I am signed up to receive emails from one of my favorite restaurants. I signed their email list because they send me a free appetizer coupon on my birthday. Because of this I'm willing to let them send me other emails throughout the year. I have often thought about how they are wasting this opportunity. This is because they never send me emails that interest me.
This restaurant is practicing direct mail marketing. They have access to my email, and so they have access to me. They send me letters trying to tempt me to go get food from them. What they aren't doing is sending me information that interests me.
Article marketing has to potential to link businesses and consumers in a very unique way. A successful article will interest the reader. The restaurant that sends me emails could be sending me articles that I'd be interested in. If they did that I would anxiously open their emails rather than just delete them without reading them.
It's not easy to figure out what is going to interest a customer. If a business is sending them direct mail then they are trying to reach them on a somewhat personal level. Article marketing also attempts this fictional one-on-one relationship. Really, direct mail marketing and article marketing go hand in hand with each other, and benefit greatly from one another.
It wouldn't take much to get me to open an email from the restaurant. For instance, if I received an email from them telling me all about a farm that they get their food from, I'd probably read it. I'd read the entire article, and the whole time I'd be getting more and more hungry for their food. I might go to their restaurant that night.
A well written article is a powerful tool. If a business has the power to get an article to a potential client, then they should do it. In today's world interest is everything. If you can captivate, then you can sell.
Article marketing works well during a slow economy. People think they have no money, but they do. They go out searching for something free. An article sent to their home is free. If it looks interesting then they'll read it. If it interests them then you've got them. They will give you what money they have.
The restaurant I receive emails from will ever rise to their potential. It doesn't matter much, because they're pretty crowded every night anyway. Other businesses cannot afford to be so sloppy with their resources. How often do company's email things that aren't going to interest the receiver? Why email it in the first place?
The key to successful direct mail marketing is to interest the person receiving the mail. Article marketing works under the assumption that you can interest people. If used together both modes of advertising can reach greater heights.
So the next time you're putting together your direct mail package, think about putting an article in there geared toward your client. It just might do the trick.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Market Prospecting
I've heard a lot of debate about the whole "Warm Market" thing. Traditional network marketing guru's seem to have a strong opinion that warm market prospecting is the only effective method, while the new marketers of the digital age think they're crazy and can't imagine going to their "friends and family" when they can access over a billion people online.
Here are the top five myths I've heard, and my take on each one:
1. You can only build a network marketing business in your warm market.
This one should simply be re-phrased to, "I can only build a network marketing business in MY warm market." Because this is only said by traditionalists who don't know any other way. There are just too many success stories in the online network marketing arena to back up that claim.
2. Nobody has built a big team online or with leads.
Again, this statement should simply be re-phrased to, "I don't know anybody who builds online who's successful." Well, this is simply a matter of you not educating yourself on the current marketplace. They're out there, but you haven't met them yet.
3. Home meetings are the best way to build your business
This one is purely subjective. Have home meetings built massive teams? Absolutely. And if you love home meetings, go for it. But that doesn't make it the best method for everybody, it just makes it the best for you. For me, home meetings are the WORST way to build my business. I'm a family man, and when I'm home I'm home. I love time with my wife and kids, and I'm busy with their sports, singing, church activities etc, and I want to keep it that way. Because I build my business online, my home remains a home, and my online systems work for me 24/7, building my business automatically.
4. Weekly hotel meetings are essential for network marketing growth.
This is another very subjective thing. According to Randy Gage, weekly meetings are only effective in the start up phase of a business. After that they become a hang out for "professional meeting attenders," and the meeting numbers stay fairly flat while core people meet weekly to show off their new clothes and cars to each other. But the ratio of guests to distributors is terrible.
So if you love a weekly meeting, go for it! But to assume it's essential for growth is simply not true.
5. It's a relationship business.
Now here's where I'm going to get in some hot water. What if that statement isn't true? It's one of the core beliefs of traditional network marketers, but let's analyze it for a minute.
Why is network marketing considered a relationship business? I mean, all network marketing is is a network of distributors recommending products or services to others, who then do the same. In the end, will these people buy the products or services because of a relationship, or because of the merits of the products themselves? Remember, every company out there believes their product or service is strong enough to stand up in the marketplace regardless of whether there's a compensation plan attached or not, right? So it stands to reason that people will continue to use a good product even if they DISLIKE the person who told them about it.
So the fact is that the person who actually will make the most money isn't the one who builds the most relationships, but the person who has the most volume in their organization. It's a brutal reality, but there it is.
But before you go screaming that Dave Sherwin is some heartless marketing monster, I'm really not. I love people. I just choose to build my business online. And the fascinating paradox of this warm market vs. online marketing debate, is that my "warm market" is bigger than it's ever been! I have friends all over the WORLD! I have distributors in countries I haven't even visited! After all is said and done, I have more relationships than ever before because of online network marketing.
So if you are fascinated by the world of online network marketing, go for it! It works, it's fun, it's rewarding, and it can be VERY profitable.
Dave Sherwin is a Network Marketer who won the "Rookie of the Year"award in a large international network marketing company, building a team of over 700 people his first 6 months.
Here are the top five myths I've heard, and my take on each one:
1. You can only build a network marketing business in your warm market.
This one should simply be re-phrased to, "I can only build a network marketing business in MY warm market." Because this is only said by traditionalists who don't know any other way. There are just too many success stories in the online network marketing arena to back up that claim.
2. Nobody has built a big team online or with leads.
Again, this statement should simply be re-phrased to, "I don't know anybody who builds online who's successful." Well, this is simply a matter of you not educating yourself on the current marketplace. They're out there, but you haven't met them yet.
3. Home meetings are the best way to build your business
This one is purely subjective. Have home meetings built massive teams? Absolutely. And if you love home meetings, go for it. But that doesn't make it the best method for everybody, it just makes it the best for you. For me, home meetings are the WORST way to build my business. I'm a family man, and when I'm home I'm home. I love time with my wife and kids, and I'm busy with their sports, singing, church activities etc, and I want to keep it that way. Because I build my business online, my home remains a home, and my online systems work for me 24/7, building my business automatically.
4. Weekly hotel meetings are essential for network marketing growth.
This is another very subjective thing. According to Randy Gage, weekly meetings are only effective in the start up phase of a business. After that they become a hang out for "professional meeting attenders," and the meeting numbers stay fairly flat while core people meet weekly to show off their new clothes and cars to each other. But the ratio of guests to distributors is terrible.
