Viral marketing is more powerful than third-party advertising because it conveys an implied endorsement from a friend. It is simply utilizing pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness. Viral marketing is not about wasting people's time, it is instead about giving someone something that want to spend time learning, reading, watching, etc. Viral marketing is only as effective as others say it is if it is be done properly.
In reference to internet marketing, I describe viral as something that is shared with your friends, family, etc. Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence. Viral marketing is a technique that uses word of mouth or email to reach and affect an audience. Viral Marketing is so powerful because it is like a train building up speed. Viral marketing sometimes refers to Internet-based stealth marketing campaigns, including the use of blogs, web sites, and other forms of astro-turfing, designed to create word of mouth for a new product or service.
Viral Marketing includes using legitimate techniques like viral opt-in ezines, viral reprint articles, viral eCources, videos, and many more. I've explained some of the methods below.
Viral Opt-in Ezines are another great Viral Marketing technique that uses a very powerful combination. Ezines are a fun way to build a home based internet business, and all you need is some software and know how to create and promote a website. Offering your subscribers an Ezine is the quickest and easiest ways to drive tons of targeted traffic to any website. Ezines are sent out to subscribers who have requested to receive information on a specific topic on a consistent basis. Ezines are content-rich and informational online publications that are delivered to subscribers with permission through email.
Viral Reprint Articles are short articles that you allow other webmasters, affiliates, and ezine publishers to reprint or use on their website for free. Reprint articles are an excellent website marketing strategy, especially if you have a limited advertising budget. These are articles that you write or have written for you, and then you distribute these articles to as many websites as you can. Reprint articles are a great way of promoting your websites as well as to garner some good quality inbound links. They are also a great and easy way to add content to your site.
Viral eCourses are divided into a series of articles and lessons and are passed on to subscribers via an autoresponder. eCourses are the ideal training solution for new and small businesses and are a great way to build your visibility. eCourses are self-study courses that are delivered to your email inbox at regular intervals and normally divided into lessons that contain relevant reading material and exercises to reinforce what you are learning. Ecourses are a great way to build your visibility; increase others trust in you, and to build you up as an "expert".
Viral video marketing has become the "rave" in the world of online electronic media where just about everyone has an entertainment center in their computer. Video marketing is viral and relies heavily on community submissions and social taqging. It can range from a clip of a seminar, a tutorial, a demonstration of your services, to a commercial. Video marketing is essentially free (other than the cost of the camera to shoot the video) and can be a very powerful strategy in getting targeted traffic back to your site, as well as in other facets of the marketing process like building relationships and branding yourself.
Viral marketing is an art, NOT a science. It is an oft-used buzz word and may not be entirely evident what it actually means. Viral marketing is the Internet term for what has been called "peer-to-peer," "word-of-mouth," "network marketing, "tell-a-friend", "refer-a-friend", "send-this-link" etc. Viral Marketing is still the best way to go when it comes to launching a startup product, in creating that buzz, and in getting filtered and quality feedback before making the big bang of unleashing your product/service into the world. It can work for anyone, without spending a single penny on promotions and advertising.
About the Author
Charles Dunbar is owner of http://DailyCashForLife.com and a leading authority on the marketing of your Home Based Business Opportunity and getting Internet Marketing Training. To learn more, visit my blog: http://www.CharlesDunbar.info
Friday, September 14, 2007
10 Steps to Starting a Web Hosting Company by Russell Blanc
10 Steps to Starting a Web Hosting Company
No matter who you are, it's time to start a web hosting company of your own. Starting your own web hosting company can prove to be a very good business decision. Go through the following steps if you wish to start one.
Step 1. Choosing the platform Unix is an open source program that makes it less expensive than Windows and is more stable environment. Most programs run on both operating systems like perl/cgi, PHP, and Flash. But only Windows can support ASP, .NET, MS SQL etc. UNIX or even Linux.
Step 2. Choose your web hosting provider. This could very well be the most important decision you can make in starting your web hosting company. Make sure your hosting provider qualifies with the following criteria:
- Customer Support: Do they have live 24/7 phone support? Or do they have email support with no way of getting a direct one-on-one contact person? This will give you some indication of how well the company can respond to time sensitive issues.
- The platform and control panel: Does the web hosting provider offer powerful and simple control panel features?
- The company's reputation: See if the company has a customer forum and signup so you may ask other clients what their experience has been like with the company.
- Years of experience in providing hosting: The longer the better in this case. Incompetent web hosting companies will fail within the first year; many come and go in even less time.
Step 3. Set up your web hosting plans and decide on monthly pricing. You will want to offer a range of plans from simple smaller plans, to medium plans, and high end web hosting plans. You can offer between three and four different plans.
Step 4. Choose the control panel you want to use. Control panels vary from very simple and user friendly to complex systems. Chose one that is simple to use but at the same time is rich in features.
