HOW TO MARKET WITH ARTICLES

by: Dee Cohen

Writing articles is a very effective way to get one way links to your site as well as to have people learn more about your website or service. However, there are ways to do this that can make you more successful versus have your articles be overlooked and not considered.

Shane Pearce has written the Lazy Man's Guide to Article Writing which outlines some helpful tips. I was first impressed with his tip that when you submit your article to an ezine publisher or a webmaster, that you can offer him to use his own affiliate link in place of your own. For instance, if you have written an article on motivation and have a link to a clickbank ebook on motivation and goals, you can offer the publisher that he use his own affiliate id instead of yours. What this means is that the ezine or website publisher will be getting a free article already written with a link that may give him some monetary income. You still would have your own information in your resource box at the end, so people can click to your website as well. Think about what the website publisher you write to will get out of the exchange and find a way to make his or her life easier.

Other tips he gives are to read frequently asked questions to find out what people want to know about in terms of popular topics. Shane discusses how to make a viral ebook based on a faq niche that can be passed around. If there are frequently asked questions on a topic that is a sign that the topic has an interest as well as the fact there may be an interest in some guide or tutorial.

Also I like the sample autoresponder examples he uses as well as different ideas for a signature file at the end of one's article. I think he is very good at showing how to integrate a couple of affiliate links without being pushy. He recommends sending people to opt-in to a mailing list as part of your signature file.

Another section I found useful discusses how to create checklists and use them both for your website and in articles that lead back to your website. People like checklists. Shane discusses how to use these. They also help break through writer's block or paralysis because you can have a list of steps .

There are ideas given about utilizing both 2-tier affiliate programs and residual income programs that will help you keep you earning as your articles circulate around the net. Shane gives some interesting suggestions on types of sites that work for this.

I also like that Shane gives an example of a flop he did of an unsuccessful attempt at marketing. He analzyes it and compares it to something someone else wrote he feels was better expressed. It is a very interesting study covering various ways to get your articles noticed and published. I publish articles regularly but learned some valuable tips from this ebook.

THE BIGGEST SECRET IN INTERNET MARKETING

by: Alex Nghiem

In the Internet marketing world, there are many misconceptions and outright lies. But the biggest secret is one that is so obvious that nobody wants to talk about or is even aware of. In this article, I share what I (and many world class marketers) consider to be the biggest “secret” in Internet marketing.

At this point, you’re probably wondering? “What’s the BIGGEST secret?”

Before I share this secret with you, let me share a common mistake committed by 99% of Internet marketers. Almost all Internet marketers I know can quote you their opt-in rate and spend hours, days, weeks and even months tweaking their landing pages to get the highest opt-in rate. This is accomplished by asking for as little customer information as possible and casting as wide a net as possible. This usually requires asking for only the first name and the primary email address.

In many industries, this results in optimizing for the wrong results. What do I mean by that?

I spend a lot of time in multiple industries other than Internet marketing (including real estate, art, etc.) and for a long time, I was focusing on increasing my opt-in rate but rarely closed any sales (my sales for my products and my clients’ products range from $997 to $25,000 per sale). When I thought about it, I realized that in all of these industries and especially at these price points, the sale is accomplished via the phone, not via the Web.

Thus, without realizing it, I wasn’t collecting all the necessary information for me to complete a sale (that is, I wasn’t asking for a phone number because I knew this would reduce my opt-in rate). Most of the “gurus” who are teaching list building don’t take into account industries that conduct business primarily offline and/or the fact that high-end products are not closed via email alone. Heck, I am not sure that any of them has ever tested their methods in offline businesses!

Now, I do a 2-step opt-in rate that allows me to have the highest opt-in rate on the first page and then ask for additional info (including the phone number and mailing address) on the “thank you” screen. This enables me to follow up via offline methods including postcards, direct mail and even telemarketing.

What does this have to do with the biggest secret in Internet marketing? Simple…the most valuable leads often require you to follow up using offline methods. However, this contradicts almost all list building techniques being taught, which almost always teach how to get the highest opt-in rate. In this case, I made more money by having a lower opt-in rate…but I got higher quality leads, which enable me to follow up via offline methods. Again, in many, many industries, the sales happen via the phone and in some cases via the fax and direct mail.

So, before you spend too much time focusing on optimizing your opt-in rate alone, think through the sales process and figure out what is the best way to close the sale and collect information for that to happen, even if it means a lower opt-in rate.

Now that you know the biggest secret in Internet marketing and the next time somebody brags about their 50% opt-in rate, you will know that he/she is probably optimizing on the wrong thing and leaving WAY too much money on the table.

