Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Judy Murdoch
One of my clients recently asked me whether she should charge for a series of tip sheets she created for families traveling with young children. Great question.
There's quite a bit of confusion around whether you should sell or give away your information products. About half the advice I hear favors giving information away for free. The other half favors charging.
The truth is, sometimes you should give information and resources away and sometimes you should sell them. The real question is WHEN to charge and when not to.
In this article, I'll give you some guidelines around when to charge and when to give information away.
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Start with What Your Business Needs Now
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Asking where your business is at and what you need to be successful is a great place to begin.
Every business needs customers, right? So let's look at how strangers become customers. They go through three stages:
~ Stage One: Visibility (V)
To become a customer a person first needs to know your product exists. You become visible by getting your product and marketing message in front of people who fit your ideal customer description.
~ Stage Two: Credibility (C)
Knowing that your product exists is usually not enough to get someone to pay cold hard cash for it. Nope, they're thinking "well, that sounds good but how do I know it will really work?"
During the Credibility stage you need to give them information that demonstrates your product will deliver as promised.
~ Stage Three: Profitability (P)
Once your prospect is convinced that your product will, indeed, deliver the promised value, they will pay you and become a customer.
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V to C to P = Marketing Funnel
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Picture a funnel with lots of people coming in the widest part (visibility), a percentage sticking around to learn more (credibility), and a percentage of those who stick around becoming customers (profitability).
At any given time in the life of your business, there are people at different stages of becoming customers. Some are learning about you for the first time, some are checking you out to decide whether they will buy, and some are deciding to buy and paying you.
Ideally, you have a steady stream of people constantly entering and moving through the funnel. If they don't enter or don't continue through, you have a problem and it shows up in your bottom line: You don't have enough paying customers.
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When to Give Away and When to Charge
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To decide whether or not to charge for an information product, I suggest you take a look at how many people are at each of the three stages.
Your goal is to use information products as an incentive for prospects and customers to take the next step.
~ When You Need More Visibility
If you're just starting your business or you want to enter a new market, you probably need more visibility. You need people to know your product exists.
When visibility is your goal, I recommend you give something away that provides value and introduces people to your product or service.
Why? The goal for visibility is to answer the following questions:
1. What is it ("it" being your product or service)
2. Does it help someone like me?
You want to give something away that will answer these questions while asking for something minimal from the prospect.
A common example is offering a free Ezine subscription or a free report your prospects can download in exchange for their E-mail address or phone number.
~ When You Need More Credibility
Credibility is an issue when you're getting a lot of first time visitors and inquiries but not enough are coming back.
For most products and services, people need repeated demonstrations of what you can do for them. They need to trust you.
When you are building credibility, I suggest you have two information products: one that is free and one that you sell.
1. A free product that allows you to build a relationship with your prospects. Products like Ezines are great because you get a chance to connect with customers once a month or more.
2. Product you charge for which offers a higher level of customer value.
Ideally, this is a "no brainer" purchase. Something for which the value is so obvious for what you're charging that most people don't need to think too long or hard about whether to buy.
Although you will be making some money, the real purpose is to demonstrate credibility and build trust.
Warning: The biggest complaint I hear is when someone offers a free report or one-hour teleclass that turns out to be little more than a sales pitch.
Again, you are creating value and building trust. Doing both will enable you to convert more prospects to paying customers when the opportunity presents itself.
A sneaky sales pitch will undermine the trust you are trying to build.
~ If You Need More Profitability
If you have a large, loyal base of readers, subscribers, or members who have been hanging out with you for several months and like what they're getting, some of them will want to invest some serious time and money for your focused time and attention.
For example, a consultant I know sends out a free monthly Ezine to her mailing list and sells low cost Tip Sheets, Checklists, and so on.
Each month 3-5 of her subscribers contact her to learn more about her workshops and seminars costing $500+. She usually books 6 to 8 engagements this way each year.
She explained it to me like this, "I try to provide something useful that my readers can apply right away. For example, I sell a $5.00 meeting organizer they can use to have more productive meetings. Sometimes this is all they need."
"But sometimes they're in a situation that goes way beyond the DIY stage. They need someone from outside the company to step in and help them set up a new system or to help them hire a new executive."
Allowing your prospects to upgrade (or escalate) and get a higher level of support is not only profitable, it's how you can really serve your clients.
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Bottom Line
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Whether or not to charge for your information products depends on what your business needs in terms of developing customer relationships.
The less known you are to people fitting your ideal customer profile, the more important it is to offer free or low cost information products which provide something of value.
As you build trust and as your prospects learn how you can help them, you can offer more expensive, higher commitment products for those who want (and can afford) them.
About the Author:
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
Read more Articles written by Judy Murdoch.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Advertisers and Online Advertising Agencies
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Karin Gamble, All Rights Reserved
Ten years ago I founded NetMediaReps, Inc., an advertising agency for online companies, specifically online newsletter publishers trying to find advertisers for their publications. My decision to found my own company grew out of my frustration in trying to obtain agency representation for my husband's company.
After calling more than 25 ad agencies, I discovered that most agencies charged exorbitant commissions and were only interested in representing large companies with deep pockets. As a new startup, my husband's company fell under their radar and follow up was minimal to nil.
Back then, the internet was just emerging as the new frontier of business and it was apparent that small and medium-sized businessses needed effective marketing representation to compete in this new marketplace, to receive the broadest possible exposure and to find other companies which could help facilitate their growth.
My thought was that these companies had an even greater need for a marketing platform than larger companies to be competitive in the growing online commercial market. I decided to fill that niche and started by signing contracts with several online publishers who needed assistance in selling their ad inventory. The rest is history - NetMediaReps.com was born.
Knowledge of how to do business, and advertise, on the internet has grown significantly over the years and data tracking of take rates, website conversion rates and ROI have become increasingly sophisticated, helping online businesses to better target their advertising dollars in a successful and productive way.
Despite these advances in knowledge and technique, there are still a surprising number of individuals who display a remarkable naivety regarding advertising and who ask questions that indicate the lack of a well thought out marketing plan or a basic understanding of the advertising mediums available to them online. Below are some examples of not so uncommon questions we receive and our responses to them:
Question: Your publisher mails to a list of 500,000 subscribers so I should get 500,000 responses - right ?
Answer: An online publication using a mailing list is like a newspaper. Recipients don't always feel like reading or looking at the publication on a given day. They may be busy, on vacation, disinterested in the topic, or otherwise indisposed. And, like a newspaper - just because they see your ad doesn't mean they want to buy from you - at least not at that given moment. It is, however, a good idea to advertise in publications that archive past issues or editions providing advertisers with permanent or semi-permanent back links and the opportunity of receiving trickle through clicks and sales at no additional cost.
Other factors that can affect response rate are:
The number of links in a publication. Newsletters typically run 1 to 2 web pages in length and are comprised of several sections all of which contain a few to numerous links. As a result reader interest and click activity is diffused across the newsletter rather than focused on a particular ad or link.
Ad clarity. A concise, definitive statement describing what your company is selling and how it benefits buyers is essential as is an unequivocal call to action.
Ad Uniqueness. An ad that stands out generally performs better.
Spam triggers. Generally, words and phrases that are the most effective in evoking reader response are also the ones that trigger spam filters both at the ISP level and the reader's Inbox. Blatant commercial message subjects and ad copy rarely do well.
Message Subject. Shorter subject lines are usually more effective than longer ones. More imortantly, large web-based mail services like Yahoo! Mail, MSN/Hotmail and AOL truncate message subjects that are greater than 38 - 47 characters.
Question: (After receiving ad specs, including dimensions and file sizes.) Will my 700 x 300 pixel ad be accepted?
Answer: Most publishers will strive to assist you in placing your ads but are restricted by their newsletter templates from accepting ads that don't conform to the specs provided. Submitting an incorrectly sized ad simply delays the start of your ad campaign.
Question: Why should I advertise when we are obviously in a recession? Does that make any sense?
Answer: McGraw-Hill Research analyzed 600 companies and their marketing spending from 1980 to 1985. After 1985, the facts showed that the firms which had kept or increased their advertising budgets during the recession in '81-'82 boasted an average sales growth of 275% over the next five years. The companies who cut their advertising? They experienced paltry sales growth over the next five years of just 19%.
So, when is the right time to market your business? All the time.
Question: I noticed my competitor in your publications - can you tell me how they did, so I can decide if we want to use you?
Sorry. You wouldn't want the details of your campaign provided to your competitors. Our advertisers have an expectation of privacy and confidentiality in regards to performance criteria such as click-through rates, sales and ROI. Ad agencies and publishers have an ethical obligation to keep campaign results confidential.
Even if such information was made available, it would not be that useful. Campaign results can vary significantly depending on the product/service offered, price point, message subject, ad copy and numerous other variables.
Any questions?... e-me ! :)
About the Author:
Karin Gamble is the CEO of NetMediaReps, Inc. (http://www.netmediareps.com), an online advertising agency specializing in ad sales for newsletter publications and web sites targeting a webmaster audience. Karin can be reached by email at info@netmediareps.com or by telephone at (204)254-1750.
Read more Articles written by Karin Gamble.
Copyright © 2009 Karin Gamble, All Rights Reserved
Ten years ago I founded NetMediaReps, Inc., an advertising agency for online companies, specifically online newsletter publishers trying to find advertisers for their publications. My decision to found my own company grew out of my frustration in trying to obtain agency representation for my husband's company.
After calling more than 25 ad agencies, I discovered that most agencies charged exorbitant commissions and were only interested in representing large companies with deep pockets. As a new startup, my husband's company fell under their radar and follow up was minimal to nil.
Back then, the internet was just emerging as the new frontier of business and it was apparent that small and medium-sized businessses needed effective marketing representation to compete in this new marketplace, to receive the broadest possible exposure and to find other companies which could help facilitate their growth.
My thought was that these companies had an even greater need for a marketing platform than larger companies to be competitive in the growing online commercial market. I decided to fill that niche and started by signing contracts with several online publishers who needed assistance in selling their ad inventory. The rest is history - NetMediaReps.com was born.
Knowledge of how to do business, and advertise, on the internet has grown significantly over the years and data tracking of take rates, website conversion rates and ROI have become increasingly sophisticated, helping online businesses to better target their advertising dollars in a successful and productive way.
Despite these advances in knowledge and technique, there are still a surprising number of individuals who display a remarkable naivety regarding advertising and who ask questions that indicate the lack of a well thought out marketing plan or a basic understanding of the advertising mediums available to them online. Below are some examples of not so uncommon questions we receive and our responses to them:
Question: Your publisher mails to a list of 500,000 subscribers so I should get 500,000 responses - right ?
Answer: An online publication using a mailing list is like a newspaper. Recipients don't always feel like reading or looking at the publication on a given day. They may be busy, on vacation, disinterested in the topic, or otherwise indisposed. And, like a newspaper - just because they see your ad doesn't mean they want to buy from you - at least not at that given moment. It is, however, a good idea to advertise in publications that archive past issues or editions providing advertisers with permanent or semi-permanent back links and the opportunity of receiving trickle through clicks and sales at no additional cost.
Other factors that can affect response rate are:
Question: (After receiving ad specs, including dimensions and file sizes.) Will my 700 x 300 pixel ad be accepted?
Answer: Most publishers will strive to assist you in placing your ads but are restricted by their newsletter templates from accepting ads that don't conform to the specs provided. Submitting an incorrectly sized ad simply delays the start of your ad campaign.
Question: Why should I advertise when we are obviously in a recession? Does that make any sense?
Answer: McGraw-Hill Research analyzed 600 companies and their marketing spending from 1980 to 1985. After 1985, the facts showed that the firms which had kept or increased their advertising budgets during the recession in '81-'82 boasted an average sales growth of 275% over the next five years. The companies who cut their advertising? They experienced paltry sales growth over the next five years of just 19%.
So, when is the right time to market your business? All the time.
Question: I noticed my competitor in your publications - can you tell me how they did, so I can decide if we want to use you?
Sorry. You wouldn't want the details of your campaign provided to your competitors. Our advertisers have an expectation of privacy and confidentiality in regards to performance criteria such as click-through rates, sales and ROI. Ad agencies and publishers have an ethical obligation to keep campaign results confidential.
