| 7 Proven Internet Marketing Strategies To Increase Your Sales |
[Oct. 12th, 2009|11:35 am] |
I am constantly amazed by the number of people I meet on
the web who have absolutely no marketing strategy whatsoever
behind their site or online marketing.
I am even more amazed by the number of people who believe
all they have to do is buy a domain, slap a few HTML pages
together and place them on a web host somewhere. Then they
expect everything else to just happen because their site or
business is on the web!
It very rarely happens that way.
Creating an online business takes some planning and strategy
if you want your site or business to succeed. You must have
a plan of action, but most of all, you must have some fundamental
marketing strategies behind your online site.
Now, I am speaking from experience here, because I also stumbled
around on the web for 2 or 3 years like the people I described above.
I foolishly thought just because I had a web site, I could do
business on the web.
Well, not very much happened. I received very little traffic
and very few sales. My site was going nowhere fast.
Fortunately, the theme I chose for my first site was Internet
Marketing! I spent those first years studying all the online
marketing material and information I could get my hands on.
I gradually learned what to do and what not to do when it
came to marketing online.
Mostly, I stumbled across some great Internet marketers like
Marlon Sanders, Neil Shearing, Ken Evoy... true pioneers of
online marketing. By studying those first class marketers and
their marketing techniques I learned how it was all done.
Over time, I learned how to become very analytical with my
sites and marketing. I started to create marketing strategies
and put them into practice with my sites. This was all new to
me because I have a background in education rather than marketing.
Now, I would like to share with you some of these marketing
strategies and practices - just things I do and things I put
into place which enable me to receive a modest but very
comfortable online income.
So here are some things you can try:
1. Know Your Market Or Audience
First and foremost, you must know your market. Know who
you will be targeting with your marketing? Know who will be
buying your products or the affiliate products that you're
promoting on the web?
I keep my eyes open for hot trends or products which everyone
is buying. You can use programs like Google Trends to see which
products are becoming hot. For example, in electronics, which
products are on everyone's wish list? Is it laptops, PCs or netbooks?
Are people buying smart phones, PDAs, Blu-ray Players or E-readers?
Just find out what products are hot? Find what products are being
searched for in the search engines... do a check to see how many
searches are made each month for your chosen product? Use WordTracker,
or a free online site such as Seobook.com to see what products
people are searching for on the web.
If there is a large demand/audience/market for your product or
subject area, then you have a better chance of succeeding online.
It is a simple marketing strategy that many first time marketers
ignore - please don't. So choose your products to match the
demand that is out there for them.
2. Buying Mindset
One of the key elements to selling stuff online is finding people
at the exact moment they are ready to buy. What some marketers
refer to as a "Buying Mindset". You find people who have their
minds set on buying something when they reach your site.
This is much easier than you think!
A simple way I found to do this is to create sites which target
keywords related to buying... such as gifts, coupons, bargains,
deals and so on. For example, a site on wedding gifts will obviously
attract customers who are interested in buying wedding gifts.
To give you a concrete example from my own site, I have a
section on "Corporate Business Gifts" which offers special
deals/coupons on corporate business gifts... someone searching
for that phrase is more likely to purchase a gift. Just simple
reasoning, but it works wonders for selling stuff online.
In the Info-Product market, many Gurus create a "Buying Mindset"
by offering special bonuses and discounts if someone buys from
their links. Another simple way to boost your sales.
3. Target Special Holidays
Along the same lines, I like targeting times when people feel
obligated to buy. Using special holidays like Christmas,
Mother's Day, Valentine's Day... in your marketing can be very
effective.
There are occasions such as anniversaries, birthdays, weddings,
graduations... when people feel they must buy something for
a loved one or special friend. Targeting those occasions with
your marketing can be extremely effective... people are looking
for a birthday gift, a graduation gift or a wedding gift - you
simply help them find what they're looking for.
On one of my sites, I target the "Back To School" market which
has proven very lucrative since I market high-ticket affiliate
items such as laptops, PCs and netbooks.
4. Place All Your Emphasis On Supplying Information
The majority of people searching on the web are looking for
information - first and foremost - even those who are ready to
buy. They want information on the subject or product they're
searching for on the web. It should be your marketing strategy
to give them this information.
All of my sites are based on supplying information to my visitors.
If you give solid information they will be pleased and take note
of your site and a few will buy the products you recommend, but
the information must come first.
Even popular selling sites like Amazon give loads of consumer
information and feedback while selling their products on the
web. Consumers want information on the products they're buying.
Supply this information and you will sell more products.
5. Target Long Tail Keyword Phrases In Your SEO
If you're selling stuff on the web, it is extremely important
that you have a SEO marketing strategy. You must use the search
engines to bring in those quality visitors and potential customers
to your site. You must rank high in the search engines for your
chosen keywords.
I have found SEO is not easy but it is also not that hard to do.
In order to rank high you must be persistent, have a six month
or yearly plan... work at it over time, even years to build up
your rankings. Most webmasters won't have the patience or resources
to stick to a long-term strategy for months, even years before
they start ranking for popular, well-searched for keywords.
However, there's another quicker and faster way to get quality
traffic from the search engines. Instead of targeting highly
competitive popular keywords, you target longer keyword phrases
that have little competition. For example, someone searching
for a particular brand and model is more likely to buy then someone
searching for a general topic. Someone searching for "cars"
compared to someone searching for "2007 Ford Mustang Shelby GT"
- the last phrase will have very few searches but it can
produce more targeted buyers.
6. Build Lists of Interested Buyers
One of my most effective marketing strategies is building
simple lists of people who want to receive further information
on the subject or product they're considering buying.
The web is a very temporary process since most people spend less
than a few seconds on most sites. So it is important that
you try and get them to opt-in to your mailing list, join
your Twitter account or FaceBook group... and so on.
