Friday, December 14, 2007

Essential Elements of Developing Copy that Generates Real Traffic

Copyright © 2007 Bill Platt



When you finally decided to start your own business, and you built your website for the purpose of developing your business, your goal was clear. You wanted to make lots of money and to be in business for a very long time.

Who can blame you? The thought of going to a job everyday for the rest of my life kills me too.

The Basic Challenges Of Internet Marketing

Links, links and more links.

Whether we are talking search engine results, ezines, articles, classified advertising, or other types of advertising, the link is the method used to bring your targeted customer on the Internet to your website. They click the link and visit your website to learn more.

Placing the link is often the simple part of the equation. The eyes seeing your link and the mouse clicking your link is the real challenge in this Internet promotion game.

See, it is possible through FFA link sites and the such to get your link posted on hundreds or thousands of pages on the Internet. But, just because your link appears on these pages does not mean that anyone will actually see your link.

The same applies to search engines. Your site might be listed in Google, Yahoo, AlltheWeb, AltaVista, ExactSeek, MSN or dozens of other search engines. But just because your site is listed in their database, does not mean that the searcher will use the right keyword combination or click through the results deep enough to actually see your links.

The first challenge is to get your link seen. The second challenge is to get your link clicked.

You know as well as I do that not every link provides the proper enticement to get you to click the link. Why should you believe that everyone else is different from you? You shouldn't. The challenge for you is to properly entice your potential visitors to click your link and visit your website.

Second Challenge, First --- The Lure

Getting people to click your link is as simple as writing good copy.

Depending on the placement location of your actual ad copy, you may have only ten words, seventy words, or one thousand words to seduce people to visit your website.

Let me make one point very clear. Even if you have one thousand words to make your plea, the first ten words are always the most important words you will write.

Press releases should always have the information top-loaded --- you must place your most important information in the first couple of paragraphs.

With straight advertising copy, you should expend a great deal of time and thought to your first ten words. Those ten words are the ones that will draw people into your actual copy. Unless you can lure people into reading your copy, the value of the copy itself serves no useful purpose.

Just as it was with this article, you were drawn into the actual copy by the first ten words of the article, aka. the title of the article.

Note that I have used the words "entice", "seduce" and "lure" in this article. These words are essential to writing good copy. You must be able to touch on the desires of the reader, to peak their interest, and then you must leave them wanting more. In order to get more of what they want, the reader must visit your website. Master this paragraph, and you will master the art of writing good copy.

First Challenge, Second --- Getting Seen

One of the most common deceptions on the web is the promise to have your site submitted to thousands of search engines. Most of these so-called search engines are actually FFA sites! Yahoo! only lists 262 search engines. At one time, I had read on About.com that there were fewer than 500 search engines. Beware the fox in sheep's clothing.

Many people utilize Search Engine Optimization for use with the real search engines. But, keep in mind, the search companies are always changing and tweaking the algorithms used to produce their results. You might use SEO now and get a top 10 ranking, but there is no assurance that your top listing will stand the long-term. I have often impressed upon people to do the basics well, and the results will fall into place just fine.

Sponsor ads on websites do very well when the site caters specifically to people in your target market.

Ezine publishing and advertising has always been touted as the best way of drawing traffic and sales to your website. There is a lot of truth in this statement.

Important Notes About Ezine Publishing And Advertising

As a publisher, the road is a long and hard one. It takes a lot of time, effort and hard work, in addition to a certain amount of effective advertising to build the ezine list. Of course, when it is done well, the rewards of ezine publishing can be phenomenal in the long-term.

As an advertiser, you can employ the publisher who has already done the hard work, to help you to promote your business.

For the creative marketer, writing free-reprint articles and getting them into the hands of ezine publishers can be an exceptional method of developing more long-term traffic and sales for their website. Publishers and webmasters are always looking for good, informative content to share with their readers. Some of these ezines are archived on the Internet giving rise to the long-term effectiveness of the articles that have been published.

For the creative marketer who is using free-reprint articles to promote their business, the resource box which appears at the end of every article, is the ad copy and link that will take the reader directly to the writer's site. The article itself often serves as the greatest lure to bring the reader to the writer's website. The article creates the desire to learn more about the writer, and the resource box tells the reader what to expect when they get there.

The neat thing about free-reprint articles is that between archived ezines and websites who publish your articles, it becomes fairly easy to get your copy and links on hundreds of websites, and those links will likely remain there for years to come.

In Conclusion...

If you are paying for link placement, you need to track your click through's (CTR's) from those links. If the links are not generating traffic for you, examine the reasons why. Maybe the reason is your copy and maybe it is the link location. Make the changes necessary to permit the link to pay for itself or get rid of it.

If you are writing articles for reprint, track those links also and look at their total success rate over the long-haul. Figure out which articles provided you the best results, and make a determination as to why. Once you know why a particular article or ad is successful, then you can make good decisions about how to get the best results from your future efforts.

About The Author:
Since 2001, Bill Platt has been providing article distribution services to his clients who write their own articles, and he has been creating unique articles to be distributed for the promotion of other clients. Ezine advertising has long been recognized as one of the most effective methods of advertising online. Bill developed his distribution system around a desire to get articles with their resource boxes, in newsletters with tens of thousands of subscribers. Learn more at: http://www.thephantomwriters.com

How To Explode Your Affiliate Sales In 2008

Copyright © 2007 Dan Lok

Many consider affiliate marketing as the easiest and fastest way to earn money online. But don't be fooled if you think there's no work involved. You CAN earn a 6 figure income through affiliate marketing. But you need to be smart, take action, and most of all you need to make your business unique.

Today I'll point you in the right direction for being smarter and more unique. You're the one who has to take action!

You must have your own website or multiple sites that are yours. I'd recommend you avoid the cookie cutter sites that hundreds of others get for free. Sure... they're easy to implement and convenient. But you'll be shooting your self in the foot. NOT unique.

Quite often your market will need repeated exposure to your marketing message. And you can do that with your own memorable domain name and unique site. Imagine what a potential customer thinks if they have already seen many sites similar to yours? Then it doesn't matter really who they buy from.



Your marketing message gets diluted and you'll only be hurting your own business.

People get bombarded every day by hundreds of ads everywhere they go. So create your own unique ads, banners, whatever you plan to use. It's the same idea behind having your own website.

You NEED to be unique in every way.

In time, or sooner if possible, create one or two of your own products to market to your affiliate list. ( You ARE capturing names and emails and creating your list... right?) If you have difficulties with product creation, you can try getting master rights or resell rights only if you can find something good and NOT old. And then try to make it your own as much as possible. Be creative and you'll see what you can do!

Build a strong relationship with your list. These are current and potential customers.

You'll get lots of questions from potential customers about your affiliate products. So the ideal is to buy the product, or products, you're promoting so you can speak from authority. That's best!

