|
|
[2003-05-30] Are Banner Ads Worth It?
Most people on the Internet today simply ignore banner ads and move on to other things.
[2003-05-30] Choose Your ‘Enemy’ Wisely
When the great Carthaginian general Hannibal was just a boy, his father forced him to declare his undying hatred for Rome. After his father's death, Hannibal used that rage to propel him in a lifelong battle with the emerging Roman Empire.
[2003-05-30] Marketing Beyond the Hype
Hype is just an icebreaker. It puts people in the mood to hear the rest of your marketing message.
[2003-05-30] Where Can I go to Network?
I often get the question, "Where can I go to network? I don't belong to any
groups." As true as that may sound to you I am sure that something on the
following list fits you.
[2003-05-29] How To Use Free For All Link Pages to Promote--FREE!
Internet is a terrific resource containing billions of web pages dedicated to thousands of topics. Since the amount of information available on the Internet is so vast and mind baffling you may feel lost.
[2003-05-29] PR Failure Defined
I define public relations failure this way:
[2003-05-29] 7 Techniques For Increasing Your Sales Letter's Response Fast!
1) Use The Stunning "Avalanche Iceman Technique" When Creating Headlines!
Using this three step technique you can instantly increase the readability and response for your sales letter. Here's how…Simply pick the biggest benefit your product has to offer and make a promise to deliver. For instance…."Write Headlines Guaranteed To Double Your Sales Letter's Response" Then, take that promise of benefit, and transform it into a statement that builds curiosity…"
[2003-05-29] PPC Bidding Made Redundant
It has been interesting to observe changing trends on the Internet, particularly in Marketing and especially with search engines. To maintain my business and my clients businesses in competitive mode, it's been necessary to keep one step ahead of changing technologies, keeping up with the Jones's doesn't seem to work well on the Internet.
[2003-05-29] Submitting Your Site To The Open Web Directory: Some Dos And Don’ts
One of the most important steps in any site's publicity campaign is the submission to the Open Web Directory (http://www.dmoz.org) as this directory provides search results for many of the most important search engines and online portals. This directory is not a robot driven spider, but a human edited directory and you must observe a few important points if your submission is to be successful.
[2003-05-28] Personal Feedback
Internet marketing takes a lot of work. I am not going to lie. Anyone that tells you otherwise has already made it past the startup phase and has reached guru status. In the end, only you can decide which route you want to take on the web and asking yourself a few simple questions may be more important than finding "the next big trend."
[2003-05-28] A Phd in Internet Marketing
Let's take a look at the job requirements of an internet entreprenuer, if you had to go through an interview before you actually started working. Okay, first you would definitely need an MBA.
[2003-05-28] 3 Words That Sell Like Candy!
1) Fast
Use the word "fast" in your ad. People want fast results, fast delivery, fast ordering, etc. Nowadays, we usually value our time more than our money. For example, you could say, "Our product works fast!" Another example, "Our product comes with fast shipping options."
[2003-05-28] Titles Sell Books
A clever title is great if it is clear, but a clear title is always preferable. The best? A clear and clever title.
[2003-05-28] PR: How Sweet It Is!
The public relations goal and strategy make sense; the message is persuasive and compelling; the communications tactics are aggressive and well-targeted. YES!!
[2003-05-28] 6 Steps To Getting
A few years ago, Bruce Smith experienced a slowdown in his Salt Lake City-based travel agency. Airlines had eliminated his sales commissions.
[2003-05-28] Don't Overlook The Easy Sales
Are you so busy chasing down new customers that you completely overlooked these two prime sources for easy sales?
[2003-05-27] Make your Writing or Marketing Projects your Top Priority
When you finish your eBook or print books, you have a product you can sell. After you finish the book be sure to write the all important sales letter. The sales letter is the key to sales flooding in. Each book will market another book. Books help promote your service as well.
[2003-05-27] No Money Promotion that Quadruples Product and Service Sales in Four Months
Better than such offline promotion as press releases, talks, or book reviews? Better than search engine placement, banner ads, ezines and news groups? Yes! The number one way to promote your self and your products is through informational how-to articles that you send to hundreds of opt-in ezines, announcement groups, and Web sites.
[2003-05-27] It's the Little Details that Can Make or Break a News Story
Have you ever heard of the saying, "One person's trash is another person's treasure?" Well, that statement is a true one, but never more so than in the realm of media relations where so many small-business owners find it so difficult to garner media coverage for themselves or their companies. Allow me to illustrate my point below in an actual incident that happened to one of my clients and the lessons we learned from this experience.
