Archive for the ‘Internet Marketing Strategy’ Category
Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 |
Starting an online business can be tough. One major obstacle for business owners is the issue of payment. Some businesses open a merchant account to handle payments. But what can you do if you can’t get, or can’t afford, a merchant account?
Well, there is good news: There are at least two excellent ways to take payments from people who use credit cards, without having a merchant account.
There is a third option which can help you set up a merchant account, even if you think you don’t qualify. This method doesn’t work for everyone, but it can help 99% of people setting up their business.
Try one of these three solutions to your payment woes:
Clickbank. For a small sign-up fee (about $50, I think), you can accept payments for your digitally-delivered products using any major credit cards, or even e-checks. You don’t handle the transaction, or even the payment. Clickbank does it all, takes a percentage and just sends you a check. How’s that for convenient? Some people think that Clickbank’s fees are a little high, but if you consider all the services they provide: taking the payment, handling refunds, handling your affiliate program, sending you checks, sending your affiliate’s checks, doing all the bookkeepingI think it’s a fair trade.
PayPal. Studies prove that having PayPal on your sales page can boost conversions. Offer this as a payment option, and you will make more sales. Just like Clickbank, PayPal will handle the entire transaction for you. Your customers can use any major credit card, even e-checks, and they don’t need a separate PayPal account.
PowerPay. Do you still want a merchant account, and not a work-around like Clickbank or PayPal? If you have been turned down in the past, or have a spotty credit history and worry about being turned down, I recommend PowerPay. Judd Smith and his crew have a lot of experience in the online marketplace. They are very helpful to deal with, and can help you set up your merchant account. For more information, visit this website at http://ipowerpay.com - The best Merchant Account for online Marketers.
Take the worry out of setting up your merchant account. Try one of these simple solutions, and get ready to collect payments, fast!
Tags: Payments Without A Merchant Account, Copywriter Ray Edwards
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Sunday, February 3rd, 2008 |
Being able to successfully generate free traffic to websites is your most valuable asses. Most people never learn it and those who do experience something special. What else is 100% “cost free” and can be done by other peopel? Here you’ll learn a few methods to do it right!
People always want more traffic. You should too? Otherwise there’s no point in creating it, right? Getting search engine rankings and free traffic from articles, socialbookmarketing and videos is a skill you should become familiar with. Learn it, master it!
The best thing about articles and GOOD content is the viral factor. Experts who appreciate your article and don’t have time to create unique content themselves.
I’ve never tried just marketing with articles because I don’t like to keep all my eggs in the same basket, literally. It’s death. Not having more than one method of generating traffic is like trying to win in chess doing only the same moves all the time. Or doing the same run on the football field.
You should also use:
* video
* Submitting to socialbookmarking sites
* Use communities like Yahoo, Hubpages, MySpace, hi5, Orkut and more.
* Hundreds and hundreds of huge forums and more.
It requires some time to do all of these things yourself, so it’s recommended you oursource and hire people to write for you. This is an amazingly fast and easy way to reduce your workload.
Some people like to use software and things like that to increase their backlinks and spread articles faster. You can also use software to comment on blogs for instant backlinks.
So, now you know a few of the tricks to getting free traffic using only free techniques, qualified methods and you know how to generate free traffic to your websites.
Tags: Generating Free Traffic, Social Power Linking
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Thursday, January 3rd, 2008 |
If you are looking for a fun, new way to market your business, why not try promotional products? Many traditional businesses use them, and for good reason: they work. As a home business owner, you may not have thought of using them. This is especially true if you have an online business.
Promotional products are everyday items, such as pens, magnets, USB drives, water bottles, etc that have been personalized with your business name, logo, website address, or any other message you want to send.
Most people love to receive free things. People will go out of their way to be one of the first in line if a store is giving something away to their first 100 customers or they will enter a crazy contest for a chance to win a prize.
When they get something for free, many people will keep the item for a long time. Every time they look at your promotional item, they are receiving an advertising message about your business. This is why promotional items are so cost effective. You only have to pay for the item once, but the advertising message is always there.
To be effective, try to find a promotional item that ties in closely with your business. What kind of item would your target market find helpful and what would they be likely to use on a regular basis?