You must build lists of people who are interested in finding
out more about your subject or product. This way you will
have repeat visitors to your site and you will get the opportunity
to sell to them again and again. If you build a trusting
relationship with these contacts, they will respect your
opinions and suggestions.
List building can have a very positive effect on your
sales numbers so it is one marketing strategy you should
definitely try if you're not already using lists.
7. Sell Things You Can ONLY Buy Online
This marketing strategy is so simple - it's almost laughable.
But I quickly found selling stuff that can only be bought
online do much better than selling stuff that can be bought
at your local Walmart. If buyers can only find it online,
then you will have a much better chance of selling it to them.
Therefore, marketing unique products or specialty items,
which are only available online can prove very lucrative.
This is a very simple marketing strategy but also a very
effective one. Just try it.
There are no doubt, countless other marketing strategies
you can use. But using some or all of the ones listed above
will help increase your online sales. Again, just try them
and see for yourself.
The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous websites.
If you want to find out more marketing strategies and selling on the
web in general, just download these marketing manuals:
Free Marketing Courses
For the latest web marketing tools try: Internet Marketing Tools
Titus Hoskins Copyright © 2009. This article may be freely
distributed if this resource box stays attached. |
|
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| 5 Reasons Why Most Internet Marketers Fail |
[May. 18th, 2009|08:30 am] |
When it comes to starting any endeavor, whether it be
learning a new hobby or starting an online business,
we all have to start at ground zero. We all have to start
at the very beginning from the very same place. Granted,
we each bring different skills and backgrounds into the mix,
but for the most part we are all on equal footing at the
starting line.
If this is the case, then we really have to ponder why is it
only a choice few go on to succeed, while most people don't.
Just what are the reasons why most online marketers fail?
This is the core question that has to be answered if you
want to fully understand Internet marketing and how it works.
What are these basic reasons?
What are the causes or stumbling blocks that hold many marketers
and webmasters from reaching their full online potential? If we
know these factors, we can learn how to avoid them and even
overcome them in our own online marketing. These reasons can be
a solid reference point or even a source of inspiration for any
online marketer just starting out.
Speaking from the viewpoint of someone who has started from the
very beginning with little to no knowledge of computers or even
marketing for that matter, I can honestly relate to the beginning
marketer. I even had to learn HTML from scratch in order to construct
my own webpages. Probably my only advantage, I did have a background
in art but designing webpages was completely different from anything
I had done previously to starting in online marketing.
Nor did I have any formal training in business or marketing,
just an art teaching background which really doesn't help
with the day to day running of an online business. I had to
learn as I went; struggling with hundreds of marketing
decisions before my sites became profitable. Don't get the
wrong impression, I have probably made hundreds of mistakes
along the way and I am still making them!
But from my own experiences I have drawn some general conclusions
about Internet marketing and why some people succeed while most
people fail. So here in my honest opinion, are some of the
main reasons why many online marketers fail:
1. Overwhelmed With Information
Perhaps, one of the biggest obstacles I faced when I first
started my website - I was bombarded with so much information
on how to proceed I didn't have a clue which direction to take
or who to believe. Thousands of different info products telling
you to do this, not to do that... so much marketing information
to absorb that you end up scratching your head and looking like
someone auditioning for a zombie movie.
Completely overwhelmed with so much information, many marketers
or webmasters enter a state of paralysis where nothing gets done.
You go from one course to another or from one method to another,
without any real understanding of how to proceed or how to get a
detailed blueprint to follow.
Been there, done that!
Information overflow can effectively crush all that novice
enthusiasm and literally kill even the most eager of entrepreneurs.
Anyone starting out must be aware of this obvious but insidious
pitfall you have to avoid at all costs. One of the best remedies,
simply try concentrating on just one or two marketing plans/marketers
for all your information. Try to eliminate the clutter by just working
on one marketing system. Just have a few key marketing resources
you go to for information, not a hundred! And do your homework,
only pick marketers who can back up their claims with observable results
on the web. One obvious checkmark - just see if those marketers have top
rankings for their sites for popular profitable keywords associated
with their sites or products.
2. Lack Of Key Marketing Basics
There are some key marketing basics or fundamentals you must
learn about marketing online. Internet marketing has some key
elements you must get right or you will have a difficult task
in succeeding on the web. Just simple factors you must get right
or it's game over before you even get started.
Most marketers fail to realize the web is "information driven"
and you must supply quality information or content in order to
truly succeed. You must provide a valuable service or function
to your visitors. You must help solve their problem. You must
give them a solid reason to use your site or product. Quality
content is and always will be King on the web.
You must also understand much of the web is "keyword driven" and you
must construct your webpages to take full advantage of these keywords.
You must have at least a rudimentary understanding of SEO (Search
Engine Optimization) and how you can use it to get top rankings
for your keyword phrases.
3. Lack Of Time And Resources
Another major reason why many marketers fail is because they
simply can't afford the time to learn and build their online
business. Most people just can't stop everything and work full
time online because they have bills to pay and families to
support. It may take months, probably years, before you can
build up a successful online business that gives you a comfortable
living. The average person just doesn't have the time or the resources
to spend months learning how all this works.
Keep in mind, getting a business or website going is probably the most
inexpensive way to start your own business. Domains are cheap.
Web hosting is cheap. Web design is cheap if you can do it yourself...
compared to starting a business in the "real" world, creating an online
business will only cost a faction of the normal expenses connected with
starting a business. But the main problem is having the resources to pay
your living expenses until your online business is profitable. Many beginning
online marketers don't have these resources and the main complaint from
these marketers: "I Simply can't afford the time to work at this online
stuff."
One solution is to work at your online marketing in your spare time and
gradually build up your business until you can afford to do it full time.
It will obviously take longer but you can still get to the same end goal.
4. Lack Of Necessary Skills
Actually, you don't need many skills to succeed online. However,
one of the major skills you must have or you must learn is communication.