Even if such information was made available, it would not be that useful. Campaign results can vary significantly depending on the product/service offered, price point, message subject, ad copy and numerous other variables.
Any questions?... e-me ! :)
About the Author:
Karin Gamble is the CEO of NetMediaReps, Inc. (http://www.netmediareps.com), an online advertising agency specializing in ad sales for newsletter publications and web sites targeting a webmaster audience. Karin can be reached by email at info@netmediareps.com or by telephone at (204)254-1750.
Read more Articles written by Karin Gamble.
Private Label Rights (PLR) and Spamming
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Glenn Heitkoetter
PLR is material that the author gives rights to change and/or redistribute the product(s). These can be just about any product. The author can be very strict in one extreme, to all the way the other way to letting you change it completely as you want, give yourself the credit and relink any links to your own site(s).
PLR has a bad rap as spammers flood video sites, article sites, blogs, and other sites with this, usually it is going to be duplicate content as someone else has already spammed the site earlier with it. A lot of PLR is watered down filler and/or sales pitches with little or no real information.
The following methods are if the original author(s) allow it according to the documentation.
Find the best PLR with real information.
These are just a few methods that can be used with PLR saving you many hours of time coming up with your own information from scratch. PLR can also give you ideas that may only have been touched on in the material but you can expand on it to make the material original.
Combine products into unique packages that cannot be found anywhere else. Give away part of it and sell another part.
Change the format. There are services that charge to do this so this is a viable service as you can change an article into video slides or video screen capture tutorials using paid or free software. Change audio into articles or the reverse of this. Utilize live video or streaming video services using PLR that has not been done in this fashion before. People benefit from these formats as they may not be able to utilize a product easily or at all in the original format.
Avoid selling products that can be found for free as they are or sending it to sites that want original content.
Give them away as bonuses for free to make an original product more attractive as many people may not have known about this before.
Auction unique packages of PLR. Sell for next to nothing if you want and build your mailing list for your email newsletter.
Find the best PLR and give away in individual packages from your site(s) and build your mailing list.
There are free and paid PLR membership sites that bring in new original content all of the time. Be the first to utilize this content and or give away the memberships using their affiliate programs that these sites offer.
Use PLR to give answers to questions about items in question and answer forums. Run a link to the material. Selling from here is going to probably get you the boot off the forum. Give the first package away free but sell an expanded package. Stay on the exact topic of the forum or the boot is likely to happen. Your sign on signature can have a link to the free content.
Make a free "viraling" Ebook. Many Ebooks are worthless using regurgitated info scraped from help files of sites. People can tell you scraped it as it will be easy obvious information. The better it is the more viral it will go. Give real info that is combined with good PLR. Put it in pdf format using paid or free software with your live links to your site(s).
One of the best uses of PLR is to use part of it for you email newsletters combining it with your own original content to expand a subject.
About the Author:
Written by: Glenn Heitkoetter. For Free membership and 79 Ways To Make Money With PLR Products: http://www.info-soup.com/plr
Read more Articles written by Glenn Heitkoetter.
Copyright © 2009 Glenn Heitkoetter
PLR is material that the author gives rights to change and/or redistribute the product(s). These can be just about any product. The author can be very strict in one extreme, to all the way the other way to letting you change it completely as you want, give yourself the credit and relink any links to your own site(s).
PLR has a bad rap as spammers flood video sites, article sites, blogs, and other sites with this, usually it is going to be duplicate content as someone else has already spammed the site earlier with it. A lot of PLR is watered down filler and/or sales pitches with little or no real information.
The following methods are if the original author(s) allow it according to the documentation.
Find the best PLR with real information.
These are just a few methods that can be used with PLR saving you many hours of time coming up with your own information from scratch. PLR can also give you ideas that may only have been touched on in the material but you can expand on it to make the material original.
About the Author:
Written by: Glenn Heitkoetter. For Free membership and 79 Ways To Make Money With PLR Products: http://www.info-soup.com/plr
Read more Articles written by Glenn Heitkoetter.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
How To Reverse Engineer My #1 Google Rankings
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Willie Crawford
To many online marketers, getting a #1 listing on Google for your target keyword phrases is "heaven." It does lead to many times more traffic than being even #2 or #3. If you're not on the first page of Google, you may as well forget getting any significant traffic in many niches. At least you should plan on generating your traffic via other channels since few searchers look past the first page of search engine results.
Google the terms "joint venture expert" or "land for $100" and you'll see that I rank #1 for both terms and have for a VERY long time.
Yes, people do search on those terms, regardless of what you might think, and they both generate substantial incomes for me, but they are not my most profitable keywords. They are just keywords that I will use to prove to you that I have a clue about how to get top Google listings. You really shouldn't listen to "experts" who can't back up with they teach with proof.
Next, I invite you to try to reverse engineer what I did. Actually, I'll share much of my secret process with you. Not all of what I do is very obvious.
Here are the things that I do:
1) I target specific, long-tail, buying keywords. It's easier to rank for 3-5 word phrases, and people entering those phrases into the search engines are looking for something very specific. This is the traffic that you want to attract.
2) I use article marketing extensively to generate massive backlinks. All things being equal, the one with the most backlinks from relevant quality sites WINS.
3) I use video marketing, submitting to top video sharing sites using titles and descriptions optimized for my keywords.
4) I use pod casting, submitting my audios to numerous podcast directories, as well as offering them from numerous websites. People who hear your audio message, and click through to your site, arrive pre-sold on your and ready to follow your recommendations.
My pod cast submissions are also keyword optimized!
5) I use my keywords in anchor text on my blogs, and in article directories where allowed.
6) I generate a LOT of content, and repurpose that content regularly. I publicize that content on social networking sites, on other resource sites that allow me to publicize my content, and even in press releases.
For example, I post announcements of my updated content often to http://www.IMNewsWatch.com, http://www.TeleseminarNation.com and leading industry forums.
7) I use automation. If I had to hand submit all of my content I would only be able to distribute 1/10th as much. All things being equal, he who submits the most quality content wins.
8) I adhere to the rules and terms of service at the article, video, podcasts, and press release sharing sites. It does no good to get great rankings, only to be banned a few weeks or months later (having all of your content removed, and your work go to waste). I use 100% whitehat tactics.
9) I generate quality content. I does no good to throw garbage at the search engines. You'll only attract non-responsive traffic (wasting bandwidth and giving you useless website traffic conversion statistics), and you'll also eventually experience backlash. Write primarily for humans, but keeping good SEO in mind. The simplest way to do that is to use your primary keywords in your titles and descriptions, when creating and uploading content. Also be sure to use your primary keywords throughout your content.
10) I create external links to some of my content posted on sites OTHER THAN my primary sites. Linking to content that then links to your primary sites increases the relevance of external links from that content pointing to your primary sites. That helps the content on your primary sites rank higher longer. SEO experts call that "adding link juice!" If you don't do this, you'll often rank high for given keywords only for a few days, and then quickly drop in ranking. Adding "link juice" helps the ranking "stick."
There you have it - how I get and maintain #1 Google rankings for tons of keywords that my buying customers search on regularly at Google. Model what I do, and you'll get similar results.
About the Author:
Willie Crawford has been teaching people to build a legitimate online business since 1996. He is one of the world's leading website traffic generation experts. His favorite tool is an automated article, video, podcast and press release submission service that you can use too at: http://EasyPushButtonTraffic.com/ Visit them now.
Read more of Willie Crawford's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Willie Crawford
To many online marketers, getting a #1 listing on Google for your target keyword phrases is "heaven." It does lead to many times more traffic than being even #2 or #3. If you're not on the first page of Google, you may as well forget getting any significant traffic in many niches. At least you should plan on generating your traffic via other channels since few searchers look past the first page of search engine results.
Google the terms "joint venture expert" or "land for $100" and you'll see that I rank #1 for both terms and have for a VERY long time.
Yes, people do search on those terms, regardless of what you might think, and they both generate substantial incomes for me, but they are not my most profitable keywords. They are just keywords that I will use to prove to you that I have a clue about how to get top Google listings. You really shouldn't listen to "experts" who can't back up with they teach with proof.
Next, I invite you to try to reverse engineer what I did. Actually, I'll share much of my secret process with you. Not all of what I do is very obvious.
Here are the things that I do:
1) I target specific, long-tail, buying keywords. It's easier to rank for 3-5 word phrases, and people entering those phrases into the search engines are looking for something very specific. This is the traffic that you want to attract.
2) I use article marketing extensively to generate massive backlinks. All things being equal, the one with the most backlinks from relevant quality sites WINS.
3) I use video marketing, submitting to top video sharing sites using titles and descriptions optimized for my keywords.
4) I use pod casting, submitting my audios to numerous podcast directories, as well as offering them from numerous websites. People who hear your audio message, and click through to your site, arrive pre-sold on your and ready to follow your recommendations.
My pod cast submissions are also keyword optimized!
5) I use my keywords in anchor text on my blogs, and in article directories where allowed.
6) I generate a LOT of content, and repurpose that content regularly. I publicize that content on social networking sites, on other resource sites that allow me to publicize my content, and even in press releases.
For example, I post announcements of my updated content often to http://www.IMNewsWatch.com, http://www.TeleseminarNation.com and leading industry forums.
7) I use automation. If I had to hand submit all of my content I would only be able to distribute 1/10th as much. All things being equal, he who submits the most quality content wins.
8) I adhere to the rules and terms of service at the article, video, podcasts, and press release sharing sites. It does no good to get great rankings, only to be banned a few weeks or months later (having all of your content removed, and your work go to waste). I use 100% whitehat tactics.
9) I generate quality content. I does no good to throw garbage at the search engines. You'll only attract non-responsive traffic (wasting bandwidth and giving you useless website traffic conversion statistics), and you'll also eventually experience backlash. Write primarily for humans, but keeping good SEO in mind. The simplest way to do that is to use your primary keywords in your titles and descriptions, when creating and uploading content. Also be sure to use your primary keywords throughout your content.
10) I create external links to some of my content posted on sites OTHER THAN my primary sites. Linking to content that then links to your primary sites increases the relevance of external links from that content pointing to your primary sites. That helps the content on your primary sites rank higher longer. SEO experts call that "adding link juice!" If you don't do this, you'll often rank high for given keywords only for a few days, and then quickly drop in ranking. Adding "link juice" helps the ranking "stick."
There you have it - how I get and maintain #1 Google rankings for tons of keywords that my buying customers search on regularly at Google. Model what I do, and you'll get similar results.
About the Author:
Willie Crawford has been teaching people to build a legitimate online business since 1996. He is one of the world's leading website traffic generation experts. His favorite tool is an automated article, video, podcast and press release submission service that you can use too at: http://EasyPushButtonTraffic.com/ Visit them now.
Read more of Willie Crawford's articles.
Lessons in Business Naming from Newspaper Headlines
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Marcia Yudkin
Two headlines in the "Home" section of my local newspaper caught my eye the other day: "Natural floors can be knotty and nice" and "Serving cheese with ease." Both headlines involve enjoyable wordplay of the sort that could easily figure in business names or tag lines. I can imagine "KnottyandNice.com" as the domain name for a wooden items crafts shop, and "Cheese with ease" as the tag line for a cheese lovers' online community.
So I went looking for some tips on writing news headlines, thinking they might offer valuable insights for naming, too. After all, news editors need to come up with informative, catchy headers numerous times every workday.
Even more challenging, their headers need to fit the available space. They need to be able to condense or stretch an idea's expression, depending on how many columns an article spreads across.
My Google search didn't quickly turn up any such tips, though. Maybe headline writing is an art passed on in secret by grizzled, ink-stained veterans during the midnight shift.
Nevertheless, by pondering a couple of dozen headlines, I was able to observe several key points.
1. Newspaper headline writers collect short, vivid verbs, such as "mines" ("Obama mines small, red states"), "stirs," "pushes," "clings," "set," "edges," "sparks," "tosses," "sees," "OKs" and much more. Not only can headlines with verbs tell a complete story, they convey energy.
Because verbs are frequently overlooked as an element in naming, these punchy little words can help you come up with a trademarkable name or a free domain in a competitive industry.
2. Long, vivid words can also come in handy. In the headline "Super Bowl party can be gastronomical success," the word "gastronomical" rescues the line from dullness. It's a wonderful word that could be tweaked in a zillion creative ways for a company name or tag line.