BRAND BUILDING 101: DOES YOUR BUSINESS CARD BUILD YOUR BRAND?

by: Krishna De

Are you losing credibility and damaging the brand of your business through lack of attention to one of your critical marketing tools in your business, your business card? Discover how your business card can enhance your brand and ensure that you stand out from your competition.

When we are at a networking event or meeting a client, it's almost guaranteed that we will exchange business cards.

Very often, without realising it, we are assessing our colleague by their business card, and asking ourselves:

- Is the business card professionally designed?
- Is the business card crumpled at the edges?
- How does the weight of the business card feel - substantive or flimsy?
- Does it look like the business card has been made on their PC - or worse still does it have a message at the bottom of the card to say where you too can access free cards?

I have collected thousands of business cards over my time in business and every time I am sub-consciously assessing the professional status of them and their business when I receive their business card.

We review someone's card at least 3 times:

1. once on receiving it
2. a second time when we put it in our pocket, folio or bag as we leave the meeting
3. and a third time as we make a decision to keep it, transfer the information into our data bank or bin it!

Our business card is a critical part of our marketing collateral and even if you can not afford to put in place other marketing materials, short changing the investment in developing a professional business card is definitely not something we should do if we are looking to develop a professional brand.

When meeting someone in person, alongside how you present yourself in person, your business card can enhance or devalue the strength of your brand and how you are perceived by others.

Here are four tips to enhance your brand through your business card:

1. Ensure that you work with a professional designer to develop your business card. It's not whether you like the design, it's about whether it will represent your business effectively and professionally to your target audience

2. Ideally have your business card printed on 400g card and by a traditional lithographic printer. Yes it is more expensive than digital printing, but the quality is worth investing in and a litho print gives far greater definition to your corporate identity and the colour of your brand

3. Matt laminate your card on the reverse for extra stability and style. Don't laminate both sides as people will not be able to write on your card - we often note down things to remember about the person we met on their card

4. Use the valuable real estate on the back of your card to provide a call to action, for example, how to access your white paper or special report on your web site.

Take action:

Over the next 30 days, take the opportunity to review the business cards of your contacts and assess their card against yours.

1. What can you learn from other peoples business cards?

2. How could you take those learnings and further enhance your business card?

Your goal is to ensure that your business card is a positive reflection of both you and your company, and it represents a strong brand.

Invest in your business card, distribute it widely and you will be sure of expanding your professional success.

SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING AND SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION: ANY DIFFERENCE?

by: Mikhail Tuknov

For many casual internet users, the terms SEM and SEO rarely enter their minds when they are busy jumping from one website to another. However, it is these terms that determine much of what comes out on the results page whenever we type in a word in the search tab of any accessible search engine. These terms are also responsible for all those advertisements and pop-ups that link us to even more websites, whether they may be connected to our original search or not. So just what are SEM and SEO?

In the simplest way possible, SEM and SEO are tools which website creators, especially those who are promoting and selling a certain service or product, use in order to gain a lot of exposure and better ranking for their website. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, the simplicity ends there.

To make it a tad bit complex, SEM and SEO are not the same. As suggested by the names, SEM, or Search Engine Marketing, deals more with how a website is marketed to gain exposure in the different search engines available on the internet, while SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, deals with how the web creators develop and re-develop the content, quality and structure of their entire websites so that whenever an internet user types in a particular word in the search tab, their websites have a better chance of appearing on the first few search engine results pages (SERPS).

Now, to make it even more complex, although the functions of SEM and SEO seem different, they are more effective when used together. Since the main function of SEM is to gain more exposure for a website, the more common means for attraction are online advertisements, blogs, internet articles, partner and sponsored websites, and anything that can catch the eye of the internet user. SEM also makes use of PPC (pay-per-click) and paid inclusion to further push a website’s visibility. Lastly, it is also an important process in SEM to submit the name and URL of a website to different search engines and web directories if only to inform them of the website’s existence. All this is carried out to ensure the popularity of a website.

So how does SEO come together with SEM? Well, despite having all the advertisements provided by SEM, it is truly the SEO that allows the internet user to easily and conveniently find what he is looking for. Since the function of SEO is to gain a better ranking in the SERPS, the web creator has to constantly optimize his website in order to cater to the needs of the internet user and to make it easier for spiders or web crawlers to judge whether the website’s content is relevant to the word/s being searched. Optimization is not a simple and easy task. It involves having to restructure the website regularly (by editing the html code and meta tags, changing content, reorganizing the site map, developing an easier navigational structure, etc.) so as to adapt to the rapidly changing demands of the internet user. Still, when done properly, not only does SEO help a website become more useful and therefore, more often visited by the internet user, it also helps gain more exposure since it increases the website’s chances of gaining a better rank in the SERPS.