You must learn how to communicate. The web is all about communicating
your points to your visitors or viewers so you must acquire good
communication skills.
It really helps your marketing if you are a good writer because you can easily
get your points across with written text or copy on your site. Writing
skills can be learned but many beginning marketers don't fully understand
how important their writing skills will be to their success. You must
be able to communicate on your site, in your newsletters, with your
customers... might sound a bit obvious but you would be surprised at
how many marketers lack this simple, yet necessary skill.
But don't fret, because once upon a time, the written word was king
online - but not any more. Videos are rapidly taking the place of the printed
word so anyone with a camera can now be a success online. Of course,
you still need good communication skills even using videos, but many
marketers have found this is a much easier way to communicate information
about their site or product.
5. Lack Of Persistence
For me, one the most significant reasons most online marketers/webmasters
fail, is because of a lack of persistence. They simply give up too soon.
They try something for a few weeks, even for a few months and then they
conclude this is not working and they give up.
Building a solid online business or viable website takes time, a
lot of time. Just because your business is online, doesn't mean
everything will fall into place overnight, it takes time to establish
a customer base. It takes time to build your business relationships
and partnerships with others in your field.
Sometimes, it may take years before you see some solid returns. It was
three years before I saw any significant revenue coming from my online
ventures, and another year before I could summon enough courage to do
this online marketing full time. If I had given up and not persisted
at this web stuff, I would not be writing this article right now.
Building top rankings for your keywords in the search engines
(especially Google) can take months, even years before you see any
results. The real key is to be persistent and keep at it, day after
day, until you get those top rankings. You simply must be persistent
or you will fail.
In conclusion, having said all that, you must also realize there are
plenty of exceptions to all of the above. There have been countless
success stories on the web where someone has come up with a novel
idea or product and become successful overnight. The web can offer
immediate success for some but for most of us, it will take some
time and hard effort on our part to build a successful online business.
Just try to avoid many of the pitfalls or reasons listed above and you
will have a better chance of placing yourself in the success column.
...
The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous
niche sites. He contributes much of his online success to
following the teachings of some early online marketing
pioneers, mainly: Marlon Sanders
And Ken Evoy: Free Marketing Courses
Copyright © 2009 Titus Hoskins. This article may be
freely distributed if this resource box stays attached. |
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| Why Profitable Keywords Are The Cornerstones Of Your Online Marketing? |
[Apr. 15th, 2009|01:41 pm] |
Keywords are ground zero. They are essential to your online success.
You must get your keywords right or it's game over before you even
get started. Mainly because keywords are the most important element
of your online marketing.
It can't be emphasized enough, especially to beginning online webmasters
or marketers, choosing the right profitable keywords will largely determine
whether or not you succeed with your online endeavors. You simply must
get this element right or your marketing will be in big trouble.
What are keywords?
Lets start at the very beginning, keywords are the exact words someone
types into a search engine to find what they're looking for on the web.
Some keywords are valuable/profitable, while others are virtually worthless.
Profitable keywords are the ones that convert into a sale, a lead or
potential client/customer for your company or product. These are the
words someone is searching in order to buy a product or hire a service.
Someone searching for "honeymoon vacation packages" is probably in the
market to book a honeymoon vacation and could turn out to be very profitable
for the right website or business.
Profitable keywords are the ones where the searcher is in the right
"mind-set" or frame of mind to buy what they're searching for on the web.
Tailor your online marketing to target these profitable keywords and
it can spell success.
So what's the whole process for finding or choosing profitable keywords
to use in your marketing? Lets look at some ways to proceed...
Number of Keyword Searches Made?
You need to find out how many searches are made for your chosen keywords
each month. Simply use WordTracker or a site like SEOBook. These will
give you a preliminary number of searches made each month for your keyword.
Highly popular, well-searched keywords with hundreds of thousands of searches
each month will be extremely hard to rank for because you will have stiff
competition from major companies with limitless resources.
I like to pick less popular keywords that get only a couple of hundred
of searches each day because my chances of getting on the first page
greatly increases. But don't get fixated on the number of searches,
some keyword phrases that only get four or five searches daily,
can still be very profitable.
For serious keyword research in a particular niche market I like to use
Brad Callen's Keyword Elite which is professionally designed software
that makes all your keyword research so much easier. But there are plenty
of free keyword tools you can use. One handy keyword tool is Google Adwords
external suggestion tool which will help you find valuable keywords.
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Commercial Intent of Keywords?
But how do you know if a keyword is profitable? Well, one convenient
tool is from MSN which helps you with "Detecting Online Commercial Intention"
of keywords. Just type in a keyword and it will give you a percentage
or probability your keyword query has commercial benefit or intent.
http://adlab.msn.com/Online-Commercial-Intention/Default.aspx
Conversion Rate of Keywords?
Once you have your chosen keywords in place, next you want to have
a landing page that converts those keywords or traffic from those
keywords into buyers or leads for your online business. This is
another crucial element of your online marketing - you must have
a landing page or content/site that converts into a sale or you
obviously won't make any revenue.
Keep in mind, if you're into affiliate marketing, you main goal
is not to sell but to "pre-sell" your products or services.
One effective way I have found to do this is to give potential
customers/clients valuable information they can use in making
their final purchasing choice. Comparison sites do well, as
do review sites, top ten sites... potential customers use the
Internet and keywords to not only find products but more so, to
find information on those products. Your goal should be to provide
this valuable information to make their task a little bit easier
for them and they will reward you with a sale.
What are Long-Tail Keywords?
Long-Tail keywords are simply that: long three or four word phrases
that searchers use to find what they're looking for on the web.
Because they are highly specific, long-tail keywords have proven
to have better conversion rates than general keywords. This is
also just common sense, someone searching for a "2005 ford mustang
convertible" may just be in the right mind-set to buy such a vehicle;
as compared to someone searching for a more general keyword phrase
such as "sports cars."