Step 5. Develop a business website If you want people to buy web hosting from you, in the first place your site should be of top quality. Spend a lot of time on this. Make it simple, easy to navigate but filled with all necessary information. If you are not comfortable in designing your own site, hire a professional. It's worth spending some money here. Avoid using a template. Have a unique design.
Step 6. Make your site e-commerce ready to be able to accept payments for web hosting accounts; you'll want to set up the following: An SSL certificate, a merchant account, and a payment gateway.
Step 7. Set up a support helpdesk. This is simply a way for your clients to communicate with you about the support they need. Preferably find a control panel or platform that has this feature built in. Also, A FAQ section on your web site or knowledgebase will be useful. You can also consider allowing your customers to call you for live phone support.
Step 8. Set up your client billing. You will need to select some kind of billing software and/or Merchant Gateway, preferably one that is integrated into your control panel system.
Step 9. Create a business plan. Before you start marketing your web hosting site, prepare a proper business plan and write email messages, welcome letters etc...
Step 10. Market your website. While time consuming and sometimes costly, effectively marketing your website is an invaluable tool that will keep visitors coming to your site and improving your chance of sales. You may consider the following ideas: Current business contacts, friends and family. Search engine optimization. Paid advertising. Affiliate programs. Newsletters, etc...
These are the initial 10 steps to start a web hosting company.
About the Author
Russell Blanc is an expert in the web hosting field and manages http://www.iWebHostingPlans.com, the ultimate resource for learning about web hosting.
No matter who you are, it's time to start a web hosting company of your own. Starting your own web hosting company can prove to be a very good business decision. Go through the following steps if you wish to start one.
Step 1. Choosing the platform Unix is an open source program that makes it less expensive than Windows and is more stable environment. Most programs run on both operating systems like perl/cgi, PHP, and Flash. But only Windows can support ASP, .NET, MS SQL etc. UNIX or even Linux.
Step 2. Choose your web hosting provider. This could very well be the most important decision you can make in starting your web hosting company. Make sure your hosting provider qualifies with the following criteria:
- Customer Support: Do they have live 24/7 phone support? Or do they have email support with no way of getting a direct one-on-one contact person? This will give you some indication of how well the company can respond to time sensitive issues.
- The platform and control panel: Does the web hosting provider offer powerful and simple control panel features?
- The company's reputation: See if the company has a customer forum and signup so you may ask other clients what their experience has been like with the company.
- Years of experience in providing hosting: The longer the better in this case. Incompetent web hosting companies will fail within the first year; many come and go in even less time.
Step 3. Set up your web hosting plans and decide on monthly pricing. You will want to offer a range of plans from simple smaller plans, to medium plans, and high end web hosting plans. You can offer between three and four different plans.
Step 4. Choose the control panel you want to use. Control panels vary from very simple and user friendly to complex systems. Chose one that is simple to use but at the same time is rich in features.
Step 5. Develop a business website If you want people to buy web hosting from you, in the first place your site should be of top quality. Spend a lot of time on this. Make it simple, easy to navigate but filled with all necessary information. If you are not comfortable in designing your own site, hire a professional. It's worth spending some money here. Avoid using a template. Have a unique design.
Step 6. Make your site e-commerce ready to be able to accept payments for web hosting accounts; you'll want to set up the following: An SSL certificate, a merchant account, and a payment gateway.
Step 7. Set up a support helpdesk. This is simply a way for your clients to communicate with you about the support they need. Preferably find a control panel or platform that has this feature built in. Also, A FAQ section on your web site or knowledgebase will be useful. You can also consider allowing your customers to call you for live phone support.
Step 8. Set up your client billing. You will need to select some kind of billing software and/or Merchant Gateway, preferably one that is integrated into your control panel system.
Step 9. Create a business plan. Before you start marketing your web hosting site, prepare a proper business plan and write email messages, welcome letters etc...
Step 10. Market your website. While time consuming and sometimes costly, effectively marketing your website is an invaluable tool that will keep visitors coming to your site and improving your chance of sales. You may consider the following ideas: Current business contacts, friends and family. Search engine optimization. Paid advertising. Affiliate programs. Newsletters, etc...
These are the initial 10 steps to start a web hosting company.
About the Author
Russell Blanc is an expert in the web hosting field and manages http://www.iWebHostingPlans.com, the ultimate resource for learning about web hosting.
Niche Affiliate Marketer: Are You In Competition With Your Guru? by William Connor
So you want to be an affilate marketer. It's the way that many get into online marketing. Seems easy enough...some "big name guru" has spent hundreds of dollars and hours honing that sales page to a razors edge, and you decide to opt in.
WHAT YOU MUST REALIZE FIRST:
But, do you realize, that while you are paying your monthly fees, and trying to get others to opt in to your affilate downline, that your "guru" is oftentimes advertising in the same places as you, often outstripping your newbie efforts by a country mile?
Not to mention if you surf the traffic exchanges, where most newbies start out, you'll likely see that same affiliate offer time and time again, with very similar sales pages, if not identical. Talk about competing with the "big dogs". Who do you think put all those affilates out there??? So to just flatly assert that "affilate niche marketing is the way to go so you won't be competing with the big dogs" in such an unqualified way, is a little misguided, in my opinion.
