrate it into the page, and it must have the look and feel of the webpage. It should be at the top, in this format, and so the secrets continue.

There is only one secret to AdSense success; it is nothing more than traffic. Without substantial traffic, your AdSense pages will not make you money. There is proof of this statement, just look at the click through rate you are receiving on your current pages. You will immediately notice that it takes many visitors to generate a click.

If things go really well, you could have as high as fifty percent and upwards CTR. This is possible, has been done and proven, but it will not just happen on any old page.

Placement of the ad does play a role but it is not as big as many would like you to believe. Information on the best placement of AdSense code on your page is no secret and is free information on Google. It is called a heat map. It will show you exactly where to place your ads for maximum exposure and CTR.

The problem with most AdSense driven sites is exactly that, they are AdSense driven. Nobody seems to care about the visitor landing on the page, becoming click machines supposed to make you money. According to most AdSense sites, they are there for you and not the other way around. No second thought is given to the surfing experience of the visitor.

You have been made to believe that you need a multitude of sites and use all sorts of templates and secret positioning tactics for maximum income. Therefore, every second some would-be AdSense millionaire is putting up thousands of crappy pages all over the internet to get those AdSense clicks that will elevate them to the illusive four and five figure AdSense earners. They tend to forget the internet marketplace is probably the most dynamic market there is, and changes every day. Certain elements remain the same. You have to be able to broaden your thinking and think out of the box.

Let us go back to the least important person for most AdSense publishers, the visitor to the page. These poor souls land on your pages through either generic or PPC traffic. Either way, you have the possibility t they might be clicking on one of your AdSense links. The only driving force for the visitor to click your link is he found the information on your page that related to his search. After going through your page, he will click on one of your links in AdSense to further his search.

Now AdSense displays relevant ads on your page based on the content of the page. If the visitor is not finding what they are looking for, how do you expect AdSense to find related content ads to place on your page?

By considering your visitor and actually providing for them, you are also insuring for yourself that the correct AdSense ads will be displaying on your pages, and hence will deliver a good CTR. Just putting up one thousand new pages with some template or other automatic page-creating device will certainly not hit the mark.

You would probably be better off with ten well designed and optimized pages, not only for the search engines, but also for your visitors Business Management Articles, and you might be able to ensure a profitable AdSense campaign.

There will always be elements that remain a constant no matter how dynamic the market. Utilize these to their best effect, and change with the dynamics and be as profitable as you can. To get the real information visit http://www.yourenterprize.com/adsense/adsense-secrets.htm

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by Kristie Tamsevicius

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Home business expert, Kristie T, gives tips on how to plan the perfect workspace; one that keeps you organized, inspires you, and boosts your productivity. - Excerpt from the book, Build it Big 2: 101 Insider Secrets from Top Direct Sellers
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One of the great privileges of the direct selling profession is being able to work from home. But, with the freedom of your career, also come the challenges. The sink is full of dishes, your son left his crayons on your desk, and the laundry is piled up in the corner.

A well-designed home office will help you transition from the role of domestic goddess to high power entrepreneurial executive. Just like Clark Kent changes in the phone booth to become Superman, as you enter your office space, you turn into queen of your home business empire. Instantly your mind shifts from the laundry list of household chores, to strategies for earning that big check next month and enjoying a hard earned Hawaiian vacation.

But -- how can you plan the perfect workspace; one that keeps you organized, inspires you, and boosts your productivity? Here are some rules of thumb to follow when designing your home office space.

Plan a space that meets your needs.

* Space: Imagine your dream space. You have the freedom to create the space of your dreams. Where is it? What items do you need to have in it? Some questions to ask yourself are: what equipment you'll need, what things you'll have to store, and how much privacy you'll need. Do you need to stay close so you can keep an eye on the kids? Do you need a meeting space? Will you have customers or other consultants stopping by?

* Location. Choose a space in your home that best supports those needs. Whether it's a spare bedroom, a corner of the living room, a large closet, an attic or a converted garage; find a room that that has enough space for the equipment and furniture you need.

* Storage. While not every direct seller needs to keep inventory on hand, those that do know that having an organized space to store product is critical. Make sure the space you choose has ample room for shelving and storage. Think about the items you handle on a day-to-day basis in your business. Now make a list of the items. Do you need a bookshelf or wall holders for catalogs and brochures? With the proper space and containers to keep your office tidy, you'll have a clutter-free, organized work space.

* Furniture. Next it's time to outfit your work space with a desk, bookcase, and filing cabinets. Today, with the boom in home-based careers, there is such a variety of office furniture to choose from. Whether it's a simple desk, an office armoire, or a complete L-shaped unit, make sure you'll have the desktop space you need to keep key items at your fingertips. Dare to splurge a little on getting yourself a comfortable and ergonomically supportive chair. It's a back-saver and worthwhile investment.

* Equipment. Plan a spot to put your computer, phone, and fax. Buying an all-in-one printer/scanner/fax machine is a smart choice that saves you desktop space and money!

Put it together in a way that makes sense.

* Placement. Decide what goes where. Place key equipment in a way that flows with the way you work.

* Organization. One great way to stay organized is to create centers for the tasks you frequently perform. For instance, you might want to put all your brochures, order forms, and catalogs together in one place. Other "centers" may include a mailing center, a faxing center, and a printing center. Boxes and bins are great for keeping smaller office supplies organized.

* Ergonomics. Place your keyboard, lighting, and monitor at proper heights. By being good to your body, you can function at peak performance without tiring as quickly or getting injured from incorrect positioning.

Create an inspiring atmosphere you'll love.

* Personalize. Now's the chance you have been waiting for to create the office of your dreams. Make your office a space that truly inspires you. Little things make such a difference. Choose a paint color that brings you joy. Pamper yourself with treasured photos, candles, and artwork on the wall. Add a touch of romance and a dash of color with a potted plant or vase with flowers on your desk. Finally, having inspirational quotes, a dream map, and visual reminders of your goals can be powerful tools to keep you motivated and on the track to success.

* Clean and tidy. There's nothing like starting the day with a clean desk. Try to get in the routine of either cleaning your desk at the end of the day or doing a 5 minute tidy first thing in the morning. By having a place for everything and everything in its place, it's easy to stay organized and be more efficient.

* Lighting. Don't skimp on lighting. In addition to creating ambiance in the room, proper lighting keeps you from straining your eyes. As well as having enough overhead lighting, you'll also want task lighting. Today there's a wonderful selection of stylish and functional lamps to choose from.

Start your Dream Office Today.

What are you waiting for? Get a jumpstart on your home office now by taking the following actions in the next 48 hours.

* Walk around your home and visualize your office. What space feels good and inspiring to you? Where can you see yourself spending a lot of time and loving it? Choose the perfect space and clear it out.

* Flip through catalogs and magazines. Clip pictures of furniture, décor, and items you'd like to include in your dream office. By getting crystal clear on the intricate details of your perfect workspace, it makes it easier to spot those items as you come across them.

* Shop around and look for smart buys. Scan the newspapers, store fliers, and online office store coupons for sales and special offers.

2005 © Kristie Tamsevicius. All rights reserved.

Speaker, author, and consultant, Kristie is an entrepreneurial expert who has helped thousands of people to start and succeed in their online businesses. She is the founder of Webmomz.com, president of Branding on the Net, and author of several books: I Love My Life: A Mom's Guide to Working from Home, and Build it Big 2: 101 Insider Secrets from Top Direct Sellers (Dearborn Publishing - April 2006). Claim your free Home Business Success course and expert work at home tips at http://www.webmomz.com.

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5 Steps To Not Let The Power Of A Paycheck Stop You From Starting Your Own Business

by Pamela Stewart

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Fear of losing financial stability is the number one thing that stops people from starting their own business. Learn 5 key steps that will move you from fear to confidence as you evaluate your chances as a successful entrepreneur.

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I recently ran a survey and asked people the question: "If you are not happy in your current work situation, then why haven't you changed it?" The top-rated response was "fear of losing
financial stability."

The financial stability of a paycheck is a big fat illusion. If you are an employee, you probably have a salary, which is divided in monthly or weekly paychecks. Because you get the same amount in each check, you may believe that you have a stable source of income and can live your life without fear of financial instability.

This is dangerous thinking that puts your financial life at risk.

Layoffs, downsizing, mergers, takeovers and incompetent managers are a well-documented part of corporate life. I have seen all of them in my career as a corporate employee, and even more in my career as a corporate consultant. I have been witness to conversations where managers had to lay off long-time employees with no notice. These employees were shocked, hurt, scared and angry. This work was horrible and gut-wrenching, but I learned something very important from it: Never rely on your status as an employee to insulate you from financial instability.

So, if this reason has stopped you from starting your own business, follow these steps to see if any of your fears are warranted.

Step 1: Get crystal clear how much money you will need to start up your venture

· If you have written an effective business plan, you should be able to predict how much money you will need to start and sustain your business. You haven't written a business plan yet? You better get cracking at it. In addition to clarifying your idea, it will force you to organize your thoughts, financials and start-up plans, which will only help you to make it a reality. Good sources are Rhonda Abram's The Successful Business Plan, Rich Dad's The ABC's of Writing Winning Business Plans and the free resources of SCORE.

· Make a budget of your monthly living expenses. This will give you a picture of your overall cash needs.

Step 2: Meet with a solid, professional, well-researched and well-recommended financial planner

· While I don't believe the illusion that a full-time job = security, I don't want you to make a foolish decision that will adversely impact your family and financial health. You need to look at implications of leaving your corporate job in the areas of insurance, investments and retirement benefits. Get the whole picture before you make a quick move. I recently spoke with a smart, competent and capable government employee who wants to start his own business, but has just 5 years to go until retirement. While I think he has what it takes to be successful on his own, I would never counsel him to quit without consulting a professional financial planner and doing tons of research to test his business plans.