Study your website traffic logs religiously to find long-tail
keywords that turn into a sale. Target these long-tail keywords
in your marketing. Even buy PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising in
the three major search engines - Google Adwords, Yahoo! Marketing
and MicroSoft AdCenter - for these valuable/profitable keywords.
And build higher rankings in organic search for these long-tail
keyword phrases. It's really not that difficult for long phrases,
especially if they're related to your site; many times you can
reach the top spot in a matter of days, especially in Google.
How to rank high for your chosen profitable keywords?
Of course, the million dollar question is: HOW do you rank in the top
spot for your chosen keywords? I believe the key to ranking high in the
search engines (especially Google) is to be persistent in building
your rankings for your keywords. Take a long-term view or approach,
sometimes it may take months, even years, to rank in the top Five
for your highly competitive keywords.
The best strategy is to "stick to it" and keep building relevant
links to your keyword landing page. Create related blogs with valuable
content linking back to your keywords. Write keyword related articles
and distribute them all over the web. Create Google Alerts for your
keywords and them place comments/links in the newly formed pages on
the web that Google is indexing.
Be pro-active, download the SEOQuake toolbar and find your main keyword
competitors. Check out their links and then go out and get the same
links. Write better higher quality content than your main competitors
because Google always rewards great content. Plus, use the free Addthis.com
button and let your visitors bookmark your great content in all
the social bookmark sites and build your keyword links for you.
Do keyworded Press Releases with your embedded links and spread them
all over the web. Get these Press Releases into Google news and other
important places on the web. PRWeb.com is really a great place for your
press releases since you can embed your keywords in your links.
If you can try to get your most important keywords in your domain
name. Many SEO experts argue the merits of this but from my own
experience and marketing - it is much easier to rank high for your
keywords if you have them in the domain name. Again, it is just common sense,
if you have your main keyword in the domain, this keyword is obviously
telling the search engines this is what your site is all about. I have even
bought domains and created sites specifically around certain keywords
just to rank high.
Always remember, you have to be persistent, I have been fighting some
keyword battles for over four or five years! For really profitable keywords,
it can be a constant struggle to remain on the first page, but the trick is
not to give up, just keep fighting away at your competitors. Persistence
usually pays off in the end and those profitable keywords will have your links
in the top spot. Make ranking high for those profitable keywords your number
one marketing strategy. Concentrate all your marketing efforts towards getting
plenty of quality traffic for those keywords and you will succeed online.
...
The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous
niche sites. These 10 SEO Tactics Bring Me Over 2000 Visitors Daily:
SEO Tips
To learn more Internet Marketing Tactics try:
Marketing Tools
Copyright © 2009 Titus Hoskins. This article may be
freely distributed if this resource box stays attached. |
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| Is Affiliate Marketing Right For You? |
[Mar. 1st, 2009|05:30 pm] |
Thousands, if not millions, of online webmasters and marketers are turning to affiliate marketing to earn extra money from the web. Affiliate marketing offers the perfect way for the ordinary person to cash in on the billions of sales made online each year.
But is Affiliate Marketing right for you?
Is it something that you should investigate and pursue further if you truly want to monetize your site or content? As a way of an answer and to get you thinking about affiliate marketing; I would like to offer some of my own experiences as a full-time online affiliate marketer. I would also like to give you some marketing tips and a few pit-falls you should try to avoid.
Truth be told, I didn't plan to become an affiliate marketer. It just happened, mostly by accident, as I was struggling to promote my first site on Internet marketing some 10 years ago now. My original plan was to re-sell some software products with hopes of making my fortune on this new thing called the Internet.
Well, to make a long story short, most things don't quite turn out as we originally plan. Instead of selling my own products, I became much more interested in studying "how to market online" and examining "how marketing systems worked" than actually selling my own stuff. I was much more fascinated in the "nuts & bolts" or "marketing tools" behind these online marketing systems than earning a few pennies.
I was particularly captivated by a new search engine called Google. Yes, there are many marketers around who have been studying Google since it first started. And I believe it was Google and its Adsense Program in particular that sort of legitimized the "whole idea of making money online" for me. I turned my attention to other ways of monetizing my sites, especially with affiliate programs. And the rest as they say is history...
But enough about me, what about you?
Do you have a website? Are you interested in earning extra revenue from your site? Are you trying to earn a full-time income online? More importantly:
Is Affiliate Marketing Right for you?
First, you have to realize Affiliate Marketing is when you promote and sell affiliate products from your site or sites. Actually, selling is not quite the right word because you DON'T actually sell anything from your site. You merely refer or send customers/interested buyers to the affiliate sites you're promoting via your affiliate links.
Believe me, sometimes this concept is very hard to explain to close family and friends. But what do you sell online? You don't have anything to sell? How can you make money?
To repeat, with affiliate marketing you don't sell anything directly online... you send clients and customers to online companies or merchants where they buy stuff and since they're coming from your site's affiliate links you get credit for the sale.
I don't directly sell Dell Computers on my sites, I merely send prospective customers to Dell where they can buy Dell products and since they came from my affiliate links I get credit, plus a small commission in return if they buy something. Same goes for Amazon or hundreds of the other companies and products I promote with my sites.
Now Affiliate Marketing Fits Me to a Tee! Here's why...
- You don't handle any sales transactions
- You don't handle any delivery of products
- You don't have to deal with customer complaints or run customer support
- You don't have to manage employees or operate a business
- You don't need an office, stock, or any physical products
With Affiliate Marketing all the selling and business operations are done by the company you're promoting. This saves you from a lot of head-aches and problems that arise from running your own company or developing your own products. It's all done for you.
Furthermore, online Affiliate Marketing does have some great advantages:
- Your sites and affiliate links are working for you 24/7, 365 days of the year. You earn sales/commissions while you're sleeping, eating, watching TV or doing anything we humans do!