Both SEM and SEO success rely heavily on the words or context which Internet users type in whenever they search for something on the internet. Take PPC under SEM, for example. PPC is an ad that is triggered by a particular word or context used by an internet user. Once a particular word or context is searched, a corresponding PPC ad for a website comes out. SEO works in the same way. The web creator inputs a particular Meta tag (or keyword) in his html that he believes many internet users will use when searching for information, information which the web creator’s website may contain.

Although all of these processes involving SEM and SEO are tedious and time-consuming, it all boils down to knowing and serving the target audience. A web creator must be discerning enough to know what the internet users need and want, and at the same time he must have the real passion to inform and provide the internet users with the right service and product.

NETWORK VS. AFFILIATE MARKETING

by: Andreas Sundstrom

Running a traditional brick and mortar kind of business with an online presence, is obviously one very good way to make at least part of your living online. But for the purposes of this article we are going to assume that you do not have your own business. So I am going to discuss two of the biggest online money makers right now: online business opportunities and affiliate marketing.

Network marketing

The typical online business opportunity is commonly built around some sort of network marketing concept, inheriting the basic qualities of the offline business model that has been available for many decades - the basic idea being that you recruit two or more people, who in their turn recruit two and in this way your efforts will (at least in theory) be greatly leveraged.

The main difference doing this online is that, utilizing the power of the Internet, you as a network marketer can literally reach people all over the planet.

The problem with the network marketing, or "mlm", concept is that it sounds so good on paper - way too good in fact. Most people who joins up with a company of this type tend to get a dose of Mr. Reality rather soon.

They discover that recruiting new people, which is what all mlm is all about - even if they try to tell you differently - is not at all a simple process. There has been plenty of fraudulent businesses in this niche, and people tend to stay on their toes as soon as they hear the words mlm or network marketing.

To further complicate things this business model is also based on you paying a set monthly fee - wether you make any money or not, which means that many people who start this kind of business actually end up loosing money.

It is definitely possible to make a good living in network marketing, but it is definitely not for everybody. "Getting in on the ground floor" is allegedly not always as good as it seems.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is similar to network marketing, in the sense that you will be promoting a product produced by another company or person. This can obviously make life very simple for you, as the merchant will usually take care of all shipping and customer support issues. Amazon.com is probably one of the most well known (an respected) companies utilizing the power of affiliate partnerships.

As an affiliate, your task is simply to refer new clients to the merchant and when these people go ahead and buy something, you get credited with a certain percentage of the sale.

Contrary to network marketing it is generally free to act as an affiliate marketer. Although there are certain companies that have sort of a hybrid structure between network and affiliate marketing - requiring you to pay a start-up and/or monthly fee to market their products. Most affiliate programs are completely free to join though, so I'd personally stay away from those using their affiliate programs as an income generator in it's own right, or "affiliate sharks" as one marketer aptly named them.

Affiliate programs are thus a great way in which almost anyone can start to make money online, without having to invest a lot of money, if indeed any at all.

There is however certain strategies and marketing methods you need to be knowledgeable of, if you are to make anything but peanuts with your affiliate marketing.

Choosing the right affiliate program and promoting it to the right people in the right way is an art form in it's own right. And the people who are really good at this, generally referred to as "super affiliates", make a very good living doing nothing else than selling other people's products.

If you are looking to make an additional income from the Internet, or eventually even replace your current income altogether, affiliate marketing is a great way to get started. To achieve the success you desire, you should study and learn the same techniques super affiliates use on a day to day basis.

10 TIPS TO HIGHER RESPONSE ADS

by: Obono John Obono

You're ready to launch that new product or promotion, & you're really counting on a piece of advertising copy to come through for you.

You're looking for stellar results! And, you're determined to do everything in your power to get them. Which means surveys, thorough testing, and ongoing refinement of your ad copy.

Hold the phone!

When you've got your draft, run it through this 12-point inspection. Cover off these basics, and you can be sure you're off to a running start.

1 – Do You Have A Compelling Headline?

Does it generate curiosity or envy? Does it promise a benefit that will compel someone with an interest in what you're selling to keep reading. Remember, your headline is the ad for the ad.

When I am being paid to write direct response ad copy, or a sales letter, or have a very important sales objective of my own, I normally write 25 headlines before I begin the body of the piece.

Then I'll pick half a dozen that I think will work & test them. The best of the rest, I use as sub headings throughout the piece to propel readership, and draw skimmers & skippers back into the copy as they move down the page.

2 – Are Your Headlines Pleasing To The Eye?

I most often find that headlines work best when they are centered on the page, & present a balanced appearance in terms of the shape they create. Encasing them in quotation marks also serves to grab more attention.