People love experts and those in the know. You'll be marketing from a position of strength when you know all about the product. And that fact will come through in your marketing communications.

When you've bought and used the product your support will be better. You can even create stand alone tutorials you can use as bonuses. Be creative.

Also, you may buy a product and discover it's horrible and worthless. And that will save you. It's much, much more difficult to rebuild your credibility than it is to create it.

As much as some marketers will have you believe... your list is NOT an ATM machine. Although when you've done your work sometimes it can seem like it when everything is working as it should.

So don't try to market everything you come across to your list. Be selective. Be smart. Think about the number of times you email your list on a monthly basis. Then use that number to determine how many times you'll promote something to it. And please...

Only provide good, high quality information to your list. When you do, you'll find them much more receptive and responsive to your offers.

Remember... the customer decides what to buy and not you. You, the affiliate marketer, simply offers, or produces, products catering to the needs and wants of your target market. It's about them, not you.


About The Author:
A former college dropout, Dan "The Man" Lok transformed himself from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to an internet multi-millionaire. Discover how you can maximize your website profits in minimum time. For a limited time, you can test- drive Dan's Insiders Club for 30-days Risk-Free and get $1,165 dollars worth of bonus gifts. Rush cover to: http://www.websiteconversionexpert.com/testdrive.html

Dan Lok Insiders Club - Click Here! - The Most Powerful Online Internet Marketing Community. Irresistible Trial Offer.

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Tuesday, December 4, 2007

10 Shockingly Simple Web Copy Secrets Anyone Can Use Instantly

Copyright © 2006-2007 Dan Lok

What are the web copy secrets you need to know to convert prospects to paying customers? Don't spend hours laboring over your copy. There are simple, instant tools you can use to develop great copy in minutes... not hours. What are they?

1. Sign your web copy using your handwritten signature. Just scan your signature and publish to your page. How hard is that? It lends a certain personal touch to all you do, and helps make you seem "real."

2. Use lots of testimonials, with pictures. People want information from real people, others than tried your products and know they work.

3. Keep it simple. Keep your language so simple an eighth grader can read it. The more complicated, the less you will sell.

4. Add articles and reviews of your products. Just insert this information within your copy. People want to know your material is valuable and works.

5. Offer free products for buying your primary product. Try using information marketing products when possible. A free CD is worth a thousand words.

6. Have someone well-known endorse your product. If you do not know anyone personally, hire someone other people have heard of. Most people feel more secure buying from someone they know.

7. Use questions to get your customers thinking. Not complicated questions, just simple yes or no questions. Are you broke? Do you need money? Do you want the solution to your problem? Are you short on time?

8. Include many bullets throughout your copy. Tell your customer specifically HOW your product fills their need, and what BENEFIT they will get from it.

9. Be specific. Use numbers. For example, 3 simple ways you can win. 3 top tactics for overcoming poverty. You get the idea.

10. Tell your customers you appreciate them. Nothing charms customers more than the knowledge you actually care about their needs.

About The Author:


A former college dropout, Dan Lok transformed himself from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to a multi-millionaire. Today, Dan is one of the most sought-after business mentors on the Web, as well as a best-selling author. His reputation includes his title as the World's #1 Website Conversion Expert. To find out what Dan is up to now, visit him at: http://www.websiteconversionexpert.com/




Article Source: thePhantomWriters Article Submission Service

Monday, December 3, 2007

5 Traffic Generating Tips Using Reciprocal Linking

Copyright © 2007 Dan Lok


Does reciprocal linking still have value? The short answer is: YES. The caveat is that you must do it the right way. It's always been a no-brainer that one-way links are more valuable than reciprocal links. But the latter can still be a powerful SEO strategy and bring you additional targeted traffic.

But one word of caution to you.

Make sure your website has real value, looks professional, and compels other businesses to WANT to exchange links with you. Just put your self in their shoes and you'll understand.

Traffic Generating Tip #1:



Always exchange links with sites related to your industry, or marketing niche. It's not hard to figure this out. For example, don't link to sites about music downloads if you're selling SEO software. Your exchange partners must be relevant. Contextually relevant link partners will earn you extra points with the major search engines.

Traffic Generating Tip #2:

Make sure your anchor text contains keywords "relevant" to the page your link points to. This is a critical must-do item. But mix it up a little. Don't make all your links point to your home page. It's ok for some of your links to point to your home page. But make sure some of those home page links use "the keyword(s)" FOR your home page.

Traffic Generating Tip #3:

Do your best to exchange links with pages that have a Google PR equal or greater to your own. You'll find some who say PR doesn't matter. The thing about PR is that it's a by-product of becoming some kind of established authority site. So don't get too hung-up about PR. Ok? Searching for equal or higher PR sites is a good way to FIND authority sites.

Traffic Generating Tip #4:

After you've exchanged links be sure to periodically check to make sure they're still linking back to you. You never know who you're exchanging links with. Sometimes people will intentionally remove your link after a short while. It's easy to check this with free or paid software. Or just do it manually if you don't have a ton of links to check.

Traffic Generating Tip #5:

Quality of your link partners will always win over quantity. And remember it's a 2-way street. Give your partners a quality site, or page, to link to and you must expect the same. Once you've built-up some quality links, people will find you and ask to link to you. Use the same principle and don't be afraid to politely decline a link exchange request.

Bonus Traffic Generating Tips!

Be sure to check the title of the page where your link will reside. Just go to the link page and select "view" on your browser menu bar. Then select "view source code" and look for the meta tags. The title tag should have keywords relevant to your site. It doesn't necessarily have to, but if so, then it becomes more valuable.

These are just a few SEO tips to help you become more profitable in your business. Be sure to implement them and you'll be off to a successful reciprocal linking campaign. But be patient. It takes some time and you'll need to slowly build your reciprocal links. Too many, too fast and the search engines might reward you with a penalty that'll only set you back.

About The Author:
A former college dropout, Dan "The Man" Lok transformed himself from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to an internet multi-millionaire. Discover how you can maximize your website profits in minimum time. For a limited time, you can test- drive Dan's Insiders Club for 30-days Risk-Free and get $1,165 dollars worth of bonus gifts. Rush cover to: http://www.websiteconversionexpert.com/testdrive.html

Monday, November 26, 2007

An SEO Primer for Search Engine Ranking

Copyright © 2007 Dan Lok


You could easily spend a good chunk of your life reading about SEO. But it's not needed. You don't need to endlessly tweak, research, track, and tweak some more to get outstanding rankings.

But it does require some knowledge, effort, and patience.

You can get a respectable start with the information I'm about to share with you. Then you can take it to what ever level you desire.

First, you need to know about the two main areas of website SEO:



1. On-page SEO

2. Off-page SEO

On-Page factors include anything done to your website to improve its search engine rankings.

Off-Page factors are efforts external to your website, such as submitting articles and building links, to improve your rankings.