So if you love a weekly meeting, go for it! But to assume it's essential for growth is simply not true.
5. It's a relationship business.
Now here's where I'm going to get in some hot water. What if that statement isn't true? It's one of the core beliefs of traditional network marketers, but let's analyze it for a minute.
Why is network marketing considered a relationship business? I mean, all network marketing is is a network of distributors recommending products or services to others, who then do the same. In the end, will these people buy the products or services because of a relationship, or because of the merits of the products themselves? Remember, every company out there believes their product or service is strong enough to stand up in the marketplace regardless of whether there's a compensation plan attached or not, right? So it stands to reason that people will continue to use a good product even if they DISLIKE the person who told them about it.
So the fact is that the person who actually will make the most money isn't the one who builds the most relationships, but the person who has the most volume in their organization. It's a brutal reality, but there it is.
But before you go screaming that Dave Sherwin is some heartless marketing monster, I'm really not. I love people. I just choose to build my business online. And the fascinating paradox of this warm market vs. online marketing debate, is that my "warm market" is bigger than it's ever been! I have friends all over the WORLD! I have distributors in countries I haven't even visited! After all is said and done, I have more relationships than ever before because of online network marketing.
So if you are fascinated by the world of online network marketing, go for it! It works, it's fun, it's rewarding, and it can be VERY profitable.
Dave Sherwin is a Network Marketer who won the "Rookie of the Year"award in a large international network marketing company, building a team of over 700 people his first 6 months.
Effective Brochure
A brochure is your best opportunity to provide your readers with enough information to establish clear communication about products or services. A brochure can range in size and page count so there is a great deal of flexibility. However, remember that an effective layout is crucial to ensure that the information or message is effectively communicated and read. Here are some brochure layout tips.
Decide on the size and brochure style. Will it be 8.5x 11" or 11x 17"? How many pages? Do you want to make it booklet form? There are many options and you need to look at each one carefully to decide which best suits your particular situation or project.
Make sure you design the layout for the page size you intend to use. In other words if you designed the brochure for a 6x9" format but then used letter sized paper, the end result would be disappointing. It may seem obvious, but these types of errors happen more often than you might think. It's best to give a lot of forethought into the overall design.
Allow for bleed. If you intend to use graphic elements which will go to the edge of the paper, remember that most printers cannot print all the way to the edge so you typically use over-sized paper and then trim it to size.
Make sure the images you use are high resolution. Many images on the Internet are about 75 to 90 dpi. This is sufficient for viewing on a web page. However, if you cut and pasted this type of image to use on a brochure, it would print poorly.
In general make certain that all pictures and graphics you use are at least of a 300 dpi resolution. This will ensure that they will print out clearly and add to the overall effectiveness and attractiveness of your brochure.
Choice of fonts can make a huge difference - Times Roman and Helvetica are very popular fonts. However, experiment with other font styles and allow for creativity to seep into your overall design. Check out what your competitors might be doing or what fonts are used in brochures you find attractive. You may find other font styles which greatly enhance the look of your brochure.
A good balance of text and graphics is key to a successful brochure. Your audience does not simply want to read only text nor can you expect them to get a clear message with only images. A suitable balance of strong headlines, effective graphics, and clear, precise text is key to getting your message across in the best possible manner.
A brochure is your best opportunity to provide your readers with enough information to establish clear communication about products or services. And the brochure layout is the most important aspect of putting a brochure plan into action. For all of your Detroit brochure needs, visit Detroit Print Shop in Detroit, Michigan.
Decide on the size and brochure style. Will it be 8.5x 11" or 11x 17"? How many pages? Do you want to make it booklet form? There are many options and you need to look at each one carefully to decide which best suits your particular situation or project.
Make sure you design the layout for the page size you intend to use. In other words if you designed the brochure for a 6x9" format but then used letter sized paper, the end result would be disappointing. It may seem obvious, but these types of errors happen more often than you might think. It's best to give a lot of forethought into the overall design.
Allow for bleed. If you intend to use graphic elements which will go to the edge of the paper, remember that most printers cannot print all the way to the edge so you typically use over-sized paper and then trim it to size.
Make sure the images you use are high resolution. Many images on the Internet are about 75 to 90 dpi. This is sufficient for viewing on a web page. However, if you cut and pasted this type of image to use on a brochure, it would print poorly.
In general make certain that all pictures and graphics you use are at least of a 300 dpi resolution. This will ensure that they will print out clearly and add to the overall effectiveness and attractiveness of your brochure.
Choice of fonts can make a huge difference - Times Roman and Helvetica are very popular fonts. However, experiment with other font styles and allow for creativity to seep into your overall design. Check out what your competitors might be doing or what fonts are used in brochures you find attractive. You may find other font styles which greatly enhance the look of your brochure.
A good balance of text and graphics is key to a successful brochure. Your audience does not simply want to read only text nor can you expect them to get a clear message with only images. A suitable balance of strong headlines, effective graphics, and clear, precise text is key to getting your message across in the best possible manner.
A brochure is your best opportunity to provide your readers with enough information to establish clear communication about products or services. And the brochure layout is the most important aspect of putting a brochure plan into action. For all of your Detroit brochure needs, visit Detroit Print Shop in Detroit, Michigan.
Stories Sell
Stories are one of the easiest ways to sell...
In copy, in person, it doesn't matter. But before you go out and tell stories for the sake of telling a story, it's smart to take a minute to understand why they work so well.
It starts with grabbing and holding attention.
It's easy to suck in a reader with a good story.
Once you have a reader hooked, if it's a good story, they're going to read all the way through to the end. We're hard wired to see stories through until the end. It's why you tune into your favorite shows every week or sit through a 3 hour movie.
Stories are very emotional. It's a lot easier to make a point through telling a story than it is to come right out with the lesson...
People are going to relate to a story about an underdog who fought the odds and came out a winner - That's going to resonate with people a lot more than if you just come out and say "you can fight the odds and be successful!"
A story allows your copy to do all of the stuff good copy needs to do...
It's going to suck the reader in.
It's going to spark curiosity and keep people reading...
Done right, they can change beliefs, shift mindsets and compel people to take action.