The lesson: long, vivid words can help you convey a complicated idea concisely, as long as your average customer has an inkling of their meaning.
3. Short, vivid words come in useful, too. Take a look at the word "ire" in the headline "Delay in polar bear decision draws ire of Senate." This is another kind of word that most people understand yet probably wouldn't think to use.
4. Combined cleverly, ordinary words can please inordinately. Besides the rhyme in "cheese with ease" and the homonym in "knotty and nice," I also found "Hoops and hollers" atop a photo of kids cheering at a basketball game, which illustrates alliteration - the repetition of initial letters or sounds.
Another headline, "Bush comes clean with former addicts," used an expression with two meanings that both tie in with the subject matter - George W. Bush talking openly about his former drinking problem.
All in all, your newspaper can serve as a source of instruction and inspiration for naming. Just make sure you screen out bloopers like these, which have actually appeared in newspapers:
Blind Woman Gets New Kidney from Dad she Hasn't Seen in Years
Grandmother of Eight Makes Hole in One
Quarter of a Million Chinese Live on Water
Stolen Painting Found by Tree
Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
Iraqi Head Seeks Arms
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
About the Author:
Marcia Yudkin is Head Stork of Named At Last, a company that brainstorms creative business names, product names and tag lines for clients. For a systematic process of coming up with an appealing and effective name or tag line, download a free copy of "19 Steps to the Perfect Company Name, Product Name or Tag Line" at http://www.namedatlast.com/19steps.htm
Read more Articles written by Marcia Yudkin.
Copyright © 2009 Marcia Yudkin
Two headlines in the "Home" section of my local newspaper caught my eye the other day: "Natural floors can be knotty and nice" and "Serving cheese with ease." Both headlines involve enjoyable wordplay of the sort that could easily figure in business names or tag lines. I can imagine "KnottyandNice.com" as the domain name for a wooden items crafts shop, and "Cheese with ease" as the tag line for a cheese lovers' online community.
So I went looking for some tips on writing news headlines, thinking they might offer valuable insights for naming, too. After all, news editors need to come up with informative, catchy headers numerous times every workday.
Even more challenging, their headers need to fit the available space. They need to be able to condense or stretch an idea's expression, depending on how many columns an article spreads across.
My Google search didn't quickly turn up any such tips, though. Maybe headline writing is an art passed on in secret by grizzled, ink-stained veterans during the midnight shift.
Nevertheless, by pondering a couple of dozen headlines, I was able to observe several key points.
1. Newspaper headline writers collect short, vivid verbs, such as "mines" ("Obama mines small, red states"), "stirs," "pushes," "clings," "set," "edges," "sparks," "tosses," "sees," "OKs" and much more. Not only can headlines with verbs tell a complete story, they convey energy.
Because verbs are frequently overlooked as an element in naming, these punchy little words can help you come up with a trademarkable name or a free domain in a competitive industry.
2. Long, vivid words can also come in handy. In the headline "Super Bowl party can be gastronomical success," the word "gastronomical" rescues the line from dullness. It's a wonderful word that could be tweaked in a zillion creative ways for a company name or tag line.
The lesson: long, vivid words can help you convey a complicated idea concisely, as long as your average customer has an inkling of their meaning.
3. Short, vivid words come in useful, too. Take a look at the word "ire" in the headline "Delay in polar bear decision draws ire of Senate." This is another kind of word that most people understand yet probably wouldn't think to use.
4. Combined cleverly, ordinary words can please inordinately. Besides the rhyme in "cheese with ease" and the homonym in "knotty and nice," I also found "Hoops and hollers" atop a photo of kids cheering at a basketball game, which illustrates alliteration - the repetition of initial letters or sounds.
Another headline, "Bush comes clean with former addicts," used an expression with two meanings that both tie in with the subject matter - George W. Bush talking openly about his former drinking problem.
All in all, your newspaper can serve as a source of instruction and inspiration for naming. Just make sure you screen out bloopers like these, which have actually appeared in newspapers:
About the Author:
Marcia Yudkin is Head Stork of Named At Last, a company that brainstorms creative business names, product names and tag lines for clients. For a systematic process of coming up with an appealing and effective name or tag line, download a free copy of "19 Steps to the Perfect Company Name, Product Name or Tag Line" at http://www.namedatlast.com/19steps.htm
Read more Articles written by Marcia Yudkin.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Retirement Is the Perfect Time to Fulfill Your Cherished Dream of Writing
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Charles Jacobs
The Gallup Survey Organization says 81% of mature adults long to write a book. You're probably one of them.
In a poll sponsored by the Eons.com web site, 14,000 Seniors and Boomers chose writing as one of their most cherished life dreams.
What's your choice for retirement writing? The novel you've always dreamed of crafting? Perhaps a memoir for loved ones? Maybe you'd prefer to turn out interesting magazine articles on the favorite hobby you've pursued for so many years. Like many others, you may want to maintain contact with your former career by writing articles for trade magazines or possibly a how-to book.
What's holding you back? Are you reluctant because writing seems to be so challenging? Limited to just the chosen few? That's nonsense. Don't let those myths keep you from trying what you've always dreamed of.
Retirement Writing
As a retiree you have great advantages that will help you to fulfill your dream of becoming a published author. You have time...free time at last to pursue the activities you love. You bring years of life experience and professional knowledge to the task.
Can you use those advantages to become a published author? Certainly you can. You'll probably never reach best seller status, although some late starters have accomplished that feat. But with some effort and dedication, you can see your words in print as an article or a book. And they can be distributed over the Internet for millions to see.
It's time to move beyond the starting gate. Set aside those fears of failure. No task can be completed if it isn't begun. No challenge overcome until it is tackled. So it is with writing. Once you start, you'll see your confidence build.
Lawrence Block, a prolific novelist and writing instructor, says, "Writing has this in common with most other skills; we develop it best by practicing it. Whatever writing we do helps us to become better writers."
Before You Face the Computer
The process begins well before you sit down at your computer to write the opening lines of your new gem. A bit of self-searching will put you on track. Think through your answers to several key questions:
Why do I want to write? Is my goal self-fulfillment? Do I have a message I want to deliver to others? Do I want the thrill of seeing my words in print? Am I trying to supplement my income?
What category of writing can best help me attain that goal? What category is most comfortable for me?
Do I want to write just a single piece (a memoir, for example)? Or do I hope to make writing a new career?
How much time am I willing to devote to the task?
Will I be happier writing articles or a book?
Whatever your answers may be, be absolutely certain you are comfortable with them. This is particularly important if you plan to write a full-length book, for you will be married to that task for a substantial length of time.
Making Your Choice
Beginning writers regularly ask, "Where can I find ideas?" The answer, in short, is the world around you. There are no limits to the ideas that astute observers can develop. And writers must be alert spectators.
Ideas abound right in your own home. Coping with a dear one's terminal illness. Issues that caused a divorce. Secrets of a relationship that grows stronger with every year of marriage. An unusual family heritage. Cooking or decorating ideas. Unique holiday celebrations. The list is endless.
Beyond your four walls there is an endless storehouse of ideas. You find them all around you by listening and watching and hearing what friends and relatives talk about. Stories, books and articles are built around events and emotions that people experience.
You can also find them every day in the newspaper. You can choose to follow up a factual report and expand it far beyond what a rushed reporter can do on a tight deadline. Or you can choose to take the idea and fictionalize it, adding your own twists and turns.
A book like Writer's Market, updated annually by Writer's Digest Books is a treasure trove of ideas. It offers hundreds of pages of periodical listings categorized by subject. Freelancers use it as a bible to locate publications that might use their stories. You can use it as a trigger for ideas as you flip through the 50 categories of consumer magazines and 60 categories of trade journals.
Getting Ready
Whether you're about to embark on a novel or nonfiction, an article or a full length book, you're not ready to face that blank computer monitor until you've completed all of your initial homework. That includes evaluating the responses to the question listed above..
Most fiction writers begin by drafting an outline of the plot. As each main character is fully developed-and you as the author must know those key players as well as you know yourself--changes will be necessitated in the outline. You must research the locale(s) and the time period of the book, for nothing can cause a reader to lose interest faster than discovering factual mistakes made by a careless writer.
The essence of nonfiction is fact, and you better know your facts intimately and accurately if you are to achieve success. Whether you are writing an historical piece or a how-to, do your research. Know your subject. Those of you who choose to write on your work specialty better make certain you are up to date on all the latest developments. Always remember that progress didn't end on the day you retired. Change has occurred, and you better be aware of it.
The key word here is research. Getting up to speed. Knowing your subject intimately. Without this, you run the serious risk of suffering from the author's dread disease, Writer's Block. It usually results from facing a stark white computer screen that seems to leer at you, challenging you to make the leap from brain to computer, from thought to the reality of converting those thoughts into words and placing them on the computer. Writers who have done their research well and know their subject will seldom if ever face this problem.
The one last component that you must agree to is discipline. Whether you choose to devote only two or three hours a day to your writing or anticipate making it a full-time job, it cannot be hit-or-miss. You must set a rigid schedule, and follow it. A few hours each morning leaves lots of time for other activities, yet adds a hugely enriching complement to your retirement years.
About the Author:
Do you need a support system to help jump start your writing career? See what's available free on http://www.retirement-writing.com/ - the web site of writing coach and author Charles Jacobs. His latest book "The Writer Within You" is a Best Books of 2007 honoree, a 5-star choice on Amazon, B&N and Borders and a selection of the Writer's Digest Book Club. Find detailed info and order it at a substantial discount by clicking on http://www.retirement-writing.com/the_writer_within_you.aspx
Read more of Charles Jacobs's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Charles Jacobs
The Gallup Survey Organization says 81% of mature adults long to write a book. You're probably one of them.
In a poll sponsored by the Eons.com web site, 14,000 Seniors and Boomers chose writing as one of their most cherished life dreams.
What's your choice for retirement writing? The novel you've always dreamed of crafting? Perhaps a memoir for loved ones? Maybe you'd prefer to turn out interesting magazine articles on the favorite hobby you've pursued for so many years. Like many others, you may want to maintain contact with your former career by writing articles for trade magazines or possibly a how-to book.
What's holding you back? Are you reluctant because writing seems to be so challenging? Limited to just the chosen few? That's nonsense. Don't let those myths keep you from trying what you've always dreamed of.
Retirement Writing
As a retiree you have great advantages that will help you to fulfill your dream of becoming a published author. You have time...free time at last to pursue the activities you love. You bring years of life experience and professional knowledge to the task.
Can you use those advantages to become a published author? Certainly you can. You'll probably never reach best seller status, although some late starters have accomplished that feat. But with some effort and dedication, you can see your words in print as an article or a book. And they can be distributed over the Internet for millions to see.
It's time to move beyond the starting gate. Set aside those fears of failure. No task can be completed if it isn't begun. No challenge overcome until it is tackled. So it is with writing. Once you start, you'll see your confidence build.
Lawrence Block, a prolific novelist and writing instructor, says, "Writing has this in common with most other skills; we develop it best by practicing it. Whatever writing we do helps us to become better writers."
Before You Face the Computer
The process begins well before you sit down at your computer to write the opening lines of your new gem. A bit of self-searching will put you on track. Think through your answers to several key questions:
Whatever your answers may be, be absolutely certain you are comfortable with them. This is particularly important if you plan to write a full-length book, for you will be married to that task for a substantial length of time.
Making Your Choice
Beginning writers regularly ask, "Where can I find ideas?" The answer, in short, is the world around you. There are no limits to the ideas that astute observers can develop. And writers must be alert spectators.
Ideas abound right in your own home. Coping with a dear one's terminal illness. Issues that caused a divorce. Secrets of a relationship that grows stronger with every year of marriage. An unusual family heritage. Cooking or decorating ideas. Unique holiday celebrations. The list is endless.
Beyond your four walls there is an endless storehouse of ideas. You find them all around you by listening and watching and hearing what friends and relatives talk about. Stories, books and articles are built around events and emotions that people experience.
You can also find them every day in the newspaper. You can choose to follow up a factual report and expand it far beyond what a rushed reporter can do on a tight deadline. Or you can choose to take the idea and fictionalize it, adding your own twists and turns.
