November 29th, 2009 | 
Author: 
Christmas is nearly upon us and if you haven’t already, it’s time to up your marketing campaigns to boost your online traffic and sales. If you are yet to start your Christmas marketing campaigns, then you need to get started. With less than 12 weeks to go until Christmas, most marketers are already busy in the execution of their Christmas marketing strategy.
But, if you haven’t already started – do not worry, there are still practical steps you can take that can have a significant impact on your pre-Christmas sales.
1. Consider Affiliate Marketing – Speak to affiliate networks now about sourcing publishers to participate in your affiliate campaign. The best thing about affiliate marketing is that you pay only for successful conversions or sales.
2. Online Advertising – Use online display advertising to run special offers across relevant sites to your target market, to increase interested visitors to your website. Or try a more blanket approach and display advertise with Google, Yahoo! or MSN. Increase your web presence in the run up to Christmas, but don’t forget a strong call to action or reason to click. And don’t forget the power of blogging to increase your search engine visibility. Start contributing to the blogs your customers read.
3. Pay Per Click – as well as ensuring your site is optimised for natural search, look at running additional pay per click campaigns in the run up to Christmas. As people search for specific gifts for their loved ones, make sure your ad and site is there at the top.
4. Email marketing – Now is the time to contact your customers with Christmas gift ideas. Use a Christmas email template to set the festive mood for your campaign and don’t forget to add a forward to a friend link so they can send the email to their friends and family to tell them exactly what they want for Christmas.
Don’t forget – you can be emailing your clients up to a few days before Christmas (don’t underestimate your delivery times however!). Find a good Christmas e-card or Christmas email template to get cracking on your Xmas e-campaigns today and don’t forget to send a Christmas e-card thanking your customers for their custom and reminding them about your January sales.
Article Source: Reagan Quanah
CPA networks are one of the most talked about subjects in internet marketing today, but what are CPA networks? Well, CPA stands for cost per action and a CPA network pays marketers a certain amount for delivering a specific action to an advertiser. Most marketers are used to only getting paid if they make a sale for a seller, but with CPA networks you can get paid if a prospect signs up for an email list, fills out a one page form, or even something as simple as filling out their zip code. For most of these deals the prospect never needs to pull out their credit card to get paid, which means higher conversion rates and more consistent profits.
How Much Can I Earn With a CPA Network?
Just like a regular affiliate network the amount of money you can earn is directly related to how much traffic you can send them. CPA networks’ payouts are usually not as high as selling an affiliate product, but you will see a much higher conversion rate. For a simple one page form or a zip submit you can usually expect to make $1-$5 per action. The higher paying programs usually pay based one the prospect enrolling in a free trail or giveaway. Free trials are great because you can earn $15-$50 for just giving away something for free. Not only will these convert at a high rate, but your referrals will love you for sending them to such a great free offer.
Which Is More Profitable CPA Networks or Affiliate Networks?
I wouldn’t say either one is more profitable, because it is all dependent on the offer that you promote. You should not just focus on one or the other, but look for the most profitable offers each have to offer. For those new to internet marketing it might pay off to promote CPA network offers because they are usually an easier sell than promoting a product. It’s a lot harder to convince people to buy an expensive product than it is to get them to fill out their zip code. If your sales skills are still new than you could really benefit from promoting CPA offers.
Article Source: Dean Dreyer
Both pay-per-click and SEO are targeted to get your website placed as close to the top of search engine results as possible. Marketing and SEO are different, yet very, very similar. SEO are considered as the main factors in enhancing the traffic of one’s website. The concepts of good SEO are hardly a secret. The people who least understands issues with URL structure and SEO are the very people who create them: web developers, programmers, and software developers.
Many long-time SEO’s are now looking at the big picture and working with usability analysts. Some SEO are scam artists. I find it interesting that so many newcomers are given the wrong impression that there is one almighty answer to doing well in search engines. SEO are specialized techniques used to optimize your web site, to be Search engine friendly and increase your chances of placing well in searches. But SEO can also be the most profitable methods of driving leads because any leads you receive from SEO are free leads.
There are a large number of companies that adopt a fast and unethical approach to SEO known as Black Hat SEO. They employ unethical techniques that are against search engine policies. The best results from SEO are rarely achieved overnight. Black hat SEO are the techniques used to fool the search engines in order to bring in more traffic to websites. Website owners who unknowingly utilize black hat techniques of SEO are more vulnerable to changes in search engine algorithms and faced being banned.
Most hardcover books on the subject of SEO are best viewed as a vehicle to help the beginner understand the process of search engine optimization. This is because the principles behind SEO are not easy. They are very informative and most webmasters are involved in SEO and using it. White hat and black hat SEO are two opposing views of how to do search engine optimization. In a nutshell, SEO are methods that aim to improve the position or rank of a website in the listings produced by search engines. The benefits of SEO are almost unlimited.