Don't belive me that you're likely to be in competition with the person you're paying your monthly fee to? I've seen it with my own eyes. The next time some big name guru sends out an offer to allow you to "see behind the curtain", take them up on it. In fact, there are a bunch of cd's already released on this very subject, often for free. Get one, and you'll see what you're really up against...oftentimes your guru, newbie affiliate marketer.
DON'T COMPETE WITH THE BIG GUYS...FILL THEIR POCKETS INSTEAD!
NOT! While some may tell you that getting into "affilate niche marketing" is the way to go so that you won't be competing with the big dogs, it's the big dogs that often are in control of the very niche program you're thinking of promoting.
Plus they're responsible for all the other affilates you'll be competing against. Kind of a double edge sword, don't you think? You pay them a monthy fee, while they take your money and recruit even more affiliates, and then out-spend you in the very places you're hoping to get affiliates from. Doesn't sound like much of a deal to me.
What you must realize is that you are possibly in direct competition with someone that has deep pockets, even as an affiliate niche marketer, and that this person has already been advertising in many of the places you are going to be advertising in...and that person is...you got it...your guru.
SOME TALK A GOOD GAME...AND THEY'VE DONE A MASTER MARKETING JOB
What is the answer? Self-sufficiency. Some people like to "talk the talk" and tell you to join a certain forum to discover something only a few know...well, if you know anything about the internet at all, all that information is available for anyone that wants to take the time to look FREE. Don't fall for the hype.
Join a forum where information is published by top-notch professional authors of today, not a forum that lets just anyone post links mainly for the sake of making backlinks to their site. There are much quicker ways to accomplish this task than by one post at a time in a forum! You won't get much at forums like this other than fallacious advice from people that are feeling their way along, and are also seeking affilates to buy their wares.
WE WALK THE WALK: WE HELP YOU ACHIEVE INDEPENDENCE NOT DEPENDENCE
Well, at Premiere Software Resource, we "walk the walk". We not only tell you what you need to do to succeed online and be independent, but we also provide you with the means to accomplish that independence.
You can take our high quality internet marketing software, re-package it as your own with your own labels, brand name, and if you want, we even have software that you can use to set up your own membership site. YOU be the guru! Visit us at our homepage and get a look at what you are missing. Get a free download of our software today, and discover the possibilites of being your own guru, and stop filling the pockets of someone that has possibly already skimmed the cream off the top of the very markets you're going to try to reach.
==============================================
Premiere Software Resource:
High Quality Internet Marketing Software Solutions
To see an amazing video demo: ArticleSitePowePro
For more product info: www.premieresoftwareresource.com
contact: support@premieresoftwareresource.com ==============================================
Copyright 2007 @ Premiere Software Resource
About the Author
Advice from a former affiliate marketer who learned painfully that the best way to profit online is to be independent and unique.
WHAT YOU MUST REALIZE FIRST:
But, do you realize, that while you are paying your monthly fees, and trying to get others to opt in to your affilate downline, that your "guru" is oftentimes advertising in the same places as you, often outstripping your newbie efforts by a country mile?
Not to mention if you surf the traffic exchanges, where most newbies start out, you'll likely see that same affiliate offer time and time again, with very similar sales pages, if not identical. Talk about competing with the "big dogs". Who do you think put all those affilates out there??? So to just flatly assert that "affilate niche marketing is the way to go so you won't be competing with the big dogs" in such an unqualified way, is a little misguided, in my opinion.
Don't belive me that you're likely to be in competition with the person you're paying your monthly fee to? I've seen it with my own eyes. The next time some big name guru sends out an offer to allow you to "see behind the curtain", take them up on it. In fact, there are a bunch of cd's already released on this very subject, often for free. Get one, and you'll see what you're really up against...oftentimes your guru, newbie affiliate marketer.
DON'T COMPETE WITH THE BIG GUYS...FILL THEIR POCKETS INSTEAD!
NOT! While some may tell you that getting into "affilate niche marketing" is the way to go so that you won't be competing with the big dogs, it's the big dogs that often are in control of the very niche program you're thinking of promoting.
Plus they're responsible for all the other affilates you'll be competing against. Kind of a double edge sword, don't you think? You pay them a monthy fee, while they take your money and recruit even more affiliates, and then out-spend you in the very places you're hoping to get affiliates from. Doesn't sound like much of a deal to me.
What you must realize is that you are possibly in direct competition with someone that has deep pockets, even as an affiliate niche marketer, and that this person has already been advertising in many of the places you are going to be advertising in...and that person is...you got it...your guru.
SOME TALK A GOOD GAME...AND THEY'VE DONE A MASTER MARKETING JOB
What is the answer? Self-sufficiency. Some people like to "talk the talk" and tell you to join a certain forum to discover something only a few know...well, if you know anything about the internet at all, all that information is available for anyone that wants to take the time to look FREE. Don't fall for the hype.