And here's some very useful information for you...most of your results will come from off-page factors. So you know where you should be concentrating your efforts. Don't ignore on-page SEO. It's important and contributes to your rankings.

On-Page SEO include the following:

Site and page title:

The site title is one of the most important on-page factors. The search engine spiders will read your site and pages titles and use that, in comparison with other on-page factors, to help determine rank.

One common mistake with writing the title is using something generic. You never want to do that. Your titles should be relevant to the page it's associated with. By relevant I mean 'contains' appropriate keywords or keyword phrases.

H1 Tags:

H1 or Heading-1 tags are nearly as important as title tags. As you may have guessed, these tags tell the search engines that your page is about what the title is specifying. And it's important to place your primary and even secondary keywords into your H1 tags.

Keyword Density:

Keyword density still matters but it's not as important as it used to be. You'll be safe with a general rule: Mention your keyword several times early, then a few times through the body of the text and again near the end of your copy.

The search engines, led by Google, are implementing LSI, Latent Semantic Indexing, in their ranking algorithms. Geeky LSI is hard-core mathematics. But for marketers, just try to include "natural" terms associated with your primary and secondary keywords in your main text.

Internal Link Structure:

This simply refers to your internal navigation menu. Or where your links point to within your site. One very common mistake is using the "home" link.

Take the primary keyword for your home page and substitute it for "Home" in the rest of your site's pages. Doing this will help build internal link popularity for that keyword. Then do the same for your internal pages. Always use the primary keyword for a page in any links pointing to that page.

Off-Page SEO Factors:

Off-page SEO usually involves building back links to your website using your main keyword as the anchor text for those links.

And your link campaign should use not just one method but multiple methods. The reason simply being if one method stops working, you have the others. You're not putting all your eggs in one basket!

Link-Building Methods:

Reciprocal Linking:

Reciprocal linking involves two webmasters putting a link on their site for the other. Most marketers did this manually in the past. But now you can join services that make it very easy to exchange links.

One-Way Links:

These are the most coveted links to have...especially if they're from a relevant authority site. Some are saying reciprocal links are being phased out or becoming less effective. But it won't hurt you to have some reciprocal linking happening.

You can accumulate one-way links through...

Article Submissions:

You'll write an article on your topic, or use private label articles, then insert your author biography at the footer of the article. Your footer will include a link to your main site.

Then submit these articles to article directories. If your article is published you'll have a nice one-way link to your site.

Buying Links:

You can buy links online if you want. The biggest benefit is that you can get high PR links affordably and fast. But you do need to exercise some caution with buying high PR links. Search engines, most notably Google, frowns on link buying and will penalize your site if they suspect you've done it. So watch out!

About The Author:
A former college dropout, Dan "The Man" Lok transformed himself from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to an internet multi-millionaire. Discover how you can maximize your website profits in minimum time. For a limited time, you can test- drive Dan's Insiders Club for 30-days Risk-Free and get $1,165 dollars worth of bonus gifts. Rush cover to: http://www.websiteconversionexpert.com/testdrive.html


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Saturday, November 24, 2007

Killer Ebook Sales Tip: "How PS creates Passive Income"
by Jim Edwards

What makes people buy ebooks?

In his book "The Hypnotic Writer's Swipe File", Joe Vitale
talks about certain words and phrases that cause people to
drop their psychological defenses and totally *tune in* to
your sales message... almost against their will!

STOP - ask yourself if you've ever read a sales letter that
had you reaching for your wallet and ready to buy right now!

Sure, everyone has read a really good sales letter and
wanted to buy!



You may not realize it, but I have just demonstrated three
techniques Joe teaches in his ebook.

1. The word "STOP" immediately grabs you and lets you know
something important is happening. It tweaks your curiosity.

2. The phrase "ask yourself" gives a subconscious command
for you to ask yourself a question with a predictable
"yes" or "no" answer.

3. Finally, the statement "Sure, everyone has..." puts your
subconscious in a state of mind that "*everyone* buys from
sales letters" and this can make you think you're weird if
you don't buy also!

This "copywriting" stuff is so cool! I wish I had paid more
attention in "Psychology 101".

Now what does this have to do with selling ebooks you ask?

Well, there is a simple, yet powerful technique you can use
right now - *today* - to grab people's attention and expose
them to an ebook sales message without them realizing fully
what you are doing. You can use this technique with either
your own ebook or someone else's.

FACT: The two most powerful and most read parts of any
letter are the opening statement (or headline) and the PS.

Why?

Because both are important and, in the case of the PS, it
was so important you had to add on to the end of the letter
because you "forgot"!

Just like the word "STOP", a PS at the end of a letter gets
people's attention. With that attention you can deliver a
simple, subtle sales message.

Here's the PS I'm using right now in every single email
I send out (which is about 75-100 emails per day not
including the thousands of autoresponder messages)

This PS is programmed into my "signature" so it gets
added to every outgoing message.

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I *know* for a fact this PS (and others) sell books because
I see the sales come in within hours after sending someone
an email... even for the first time!

One of the greatest things about using PS's as subtle sales
tools is they don't cost you a dime! You're already sending
the emails!

The fastest way to come up with a PS is to use a proven
headline as the PS. In the case of the 7 Day ebook I use the
same headline that appears on the sales page. It creates a
repetitive message... and the headline works!

So get creative with your PS's! You're already sending the
email - why not create a stream of "passive income" by
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Create Real Content, Not Blog Posts
by Ken Evoy of Sitesell.com

- From Ken's Blog

Jakob Nielsen wrote an article today, not a blog post, an article. Jakob doesn't blog, you see. He feels people should create articles with value, not posts to blogs.

Jakob's been a hero of mine since I first started researching Internet Marketing to sell a software product I was writing "way back when." And so has John Audette, who recently made a return appearance to the LED Mailing List, a list I still receive by good, old-fashioned e-mail.

The mention of John reminded me of a landmark series of articles that he wrote called "The Sweet 16." They had disappeared from the Web (I had tried searching for them some time ago). But it seems he republished this must-reading in late 2006...

Here are John Audette's Sweet 16, timeless as ever.

I suspect that Jakob's article and John's resurgence combined with a "back of my mind" pet peeve about blogging to spark this post...

I dislike blogging for the same reason as Jakob -- too much noise, and not enough signal. I'm not sure why Jakob doesn't make his thinking available via an RSS feed, but the LED list does. Its home page, though, make the same fundamental point that Jakob does....

"The format is old-school: just a standard text email. The list is moderated to keep the posts relevant and it's delivered in a tidy, readable digest. The LED has a very high signal-to-noise ratio."

Jakob's excellent article, the above LED paragraph, and John's Sweet 16 illustrate compellingly what's wrong with blogging. It's hyped and pushed by a vocal minority who have a lot to say about very little. It's part of the next big thing, "Web 2.0."