Step 3: Set specific financial goals to meet your cash needs

· Savings: how much of your paycheck will you have to save per month in order to meet your goals?

· Raising cash: How much cash do you need to raise from outside sources including investors? (note: although some people recommend it, unless you have no alternatives, I don't recommend borrowing money from your family and close friends. There are too many emotionally-charged issues around relatives and money, and you could damage critical relationships that you need for personal well-being. That is just my 2 cents.)

Step 4: Get creative about funding strategies

· There may be ways that you can cover the costs of start-up expenses by bartering with friends and colleagues. Do you want to start a coaching business? Maybe you can barter some coaching sessions with your accountant.

· Clean out your house of unused valuables and hold a sale. If you live in a warmer climate, have it outside. If not, jump on eBay. Convert things that take up space in your house to money that you need to fund your dreams.

Step 5: Learn everything you can about your new venture

· Write a solid business plan and get honest feedback from knowledgeable experts.

· Read every book you can get your hands on about your business topic.

· Google websites, blogs and online forums to learn about your marketplace.

· Identify very successful entrepreneurs in your field and follow their work, study their business models and ask them what it has taken to be successful.

· Attend teleconferences, webinars and in-person classes.

· The more that you know about your business, the greater chance you have at being successful at it.

It takes a huge amount of work to launch and grow a successful business. Don't get scared off by a perception of financial risk. If you do very careful research and make sure you have a viable plan, you can have some concrete data to weigh your important decision. Whatever you do, please do not be lulled into complacency by your regular paycheck.

© 2005 Pamela Stewart. All rights reserved.

Pamela Stewart is a seasoned corporate consultant with a new mission in life: help corporate warriors to become thriving entrepreneurs! To take a free assessment, "Test Your Small Business Start-up IQ," and get other valuable tools, go to http://www.ganas.com/freestuff. Read Pam's blog at http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com.

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by Eva Browne-Paterson - www.evieb.com

1. Allow other e-zine publishers or web site owners to republish small nuggets or excerpts of information from your E-book with your byline or ad included.

2. Make extra profits from selling monthly updates of your E-book. You could also back-end sell the extra never released chapters of your E-book.

3. Give away a free E-book and then give people an option of buying the paid version of the E-book. Also let others give away the free version of your E-book.

4. Divide your E-book content into reports then give people the option of just purchasing the info they want.

5. Purchase reprint rights to other people's E-books and combine them with yours in a large package deal or private E-book library web site.

6. Change the benefits on your E-book ad copy into links. When people click on it take them right to the order page. It'll give them a urge to buy your E-book.

7. Charge people a cheap price to read half of your E-book. If they like it, they can pay full price to read the other half.

8. Offer freebies that are related to the E-book you're selling. It could be free monthly E-book updates, a free E-zine, free consulting, etc.

9. Show your prospects a sample page out of your E-book. Just black out some of the important info. This will make your prospects curious to buy.

10. Provide a low and high priced version of your E-book. Show benefits of each version side by side. People usually spend a little more for extra info.

11. Offer the reprint rights to your E-book. You can sell the rights with the regular purchase price or as a separate higher price.

12. Make your E-book available for offline people. You could turn it into a print book, report, video, audio book, print newsletter, etc.

13. Redesign your E-book for specific niches. You can create multiple profits with very little work. Example: Turn a business E-book into a craft business E-book.

14. Give your prospects discount coupons on other products when they purchase your E-book. It could be your products or others that you made deals with.

15. Divide your E-book into online newsletter issues. You could charge a recurring monthly subscription for people to view each issue.

Eva Browne-Paterson is a popular information publisher and has recently created an amazing system for increasing your free time AND profits in under 7 days at: http://tinyurl.com/akoeq.

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by Charlie Cook http://www.marketingforsuccess.com

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Most teenagers don't communicate to you everything you need to know, and the same goes for most marketing. Learn how to get your message across. No promises about your teenagers communication.
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My kids taught me a lot about marketing communication when they were teenagers. My son had me playing 20 questions. When I asked what he'd done at school or out with his friends the night before, I'd get one of two classic teenage responses; "Stuff" or "Nothing". I'd have to pepper him with questions to learn any more.

With my daughter, I could hardly get a word in edgewise. She's a great storyteller, but she wanted to tell me everything about everyone. Neither of them were really giving me what I wanted.

If these had been sales calls and I'd been a business prospect instead of a devoted parent, I'd have ended the conversation or walked away. I'd have thought, "Great people, but they don't understand my point of view or my problems."

Does your marketing turn prospects off with too little or too much information?

Do you approach your marketing from your customers' point of view?

Is your marketing generating the leads you need to grow your business?

If a prospect asked you what you do, you'd never respond by just saying "Stuff". But, what do you say? Do you tell them that you're in advertising, or that you are a lawyer, accountant, designer, entrepreneur, franchise consultant, realtor, trainer, or software developer? Statements like this don't start a conversation fully explain what you do or how a prospect could benefit from your products or services. These one- or two-word answers are the equivalent of your teenager telling you they've been doing "Stuff".

Don't make your prospects play "20 Questions" with you to understand your business. Give them a clear, succinct marketing message that describes how you can help them and why they need you.

Once you've got their attention with your marketing message, follow it up with the information they need, a clarification of the problems you solve, the solutions you provide and a reason to contact you. Make it easy for your prospects to get what they want from your marketing materials, whether you use ads, brochures, a web site or other media.

- Define your prospects' most common concerns and the problems they want resolved.

- Present the solutions your provide in the context of these problems.

- Explain why they need you, from their point of view.

- Anticipate and answer their questions.

I was on the phone with Marilyn, who wanted to know what her firm could do to spread the word and get more clients. Last year they made over a million dollars, but so far this year they haven't gotten the number of inquires they need to continue to grow the company. What's getting in the way?

While I was talking with Marilyn, I typed her firm's URL into my web browser to take a look at the way they are promoting themselves. I had two reactions when her site came up in my browser. One, it was very attractive and professionally done. Two, after looking at it for a few minutes, I had no idea what the company actually did, who they helped or how.

There was a lot of information on the site, but it wasn't telling me what I needed to know. It took me another ten minutes and a number of questions to find out what her small business software development and computer-networking firm did.

Your prospects don't have the motivation of a parent talking to a teenager. If its hard for your prospects to figure out whether or not you can help them from your marketing materials, they're gone. Don't expect them to decipher unclear copy or hunt through your web site to find the information they need.

Generate more leads and sales by using a marketing message, supporting marketing copy and a coordinated marketing system that helps your prospects understand why they need you and how you can solve their problems.

- 2005 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved. -

The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals, small business owners and marketing professionals attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up to receive the Free Marketing Strategy eBook, '7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business' at http://http://www.marketingforsuccess.com.

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by Suzanne Falter-Barns
www.getknownnow.com

Learn tips on how one ezine owner built her list to more than 75,000 names in just a few years. (She bought only 4000 of them.) Guerilla tips from Suzanne Falter-Barns and Jenna Glatzer.

Want your E-zine list to catch fire and really start to fill up? Jenna Glatzer took her own list from the hundreds all the way to 75,000 in 7 years by simple, steady marketing, and using many of these techniques. (Jenna bought only 4000 0pt-in names along the way.) Here are some tips we provided, and some I've pulled from my own experience, building my list for The Joy Letter to 17,000 over five years.

1. Free Stuff.

Pick genuinely useful fr.ee stuff that you know your audience wants and needs. For instance, my brand new
E-zine, Expert Status, attracted 600 readers in just a few weeks by offering a report, "25 Top Self Help Literary Agents." The practical freebie works. Jenna Glatzer offers two free E-books/reports to subscribers on agents who are receptive to new writers, and on writer's markets. She notes: "Before I
did that, my subscriber numbers were in the hundreds, not thousands.

2. Put a subscribe box on every page of the site.

This has worked for both Jenna and me. Mine is parked in the left hand column of the site. Experts advise putting a simple sign up box (with freebie mentioned) in the top left hand corner, as that's where the eye naturally travels first. A simple sign up box that requests only E-mail address works best.

3. Ad swaps.

Exchange plugs for your E-zine with another Website, to run in each other's E-zines. Be sure to mention those freebies! Doing this on a regular basis with a rotating selection of Web partners will keep your subscription page busy.

4. Cross-registration.

I've found subscribers by having a plug for my E-zine on the thank you page of a comparable (but not directly competitive) Website. This offer is made to folks who just signed up for an E-zine, and are therefore deemed 'in the mood for more.' Offer a swap with your site, and try not to list more than about two other E-zines. Also, make a point of including only really good, reliable publications that reach your target market.

5. Give away a bonus for other sites to use, based on your E-zine.

A popular Web marketing technique is the special one- or two-day promo that offers big bonus lists when you buy a certain product on those particular days. (I cover this promo technique in more detail in my E-book/binder, "Get Known Now; How to Build Your Platform as a Self Help Expert.") So, collect some of your best E-zine essays, pack 'em up in a downloadable PDF-based E-book, and offer it as a bonus these sites can use in their special promos. Don't forget juicy descriptive copy about your E-zine, and a subscribe link at the end of your E-book. I've gotten hundreds of new readers this way, and much traffic to my site.

6. Announce E-zine 'events' on PRweb.com and other PR sites.

There's an entire world of web-based press release distribution services out there, some of which are low cost or even free. So, use them. But be sure to only plant press releases that are truly newsworthy, and thus likely to get press attention. Even if the media don't use your words this time, they'll hopefully
file you as an expert for future use.