Join a forum where information is published by top-notch professional authors of today, not a forum that lets just anyone post links mainly for the sake of making backlinks to their site. There are much quicker ways to accomplish this task than by one post at a time in a forum! You won't get much at forums like this other than fallacious advice from people that are feeling their way along, and are also seeking affilates to buy their wares.
WE WALK THE WALK: WE HELP YOU ACHIEVE INDEPENDENCE NOT DEPENDENCE
Well, at Premiere Software Resource, we "walk the walk". We not only tell you what you need to do to succeed online and be independent, but we also provide you with the means to accomplish that independence.
You can take our high quality internet marketing software, re-package it as your own with your own labels, brand name, and if you want, we even have software that you can use to set up your own membership site. YOU be the guru! Visit us at our homepage and get a look at what you are missing. Get a free download of our software today, and discover the possibilites of being your own guru, and stop filling the pockets of someone that has possibly already skimmed the cream off the top of the very markets you're going to try to reach.
==============================================
Premiere Software Resource:
High Quality Internet Marketing Software Solutions
To see an amazing video demo: ArticleSitePowePro
For more product info: www.premieresoftwareresource.com
contact: support@premieresoftwareresource.com ==============================================
Copyright 2007 @ Premiere Software Resource
About the Author
Advice from a former affiliate marketer who learned painfully that the best way to profit online is to be independent and unique.
7 Steps to Make Your Website Your Client Attraction Magnet by Donna Gunter
Copyright (c) 2007 Donna Gunter
When I started my online business in 1999, I had a website, but did very little with it, as it seemed impossible to get noticed by the search engines. My website simply served as my online brochure and I had no plan in place to drive any traffic there. Fast forward to 2007, and now almost all of my clients come to me from my website. In fact, my website has brought 5 clients to my door in the past week.
My website and my Internet marketing strategies do such a good job of promoting my business that when clients contact me, it's usually to say, "I've been to your site and I've been reading the great info you provide. I know you're the one to help me. When can we get started?" Consequently, I'm rarely in the position of having to "sell" someone on the benefits they'll gain by working with me, as my website takes care of most of that for me. I think that's very cool, as I absolutely hate trying to sell myself.
What can you do to make your website your client attraction magnet? There's so much information out there about online marketing and so many directions from which to choose that it's easy to become overwhelmed and confused Whether you have a website and have been online for awhile or are just getting started on creating your Internet presence, here are the most important first 7 steps you can take to get more clients from Internet marketing and create your own client attraction magnet:
1. Domain that reflects your brand. The domain name from which you transact all of your online business should reflect your brand in some way. You can accomplish this by purchasing a .com version of a domain name that is the same as the name of your business or by buying a domain containing keywords relevant to your business. Before buying your business domain, make a list of keywords that someone might use to find you online. This list could include your industry, your target market or niche, a problem your target market has, or a solution that you can offer. If you've been in business for awhile, it may make most sense to simply stick with the business name you have been using rather than trying to rebrand your business online. I highly recommend GoDaddy.com for all domain name purchases.
2. Basic website. In order to have a website and email addresses from your chosen domain, you need to purchase a reliable hosting account for your website. At a minimum, the services that you'll want in your hosting/design package include: hosting for 1 domain, 5 GB of space, 200 GB of monthly transfer volume (tied to how many visitors your site has), 10 email accounts, 10 MB storage per email account, 24/7 support, and basic website statistics. Resource: I highly recommend Aaces.com, HostMySite.com, and iPowerWeb.com for website hosting.
A very basic and attractive initial website of roughly 5 pages can be created by a web designer for as little as $350. Or, if you prefer to do it yourself, you can purchase Frontpage, Dreamweaver , or download a free HTML editor, Nvu, at Nvu.com and either build your site from scratch or customize a pre-made template. Another option is to use a hosting service that provides an online interface for website design, creation, and updates. This type of service enables anyone who's familiar with Microsoft Word to log in and create content, add images, and add pages to their very own website. The major providers of this type of service include GoDaddy.com, Yahoo Small Business, and 1and1 Web Hosting.
As you think about your site design and navigation, determine the look and feel you want to convey on your site, and make your content persuasive. Remember, people visit websites because they have a problem to solve. Visitors to your website will decide to hang around and browse through your site based on how well you answer the following:
* Who am I and why am I qualified to do what I do?
* Who is my target market? What are their problems?
* Do I fully understand and offer solutions to those problems?
You've got less than 10 seconds to capture a visitor's attention. So, it's imperative that your site speaks directly to your target market and that they get a good sense of who you are and what you offer so that they can get to know, like, and trust you and eventually buy from you. If you're not clear and confuse them, they'll be leave, so don't let them be distracted by pretty bells and whistles on your site. It's the content, call to action, and ease of navigation that ultimately matters in site design.