One of the most successful ads of all time was called "A Tale Of Two Brothers", a famous ad written for The Wall Street Journal.
It told a story of two brothers, one brother worked for the company, the other owned the company.
The only difference, the successful brother read The Wall Street Journal.
The story allowed them to illustrate their point, as opposed to saying "if you read our paper you can become rich and successful".
If you dig deep enough, you can almost always find a good story you can use to illustrate a point for you.
No ninja-NLP-guru copy tactics here...
In copy, in person, it doesn't matter. But before you go out and tell stories for the sake of telling a story, it's smart to take a minute to understand why they work so well.
It starts with grabbing and holding attention.
It's easy to suck in a reader with a good story.
Once you have a reader hooked, if it's a good story, they're going to read all the way through to the end. We're hard wired to see stories through until the end. It's why you tune into your favorite shows every week or sit through a 3 hour movie.
Stories are very emotional. It's a lot easier to make a point through telling a story than it is to come right out with the lesson...
People are going to relate to a story about an underdog who fought the odds and came out a winner - That's going to resonate with people a lot more than if you just come out and say "you can fight the odds and be successful!"
A story allows your copy to do all of the stuff good copy needs to do...
It's going to suck the reader in.
It's going to spark curiosity and keep people reading...
Done right, they can change beliefs, shift mindsets and compel people to take action.
One of the most successful ads of all time was called "A Tale Of Two Brothers", a famous ad written for The Wall Street Journal.
It told a story of two brothers, one brother worked for the company, the other owned the company.
The only difference, the successful brother read The Wall Street Journal.
The story allowed them to illustrate their point, as opposed to saying "if you read our paper you can become rich and successful".
If you dig deep enough, you can almost always find a good story you can use to illustrate a point for you.
No ninja-NLP-guru copy tactics here...
Friday, April 30, 2010
MLM Downline
There are hundreds of network marketing companies out there and all of them teach the same techniques to grow your business and mlm downline. Making a list of your friends or family, passing out brochures, the 3 foot rule, doing 3 way calls to your up line, purchasing expensive opportunity seeker leads, inviting to hotel meetings, etc. The worst part is that they tell you that all you need to do is fine 3 people who will find 3 who will find 3 who will find 3 and your mlm downline will make a 6 figure income.
If you've been in network marketing for a while, you already know these techniques don’t work and just end up making you broke. Many people don’t enroll a single person into their mlm downline using these techniques. The only successful thing you end up doing is getting bumped off the free family dinner list. Today and in future articles I’ll show you how to really grow and explode your mlm downline and do it quickly.
There are people in various MLM companies right now ranging from nutrition, telecom, travel, etc using the exact same techniques that I’ll be teaching you and adding 20 to 30 people a week into their mlm downline. Sounds unbelievable don’t it?
Oh, and just so you know, adding 20 to 30 people a week into your mlm downline means not a 6 figure income but a 7 figure income. I hope this doesn’t disappoint you. So let’s get started.
The first thing you must know right from the beginning when trying to build your mlm downline so that you don’t grow gray hair is DO NOT lead with the product and not the opportunity opportunity. Leading with the opportunity and a concept is taught by almost all network marketing companies. The reason you don’t lead with the opportunity is because this causes people to join your mlm downline and pay for the products monthly only because they are required to and they’ll try really hard to grow the business and after continuous failures, they quit in about 3 or 4 months.
What this means for you is that your constantly on a tread mill because as fast as you can enroll new associates into your mlm downline they are dropping off just as fast which is a perfect recipe for gray hair. To discover more business building techniques to grow your mlm downline and obtain a free report titled “The Heavy Hitter Report to adding 3 reps a day”, visit http://www.7figurenetworkerkit.com
If you've been in network marketing for a while, you already know these techniques don’t work and just end up making you broke. Many people don’t enroll a single person into their mlm downline using these techniques. The only successful thing you end up doing is getting bumped off the free family dinner list. Today and in future articles I’ll show you how to really grow and explode your mlm downline and do it quickly.
There are people in various MLM companies right now ranging from nutrition, telecom, travel, etc using the exact same techniques that I’ll be teaching you and adding 20 to 30 people a week into their mlm downline. Sounds unbelievable don’t it?
Oh, and just so you know, adding 20 to 30 people a week into your mlm downline means not a 6 figure income but a 7 figure income. I hope this doesn’t disappoint you. So let’s get started.
The first thing you must know right from the beginning when trying to build your mlm downline so that you don’t grow gray hair is DO NOT lead with the product and not the opportunity opportunity. Leading with the opportunity and a concept is taught by almost all network marketing companies. The reason you don’t lead with the opportunity is because this causes people to join your mlm downline and pay for the products monthly only because they are required to and they’ll try really hard to grow the business and after continuous failures, they quit in about 3 or 4 months.
What this means for you is that your constantly on a tread mill because as fast as you can enroll new associates into your mlm downline they are dropping off just as fast which is a perfect recipe for gray hair. To discover more business building techniques to grow your mlm downline and obtain a free report titled “The Heavy Hitter Report to adding 3 reps a day”, visit http://www.7figurenetworkerkit.com
RealWebMarketing.net
For several months I have been pushing the idea that people should start blogging. Some have taken my advice and put up blogs, but I think blogging is something that many, many people could benefit from. Here are some of the ways you could use a blog.
1. Promoting your business: This is the most common reason to start a blog. You can post articles (300-1,200 words), shorter posts of 100-150 words, link to other articles or items of interest in your industry or topic, or embed videos related to your business or topic. Or you can do all of these things.
When you have a blog for the purpose of promoting a business, it should include sidebars with items that link to your main web site. For instance, on my blogs I have a sidebar item that says “Our Web Sites” that includes links to my main web site and my other blogs. I have a “services” item that has links to all my main services. I also have a picture of and link to my book for sale, and a picture of and link to a free eBook I am offering.
Your blog posts should also include keywords that you want to rank for, and you should link that keyword to an appropriate page on your site. This creates what is called “anchor text” links and is very valuable. You can include 2-3 text links in each article.
If you see a video on YouTube that you want to share with your blog audience, to the right of the video you will see code to use to embed it into your blog or web site.
Once you post something to your blog, you need to send a notification, or “ping,” to the blog search engines. Some blog services can be set up to do this automatically, but I use a web site called www.pingomatic.com, which is free and pings up to 27 blog search engines. It only takes a minute. This is important because this is what drives traffic to your blog.