- You earn money even when you're on Vacation. This happened to me last year when I went to Florida to see Bruce Springsteen in concert. Unfortunately, a band member died so I didn't get to see Springsteen but I did make more than enough online to pay for my whole trip WHILE I was in Orlando. It was also the first time, I didn't have access to my computer or sites for more than a few days, but they still made me money.
- Once you get your affiliate links set-up, they will continue to earn you revenue automatically. All your online marketing can be automated and run from your home office or from anywhere you choose.
- Keep in mind, your content and sites keep building and growing. Work you did writing that great article two years ago is still bringing in affiliate sales today.
- Plus, with Affiliate Marketing, all your marketing materials (banners, sales copy, videos, ads, links...) are all provided for you by the Affiliate Network or Company.
- There's little stress with affiliate marketing mainly because you're your own boss and you can work at home. No office politics or all that foolishness. No commuting. In addition, there is very little capital investment, for a few hundred dollars or much less, you can have a site up and running on the web.
However, Affiliate Marketing does have some real disadvantages:
- You can often earn much more if you develop and sell your own products. You're not really getting the highest return on your site's content by selling other people's stuff. The profit margin can be much, much higher if you sell your own products.
- There is also the issue of lost commissions and theft of sales, you can never be sure you're getting credit for all your traffic and referrals. In most cases you're not.
- Many times there's stiff competition from other affiliates selling the same stuff and using the same marketing materials... although many top affiliates create their own marketing materials so they stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Since I am a full-time online affiliate marketer the benefits far outweighs the few downers associated with this great lifestyle. Mainly because it is just that: a lifestyle rather than a job. I never think of it as a job or working. Maybe, that's because I am my own master, I can work from home and set my own hours. I can take time off, I can go on vacations or I can live anywhere in the world where there's Internet Access and these days that's just about anywhere. The sense of freedom is truly intoxicating to say the least.
If you do find Affiliate Marketing is something that you would like to pursue, even part-time if not full-time, here are some of my best tips for increasing your affiliate income and sales:
- Focus your marketing efforts and attention on programs and products which give you recurring or residual income. Make one sale and get paid for years to come.
- Develop your own sites and marketing materials so that you stand out from the other affiliate marketers. Create your own unique selling position even if you're not technically selling the products. Give extra bonuses if they buy from your links or site.
- Build your own list of customers who are interested in the products you're promoting. Grow your own list, as well as that of the affiliate company you're promoting. You will always have these subscribers and you can promote other similar products to them.
- Concentrate on targeting "long tail keywords" with your content and sites; these multi-worded keyword phrases are easy to rank high for and usually have better conversion rates.
- Cloak your affiliate links to cut down on affiliate theft. For example, ClickBank has a simple HTML code that will hide your link. Use it.
- Internet users and especially shoppers want simple helpful information to make their buying decisions easier. Provide them with valuable information
they can use in their task and they will reward you with a sale. Also giving away coupons and online discounts will increase your sales and commissions.
- Use the major affiliate networks like Commission Junction, LinkShare, ClickBank, Amazon, Shareasale... I have found these networks very simple to
use and very effective. Plus, their checks never bounce!
- Keep a close eye on your monthly sales, with many of the companies if you go over $25,000 or $50,000 in sales for the month, you get extra bonus incentives. I have found these can dramatically increase your monthly income so watch your sales stats closely.
If you do find that Affiliate Marketing is right for you, chances are almost 100% certain that you will never regret it. Affiliate marketing offers one of the least stressful ways of earning a living on the planet and the lifestyle can't be beat. Anyone can change their lives with affiliate marketing. I did and you can too!
..........................................
The author is a full-time affiliate marketer with numerous niche
sites - including two sites on Internet Marketing. To further
discover if affiliate marketing is right for you, try these links:
free internet marketing courses
or affiliate marketing guide
Copyright © 2009 Titus Hoskins. This article may be
freely distributed if this resource box stays attached. |
|
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| 8 Quick Ways To Instantly Build Your Online Credibility |
[Feb. 2nd, 2009|11:24 am] |
Regardless of what type of website or business you're
pursuing on the web, you and your site must be seen
as "credible" in the eyes of your visitors or it's
"game over" before you even get started. Visitors must
believe you are someone who "knows their stuff" and
is worth their time.
Therefore, instantly establishing this credibility is
vital to your site's success, especially online where
people are still very distrustful of what they see and
read. And if you're selling something this "distrust
meter" takes a giant leap of faith.
So here are some eight quick ways to instantly build trust
with your site's visitors and remember you only have a few
nanoseconds to accomplish this difficult task.
So try these quick trust building methods:
1. Credibility Pre-header. Many marketers and webmasters
try to get or place a credibility pre-header above their
content, especially if you're selling a product. "America's
#1 Affiliate Marketer according to Time Magazine, reveals
all his secrets..."
Or something along those lines, but keep in mind, this
pre-header must have a neutral third party blurb or statement
which can be backed up. Quoting respected important sources
such as major magazines, news programs, well known organizations
or even other important web sites will instantly help establish
your credibility in the mind of the viewer.
That's why on a lot of sites you see such things as "As seen
on Oprah" "As seen On CNN" or even the old stand-by "As seen
on TV" will add credibility to what follows... just use the
same concept on your own site. While you may not be able to
boast those kinds of claims... you can usually come up with
some important (well known websites) which feature your work
or content. I like using sites like "Featured on Ezinearticles.com",
"Featured on Buzzle.com", "Featured on SiteProNews", while those
places don't have the power of a Larry King, Dr. Phil or Oprah...
they do establish some instant credibility in the "eyes" of your
visitor.
2. Picture and Bio. Have your picture and bio at the top of
the page so that readers can instantly see who you are. Give
your major accomplishments and successes because you must prove
that you're worth their time. Many savvy marketers use a two-columned
page format where one side is used to establish credibility...
where you place your picture, your bio, any awards your site
has won and tons and tons of testimonials from your visitors
and site users.