[2003-05-27] 10 Tips For Writing Good Sales Copy
Writing an ad? The tips below -- and the important warning that
follows -- will help you to get the very best response.
[2003-05-23] Just Write an E-mail
How did you sell your last product? Imagine that I am a newbie writing you an e-mail after reading your ebook. How would you answer the question? I bet you could send me a 300 word reply in no time. Words would flow from your keyboard as fast as you can type. You have just written your next article. Don't think so? Too easy? Read the next paragraph.
[2003-05-23] Headlines Bring Sales--Where and How to Use Them
Headlines are short vital statements to stimulate your potential customers and clients to take action. That means sales! Since you only have 10 seconds to attract your visitor or reader, create headlines to make ultimate sales.
[2003-05-23] Follow The Leaders
Why not pick one guru and follow his plan step by step until you achieve his results and make as much money as he does? Because you never will. Copycats never do. If you have ever purchased a brand new ebook, waited impatiently as it downloaded and then opened it to experience deja vu, you know what I mean. Instead I have another suggestion.
[2003-05-22] Promotion Begins Beyond the Internet
Question: I'm a web developer who has created a real estate oriented site that uses the Java language to make it easy to create a picture and text ad on the Internet. It takes advantage of digital camera technology, and enables a person to create an advertisement quickly, without special technical knowledge.
Since I'm a developer, I don't know much about marketing. My site is located at http://www.HighlightYourHome.com. Any suggestions you have for promoting this site would be greatly appreciated.
[2003-05-22] Promoting a New Product on a Small Budget
Question: I am trying to sell a uniquely flavored dry cat food & have had no success at it. My URL is http://www.CajunCrawKitty.com
I have very little budget to advertise & I have only tried Google AdWords with a budget of $50/mo. Is there any thing you could think of that I could do with a budget of say $150/mo. or less?
[2003-05-22] 3 Steps To Locate Bonuses To Market Your eBook
Most of us who have shopped online are familiar with the array of free gifts, free bonuses and freebies that are offered to the visitor to encourage them to buy the online software and books.
[2003-05-22] Communicating with Case Studies
A couple of colleagues and I were discussing a new business idea, but we had trouble expressing how this new business would provide value. And out of our discussions came the idea of writing a case study. If you're not familiar with them, case studies are histories of business initiatives.
[2003-05-21] Every Mistake In The Writing Book
This morning I received an email from someone who has set up a site devoted to "writing for coaches." We'll call the author "X" to protect the guilty -- and the naïve. Here's what we can learn from X's mistakes.
[2003-05-21] Ignore PR at Your Peril!
If you do, it means:
1. you don't value tracking the perceptions of important outside audiences whose behaviors could sink your ship:
[2003-05-21] Developing a Highly Profitable Opt-In List
An opt-in list is the absolute most effective marketing tool available on the Internet. Not only do they provide you with a direct line of communication with your target market, but they also enable you to develop a trusting relationship with your subscribers.
[2003-05-21] Assembly-Line Marketing
Marketing and production go hand-in-hand. One cannot exist without the other. These assets are worth more combined than separated. Yet, companies struggle to make the two function together, often planning more marketing campaigns than they can produce.
[2003-05-21] The Hits That Matter Most
So you know what hits mean. Unique hits or user sessions, I mean. And you know what CR means. Right? If so, you're in great shape, for many people don't. They think they do. But they've got it wrong.
[2003-05-21] Build my Business by Offering Free Stuff? Why?
Do you want a Web site that generates more business?That's what most of us want. Once I decided to create and manage my own Web site, I began studying how to build a site that would reach out and touch potential clients.
[2003-05-21] The Make-Break Point: Your USP
Your USP (Universal Selling Proposition) will make or break your business. Let me put this differently. With a great USP, success is nearly assured. Without one, you will be at best, just an also-ran, someone struggling to remain in the race.
[2003-05-20] Newsletters
Newsletters are a great way to establish a new, more personal relationship with your customers. You can keep them up to date on your products and services, give them a little insight into the lives of your employees, and much more. For example, you can "spotlight" one individual in each issue, talking about their interests, families, etc. I think it's a nice touch to let your customers know more about the people that they deal with; it has a nice "touchy-feely" quality to it and makes the business experience a little more personal.
[2003-05-20] Your Newsletter As Search Engine Superhero?
Newsletters are magical things -- they can attract customers, increase company profits, establish expertise and much more. But, did you know they can also help you increase your search engine rankings?
[2003-05-20] Click Your Way to Profits with Pay Per Clicks
Once upon a time in Internet Land, you could submit your web site to the search engines, and customers had no problem finding you.