7. Use discussion boards or groups.

These are sites frequented by gangs of people interested in the same thing. Avoid the unmoderated sites, because they're likely to be spam targets that generate little bonafide traffic. Boards found on member
sites are the best. Don't spam the board with your subscribe message. Instead, offer some genuinely helpful info. Then sign off with a signature line that includes E-zine and subscribe info. You can find some of these groups at groups.yahoo.com, topica.com, mail-list.com, and listfool.com, for starters.

8. Sponsor other people's contests.

Jenna Glatzer gives away products like her paid newsletter, "Absolute Markets Premium Newsletter," to writers' groups, contests, and conferences that request it, regardless of size. I've tried this too, to good effect. Simply run an announcement in your E-zine that you'd be happy to sponsor comparable events. Ask them to provide a URL for an event description, so you know it's legit. Then offer up your gifts, and ask for a plug for your E-zine and for them to talk up your dazzling freebie, as well. Jenna notes that
groups she sponsors "often send out ads for us to their lists … just as a thank you."

9. Run quality content.

There's no substitute for heartfelt writing plus solid information about a subject that matters.

Jenna writes: 'The main reason our list stays so big is our 'letter from the editor' … Each week, I chronicle my writing life and my triumphs and failures … when an article is killed, when I'm having trouble finishing a book … And I share personal things, too, like when my grandfather died…. People write: 'I feel like I know you so well.' And I think that's why they stay on the list, even when their mailbox fills up with dozens of other writer's newsletters.

10. Allow reprints.

Allow any newsletter that wants to reprint your articles to do so. I like to have an E-mail requesting permission, so I can enter their info into a big database I use to track where I can send more articles in the future. I end each article with the line: "You may reprint this article in your own E-zine or Website. Simply send an E-mail requesting permission to EMAIL ADDRESS. Please be sure to include our full
bio box at the end."

11. Create a survey or contest.

This would be one of those newsworthy 'E-zine events' I mentioned above in point # 6. Make it a fun, relevant question that you could really develop a good, newsy story from. I did a survey asking people what they fought with their spouse/partner/boy or girlfriend about. The results made for the kind of reading offline media enjoy running short, 100-word pieces about (fillers.) I made sure to attribute the survey to my E-zine, "The Joy Letter," with a mention of the site's basic URL. You can get the technology to run your own survey and collect responses at surveymonkey.com (for a fee) or bravenet.com (for free.)

I think I could actually go on and on here. The possibilities seem to be endless. If you try even half of these techniques on a regular basis, you'll find your subscriber rates double and even triple. Here's to building your list … the foundation that much of your traffic and success rely on.

Suzanne Falter-Barns' Website at getknownnow.com offers tips and tools that help you build your platform and get known as an expert in your field. Sign up for her free E-zine, "Expert Status," and receive her free report, "25 Top Self Help Literary Agents."

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by Herman Drost

When I surf the Net, I often see Web sites filled with beautiful graphics that strive to capture my attention. Well, they do so for an instant, however I click away when I don't immediately find relevant content. The content you add to your web site needs to attract both visitors and search engines.

Here are 14 ways to add content to your web site and attract visitors:

1. Get into the mind of your visitor. Brainstorm all the ways your visitor would think of your product. Write your content as if you are sitting next to him/her explaining your product. Don't write in the 3rd person, i.e. "we," "they," but use "I," "you," or "your." This makes it more personal.

2. Keep it simple - write as if explaining your Web site material to a 7th grader (12-13 year old). Don't use complicated words that people would have to look up in the dictionary. You want them to understand clearly what your site is about.

3. Convey emotion - people on the Web are often in a great hurry, so you need to appeal to their emotions to stop them clicking away to the next site. Use stories, convey your experiences or include testimonies from others. This adds to your credibility and trust, 2 essential factors for doing business online.

4. Communicate quickly and efficiently - people online tend to scan rather than read everything on the page. Therefore, use single lines of text for your headings and sub headings. Catch your visitor's eye with lists, bullet points and use short, snappy, active (not passive) words in your sentences. Your paragraphs should only consist of 2-5 sentences. Long paragraphs make it hard to read (scan) your
page quickly.

5. Create white space - the layout of your Web page should include plenty of white space. Don't lean text hard up against your graphics. Include white space between headings, sub headings and paragraphs.

6. Use graphics sparingly - you have heard it said, "a picture is worth a 1000 words." That's true, but only if the picture supports your content. Don't overdo the graphics. You may impress your visitors initially, however, to keep them interested in your site, you need high quality content.

7. Create high quality content - make clear points with each paragraph you write. Each paragraph should build on the previous one, so that you are pulling your visitor through your page naturally. You are trying to pre-sell the product or service to your visitor. This puts them in a natural frame of mind to buy (unlike many sites, which may just have pictures of the products and a shopping cart).

8. Web page background - a colorful or busy background can make your text hard to read and may give the impression of an inexperienced Webmaster. If you do use a background image, make sure it complements your site's theme, fits with your visitors' experience and will increase your credibility.

9. Use the correct fonts - the offline world primarily uses "Times New Roman". This works well in print but not online. Sans Serif fonts, such as Arial, Verdana and Helvetica are the best fonts for easy online scanning.

10. Font colors - the best colors for reading online are black text on a white or off-white background. If you want to use multiple colors only use a maximum of 3. Too many text colors on a Web page make it hard on the eyes and spell inexperience. To emphasize text, you can use the bold tag (this text will appear bold) or italic tag (this text will appear in italics).

11. Check spelling and grammar - run your page through spell check in your word processor. It won't pick up all the mistakes, so make sure you read it through yourself, to find other errors. Spelling and grammar mistakes convey an unprofessional impression.

12. Simple navigation - the main purpose of the navigation bar is to make it easy for your visitor to find his way around your site. Place your navigation bar on the left side or top of your page (or both). Repeat the bar at the bottom of the page, so your visitor does not have to scroll back up to move on to another section.

(Read my article "How to Create an Effective Web Site Navigation Structure" http://www.isitebuild.com/navigation for more specific help in this area).

13. Get a critique - don't fall in love with your writing and leave it there. Yes, it's hard to listen to someone criticizing your beautiful piece of work, but swallow your pride and get your friends or family members to do a review of your Web page. This will help you to refine what you have written and make it appeal to a wider audience.

14. Use specific keywords - weave targeted keywords into your Web page as you write your Web page content.

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Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW) owner and author of http://www.iSiteBuild.com. Affordable Web Site Design and Web Hosting. Pick up your copy of the 159 page E-book TODAY titled: "Make Your Content Pre-Sell," by going to this link: http://mycps.sitesell.com/webselling83.html

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by Charlie Cook
http://http://www.marketingforsuccess.com


-----> At least once a year its worth evaluating your marketing plan and tuning it up for to increase your ability to attract new clients. Use this marketing assessment to clean up your marketing for 2005. <-----

Has your once well-organized marketing plan come to resemble the jumble of stuff in your closet (not to mention the garage and the attic)? If you are like most people, each time you come across a new marketing idea, you try to adopt it and add it to your existing approach.

Strategies and tactics tend to accumulate and linger even when they may not be working as well as you'd like. Like the ill-fitting clothes that accumulate in your closet or the broken tools still in the garage, they are hard to get rid of, whether because of habit, emotional attachment or just plain not getting around to cleaning them out.

To improve your marketing, you'll need to clean out some old ways of working. While I don't want to get anywhere near your closet, and in fact I could use some help with mine, I can show you how to clean up your marketing plan so you're ready to take advantage of any new opportunities to grow your business that come along.

Cleaning Up Your Marketing Plan

Every morning, my friend, Michael Angier, of SuccessNet.org, sits down at his desk and asks himself the following three quëstions about his business.

1. What's working?
2. What's not working?
3. What can I improve?

You may not want to review your marketing plan five times a week, but it is a good idea to do it at least once a year. So, take out your pencil or fire up your computer and assess your marketing plan:

Your Marketing Plan

1. Is your plan working?
2. Do you have a well defined marketing strategy that helps you achieve the three phases of marketing: Getting Attention, Positioning, and Selling?
3. Do you need to write or rewrite your marketing plan?
4. Do you need additional information or coaching to complete your marketing plan?
5. What are you going to do to improve your marketing plan?

Getting Attention

6. Does your marketing message prompt prospects to contact you?
7. Do your ads, letters, and web site motivate prospects to contact you?
8. What are your conversion rates?
9. What steps can you take to improve them?

Positioning

10. What are you doing to establish your credibility with prospects, to help them know and trust you?
11. Is it working as well as you'd like?
12. What could you improve?
13. Is the value of your products and services clear to your prospects or do they quëstion you about merits and price?
14. Want to learn how to ensure that your prospects understand the value of your products and services?

Selling

15. How successful are you in selling, that is, in getting commitments for everything from appointments to orders?
16. What's your conversion rate of prospects contacted to clients and customers?
17. Do initial s/ales generate repeat s/ales and referrals for years to come?
18. Want to learn how to generate more s/ales from each client?

Evaluating Your Marketing Plan

Use Michael's three questions to summarize your comments about your marketing plan and your success in getting attention, positioning and selling.

1. What's working?

2. What's not?

3. What do you want to improve?

The hardest part about cleaning out your closet, attic, garage or your marketing is getting started. It may be time to straighten up or throw out some of your old marketing strategies and tactics and replace them with new more effective ones. Start 2005 with a well organized marketing plan, one that helps you Get Attention, Position your products and services and Sell and you'll find your business growing in leaps and bounds in the coming year.

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

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The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals and small business owners attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up for the Free Marketing Plan E-Book, '7 Steps to Get More Clients and Grow Your Business' at http://http://www.marketingforsuccess.com.

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(c) Copyright by Eva Browne-Paterson

It's well known that Internet marketers are in the business of marketing. To become successful in business, it's crucial to actively promote your business to gain new customers. Let's face it... No promotion, no new customers. It's as simple as that.