The owner of a website filled with content related to babies may want to give away a bib with their logo and URL printed on it. An event planner may choose to give away a calendar with various holidays or reasons to have a party imprinted on it.
You can distribute your promotional ideas in a variety of ways. You can include them in your orders, reserve them for your best customers, send them to the media, or use them as contest prizes.
You can even give promotional items to perfect strangers. For example, a personalized ink pen is relatively inexpensive and can be given out in lieu of a business card. You can even leave them behind at the bank, grocery store, or laundry mat. People are always looking for pens and will happily scoop yours up. Once they get home, they may decide to look up your URL.
Promotional items can serve as great marketing tools. There are many types of items to choose from, and they can be worked into any budget. You can perform a Google search to find items that relate to your business and target market. It is okay to start out slow and order what is within your budget. When you run out of items, you can always go back and order more.
Tags: Promotional Product, Internet Marketing Strategy
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Saturday, March 24th, 2007 |
As you may know, adding content to your website increases your site’s search engine optimization, also known as SEO. Search engines will scan your web pages and index the information that they find. When someone performs a search, using the terms on your webpage, your page will come up in the search results. This will keep traffic coming into your site.
Create A Keyword List: One of the most important steps in increasing your SEO is creating a list of keywords. You can use a service such as wordtracker to identify what words and phrases people are using when they search online. For instance, if you are creating a website containing information about pet care, you can enter the term “pet care” into wordtracker. It will let you know how many times people are searching for those words, as well as the related words and phrases people are using.
Create Keyword Density: Once you develop your list of keywords, plan to use two to three of your chosen key words and phrases at least three times each within the body text. You can use other variations of those keyword throughout the page. Keyword density measures the amount of keywords used in content. Keep your content full of keywords yet natural looking to maximize your SEO.
Separate Pages Need Separate Keywords: Each page should have its own set of keywords, based on the content found on that particular page. If you have a website about crafts, containing separate pages devoted to knitting, scrapbooking, sewing, etc, using the same keywords for each page would limit the amount of search engine traffic you would otherwise receive.
The More, The Merrier: When you are writing your content, try to include at least 250 words. It is true that many people only scan web pages, rather than read them. Search engines love content, and the more you have, the better. To enhance the overall look of your page, and make it easier for your reader to scan through, you can break the content into small paragraphs and use bulleted lists to highlight important areas of text.
Use Headings and Titles: When writing “keyword dense” content, it can be easy to sound like a broken record, repeating the same phrase over and over again. Use page titles, headings, and subheadings throughout your page.
Let Keywords fill In the Blanks: If you write your copy while focused on your keywords, your text may sound strange when read back. Instead, when you site down to write, write a non-optimized draft first, and then look for places to put keywords.
Remember That You Are Writing For People, Too: While it is important for the search engines to be able to find what you have written, your copy still needs to be interesting enough to hold your readers’ attention. If it is boring and dull, no one is going to want to read it.
Tags: Reference, SEO, Search Engine Optimization, Tips, Magnificent Seven, Search Engine Marketing, Internet Marketing Strategy, Howto
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Tuesday, March 13th, 2007 |
A lot of people are lured by affiliate marketing because it can be financially rewarding, even if you just stay at home. Affiliate marketing programs are best alternatives to those who are sick and tired of their arduous daily work just to climb up the venerated corporate ladder. You don’t need products to sell, you just have to market them in your own web site and you don’t have to worry about processing the customers’ payments and the shipment of the products. If you are already into affiliate marketing, probably you were thinking about these benefits, too, before deciding to join an affiliate program.
Of course you want earn huge amount of commission. Who would not want it anyway? Keep in mind, however, that affiliate marketing cannot guarantee you instant success if you don’t work on it. There are a lot of ways of maximizing your income. The Internet is a huge library of information, use it to learn of other opportunities and ways to increase your income. You can partner with several merchandisers and promote different products in your website; thereby, increasing your chance to earn a commission.
The easiest way for you to rev up your revenue potential is by incorporating Google AdSense into your marketing campaigns. What is Google AdSense? What are its advantages? How can it boost my revenues? These are some of the questions you might want to ask. Let’s try to probe into Google AdSense, so you would know how it could help you in your affiliate marketing program.