[2003-05-20] Three Ways to Help Reporters See Your Story as News
At the core of PR Rainmaking is the question: "What makes a story newsworthy?" If we cannot answer this question, then we have nothing to guide us in the selection of story ideas.
[2003-05-19] 11 Secrets to Direct Response Marketing
Here are the 11 secrets to direct response marketing - how to get more business to come to you in a month than most get all year! discover the real reason virtually all businesses never make the money they could... and should be making!
[2003-05-19] "Energy Marketing" - An Unusual New Way to Attract New Clients
"It doesn't matter what you say in an advertisement," Esther Hicks told me over dinner with her husband, Jerry, one day many years ago.
"People will pick up on the energy in the ads, not the words in the ads," she continued. "They'll respond, or not, based on what they feel from the ad."
[2003-05-19] The Ugly Side Of Internet Marketing
Did that headline grab your attention?
I have experimented with many different headlines on my sites and found that you can take the same sales letter yet your sales will increase or decrease depending on the headline you are using.
[2003-05-16] Inside the Mind of the News Reporter
The first rule of PR Rainmaking is to approach reporters as customers.
Find out what they want, then give it to them in a way that benefits you and your company. This requires us to learn how to think like a news reporter.
For this journey, there may be no better guidebook than James B. Stewart's "Follow the Story."
[2003-05-16] Attract Potential Buyers to Your Web Site With Valuable Content
Content is the most important component of your web site. Useful
content gets visitors to your site, engages them, builds credibility, and
converts them into buyers. Surveys indicate that 80 percent of visitors go
to web sites to get information. Only 5 percent are interested in graphics.
[2003-05-16] How To Build a ClickThru Marketing Web-Page Guaranteed To Pull In Tons Of Traffic
The biggest mistake and the reason most people fail at clickthru marketing is that they just pop in their affiliate link and start sending folks to their affiliate website.
[2003-05-16] The Power Of A Free Sample
This past February 6th was a big day for me; it was the 15th anniversary of the day I met my wife. Not only do I remember the exact day, I remember the exact moment. I was hosting a party at my apartment that night, and Linda showed up on the recommendation of a mutual friend. I clearly remember going downstairs to answer the doorbell, and wondering who the beautiful woman was waiting for me in the lobby.
[2003-05-15] Are There Secrets to Gaining Media Coverage?
Are there secrets to gaining media coverage or is it pure luck? It's a question that I am asked often while meeting with small-business owners who are seeking press attention for their companies or products. While luck certainly plays a part, the short answer to this question is "maybe." However with a little practice and skill, a small-business owner can significantly increase the chances of garnering coverage by following some basic journalistic rules.
[2003-05-15] The Most Powerful Force In Email Marketing
I've been learning recently that the most powerful force around is something that we all have access to: relationships.
But what most people don't know is how this relates to email marketing! Well, I'm going to tell you that in a minute but first think about this...
[2003-05-15] E-Mail Builds Brands
E-mail - today's preferred business communication tool - provides you a simple, powerful, affordable way to develop, manage and maintain relationships as well as sell products and services. Let's briefly examine how permission-based e-mail marketing positively affects:
[2003-05-14] Choose the Right Subject Line for your Ezine
How many times have you opened up a mail thinking it was something personal, only to find that it was nothing but spam? There are ways by which spam can be identified and most of the net community is aware of the common techniques that are used.
[2003-05-14] Is Going Offline The Answer?
As email marketing becomes more and more difficult, many online publishers are using alternative methods to market their products and promote their websites.
[2003-05-14] Traffic Analysis - Commission Thieves
Question: Jim,
I caught your article on Traffic Analysis but was unable to unearth methods of avoiding commission stealing.
Will a simple PHP redirect do the trick? I expect that the offending code changes the affiliate code in the downloaded HTML; doing a redirect off of a server would eliminate that problem if that is the case. Is this the silver bullet?
[2003-05-13] Six Steps to Selling By E-mail
Free. . . Sale. . . New . . . Hot. . . Act now! These words announce yet another e-mail sales message. We're inundated with e-mail pitches and wary of anything that sounds too good to be true. So, how do you write your e-mail sales messages so customers will open, and most importantly, act on them?
[2003-05-12] How to Spoonfeed Your News to a Reporter
Always remember: A journalist is nothing more than a professional undergraduate.
[2003-05-12] Increase Internet Sales with Free Trials
If you're selling a product or service on the Internet, one
of the best ways to increase your sales is by offering a
free trial, also know as a teaser, demo or limited version.
By enabling your potential customers to review your
product and providing them with an easy ordering process,
you can increase your sales immensely.