But it's not Web 2.0. Both forums and mailing lists are "more Web 2.0" than blogging.

Most blogs deliver quickly "banged out" thoughts, some smarter than others, all the successful ones written by very clever people. But very few really push my thinking forward. None have impacted me the way Jakob's article did today or the way John's "Sweet 16" still do today.

The "signal to noise" ratio is so darn low that I'm not sure they're worth my time, even the time it takes to merely scan my reader to see if any might be worth reading further.

Blogging is a powerful vehicle for the small number of smart, erudite people who can "pop corn" quickly and efficiently, branding themselves in the process. But there's so much noise before you get to any signal.

And comments? Comments are not community. Blogging is just one-to-many broadcasting. Seth Godin even turns commenting off on his blog. Matt Cutts? I read what Matt has to say, but I've never read a comment because I just don't care what others say to Matt.

That's not to say that all blogs are useless. There are, of course, may excellent blogs. My favorite six are listed in the right column. But true quality, someone who impacts my thinking? Few and far between.

I suppose you can use "blogging" the way we do...

1) Ken's Blog I talk, infrequently, on whatever I like that has to do with e-business (and beyond, sometimes) online. It takes me time, though. It's just not in my nature to toss out pithy little nothings in new ways, but that have been said before.

2) SiteSell Insider We deliver lessons from running our own Web site, new techniques we are trying, what works and what does not. As a fairly successful Web business, those who follow us find this insider view interesting. And finally...

3) E-zine Alerts We provide an alternative to the vagaries of e-mail delivery, by alerting subscribers to mailouts of our e-zines.

But our blog is not really a "BLOG". Most people have come to equate blogs with something far different. The term "blog" has come to mean high quantity/low quality posts that amount to very little except what Jakob calls "information pollution." (And that's excluding the vast majority of blogs, which are splogs -- spam blogs.)

It's just not in me to spit out quick little observations. Here-today-and-gone-tomorrow information is just not the way to help people succeed at business And Search Engines see the difference, too...

At Site Build It!, behind the scenes with our massive bot behavior base, we can see how time-sensitive the blog bots/engines consider blog posts, compared to true content articles. Blog post get quick, short-lasting distribution (yes, there are exceptions, but those come closer to providing "articles" -- true content).

True content lasts.

Blogging is like being a shark -- keep swimming or sink and die. But Google respects great content. A collection of related , high-value content builds and holds traffic for years.

So why do I "blog"? Well, I do it my way, ignoring the feeling that I "need" to blog daily to be relevant. I do it when I have something to say that does not fit into our private Site Build It! forums.

Most of my spare business time is spent in the forums, commenting and helping SBI! owners there. So my specific business-building advice goes there. I might initiate a thread, or I might respond to questions about using Site Build It!, with answers that can be leveraged so that they are useful to many SBIers.

Forums are regarded as "old-fashioned" by Web 2.0 fanatics. But they are far more flexible and multi-faceted than blogs. Instead of the controlled, one-to-many broadcast nature of blogging, anyone can start a thread and those interested, I included, pitch in and reply. Over 30 outstanding moderators keep the signal-to-noise ratio high.

The LED is almost 100% user-generated, too. And it's 100% moderated, too, resulting in a high-quality publication. But even though it's distributed via RSS, it's not what most would consider a "blog."

Moderation and conversation is something that most bloggers just don't want to do. It requires a lot of work to do that. Fewer still reply to the comments. It takes even more time to reply. They are too busy working on their next post.

That's broadcasting, not Web 2.0.

There's no conversation. No community. Even in this blog, while we do moderate the comments, I've only replied to one or two. Somehow, I don't feel that the nature of this medium requires it. However...

Compare that to our forums, where I've made over 3800 posts. Some of them are quick and simple answers. I don't feel compelled to polish each answer into an article when simple help is required. But many of them are longer than this post, some of which become the basis for a future article, as do some of the posts of other SBIers.

And that's just one of 1,000 things I love about our forums. We distill important new thinking and strategies into articles for future SBIers. That way, superb old threads are not lost to posterity.

After all, who reads old posts in forums (although we do have a "Hall of Fame" for outstanding threads)? Just like blogs, while current threads may be interesting, they're lost to posterity if you don't hold on to, and summarize, what has not been said before.

Blogging? Give me a well-run, old-fashioned forum or mailing list any day of the week!

But blogging does give me an outlet to comment on something that's been bugging me lately Like blogs. ;-)

Thank you, Jakob and John, for stimulating this. I've finally got my arms wrapped around all this noise.

All the best,

Ken






















Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Matt Bacak's Internet Marketing Tips #11
- From www.PromotingTips.com

"7 Ways to Make Money from your Customer List”
5:48 AM PST, November 20, 2007
by Matt Bacak
- from Matt Bacak's Amazon Blog

7 ways to make money with your customer list include:


1. Sell sponsor advertising.


Find new advertisers through competition ads in ezines and newsletters. Find out who advertises with your competition. Contact these advertisers and give them free advertising in your newsletter. Then in the future charge them because they will be satisfied with the initial results of their free advertising.


2. Submit your ads and ezines to announcement lists.


Let them know that they can advertise on your ezine and newsletter. Great resources include: http://www.topezineads.com and http://www.lifestylepub.com.


3. In your actual newsletter, put a notice that advertising is available and direct them to your website so they can check out advertising rates.


4. Set up an affiliate program to sell advertising. Offer your affiliate 25-50% commission. You can build your advertising through the efforts of others. At www.ezineadauction.com you can auction your advertising to the highest bidder.


5. Co-ops. You join a service to sell your advertising at an inexpensive price with the thought that these advertisers will pay you full price in the future.


6. Sell your own products. You earn much more profit if you sell your own products to your list.


What if you don’t have a product to sell? You can recommend other products such as buying and selling reprint rights. There are always products you can buy and license to sell yourself. Search for reprint rights in your niche. Look for related products.


7. Recommendations of affiliate programs.


There are 4 kinds you should promote:


Affiliate Type #1. Programs that sells in high volume. These are top profit generators.


Affiliate Type #2: High ticket programs that earn high profits such as vacation packages and seminars tickets. You don’t have to sell as many of these products because you earn a high amount of profit per product.


Affiliate Program Type #3: Monthly profit where the affiliate program pays you commission on the lifetime of that customer. Examples include dating services and weight loss services that have monthly charges to the customer.


Affiliate Program Type #4: Lifetime programs where you are paid a commission on the lifetime of that customer. http://www.associateprograms.com is a directory of several thousands of affiliate programs. You can find your field easily at this website.


KEYWORD LIST:
Affiliate programs
Ezines
Newsletter
Co-ops
Sponsor advertising


Warmest regards,

Matt Bacak

P.S. If you haven't signed up for my
Powerful Promoting Tips yet, then you
are really missing out, go here:

http://www.promotingtips.com

P.P.S. Do you want to be updated on the new things I'm doing
to market my companies? Then you need to grab a copy of my
`Internet Marketing Dirt'. It's now better than ever before!