Merchants place their ads in Google, which is one of the most popular search engines or tools for locating various resources in the World Wide Web. Now the Google AdSense program allows you to display these ads in you website and when your visitors click through them, you earn. The advertiser, which is the merchant pays Google for every click-through made by the customer and you as a partner of Google, gets a share from that payment.
What’s great about the Google AdSense is that the ads are relevant to the content of your web page. Most likely, visitors of your web site are interested on the theme of your site and specifically, on the content of your web page. So, seeing ads related to their interest would definitely drive them to click through the link or the ad. Using state-of-the-art technology, Google scans your web site and matches the content of your pages to their large database of advertisers; this way, Google is able to find ads that are targeted by the users of your site. In addition, Google changes the ads in your site as you change the content of your pages, so you can always expect the ads to be relevant to your site.
Having Google ads in your website is also a way of convincing your users to return to your site. Repeat customers multiply your income without having to exert extra effort to convince them again to click through your links. And your potential to earn doesn’t depend on them alone. Since you already have their confidence, they can be your endorsers as well. They could refer your site to family and friends who probably share the same interests with them.
Advertisers in the Google AdSense program range from large international brands to small-time domestic and local businesses, so the targeted market for the ads can range as well. This adds variety to your site; thereby, attracting different kinds of users. As you attract more users, you increase your earning potential as well. If you are targeting a specific nationality for your site users, don’t worry because AdSense can be used in different languages.
In order to boost your revenues through Google AdSense, you must pay attention to making web pages of high value topics. Make contents related to high-paying ads, so you can earn more. Some ads pay only a few cents while some ads pay you dollars just for a single click. You would need to do a little research on this so you can come up with a more relevant content. Join affiliate marketing forums and get tips from experienced affiliate marketers.
Becoming an AdSense affiliate marketer is easy and fast. You just have to apply online and once your application is approved, you can instantly set up Google ads in your site. All you need to do is copy and paste some codes in your web pages and in no time the ads will appear in your site.
Strike while the iron is hot! Take advantage of the favorable circumstances the Internet is offering you. Make the most of your affiliate marketing opportunities, use Google AdSense!
Tags: Adsense Secrets, Affiliate Marketing Guides, Howto, Tips, Tutorial, Internet Marketing Strategy
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Saturday, March 3rd, 2007 |
Ask questions first before you join an affiliate program. Do a little research about the choices of program that you intend to join into. Get some answers because they will be the deciding point of what you will be achieving later on.
Will it cost you anything to join? Most affiliate programs being offered today are absolutely free of charge. So why settle for those that charge you some dollars before joining.
When do they issue the commission checks? Every program is different. Some issue their checks once a month, every quarter, etc. Select the one that is suited to your payment time choice. Many affiliate programs are setting a minimum earned commission amount that an affiliate must meet or exceed in order for their checks to be issued.
What is the hit per sale ratio? This is the average number of hits to a banner or text link it takes to generate a sale based on all affiliate statistics. This factor is extremely important because this will tell you how much traffic you must generate before you can earn a commission from the sale.
How are referrals from an affiliate’s site tracked and for how long do they remain in the system? You need to be confident on the program enough to track those people you refer from your site. This is the only way that you can credit for a sale. The period of time that those people stay in the system is also important. This is because some visitors do not buy initially but may want to return later to make the purchase. Know if you will still get credit for the sale if it is done some months from a certain day.
What are the kinds of affiliate stats available? Your choice of affiliate program should be capable of offering detailed stats. They should be available online anytime you decide to check them out. Constantly checking your individual stats is important to know how many impressions, hits and sales are already generated from your site. Impressions are the number of times the banner or text link was viewed by a visitor of your site. A hit is the one clicking on the banner or text links.
Does the affiliate program also pay for the hits and impressions besides the commissions on sales? It is important that impressions and hits are also paid, as this will add to the earnings you get from the sales commission. This is especially important if the program you are in offers low sales to be able to hit ratio.