Use this whole side column all the way down your page to establish
your credibility. As readers are reading your content or sales letter,
they can glance over to see what you're saying is backed up by
other people.
3. Testimonials. As mentioned above, you should have testimonials
on your page and plenty of them. These will give credibility to
what you're saying. You should also place a few of these testimonials
in your main sales letter as well as to use the credibility of the
person giving the recommendation to your best advantage.
Many big-name online marketers (Gurus) do have enormous credibility
in the "eyes" of those reading the content. These testimonials
can go a long way in establishing your credibility as well. Use
as many as you can possibly get. Don't forget that also adding
recommendations from the BBB (Better Business Bureaus) and placing
securely buttons/logos does also help in establishing your
site's credibility.
4. Use Videos. You have probably noticed many people are now
using videos on their sites and content. Videos are an excellent
way to immediately establish contact and credibility with your
viewers... you are indeed a "real person" and not just some written
words floating in cyberspace. Of course, the more personality
and likeability you can bring to these videos will help further
establish your credibility.
Many marketers and webmasters also use videos for their testimonials,
anyone can make up fake text testimonials and place them on a web page
but actually seeing and hearing 10 or 15 videos of customers
talking about your product or content will definitely give you
more credibility.
5. Professional Graphics and Design. We have all seen the
cheap-looking template site that immediately says "template"
in the mind of the viewer. Now the actual content on this
site may be great but surfers are becoming increasingly
web-savvy and will know a cheaply designed site when they
see one and immediately hit the back button. Ouch!
Your site must appear professional in the "eyes" of the
beholder. Using professional graphics and design will help
you establish immediate credibility for your site. In that
split second when you have to capture your visitor's attention,
you want to make that all important first impression a good
one. You want them to say "This site's a Keeper!"
6. Use Social Media Sites. Visitors want to know you're
a real person or company, so establishing profiles in all
the social media sites such as Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace,
YouTube, Linkedin... gives credibility to who's speaking.
They can check you out and see what everyone is saying about
you. They can discover who your contacts are and what kind
of reputation you have built up. These social sites can have
enormous influence in building a solid relationship with
your visitors. It can definitely help establish your credibility;
so use them.
7. Content And Writing. Of course, the proof is in the pudding,
your content must be compelling and convincing. It must show
you know what you're talking about and that you're worth
reading. All the flash and window dressing will be worthless
if you don't have quality content on your site.
It is this quality content that will ultimately establish
your credibility in the minds of your visitors. All the
other factors are important but "what you say and how
you say it" will be the main determining factor in how much
credibility and trust you earn from your site's visitors;
so choose your words carefully.
8. Pre-built Credibility. One last point on establishing
online credibility has to be discussed. I believe many
webmasters don't fully understand the importance of building
credibility BEFORE your visitor even gets to your site.
Your marketing strategy doesn't just start at your site,
it must include building your brand and reputation outside
of it.
One obvious example, getting top rankings in Google for
your major keywords does give your site a lot of credibility.
Or achieving top rankings in any search engine for that matter,
but especially in Google, I have found getting top rankings gives
credibility to your web pages. People respect Google and they
have come to respect the search results and in turn, some
of this credibility is passed along to your site.
Another more important way to "pre-build" or "pre-sell"
yourself or your site's content is to write simple
articles that are distributed all over the web. Visitors
coming to your site from these articles will already be
more familiar with you and your information. You have
hopefully already gained some credibility in their eyes
and may just be worth checking out.
...
The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous
websites. For the latest web marketing tools try:
Web Marketing Tools
If you liked the article above, why not try this Free 7 Day
Traffic Course here: Free Internet Marketing Course
Copyright © 2009 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely
distributed if this resource box stays attached. |
|
|
| Internet Marketing Tactics For These Tough Times (From Google and Me!) |
[Jan. 8th, 2009|03:40 pm] |
Teaser:
Google and Me! Sounds like something Micheal Moore
would say, but as we enter into some dire economic times,
online marketers need all the help they get - regardless
of the source. Some of these tips are directly from Google
& some of them are from a seasoned, full-time online affiliate
marketer - that would be me!
Internet Marketing Tactics For These Tough Times (From Google and Me!)
Copyright © 2008 Titus Hoskins
As we enter into what many enlightened souls are calling
the most dire economic times since the Great Depression,
online marketers need all the help they can get - regardless
of the source. You have probably heard of Google; but chances
are almost 100% certain, you have never heard of me. Lucky you!
Actually, the only thing you need to know about me is
that I am a full-time online affiliate marketer and I
make a very comfortable living from the web. Last year
(2008), was my best year online so far, which left me
scratching my head and saying what recession?
But that may be something of a false positive, as I will
never know how much I could have made if the economic
times had been good instead of bad. Plus, judging from
my own limited experience, selling and marketing online
may not have been hit as hard as those businesses in the
real world in 2008, since consumers are doing everything
to save a penny and shopping online has become a much cheaper
alternative for many.
As we enter into these uncertain times, online marketers
and webmasters need all the help they can get. Recently,
Google mailed a small booklet to its Adsense users;
in it Google gives "6 Top Tactics For Tough Times."
It is obviously referring to its Adwords PPC (Pay Per
Click) program and clients but Google's advice can be
applied to your own general online marketing.
These tactics include: (quoting directly from the
Google mail-out)
1. Focus your ads on low prices and savings.
2. Use Value-related keywords.
3. Ensure your ad groups are targeted and relevant.
4. Don't waste money on irrelevant clicks.
5. Make it easy for customers to buy.
6. Focus your money on your high-performers.
(End Quote)
Sound advice and I especially like the idea of focusing
your marketing on low prices and savings mainly because
people want bargains in tight economic times. I also like
the fact that you must make it easy for your customers to
buy... something as simple as putting your "order/buy link"
above the fold can increase your conversions.