3. Call to action. Present a clear call to action that is clearly shown on every page of your site. Your primary call to action should be getting the visitor's name and primary email address by asking him subscribe to your ezine or by giving him access to a free information product like an ecourse, special report, audio/video recording, or ebook. In order to do this, you need to purchase and learn to use email marketing software that helps you capture visitor contact information. I highly recommend aWeber.com for this task, as it enables you to build, develop, and manage your online contact database.
4. Client-capturing device. The best way to obtain contact info from a visitor is to create an information product in which the content is so compelling that the visitor gladly parts with his/her name and primary email address to obtain the free giveaway. By giving you their contact information, they have become a warm lead and you can start to develop a relationship with them and begin to market to them.
The easiest way to create a client-capturing device is to simply make an electronic recording of you talking about a topic that helps your target market solve a problem, have the recording transcribed, edit it for readability and continuity, create a cover, save it as a PDF file, and you now have a client-capturing device you can give away.
5. Stay-in-touch mechanism. A regularly published ezine, or email newsletter, is one of the most effective ways you can keep in touch with your prospects. For the greatest success, publish your ezine consistently on a weekly basis.
Since you're developing a relationship with your prospects, the best way for them to get to know you is to let your "voice" permeate your newsletter. Demonstrate your expertise in your ezine by writing articles addressing relevant issues of your target market and how they can resolve the issues. Keep your newsletter short and to the point and create 3 columns for each issue -- a personal welcome and insight from you, a main article that provides useful information for your readers, and an invitation to buy a product, buy your services, or attend an event.
6. Your first product There are any number of types of information products you can sell online. The ones that are easiest to create and require little investment (other than your time to create them) are those sold as an electronic download. The quicker you can develop your first product, the closer you are developing both an effective marketing funnel and multiple streams of income for your business.
7. Traffic generating strategies. Once you've built it, will they come? Only if you start to implement some traffic generating strategies. My favorite traffic generating strategy is article marketing, in which I write a new article each week and submit it to online article directories through my article submission service, SubmitYourArticle.com . I've had my articles reprinted on blogs, in ezines, in professional association newsletters, and in print magazines. After reading my article from one of these sources, the reader goes to my website, signs up for my client-capturing device, and then receives my weekly ezine that I use to develop a relationship with that reader, who has now become a prospective client/customer.
Other effective traffic generating strategies include pay-per-click advertising, being a guest on someone's teleseminar, submitting online press releases, or creating a blog or a podcast. You don't have to do them all. Just pick one and implement it consistently.
Follow and work this 7-step plan and experience first-hand the joy of getting more clients online.
About the Author
Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizU.com . Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at http://www.AskDonnaGunter.com .
When I started my online business in 1999, I had a website, but did very little with it, as it seemed impossible to get noticed by the search engines. My website simply served as my online brochure and I had no plan in place to drive any traffic there. Fast forward to 2007, and now almost all of my clients come to me from my website. In fact, my website has brought 5 clients to my door in the past week.
My website and my Internet marketing strategies do such a good job of promoting my business that when clients contact me, it's usually to say, "I've been to your site and I've been reading the great info you provide. I know you're the one to help me. When can we get started?" Consequently, I'm rarely in the position of having to "sell" someone on the benefits they'll gain by working with me, as my website takes care of most of that for me. I think that's very cool, as I absolutely hate trying to sell myself.
What can you do to make your website your client attraction magnet? There's so much information out there about online marketing and so many directions from which to choose that it's easy to become overwhelmed and confused Whether you have a website and have been online for awhile or are just getting started on creating your Internet presence, here are the most important first 7 steps you can take to get more clients from Internet marketing and create your own client attraction magnet:
1. Domain that reflects your brand. The domain name from which you transact all of your online business should reflect your brand in some way. You can accomplish this by purchasing a .com version of a domain name that is the same as the name of your business or by buying a domain containing keywords relevant to your business. Before buying your business domain, make a list of keywords that someone might use to find you online. This list could include your industry, your target market or niche, a problem your target market has, or a solution that you can offer. If you've been in business for awhile, it may make most sense to simply stick with the business name you have been using rather than trying to rebrand your business online. I highly recommend GoDaddy.com for all domain name purchases.
2. Basic website. In order to have a website and email addresses from your chosen domain, you need to purchase a reliable hosting account for your website. At a minimum, the services that you'll want in your hosting/design package include: hosting for 1 domain, 5 GB of space, 200 GB of monthly transfer volume (tied to how many visitors your site has), 10 email accounts, 10 MB storage per email account, 24/7 support, and basic website statistics. Resource: I highly recommend Aaces.com, HostMySite.com, and iPowerWeb.com for website hosting.
A very basic and attractive initial website of roughly 5 pages can be created by a web designer for as little as $350. Or, if you prefer to do it yourself, you can purchase Frontpage, Dreamweaver , or download a free HTML editor, Nvu, at Nvu.com and either build your site from scratch or customize a pre-made template. Another option is to use a hosting service that provides an online interface for website design, creation, and updates. This type of service enables anyone who's familiar with Microsoft Word to log in and create content, add images, and add pages to their very own website. The major providers of this type of service include GoDaddy.com, Yahoo Small Business, and 1and1 Web Hosting.