A book like Writer's Market, updated annually by Writer's Digest Books is a treasure trove of ideas. It offers hundreds of pages of periodical listings categorized by subject. Freelancers use it as a bible to locate publications that might use their stories. You can use it as a trigger for ideas as you flip through the 50 categories of consumer magazines and 60 categories of trade journals.
Getting Ready
Whether you're about to embark on a novel or nonfiction, an article or a full length book, you're not ready to face that blank computer monitor until you've completed all of your initial homework. That includes evaluating the responses to the question listed above..
Most fiction writers begin by drafting an outline of the plot. As each main character is fully developed-and you as the author must know those key players as well as you know yourself--changes will be necessitated in the outline. You must research the locale(s) and the time period of the book, for nothing can cause a reader to lose interest faster than discovering factual mistakes made by a careless writer.
The essence of nonfiction is fact, and you better know your facts intimately and accurately if you are to achieve success. Whether you are writing an historical piece or a how-to, do your research. Know your subject. Those of you who choose to write on your work specialty better make certain you are up to date on all the latest developments. Always remember that progress didn't end on the day you retired. Change has occurred, and you better be aware of it.
The key word here is research. Getting up to speed. Knowing your subject intimately. Without this, you run the serious risk of suffering from the author's dread disease, Writer's Block. It usually results from facing a stark white computer screen that seems to leer at you, challenging you to make the leap from brain to computer, from thought to the reality of converting those thoughts into words and placing them on the computer. Writers who have done their research well and know their subject will seldom if ever face this problem.
The one last component that you must agree to is discipline. Whether you choose to devote only two or three hours a day to your writing or anticipate making it a full-time job, it cannot be hit-or-miss. You must set a rigid schedule, and follow it. A few hours each morning leaves lots of time for other activities, yet adds a hugely enriching complement to your retirement years.
About the Author:
Do you need a support system to help jump start your writing career? See what's available free on http://www.retirement-writing.com/ - the web site of writing coach and author Charles Jacobs. His latest book "The Writer Within You" is a Best Books of 2007 honoree, a 5-star choice on Amazon, B&N and Borders and a selection of the Writer's Digest Book Club. Find detailed info and order it at a substantial discount by clicking on http://www.retirement-writing.com/the_writer_within_you.aspx
Read more of Charles Jacobs's articles.
Article Marketing: A Great Strategy To Promote Your Business
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Enzo F. Cesario
Promotion is an important part of any business; you need to let potential customers know about you and your product. Article marketing is a strategy that will increase your exposure to the people who will want to buy your product or service. Articles written about your industry will help to establish you, the author, as an expert in your field, and can be published in print media and online.
Customers have a preference for doing business with someone they are familiar with, and article marketing is an ideal way of getting your name out there. The content of your articles needs to be useful and relevant to your target market. Articles that are informative, interesting and provide solutions to your readers are tremendously helpful.
If writing is your thing, then do your own articles. If not, there are several sites online where you can connect with writers, eager for work. Choose someone who uses good grammar and spelling skills, and who can write in an informal and conversational style that is easy to read. Your name will appear as the author on these outsourced articles, promoting you as the expert.
These articles are meant to inform and add value to you and your product; they are not blatant sales letters. Online publishing sites wouldn't publish sales letters anyway, and print media would avoid them as well. To establish your credibility, you need to give something to your readers, not blast them with sales talk. Don't ever forget, the reason they are reading your articles is for the information.
Web and ezine writing is very different than writing for other off-line publications. Brief is better. Be concise and write in short paragraphs. Your main purpose is to capture their attention and to get them to visit your website. If your article is long with every piece of information, they won't see the value in clicking the link to your site.
You should always check for spelling and grammatical errors before submitting your articles to directories. These kinds of errors will reflect badly on your reputation and credibility as a quality information provider. Try to avoid technical language, but provide an explanation of terms if they need to be included.
Put the major benefit to the reader in your title. The title will determine whether or not the reader will click to read the article and possibly click to visit your site. If they aren't compelled to read the article, they will never get to see your link, or see your website.
Article directories are the sites where you submit articles for online publication. They check your articles to make sure they comply with their guidelines before they publish them. And though we won't go into it here, print media, like newspapers and magazines, are also always looking for fresh copy, so you can also submit your interesting articles to them for publication.
Make good use of the resource box under the article; this is where you can promote your product and supply contact information. What you include here should encourage readers to click to your website. The best resource box describes your website or yourself in a short sentence and includes at least one link that points back to your website or blog. When the reader clicks on the link to your site, your website visibility will increase.
Remember, a brilliant article with a bad resource box is a waste of time and money. Carefully review the rules for resource box information for each directory you submit to and try to get in as much information about yourself as you can.
If you can, place links to other articles you've written in a new article you're writing. Sometimes, if the advice is helpful, the ezines will let you do this. This cross-referencing will get you more bang for your buck. Before publishing them elsewhere, you should always add your articles to your website or your newsletter. This helps to identify you as the source of the information and is another good way to get your name out there to build relationships with potential customers.
Articles for online publication need to be written with search engines in mind. You need to use the most popular keywords that online users type into their search engine when looking for information about your topic. Use the keywords in your article, but do not saturate it with them. This ruins the readability of the article and will not add to your credibility at all.
Set up a blog to keep in contact with customers and interested contacts. You can upload your articles to your blog to give your readers a continual supply of interesting, informative articles about your area of expertise. Add new content frequently to keep the search engines interested in your articles. Use your blog as another means of promoting your product and yourself as trustworthy and interested in your customers.
Article marketing is probably one of the easiest and most effective ways of driving targeted traffic to your website and boosting your exposure on the Internet. These guidelines will help you get started in article marketing. Use them to promote your product or service and to establish yourself as an expert in your field, then watch your sales increase.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat, the only online marketing and advertising company employing Brandcasting, the most effective way to brand your company on the web. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. The approach is simple, highly effective and affordable. Learn more at: http://www.Brandsplat.com/
Read more Articles written by Enzo F. Cesario.
Copyright © 2009 Enzo F. Cesario
Promotion is an important part of any business; you need to let potential customers know about you and your product. Article marketing is a strategy that will increase your exposure to the people who will want to buy your product or service. Articles written about your industry will help to establish you, the author, as an expert in your field, and can be published in print media and online.
Customers have a preference for doing business with someone they are familiar with, and article marketing is an ideal way of getting your name out there. The content of your articles needs to be useful and relevant to your target market. Articles that are informative, interesting and provide solutions to your readers are tremendously helpful.
If writing is your thing, then do your own articles. If not, there are several sites online where you can connect with writers, eager for work. Choose someone who uses good grammar and spelling skills, and who can write in an informal and conversational style that is easy to read. Your name will appear as the author on these outsourced articles, promoting you as the expert.
These articles are meant to inform and add value to you and your product; they are not blatant sales letters. Online publishing sites wouldn't publish sales letters anyway, and print media would avoid them as well. To establish your credibility, you need to give something to your readers, not blast them with sales talk. Don't ever forget, the reason they are reading your articles is for the information.
Web and ezine writing is very different than writing for other off-line publications. Brief is better. Be concise and write in short paragraphs. Your main purpose is to capture their attention and to get them to visit your website. If your article is long with every piece of information, they won't see the value in clicking the link to your site.
You should always check for spelling and grammatical errors before submitting your articles to directories. These kinds of errors will reflect badly on your reputation and credibility as a quality information provider. Try to avoid technical language, but provide an explanation of terms if they need to be included.
Put the major benefit to the reader in your title. The title will determine whether or not the reader will click to read the article and possibly click to visit your site. If they aren't compelled to read the article, they will never get to see your link, or see your website.
Article directories are the sites where you submit articles for online publication. They check your articles to make sure they comply with their guidelines before they publish them. And though we won't go into it here, print media, like newspapers and magazines, are also always looking for fresh copy, so you can also submit your interesting articles to them for publication.
Make good use of the resource box under the article; this is where you can promote your product and supply contact information. What you include here should encourage readers to click to your website. The best resource box describes your website or yourself in a short sentence and includes at least one link that points back to your website or blog. When the reader clicks on the link to your site, your website visibility will increase.
Remember, a brilliant article with a bad resource box is a waste of time and money. Carefully review the rules for resource box information for each directory you submit to and try to get in as much information about yourself as you can.
If you can, place links to other articles you've written in a new article you're writing. Sometimes, if the advice is helpful, the ezines will let you do this. This cross-referencing will get you more bang for your buck. Before publishing them elsewhere, you should always add your articles to your website or your newsletter. This helps to identify you as the source of the information and is another good way to get your name out there to build relationships with potential customers.
Articles for online publication need to be written with search engines in mind. You need to use the most popular keywords that online users type into their search engine when looking for information about your topic. Use the keywords in your article, but do not saturate it with them. This ruins the readability of the article and will not add to your credibility at all.
Set up a blog to keep in contact with customers and interested contacts. You can upload your articles to your blog to give your readers a continual supply of interesting, informative articles about your area of expertise. Add new content frequently to keep the search engines interested in your articles. Use your blog as another means of promoting your product and yourself as trustworthy and interested in your customers.
Article marketing is probably one of the easiest and most effective ways of driving targeted traffic to your website and boosting your exposure on the Internet. These guidelines will help you get started in article marketing. Use them to promote your product or service and to establish yourself as an expert in your field, then watch your sales increase.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat, the only online marketing and advertising company employing Brandcasting, the most effective way to brand your company on the web. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. The approach is simple, highly effective and affordable. Learn more at: http://www.Brandsplat.com/
Read more Articles written by Enzo F. Cesario.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Article Marketing Advice: Increasing the Readability of Your Articles
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008-2009 Hunter Waterhouse
When it comes to writing articles to promote your online business, it's important to consider more than just your marketing goals: it's essential that you also focus on writing articles that people will want to read. In other words, you don't just want to use words; and you don't want to market and sell your business directly. Instead, you want to make an effort to be engaging and influential.
The first tip that will help you to increase the readability of your articles is to write with the reader's concerns in mind. If you are unsure of exactly how to do that, you may want to look into article ghostwriters who understand article marketing and who only focus on writing articles for Internet audiences. When you work with article ghostwriters, you can focus more on your business and know that someone else is working hard on your behalf to write articles that will be read.
Getting The Best Results From Your Article Marketing Campaigns
Still, if you want to keep article writing within your company, rather than outsourcing it, here are some tips for getting more out of your article marketing campaigns:
1. Hook your readers from the start. Article writing is a lot more effective for marketing your business when people will actually read the articles. The best thing that you can do is to catch their interest right away. Your article title will determine if people will open your article, and the first paragraph will ensure that people keep reading the article.
2. Avoid the temptation to overwhelm your readers with a lot of information. Article writing is not about telling the reader everything that there is to know; it's about sticking with a central focus and giving your reader an introduction or overview of the information they want and need to solve their problems. In an article that probably won't be much more than one thousand words, you will never be able to tell the reader everything they need to know to solve a problem, but you can help put your reader on solid footing for moving forward towards a workable solution.
3. Break up information into digestible chunks. Writing articles is about expressing some key points. When it comes to writing articles for the internet, what you are going to find is that many readers skim rather than read your articles. Using numbered lists (like this one) will help you to present your information clearly, and let readers find what they are looking for quickly. Similarly, if you use bullet lists or break up your text with subheadings that are in a larger font and bolded, you can be sure that after reading your article, the article's key points will be easily recalled.
4. When it comes to article writing, particularly when you are working to establish yourself as an expert, it's important to show that you know what you're talking about. A great way of doing that - and to break up the text of your article - is to include quotes from more established experts. If you are writing articles and are more established, you too should quote other sources, possible letting the readers know why you disagree with another writer.
5. Focus on spelling and grammar. Just as someone who is hiring article ghostwriters should take the time to find ghost writing services that are well versed in your point of view, it's also important to be sure that you're writing in the native language of your target audience. American English is different from that spoken and written in England and India. Paying attention to your spelling and grammar shows that you care about what you are saying and that you are a professional.
A good example of the difference between the usage rules in British English and American English is the story of Paul Marshall from Dallas, Texas. When Paul was running his mortgage business, he had hired some Indian writers to develop content for his website. When he received the copy from his ghostwriters, the copy used the word "mortgage scheme" in the text eleven times. Paul was pissed, as you might well imagine. In British English, "scheme" does not carry any negative connotation. Yet, as you may well realize, "scheme" in American English is one of the most negative words that can be applied to any business model. It denotes "dishonesty" and "fraud" in American English. His Indian writers could not understand his anger with their choice of words, but you can understand his anger.
