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What Do You Do if the Yellow Pages Don’t Work? Marketing in the “Naughties”(2000’s)
Remember the time when the roof was leaking and you needed a professional roof contractor? Or perhaps when you needed a new television set? Maybe you jumped to the good old yellow pages and scanned the long lists before placing in a call. If you are that kind of person, however, you may be one of the last. More and more people today are using alternatives to the yellow pages such as search engines which are not only free on the internet, but which provides thousands upon thousands of options for each search item. And if you are a small business owner, shifting from the dying yellow pages to marketing strategies fit for the naughties is the way to effective commerce in the twenty-first century.
Emerging technologies
With each passing generation, new forms of technologies emerge. For a long time, the thick yellow pages attached to gigantic phonebooks were one of the most innovative ways of marketing a small business’ goods and services. With the advent of the digitized world, however, it is losing its grip. Studies show that more people today have cellular phones compared to landlines. Also, most households today are enjoying the benefits of internet connections. And most importantly for business owners such as you, the market place has slowly but surely been moving towards cyberspace.
Marketing plans for the naughties
With the global economic crisis and the major recession that has fallen across the entire universe, one of the essential business moves is create alternative marketing and advertising plans to address the changing behaviors of consumers as well as the changing technological landscape. Failing to address these pressing issues in commerce can lead to failing businesses. Creating a website and hoping that search engines will do the rest will not suffice. You probably know that with each search in major search engines, the results are staggering – thousands of sites delivered in just a fraction of a second. Alternative online marketing strategies are necessary to ensure that you get the best slots in search result pages, and to maximize the twists and turns in the World Wide Web.
Options for small businesses
There are several options for budding small business owners to choose from to efficiently launch an online marketing campaign. Search engine optimization is one of the basics to land you a top spot on the first search results page. Networking and e-mail marketing is another option to generate more traffic to your website – and more sales. You can also try media placement through press releases and public online forum discussions leading internet activity to your site.
Whatever marketing strategy you choose, be sure to have the backing of professional business consultants to help you find the appropriate plan. As with all other businesses, marketing with the times is of the essence, which is why you should learn how to market for the naughties. While the economy is on the ICU, with the right marketing tools and professional guidance, your own finances and the life of your business does not have to be.
Increase Your Website Visibility
So you have opened your doors for business and now you need to build clientel. Your focus is going to be walk-in business, NOT Internet sales. How can you use the web to get your business seen, attract quality visitors AND increase sales? The answer, as you will see, is simpler than you may think.
First, you will want to find the largest search engines online, which is easy. The big ones are Yahoo, MSN and Google. All of these sites offer a directory called “Local Search”. Local search basically acts as a phone directory, but is much more than that. It is a highly targeted, focused results based data base that tells potential customers exactly where to find you.
All you need to do is go to each search site in turn and register your business. The basic info is all you need to put in. The form you fill out will ask for business name, address, phone number and web site (if you have one and I strongly suggest you do!). The whole thing takes about 5 minutes and you are usually up and in the results pages within a couple of hours.
Now you are probably thinking about relevance to your business. That is not a problem with the local search feature. When a customer looks for a product or service, they are asked to enter a post code. The results displayed begin at the centre of that post code and radiate outwards like the spokes of a wheel. So the nearer you are to the centre of your local city post code, the better the results for you.
Still, this is a great tool for local brick and mortar businesses to gain visibility. Not only that, but you can reach into homes and places you normally would not be able to market your business to. Think about being able to put your business in front of every Internet user in your local area at the touch of a button. You could never pass out all those flyers or tag all those cars yourself.
Since the customer has specified a product or service, the results are targeted to your business, too. This means that they have searched for what you are offering, so you KNOW they are already interested. In essence, the customers who find you this way are pre-sold when they call or walk in to your store.
Now you don’t have to have a web site to use local search marketing, but it helps and here’s why. Say a customer finds you through the local search. Since they are already on the computer, all they will have to do is click your site’s link to see what you’re all about. That first page can have a lead capture form that you can use to capture the details of everyone visiting your site.