As you think about your site design and navigation, determine the look and feel you want to convey on your site, and make your content persuasive. Remember, people visit websites because they have a problem to solve. Visitors to your website will decide to hang around and browse through your site based on how well you answer the following:
* Who am I and why am I qualified to do what I do?
* Who is my target market? What are their problems?
* Do I fully understand and offer solutions to those problems?
You've got less than 10 seconds to capture a visitor's attention. So, it's imperative that your site speaks directly to your target market and that they get a good sense of who you are and what you offer so that they can get to know, like, and trust you and eventually buy from you. If you're not clear and confuse them, they'll be leave, so don't let them be distracted by pretty bells and whistles on your site. It's the content, call to action, and ease of navigation that ultimately matters in site design.
3. Call to action. Present a clear call to action that is clearly shown on every page of your site. Your primary call to action should be getting the visitor's name and primary email address by asking him subscribe to your ezine or by giving him access to a free information product like an ecourse, special report, audio/video recording, or ebook. In order to do this, you need to purchase and learn to use email marketing software that helps you capture visitor contact information. I highly recommend aWeber.com for this task, as it enables you to build, develop, and manage your online contact database.
4. Client-capturing device. The best way to obtain contact info from a visitor is to create an information product in which the content is so compelling that the visitor gladly parts with his/her name and primary email address to obtain the free giveaway. By giving you their contact information, they have become a warm lead and you can start to develop a relationship with them and begin to market to them.
The easiest way to create a client-capturing device is to simply make an electronic recording of you talking about a topic that helps your target market solve a problem, have the recording transcribed, edit it for readability and continuity, create a cover, save it as a PDF file, and you now have a client-capturing device you can give away.
5. Stay-in-touch mechanism. A regularly published ezine, or email newsletter, is one of the most effective ways you can keep in touch with your prospects. For the greatest success, publish your ezine consistently on a weekly basis.
Since you're developing a relationship with your prospects, the best way for them to get to know you is to let your "voice" permeate your newsletter. Demonstrate your expertise in your ezine by writing articles addressing relevant issues of your target market and how they can resolve the issues. Keep your newsletter short and to the point and create 3 columns for each issue -- a personal welcome and insight from you, a main article that provides useful information for your readers, and an invitation to buy a product, buy your services, or attend an event.
6. Your first product There are any number of types of information products you can sell online. The ones that are easiest to create and require little investment (other than your time to create them) are those sold as an electronic download. The quicker you can develop your first product, the closer you are developing both an effective marketing funnel and multiple streams of income for your business.
7. Traffic generating strategies. Once you've built it, will they come? Only if you start to implement some traffic generating strategies. My favorite traffic generating strategy is article marketing, in which I write a new article each week and submit it to online article directories through my article submission service, SubmitYourArticle.com . I've had my articles reprinted on blogs, in ezines, in professional association newsletters, and in print magazines. After reading my article from one of these sources, the reader goes to my website, signs up for my client-capturing device, and then receives my weekly ezine that I use to develop a relationship with that reader, who has now become a prospective client/customer.
Other effective traffic generating strategies include pay-per-click advertising, being a guest on someone's teleseminar, submitting online press releases, or creating a blog or a podcast. You don't have to do them all. Just pick one and implement it consistently.
Follow and work this 7-step plan and experience first-hand the joy of getting more clients online.
About the Author
Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizU.com . Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at http://www.AskDonnaGunter.com .
Advertising in Disguise through Article Marketing. by Christos Varsamis
Article marketing is one of the most reliable and advanced internet marketing techniques today. It's a long term internet marketing strategy that requires a daily plan and certainly some effort. The misconception that has been spread lately is that you have to be a professional writer in order to write. That is false and there are many examples of ordinary people writing articles according to their knowledge and personal experience. You do have to follow some principals in order to maximize the effectiveness of your article marketing efforts.
1. Define your Market first.
Do not write about everything, target your niece. This is critical because you can't provoke the interest of all people but only a specific group of people will be interest in what you inform about. Targeted groups of people are the ones that increase your web business traffic and finally the sales.
2. Work on your titles or headlines.
Research has proved that internet users only need a fraction of a second, by reading the article title , to decide if they read the article or not. That means that your article's title must be attention-getting otherwise the reader will skip your article and all your article marketing efforts will be in vain.
3. Check you spelling and grammar.
It's hard to accept but readers are "cruel". When you make a spelling mistake they notice it instantly. Do you imagine what their reaction is? Stop reading your article. And you can't blame them because you probably do the same thing. Most of the writing software in the market contain spelling correction features. Use them but do not rely exclusively on them. When you finish your article and run the spell checker, leave it for a couple of hours and reread it again. You will notice the difference. Another thing you can do is to give your article to another person to check your article, especially if he or she is an avid reader.