Watch out for SEO Tools and software that is outdated and totally useless. Always research before you buy any SEO software because the search engine Algorithms are constantly changing thereby improving their search technologies to provide the most relevant results for their users. SEO tools for Google, MSN and Yahoo are numerous. SEO tools for press release optimization were also launched by PRWeb at the end of June called SEO Wizard. Search engine optimization is not easy, but with the right SEO tools, your website promotion task just got a lot easier. Blogs are one of the best SEO tools around and some like WordPress are free. Google Sitemaps’ are a powerful SEO tools which you can get free by visiting my website.
MSN has launched a suite of SEO tools to go with their Pay Per Click product Adcenter. There are many SEO tools available on the internet, some are better then others, and some are not. Header tags, proper Keyword density, proper text formatting fonts, start text key-phrase as whole phrases, alt image tag text, links pointing to your site and each page and your domain name itself are some things to pay attention too. Many specialized SEO tools can help you determine the popularity and the competitiveness of your possible keywords and can help improve your search engine ranking particularly in Google.
Writing fresh content for SEO plays a large role in keeping visitors on a web site. Let’s talk unique web page content and SEO content strategy. Finding a good SEO content writer is easier than you think. Just run a Google search or checkout elance.com. What is good SEO Content? It is unique, quality information that your visitors can use and is helpful to them. RSS feeds are an invaluable tool in the SEO content toolbox. If you scrape SEO content and end up scraping a couple spam pages, you may get noticed even more because someone is investigating the other spam pages.
The primary factor that will determine whether your SEO content is “good enough” is the content provided by competing websites. You need unique content that nobody has in order for it to pass duplicate content filters. That’s why it is important to get your content articles indexed before you submit them to the search engines. I think nowadays though search engine algorithms can trace back the content and see who published it first, so at least make sure you publish it to your website or blog before submitting it to article directories.
To strengthen the theme of your web site, you need keyword rich SEO content. SEO content writing tips content writer’s main aim is to create a new written piece which is original, simple, informative and also to the point. Write specific targeted SEO content for the independent pages. Unique SEO content remains king. Showing your visitors you can really write unique, compelling content, your traffic will grow very fast. Earlier it was just content writing but now it is widely known as SEO content writing. However there are some strict rules enforced on SEO content. Once you have visitors, your SEO content should be converting them into customers. With effective SEO content on your website, half of your search engine rank optimization work is done.
Ethical search engine optimization is a must or you will get banned. It’s not if, it’s when. Search engine optimization was and still is fascinating to me. Search Engine Optimization is a crucial part in a websites success. The objective of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is to achieve high natural search engine placement for relevant keywords or keyword phrases. Hiring an ethical search engine optimization company to rank well in the natural results is essential to long term success.
Your white hat Search engine optimization (SEO) campaign will provide you with a long term increase in targeted traffic and qualified visitors to your Web Site. Visit my site often and add it to your favorites as I update you with the latest news and rumors in the search engine optimization industry everyday. The effects of bad search engine optimization are devastating and very depressing. Each website is unique in its own way and hence your (SEO) plans differ from website to website.
My site has some tips on how to perform search engine optimization (also know as SEO) on your website. I have a free, comprehensive guide to the practice of search engine optimization for those unfamiliar with the subject if you send me an email. There’s a lot of hype out there about search engine optimization (SEO) services. Some are good and some are bad. Read through Google’s terms of service as they have some information on their site about it.
Too often, visual design and SEO are perceived as a mutual sacrifice. Pay-per-click and SEO are targeted to get your website placed as close to the top of search engine results as possible. Pay-per-click cost money, but the clicks from SEO cost you nothing. SEO are considered as the main factors in enhancing the traffic of one’s website. Both, PPC and SEO are important. The truth is, the most rewarding part of SEO are often the slowest to reward. PR and SEO are based mostly on editorial credibility and relevance, not a direct payment for exposure.
SEO are specialized techniques used to optimize your web site, to be Search engine friendly and increase your chances of placing well in searches. There are a large number of companies that adopt a fast and unethical approach to SEO known as Black Hat SEO. The main components of on-page SEO are optimization of the title tag, the headline tag, the body text and the Meta tags. Companies interested in SEO are occasionally not very happy with how their website looks. Programmers with an understanding of SEO are in high demand. As a matter of fact, sites with excellent Search Engine Optimization are making giant leaps in rankings and getting a major boost in free traffic with Google’s new update.