Also, targeting value-related keywords, is a very effective
marketing tactic. Relating your keywords to "discounts,
bargains, cheap, inexpensive, lowest prices..." will help
increase your sales. So too, is catering to phrases that
suggest the searcher is in a buying mind-set: gifts, presents,
gift ideas, wedding gifts... shoppers searching those words
are ready to buy.
Plus, focusing your time and money on your high-performers
is solid advice. Sometimes succeeding online is simply
finding a market niche that works/performs - then running
with it. Once you have found the keywords and products
that perform well with your site or sites - focus the
majority of your time and energy developing those niche
markets.
Now here are some of my most effective marketing
tactics that have worked for me and tactics I will
be relying on in the coming years - even in these
hard times.
o Make Keywords Your #1 Goal
This is the single most important factor for my own
online success. You have to make keywords and ranking
high for them in all the search engines your main
objective if you're marketing online. Might sound
obvious, but many beginning marketers don't truly
understand how important getting top rankings for
your chosen keywords will be in your online success.
Target less competitive long tail (multi-worded)
keywords to get started and slowly work your
way up to more popular keywords. Center your
marketing around getting those first page listings
(Top Five) for your keywords. Achieve this goal,
(especially in Google) and it will be almost
impossible for you not to succeed and make
a profit with your online marketing even in
bad times.
o Autoresponders, List Building & Online Relationships
Keeping in contact with potential buyers is mission
critical. You must use autoresponders to send follow-up
messages to build trustful relationships with your
potential customers. Establishing this personal contact
or trust is very important because the Internet is
still a cold distrustful environment for most people.
So building a large contact list is essential. That's
why the social networks such as Twitter, Facebook,
MySpace can be very effective marketing tools for
building this online contact and trust. Truth be told,
all these social networks are, more or less, just
glorified autoresponders and list builders!
o Your Unique Selling Position
You must give potential customers some very good
reasons for them to buy from you or your links.
Offering special bonuses and discounts works
wonders for your sales. Some of my most successful
pages simply consists of coupons and discounts
offered by different companies. If buyers can
save $100's OFF by buying thru your links, they
will.
Always remember, besides looking for the best
deal or bargain, consumers are also looking for a
quality product. If you're into affiliate marketing,
only pick top quality products to promote. Picking
top brand names also makes it easier to make sales.
So too is only promoting popular online merchants
like Amazon, can be an effective marketing strategy.
Most importantly, always remember consumers are also
looking for INFORMATION on the products they are
considering buying, give them helpful information
and you will succeed.
o Find A Niche You Enjoy
There are millions of profitable niche markets you can
choose from - pick one that truly interests you and run
with it. Your favorite hobby or something you enjoy
doing in your spare-time. Picking a niche market that
you like is a key factor, you won't mind spending your
time exploring and exploiting it. Just won't seem like
work because you will be having fun while you do your
marketing.
o Go With The Flow
If you're marketing online, you have to follow what's
working for you. Most times you will try countless
ideas or tactics - once you have found a process or
system that works, really work it or scale it up.
Making your first dollar is the hardest, but once
you do something that earns you that dollar,
just repeat that "something" a thousand times.
Tracking what works is very important so keep a
close eye on your site's traffic logs to find where
your customers are coming from. Something like
Google Analytics is simply priceless for "fine-tuning"
your site and your online marketing. It will tell
you what's working and what's not.
o Target Recurring or Residual Income
One of my most effective marketing strategies is to
promote and sell products and services that give you
a recurring or residual income. Make one sale and get
paid for years or for the life of that referred client.
Concentrate on services like web-hosting, telephone,
marketing programs... once customers sign up to these
services, they will likely keep them for years. I am
still earning income from sales I made five years ago.
Building a large residual income could be the key to
surviving in tough economic times. This will be income
which will carry you or your business over the rough
patches since it is based upon past performance and not
on your current selling situation.
o Target the Right Customers And Markets
The biggest advantage of marketing online is you
can precisely target your customers and your markets.
One tactic I use is to target customers who are likely
to buy more than one unit of what you're selling. For example,
if you target Corporate Business Gifts, a boss or employer
will not be buying just one coffee mug but ten or even
hundreds of mugs.
Even in tough times, seasonal markets will still
perform... back to school, mother's day, Halloween,
Christmas market... things might slow down but these
markets will still perform even in tough times.
</b>
o Automate Everything</b>
The real beauty of marketing online and using computers...
you can automate just about every process in your marketing
system. Make it a point of automating everything you do...
use autoresponders to follow-up with potential buyers, use
automatic check-outs, automatic reporting... just set-up your
whole online marketing system that runs itself with little
or no supervision from you. This will free up your time to
concentrate all your efforts on marketing/promoting your
site or product. Besides, nothing beats coming back from
a vacation and finding out you have earned the cost of
your vacation and then some - all the while you were lying
in the sun and miles away from any computer.
o Find The Top Online Marketers
If you're just starting with online marketing, you
need to find the top successful marketers and "model"
what they're doing. This is relatively a new industry
and you have to seek out the experts and pioneers who
have set the groundwork. When I first started marketing
online, I was quite fortunate to come into contact with
some web marketing heavy-weights such as Marlon Sanders,
Ken Evoy, Neil Shearing... and SEO experts like Brad Callen
and Aaron Wall.
Often it is just a matter of finding the right "mentor"
to follow. You need to study their techniques to improve
your own marketing. Perhaps my best advice would be this:
find the top online marketers and stick to them like glue!
o Make Google Your Friend
Whether you love or hate Google doesn't matter, you
just have to make it your number one ally in your
online marketing. Google has just about conquered
the world-wide search market, Yahoo and MSN are
still important, but Google is the deal-breaker
when you're selling stuff online. Consumers have
enormous respect for Google, a number one listing
for a lucrative keyword simply means money in
the bank. Marketers must realize Google will
play a significant role in their online success
and may play an ever increasing role in these
tough economic times.