Go here and get a copy: www.internetmarketingdirt.com

Matt Bacak began investing his first earnings at the tender age of 12, a young businessman in the making. Now, 15 years later, Bacak survived failed businesses, botched partnerships, heavy credit card debt and bankruptcy - all in preparation for the accomplishments he has achieved today as a well-established Internet marketer and best-selling author.

Matt Bacak became a millionaire at the age of 27. He currently is running Three (3) multi-million dollar companies and each company was built using the internet. Just by using the internet, Matt's first company grew by 1057% last year alone. His second company made $500k in less than 2 months. His third company, which he built in Feb of 2006, made its first million by the end of that year.




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It's Not Better Equipment...Better Skills...Or Even Better "Connections"

They Have Something Far More Valuable. It's...

The Internet Millionaire Mindset





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Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Sucked in by a scam? Here’s how to tell
by Derek Gehl


Last week I wrote an editorial warning people away from the so-called "business in a box."

Since then I’ve received a FLOOD of emails from people who say they’ve just spent big money on a complete "online cash machine" package… and now they’re worried they may have wasted their savings on something that’s never going to make them a dime!

A lot of these people have asked me to do some research on the product they’ve bought and tell them whether I think it’s a good money-making opportunity or not.

I’m really sorry, but as CEO of a $60-million dollar business, I simply don’t have the time to check out hundreds of different products and tell you which ones are decent and which ones you should avoid like the plague.





But I CAN offer you something even better than that…

… I can empower you by giving you the information you need to decide for YOURSELF whether a business opportunity is the "real deal" or not.

Today I’m going to share with you how to filter the REAL money-making opportunities from all the B.S. out there, with my "Scam Detector Check List"!

Whenever you come across a possible business opportunity, simply consult this handy checklist. It’ll help you discover if it is a real opportunity — or a real waste of money.

Scam Warning #1: The company can’t prove a successful track record

If you’ve never heard of the company before — and they can’t offer solid proof they’ve got a successful track record — then how can you trust them to help YOU make money?

Be skeptical. Ask questions. If they say they’re a successful company, ask for proof!

Scam Warning #2: You can’t talk to a company representative in person

Before you make a significant investment in a business opportunity, give the vendors a call. Talk to them in person. Ask them hard questions.

If they don’t make it easy for you to them in person, then don’t do business with them!

Scam Warning #3: Former customers have lousy things to say about the product

A little bit of research goes a long way. Try typing "the name of the program + scam" or "the name of the program + customer review" into Google and see what results you get.

If the majority of the results are from former customers saying the product is a scam or a waste of money, then whatever you do, don’t make the same mistake THEY did!

Scam Warning #4: Thousands of other people are selling the EXACT same thing

If your "business in a box" package includes a product for you to sell, do a search on the name of the product in Google and go through the results. How many people are selling the exact same product? Say hello to your competition!

(And how many of them are using the exact same website the company is trying to get YOU to buy?)

If a lot of people are selling that product — and you can’t see any way to offer a unique selling proposition that makes your offer stand out from the crowd — then quite frankly, you’re going to find it extremely difficult to make any money at all.

Scam Warning #5: They can’t show you legitimate testimonials — from recent customers

If you are making a significant investment in a business opportunity, the company you are purchasing from should be willing to put you in contact with other successful customers. We get this request all of the time, and have numerous successful customers who are happy to give us a personal reference at a moment’s notice.

(If you’d like to take a look at how we use those testimonials on our salesletters, please visit: www.marketingtips.com/tipsltr.html.)

Look for testimonials that names, photographs, and URLs, if possible. The more information that proves the testimonial giver is a real person, the better.

If the testimonial has a URL, go to that person’s website and check it out. Does it look like the website of someone who’s making good money? Look for the contact info on the site and then email that person to ask him or her directly about the product you’re thinking about buying.

If the person says yes, it really is a good deal, and is still experiencing good results with that product, then chances are it’s the real deal.

However, be on the watch for DATED testimonials. If people were able to make money using this package two years ago — but the profits have long since dried up — then the product’s not going to do you much good now, is it?

Scam Warning #6: The company is charging YOU money to sell THEIR products

Ask yourself this: If a company is making a product that millions of people are going to want to buy, why wouldn’t they simply sell it themselves — instead of making other people pay for the opportunity to sell it for them?

The truth is, companies like this KNOW their "affiliates" aren’t going to generate any sales. That’s why they need to get your money up front!

Take it from someone who has been running a highly successful affiliate program for years. If someone wants to become an IMC affiliate and sell my products for me, I’d never make them pay. Why should they? They’re doing me a favor!

Scam Warning #7: The company makes outrageous income claims, without backing them up with proof

If a company says their product will have you earning tens of thousands of dollars within a matter of weeks, BE SKEPTICAL. There is no magic bullet on the Internet that can promise a five-figure income in 30 days or less.

The truth is, building a profitable business takes TIME. Sure, you can have a profitable business in less than a month… but you’ll probably have to wait a few more months before the money really starts pouring in.

So whenever you see outrageous income claims, ask yourself — where’s the proof?

Look for testimonials that back up these claims. If someone claims to have made incredible money from using this system, track them down via their URL and ask them if it’s really true.

And be sure to listen to your "inner radar" to determine whether the person is genuine or not.

Above all, do your research and ask lots of questions. If you follow these guidelines, chances are you will make the right decisions and pursue the right opportunities.

When it comes to online success, there is no magic pill. If you want to start a real business on the Internet you need to be prepared to put in the time and effort to build it.

My team and I can give you all of the strategies you need to make that happen. And we can break them down into easy-to-follow instructions. But the rest is up to you!

Until next time…
Derek Gehl

Start a Internet Business by Derek Gehl of Marketingtips.com








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Touch Your Prospect's Soul With Empathetic Copywriting

Copyright © 2007 Dan Lok


It has often been said that copywriting is science and art. And the best copywriters will be the first to tell you it's an endeavor with a life-long education. You can set your copy apart, be unique, and find your own personal style by going within. Forget books for a while.

You're human. You're marketing to people. Take time to listen to your own gut feelings as you 'speak' to your market with your words.

Webster's dictionary defines empathy as 'the projection of one's own personality into the personality of another in order to understand the other person better." And the way you project your personality is with your feelings and imagination.

It's powerful and you can infuse your copy with that power.



As a copywriter you should know that your target market, who'll be reading your copy, needs to feel understood. They need to 'feel' it. Your copy has to pull the reader along. And hopefully they'll get to that point where they're more relaxed and more trusting of you. That's when they're ripe for "letting" themselves truly feel that you understand.

And at that point you've entered their world. They have unconsciously given you permission to become a part of their lives, if only for a brief time.