Great web usability and SEO are wasted if folks who visit your web can’t tell that you are worthy of their trust. Those who specialize in SEO are in the unique position of understanding the web in a way that no traditional marketing agency can hope to. White hat and black hat SEO are two opposing views of how to do search engine optimization so if you use one, choose with great care. The second most important aspect for high SEO is the headers. Use H1, H2, H3, H4 headers.
Many of the techniques that can be used for SEO are banned by the various search engines. The benefits of SEO are almost unlimited. Bad techniques of SEO are a strict ‘NO’ – Like same color text as the background and Doorway pages can get your website banned. The five forces of SEO are relevant Keywords, unique Content, clean Code, relevant Links and proper use of Technology. Designing for users and designing for SEO are not mutually exclusive goals. There will be compromise. White hat SEO are techniques that follow precisely the rules and guidelines provided by search engines stand a better chance of receiving traffic and higher rankings than black hat techniques.
For this reason it is important to try to stay updated as far as new SEO are concerned. The off-page elements of website promotion and SEO are just as important. The majority of issues with SEO is very basic and just takes time to be picked up on search engines. Web design and SEO are two very different disciplines, but a certain degree of collaboration is required. It’s easy to see why effective SEO are now very much in demand. Black hat SEO is techniques used to trick or manipulate search engines for higher rankings.
If done properly, the results of your SEO efforts are very impressive. Those who practice what some refer to as “ethical” and “correct” SEO are called White Hat SEO’s. The most important for SEO is to follow the rules and you won’t have anything to worry about.
Article Source: Patricia J Tuley
Still in its infancy, video search engine optimization, also known as video SEO, VSEO or iVOD, is constantly growing. With more and more people changing over to DSL, they are choosing to view more and more videos. On almost every website that people visit, they are inundated with this new form of communication.
Video optimization is still in its early years for the simple fact that search engines cannot look inside the video to know what it contains. So, search engines basically treat the website as any other. They search the site looking for the meta-data, even within the video. The search engines are going to look for any inbound links or texts to determine what the video is about.
Now, these search engines can detect if there is adult content in the video itself by flesh detection. Face recognition and on screen text are also found. However, do not count on this to aid with any attempt in optimization efforts.
For video optimization, there are three processes that are worth doing. Listed below are the three processes. A search engine that specifically looks for videos on websites is called Truveo. If you host a website, with videos, do not overlook this type of search engine. Even though it represents a little portion of the market, it can still be valuable, since a selection of optimization prospects are offered.
Make it easier for search engines to find information on your website by keeping the video files in the same location and using site-maps. Give detailed information on the video in the form of text that people can read. Use data entry, which does not require much effort, to add meta-data in the form of a description, keywords, tags and titles to the video.
If you are going to submit RSS or MRSS feeds to a third party website like Yahoo, provide a complete transcript, title, keywords, category, thumbnails and description.
Article Source: Alexis Jameson
One of the most effective tools for online marketing is Google AdWords, but how do you go about creating a successful AdWords campaign that will bring in the visitors you need and make you money?
Well, the first step in creating a successful AdWords campaign is to select the right keywords. For this purpose you can use tools like Overture, WordTracker, or Good Keywords, as well as the Google keywords tool to select your keywords. To maximize your online marketing efforts you want to choose keywords that are searched for often but with little competition. By using these keyword tools you will be able to find the best keywords. The next step is to create your AdWords ad.
To create a good AdWords ad you need to try and make it as relevant to your website as possible and write it in such a way that people really want to click on your advert to find out more. Use special offers in your AdWords ads and words that call people to action. Try to use different ads for different keywords so that you can create target your online marketing better.
Another important aspect of creating an effective AdWords campaign is to track your online marketing using Google AdWords. Use tracking tools that allow you to get accurate statistics about your campaigns, as well as the various reports which Google AdWords offers, to help with your tracking. Through tracking you can discover which ads work best for you and why, which keywords you should be targeting, etc. As you learn this information you can use it to fine tune your AdWords campaign and therefore get better results.
Another vital aspect of your AdWords campaign is the landing page. When people click through your AdWords ad and land on your landing page, if they aren’t compelled to buy something you have lost money. You do not necessarily need them to actually purchase something at the time, they may give you their email address to download a free report, etc. — but the point is that you want to be able to convert them into a sale either immediately or through follow-up marketing with email newsletters. Your landing page should therefore also be well written to convince people to buy something or give you their email address and so maximize your online marketing. Test your landing pages as well as your AdWords ad and also fine tune this as you learn from your tracking.
To summarize then, the important aspects to look at in creating a successful AdWords campaign are your keywords, your AdWords ad, tracking your online marketing using AdWords, and creating a successful landing page. As you use the tracking results to fine tune your ad and landing page, you should see constantly improving results and conversion rates and create a successful AdWords campaign.