If you've ever spent money on advertising before, you will know that it can be a costly process. Whether the cost is measured in time, effort, money or a mixture of all three - the one thing that counts the most is the results. A lack of results from a marketing campaign can be a real disappointment.

More often than not, it is a case of hit-and-miss which leads to frustration and a wasted advertising budget.

This article will explain three steps that you can take to gauge how effective your marketing campaigns are and to rapidly improve the response rates of future campaigns. It also brings to light some relatively unknown tactics that some advertising companies are employing to rip-off their customers. I hope you're not one of those customers... But you might have been already without even realising it.

Step 1: T&T

You may or may not work out a proper campaign for your promotions, but let me make a suggestion to you if I may? You really should be Tracking and Testing. If you don't know how responsive a particular ad is, how can you possibly gauge the ad's effectiveness? Not by guessing, that's for sure! It is essential that you T&T because this keeps you in control of your earnings.

If your campaigns aren't creating the desired outcome - signups, sales, opt-ins, etc., something needs to be changed. By T&T, you can make changes, retest and gauge the results to repeat the process until you do generate the necessary effect and, therefore, increase your profits.

Step 2: Tweaking

What areas need looking at? Here is a short list of questions you can ask yourself. The answer to these questions should be "Yes". If the answer is "No," then simply tweak the item and T&T to produce a better response.

Ad Copy:

Does it have an eye-catching headline? Is it well written with the correct grammar and punctuation? Have you edited it over and over to create what you'd consider a perfect advertisement? Does it use hypnotic words and phrases that grab the interest of the reader? Does it make the reader want to click through to your Web site while pulling out their credit card? If you wouldn’t respond to the ad yourself, a rewrite is a must.

Product Demand:

If you truly aim to make sales, your advertising needs to be put in front of the people who will want to purchase your product. Have you carried out or have access to market research data on the product you are offering? If it's a niche-target product, are you targeting the appropriate audience? Have you polled your list or web site visitors to find out what they really want? Feedback is precious and should be taken into serious consideration.

Sales Page:

Does your sales page load quickly? Does it look good to the naked eye without making you frown or close the site in pain? Does it have an eye-catching headline? Does it appeal to the reader's sensibilities and rouse their emotions? Have you used short paragraphs? Have you included bullet point lists? Have you
refined the copy over and over again to make it as sharp as possible? Have you made it so there are no unanswered questions for the customer to ask?

Order Page:

Have you included a guarantee that removes the risk taken by the customer? Have you provided several payment options, where applicable? Have you made the purchasing process as quick and simple as possible? Have you included your contact details?

Price:

If everything else appears to be set correctly, but you're still not receiving the response you need, consider revising the price and T&T. Use a split tester, if possible, to see which price receives the better response (and it's not always the cheaper price, surprisingly). 100 is a good number to use for split-testing. ie: If you're testing two pages, the first to receive 100 responses is the one to adopt.

Step 3: QA

Usually QA stands for Quality Assurance and it still does, but in this instance, it also means Quality Advertising. T&T and Tweaking can be an ongoing process that you continually carry out using free or paid advertising.

There are many forms of advertising available on the Internet. Free advertising methods are excellent for T&T because they can illustrate how well an ad pulls through an E-zine or solo ad. You can also gauge how effective your sales page is by click-thru statistics in traffic exchanges, etc. But, for now, let's concentrate on the effective, paid advertising methods. Why? Because paid advertising brings results... Well it should -- but it doesn't always!

It is imperative that you gauge the effectiveness of the advertising vehicle that you are utilizing through T&T. If you don't, you could be throwing your hard-earned dollars straight down the drain.

If you have paid for an advertising campaign through a company and the results are less than you hoped for, you need to look into why the results were dismal. How do you do that? It certainly pays to ask questions and dig deeper to see exactly how your advertisement is being delivered.

In fact, I can save you some time and really open your eyes to some marketing methods that you probably didn't even know existed! These are methods that are being used quite frequently by some online companies who provide traffic and advertising services.

You really need to know about them now so you don't fall into that trap. Most of us have already and didn't even know it, until now...

If you utilise the 3 steps I've described above, you'll discover that your hard work really does pay off. Increased profits can indeed be yours with the right work ethic and the right quality advertising vehicle.

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About the Author: Eva Browne-Paterson lives in Australia and has been marketing online for over 12 years. She has been publishing EvieB's New-Z since 2001 at EvieB.com, is the CEO of INSTAPAY.net and a partner in the JVMoneyMakers.com group.

Looking for Quality Advertising? EQQU Ads are a NEW, Highly Targeted & Responsive form of advertising. Hundreds of thousands of members will see your ads beneath their E-mail display and view your web site. Split campaigns & Full statistics provided.

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by Charlie Cook
http://www.marketingforsuccess.com

========================================
Summary:
Want to hit your revenue numbers this year? Discover
which numbers to pay attention to.
========================================

Everyone wants to see growth in sales and net revenue. It's important for small business owners to set income goals and to watch sales results, but too much emphasis on these numbers can prevent you from reaching your goals.

Using your revenue figure to guide your marketing is like driving by looking in the rear view mirror the whole time. That number tells you where you've been. It doesn't tell you how to get where you want to go.

There are a couple of key numbers and ratios to keep in front of you that will help you get to your sales 'destination'.

Like an Iowa farmer growing soybeans, you've got to carefully plant seeds and nurture plants to maturity to ensure a good harvest and a good profit. The amount of seed you plant and the percentage that germinates and grows well determines your farm's profitability. The same is true in marketing and sales; the number of leads you generate and the number you convert to sales determine your income.

These are the two most important numbers to pay attention to in marketing. Use them to evaluate your marketing and determine how many sales you'll generate:

1. The number of qualified prospects in your database.

These are people who've told you they have a concern or problem you can help them with and who want to hear from you again.

2. Your prospect-to-client conversion rate.

The percentage of qualified prospects you convert to paying clients.

The math is simple; the more qualified prospects you have and the higher your conversion rates, the more revenue you'll generate.

Your sales will stay frozen at present levels if you focus on how much revenue you're making and ignore the importance of building your list of qualified prospects. You could double your business in the next few months by building your database of qualified prospects and improving your conversion rates.

Marketing Numbers

You don't need to be a math wiz to become an expert at marketing math. Pay attention to these numbers on a weekly basis;

- The number of people who saw your ads, read your articles or received your mailings.

- The percentage of these people that responded to your ad or article. It's not how many ads you run, but how many people pay attention to your ads that matters.

- The percentage of respondents that actually gave you their contact information and added themselves to your database. These are the people who have identified themselves as qualified prospects who are interested in learning more.

If you're marketing through your Website, it's incredibly simple to identify these numbers daily and weekly to track the success of your marketing. Here's how;

1. Look at the number of unique visitors to your Website daily or weekly.

2. Divide this number by the number of people who contacted you. This is your conversion rate of site visitors to qualified prospects. If your site is set up correctly, at least one out of ten people should be contacting you and adding themselves to your list of qualified prospects. If you use Google Ads to drive visitors to your site, you can send visitors to specific landing pages and increase your conversion rate to 20% or even 25%.

What should you expect from your Website? For every hundred unique visitors to your site per week, 10 to 25 should be sending you an E-mail requesting more information about your products and services. Each month, your list of qualified prospects and your sales should grow.

Before you finish this article, make a commitment to apply this simple marketing math to grow your business. Set a goal for your business. Look at how many qualified prospects your marketing is currently generating.

Write this number down, then put a diagonal line across it and next to it write down the number of qualified prospects you want to add to your database each week.

I've been doing this little exercise for two years with my current Website. My goals for acquiring qualified prospects get larger each month as my business grows. My latest goal is 500 new prospects per week. This translates into 6 to 7 percent more business each month. With a little planning, you can see your business grow just as fast.

2006 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.

The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals, small business owners and marketing professionals attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up
to receive the Free Marketing Strategy eBook, '7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business' at http://http://www.marketingforsuccess.com.]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips482/user/index.php
by Jonathan Teng
http://www.TheMarketingCraze.com

"It's NOT another wave. It's a PERMANENT wave destroyer!"

I have to admit it...

Article writing is, hands down, the most powerful weapon in the marketing arsenal to date! I have always asked myself why very few marketers are taking advantage of it. It's so easy and so rewarding.

Just watch the article directories and announcement lists; you'll quickly see what I'm talking about...

...and you'll see the same names, over and over again!

These people are consistent in their work. They keep submitting articles, month after month, while they're establishing themselves as leading experts in their fields. They're building their credibility each day ... and their businesses? Well, they are simply thriving.

While most new Internet marketers will come and leave like a blink of an eye, these "article" guys have staying power. Their articles will be around years after they are gone -= a legacy that will outlast them.

Isn't this amazing?

(1) It's free. While other marketers are losing money on pay per click ads, article marketers promote their businesses for free. No hidden cost whatsoever. Their articles will be reprinted on hundreds of Websites, all bringing warm leads and pre-sold customers to their businesses.

(2) It's easy. They don't need to hold a PhD in order to be an article writer. It's as simple as writing a 300- to 500-word article a week, and they're done for the week.

(3) It appreciates. "Hey! I read your article ... It rocks!" "Great article ... I have bookmarked your site for other posts ..." "Fantastic ... I like what you write ..."

Only Article Marketers receive these types of messages in their inboxes. They are respected among their peers. They get their inspiration from the appreciation of other people.

(4) It sets them apart. What's the difference between an article marketer and other marketers? Simple ... Article marketers are smarter. They are a step above the average Joes in the business arena. They are problem solvers. They write for reputation and trust. And they write for profits.

(5) It's the center. Articles are the central part of an E-zine. They stand alone, with no disturbing ads. They get all the reader's attention and their words will gently direct them toward a link to their Website.