2. Promote some cause: If there is some cause that you believe in or want to promote, whether it is human rights or conservation or pro-life, a blog is a perfect way to do that. Write your articles on a regular basis, put them up, and ping the blog search engines. I have two political commentary blogs that I run, one with just my articles, and another with myself and two other authors.
3. Write about a hobby: If you have some hobby that you are passionate about, whether it is writing short stories or amateur archeology, you can write about it and share your thoughts with people around the world.
Typepad and Wordpress are the top blog services. I use Typepad, and for a pro account that allows an unlimited number of blogs, it costs $15 per month. From this account I run five blogs.
The key with a blog is to write stuff for it on a regular basis. I recommend at least once a week. Then you have to ping the blog search engines. And if you write articles or posts that are appealing and connect with an audience, people will come Ray.
1. Promoting your business: This is the most common reason to start a blog. You can post articles (300-1,200 words), shorter posts of 100-150 words, link to other articles or items of interest in your industry or topic, or embed videos related to your business or topic. Or you can do all of these things.
When you have a blog for the purpose of promoting a business, it should include sidebars with items that link to your main web site. For instance, on my blogs I have a sidebar item that says “Our Web Sites” that includes links to my main web site and my other blogs. I have a “services” item that has links to all my main services. I also have a picture of and link to my book for sale, and a picture of and link to a free eBook I am offering.
Your blog posts should also include keywords that you want to rank for, and you should link that keyword to an appropriate page on your site. This creates what is called “anchor text” links and is very valuable. You can include 2-3 text links in each article.
If you see a video on YouTube that you want to share with your blog audience, to the right of the video you will see code to use to embed it into your blog or web site.
Once you post something to your blog, you need to send a notification, or “ping,” to the blog search engines. Some blog services can be set up to do this automatically, but I use a web site called www.pingomatic.com, which is free and pings up to 27 blog search engines. It only takes a minute. This is important because this is what drives traffic to your blog.
2. Promote some cause: If there is some cause that you believe in or want to promote, whether it is human rights or conservation or pro-life, a blog is a perfect way to do that. Write your articles on a regular basis, put them up, and ping the blog search engines. I have two political commentary blogs that I run, one with just my articles, and another with myself and two other authors.
3. Write about a hobby: If you have some hobby that you are passionate about, whether it is writing short stories or amateur archeology, you can write about it and share your thoughts with people around the world.
Typepad and Wordpress are the top blog services. I use Typepad, and for a pro account that allows an unlimited number of blogs, it costs $15 per month. From this account I run five blogs.
The key with a blog is to write stuff for it on a regular basis. I recommend at least once a week. Then you have to ping the blog search engines. And if you write articles or posts that are appealing and connect with an audience, people will come Ray.
SEO Optimization
SEO optimization is a strategy in which a website is designed to obtain favorable search engine rankings from popular search engines. This may be achieved in a variety of different ways and optimal SEO strategies combine a variety of different strategies to complete one well orchestrated SEO campaign.
There are several elements to consider when attempting optimizing your website for search engines. This may include keyword density, prominence, META tags, titles and inbound links.
Keyword density is one of the most common SEO strategies and essentially involves using relevant keywords often in the content of a website to demonstrate the relevance of these keywords to the website. This is important because search engines are likely to reward websites with optimal keyword densities with favorable search engine rankings in an effort to provide Internet users with the most relevant websites for particular search terms.
The prominence of keywords should also be considered. This includes how close the keywords are placed to the beginning of the website. The common mistake with this strategy is to believe the first opportunity to incorporate keywords is in the first line of visible text on the webpage. This is not true because search engines look at the code of a website as opposed to the visible content on the website.
This means there are multiple opportunities to incorporate relevant keywords long before the actual visible content on the website. This might include the code for the title as well as the META tags. Business owners who realize the potential for incorporating keyword into the code gain an advantage over competitors who only incorporate keywords into the content on their website.
Another area of concern which is very important for those who are interested in SEO is inbound links. Inbound links are essentially links which reside on other websites and direct traffic to your website. These links are considered important because many search engines place a value on inbound links because they are essentially an example of one website recommending another website.
However, when obtaining inbound links it is important to do so from other websites which rank well with search engines because many search engines consider the rank of the original website when determining the value of the inbound link.
Now that we have briefly explained some of the main concepts of SEO, we will illustrate why it is important to optimize your website in the first place.
SEO is so important because most Internet users highly value the results of search engines and are likely to only visit to ranking websites when they search for a particular keyword.
Internet users trust search engines to serve the most relevant content first and are therefore not likely to visit websites which do not fall on the first or second page of search results.
This means websites which rank well essentially are receiving a great deal of free advertising from search engines which places these websites in a key position. Website owners who do not invest time into optimizing their websites miss out on a great deal of potential web traffic.
There are several elements to consider when attempting optimizing your website for search engines. This may include keyword density, prominence, META tags, titles and inbound links.
Keyword density is one of the most common SEO strategies and essentially involves using relevant keywords often in the content of a website to demonstrate the relevance of these keywords to the website. This is important because search engines are likely to reward websites with optimal keyword densities with favorable search engine rankings in an effort to provide Internet users with the most relevant websites for particular search terms.
The prominence of keywords should also be considered. This includes how close the keywords are placed to the beginning of the website. The common mistake with this strategy is to believe the first opportunity to incorporate keywords is in the first line of visible text on the webpage. This is not true because search engines look at the code of a website as opposed to the visible content on the website.
This means there are multiple opportunities to incorporate relevant keywords long before the actual visible content on the website. This might include the code for the title as well as the META tags. Business owners who realize the potential for incorporating keyword into the code gain an advantage over competitors who only incorporate keywords into the content on their website.
Another area of concern which is very important for those who are interested in SEO is inbound links. Inbound links are essentially links which reside on other websites and direct traffic to your website. These links are considered important because many search engines place a value on inbound links because they are essentially an example of one website recommending another website.
However, when obtaining inbound links it is important to do so from other websites which rank well with search engines because many search engines consider the rank of the original website when determining the value of the inbound link.
Now that we have briefly explained some of the main concepts of SEO, we will illustrate why it is important to optimize your website in the first place.