And during that brief time you've created a strong psychological bonding and rapport with them. It's powerful when firing on all cylinders. When you're doing that you've created a relationship.

And that's exactly what you want to do.

Done right your voice will follow them, stay with them. And whenever they think of the problems your product or service fixes for them, they'll think of you.

So how do you develop empathy in your writing?

It's something you do with intent. Some people are naturally more empathetic than others. You know that. But sometimes when you're in the heat of writing and trying to beat a deadline, it's easy to lose focus on certain things.

Writing with empathy calls for opening your self and allowing to feel. To imagine what it must be like to be experiencing what someone else is living. If you're writing about chronic bad breath...just imagine.

There must be some embarrassing moments for those who suffer from it. You approach someone to talk with, and the other person noticeably keeps a distance. Perhaps the sufferer feels frustrated because he doesn't really know what to do. He brushes his teeth every morning and night.

But the condition doesn't improve or go away. So then he falls into a pattern of inhibited behavior. Appearing to be a little shy and stand-offish. The effects ripple-out and are felt in all aspects of his life.

Imagine that?

You can do that. And when you do...talk to them in an intimate way about their problems. Help them to know that you KNOW what they're going through. You want to help them with it, and you have a great product that will alleviate their personal pain.

You must sit down with them and engage them. Imagine sitting close to them, looking them in the eye, hanging on every word they say...and you explain to them how you'll help them. Most people would be very grateful for that.

Empathy is powerful no matter how it's expressed. It removes barriers, creates trust, builds relationships, and makes people want to buy from you.

Make Your Words Sell!
The art and science of using words to sell successfully on the Net.






Make Your Knowledge Sell!
Brainstorm, create, produce, and sell your own infoproduct on the Net.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Starting an Ebay Business --- An Online Business Model that Works
Copyright © Bill Platt


THE REALITIES OF AN INTERNET BUSINESS

Millions of people are still coming online each year, and many of
those people come to the Internet with dreams of making their
financial dreams come true.

The truth is that building a website to sell products and
services is not the easiest way to make a living online. A lot of
specific knowledge or money will be required to be successful
with a standard website.

You must acquire skills --- or pay someone who already possesses
those skills --- in the following areas:

* Graphic design
* Copywriting
* HTML design
* Perl or PHP programming
* Database programming
* Marketing research
* Promotions


When this is understood, most people throw their hands up in
frustration and walk away from their entrepreneurial desires.

Maybe cash is the problem; maybe the desire is just lacking.

If you have reached this point yourself let me offer one piece of
advice...


DON'T THROW AWAY YOUR DREAMS JUST YET

More people than I can count are making a successful living
online, and none of them own their own website or send a single
commercial email to anyone.

How is this possible?

Two words, "Ebay auctions."


EBAY MAKES IT EASY

Ebay covers all of the difficult technical issues. And more
importantly, Ebay already has floods of visitors eager to
purchase your wares.

Ebay has provided everything you need to operate a successful
business online with three exceptions:

1. Products to sell
2. Time to list the products in the Ebay database
3. Cash to acquire the products


CHOOSING THE KINDS OF PRODUCTS

Before choosing your products, you should ask yourself what you
enjoy the most. You may enjoy cats, NASCAR or even antiques. You
should select products consistent with what you enjoy for two
reasons.

First, you bring to your presentation a real appreciation for the
products your are offering.

Secondly, a job you hate is one you will quit. A job you enjoy
doing will be one that you will want to keep forever. If you are
starting your own business, the hope is that you will be doing it
for a very long time.

I personally know people who have generated a nice living on Ebay
selling cat-related items, NASCAR memorabilia and antiques.


FINDING THE ACTUAL PRODUCTS TO SELL

I recommend against diving in and spending thousands of dollars
buying products that you may or may not be able to sell.

A drop-shipper is a middleman who is willing to permit you to buy
an individual product, and then they will put your business name
on the return address of the product package and handle the
actual delivery for you.

By utilizing a drop-shipper, you can speed product delivery to
the client without risking your own cash to keep a product in
inventory.

If you are lost as to how to find a drop-shipper, take a look at
the drop-shippers directory at the Wholesale Trading Club
http://www.WholesaleTradingClub.com.

Through this site, you can get all of the information you need to
find drop-shippers from which you can order over 500,000 products
from over 1,000 brand names.


LEARNING TO LIST YOUR PRODUCTS AT EBAY

Learning to use Ebay is pretty easy and straightforward. Ebay has
put forward a lot of effort to help people to become successful.
For example, Ebay has an entire area of their site devoted to the
online entrepreneur.

To get an overview of all of the services and tools that Ebay
provides to sellers, you may visit:

http://pages.ebay.com/services/index.html

Ebay also delivers courses and strategies to help you to be more
successful:

http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/index.html


THE IMPORTANCE OF CASH FLOW TO YOUR SUCCESS

Ebay provides tools for both buyers and sellers to rate one
another. The speed of delivery is one of the most important
factors that sellers are rated on. By providing quick delivery,
your buyers will give you a good rating --- and more shoppers
will bid on your products.

Ebay recently purchased PayPal.com to help facilitate purchases
for their buyers and sellers, and they have integrated the two
systems together.

Unfortunately, getting the money from your PayPal account to your
personal account generally takes four days. Even with a merchant
account, the time gap is nearly the same. This time gap expands
the turn-around between the transaction and delivery of the
product unless you take action to speed the process.

If you were doing high volume, you would want to minimize the
handling of a transaction to reduce the chance for a foul-up and
to increase your ratings within the Ebay system.

But how can this be accomplished?


MANAGING CASH FLOW

While you could rely upon credit cards to get the job done, it is
not something I would recommend. Paying credit card interest
rates to process your customer's purchase, is an unnecessary
burden.

Instead, put a sum of money into a dedicated bank account with a
debit card attached to it. When you verify a transaction has been
credited to your PayPal account, then use your debit card to
immediately process the order with your drop-shipper.

But, how can you do it this way on a tight budget?


THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO THE RESCUE

Let me ask you this. Do you have a 401(k) account?

Experts advise that you not touch your retirement savings for
anything other than retirement income. That is good advice.
Fortunately, it is possible under special circumstances to
acquire loans against your 401(k) accounts.

Beginning in 2002, even the self-employed small business owner
with no employees could open his or her own 401(k), called a
solo-owner 401(k), and borrow from it just as employees with big
companies can.

Weigh this option against the others available to you. It only
makes sense to take out a loan rather than to take a hit in heavy
taxes and penalties for drawing your retirement money early.
Seriously, consider taking advantage of our historically low
interest rates to meet your cash flow needs.

To learn more about creating and borrowing from a solo-owner
401(k), please visit:

http://www.investsafe.com


IN CONCLUSION

It is wise to choose your new business venture based on a model
that has proven itself over the long-term. Ebay has been proving
its concept since 1995; helping thousands of people build a
successful and very profitable business.