(6) It links to others. Articles are the ultimate linking strategy. Article Marketers don't need to beg for incoming links from Webmasters. Their job is to provide free content -- quality content that Webmasters will fight for.

(7) It's viral. While an ad will last only for a few days, articles will last for years. Great articles will be reprinted over and over again, reaching thousands of new potential customers. It's like planting a seed that will take root and then develop a life on it's own.

Article writing is the only complete weapon that a marketer should be equipped with because it's truly the only skill a marketer needs to master to succeed.

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by James D. Brausch

One of the most effective methods of getting traffic to a sales Webpage is very well-known within Adsense circles (used to send traffic to Adwords advertisers through the Adsense program), but not as well known for traffic generation directly to sales letters.

That method is the content site. There are literally thousands of people making a living online by simply creating content sites, placing Google Adsense code on those content sites and collecting a check from Google every month.

There are literally thousands of others who have sales pages selling products and services who have never created a content site and pay for their traffic through the Google Adwords program. Much of that traffic is coming from those who are creating the content sites and placing Google Adsense code on their pages.

Isn't that interesting? If you have a sales page selling a product or service; how much could you save by cutting Google out of the loop? A lot! If you have been creating content sites and depending on Google for a paycheck, how much more could you earn if you sent that traffic to a site selling an information product of your own? A lot!

There is even more money to be gained with this strategy then you might first imagine. At first, you might be tempted to think that the only money being left on the table is the money going to Google for providing the Adwords and Adsense programs. Nothing could be further from the truth. If that was the only money involved, then, since the percentages that Google keeps are very small ... their
service is well worth that price.

But it's not! That money is only the start. Let's consider the following facts to see that we can actually earn a multiple of whatever you are currently earning from your Adsense check or from your product site if you cut Google out of the loop.

1. The Adsense algorithm isn't perfect. It often shows ads that aren't very relevant. If you cut Google out of the loop, you can make your content site to sales page site traffic 100% relevant, 100% of the time.

2. Adsense publishers often only get 0.5%-15% click-through rates on any Adsense ad, due to a number of factors. The method I will show you in this article will deliver 25% of the hotest buyers from your content site to your traffic site continually.

3. Adsense is currently a negative ranking factor on all three major search engines (see RankingFactors.com for more information on that). That means that, by running Adsense on your content sites, they are slowly losing search engine traffic month after month. By removing the Adsense and sending that traffic directly to a product site, you will retain your search engine traffic.

4. Many have reported getting banned by the Google Adsense program. You came to the Internet to make money because you wanted more control and freedom over your life. By getting a large percentage of your income from a single company (Google), you are sabotaging your efforts. You are at the mercy of Google just like you were/are at the mercy of any employer.

5. If you are selling a product using Adwords traffic, you also are at the mercy of Google and bidding wars. You must continually improve your conversion ratio or the ongoing bidding wars will eventually eat up your profit. Google (or Overture or any other bid-type PPC system) is slowly allowing your competitors to either receive more traffic while you receive less ... or causing you to pay them more and more of your profit every month as you are forced to raise your bids to continue to receive traffic. Wouldn't you rather generate your own traffic and not be held hostage to bidding wars?

So -- we are agreed that you want to cut Google out of the loop, whether you are a content site creator or the seller of a product or service; right? How?

Well, first of all you will nead to learn the skills of the other side. They aren't difficult, whichever side of the fence you currently sit on. If you are a content site creator, you can pick up InfoProdCreation.com and have your own product 35 hours from now with 5 hours of work. If you are a seller of a product or service, you already have the skills to create content sites. Just write articles instead of sales pages, and give information instead of trying to sell. Make it a multi-page site instead of a single page sales letter.

And -- I'm about to give you the secret to traffic delivery from a content site to a traffic site. It's very simple. Create a home page with only the following elements:

1. A very short two-paragraph, three-five sentence description of your product or service (no selling here).

2. A large (size 8) link that says either "Enter Site" or "Enter Here." This link leads to your product site.

3. Three smaller links (size 2) on a single line, below the above link, that lead to the rest of your content site. They can say "Widget Articles," "Widget Reviews," "Widget Forum," or whatever types of content you have on your content site ... about widgets, in this case.

You will find that about 50% of the traffic on a content site eventually ends up at the home page. You will find that about 50% of those that end up at the home page will choose to click the "Enter Site" or "Enter Here" link. You will find that those 25% of the content site visitors (50% of 50%) will be fairly pre-qualified to read your offer. In many, many split tests, this traffic has out-performed Google Adwords traffic!

Have fun and please drop by my blog and let me know how much more money you are making with this strategy. I would love to hear from you.

You can check out the author's marketing blog here: http://www.JamesBrausch.com.

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by Desmond Mantor

So, you have a killer Website that you're just certain will become the next Yahoo or Google, if only you could get people to actually visit your site. The only problem is that you don't have the money to spend on pay-per-click programs or software for e-mailing campaigns. As things stand, your site doesn't even rank in the first ten pages of search results and it's starting to look like your great idea may die a miserable and lonely death. Before you throw in the towel, here are some free ways to increase traffic flow to your site:

Being ranked first in the search engines does not cost a dime, but it does cost effort. If you're going to get to the first page of the search results, you need to do your homework. The first thing to do is to study your competition. The people who rank first already have a winning formula. You just need to figure it out. You need to study their keyword density formula, the sites they are linking to, and their meta tag usage. You will need to alter one variable at a time and test the results.

Finding the right keyword density formula should probably be your first priority. Once you find one that works, start generating a lot of useful content using this formula. Don't worry about getting it perfect, because no one does. Just find one that boosts your rankings and then generate the content.

Aside from having a lot of keyword rich content using the right formula, the second best way to boost rankings is to link with other popular sites. The search engines figure that, if you are linked with other popular sites, then your site must be pretty important. The key is to develop a site with content that is both relevant and useful to other Webmasters. This is why you need to develop your keyword density formula first, then generate content based upon it. This makes it a lot easier to convince Webmasters to link with your site. The more links you establish with popular sites, the higher you will climb in the rankings.

Once you have a site filled with great content, start sending out personal E-mails to Webmasters asking to link with their site. Some sites will even allow you to manually link with them without first obtaining permission. They are probably not the greatest links, but it's a start!

Another great way to generate traffic flow without spending money is using Yahoo classifieds. Yahoo has millions of visitors from all over the world every day, and your ad is sure to get noticed. You are allowed to post up to 10 ads at a time absolutely free of charge. The trick is to write compelling, attention-grabbing copy. You will achieve success if you are willing to experiment. While search engine rankings are more useful than online classifieds, these ads, especially the popular Yahoo classifieds, can provide a great start totally free!

All in all, search engines hold the key to traffic flow. Since almost 90% of all Web surfers use search engines to help them find what they're seeking, as a Website owner, you have to win them over in order to achieve online success. Analyze your competitors' sites closely, arrive at an optimal keyword density formula, and then create lots of useful, relevant and compelling content. Soon, you will be linking to other sites and climbing on the search engine rankings!

Desmond Mantor is the Director of Sales and Marketing for Have Traffic a business specializing in delivering highly targeted traffic for commercial Web sites, proven to convert to sales at higher rates in comparison to regular major pay per click sources. Please visit http://www.havetraffic.com for further details.

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Here is one method that you can use to get traffic to your web site. It relies on choosing some niche keywords based on your web site theme. The process is fairly simple and can be expanded to get tons of traffic to your site. Here is how.

It is often tempting to chase after popular themes and then select the major keyword as your target. However, this is not a great move-- well, not in the beginning anyway. You first have to build your credibility with the search engines before they will place you near the top.

The key is to choose a keyword phrase that people are using in popular search engines (such as Google) but have very few web sites that cater to that keyword phrase. How do you find such valuable keyword phrases? Here’s how!

If you use a software tool such as Good Keywords or the Google AdSense tool, it will return you many different keyword phrases. Look for specific phrases that look a bit odd. One of the ones that I look for are those that are book titles. Sometimes the words are jumbled but after you have gone through a few of them you will easily recognize them because initially they seem to make no sense. This is often because the words in the title of the book have been sorted into alphabetic order.

If you choose this phrase and set up a web page targeting that phrase, you can then produce a few paragraphs on the book based on reviews at any of the popular online book- sellers, such as Amazon. You can then have affiliate links to the major booksellers and receive an affilaite commission from them.

I have used this technique to target books on Poker which have attracted traffic where I can offer either the book of their interest or to one of the gaming clubs or to my other web pages on Poker.

A book with a similar title is “Liar’s Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street”. The tools indicate that it was searched for in Overture (Yahoo) 12,043 times in one month, so probably 120,000 in Google. Yet depending on how it is entered, Google shows that there ar only 997 sites that cater to that phrase. That’s pretty good odds for you to get a high ranking in the search engines. You can then offer your new-found traffic links to products and services related to the finance industry – a high-paying industry.

If you can find other books related to this them, then you can aggregate the traffic through links to your home page. Eventually you will raise your page rank to a fairly high level.

This is a method that is easy to implement, yet can be refined on an ongoing basis to improve the natural search traffic to your web site.