Professionalism In The Article Writing Process
Professionalism, unfortunately, is frequently overlooked when it comes to article writing. Great writing flows, not just for the writer whose aim is to get the words and message out, but also for the readers who are consuming the information.
Because of this, one key element of an effective article is not the writing itself: it is the readability of that article. Take the time to look at the articles that grab your attention and jot a few notes about each of them. Specifically, focus on the following:
How did the writer grab your attention (or, if you weren't interested in the first paragraph, what turned you off?
What sort of spacing did the writer use in the article?
What did you come away with after reading the article? In other words, what were the key points of the article?
Writing articles is neither purely science nor purely art – at its best; it is a good combination of the two. A great article focuses on a key issue, isn't stuffed with keywords (you do want search engines to find the article, but too many keywords in an article takes away from readability), and is as easy to skim, as it is to read.
When all is said and done, an article that gets read in its entirety will carry the reader to the Author's Bio at the end of the article. Ideally, the reader will read the entire article and feel a desire to visit the author's website to learn more about the writer of the article. It is article marketing at its best, when the reader likes the article enough to click on the link in the Author's Bio and visit the author's website to learn more about what the author is offering.
About the Author:
Hunter Waterhouse has been involved in article ghostwriting and building websites for a number of years. Over the last several years, Hunter has been employed by http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ To learn about the new WordPress plugin, which will enable you to receive targeted articles directly from The Phantom Writers Article Distribution Service, as they become available, please visit: http://www.backlinksmagnet.com/blog/
Read more Articles written by Hunter Waterhouse.
Copyright © 2008-2009 Hunter Waterhouse
When it comes to writing articles to promote your online business, it's important to consider more than just your marketing goals: it's essential that you also focus on writing articles that people will want to read. In other words, you don't just want to use words; and you don't want to market and sell your business directly. Instead, you want to make an effort to be engaging and influential.
The first tip that will help you to increase the readability of your articles is to write with the reader's concerns in mind. If you are unsure of exactly how to do that, you may want to look into article ghostwriters who understand article marketing and who only focus on writing articles for Internet audiences. When you work with article ghostwriters, you can focus more on your business and know that someone else is working hard on your behalf to write articles that will be read.
Getting The Best Results From Your Article Marketing Campaigns
Still, if you want to keep article writing within your company, rather than outsourcing it, here are some tips for getting more out of your article marketing campaigns:
1. Hook your readers from the start. Article writing is a lot more effective for marketing your business when people will actually read the articles. The best thing that you can do is to catch their interest right away. Your article title will determine if people will open your article, and the first paragraph will ensure that people keep reading the article.
2. Avoid the temptation to overwhelm your readers with a lot of information. Article writing is not about telling the reader everything that there is to know; it's about sticking with a central focus and giving your reader an introduction or overview of the information they want and need to solve their problems. In an article that probably won't be much more than one thousand words, you will never be able to tell the reader everything they need to know to solve a problem, but you can help put your reader on solid footing for moving forward towards a workable solution.
3. Break up information into digestible chunks. Writing articles is about expressing some key points. When it comes to writing articles for the internet, what you are going to find is that many readers skim rather than read your articles. Using numbered lists (like this one) will help you to present your information clearly, and let readers find what they are looking for quickly. Similarly, if you use bullet lists or break up your text with subheadings that are in a larger font and bolded, you can be sure that after reading your article, the article's key points will be easily recalled.
4. When it comes to article writing, particularly when you are working to establish yourself as an expert, it's important to show that you know what you're talking about. A great way of doing that - and to break up the text of your article - is to include quotes from more established experts. If you are writing articles and are more established, you too should quote other sources, possible letting the readers know why you disagree with another writer.
5. Focus on spelling and grammar. Just as someone who is hiring article ghostwriters should take the time to find ghost writing services that are well versed in your point of view, it's also important to be sure that you're writing in the native language of your target audience. American English is different from that spoken and written in England and India. Paying attention to your spelling and grammar shows that you care about what you are saying and that you are a professional.
A good example of the difference between the usage rules in British English and American English is the story of Paul Marshall from Dallas, Texas. When Paul was running his mortgage business, he had hired some Indian writers to develop content for his website. When he received the copy from his ghostwriters, the copy used the word "mortgage scheme" in the text eleven times. Paul was pissed, as you might well imagine. In British English, "scheme" does not carry any negative connotation. Yet, as you may well realize, "scheme" in American English is one of the most negative words that can be applied to any business model. It denotes "dishonesty" and "fraud" in American English. His Indian writers could not understand his anger with their choice of words, but you can understand his anger.
Professionalism In The Article Writing Process
Professionalism, unfortunately, is frequently overlooked when it comes to article writing. Great writing flows, not just for the writer whose aim is to get the words and message out, but also for the readers who are consuming the information.
Because of this, one key element of an effective article is not the writing itself: it is the readability of that article. Take the time to look at the articles that grab your attention and jot a few notes about each of them. Specifically, focus on the following:
Writing articles is neither purely science nor purely art – at its best; it is a good combination of the two. A great article focuses on a key issue, isn't stuffed with keywords (you do want search engines to find the article, but too many keywords in an article takes away from readability), and is as easy to skim, as it is to read.
When all is said and done, an article that gets read in its entirety will carry the reader to the Author's Bio at the end of the article. Ideally, the reader will read the entire article and feel a desire to visit the author's website to learn more about the writer of the article. It is article marketing at its best, when the reader likes the article enough to click on the link in the Author's Bio and visit the author's website to learn more about what the author is offering.
About the Author:
Hunter Waterhouse has been involved in article ghostwriting and building websites for a number of years. Over the last several years, Hunter has been employed by http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ To learn about the new WordPress plugin, which will enable you to receive targeted articles directly from The Phantom Writers Article Distribution Service, as they become available, please visit: http://www.backlinksmagnet.com/blog/
Read more Articles written by Hunter Waterhouse.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
How to Recognize a Bad SEO Company
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Enzo F. Cesario
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is about getting potential customers to visit your website. It is also about building a quality website full of great content. It uses keywords appropriately and gets links "naturally" because people love what you have on your site. SEO companies can provide very useful services including keyword research, site review, providing technical advice on your website development and also management of online business marketing campaigns. They can also help with content development, article marketing and article distribution. Although it's not brain surgery, it is hard to do and usually requires a lot of thought and real work.
Some unethical SEO firms attempt to manipulate search engine results in unfair ways. These practices could get your website ranked lower or even banned. When looking at SEO - either to optimize it on your own or if you are looking to hire a company, here are some things to take into account.
Be Cautious Of SEO Firms That Say They Will Get Thousands Of Links To Your Site.
It' is not the number of sites that make the difference - it's the quality of the sites. When firms promise huge numbers of links, or say that you' will become part of their "network of sites", it usually means a link farm is involved. A link farm is any group of websites that all hyperlink to every other site in the group. Search engines don't like this and it can lead to penalties. Instead, practice reciprocal linking with legitimate and related websites for better search engine ranking.
Be Wary Of SEO Firms That Guarantee A High Ranking On Google.
No one can guarantee a high ranking on Google. Some SEO companies offer a guarantee on their services. This is fine. What's not fine is guaranteeing high ranking in an incredibly short period of time. When these unrealistic results fail to happen, the company will balk at giving a refund, offer you other services instead, start to become unreachable or disappear.
Be Cautious Of SEO Firms That Send "Spammy" Emails.
These emails are unsolicited and usually begin with "We've noticed that you are not listed in some search engines..." You should be searching for a high-ranking SEO company; they will not be searching for you. Spam means scam. You don't buy your medications from spammers so why buy SEO services from them?
Be Wary Of SEO Firms That Are Secretive Or Don't Clearly Explain What They Are Going To Do.
Most reputable SEO firms are upfront with their clients and like to share their knowledge. They are confident that even if their clients understand their process, they won't leave them. If the SEO firm claims it's too complicated for you to understand, or if they say they have trade secrets and proprietary technology, it's a sign that they may not be ethical in dealing with your website.
Be Wary Of SEO Firms That Say They Will Submit Your Site To Thousands Of Top Search Engines And Directories.
Besides the small fact that there aren't that many search engines, consider that the guidelines of the search engines themselves tell you that it doesn't do any good anymore. Search Engines are good at what they do - searching for sites - and you don't need to pay someone to submit your site to a search engine. If they make this claim, they will probably use Free For All (FFA) junk sites that might damage your site's standings.
Be Cautious Of SEO Firms That Say They Can Optimize And Promote Your Site For A Low, Low Monthly Fee.
Not all monthly SEO or SEM (Search Engine Management) service contracts or monthly fees are a scam. There are real reasons to pay a monthly fee to an SEO expert. These would include conditions when you would require SEO management: when you or someone else is constantly generating new content or new features for your site; implementing link-building campaigns; implementing PPC (Pay Per Click) campaigns; or starting a brandcasting campaign. Press release distribution, email campaigns and article marketing campaigns could also require a legitimate monthly fee.
Not-so-legitimate fees could include monthly re-submitting of your site to search engines, "tweaking" your code to keep up with changes and regularly submitting your site to hundreds of useless free-for-all directories. The worthwhile companies that charge a monthly fee will usually be able to tell you exactly how much it is per month to generate blog entries or generate and distribute articles or press releases. And it won't be for the low, low price of $79.95.
Choose Your SEO Company And Services Carefully.
Do your research and don't make the decision lightly. If you were hiring a contractor to remodel your kitchen you would want to see other kitchen projects they've done and speak with the owners about the company's business practices. You should do the same thing when hiring an SEO company. Get referrals and really speak with them.
There are many online tips about choosing and hiring SEO firms that you can check out as well. Remember, SEO is a long-term strategy and you should take the time to do your research before buying or you'll probably be buying again.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat, the only online marketing and advertising company employing Brandcasting, the most effective way to brand your company on the web. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. The approach is simple, highly effective and affordable. Learn more at: http://www.Brandsplat.com/
Read more Articles written by Enzo F. Cesario.
Copyright © 2009 Enzo F. Cesario
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is about getting potential customers to visit your website. It is also about building a quality website full of great content. It uses keywords appropriately and gets links "naturally" because people love what you have on your site. SEO companies can provide very useful services including keyword research, site review, providing technical advice on your website development and also management of online business marketing campaigns. They can also help with content development, article marketing and article distribution. Although it's not brain surgery, it is hard to do and usually requires a lot of thought and real work.
Some unethical SEO firms attempt to manipulate search engine results in unfair ways. These practices could get your website ranked lower or even banned. When looking at SEO - either to optimize it on your own or if you are looking to hire a company, here are some things to take into account.
Be Cautious Of SEO Firms That Say They Will Get Thousands Of Links To Your Site.
It' is not the number of sites that make the difference - it's the quality of the sites. When firms promise huge numbers of links, or say that you' will become part of their "network of sites", it usually means a link farm is involved. A link farm is any group of websites that all hyperlink to every other site in the group. Search engines don't like this and it can lead to penalties. Instead, practice reciprocal linking with legitimate and related websites for better search engine ranking.
Be Wary Of SEO Firms That Guarantee A High Ranking On Google.
No one can guarantee a high ranking on Google. Some SEO companies offer a guarantee on their services. This is fine. What's not fine is guaranteeing high ranking in an incredibly short period of time. When these unrealistic results fail to happen, the company will balk at giving a refund, offer you other services instead, start to become unreachable or disappear.
Be Cautious Of SEO Firms That Send "Spammy" Emails.
These emails are unsolicited and usually begin with "We've noticed that you are not listed in some search engines..." You should be searching for a high-ranking SEO company; they will not be searching for you. Spam means scam. You don't buy your medications from spammers so why buy SEO services from them?
Be Wary Of SEO Firms That Are Secretive Or Don't Clearly Explain What They Are Going To Do.
Most reputable SEO firms are upfront with their clients and like to share their knowledge. They are confident that even if their clients understand their process, they won't leave them. If the SEO firm claims it's too complicated for you to understand, or if they say they have trade secrets and proprietary technology, it's a sign that they may not be ethical in dealing with your website.
Be Wary Of SEO Firms That Say They Will Submit Your Site To Thousands Of Top Search Engines And Directories.