If that home page includes a ‘web only’ coupon offer, that will probably entice the prospect to call you or actually walk in to your location and check you out. Remember that the customer is already interested in your product, so you just need to push them over the edge, so to speak. That coupon offer is the key to the golden palace with your customers.
Besides the customers you can reach out to, local search also has other benefits for your home page. The more people that click your link makes your site more relevant to that product niche. This is what is known as organic search results and can make your web page visible in general web searches for that product or service. So not only do you get the local search business, but the general web search as well.
This is important even if you are not selling on the web. The visibility you gain is nothing short of stupendous. All of a sudden, your business is getting top rankings and is being seen by more and more people. Plus, if you practice superior customer service, your customers will tell their friends about you and where to find you, whether it’s on the web or on the street.
In conclusion, if you are looking for a way to be more visible, reach more customers and make more sales than the competition, this is the way you want to do it. It all starts with a five minute registration and a physical brick and mortar location coupled with a desire to really succeed.
Are You in Touch with Your Customer? The Do’s and Don’ts of Email Marketing
E-mails are one of the best things on the internet, allowing almost instantaneous communication with ease and as fast as you can type your message. With the features such as attachments where you can send files ranging from PDF, photos, and even music, it has naturally also become one of the accessible strategies for online marketing. But just as you have already experienced the benefits of e-mailing, you have probably also encountered the headaches associated with annoying spam and endless advertisements that grow on your inbox like weeds. For effective e-mail marketing, make sure that you follow these steps.
The Do’s
Remember that the first thing to remember when dealing with potential clients and customers is that you want them to patronize your services, avail of your products, and maybe even get in a few testimonials to spread the excellence of your service. Hence, begin e-mail marketing with humane treatment. First, make sure that your mailing list does not cover just about any random e-mail address that you know of. Ensure a mailing list that addresses a particular target market. After all, a teenager will not appreciate receiving newsletters and press releases about roofing or plumbing services, while a parent will not necessarily adore the opportunity to subscribe to a teen magazine.
Next, always remember the basics of writing your releases and promotional articles. Make them short and concise with a catchy headline and a good load of information. Otherwise, no one will read them, plain and simple. Also opt for automatic response systems so that each response to your e-mails will automatically be answered. It is also best to send promotional mails in stages. First send teasers, then follow up with informational articles about your services, before sending the call-to-action message, where the action called for is a purchase. These should be done with a few days in between to keep the clients in anticipation. Finally, always allow clients the option to unsubscribe as they see fit.
The Don’ts
With e-mail marketing, never ever be tempted to sell your mailing list to third-parties. This is simply unethical. Also, while e-mailing can be an easy task that involves nothing more than a click of a button once you have already finished your content, be sure not to over-do it. Sending too much mail will simply make you look pathetic and desperate. Next, make sure never to forget the importance of grammar, spell-checking, and well-written articles. Nothing creates a worse impression on a client other than businesses who cannot even spell right. Also, do not forget to personalize your mail. Nothing adds that good old human touch the same way a signature does. Impress upon your clients that you are available for queries and questions, and make sure to never leave feedback and comments unanswered.
The general assumption today is the e-mail marketing is becoming an obsolete means to online marketing. In most instances, however, it is not e-mail marketing itself which does not work, but the strategies where this tool is employed. Following the do’s and don’ts, you just may end up with affordable online marketing strategy that will ensure that you are always in touch with your customers.
SEO: The Small Business Lifeline
Each day over 2 million searches are made in search engines like Google, and according to studies, at least 65% of the sales generated in the internet result from the 2 million searches. Consequently, billions of dollars are exchanged over the internet each month and considering the global scope of the internet, it is no wonder. With a good online business, you can theoretical be raking in your fair share of the billion dollar online sales pie. The problem, however, is how to translate theory into reality through effective online marketing.
SEO as key marketing strategy
Because of the pivotal role which search engines have in the virtual market, one of the unbeatable key strategies that must be incorporated in any efficient and effective online business plan is search engine optimization. Statistics prove that with each search turnout, only 5% or less ever reach the third page of search engine results. Getting your site on the top of the first or second page usually marks the line between making a sell and adding to your profit, or losing revenues.