Ron Skruzny is a webmaster at http://www.criticalmass.biz, a site devoted to Search Engine Optimization. Apart from more articles on SEO, the website also offers lessons and links to a whole range of SEO related resources. If you want to get an increasing level of sustainable web traffic then http://www.criticalmass.biz may have just the right information to help you.]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips482/user/index.php
Whether you have an established large-scale business or whether you are a one-person start-up, it is important for your website to rank high in search engine queries for your important keywords and search phrases. If you are not ranked properly you will not get much traffic, and if you depend on Internet traffic, then this can mean failure for your business. One of the best ways to improve your ranking in the search engines is by applying the methods of search engine optimization to your website. Here is a guide to search engine optimization that can help you to get started in this important task:

1. Start with a clear and simple website design

A good website design should be easy for your human visitors to enjoy and understand, and it should also be intelligible for the search engine robots that also visit your site. What looks good to the human eye may not look good to search engines. If your site is 100% flash then it may impress your visitors, but the search engines will not find text and will not be able to properly classify your site. Similarly a site designed with frames is also search engine unfriendly. Check with your web designer and make sure that the design you are getting is user-friendly and search engine friendly as well.

2. Focus each of your web pages around one or two distinct concepts

A well-organized site will help you to get better search engine rankings. Suppose you have ten different products. It may be difficult to get number one rankings for all of these products from one single page of your site. However if you make sub-pages for each different product and optimize those pages to highlight the particular product or service on that page, then those sub-pages stand a good chance of coming up in search engine queries. Remember, people do not enter your website only via the main page; rather they often enter via the "back" and "side-doors." Prepare all the pages of your website properly and you will get more traffic.

3. Put your main keywords in the meta-tags of your web pages

Once you have decided what will go on your web pages, then you have to optimize each page separately. Never use the same meta-tags for all the pages of your site. If your page is about "Riding Lawn Mowers," then put these words in the Title, Description and Keywords meta-tags of your website. The title tag is the most important of the three tags, and your keywords should be right at the front. Resist the temptation to put your company name first! If you are new, then no one knows about you and they are searching for Riding Lawn Mowers and not you. Do your branding elsewhere, not in the meta-tags

4. Put your keywords in the headlines and sub-headlines of your web page

A search engine is trying to find out what your page is all about. If you want to know what a magazine article is all about, without even reading it, the first thing that you would do is scan the headlines. Search engines do the same thing. Put your most important keywords in a headline right at the top of the page. Mark the headline with an H1 tag (ask your web designer to help if you do not know what this is). Make sub-headlines using an H2 or H3 tag. Putting your keywords in headlines is a vital part of search engine optimization.

5. Place your keywords strategically in the text of your web page

Write naturally and logically and you will succeed with your web page optimization. In the first paragraph mention your main concept, and then develop your ideas summarizing in the last paragraph what you have said on that page. Your keywords should appear in the beginning of the document, and they should be repeated at the end. As mentioned in point 4, they should also appear in headlines and sub-headlines. The keyword density should be between 2-5%. If you write 400 words then your keyword can be repeated 12 times without any problem.

6. Include your keywords in link text on your web pages

When you link to other sections of your website you should pay attention to the clickable portion of the links. Instead of making a link that says "Click Here." Make a phrase that says click here for more information about "Riding Lawn Mowers." The clickable portion of the link should be your keywords and not click here!

These are the main points that you need to take care of when optimizing your website. If your small business is Internet-based or in any way dependent on search engine traffic, then it is imperative to apply the best methods of search engine optimization to each and every web page of your site.

Robert Moment is an innovative small business coach , speaker and author. Robert specializes in teaching entrepreneurs how to start a small business that profits and grow. Visit http://www.howtostartyoursmallbusiness.com and sign-up for the FREE Small Business Coaching 7 day e-course.]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips482/user/index.php
There is only one thing that all webmasters agree upon... They all want to be at the top of the search engine results for search terms that will drive traffic and consumers to their website.

The truth is that the search engines are like our childhood game of King Of The Hill. Only one person can be at the top of the hill and the top of the search results. Only ten websites can be on page one of the search results. When a new website moves into the top ten, another must be removed.

For any given search term at any given time, there are only ten web pages on page one of the search results, and there are millions of web pages that did not make page one, who may or may not catch a few stragglers from the search engines.

How Can A Website Break Into The Top Ten?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an industry that has sprung up around the concept of helping website owners improve their rankings in the search engine results.

When you talk to SEO professionals, they generally point to a two-pronged approach to search ranking optimization. A website owner needs to optimize their on-site real estate for the search engines, and they need to build inbound links to their website.

On-Site Search Optimization Challenges

The trick with on-site search optimization is that you must cater to multiple audiences on your website.

* You must provide simple navigation and an attractive interface to the human visitor;

* You must provide good sales copy to your human visitors, for the purpose of converting them from shoppers to buyers;

* You must provide text copy for the search engines to read; and

* You must optimize your content to help the search engines know what topics and keywords they should pay attention to so that they can give their users the right web page for the right search terms.

A web page that draws good search rankings is useless if the web page cannot convert the human visitor to a buyer. Many website owners get caught up in the process of optimizing a web page to get it to the top of the search results, and they forget that the human visitor knows where the Back Button is in his or her browser. Once your visitor has hit the Back Button, they will go to someone else's website and buy from them instead of you.

Most website owners have the alternate problem. They consistently convert a significant number of visitors to buyers, but they have to rely on various forms of paid advertising to get visitors to their websites, since they do not rank in the search engines.

I recently spoke with an individual who spends $1,000 per month on pay-per-click advertising to get targeted traffic to his website. He said he consistently earns back his money, but he was still looking for a better way to get ranked in the search engines-- so he joined my client list.

On-Site Search Engine Optimization Basics

According to the search engine companies, there are more than one thousand calculations that determine how well a website will rank in their search engine result pages (SERPs).

The Google engineers are fond of saying that if you build your website for human beings instead of search engines, then your website should rank well in their algorithms. To a certain degree, this is a good strategy.

Think about how magazines are constructed:

The Table Of Contents shows story titles, brief descriptions, and page numbers telling you where you can find a story.

On the story page, the title will be in big, bold font. Sometimes, the magazine will include a brief blurb about the story, in italics or font that is a bit bigger than the story font.

Pictures support the story with captions that further develop the story, by describing the picture.

Major subsections of the story have their own subheadings. And, the primary body of the story is in regular plain text, with only an occasional bolded or italicized word or phrase.

By analyzing the title and other large text on the page, a person who is flipping through the pages of a magazine can quickly assess the story content and make a decision as to whether they want to read the full story.

In the most simplistic way, this is how the search engines analyze a websites' content to decide which web page will best serve their users' needs.

Off-Site Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Basics

Since the inception of Google, and with Yahoo and MSN recently, the number and quality of links pointing to a website play a significant role in determining how well a web page will rank in the search results.

I have heard people suggest that as much as 75% of the value given to a web page in the search results is based solely on the number and quality of links pointing to a web page. I tend to believe a more conservative number (50.1%) will apply.

Inbound Links Are More Important Than Page Content

To prove this point, type "click here" without the quotes into Google, Yahoo and MSN and check the Adobe pages that come up in the search results: #1 in Google, #2 in Yahoo, and #1 in MSN. When you pull up those pages, search the page to find the individual words "click" or "here" in the text of those pages. They are not there. This has happened because millions of people have linked to these Adobe pages with the embedded anchor text, "click here".

Next, let's analyze those specific web pages from the perspective of each of the search engines:

* Google's #1 result - Google PageRank 8. (www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html) Links to this web page: according to Google (31); according to Yahoo (nearly 12 million); according to MSN (6,400).

* Yahoo's #2 result - Google PageRank 10. (www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer) Links to this web page: Google (15,200); Yahoo (700 thousand); MSN (32).

* MSN's #1 result - Google PageRank 8. (www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash) Links to this web page: Google (0); Yahoo (2.9 million); MSN (778).

On Google's top result, they show 31 inbound links total for that web page. But, Yahoo claims that there are more than 12 million links to this page. That is a huge difference.

On Yahoo's #2 result, MSN gives 32 links, Google gives 15,000 links, and Yahoo claims it has 700 thousand links! That is another huge difference between the link counts from the search engines.

On MSN's #1 result, MSN shows a strong link count, but still nowhere near Yahoo's 2.9 million links. But, how does a web page with zero links in Google get a PageRank 8?

What Do These Numbers Mean?

Google has always said that they will never show us all of the links that we have pointing to our websites, because anything we can see in the public search results, our competitors can see also. So, for me it really is no surprise that we cannot see all of the links that point to Adobe pages, or to the links we have created that point to our clients and ourselves, by querying the search engines.

Also, the sheer numbers of inbound links do not rule the roost. Google's #1 result (PR8) is actually shown in Google, before Yahoo's #2 (PR10) result.

The Proof For Link Building Is In The Search Engine Rankings

Recently, a fellow who works as a SEO "professional" told me that he believed my link building system was a sham.

I showed him that on the top 51 keyword phrases we use to market our original commercial website, we had 11 number one results, 31 top five results, 34 top ten results, 47 top thirty results, and 51 top 100 results within the Google search results. Additionally, it was shown that only three of those results competed with fewer than one million search results according to Google, with the remaining 48 pages competing with one million to 533 million pages.

Ole boy tore up Google trying to track how it was possible for me to have accomplished what I claimed. He finally concluded that since Google would not show HIM how I was able to rank so well in their search engine results, then I must have been lying.

According to Yahoo, we have over 12,000 links from third-party websites. According to our site statistics, we received traffic from more than 16,000 unique web pages during 2006. And Google still swears that we only have 42 inbound links to our website!

Magic Fairy Dust

My nemesis concluded that since HE could not prove through Google how I was successful in getting good search rankings, then I could not have accomplished such results by the methods I claimed.

Okay, I admit it.

I used the exact same method that Adobe used to get to the top of Google's search engine rankings. I have a pocket full of magic fairy dust. Whenever I do not like how my websites rank in the search engines, I sprinkle some magic fairy dust on my modem.

If you don't like where you are ranked in the search engines, then I suggest you forego the search engine optimization companies altogether and instead run over to the corner store to get your own magic fairy dust. You might have to shop around a bit, but it is out there.