SEO is so important because most Internet users highly value the results of search engines and are likely to only visit to ranking websites when they search for a particular keyword.
Internet users trust search engines to serve the most relevant content first and are therefore not likely to visit websites which do not fall on the first or second page of search results.
This means websites which rank well essentially are receiving a great deal of free advertising from search engines which places these websites in a key position. Website owners who do not invest time into optimizing their websites miss out on a great deal of potential web traffic.
Online Conversation
Interaction and conversation is huge within Web 2.0 and it's a key tool to use within your marketing efforts because it builds a relationship with your audience and can soon turn conversation into currency! In this article I show you how.
1. Give and you shall receive!
This works on the idea of reciprocity and is one of the reasons why information marketing works so well. If you're giving out good quality information that benefits others, people naturally want to give back in return. Find ways to promote the people who visit your blog, praise your community and engage them on their own blogs and sites. These are all ways to build a relationship that gives back. Do be sure to share your insights though rather than just writing "great post!"
2. Join the conversation and build social proof
Having a conversation online brings about a sense of community. It's about everyone having a voice. Nothing pulls people in more. People WANT to be part of a conversation rather than a monologue. You'll also find that it's a great way to get feedback from your audience and will help you know what their wants and needs are so that you can then go about fulfilling them. A flowing conversation online soon generates social proof. Social proof works on the premise that if everyone else is doing something then you're going to want to do it too.
3. Build a sense of community... and yes, it CAN be done online!
This is done by posting comments at blogs, posting within online groups and forums such as those found on Facebook or by contributing to the conversation on Twitter.
An example of this happened for me in the past few days when I set up The Women Entrepreneurs Club on Facebook. Because the members left thoughtful comments and related information without spamming, the group has taken on a life of its own. Within less than 3 days the community has grown and generated a natural 'buzz' that has began to spread effortlessly without any prompting.
So, take a moment to pick a few key people that you'd like to connect with and begin commenting at their blog and in response to their Twitter and Facebook posts. Keep it focused and consistent and I guarantee that you'll become part of a community that recognises you! :)
Go on! Take the plunge now and tell me what you think. Ask me a question about this article or any other business building topic? You can do so here at my blog.
1. Give and you shall receive!
This works on the idea of reciprocity and is one of the reasons why information marketing works so well. If you're giving out good quality information that benefits others, people naturally want to give back in return. Find ways to promote the people who visit your blog, praise your community and engage them on their own blogs and sites. These are all ways to build a relationship that gives back. Do be sure to share your insights though rather than just writing "great post!"
2. Join the conversation and build social proof
Having a conversation online brings about a sense of community. It's about everyone having a voice. Nothing pulls people in more. People WANT to be part of a conversation rather than a monologue. You'll also find that it's a great way to get feedback from your audience and will help you know what their wants and needs are so that you can then go about fulfilling them. A flowing conversation online soon generates social proof. Social proof works on the premise that if everyone else is doing something then you're going to want to do it too.
3. Build a sense of community... and yes, it CAN be done online!
This is done by posting comments at blogs, posting within online groups and forums such as those found on Facebook or by contributing to the conversation on Twitter.
An example of this happened for me in the past few days when I set up The Women Entrepreneurs Club on Facebook. Because the members left thoughtful comments and related information without spamming, the group has taken on a life of its own. Within less than 3 days the community has grown and generated a natural 'buzz' that has began to spread effortlessly without any prompting.
So, take a moment to pick a few key people that you'd like to connect with and begin commenting at their blog and in response to their Twitter and Facebook posts. Keep it focused and consistent and I guarantee that you'll become part of a community that recognises you! :)
Go on! Take the plunge now and tell me what you think. Ask me a question about this article or any other business building topic? You can do so here at my blog.
Demographics
Who is your perfect customer? Is she the working mom whose age is between 35-50, or the single suburban yuppie of 25-30? Usually marketing campaigns, whether its invitation printing or poster printing, work on the premise that you as the business owner knows your target market so you could form your message to focus on the right people. Knowing full well your demographics can go a long way in providing the most effective marketing collateral in your custom invitation printing for example that can get more positive response.
However, relying on a wide range of demographics is not that good either. Not only do you make your marketing campaign very general, hoping to catch as many as possible in the process; but you are also providing a very vague message on your invitation printing or print posters for example. You also make the mistake of leaving out a portion of your target group that may have the prospects that actually have a need for your offer.
So instead of having a less than effective marketing collateral to promote your business, what if you get very specific in your demographics? What about going down to a specific demographic such as an individual? The point here is to go as low as possible in your chain of target market and get focused on a particular segment.
Focus. This is the name of the game – thinking past generalities and the majority to get focused on your target. This is to ensure that you point to a particular segment that would benefit more from your offer in your custom invitation printing for one, thereby making your message more effective and valuable.
The way to do it in your marketing campaign such as your invitation printing or custom invitation printing is to make a profile of your individual. What makes a perfect match? This means targeting an individual that you believe is the perfect fit for your offering. You need to go down and get to the nitty-gritty of things. Thorough research of your profile for your individual can guide you to have the most information that you need. Nevertheless, do not let your insight and intuitions go unnoticed. These qualities can get you what your research lacks.
Next, be sure to provide a multi-dimensional design in your collaterals by including images and other elements that can attract your individual’s attention. Integrate the senses to help you come up with a unique idea that can pique their interest. And always remember to never let your creativity be boxed in. Understand your individual’s personality and be sure to interact with it to create a more responsive marketing collateral.
The key is to narrow down your target and focus on the individual in your market. When you do, you will be able to think of fresh and new ideas that can provide you with unexplored paths in your marketing efforts.
However, relying on a wide range of demographics is not that good either. Not only do you make your marketing campaign very general, hoping to catch as many as possible in the process; but you are also providing a very vague message on your invitation printing or print posters for example. You also make the mistake of leaving out a portion of your target group that may have the prospects that actually have a need for your offer.
So instead of having a less than effective marketing collateral to promote your business, what if you get very specific in your demographics? What about going down to a specific demographic such as an individual? The point here is to go as low as possible in your chain of target market and get focused on a particular segment.
Focus. This is the name of the game – thinking past generalities and the majority to get focused on your target. This is to ensure that you point to a particular segment that would benefit more from your offer in your custom invitation printing for one, thereby making your message more effective and valuable.