Article Source: Ran Aroussi
The simple answer is when it does not sell. Now while that may sound like a bit of a throwaway line it does not make it any less true.
The function of a sales letter is fairly basic but a basic letter will not get the job done think about the last time you walked into a store and after you told the assistant what you wanted, say a camera, if all you were told was “Here are the cameras, this is what they cost let me know when you pick one”. How likely do you think you would be to hand over your cash at the till?
Before I go into the differing areas of the letter with you there are two things to remember. The first being, as much if not more effort goes into writing the sales letter for a free item or service as goes into a paid one. The paid item already has a perceived value in your readers mind while with a free item you need to convince them of the value. The second thing to remember is that your aim is to get your reader to want the item, there is a saying in marketing circles that people buy what they want not what they need.
Right, now for the breakdown of your letter. Let’s say your product is called Joe’s Wonder Book.
First on your list is the headline/subject line. The headline is your shop window, it is there to grab the interest and make them read on or open the email. Instead of, Use Joe’s Wonder Book To Improve Your Business, you need to create a need in your reader to keep on reading so try something like 3 Simple Changes That Could Double Your Business In One Month. See the difference, already they can see in their mind what doubling their business would mean to them and if they can do it in one month just by doing 3 simple things it must be worth having a look at. Mission one completed.
Now that you have them reading you need to get them on your side and wanting to know more. The best way for this is to personalise the letter, by this I don’t mean having their name plastered all over it but by making it seem as though it has been written just to them.
One of the simplest ways is to open the letter with a few well chosen questions, but they do need to be worded in such a way that the answers are already known. Something like,
Want to stay one step ahead of your competition?
Do you feel that your business could grow quicker if only you knew how?
Another thing not to forget is the power of just the right amount of fear, fear that their competitors might know something they don’t or that they are not keeping up to date, so you could try,
Do you know how many businesses’s fail because they don’t grow quick enough?
Want to know the one thing that could make sure you are still in business this time next year?
You get the idea. You would of course word these to suit your product but the principles are the same no matter what you are offering. You now have them eager to know more as you have asked the questions that they want the answers to even if they have never asked themselves these question before, all backed up by the fear of not knowing the answers.
In part two we will cover the middle section, the all important closing and the one section that is either left out or even never used that is just as important, in fact could almost double your sales if done correctly.
Dont forget about my free letter writing course, get it HERE
See you then.
Gregg Montgomery
Posted in Marketing, Sales Letter Writing, Training | 
Tags: letter writing, selling, Training | 
1 Comment »
Give-away events, everyone must know what they are by now. You can’t open your inbox without someone promoting one, two or even three of them.
Just in case you have missed seeing these, I will give you a quick rundown on what they are all about. The idea is that everyone gets together and offers a free downloadable gift each. Then you all mail to your lists to get people to sign up and when they download a gift they of course have to supply their name and email so if it is your gift, your list grows, and that’s it in a nutshell.
This worked fine until about a year ago. Up until then there would be one event every month or two, so each one was getting really large numbers of sign ups and you could grow your list by several hundred each time and most of the gifts were fresh and new.
Since then the number of events has started to outgrow the number of people signing up. When you have three or four each month of course, fewer people will be joining each one. Not only that but the same old gifts get recycled event after event and month after month, which also causes fewer to sign up.
How can you tell they are no longer the little goldmine they used to be?
Just look at how they are now run. Keep in mind that the reason you join is that your list is on the small side and this should be the quickest and easiest way to grow it, the guys with the large lists are the ones who run them as they can kick start the event with one mailing.
The big listers grew their list by adding every person who signed up, I don’t have a problem with that, it is their event and they have put the effort in, your list grew by getting people to take your gift. All cool and dandy. Now here is the big BUT, now that numbers are down they feel the need to squeeze the little guy at the bottom but making it a condition of the event that they get sign ups or their gift will be deleted.
The problem with this is that if you have a smallish list not only are you mailing them about the event but so is everyone else so the chances of you getting a sign up are small, therefore you get told to mail harder or get deleted. If you over mail you will lose people of your list because they will see it as spam. Not really what you are after.
There is a way around this and that is to upgrade by paying $17 or $27, good idea if you were getting the numbers out of it but as numbers are low at the moment and not really worth it.
If you want my advice it would be to grab yourself three or four good free products from a recent event, sign up to every one going and rotate the products through them. Then after a month or so grab a couple more new products and repeat. Don’t worry about being deleted, this tends not to happen until a week or two in and the busiest time is normally the first five to eight days. Therefore, you get the best of the event and still have another three or four on the go anyway.
So sign up, enjoy and watch your list grow, slow but grow.
For a list of running and up coming events try HERE
Gregg