How does it work?
SEO is a marketing strategy that uses algorithms to improve search engine results in favor of your particular product or service. As one of the primary marketing moves, search engine optimization can begin with the html coding used in the web design itself, and in the use of web content that are easily optimized for search engines. When effectively used, SEO can lead to increases in traffic for your site, and a listing above the thousands of others vying for a customer’s short attention span on the internet, naturally leading to better sales, improved internet presence, and maximum profit.
First is always better
Online marketing services that integrate search engine optimization in the over-all marketing plan is one of the sure-fire ways to boost and jumpstart your small online business. Through SEO, search engines yield your website among the top of each search result, leading to better traffic and creating customer impression of your dominance on the field. After all, first is always better. Thousands of other online businesses are climbing the online business bandwagon, and the reasons are clear. The markets are shifting towards cyberspace and the reasons are easy to understand, with the growing share which online commerce has resulted in.
DIY or Professional SEO?
While there are measures that a small-business owner such as you can take in order to maximize search engine results for your favor, such as the use of search engine optimized web content, an article library in your website with optimized titles and keywords, always bear in mind that with the highly competitive nature of online businesses, a few lines below the top of the search page can be all it takes for clients with shorter and shorter attention spans to choose other service providers. Eye tracking studies show that the general eye movement is from left to right, and from top to bottom.
While your do-it-yourself SEO attempts can get you in the top three search engine results, consult many SEO marketers for the sacred top spot in the first search result page, and watch as your business is saved by the lifeline leading back to profit – all for affordable fees.
When was the Last Time Your Website Attracted New Clients to Your Business?
It is not a question that many business owners want to admit. Yet it is also one of the most pivotal questions in any industry. When was the last time your website attracted new clients to your business? Whether you like it or not, the answer to this question could spell the difference between drowning out like so other small businesses in the face of the global financial crisis and the major recession that the world is facing, or staying afloat and leading the rest of the pack.
Local to online, through web marketing
Online marketing is one of the most effective tools that many small business owners have yet to fully maximize. Amazingly, it is also one of the most cost-effective means to market your services and merchandise. Instead of taking risky chances with the outdated marketing methods, stop ignoring the potential benefits which online marketing can have for your business. Here are several tips to get you on your way.
Plan ahead
For your first step towards cyberspace, be prepared and create a comprehensive plan of action. Many people who have set up web pages on the internet have failed to attract any business transactions because of lack of planning and foresight. Make sure that your plan integrates marketing in both short-term and long-term plans. You cannot make do with simply hoping for the best and wishing that Google and other search engines will list you on the top of the list – unless you plan on how.
Ready the guns
Make sure that you have what it takes to make your strategy work by scouting for cheap and accessible resources to help you. Among the tools you need are affordable and effective web pages through hosted blogs. Try out Word Press which offers affordable web pages that are both easy to use and which can be customized for a highly professional look.
Test the waters
Automobile conventions for car enthusiasts can lead to massive reservations and sales for the car manufacturers. On the web, you can employ the same strategy by utilizing online social networking websites. From the ubiquitous Facebook to other social networking sites, creating online contacts is one way to give you a solid list of people you can directly employ your marketing strategies on. Aside from social networking sites, in some cases it is also essential to affiliate yourself with online guilds and industry websites that people may go into for your products or services.
Ask for marketing help
Most importantly, ensure competitive marketing without which your web page will succumb to a natural death, becoming another unvisited and neglected little page in the great book of cyberspace. In many instances, it is here that you need to look for professional online marketing specialists that will pick the load of your business promotion plan off your shoulders so that you need only to worry about sales and customer service. There are many things you can do yourself. But there are some others that need expertise. If you want to be competitive, be ready to have competitive professional marketing people backing you up with affordable and effective marketing strategies.
The next time somebody asks when was the last time your website attracted new clients to your business, be sure ‘today’ is your answer with online marketing.