Who is the online retailer? Find out whom you are doing business with to know if it is really a solid company. Know the products they are selling and the average amount they are achieving. The more you know about the retailer offering you the affiliate program, the easier it will be for you to know if that program is really for you and your site.
Is the affiliate a one tier or two tier program? A single tier program pays you only for the business you yourself have generated. A two tier program pays you for the business, plus it also pays you a commission on the on the sales generated by any affiliate you sponsor in your program. Some two-tier programs are even paying small fees on each new affiliate you sponsor. More like a recruitment fee.
Lastly, what is the amount of commission paid? 5% - 20% is the commission paid by most programs. .01% - .05% is the amount paid for each hit. If you find a program that also pays for impressions, the amount paid is not much at all. As you can see from the figures, you will now understand why the average sales amount and hit to sale ratio is important.
These are just some of the questions that needed answering first before you enter into an affiliate program. You should be familiar with the many important aspects that your chosen program should have before incorporating them into your website. Try to ask your affiliate program choices these questions. These can help you select the right program for you site from among the many available.
Tags: Affiliate Marketing Guide, Internet Marketing Strategy, Niche Marketing Secrets
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Saturday, March 3rd, 2007 |
When you decide to have an opt-in list, it is not just a matter of sending your subscribers your promotional newsletters or catalogs. There are many things to consider in avoiding many complications. While there are so many ways you can make people subscribe to your list, there are also some things you must do to avoid subscribers from wanting to get off from your list.
Aside from that, you also want to avoid any problems with the law and your internet service provider or ISP. There are now many laws and rules that are applied to help protect the privacy of the internet users from spamming and unwanted mails. With the popularity of the electronic mail as a medium for marketing because of the low cost, many company’s have seized the opportunity and have flooded many people’s e-mail accounts with promotional mail.
But, with an opt-in list, you avoid this annoyance because people subscribe to the list; they want to receive the newsletters and promotional materials. They have consented to being on the list by subscribing themselves, just don’t forget to put an unsubscribe feature everytime in your opt-in list so that you avoid any confusion. There may be times when an email account was provided when the real owner didn’t want to subscribe.
It is essential that you keep your list clean and manageable. Arrange it by using the many tools and technologies available for your opt-in list. Do not worry; your investment in this marketing strategy is well worth it with all the coverage you will get which will likely be converted into sales then to profit.
Keep yourself and your business out of trouble and potential run-ins with the law and the internet service providers. Keep your operation legit and clean. Your reputation as a legitimate businessman and a legitimate site depends on your being a straight and true marketing strategist. As a tip, here are three things to avoid when emailing your list.
1) Take notice of your unsuccessful sends. These are the e-mails that bounce. Bounced emails, also known as undeliverable messages, are those messages that, for whatever reason, were not successfully received by the intended recipient.
There are bounces that happen or occur because the server was busy at that time but can still be delivered in another time. There are also bounces because the inbox of the recipient is full at that time. There are those bounce messages that are simply undeliverable ever. The reason for this is that it may be an invalid email address, a misspelled email address, or an email address that was abandoned and erased already.
Manage your list by putting markings on those that bounce. Erase an email account from your list so that you have an accurate statistics and records as to how many are actually receiving your mail. You may also want to check the spellings of your email addresses in your list. One common mistake is when an N instead of an M is placed in the .com area.
2) Always provide an unsubscribe feature in your site and an unsubscribe link in your mails. When someone in your list files a request to be unsubscribed, always take that request seriously. If you don’t take them off your list and keep sending them your e-mails, you are now sending them spam mail.
When you are reported as a spammer, you and your business can get into a lot of trouble. You can be reported to the authorities and maybe blacklisted by many internet service providers. You will lose a lot of subscribers this way and many more in potential subscribers.
3) Do not provide pornographic or shocking and disturbing content in your newsletters. It is hard to decipher the age of the recipient and many complaints may stem from these. Controversial issues also are to be avoided to not be branded by your subscribers. Stick to the nature of your site and business.
Always remember these tips in this article so that you can have a healthy relationship with your subscribers as well as be kept within the boundaries of what is allowed in sending mails to an opt-in list.
Tags: List Building Strategy, Affiliate Cash Secrets, Howto, Reference, Marketing, Email Marketing
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