Besides the small fact that there aren't that many search engines, consider that the guidelines of the search engines themselves tell you that it doesn't do any good anymore. Search Engines are good at what they do - searching for sites - and you don't need to pay someone to submit your site to a search engine. If they make this claim, they will probably use Free For All (FFA) junk sites that might damage your site's standings.
Be Cautious Of SEO Firms That Say They Can Optimize And Promote Your Site For A Low, Low Monthly Fee.
Not all monthly SEO or SEM (Search Engine Management) service contracts or monthly fees are a scam. There are real reasons to pay a monthly fee to an SEO expert. These would include conditions when you would require SEO management: when you or someone else is constantly generating new content or new features for your site; implementing link-building campaigns; implementing PPC (Pay Per Click) campaigns; or starting a brandcasting campaign. Press release distribution, email campaigns and article marketing campaigns could also require a legitimate monthly fee.
Not-so-legitimate fees could include monthly re-submitting of your site to search engines, "tweaking" your code to keep up with changes and regularly submitting your site to hundreds of useless free-for-all directories. The worthwhile companies that charge a monthly fee will usually be able to tell you exactly how much it is per month to generate blog entries or generate and distribute articles or press releases. And it won't be for the low, low price of $79.95.
Choose Your SEO Company And Services Carefully.
Do your research and don't make the decision lightly. If you were hiring a contractor to remodel your kitchen you would want to see other kitchen projects they've done and speak with the owners about the company's business practices. You should do the same thing when hiring an SEO company. Get referrals and really speak with them.
There are many online tips about choosing and hiring SEO firms that you can check out as well. Remember, SEO is a long-term strategy and you should take the time to do your research before buying or you'll probably be buying again.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat, the only online marketing and advertising company employing Brandcasting, the most effective way to brand your company on the web. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. The approach is simple, highly effective and affordable. Learn more at: http://www.Brandsplat.com/
Read more Articles written by Enzo F. Cesario.
Write a Book and Catapult Your Company to New Heights by Branding Yourself As an Expert
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Charles Jacobs
Taming the recessionary tiger is not as difficult as you think. Forget the old patterns of spending big bucks to buy advertising or blast postal mailings to thousands of possible buyers. The dollars aren't there to spend in a broken economy. Today every penny has to count, and that happens only when you define your market exactingly and tailor a message that is meaningful to it.
We are in a world of specialization. People in every niche seek information both on and off line. You can be the person to whom they turn to find that information. There is a way to brand yourself as an expert and to make your business or professional office the place customers or clients think of first. When reporters need a quote or perhaps some background material for a story they're working on, make sure they turn to you, not to one of your competitors.
Raising Your Reputation
It is almost axiomatic that your reputation rises to new heights when you write and publish a book. And in today's world, for the first time it is easy, fast and inexpensive to turn your words into print.
New printing technology has give birth to a new generation of publishers. Publishing on Demand (POD) has swept through the industry, churning out thousands of books and boosting the reputations of their authors. With this process, books can be printed in any quantity you need to use as promotional tools. They can be rapid-reading booklets of 30 or 40 pages or they can be full blown books of anywhere from 75 to 200 or more pages.
Journalism today has moved strongly into specialization. You can send the book to members of the press and to broadcast journalists who write about topics related to your product. They may review your book or simply write a blurb about it, sending hundreds of readers to your web site, office or store.
Once recognized as a leader in your field, you may well be asked to speak at various functions, adding further to your reputation. All of these possibilities are part of the program of branding yourself...identifying yourself as an expert.
Getting Assistance
Perhaps you have a talented staff member who can write the book with you. Or even for you. You certainly have the option of turning to a professional writer to ghost write the book. It is done frequently. If you don't require that degree of assistance, contact a Book Coach to help you over the occasional bumps.
It is highly likely that your business is already represented by a web site on the Internet. Add a page to the site about yourself and about your book. What a wonderful opportunity to sell your book from the site and not have to pay commissions.
You may want to piggy back on the book and write articles for distribution throughout the Web. Hundreds of thousands of people will see your piece and hopefully a percentage will respond. You can distribute these articles at no cost by using online article distributors.
Once your book has been written, you can take portions of it and either rewrite them or run them as excerpts. In either case, your workload is minimal because you are drawing on something you have already written.
Writing for Trade Journals
You undoubtedly read some of the trade journals published in your field. Editors of these publications are hungry for informative, meaningful articles. They care far less about your writing style or ability than they do about the content you can provide. Their staffs can polish what you write and turn it into quality pieces, but they must first rely on you to supply the content.
Every article you write offers a perfect opportunity to attract business. The article itself must be informative. It can't be a press release or a selling tool for you or your product. But at the end, as you have seen so many times when you read, the bio box about the author becomes a free advertisement for you.
Fill the box with information that invites your reader to visit your web site or buy your product. Provide enough information to allow the reader to trust you because of your credentials. Never forget that trust is a major factor in attracting a potential and closing a sale.
By following this approach you quickly build confidence in your expertise and as a result in your product. Print and broadcast journalists today search the Web for likely stories and for experts who can be used in those stories. A few references to you or your business in print or on the air will raise your rate of sale to unexpected heights.
If you are running a practice or a business, you are a knowledgeable professional or an informed businessperson. Harness that unique background and turn it into one of the most inexpensive, but most effective methods of branding yourself as an expert and promoting your company as one of the leaders in its field. It is an ideal way to offset the depression blues.
About the Author:
If you need help writing your book, contact award winning author and book coach Charles Jacobs at coaching(at)wisewriter.net for a free consultation. His latest book, The Writer Within You, has been named one of the Best Books of the Year by seven organizations. Axiom awarded it a gold medal in the business category. It is available at all bookstores or on the Web at http://www.retireandwrite.com/
Read more of Charles Jacobs's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Charles Jacobs
Taming the recessionary tiger is not as difficult as you think. Forget the old patterns of spending big bucks to buy advertising or blast postal mailings to thousands of possible buyers. The dollars aren't there to spend in a broken economy. Today every penny has to count, and that happens only when you define your market exactingly and tailor a message that is meaningful to it.
We are in a world of specialization. People in every niche seek information both on and off line. You can be the person to whom they turn to find that information. There is a way to brand yourself as an expert and to make your business or professional office the place customers or clients think of first. When reporters need a quote or perhaps some background material for a story they're working on, make sure they turn to you, not to one of your competitors.
Raising Your Reputation
It is almost axiomatic that your reputation rises to new heights when you write and publish a book. And in today's world, for the first time it is easy, fast and inexpensive to turn your words into print.
New printing technology has give birth to a new generation of publishers. Publishing on Demand (POD) has swept through the industry, churning out thousands of books and boosting the reputations of their authors. With this process, books can be printed in any quantity you need to use as promotional tools. They can be rapid-reading booklets of 30 or 40 pages or they can be full blown books of anywhere from 75 to 200 or more pages.
Journalism today has moved strongly into specialization. You can send the book to members of the press and to broadcast journalists who write about topics related to your product. They may review your book or simply write a blurb about it, sending hundreds of readers to your web site, office or store.
Once recognized as a leader in your field, you may well be asked to speak at various functions, adding further to your reputation. All of these possibilities are part of the program of branding yourself...identifying yourself as an expert.
Getting Assistance
Perhaps you have a talented staff member who can write the book with you. Or even for you. You certainly have the option of turning to a professional writer to ghost write the book. It is done frequently. If you don't require that degree of assistance, contact a Book Coach to help you over the occasional bumps.
It is highly likely that your business is already represented by a web site on the Internet. Add a page to the site about yourself and about your book. What a wonderful opportunity to sell your book from the site and not have to pay commissions.
You may want to piggy back on the book and write articles for distribution throughout the Web. Hundreds of thousands of people will see your piece and hopefully a percentage will respond. You can distribute these articles at no cost by using online article distributors.
Once your book has been written, you can take portions of it and either rewrite them or run them as excerpts. In either case, your workload is minimal because you are drawing on something you have already written.
Writing for Trade Journals
You undoubtedly read some of the trade journals published in your field. Editors of these publications are hungry for informative, meaningful articles. They care far less about your writing style or ability than they do about the content you can provide. Their staffs can polish what you write and turn it into quality pieces, but they must first rely on you to supply the content.
Every article you write offers a perfect opportunity to attract business. The article itself must be informative. It can't be a press release or a selling tool for you or your product. But at the end, as you have seen so many times when you read, the bio box about the author becomes a free advertisement for you.
Fill the box with information that invites your reader to visit your web site or buy your product. Provide enough information to allow the reader to trust you because of your credentials. Never forget that trust is a major factor in attracting a potential and closing a sale.
By following this approach you quickly build confidence in your expertise and as a result in your product. Print and broadcast journalists today search the Web for likely stories and for experts who can be used in those stories. A few references to you or your business in print or on the air will raise your rate of sale to unexpected heights.
If you are running a practice or a business, you are a knowledgeable professional or an informed businessperson. Harness that unique background and turn it into one of the most inexpensive, but most effective methods of branding yourself as an expert and promoting your company as one of the leaders in its field. It is an ideal way to offset the depression blues.
About the Author:
If you need help writing your book, contact award winning author and book coach Charles Jacobs at coaching(at)wisewriter.net for a free consultation. His latest book, The Writer Within You, has been named one of the Best Books of the Year by seven organizations. Axiom awarded it a gold medal in the business category. It is available at all bookstores or on the Web at http://www.retireandwrite.com/
Read more of Charles Jacobs's articles.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Balancing SEO Against The Needs of Your Article's Audience
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008-2009 Hunter Waterhouse
Article marketing continues to be a proven method for generating traffic to our websites and developing good search placement, even after all of these years. I have been reading articles online since 1995, and I continue to read a few dozen articles per week on subjects that are dear to my heart.
Some Claim That Article Marketing Does Not Work
Now and again, I will read a thread in a forum somewhere where somebody claims that article marketing does not work.
Some article-marketing critics will admit that they have only distributed only one or two articles. Well yeah, I can see why article marketing did not work for them - because they did not work at making article marketing profitable for them.
Article marketing is like any other method of advertising. If you don't make a real investment in it, then you cannot reap great rewards from it.
The Marketing Rule Of Seven
Advertising professionals speak of the "Marketing Rule Of Seven," which suggests that a consumer must see your marketing message at least seven times before they start to pay attention to your message. The pros also suggest that once seven exposures have been achieved, the consumer will make a subtle, subconscious connection to the advertiser. Recognition brings rewards, in that after seven exposures to an advertisement, consumers will start to feel as if they know enough about the advertiser to trust their sales message.
If television, radio and print advertisers understand that a company's sales message must be seen or heard at least seven times, then why would you - the Internet marketer - think that you can write a single article and see the full benefit of the medium?
Successful Article Marketing Requires A Commitment To The Reader
All commerce on the Internet is driven by information, such as written sales messages and information about products and services. Some websites also benefit from generic information concerning topics that their potential clients will be interested in reading. For example, if a website sells plumbing supplies, the consumer may find the availability of information about how to remove the old fittings and how to install the new plumbing equipment, as an essential element of their purchase decision.
Article marketing when done correctly will not be a boring, blathering of search engine optimized keywords related to a product or service line.
Article marketing, when done well, will provide information that will be of real interest to the person most likely to buy what you are selling.
For example:
If you are selling auction services, give the reader tips to help them make more money from the sale of their goods in the auction environment or how a buyer can find a good deal.
If you are selling auto warranties, tell the reader how to uncover the best value in an auto warranty plan and what features to seek.
If you are selling resume services, give the reader advice on how to write their own resume.
Article marketing when used well can help a company establish itself as an expert in the field, and it can help show a reader why hiring the author's service might be better than a do-it-yourself project. As an example, with the resume advice article, once the reader sees how comprehensive your knowledge is and how detailed a resume should be, the reader may just decide that using your resume writing service will be much more productive than the do-it-yourself resume.
Just Like Lawyers, Writers Specialize Too
Beyond the cost of labor, content development is usually the second most expensive expenditure made by the online vendor. It is important to note that just as there are lawyers who specialize in one area of law, there are also ghostwriters who specialize in certain types of content creation.
People who write sales copy are referred to as "copywriters." Copywriters are people who understand the nuances of how to make people buy what you are selling.