Long top headlines tend to reduce readership, but if they help qualify more effectively they can improve sales! Try them, but look for ways to modularize the text using punctuation & spacing so your readers don't suffocate trying to read them. Sometimes a long top headline is better presented as two or even three separate headlines.

3 – Is Your Opening Provocative & Arresting?

Does it trip the reader, interrupting the internal turbulence of the day? Each line of your ad copy must serve to "sell" the reader on continued reading, especially at the beginning.

You are looking to build enough momentum & interest to convey the points necessary to generate a greater desire for the product than it's price. Generally speaking, the higher the cost of the product, the more words required.

4 – Are You FAB Balanced?

You must focus on painting a picture of your prospects future life, as a result of their purchase. Does your copy promise emotional benefits? Does it pledge the realization of positive feelings, or the relief of negative ones?

Does it show how these outcomes are achieved with concise descriptions of the features & advantages that will deliver them? Your ad copy must strike a balance between emotion & logic if it is to be effect.

5 – Are You Creating Excitement & Enthusiasm?

Demonstrate your personal belief in what you are selling. Will your message quicken the readers pulse? Is it upbeat, positive, & full of inspired energy? Is there a sense of WOW?

6 – Is Your Body Copy Highly Readable?

Remember simple is best. Keep sentences short. Use a plain 10-point to 12-point font. Paragraphs no more than a few lines. Words that are comfortable & specific to the audience you are targeting. Inject subheads to break up text. Highlight important points.

7 – Do You Have High YOU density?

Remember to you use the words YOU & YOUR to the hilt. Your reader is auto translating to ME & MINE.

8 – Are you speaking intimately?

Can you get a strong sense of personality when you review your letter after being away from it for a while? Visualize yourself, or the character you are personifying, writing a personal letter to your perfect prospect. Never write to a crowd.

9 – Are you inspiring the readers imagination?

You must trigger mental images with your writing. The mind has difficulty distinguishing between vividly painted word pictures, & reality. Daydreams enchant, & emotions flow in their wake.

When you have emotion, you have desire. When you have desire, you have suggestibility. When you have suggestibility, you can direct action. Your levers are allegory (storytelling), metaphor, similes, verbs, adjectives, & specificity.

10 – Do you offer proof?

Specific testimonials & convincing guarantees worked into your ad copy are essential.

POWER OF LEARNING = EARNING!

by: Damon Smith

Everyone in online marketing or affiliate earning for a income have to research all over the internet to get the information they need to succeed.

I have seen people spend hours,days,weeks, months & even years just to come out making little or no income at all. As a publisher online for HaileysComet Weekly I have met some of the most powerful people that have made thousands even millions of dollars with the time they have been online.

Some have done it in as little as a few months and then retired, Then you have those that work very hard every day no matter how much they make to help others to do the same. Remember when the doublers programs hit the internet and people made hundreds even thousands over night? Do you remember what happen within two months of them hitting the internet, People that was dealing with StormPay was stuck holding a empty bag because they went under and all kinds of trouble broke out.

The only true programs that make money are ones that last, There are very few of them, One that has made it to the top because of the people behind the program is Success University, Not because they have specials all the time but because there are REAL people to talk with an to learn from. I have met with people that joined the so called PAS program and paid out $3,900!

and most of them did not get anything from it an do you know why? Because there was no one to teach them how to market the program to make a profit an ended up getting burnt!

Look at this link, http://www.damonday.net

If you take the time to read it you will not only see that this group of master marketers are online to help you make a living online but also to teach you how to talk with others in a way to make them buy from you and learn to work together as a team.

Success University is just what the name stands for, They have been online for quite sometime, My own companys that I own depend on the things that I learn online.. I would only suggest something that I know myself to work to my own list of people that I work with instead of something that is gone the next day.

My own list of people in my newsletter trust me because they all know over the past 9 years that when I have something to tell them it is only the truth and not something that will brake their bank accounts. I have been called "The Howard Stern" of publishing and my newsletter is in most of the biggest Co-Ops and directories and also forums. The reason for my success is because of people like Damon Day (It is funny we both have the same first names)

But a "FLY BY NIGHT" company Success University is not, it is backed by some of the biggest companys there are and it is not just for people that are into affiliate marketing but also for people that are just starting out online and dont want to loose alot of money. I will tell you from the start that it takes money to make it, But this is one company that can take your funds and turn it into something to be proud of. Right now they are running a $2 14 day trial offer, and the monthly cost is less then a night on the town so dont miss out on something that will give you everything you need to earn online.

So take 5 minutes of your time and just look, It will suprise you to see what some people will do to help others instead of just thinking of themself and what they can get out of people that dont know any better.

Example: http://www.damonday.net

If you talk with Damon tell him that I sent you to him so that he will know that after everything we have been through I still believe there are good people online!

To your Success!