The way to do it in your marketing campaign such as your invitation printing or custom invitation printing is to make a profile of your individual. What makes a perfect match? This means targeting an individual that you believe is the perfect fit for your offering. You need to go down and get to the nitty-gritty of things. Thorough research of your profile for your individual can guide you to have the most information that you need. Nevertheless, do not let your insight and intuitions go unnoticed. These qualities can get you what your research lacks.
Next, be sure to provide a multi-dimensional design in your collaterals by including images and other elements that can attract your individual’s attention. Integrate the senses to help you come up with a unique idea that can pique their interest. And always remember to never let your creativity be boxed in. Understand your individual’s personality and be sure to interact with it to create a more responsive marketing collateral.
The key is to narrow down your target and focus on the individual in your market. When you do, you will be able to think of fresh and new ideas that can provide you with unexplored paths in your marketing efforts.
Marketing Notepads
Notepad printing can hardly be called marketing. Notepads are much more of a functional material rather than a promotional one to ever be considered a tool for marketing. However, the concept of marketing notepads is not new, and many companies are using notepads as a prime tool for print marketing. In this article will teach you about print marketing and how notepads, which is a truly functional print material, can be turned into something that is more promotional.
What is print marketing?
Print marketing is basically the use of printed materials to further your marketing goals. The printed materials are usually in the form of brochures, postcards and catalogs. Other alternatives are folded business cards, greeting cards and of course the mail in marketing letter with envelope. All of these things are easily distributable and most can be sent through the postal service.
Now, that you know about the tools, the goals on the other hand is basically about exposure and sales. Print marketing materials usually try to convince readers to avail of a company’s product or service. This is done through the use of marketing messages and images. Besides that of course, it also about exposure and awareness about the company. By spreading out your company’s name using print marketing materials you can make yourself known to the general market, and you can build a reputation from that, even a brand name if you want.
How notepads fit in?
So how do you think notepads fit in? Well notepads are hardly the best tool for marketing, but they have a unique niche in the whole marketing framework. Unlike other marketing materials which are increasingly marked as junk mail (or using net lingo as “spam”) notepads are actually very useful for the people receiving them. Notepads can be used as a writing medium either for reminders, memorandums, or even a fully fledged letter.
Because of this, notepads are not considered as junk mail, or even junk gifts unlike other print marketing materials. So even though it is not the most effective in marketing, it will get past people’s usual junk mail sensors and it gets kept into people’s homes and offices. This now enables the color notepad’s marketing skills. With people keeping them as useful writing mediums, people will be constantly exposed to the notepads marketing message every time they write a note or letter. When the opportune moment strikes, they might realize that the notepad is advertising a service or product that they might probably want to buy or a company that they might want to do business with. Regardless though of the reader’s or writer’s motivation, that moment of recognition is where the marketing notepad can succeed where other print marketing materials fail. So that is how notepad printing can fit in on the marketing process.
Printing custom notepads:
If you want this kind of print material as a supplement to your other marketing printouts, then you are in luck. Printing custom notepads is very easy to do, and more likely your own printing company may already offer notepad printing. Simply ask your printing service if they can print marketing notepads for you, or you can also search for an online notepad printing service to help you out. Whatever the case, it should be very easy to design a notepad with simple information about you and your company along with your contact information. Once sent to the printing company you should have no worries in getting them. Afterwards you can give the notepads as souvenirs, gifts and of course you can even send it to people via package mail and have them use it at home where the notepad will work its magic.
All in all, a notepad is a different but still potent aspect of a print marketing campaign. It has strengths that correctly compliment other materials out there. It is a good way to cover the market area where you are lacking performance in when it comes to postal capable marketing. So don’t forget to consider notepad printing as a part of your print marketing campaign the next time your budget comes around.
What is print marketing?
Print marketing is basically the use of printed materials to further your marketing goals. The printed materials are usually in the form of brochures, postcards and catalogs. Other alternatives are folded business cards, greeting cards and of course the mail in marketing letter with envelope. All of these things are easily distributable and most can be sent through the postal service.
Now, that you know about the tools, the goals on the other hand is basically about exposure and sales. Print marketing materials usually try to convince readers to avail of a company’s product or service. This is done through the use of marketing messages and images. Besides that of course, it also about exposure and awareness about the company. By spreading out your company’s name using print marketing materials you can make yourself known to the general market, and you can build a reputation from that, even a brand name if you want.
How notepads fit in?
So how do you think notepads fit in? Well notepads are hardly the best tool for marketing, but they have a unique niche in the whole marketing framework. Unlike other marketing materials which are increasingly marked as junk mail (or using net lingo as “spam”) notepads are actually very useful for the people receiving them. Notepads can be used as a writing medium either for reminders, memorandums, or even a fully fledged letter.
Because of this, notepads are not considered as junk mail, or even junk gifts unlike other print marketing materials. So even though it is not the most effective in marketing, it will get past people’s usual junk mail sensors and it gets kept into people’s homes and offices. This now enables the color notepad’s marketing skills. With people keeping them as useful writing mediums, people will be constantly exposed to the notepads marketing message every time they write a note or letter. When the opportune moment strikes, they might realize that the notepad is advertising a service or product that they might probably want to buy or a company that they might want to do business with. Regardless though of the reader’s or writer’s motivation, that moment of recognition is where the marketing notepad can succeed where other print marketing materials fail. So that is how notepad printing can fit in on the marketing process.
Printing custom notepads:
If you want this kind of print material as a supplement to your other marketing printouts, then you are in luck. Printing custom notepads is very easy to do, and more likely your own printing company may already offer notepad printing. Simply ask your printing service if they can print marketing notepads for you, or you can also search for an online notepad printing service to help you out. Whatever the case, it should be very easy to design a notepad with simple information about you and your company along with your contact information. Once sent to the printing company you should have no worries in getting them. Afterwards you can give the notepads as souvenirs, gifts and of course you can even send it to people via package mail and have them use it at home where the notepad will work its magic.
All in all, a notepad is a different but still potent aspect of a print marketing campaign. It has strengths that correctly compliment other materials out there. It is a good way to cover the market area where you are lacking performance in when it comes to postal capable marketing. So don’t forget to consider notepad printing as a part of your print marketing campaign the next time your budget comes around.