They understand that replacing a single word in the sales copy could mean the difference between lukewarm sales numbers and red-hot sales numbers, and they know which words to change.
Some professional copywriters have a proven track record of writing sales copy that has generated millions of dollars in sales - people such as Frank Kern, Dan Lok, and Joe Vitale. These guys know the value of their copywriting skills, and they charge accordingly. If you ask them to write sales copy for you, don't be surprised when they quote you a price in the range of $5-20 per written word.
Other writers might specialize in writing books, brochures, and articles. Some writers specialize in the smaller word counts, like the folks who write greeting cards and book jackets.
Finding The Best Writer For Your Needs
The kid down the street who writes part-time for the newspaper may or may not be the best person to write your online articles for you. One reason is that people who write for offline publications seldom appreciate the importance of keywords in an article for search engine marketing purposes.
Note this article for example. Our purpose is to show you how you can use article marketing as a successful marketing tool for your business. We also want to show how the articles should appeal both to the reader and the search engine algorithms.
With these thoughts in mind, when you are finished reading this article, read it a second time to see how many variations on the following SEO keyword phrases can be found in this article: article marketing, search engine marketing, keywords, advertising, content creation, writers and copywriting. Of course, copywriting is not the kind of writing we do, but people who do not understand the specialization of writing skills might type "copywriting" or "copywriters" into their favorite search engine to find someone who writes informational articles.
One never knows precisely what the public will use as their search keywords when they go to the search engine to find information. That is the very reason why a good online article writer must strive to showcase a range of similar keywords within the context of an article.
Your Article Marketing Strategies Influence Your Overall Success
We know that some people tell you that the only reason to write an article is to get a link back to your website. What most of these people don't tell you is that most websites that accept reprint articles do so, only after a human has reviewed or at least scanned the article.
An article that does not read well will never be published on a top-tier website. Yes, some websites may accept a poorly written article, but more sites will only accept well-written articles.
A reader who is not impressed with your article will seldom reach your resource box, so the link back in the resource box can only give value to your website from the search engines - maybe. The search engines generally only give value to articles on good websites or those placements that have lots of links pointing to the article within the website. Bad articles don't get published on good websites, and they do not attract links.
As the Marketing Rule Of Seven should indicate, multiple articles generate a long-term wave of new links and potential visitors to your website.
Consistency is also important to a successful article marketing campaign, in that releasing weekly articles will enable your readers to see your marketing message regularly.
Finally, the smart use of a variety of related keyword phrases will strengthen the ability of your article to appeal to the search engines and the people who use them.
If you can balance the needs of your article's audience against your need for search optimized content, then you can benefit handsomely from your article marketing campaigns.
About the Author:
Hunter Waterhouse has managed article ghost writers and building websites for a number of years. Over the last several years, Hunter has been employed by http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ To learn about the new WordPress plugin, which will enable you to receive targeted articles directly from The Phantom Writers Article Distribution Service, as they become available, please visit: http://www.backlinksmagnet.com/blog/
Read more articles.
Copyright © 2008-2009 Hunter Waterhouse
Article marketing continues to be a proven method for generating traffic to our websites and developing good search placement, even after all of these years. I have been reading articles online since 1995, and I continue to read a few dozen articles per week on subjects that are dear to my heart.
Some Claim That Article Marketing Does Not Work
Now and again, I will read a thread in a forum somewhere where somebody claims that article marketing does not work.
Some article-marketing critics will admit that they have only distributed only one or two articles. Well yeah, I can see why article marketing did not work for them - because they did not work at making article marketing profitable for them.
Article marketing is like any other method of advertising. If you don't make a real investment in it, then you cannot reap great rewards from it.
The Marketing Rule Of Seven
Advertising professionals speak of the "Marketing Rule Of Seven," which suggests that a consumer must see your marketing message at least seven times before they start to pay attention to your message. The pros also suggest that once seven exposures have been achieved, the consumer will make a subtle, subconscious connection to the advertiser. Recognition brings rewards, in that after seven exposures to an advertisement, consumers will start to feel as if they know enough about the advertiser to trust their sales message.
If television, radio and print advertisers understand that a company's sales message must be seen or heard at least seven times, then why would you - the Internet marketer - think that you can write a single article and see the full benefit of the medium?
Successful Article Marketing Requires A Commitment To The Reader
All commerce on the Internet is driven by information, such as written sales messages and information about products and services. Some websites also benefit from generic information concerning topics that their potential clients will be interested in reading. For example, if a website sells plumbing supplies, the consumer may find the availability of information about how to remove the old fittings and how to install the new plumbing equipment, as an essential element of their purchase decision.
Article marketing when done correctly will not be a boring, blathering of search engine optimized keywords related to a product or service line.
Article marketing, when done well, will provide information that will be of real interest to the person most likely to buy what you are selling.
For example:
Article marketing when used well can help a company establish itself as an expert in the field, and it can help show a reader why hiring the author's service might be better than a do-it-yourself project. As an example, with the resume advice article, once the reader sees how comprehensive your knowledge is and how detailed a resume should be, the reader may just decide that using your resume writing service will be much more productive than the do-it-yourself resume.
Just Like Lawyers, Writers Specialize Too
Beyond the cost of labor, content development is usually the second most expensive expenditure made by the online vendor. It is important to note that just as there are lawyers who specialize in one area of law, there are also ghostwriters who specialize in certain types of content creation.
People who write sales copy are referred to as "copywriters." Copywriters are people who understand the nuances of how to make people buy what you are selling.
They understand that replacing a single word in the sales copy could mean the difference between lukewarm sales numbers and red-hot sales numbers, and they know which words to change.
Some professional copywriters have a proven track record of writing sales copy that has generated millions of dollars in sales - people such as Frank Kern, Dan Lok, and Joe Vitale. These guys know the value of their copywriting skills, and they charge accordingly. If you ask them to write sales copy for you, don't be surprised when they quote you a price in the range of $5-20 per written word.
Other writers might specialize in writing books, brochures, and articles. Some writers specialize in the smaller word counts, like the folks who write greeting cards and book jackets.
Finding The Best Writer For Your Needs
The kid down the street who writes part-time for the newspaper may or may not be the best person to write your online articles for you. One reason is that people who write for offline publications seldom appreciate the importance of keywords in an article for search engine marketing purposes.
Note this article for example. Our purpose is to show you how you can use article marketing as a successful marketing tool for your business. We also want to show how the articles should appeal both to the reader and the search engine algorithms.
With these thoughts in mind, when you are finished reading this article, read it a second time to see how many variations on the following SEO keyword phrases can be found in this article: article marketing, search engine marketing, keywords, advertising, content creation, writers and copywriting. Of course, copywriting is not the kind of writing we do, but people who do not understand the specialization of writing skills might type "copywriting" or "copywriters" into their favorite search engine to find someone who writes informational articles.
One never knows precisely what the public will use as their search keywords when they go to the search engine to find information. That is the very reason why a good online article writer must strive to showcase a range of similar keywords within the context of an article.
Your Article Marketing Strategies Influence Your Overall Success
We know that some people tell you that the only reason to write an article is to get a link back to your website. What most of these people don't tell you is that most websites that accept reprint articles do so, only after a human has reviewed or at least scanned the article.
An article that does not read well will never be published on a top-tier website. Yes, some websites may accept a poorly written article, but more sites will only accept well-written articles.
A reader who is not impressed with your article will seldom reach your resource box, so the link back in the resource box can only give value to your website from the search engines - maybe. The search engines generally only give value to articles on good websites or those placements that have lots of links pointing to the article within the website. Bad articles don't get published on good websites, and they do not attract links.
As the Marketing Rule Of Seven should indicate, multiple articles generate a long-term wave of new links and potential visitors to your website.
Consistency is also important to a successful article marketing campaign, in that releasing weekly articles will enable your readers to see your marketing message regularly.
Finally, the smart use of a variety of related keyword phrases will strengthen the ability of your article to appeal to the search engines and the people who use them.
If you can balance the needs of your article's audience against your need for search optimized content, then you can benefit handsomely from your article marketing campaigns.
About the Author:
Hunter Waterhouse has managed article ghost writers and building websites for a number of years. Over the last several years, Hunter has been employed by http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ To learn about the new WordPress plugin, which will enable you to receive targeted articles directly from The Phantom Writers Article Distribution Service, as they become available, please visit: http://www.backlinksmagnet.com/blog/
Read more articles.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Taming the Monkey Mind
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Rochelle Melander
Huston Smith wrote the following about meditation. He could have been talking about writing. See what you think:
The restless mind can be likened to a crazed monkey cavorting about its cage. Or rather a drunken crazed monkey. But more! — a drunken crazed monkey that has St. Vitus' Dance. Even this is insufficient. The mind is like a drunken crazed monkey with St. Vitus' Dance who has just been stung by a wasp. Those who have tried to meditate will not find this metaphor extreme.
What happens in your brain when you try to write? My clients report a number of distractions and doubts. Listen in:
I need to do more research.
I'm not a real writer. I should quit.
Maybe I could create a product for . . .?
I wonder if I could find those shoes online?
I need to update my status on Facebook.
Oh, oh, oh! I have a great idea for a book.
Did I ever answer that email to . . .?
Take the distracting thoughts, add in a couple of ringing phones, the ping of mail coming in, kids or coworkers stopping by with questions—and be amazed that anyone writes anything.
Psychiatrist Edward Hallowell calls this Attention Deficit Trait. He says, "It's a condition induced by modern life, in which you've become so busy attending to so many inputs and outputs that you become increasingly distracted, irritable, impulsive, restless and, over the long term, underachieving. In other words, it costs you efficiency because you're doing so much or trying to do so much, it's as if you're juggling one more ball than you possibly can."
Fortunately, the fix is easy.
1. Schedule time to think. Anyone who creates needs quiet time to mull over ideas and organize their thoughts. It's tough to do that when machines and people are vying for your attention. Commit to giving yourself at least 30 minutes of quiet time each day. Do not use this time to read, write, or talk on the phone. Just be. Go for a walk, take a drive, or simply sit in a chair and stare out the window.
2. Change your environment. When we spend 90% of our computer time responding to the ping of our email or playing games on Facebook, it can be difficult to use the same space to write a sales letter or a poem. If possible, take your writing to a new environment. Use a local library or coffee shop as your writing studio. If you need to write at your computer, find ways to make writing time different from work or play time. For example:
Shut the door of your office and turn off your phones.
Turn off all Internet access and close your email.
Set aside or clear away the rest of your work from the space.
Change your desktop's wallpaper for your writing time.
Use music or lighting to help define your writing time.
3. Keep a Monkey Mind file. When you write, keep open a separate document to record the thoughts of your monkey mind. That's where you can jot your wild ideas for new projects, possible future careers, reminders to get gifts for your in-laws, and anything else that your brain throws at you. At the end of your writing time, review the monkey mind file and transfer information to the appropriate place (your to-do list or another project file).
Readers, take heart. Everyone who writes needs to learn how to tame the monkey mind. Don't believe that some writers are immune to this. They're not. They're just more experienced at getting their minds to quiet down for a few minutes a day. Learning these skills takes time and effort. But guess what? The more you write, the easier it gets!
About the Author:
Right Now! Coach Rochelle Melander supports people in writing to transform their lives and businesses. If you're ready to establish credibility, make more money, and market your work by writing a book, blog, or Web site, get your free subscription to her Write Now! Tips Ezine at http://www.rightnowcoach.com
Read more Articles written by Rochelle Melander.
Copyright © 2009 Rochelle Melander
Huston Smith wrote the following about meditation. He could have been talking about writing. See what you think:
The restless mind can be likened to a crazed monkey cavorting about its cage. Or rather a drunken crazed monkey. But more! — a drunken crazed monkey that has St. Vitus' Dance. Even this is insufficient. The mind is like a drunken crazed monkey with St. Vitus' Dance who has just been stung by a wasp. Those who have tried to meditate will not find this metaphor extreme.
What happens in your brain when you try to write? My clients report a number of distractions and doubts. Listen in:
Take the distracting thoughts, add in a couple of ringing phones, the ping of mail coming in, kids or coworkers stopping by with questions—and be amazed that anyone writes anything.