4. Articles must have value.
Remember, your articles must not be an advertisement or they will be erased from the article editors immediately. Article directory editors accept hundreds of articles daily and they pick out the blatant advertisement "articles" because they want to offer valuable content to their subscribers. What you can do is to provide valuable information in your article and focus on the recourse box. There you can describe yourself and your website but you must do it in a masterly manner in order to maximize the clicks of your website's link in your article's recourse box.
5. Articles should be straight and up to the point.
Not every reader has the same intellectual capacity. Some of them will not be able to comprehend your technical jargon and idioms you use. Using plain English and being concise is the key to have your article being read easily. In that way you will succeed your advertising in disguise aim and you will have more visits to your website.
About the Author
Christos Varsamis is the publisher of Residiual Income Tips. For Free Online Residual income Tips & resources visit http://www.residualincometips.com
1. Define your Market first.
Do not write about everything, target your niece. This is critical because you can't provoke the interest of all people but only a specific group of people will be interest in what you inform about. Targeted groups of people are the ones that increase your web business traffic and finally the sales.
2. Work on your titles or headlines.
Research has proved that internet users only need a fraction of a second, by reading the article title , to decide if they read the article or not. That means that your article's title must be attention-getting otherwise the reader will skip your article and all your article marketing efforts will be in vain.
3. Check you spelling and grammar.
It's hard to accept but readers are "cruel". When you make a spelling mistake they notice it instantly. Do you imagine what their reaction is? Stop reading your article. And you can't blame them because you probably do the same thing. Most of the writing software in the market contain spelling correction features. Use them but do not rely exclusively on them. When you finish your article and run the spell checker, leave it for a couple of hours and reread it again. You will notice the difference. Another thing you can do is to give your article to another person to check your article, especially if he or she is an avid reader.
4. Articles must have value.
Remember, your articles must not be an advertisement or they will be erased from the article editors immediately. Article directory editors accept hundreds of articles daily and they pick out the blatant advertisement "articles" because they want to offer valuable content to their subscribers. What you can do is to provide valuable information in your article and focus on the recourse box. There you can describe yourself and your website but you must do it in a masterly manner in order to maximize the clicks of your website's link in your article's recourse box.
5. Articles should be straight and up to the point.
Not every reader has the same intellectual capacity. Some of them will not be able to comprehend your technical jargon and idioms you use. Using plain English and being concise is the key to have your article being read easily. In that way you will succeed your advertising in disguise aim and you will have more visits to your website.
About the Author
Christos Varsamis is the publisher of Residiual Income Tips. For Free Online Residual income Tips & resources visit http://www.residualincometips.com
Advertising Photography for Online Promotions by Jack White
Advertising photography is no longer restricted to print media or static media (billboards, banners, kiosks and bus shelters etc.). It has moved a great distance now and covered yet another milestone - websites and online media. Today, the virtual world possesses uncountable number of websites and web based stores. And nearly all of them contain pictures.
A website is as important to a company, as any other promotional measure, if not more. It is a window from where the world can peep in to see the company and its activities. It is an excellent way to communicate a company's vision and mission, what the company is dealing in, what are its ideologies, how popular it is and what do the clients of the company have to say about it. In short, a website is much more than a brochure, an advertisement, and a PR campaign taken together.
Therefore it is very important for a website to have the best laid design, the best quality images and the most convincing content. As for the best quality in images, it requires excellent advertising photography. However there is a difference - advertising photography for online media is different from those that we have in print media and static media.
Advertising photography for online promotions need high quality images. It is best to click pictures with a digital camera when they are to be used for this media. Of course, the other elements of photography, particularly advertising photography also apply in this case. But only this time, the photographer needs to shoot with as high quality as the camera can manage and the right equipments to deliver the finest quality work.
Apart from the equipments and the sense of Advertising photography , we also need the facilities of some good software like Photoshop etc. Such tools are required to rectify the image tonal balance and colour balance etc. so that we have a clear, sharp and perfect picture that puts a website on the map.
About the Author
About The Author : Jack White is a specialist in advertising photography and other kinds of photography. He has worked in close coordination with many an expert commercial photographer of UK and other countries. In his works he is presenting some of his observation on the role of commercial photographer in Advertising photography.
A website is as important to a company, as any other promotional measure, if not more. It is a window from where the world can peep in to see the company and its activities. It is an excellent way to communicate a company's vision and mission, what the company is dealing in, what are its ideologies, how popular it is and what do the clients of the company have to say about it. In short, a website is much more than a brochure, an advertisement, and a PR campaign taken together.
Therefore it is very important for a website to have the best laid design, the best quality images and the most convincing content. As for the best quality in images, it requires excellent advertising photography. However there is a difference - advertising photography for online media is different from those that we have in print media and static media.
Advertising photography for online promotions need high quality images. It is best to click pictures with a digital camera when they are to be used for this media. Of course, the other elements of photography, particularly advertising photography also apply in this case. But only this time, the photographer needs to shoot with as high quality as the camera can manage and the right equipments to deliver the finest quality work.