One-Person Rule
A common mistake when writing web copy is writing to a large audience as a unit. The problem with this approach is that the copy loses its personal touch.
Typically, the person reading your web copy is alone on their computer. There isn't a large group of people huddled around the computer monitor. So it makes sense to make your copy speak to one person. Doing so personalizes your copy and makes it stronger.
For instance, I used to be a member of a Toastmasters club, which is a club that meets weekly to practice public speaking. One of the most important rules I learned was eye contact.
But the eye contact rule I learned didn't mean to look at the audience as one big unit -- a common mistake. Toastmasters teaches you to look at each audience member individually. You spend 3-10 seconds making eye contact with one person, then you move on to making eye contact with another audience member for about 3-10 seconds, and so on. By doing this, your speech becomes more intimate and personalized.
Just like in public speaking, your web copy should “speak” to only one person.
So when you write, avoid words like “all of you” or “everyone.” Instead, use the word “you.” “You” speaks to only one person.
But a key point to apply the One-Person Rule is your mindset. If you have the right mindset, you'll naturally write to only one person.
For instance, there's a blogger, with a very popular blog, who wrote in one of his posts that when he writes, he imagines himself on a stage speaking to a large audience. This is a mistake. Naturally, many of his posts spoke to his readers as though they were one large unit. His posts spoke in a one-to-many tone instead of a one-to-one tone.
Luckily, having the right mindset to write in a one-to-one tone is easy. Simply imagine one of your prospects and write to him or her. Avoid imagining a large audience as you write.
To imagine your prospect, list as many details as you can about him or her. Write down your prospect's income level, gender, age, habits, fears, desires, and beliefs. As you write down each detail, the picture of your prospect becomes clearer.
Use that picture and write to your prospect individually. By doing so, you'll apply the One-Person Rule to your copy.
So remember to apply the One-Person Rule to your copy. Your copy will be stronger and more personalized.
Typically, the person reading your web copy is alone on their computer. There isn't a large group of people huddled around the computer monitor. So it makes sense to make your copy speak to one person. Doing so personalizes your copy and makes it stronger.
For instance, I used to be a member of a Toastmasters club, which is a club that meets weekly to practice public speaking. One of the most important rules I learned was eye contact.
But the eye contact rule I learned didn't mean to look at the audience as one big unit -- a common mistake. Toastmasters teaches you to look at each audience member individually. You spend 3-10 seconds making eye contact with one person, then you move on to making eye contact with another audience member for about 3-10 seconds, and so on. By doing this, your speech becomes more intimate and personalized.
Just like in public speaking, your web copy should “speak” to only one person.
So when you write, avoid words like “all of you” or “everyone.” Instead, use the word “you.” “You” speaks to only one person.
But a key point to apply the One-Person Rule is your mindset. If you have the right mindset, you'll naturally write to only one person.
For instance, there's a blogger, with a very popular blog, who wrote in one of his posts that when he writes, he imagines himself on a stage speaking to a large audience. This is a mistake. Naturally, many of his posts spoke to his readers as though they were one large unit. His posts spoke in a one-to-many tone instead of a one-to-one tone.
Luckily, having the right mindset to write in a one-to-one tone is easy. Simply imagine one of your prospects and write to him or her. Avoid imagining a large audience as you write.
To imagine your prospect, list as many details as you can about him or her. Write down your prospect's income level, gender, age, habits, fears, desires, and beliefs. As you write down each detail, the picture of your prospect becomes clearer.
Use that picture and write to your prospect individually. By doing so, you'll apply the One-Person Rule to your copy.
So remember to apply the One-Person Rule to your copy. Your copy will be stronger and more personalized.
Small Business
They say there’s no excuse for ignorance. In the same manner, when advertising your business with collaterals such as print greeting cards for example, not knowing and understanding the fundamental laws of advertising can make you fail miserably in your efforts.
As a business owner, you can never miss out on the opportunity to understand some of the standard laws when it comes to promoting your business effectively. Knowing the laws of advertising can help you reap big rewards indeed.
To help you have a flawless advertising process that allows you to achieve the goals you’ve set for your campaign such as printing greeting cards, here are three of the basic laws you should consider:
The Law of Making-it-Easy-for-your-Clients-to-Contact-You
The objective of getting the word out about your business is for your target clients to be able to get in touch with you after reading your message. Whether to call you, click on your website, or even to visit your shop, the bottom line is to have your full contact information available in your marketing collaterals, be it print greeting cards, flyers, print notepads, and especially the small but significant business cards. This fundamental law is very simple, but often forgotten by many marketers. It’s as if readers have magic wands where they can just make your phone numbers appear out of nowhere.
The point: make sure that you have your tagline as well as your contact information everywhere in your collaterals.
The Law of the Right Ads to the Right People
Don’t waste your time promoting to those people who have no need for your particular business. It’s more productive and lucrative to spend your time, effort and resources convincing those prospects who have the most inclination to purchase your product.
The point: be sure to target one market only and tailor your ad such as your print greeting cards to the particular prospect you’re aiming at.
The Law of Curiosity
In addition to having the right message in your ad, be sure to provide your target clients with information that creates curiosity to your business. Successful ads are often those that pique the interest of its prospects which made them ask for more information from the company.
The point: make sure to provide ads that generate interest and make your target clients ask for more information.
It takes a lot from small businesses to mount a successful marketing campaign such as printing greeting cards. But with planning, testing and repeat exposure, your marketing campaign can be effective communicators of your message which can provide you with much bigger returns.
As a business owner, you can never miss out on the opportunity to understand some of the standard laws when it comes to promoting your business effectively. Knowing the laws of advertising can help you reap big rewards indeed.
To help you have a flawless advertising process that allows you to achieve the goals you’ve set for your campaign such as printing greeting cards, here are three of the basic laws you should consider:
The Law of Making-it-Easy-for-your-Clients-to-Contact-You
The objective of getting the word out about your business is for your target clients to be able to get in touch with you after reading your message. Whether to call you, click on your website, or even to visit your shop, the bottom line is to have your full contact information available in your marketing collaterals, be it print greeting cards, flyers, print notepads, and especially the small but significant business cards. This fundamental law is very simple, but often forgotten by many marketers. It’s as if readers have magic wands where they can just make your phone numbers appear out of nowhere.
The point: make sure that you have your tagline as well as your contact information everywhere in your collaterals.