I have found using Google Search, Google Adwords,
and Google Adsense have played a more than significant
role in the success of my own online sites and marketing.
Google tools such as Google Analytics, Google Alerts,
Webmaster Tools... all have been invaluable and an
enormous help in achieving my "web-based" lifestyle
and livelihood. Of course, Google has also driven me
around the bend more times than I can count, but no
one is perfect.
Besides, when it's all said and done, anyone marketing
on the web must truly embrace Google if they want to
reach their highest level possible. In good times and
especially in these bad times, you must make Google your
friend. Your best friend. Even your BFF. When all else
fails, trust in Google, forget that other guy. Then again,
you better not; for you're going to need all the help you
can get in these coming tough times, regardless of the source.
...
Everyone has a story. Mine is called: "In Search Of The $100 Click
or How I Found A Full-Time Online Income And Came To Love The Internet"
It's located here: Online Income
Everyone is profiting from the web, find out how
you can too! Click here: Best Internet Marketing Training
Copyright © 2009 Titus Hoskins. |
|
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| Internet Marketing Tools - Creating The Perfect Sale |
[Oct. 27th, 2008|03:59 pm] |
We have all heard the expression "The Perfect Storm"
and it refers to the situation where all weather
elements come together at the same time to produce
a perfect storm. But is there an equivalent of the
perfect storm in the marketing world? A situation
where all elements come together to produce "The
Perfect Sale?"
For the moment, we will conveniently ignore the current
world economic meltdown and look only at positive situations
where this event may occur. Perhaps, the closest thing
we have to the Perfect Sale is the online product launch.
But unlike the natural phenomenon, this event is carefully
planned and orchestrated by a whole army of web savvy
marketers who know exactly what has to be done to create
this Perfect Sale.
For this "sale" doesn't just happen, professional web
marketers create their own system of events that lead
up to this Perfect Sale, earning themselves enormous profits
in the process. This is an orchestrated marketing effort
that bring potential buyers onto their contact lists and
into their marketing funnels; heading straight towards
their Perfect Sale.
These online marketers use a whole array of marketing
tactics to bring potential buyers to their sales page.
One of the most effective methods is the JV or joint
venture with other established marketers who have long
lists of interested buyers, and for a percentage of the
sales, the JV partner promotes your sales page or product.
There are even JV brokers, Mike Merz and Kenneth McArthur
come readily to mind, but there are many more JV brokers
who can arrange or line up potential partners to help
promote your product.
A certain date is set for the release of your product and
all potential partners/affiliates promote to their lists
and on their sites. A buying frenzy can be whipped up
especially if the product is limited and only a certain
number of sales will be accepted. Also a high quality free
sampling or teaser is usually given away to build up massive
contact lists of interested buyers, this freebie is used
to pre-sell to these buyers. There may even be a countdown
clock to further create excitement and urgency in the mind
of the buyer.
On launch day, everything is synchronized. JV partners mail
out to their massive contact lists, enticing all their
subscribers with extra bonuses to buy the product now before
it's gone. The sales letter page goes live and the sales pour
in... creating "The Perfect Sale."
For the non-marketing reader, this may seem a bit
far-fetched but in actual fact these product launches
are occurring online every week - creating the "Perfect
Sale" over and over again. And these launches have been
around for many years, one of the most famous being
John Reese's "Traffic Secrets" which was released
in the summer of 2004 and earned over 1 million in
revenue in one day.
There are even some savvy marketers who have perfected
the product launch system into an art form, mainly Jeff
Walker (Product Launch Formula) and Frank Kern (Mass Control)
just to mention a few of the top marketers out there
teaching and applying this marketing technique.
Key Elements Of A Product Launch
However, just like the Perfect Storm, in order to create
this Perfect Sale many factors have to fall into place
and come together. Some of these main elements are:
1. A high quality product which is in demand and desired
by the potential buyers. It must solve a problem or meet
a need within its niche market. Bit obvious but without
this demand the product won't sell in any great numbers,
no matter what tactics you use.
2. A perfectly written sales letter that converts. Your
sales page must convert into actual sales of your product.
Again, quite obvious but if your sales page does not
convert, it's game over.
3. A whole motivated group of JV partners with enormous
lists and bonuses to offer to potential buyers. Many
product launches now offer special prizes (anywhere from
a luxury sports car to the latest tech gadget) for those
partners who can bring in the most sales.
4. A whole array of orchestrated, pre-launch tactics
building up interest in your product with free high
quality giveaways to get your buyer's attention and
contact information. Even a newly created blog to keep
everyone informed about your product launch is often
used.
5. Most of the above tactics have to do with creating
the potential buyer with the right mind-set for buying
your product. Creating a limited number of products or
setting a certain time-frame for selling, and offering
special deals or bonuses will further create demand for
your product.
Product Launch Day - The Perfect Sale
Product launch day is when all the above factors come
into play creating the "Perfect Sale". Done properly
such a sale can whip up such a buying frenzy that
would put any great white to shame; earning all involved
a healthy profit. It is one marketing tactic that's not
likely to disappear any time soon, although the novelty
of such an event is slowly wearing thin as countless
marketers try to re-invent the wheel.
Regardless, as an online marketing tool, the product
launch is still one of the most effective ways to quickly
introduce your product, build your list and cement your
reputation. Not to mention, you can also earn a hefty sum
of money in a very short period of time; the "Perfect Sale"
indeed.
...
The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous
websites. For the latest web marketing tools try: Internet Marketing Tools
If you liked the article above, why not try this Free 7 Day
Traffic Course here: Free Internet Marketing Course
Copyright © 2008 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely
distributed if this resource box stays attached. |
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