The time to act is now. Choose the product line that will give
you the most satisfaction and then get busy. Your success awaits
you.


Bill Platt's newest program is http://LinksAndTraffic.com
Are you tired of the hard work and gamble of writing and
distributing your own articles for the purpose of building
links to your website? Are you frustrated with reciprocal link
building processes? Do you still need links to your website?
The "Links and Traffic" system is not a link rental system or
a reciprocal linking scam. Instead, we create mostly permanent
links to your website. And, we guarantee our linking results.


The Insider Secrets to Selling on Ebay...











Advertise on eBay!
eBay Media Marketplace
How To Breathe Life Into Your Sales Copy With A Stronger Offer
Copyright © 2007 Dan Lok


If you want a huge leg-up on your competitors...you MUST test as many components of your sales copy as possible. It's the one thing that distinguishes good results from the superb. Done right, testing and refining your offer can put you into a whole other league of success. A powerful offer is one of the best ways to tilt the deck in your favor and get more sales.

Your entire offer is made-up of your product, the price, and your terms.

It's a no-brainer about having a great product. If you can't have a great one, then please at least have a good one! No amount of fabulous copy and incredible offers will save a bad product. Oh sure...you'll make some sales. But look out when the refund requests start rolling in. Just isn't worth it.

And for your price point, only your market can tell you the best price. But before testing, it's critical to understand your objective.



If you're promoting a front end product, your goal really shouldn't be to maximize your profits. A lot of inexperienced marketers go straight for the profit jugular. Big mistake. You really should be shooting to break even and build your list with the back-end in mind. Every great marketer and copywriter will tell you the back-end is where massive profit-making happens.

Here's an example...

You can test and try decreasing the front end product price and your sales double. In this scenario you'll increase your profit margin and double the number of customers to market your back-end products to. The increase in profits could be massive. See?

You can do a lot with your terms. The thing though is to test, test, test. Here are just a small handful of possibilities with your terms. You can increase perceived value and help make it easier for your customers to buy.

Killer Term #1...Letting your customers pay in installments. This works great with high-priced products because it reduces perceived cost. You're just allowing customers to pay in monthly installments.

Killer Term #2...The classic up-sell offer. We've all seen them at one time or another. When your customer orders, they're presented with a chance to upgrade to an enhanced version of the product. Something like upgrading from a standard to a gold or platinum version at a higher price point.

Killer Term #3...In this scenario, when your customer clicks to buy, they're presented with a one-time chance to buy another product with the first one at some reduced price. This works very well for several reasons. First, your customer is at the best place to be! Their credit card is in hand and they have committed to making a purchase. Also, you're adding a scarcity and time element if you tell them this is the only opportunity to get both at such a greatly reduced price.

Killer Term #4...Letting your customer actually use the product for 30 days before charging their card. You'll want to get their card information, of course. And after 30 days if you haven't received the product in return, you'll just bill them at your price.

Killer Term #5...You make either a massive bonus offer or one with a smaller number but a greater perceived value. The massive offer term basically just blows your customers away to the point where it really is a no-brainer to buy. There have been times when I bought something just because I wanted the bonus!

Think out of the box. You can really get creative with your offer terms. But do your best to get into the mindset of testing because it'll only help you to be more profitable. Now you have something concrete you can get going with. These were just a handful and there are a lot more!

About The Author:
A former college dropout, Dan "The Man" Lok transformed himself from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to an internet multi-millionaire. Discover how you can maximize your website profits in minimum time. For a limited time, you can test- drive Dan's Insiders Club for 30-days Risk-Free and get $1,165 dollars worth of bonus gifts. Rush cover to: http://www.websiteconversionexpert.com/testdrive.html

How To Write Headlines That Could Make You Rich! - video of Dan Lok doing an "Extreme Headline Makeover" (tm)

Some of the red-hot topics we'll be covering in the upcoming months...

Google ad sense, adwords, affiliate marketing, article marketing, blogging and blog marketing, contextual advertising, conversion optimization, copywriting and web copywriting tips, cost per action and cost per impression, display advertising, ebay business, ebook publishing and ebook software, ecommerce, email marketing/emarketing/email advertising campaigns, entrepreneurial tips, guerilla marketing on the internet, home business, how to increase web traffic, interactive marketing, interactive advertising, international marketing services, internet advertising and online advertising agencies, internet marketing/online marketing articles, internet marketing strategies, linking services and web link tips, opt-in lists, pay per click advertising and paid inclusion, pitfalls of mlm, revenue sharing, search engine optimization (seo) and search engine marketing, self improvement and self-help, small business, social media optimization (smo) including rss feeds, viral marketing, website advertising services web analytics, web 2.0 and marketing 2.0, website promotion software, web traffic tips, work from home, writing a marketing plan, writing press releases/pr/media coverage and press release distribution

...so stayed tuned, and bookmark us now!!

Sunday, November 18, 2007

The Next Step in Online Video

- by Jim Edwards



© Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
http://www.thenetreporter.com



Way back in the online "Dark Ages" of 2004, I made a prediction that full motion video would make huge inroads online within the next 12-18 months. I was right.

But I don’t think anyone thought online video would become this pervasive, especially not for the average Internet user.

Three things happened at roughly the same time to create the "perfect storm" of online video: widespread high-speed access; improved video compression; smoking hot computers at bargain-basement prices.

Fast forward to today and every business, regardless of size, needs to seize the online video phenomenon and put it to work quickly and correctly.

Now in some niche markets, video rates "no big deal." Using video on your website simply represents your ticket into the stadium to compete with everyone else in the market.

But, in so many niches, video can still set you apart and lead to a massive increase in sales you otherwise might never see.

The following examples should help you visualize how you could start using online video to increase your business’ bottom line.

If you operate a food-related site, my advice is to start offering cooking videos on a regular basis. Not only will this help you sell more products, but it will help you build up a loyal list of followers who eagerly anticipate the next video.

Show people how to make a certain dish and then sell them a "kit" with all or most of the ingredients included.

Or, if you sell utensils or kitchen gadgets, make videos showing how to use the items you sell. Demonstrate techniques that will save them time and improve results (something they want) but to get those results they must buy the tool they just saw demonstrated. I know from experience this technique works wonders!

If you sell complicated machinery, demonstrate the product completely using online video to help make the sale.

Case in point, I know someone who recently bought a $1,500 shrink-wrapping machine solely based off a 9 minute, 32 second video on the manufacturer’s website. They demonstrated setting up the machine, adjusting all settings, installing the shrink-wrap material, and using it to wrap DVD cases.

In fact, the online video proved so useful that my friend didn’t even need to look at the instruction manual when the machine arrived. He simply did what he saw on the video and was set up and running in less than 20 minutes.