Bill Platt has been involved with link building (http://www.linksandtraffic.com/seo-services/link-building.html)since 1999 for his own promotion and for search engine marketing purposes, and he has been doing it professionally for clients since 2001. Visit http://www.LinksAndTraffic.com to learn more. If you would like to talk to Bill in person, he can be reached at (405) 780-7745 between 9am and 6pm CST, Monday through Friday.]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips482/user/index.php
The Key to explosive growth is to create a strong team idenity while at the same time promoting team work. These 3 Free Online Tools encourage effective communication with MLM team members and enable anyone to Motivate their MLM Team for explosive Downline growth.

In a recent Article I talked about 9 Sure Fire Methods to explode your Downline. In this Article I discuss 3 of those methods in more detail.

Prong 1 - MLM Team Newsletter

You can E-mail this newsletter using the Downline Mailer or Free or Paid Auto responders available on the Internet. The Delivery method is secondary the key is to have a newsletter. The most important thing is to let your MLM Downline Members know you care and are there to serve them.

Here are some things you can do with your Newsletter

1. Announce Contests
2. Explain Key parts of the MLM program you are involved in
3. Run Contests
4. Spotlight a Downline Member of the Week
5. Have a Tip of the Week
6. Give Recruiting Tips
7. Announce the Ad Co-Op
8. Announce Conference Calls
9. Brag a little about how well you are doing
10. Encourage them to join the Team Newsgroup and Post.

Have your team members looking forward to receiving the newsletter by keeping a regular schedule. If you say you are going to send out the newsletter every Friday, send it every Friday.

Prong 2 - The MLM Team Blog

A Blog just ads a little more versatility to your Newsletter. Post an archive containing each and every newsletter in your Blog. This allows new members to get up to speed by viewing old newsletters. It also allows older members to review past newsletters anytime they need to.

In addition to the Newsletter Posts, be sure you Blog at least 2 more times a week. Like Your Newsletter, try to keep a Blog Schedule. Make sure you tell your MLM team members that you may make surprise posts to the Team Blog so they check it daily. Encourage your Team members to add your RSS Feed to their Favorite Blog Reader

Things to Blog about

1. New Ad Resource you found.
2. A Little known feature of the MLM Program
3. A huge Surge in membership.
4. Some topic that seems to be getting attention in the Newsgroup
5. Update something you wrote in your newsletter with new and improved Information
6. A quote of the day, Week
7. An Interesting article someone else wrote

Prong 3 - The MLM Team Newsgroup

The Newsgroup is the most important part of the 3 Prongs (You can sign-up for a free newsgroup at Yahoo, Google MSN). The Newsgroup is the place your team members can go to interact with each other. The newsgroup is the place where your team members help each other. This is the place your team to really does become a Team.

You need to be pro-active in the newsgroup. You need to Post Replies to your team members. You need to ask Questions of your team members so you know how best to help them. Use the MLM Team newsgroup to gauge the Pulse of the MLM team. The Newsgroup is your eyes and ears into the heart and soul of your team.

Be sure and use your MLM Team Blog and MLM Team Newsletter to promote your MLM Team Newsgroup. You really want to get all your team members involved in the newsgroup. The team needs to know and believe the newsgroup is theirs and they can guide it any way they want too. Have the team choose the newsgroup moderator.

Mike Makler has been Marketing Online Since 2001 When he Built an Organization of over 100,000 Members Get Mike's Newsletter: http://ewguru.com/newsletter Copyright © 2005-2007 Mike Makler]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips482/user/index.php
Everywhere I look there is blogging advice on how to increase your traffic, pagerank, and readership on the net. There’s syndication, RSS feeds, and any type of social topic you would ever need. However, nobody tells you how to stop the traffic and alienate your fan base; so I thought I should try.

1. Active in blogging? Why not put as many popups on your page as humanly possible? Make it as difficult as possible for a reader to navigate away from your page and ensure that he will never come back! If you are not comfortable with popups, AdSense ads after every post and every type of widget that you can find will do the trick.

2. Too many comments? Turn them off, don’t respond when they are posted, and return fire with fire. People like to feel engaged when they read your content. Don’t let ‘em!

3. Got an RSS feed? Get rid of it, or better yet, find a blog that you absolutely hate and offer it as the feed through your site. It all looks like XML code until you plug it into a reader anyway. Your readers won’t know what hit them.

4. You have a bookmarking widget; Digg, del.icio.us, News Vine, Reddit? Aren’t there equivalent bookmarking tools for adult sites? Couldn’t you use the same graphic and just replace the hyperlink? Hmmm, if you want to get some hate mail, this may be the way to do it. When responding to the hate mail, please refer to item 2 above.

5. Member of MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, Xanga, LinkedIn, MyBloglog and other networks that syndicate your content? This one’s easy, don’t complete your profile, syndicate content that is not yours, be un-genuine, and do not respond to comments. We keep going back to step 2 for some reason.

6. Overload your readers with useless bookmarks. Stop writing content and go hog wild with your Sumble Upon and del.icio.us bookmarking Wordpress widgets. Nobody likes going to a blog that has nothing other than a collection of non-related bookmarks. No content, just bookmarks; nothing slows down traffic like a great link farm.

7. DUMP THE TAGS!!!! Nobody will read your blog if nobody can find it. If you have a search term that inadvertently shows up under a Google search, repeat it in the text as many times as possible. A black-hat trick or two will also work to get you banned from Google.

8. All text and no pictures makes for a very boring and unpleasant blog. Pictures are worth a thousand words, and people love to look at and share video. Why do you think YouTube sold for a billion dollars? If you don’t want traffic, do not use flickr, youtube, or other multi-media sharing services.

9. Whatever you do, do not reference blog posts that you had writen earlier. This would entice readers to go further into your blog and spend more time there. Why would you want that?

10. This one I had to think long and hard about. How do you get blacklisted from as many sites as possible, kicked off search engines and banned from the internet? One word….SPAM!!!

TAGS: spam, banned, rss, ugly, kicked off, no readers, bad blog, bookmark widgets, digg, anti-comments, popups, tricks, reference, readers, ugly blog, mybloglog, wordpress, blogger, stumble upon

Barrett Niehus and 4MySales.com explore helping real estate agents and small business professionals market their business and grow their income. Join the real estate and marketing discussion at http://realtorleads.blogspot.com or explore investing in real estate at http://www.4mysales.com]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips482/user/index.php
Last time, I talked about one of the first steps involved in setting up your email newsletter: Getting an Email Newsletter Service. Another commonly-asked question is how to design the newsletter to make it the most effective. This breaks down into several questions and considerations:

Should you send a text-only newsletter or design it in HTML? Both options have benefits and drawbacks.

I recommend that most small businesses use an HTML newsletter because it's much more effective to use graphics to extend your brand. Also, graphics are more memorable and can help you to communicate your business' message in a way that's, well, worth the proverbial 1000 words.

Some of the ways to make this already-effective tool even more effective include:

- Use a customized design and not a template. One of the main jobs of a newsletter is to extend your business' brand. If you use a template the design will not be related to your company's brand definition or brand identity. This mismatch will make your business look inconsistent and less professional. Make sure that your customized design includes not only your logo but also elements of your Visual Vocabulary. This will further distinguish your newsletter from your competitions'.

If you do have to use a template for a short time while you work the cost of a customized design into your budget, use the simplest template available on your service - even a blank page with your logo on it will work as a temporary measure!

- Use branding as bookends for your newsletter. Designing every square inch of your newsletter is overkill. You don't need to include graphics and illustration through the whole thing to get the benefit of using graphics. Designing each element of the newsletter will also make it more difficult to use your newsletter as a template. If you design in an article space that's a few paragraphs long and then write an article that's bigger than the allowed space you're going to have to spend time customizing your newsletter design to fit in the longer article. Or what if you decide to change the sections in your newsletter around. Or you decide to promote different things or include different types of information and your newsletter design has very specific structured areas. Instead, you can design a header and footer to "bookend" the content of your newsletter. You can then code the rest in plain HTML. This will create a branded newsletter that looks great and is flexible enough for you to use as needed each time you send it out.

- Don't make your newsletter code complicated. Most email programs can only read the simplest of HTML code. So design your newsletter with this in mind and code the newsletter using very basic HTML. This means you should use a table format, regular font tags, bold and italic tags, and image tags. CSS and more complicated kinds of code won't display properly for all of your readers. Use photos and promotional illustrations to add visual interest. An all-text newsletter can look very boring - even if you have a branded header and footer. But you can use image tags to insert images throughout your newsletter to spice things up. Use highlight boxes to call attention to offers and promotions. You can use a colored background on a text box to differentiate important copy from the rest of your text. This can make those calls to action and promotional boxes more noticeable. Once a reader notices them they're more likely to read them and react! Taking these tips into account will help you to create a HTML newsletter that represents your brand well. It will also look memorable and help you to stay in touch with your prospects and clients - and sell your products and services.

Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. Her ebook, "All The News About Email Newsletters" will tell you everything you need to know about desiging, writing, and sending out an email newsletter to stay in touch with your clients and prospects. http://www.elf-design.com/products-mini-newsletter.html]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips482/user/index.php
An entrepreneur on the Information Superhighway sells information, in fact, almost all successful online businesses sell information in some form or another. The most famous example is Bill Gates. He has become one of the riches men on Earth because he sells software, which is an information product.

So what’s the big deal in selling information products online? Let's check out some of the benefits in doing so -

1) Low Start-up Costs

In comparison to a traditional bricks and clicks business, an online business requires low start up costs. For example, a franchise will set you back as much as $500,000 or more just for the rights to get started. You can start your own information business for less than $1,000.