[2003-05-12] Building Lists (As Quickly As Possible)
Hi Michael:
I'm trying to figure out the best way to build a list as quickly as possible. I could purchase an "opt-in" email list and send them a newsletter -- I have recently positioned my pages for SEO and I could do a PPC campaign (I've already tried and it's luke warm). I thought I'd check with you and see what your thoughts might be.
[2003-05-12] Are Mini-Sites The Answer?
Mini-sites come in different flavors but all have one significant element in common. Each site is very tightly focused upon selling a single product or service. No Flash. No graphics. No links out. No banners or advertising of any kind. Nothing that detracts from the site purpose, which is to make the sale.
[2003-05-09] Primer: How to Test Your Ads & Improve Your Profitability
It's so easy to blow through money when marketing a website. If you're like many new entrepreneurs, you may have already wasted several hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on marketing campaigns that didn't give you the results you were hoping for.
[2003-05-09] Magazines Online: They're Finally Getting It
Looking back it's amazing to recall that magazines were once considered the best-positioned companies to succeed online. In the ancient days of the early 90s, magazines seemed to have it all: a brand name, years of archived editorial content, a deep list of advertisers who could be lured to the exciting new world of banner ads. Banner ads would produce the revenue to make it all profitable. Banner ads.
[2003-05-08] Generating Publicity: Will The Media Be Interested In My Product/Business?
When it comes to launching a new business or product, some marketing consultants might say that EVERY product is appropriate for a publicity or media exposure campaign. That is true to a degree, but as a PR/publicity professional and former media person, I would qualify that statement by saying that although new products would benefit from a solid publicity campaign, not all businesses or products and their pitches will grab the attention of the media.
[2003-05-07] How to Write an Attention-Grabbing Op-Ed in Five Steps
There are few better ways to attract new clients and customers than by becoming known as an expert in your field. And the fastest way to establish your expertise is by writing op-eds for newspapers, magazines, trades and the Web.
[2003-05-06] The Truth About Pay Per Click Marketing
The key to an effective Pay-Per-Click program is driving the "right" traffic to your website. Since you pay every time someone clicks through to your site you want to attract only visitors who are interested in your product or service. And you want to be sure that, when they arrive at your site, they can find what they're looking for- quickly.
[2003-05-06] Ezine Readers Not Biting? Change the Bait
A newsletter can be a fantastic way to lure new customers, but without the right bait, you can send out line after line (or issue after issue) and not get a single bite.
What should you be baiting your newsletter with? Let's take a look:
[2003-05-05] Create a Powerful PR ‘Fact Sheet’ in Just Four Steps
The right time to create a fact sheet is any time you need to spoon-feed a reporter on a complex subject.
[2003-05-05] Step, Jump, and Slap - or how not to advertise an e-book
Do you ever read an ad - one of the hundreds, if not thousands, that land unsolicited in your inbox each week - and think ‘This sounds like a translation from a foreign language' or even ‘I'm not sure if the person who sent me this ad actually understands a word of it'?
[2003-05-05] Argument Weak - Talk **LOUDER**!!!
Have you heard of the preacher (there are probably quite a few of them fitting this description) who wrote in the margin of his sermon ‘Argument weak - talk louder!'? Well, as with sermons and speeches, so with ads for your online business - talking louder won't convince anyone if your fundamental argument is weak.
[2003-05-05] WHICH OR WHAT?
It seems that the word ‘which' has rather fallen out of favour these days, to be replaced by ‘what'. A question like this one, which I came across in an ezine's trivia section recently, leaps out at me as just not sounding right:
[2003-05-05] Setting The Tone
One of the most important things to get right when writing your ads, your ezine articles or your e-books is the 'tone of voice'. You want to catch your readers' attention - so that they don't delete your message out of boredom or immediate lack of interest - but neither do you want to be 'in their face', so that they still delete your message but this time out of annoyance or irritation.
[2003-05-01] How to Get Famous Fast
Walter Winchell was the most influential newspaper columnist of the 1930s and 1940s, a time when newspapers were the most powerful media in the world.
[2003-05-01] Build Your E-Newsletter List With Your Current Contacts
Building an email list can be an involved process. This reader wrote in to Michael Katz, e-newsletter expert, asking about the best ways to build the list for her stress relief site. Michael's suggestions will work for your site too.
[2003-05-01] Tame The Marketing! E-Newsletters Grow With Content
In this e-newsletter review, Michael Katz, e-newsletter expert, has a few key suggestions for Darryl Antonio's travel newsletter: tame the marketing and boost the content! Read this review for some specific suggestions that may apply to your own newsletter.
|
|