The Law of the Right Ads to the Right People
Don’t waste your time promoting to those people who have no need for your particular business. It’s more productive and lucrative to spend your time, effort and resources convincing those prospects who have the most inclination to purchase your product.
The point: be sure to target one market only and tailor your ad such as your print greeting cards to the particular prospect you’re aiming at.
The Law of Curiosity
In addition to having the right message in your ad, be sure to provide your target clients with information that creates curiosity to your business. Successful ads are often those that pique the interest of its prospects which made them ask for more information from the company.
The point: make sure to provide ads that generate interest and make your target clients ask for more information.
It takes a lot from small businesses to mount a successful marketing campaign such as printing greeting cards. But with planning, testing and repeat exposure, your marketing campaign can be effective communicators of your message which can provide you with much bigger returns.
Increasing Sales
The Internet has now become an important medium for product and service advertisements. Almost every company that can afford print, radio and TV advertisements have also ventured into placing ads on the Internet.
But with millions of websites out there being visited by millions of computer users, how can you make sure that your ad will be viewed by your targeted customers and that your leads will be followed by these users? Here are a few tips.
1. Place an ad on the websites frequented by your target customers. Before doing this, you need to define who they are. Placing an ad on sites that they usually visit will increase the possibility that your ad will capture their attention and will be followed your target customers.
Also, consider the website's search engine placement, traffic, external linking and the other ads placed on it. External linking will determine if there are other sites that link to this site. This will mean that people can get to the site where your ad is placed, even if they are browsing a different site. Check if many of your competitors have ads on this site.
2. Placing ads on some sites cost some money. However, there are also sites that can place a link to your site, product or service in exchange of having their link being displayed on your site. This is also true about the newsletters sent by site owners to its mailing list members regularly.
Also, having helpful links placed on your site and having sites link to your pages help in boosting search engine ranking. This is similar to making a statement that your site's content is important that other sites have links to your web pages.
3. Pay-per-click (PPC) is also a good method in Internet marketing. You will only need to pay for the ad if the link is clicked. If you prefer this method of advertisement, make sure that you are using services that set limits on daily expenses. There are also services that help you determine effective keywords and monitor the PPC results.
4. Choose your domain name wisely. It is still being debated if domain names matter when it comes to search engine placement. Whether it does or not, having product related domain names help consumers remember your domain, that they can go back to your site even without the links.
5. Make sure you have useful content on your sites. While keyword density is important in search engine placement, having useless information or annoying repetition of keywords will not increase your customer's confidence in your site. It may even affect your sites traffic and can get your site removed from search engines. So make sure that keywords are used strategically.
6. When thinking of keywords, think like your target customers. What do you think are they going to search so they can get to your site? Remember to use specific keywords or key phrases. Submitting a single word or a very general phrase to a search engine will not get you to the top of the search results compared to submitting specific keywords that describe your product and services perfectly.
7. Track your ads. Always check how much you have spent on placing links on frequently visited sites and on PPC. There are services that allow you to monitor PPC transactions and how many of these end in sales. You always need to consider if the ads that you have placed on these websites are getting you to your target consumers and if these ads can lead to revenue.
One final tip on marketing products and services, sell the benefits. It will help your marketing strategies a lot if you highlight the benefits of choosing your products and services instead of merely discussing the product specifications. Product specifications may not mean much to customers, unless they know what these stand for (how these specifications affect the quality of the product or service).
Many people say getting to the top of search engine results is difficult since millions of websites exist, which can be using the same keywords. While this is true, this doesn't mean that your website has to stack under your competitors' websites when presenting search engine results. Strategic advertising and linking, together with useful content, can also get you to the top of the search results.
But with millions of websites out there being visited by millions of computer users, how can you make sure that your ad will be viewed by your targeted customers and that your leads will be followed by these users? Here are a few tips.
1. Place an ad on the websites frequented by your target customers. Before doing this, you need to define who they are. Placing an ad on sites that they usually visit will increase the possibility that your ad will capture their attention and will be followed your target customers.
Also, consider the website's search engine placement, traffic, external linking and the other ads placed on it. External linking will determine if there are other sites that link to this site. This will mean that people can get to the site where your ad is placed, even if they are browsing a different site. Check if many of your competitors have ads on this site.
2. Placing ads on some sites cost some money. However, there are also sites that can place a link to your site, product or service in exchange of having their link being displayed on your site. This is also true about the newsletters sent by site owners to its mailing list members regularly.
Also, having helpful links placed on your site and having sites link to your pages help in boosting search engine ranking. This is similar to making a statement that your site's content is important that other sites have links to your web pages.
3. Pay-per-click (PPC) is also a good method in Internet marketing. You will only need to pay for the ad if the link is clicked. If you prefer this method of advertisement, make sure that you are using services that set limits on daily expenses. There are also services that help you determine effective keywords and monitor the PPC results.
4. Choose your domain name wisely. It is still being debated if domain names matter when it comes to search engine placement. Whether it does or not, having product related domain names help consumers remember your domain, that they can go back to your site even without the links.
5. Make sure you have useful content on your sites. While keyword density is important in search engine placement, having useless information or annoying repetition of keywords will not increase your customer's confidence in your site. It may even affect your sites traffic and can get your site removed from search engines. So make sure that keywords are used strategically.
6. When thinking of keywords, think like your target customers. What do you think are they going to search so they can get to your site? Remember to use specific keywords or key phrases. Submitting a single word or a very general phrase to a search engine will not get you to the top of the search results compared to submitting specific keywords that describe your product and services perfectly.
7. Track your ads. Always check how much you have spent on placing links on frequently visited sites and on PPC. There are services that allow you to monitor PPC transactions and how many of these end in sales. You always need to consider if the ads that you have placed on these websites are getting you to your target consumers and if these ads can lead to revenue.
One final tip on marketing products and services, sell the benefits. It will help your marketing strategies a lot if you highlight the benefits of choosing your products and services instead of merely discussing the product specifications. Product specifications may not mean much to customers, unless they know what these stand for (how these specifications affect the quality of the product or service).
Many people say getting to the top of search engine results is difficult since millions of websites exist, which can be using the same keywords. While this is true, this doesn't mean that your website has to stack under your competitors' websites when presenting search engine results. Strategic advertising and linking, together with useful content, can also get you to the top of the search results.
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