2) Low Inventory Costs

You keep little or no inventory. Most information products can be produced and compiled into electronic format. As you can see, today information products are ebooks, manuals, as well as software. You have no inventory cost except investing in some software in the first place. Compare that to a traditional publishing business which might cost you thousands of dollars just for printing, labor, storage, etc.

3) Zero Shipping Costs

Don't overlook the cost of shipping in a traditional business. Just imagine how much money you might lose if the order was returned due to credit card fraud, a customer request for a refund, or product damage during the course of shipping? On the other hand, the delivery of electronic information products is safe, it is instant, and it is online. The only costs you bear are for web hosting and insignificant credit card processing fees.

4) High Mark-Ups

Information products have a high mark-up because customers are not paying for the format in which the products are delivered. They are paying for the valuable information contained within. Actual production costs are irrelevant and can not be applied when dealing with these types of products.

5) Your Business Runs Entirely on Autopilot!

Your whole business can be set to run on autopilot, right from customer follow-ups, to taking orders, credit card processing, to products download, and delivery. The system runs 24/7, 100% automatically, while you work on other projects, or spend time on vacation with your family. That's really a dream business!

To kick start your online information selling business, you will need to have a set of your own high-demand products. You may want to create your very own product from scratch, or you can purchase resell rights to an existing product that already has demand. The latter will be a great option if you don't have the time or would rather save yourself the hassle of creating your own product from scratch.

In either case, be sure to do your own market research before attempting any course of action. This should prevent you from getting into buying or producing unwanted products or products without market.

Lewis Low is the founding editor of OnlineBizPromo.com. For more Practical Online Business Ideas and Work-From-Home Opportunities, visit his Work-At-Home directory at http://www.OnlineBizPromo.com]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips482/user/index.php
Need more traffic on your website? You may want to consider buying it. When you buy traffic, you are almost guaranteed to get traffic. Many of the services that dedicate their businesses to building traffic for other websites offer a guaranteed number of visitors on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, making this one of these easiest and fastest ways to get traffic on your website.

If you have never heard of buying traffic before, or if you want to learn more about how it works, here are some frequently asked questions about purchasing web traffic buying that can help you to better understand its benefits.

What Kind of Businesses Buy Traffic?

Buying web traffic is not necessarily a new Internet marketing concept. In fact, there are many online businesses that have been doing it for years. Though many of these companies are established already, they are not the only types of businesses who use such services. Sometimes the only way that a new, unknown site can get traffic to their website is by buying it. Competing with large sites is tough, and sometimes, search engine optimization techniques aren't enough to boost a new site's rankings in the search engines.

Where Can You Get Traffic?

There are many online services that sell website traffic. To find a sampling, simply type "buy traffic" or "get traffic" into any Internet search engine. You will be faced with so many different options that you will have a hard time choosing which service to go with.

If you are looking for referrals, consider visiting forums that have members who are online business owners or web developers. Many of the people who post in these forums may have already used one or two traffic-building companies. In most cases, they will be able to offer you information on their experiences.

If you are unable to get a referral, don't base your decision on cost alone. There may or may not be a difference between a traffic-building service that offers 10,000 visitors per month for $20.00 and one that offers 10,000 for $30.00. Always inquire about services, as well as costs. Good questions to ask include:

How do you bring traffic to my website?

Do you ever use spamming techniques?

What type of traffic will be targeted: specific countries, specific languages, etc?

Can you guarantee that I will get traffic?

Will you provide me with stats?

Do you offer customer support?

How much will you charge me if I want to buy traffic?

Why is your service better than others?

Where Do Visitors Come From?

When you buy traffic, most of the visitors you get will be from banner ads, pop-ups, pop-unders, and layers ads. The ads are placed all around the net. When a web visitor clicks on the ad, they will be taken directly to your website.

Is Traffic Guaranteed?

This is a tough question to answer because it depends on the service that you use to buy traffic. Some services guarantee that you will get traffic and others do not. Even if they do guarantee traffic, they cannot guarantee sales. They cannot even guarantee that when you get traffic, it will stay on your site for more than one second.

This is very important to remember when deciding whether or not to buy traffic. Whatever you decide to do, make sure to track your traffic, your sales, and your overall results. Once you have analyzed everything, you will be able to easily determine if buying traffic is in your best interests.

Cliff Posey, owner of CRP Marketing, owns and operates http://webbusinesstoolsonline.com. Cliff Posey has also operated several other successful web businesses including Love Song Cards and Radio Career Consultants. The content in this article was developed from his experience in these businesses.]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips482/user/index.php
One of the oldest and most effective ways to market yourself online is through local small business directory listings. Small business Internet marketing requires starting with a listing of your small business in the major general directories then listing them in niche and industry-specific directories appropriate to your small business. It is a time consuming process to list your small business in the right directories, but a necessary one to ensure good rankings for your website.

The most essential directory for your small business to be listed in is DMOZ, also called the Open Directory Project. All the major search engines, and most of the minor ones, rely on DMOZ, located at www.dmoz.org, for information on websites. Google gets information on every website it crawls from DMOZ.

You should also list your small business in Google Local and Yahoo Local. All you need to do to get listed with Google is to go to Google, click on the Local link and find the "add your business link." For Yahoo, go to Yahoo, click on "Directory," then click on "Submit Your Site" at the bottom of the page.

You can find other directories online by using Google or Yahoo. Type in "directory of directories" and you'll get a list of small business directories, both paid and free, listed by state, industry, niche, and other categorizations. I recommend that you list in every directory that applies to your business. Here is a short list of local small business directory opportunities to help you attract local customers for your business:

http://www.dmoz.org
http://dir.yahoo.com
http://www.joeant.com
http://www.jayde.com
http://www.avivadirectory.com
http://www.goguides.com
http://www.botw.org

Some directories, like the Yahoo directory, charge, but it is well worth what you pay to be listed. Once you are included in Yahoo's small business directory, you can bet your website will be indexed in the search engine as well.

There are three primary considerations for your small business when listing in directories online:

The directory's PageRank

The directory's age

Is your small business category available?

PageRank is important for SEO purposes. Internet marketing pros all recommend getting inbound links from websites with high PR. A website with a PR higher than yours will benefit you with valuable inbound links that will give you a boost in the search engines as well. The age of the directory makes it more valuable because you know that if the directory has been around for more than two years then it will likely be around next year. You can get information on PageRank and the age of various directories at http://www.seocompany.ca/directory/web-directories.html.

Don't waste your time trying to get listed in a directory that doesn't offer a category you'll fit into. Be sure to browse the categories at any small business directories you consider before you list your business.

Two great sources for finding web directories for your small business Internet marketing efforts are www.dir-search.com and www.best-web-directories.com. The Best Web Directories website is perhaps the most comprehensive website for finding business directories online. If you want to find local customers through small business directories then I recommend these two resources for finding the best places online that list small business directories for your Internet marketing efforts.

One thing you'll need to keep in mind – all directories are different. Nevertheless, you should write your business directory listing before you submit to any directories. Your local small business directory listing shouldn't be too long, but it should include all the pertinent information: Your business name, your name, address, phone number, website address, e-mail address, and a short description of your business. In your business directory listing, be sure to use the best keyword two or three times to make your small business listing optimized for the search engines.

To find industry-specific or niche directories, go to DMOZ or one of the other general directories and search for your industry by keyword. Then do a keyword search at Google and Yahoo along with the keyword "directory." This should return a good listing of directories for your industry or niche.

One other source for listing your local small business is your local chamber of commerce's website. When you join your local chamber, they should list your website on theirs for free. The traffic you can get from this one source can be well worth joining the local chamber, and almost all of the traffic will be local customers looking for your type of business. The Yellow Pages online and www.merchantcircle.com are two other sources to consider for local small business Internet marketing. More and more people are looking online for small businesses to do business with and relying less on print publications like the Yellow Pages. That's just one more reason to look for local small business directories to be listed in.

Caroline Melberg is President and CEO of Melberg Marketing. She has over 20 years of experience creating exciting marketing campaigns for some of the most successful companies in the world. She publishes the popular eZine, "Blue Chip Tips: The Secrets of Blue Chip Marketing...Revealed!" Learn more today at http://www.melberg.com.]]> http://miraclemoneyblog.com/homebiztips/HomeBusinessTips482/user/index.php
If you have a small business blog, or are thinking of starting one, you should be aware of the ways you can use your blog to drive traffic to your Website. It's simpler than you think.

The first thing to understand about your blog is that each entry is counted as one Web page. Even if you have your blog set to display 10 blog posts on the same page, each of them is counted as a separate Web page by the search engines. That's why it is important to treat each blog entry as an SEO tool. The following tips should be kept in mind for each blog entry in order to optimize them for the search engines and drive more traffic to your Website from your blog:

1. Optimize each blog post around a single keyword
2. Make sure your keyword is in your blog post title, preferably at the beginning
3. Use subheads or tags that also use your keyword
4. Include 1-3 keyword links (anchor text) in your blog posts
5. Sign every blog post with a signature link that uses your keyword
6. Use bold and italics effectively to emphasize certain keywords and phrases
7. Be sure to ping the directories
8. Include tags for all of your blog entries
9. Use categories effectively
10. Make links appear natural by linking to internal pages of your Website

Because each blog entry is a separate Web page, the search engines will crawl them and index them just as they do your Web pages. Optimize each one heavily around a specific keyword related to your Website and that's an extra doorway into your Website for each page indexed at the search engines. Also, by adding anchor text to a couple of those keywords and pointing those links to relevant internal Web pages of your Website you are improving the SEO effect of your blog entry. A poll of top SEO experts by SEOmoz revealed that a majority of those SEO experts said these type of keyword links are among the top 10 most important SEO factors for ranking Web pages. Don't give up on keywords and anchor text.

You'll also want to include keyword tags with each blog entry. Those tags wil