If you own a service business like a quick print shop, you can use video to show people the equipment you operate, introduce the actual staff who will help them, and explain the various services you can offer. Do this and it will amaze you how many people will feel like they already know you and your staff when they walk in the door.

If you own a retail establishment like a furniture store, give people a video tour of the facility and let them know the type of selection you carry, any specialty merchandise you offer, as well as an incentive (a coupon or "tell them we sent you" type message) to come in to your physical location.

The "next step" in online video for most businesses simply comes down to making the leap from knowing about video to actually using it on your website!

The tools, software, and techniques for putting video on your site have never been easier, more convenient or cheaper.

Anyone with a video camera, an average computer, some editing software, a hosting account, and a little imagination can do it!


Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the
co-creator of an amazing course that will teach you step-by-
step and click-by-click how to get your own money-making
videos posted online…

-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Finally! A Quick and Easy Way For YOU To Painlessly
Create, Post and PROFIT From Your Own Money-Making
Online Videos… Without Being a Computer Geek or
Paying Outrageous Fees To A Webmaster!"
=> http://www.WebsiteVideoSecrets.com
-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Power to Create Profits - Jim Edwards





Business optimization specialist Stephen Pierce interviews syndicated newspaper columnist and internet marketing guru Jim Edwards in this episode of Power to Create Profits.


Here's a few products we recommend, from Jim Edwards and his company Surefire Marketing:

"The Fastest Way To Build A Huge Opt-In List
and Have Super-Affiliates Climbing All Over
Themselves To Make YOU Money!"


"Advertising Headline Templates That Make You Rich"




"Niche Advertising Secrets" - more sales with less traffic.

"Affiliate Business Blueprint" - create your own unique business without having to invent your own product

"The Online Marketer's & Website Owner's Legal Information Clinic"

"Turn Words Into Traffic" - Finally! The secret to non-stop FREE targeted traffic

"The Lazy Man's Guide to Online Business"


Advertising Technology, Today's VC Game?
by Dr. Ken Evoy


- From Ken's Blog, http://blog.sitesell.com/sitesell/kens_blog/index.html

Did someone start a newspaper fifty years ago specifically to sell advertising?

Did Brin and Page start Google to sell advertising?

The answer, in both cases, was no. They started from a passion to deliver the news and to provide better search (respectively). Google stumbled onto advertising after other monetization models had failed.

But startups today develop products specifically to attract folks/create advertising space. And then, presumably, they flip to Google (or other media giant of choice).

That's not business. That's a VC (Venture Capital) game. And not a particularly innovative one.

I saw the game in action at the Ad:Tech conference in New York.

What is Ad:Tech? Here's their Web site's opening paragraph...

"ad:tech is an interactive advertising and technology conference dedicated to connecting all sides of today's brand marketing landscape."

OK, that didn't help much. So I drilled down to their META DESCRIPTION tag...

"ad:tech - The #1 event for interactive marketing. The Digital Marketing Conference for Today's Marketing Leaders! Listen to speakers from around the world, view the latest marketing technology and delve into the details with global case studies and market research. Fuel your entry into foreign lands with multi-cultural marketing and onto new platforms with our hands-on demo sessions."

Geez, why didn't they just say so on their Web site?

Even their META KEYWORDS tag was more helpful...

"adtech, ad:tech, ad tech, @tech, ad-tech, global marketing event, Interactive marketing, interactive online marketing, marketing technology, search engine strategies, search engine optimization, interactive marketing, internet marketing conference, seo, interactive marketing event, seo conference, sem conference, behavioral marketing, data visualization, word of mouth marketing, advertising, web site optimization, cpm, affiliate marketing, interactive marketing show, experiential marketing, event marketing professional"

So what was Ad:Tech really?

Almost a waste of time. It would have been more productive to simply visit the exhibitors' Web sites. And the content in the keynotes can be obtained in blogs, white papers, and so forth.

As you may have gathered from my opening, I was particularly disappointed in the "state of the advertising Net." I expected diversity, some exciting companies. Instead...

I had no idea there were so many affiliate networks, ad networks, PPC-this and PPC-thats. Me-too-3-and-4s, and on and on. It's so mind-numbing that there's no way to know which one of those little booths might actually be doing something interesting.

I stopped asking "so what do you do?" because that doomed me to losing another half-hour of my life that I could never get back.

I learned to cover my badge from their scanners (capturing me in their database -- it will be interesting to see if the few that "caught" me will consider that permission to e-mail me -- it was not).

I was looking forward to the first keynote, by Nick Brien, Worldwide CEO of Universal McCann. I was interested to hear his big picture view of where the world of digital marketing is headed. Answer? He doesn't know (extrapolating the present into the future is easy), but he uses very big words and sweeping visions and glitzy videos to paper that over rather nicely.

What a contrast to the stimulating conversation I had with Andy and Mike Mindel during a dinner meeting. I learn more from smart, in-the-trenches folks who've bootstrapped their own business than from this VC-fuelled advertising, slick-talking frenzy bubbling at that heavily attended conference.




That said, there are some good takeaways for small businesses online...

1) Infopreneur SBIers who are depending on advertising revenues can rest easy. When I see this many companies trying to provide advertising solutions, it's because they believe that more and more advertisers are going to be looking to put more and more billions of dollars into quality, targeted spaces. Compared to the Web 2.0 solutions that exist merely to create ad space, theme-based sites ensure you solid future advertising revenues.

2) A strong alternative to Google AdSense may emerge, although they are more likely to be networks that aggregate "super-niches." Think of an ESPN aggregating sports sites. Or as I write this, Martha Stewart has announced a lifestyle network. This is a potentially interesting direction that could eat into Google AdSense, if the remuneration is competitive. (So far, competing networks fail to compete in technology, fraud prevention, and price.)

3) I did meet one interesting company. We may work together on providing an interesting complement to Google AdSense (and other contextual advertisers) for SBI! sites. This is a module ("Advertise It!") that was coming sooner or later, but with a completely different twist. It may be sooner, although it's too soon to say. Some exploration ahead. And we won't do anything just to be "me-too." A solution simply must have a powerful reason-to-be and provide truly value-plus to both publishers and their visitors.

4) Personally... what goes around comes around. Twenty years ago, Jan and I walked the floors of the large annual toy industry fairs in New York, Hong Kong, Paris, London, Milan and Nuremberg. The first and the last (of that list) dwarfed the Ad:Tech show, and I mean 10-20-fold.

The big difference? Walking toy fairs was fun (aside from the sore feet). And I don't mean because it was toys (although that was fun!). Folks were doing business, actually buying and selling "stuff." Ad:Tech often felt more like one big game.

Bottom line?

The future is bright for publishers of theme-based content sites. Build a quality relevant business, genuinely great and original content. Monetize it in a variety of ways, including the selling of ads. Advertisers/networks will pay you well -- they understand the value of an ad on a well-trafficked, highly targeted site.

All the best,

Ken

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