Apart from the equipments and the sense of Advertising photography , we also need the facilities of some good software like Photoshop etc. Such tools are required to rectify the image tonal balance and colour balance etc. so that we have a clear, sharp and perfect picture that puts a website on the map.
About the Author
About The Author : Jack White is a specialist in advertising photography and other kinds of photography. He has worked in close coordination with many an expert commercial photographer of UK and other countries. In his works he is presenting some of his observation on the role of commercial photographer in Advertising photography.
How Honesty To Internet Marketing Leads To Riches. by Derek Berry.
"Oh boy" I am disheartend by all the fluff and hype and B/S that gets rammed down your throat by all these marketing "Gurus" who promise you riches,fancy cars,homes,yearly earnings,and the list goes on. Yes,We are the suckers that fall for all the false claims to reaching the Utopia lifestyle,well where is this lifestyle?
In my search to finding the path that leads to Utopia,and searching for a legitimite method to making money on line and the Internet Business, I stumbled across a woman called Holly Mann and her Ebook called "Honest Riches"
I started reading her biography and background and immediately I was attracted to this book,it was not just her picture,her age,her life experiences,all of which gave me the feeling of honesty and sincerity: I liked the fact that she was self taught and self motivated and self respecting.
I also liked the price of the book and the fact that she also felt that other books where costing other people too much money. I have spent hundreds of pounds buying "How To Books" that says it will take you to the land of riches if you follow there system,you know what (it takes you knowwhere but to frustration and further confusion) Which leads you to buying more "Gurus" products,and further despair.
I bought the Ebook and read it from cover to cover and was so excited, I thought I must pass this information to you,this is mind blowing,I am gobsmacked by what is revealed in this book,the marketing techniques to getting on line,setting up of websites,seo,research,brainstorming ideas,blogs,forums,ad advertising,etc. The list just goes on and on.
The only thing that I found was being a newbie to marketing I could not understand some of the jargon of tech info. I was hoping for diagrams and some videos of showing you how to do Email campaigns,autoresponders,freeze pages etc.something I could watch how it is all done and packaged.
If you are like me and attracted to the truth,and you embrace humility: The truth is found in this book, and the path is shown to You how to reach Your Utopia, and the step by step method of YOU achieving this over the following months.
There are a myriad of ways to do this that wont cost you a small fortune to get going,and many that don't cost a dime,it's free!!!
This is what Holly stresses in her Ebook,and I want YOU to know that I am on my way to " Honest Riches". http://tinyurl.com/2uquuo
Holly gave me a special download page for her "PRO-LINK CLOAKER SOFTWARE: She said I could share this with a few friends. When you get to that page,,just look in the top right hand corner and you will see a flashing graphic. Peel it away and down load your software.
http://tinyurl.com/2uquuo put this in your browser.
To your online success and prosperity,
Derek Berry
About the Author
Just A person Who Is Looking For A Honest Income.
In my search to finding the path that leads to Utopia,and searching for a legitimite method to making money on line and the Internet Business, I stumbled across a woman called Holly Mann and her Ebook called "Honest Riches"
I started reading her biography and background and immediately I was attracted to this book,it was not just her picture,her age,her life experiences,all of which gave me the feeling of honesty and sincerity: I liked the fact that she was self taught and self motivated and self respecting.
I also liked the price of the book and the fact that she also felt that other books where costing other people too much money. I have spent hundreds of pounds buying "How To Books" that says it will take you to the land of riches if you follow there system,you know what (it takes you knowwhere but to frustration and further confusion) Which leads you to buying more "Gurus" products,and further despair.
I bought the Ebook and read it from cover to cover and was so excited, I thought I must pass this information to you,this is mind blowing,I am gobsmacked by what is revealed in this book,the marketing techniques to getting on line,setting up of websites,seo,research,brainstorming ideas,blogs,forums,ad advertising,etc. The list just goes on and on.
The only thing that I found was being a newbie to marketing I could not understand some of the jargon of tech info. I was hoping for diagrams and some videos of showing you how to do Email campaigns,autoresponders,freeze pages etc.something I could watch how it is all done and packaged.
If you are like me and attracted to the truth,and you embrace humility: The truth is found in this book, and the path is shown to You how to reach Your Utopia, and the step by step method of YOU achieving this over the following months.
There are a myriad of ways to do this that wont cost you a small fortune to get going,and many that don't cost a dime,it's free!!!
This is what Holly stresses in her Ebook,and I want YOU to know that I am on my way to " Honest Riches". http://tinyurl.com/2uquuo
Holly gave me a special download page for her "PRO-LINK CLOAKER SOFTWARE: She said I could share this with a few friends. When you get to that page,,just look in the top right hand corner and you will see a flashing graphic. Peel it away and down load your software.
http://tinyurl.com/2uquuo put this in your browser.
To your online success and prosperity,
Derek Berry
About the Author
Just A person Who Is Looking For A Honest Income.
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