Psychiatrist Edward Hallowell calls this Attention Deficit Trait. He says, "It's a condition induced by modern life, in which you've become so busy attending to so many inputs and outputs that you become increasingly distracted, irritable, impulsive, restless and, over the long term, underachieving. In other words, it costs you efficiency because you're doing so much or trying to do so much, it's as if you're juggling one more ball than you possibly can."
Fortunately, the fix is easy.
1. Schedule time to think. Anyone who creates needs quiet time to mull over ideas and organize their thoughts. It's tough to do that when machines and people are vying for your attention. Commit to giving yourself at least 30 minutes of quiet time each day. Do not use this time to read, write, or talk on the phone. Just be. Go for a walk, take a drive, or simply sit in a chair and stare out the window.
2. Change your environment. When we spend 90% of our computer time responding to the ping of our email or playing games on Facebook, it can be difficult to use the same space to write a sales letter or a poem. If possible, take your writing to a new environment. Use a local library or coffee shop as your writing studio. If you need to write at your computer, find ways to make writing time different from work or play time. For example:
3. Keep a Monkey Mind file. When you write, keep open a separate document to record the thoughts of your monkey mind. That's where you can jot your wild ideas for new projects, possible future careers, reminders to get gifts for your in-laws, and anything else that your brain throws at you. At the end of your writing time, review the monkey mind file and transfer information to the appropriate place (your to-do list or another project file).
Readers, take heart. Everyone who writes needs to learn how to tame the monkey mind. Don't believe that some writers are immune to this. They're not. They're just more experienced at getting their minds to quiet down for a few minutes a day. Learning these skills takes time and effort. But guess what? The more you write, the easier it gets!
About the Author:
Right Now! Coach Rochelle Melander supports people in writing to transform their lives and businesses. If you're ready to establish credibility, make more money, and market your work by writing a book, blog, or Web site, get your free subscription to her Write Now! Tips Ezine at http://www.rightnowcoach.com
Read more Articles written by Rochelle Melander.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Developing Original Articles: The Human Touch vs. Computer Software
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2007-2009 Hunter Waterhouse
With the increasing demand of high quality content on the web, finding original articles and carefully stylized content is a priority for companies to retain credibility. With today's fierce search engine ranking competition, a steady supply of original articles has become a necessity. Websites need to be designed to increase traffic, and sites updated regularly with fresh information are more likely to receive higher search engine placement than those updated less frequently. As a result, companies need to find sources of new and original content as often as possible. The challenge is finding human writers who can provide original articles with the right tone, voice, and quality that the company needs, and also at the right price.
Before the emergence of computer programs that could 'create' articles and pieces of web content, human writers were responsible for developing all the original content for websites. However, with the rise of blogs and websites for independent publishers, several applications are now available that simply churn out content made from a computer program. While these have the potential to create several articles on a given topic, they do have limitations. Semantics, sentence structure, meaning, and even punctuation are often overlooked with these content spinners and programs, and if they are caught by a search engine, the risk of website blacklisting runs high.
Human writers provide reliable, authentic, and original content on a regular basis. By making use of natural creative processes to develop and present an idea, they can develop a series of original articles for any website or company.
The Value of Authentic Content and Original Articles
All website and business owners know how valuable original content is for search engine placement, website validity, and credibility in their industry. Without a steady supply of original articles, it is difficult to keep visitors returning to the site and maintaining interest in the company. The increasing popularity of blogs is just one example of why 'content is king' still rings true on the web today. Human writers can develop articles and unique ideas far better than any computer software and application. Unfortunately, many companies choose applications that lead to poor quality content and a decrease in their credibility.
What Content Creating Software Does
Content creation software is designed to string words and sentences based on a topic and basic article. These programs run several variations of an article by substituting synonyms and words throughout the page, and reconstructing sentences to generate a 'new' or original article. Today's leading content duplication and content creation software programs include: Article Content Spinner, Jetspinner, SiteEqualizer, ArticlePro, and Article Output.
While these article and content spinner programs offer many promises of 'well-written' article and original content, they are not always accurate enough to catch duplicate sentences, and they often have trouble even putting together sentences that make sense. In many cases, their processes are considered to be forms of copyright theft, especially if the original article used as the input was not generated by the owner. Search engines that can find even one sentence duplicated from an article can bar the website from being listed on the rankings, and a single sentence 'stolen' in this way is at risk for copyright infringement.
Why Companies Need to Pursue Quality Human Writers
Google is the leading search engine on the internet, and specifically outlines its duplicate content policy in the user terms. Article spinners that help generate 'original articles' can create significant damage to a company's page ranking and credibility online, putting them at risk for copyright infringement and other penalties. Submitting just a single article to an article directory can be shared across multiple web pages and websites, but using a content spinner to create 'fresh' content from this very same article puts all of the content at risk.
Article marketing has become an industry in itself, but finding high quality human writers is the most efficient, and safe, method of generating valid clicks and increasing visitors to the site. Human writers can provide benefits beyond the limitations of article content creation services. These include completely original article batches, clear and consistent messages, an author's voice, powerful words and phrases that are easy to read by all visitors, and simply and efficiently provide unique and creative ideas in an original format. Human writers can often provide a fresh perspective on a topic or idea, something that cannot be achieved with automated article writing software packages.
About the Author:
Hunter Waterhouse has been involved in article ghost writing and building websites for a number of years. Over the last several years, Hunter has been employed by http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ To learn about the new WordPress plugin, which will enable you to receive targeted articles directly from The Phantom Writers Article Distribution Service, as they become available, please visit: http://www.backlinksmagnet.com/blog/
Read more Articles written by Hunter Waterhouse.
Copyright © 2007-2009 Hunter Waterhouse
With the increasing demand of high quality content on the web, finding original articles and carefully stylized content is a priority for companies to retain credibility. With today's fierce search engine ranking competition, a steady supply of original articles has become a necessity. Websites need to be designed to increase traffic, and sites updated regularly with fresh information are more likely to receive higher search engine placement than those updated less frequently. As a result, companies need to find sources of new and original content as often as possible. The challenge is finding human writers who can provide original articles with the right tone, voice, and quality that the company needs, and also at the right price.
Before the emergence of computer programs that could 'create' articles and pieces of web content, human writers were responsible for developing all the original content for websites. However, with the rise of blogs and websites for independent publishers, several applications are now available that simply churn out content made from a computer program. While these have the potential to create several articles on a given topic, they do have limitations. Semantics, sentence structure, meaning, and even punctuation are often overlooked with these content spinners and programs, and if they are caught by a search engine, the risk of website blacklisting runs high.
Human writers provide reliable, authentic, and original content on a regular basis. By making use of natural creative processes to develop and present an idea, they can develop a series of original articles for any website or company.
The Value of Authentic Content and Original Articles
All website and business owners know how valuable original content is for search engine placement, website validity, and credibility in their industry. Without a steady supply of original articles, it is difficult to keep visitors returning to the site and maintaining interest in the company. The increasing popularity of blogs is just one example of why 'content is king' still rings true on the web today. Human writers can develop articles and unique ideas far better than any computer software and application. Unfortunately, many companies choose applications that lead to poor quality content and a decrease in their credibility.
What Content Creating Software Does
Content creation software is designed to string words and sentences based on a topic and basic article. These programs run several variations of an article by substituting synonyms and words throughout the page, and reconstructing sentences to generate a 'new' or original article. Today's leading content duplication and content creation software programs include: Article Content Spinner, Jetspinner, SiteEqualizer, ArticlePro, and Article Output.
While these article and content spinner programs offer many promises of 'well-written' article and original content, they are not always accurate enough to catch duplicate sentences, and they often have trouble even putting together sentences that make sense. In many cases, their processes are considered to be forms of copyright theft, especially if the original article used as the input was not generated by the owner. Search engines that can find even one sentence duplicated from an article can bar the website from being listed on the rankings, and a single sentence 'stolen' in this way is at risk for copyright infringement.
Why Companies Need to Pursue Quality Human Writers
Google is the leading search engine on the internet, and specifically outlines its duplicate content policy in the user terms. Article spinners that help generate 'original articles' can create significant damage to a company's page ranking and credibility online, putting them at risk for copyright infringement and other penalties. Submitting just a single article to an article directory can be shared across multiple web pages and websites, but using a content spinner to create 'fresh' content from this very same article puts all of the content at risk.
Article marketing has become an industry in itself, but finding high quality human writers is the most efficient, and safe, method of generating valid clicks and increasing visitors to the site. Human writers can provide benefits beyond the limitations of article content creation services. These include completely original article batches, clear and consistent messages, an author's voice, powerful words and phrases that are easy to read by all visitors, and simply and efficiently provide unique and creative ideas in an original format. Human writers can often provide a fresh perspective on a topic or idea, something that cannot be achieved with automated article writing software packages.
About the Author:
Hunter Waterhouse has been involved in article ghost writing and building websites for a number of years. Over the last several years, Hunter has been employed by http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ To learn about the new WordPress plugin, which will enable you to receive targeted articles directly from The Phantom Writers Article Distribution Service, as they become available, please visit: http://www.backlinksmagnet.com/blog/
Read more Articles written by Hunter Waterhouse.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Online Branding - the Basics
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Enzo F. Cesario
The term "brand" has been around for many years and can be used to refer to a company name, a product name, an advertising campaign or a logo. Branding is used to create an emotional attachment to a product or company. It can also create a sense of perceived higher quality or value.
In internet marketing, branding is more than logos and theme songs. Branding lets customers know who you are, what you do and how you do it. It's your promise of value. Effective branding will increase your potential customer base and more potential customers will always equal more sales opportunities.
In recent years, consumers have been spending more time and money on the internet. In addition to communicating with friends, they're comparison shopping and making more and more purchases online. It's imperative for a business to use the internet to make an impact.
Here are a few ways to define your online identity:
Describe Your Brand First - Start With What You Do
When they land on your website, your visitors should know immediately what your company does and how it can help them. Don't be ambiguous and don't try to be too cute. Build a unique shopping experience that a visitor will remember. With regard to graphics on your website, remember that images can convey more than words, and good ones can play a major part in online branding.
Find Your Target Market
The focus of a marketing campaign is people. Your goal is to reach a subset of the population who might be interested in your particular product - your target market.
The more you know about your target market, the more precisely you can develop a marketing strategy. Your branding efforts should focus on that target market. Your message should be clear and should appeal to your visitor and make them realize the benefits of visiting your website, your store and ultimately buying your products or services.
Humanize Your Website
What is your company's personality? The online world can be a cold and daunting place. Your branding efforts can be much more effective when you add a human element to your website. Brands are like people in that a strong one has personality, expresses opinions and elicits feelings. Your website and brand could and should do the same thing.
If you are the sole owner, put your name and photo on your site to take away the mystery and distrust of a cold, impersonal website. Take a good look at your site. Does your design scheme complement your identity? You should be working toward your site having its own identity, unique language and clear personality.
Take a look at some of the sites you enjoy visiting and see what makes them special and satisfying to you. Branding is not about making your site more corporate - it's about making it personal so that visitors want to come back.
Be Consistent
For effective branding on the web, you should be consistent in terms of your approach, your message and your language throughout your visitors' experience. Any gateway to your customers - website, blog, newsletter, emails - should have your consistent, unique personality.
Content, Content, Content
Just as location, location, location is crucial in real estate, having great content on your site is a major factor in getting customers to return. Useful, brand-related information coupled with your unique voice will help you gain fans and ultimately loyal customers.
With good content, your website becomes "sticky", that is, it's able to keep visitors on the site browsing and reading longer. When the content is what people are looking for, they are not only more likely to stay longer, they'll bookmark your site and maybe recommend it to others. They will learn that you are a reputable source of information and eventually go to your site for purchases.
Your branding goal should be to provide rich information on your site to build an expert reputation that will be recognized by both customers and search engines.
Have an Online Presence Outside of Your Site
Post regularly to online forums where people who might be interested in your brand are gathering. Use your expertise in your field to offer intelligent and useful information and include a link to your website in your signature.
With good online content, you can satisfy people's craving for suitable information and increase your linking strategy at the same time. For example, if you have a site that sells art and painting supplies, you could write a history article on Rembrandt to be published online. This page for history or art buffs will now link potential customers from your target market to your site, and will become part of your linking strategy.
On your website, offer a free newsletter or rss feed. This will allow you to build a database of potential customers who have gone out of their way to express interest in your brand. Your newsletter will then allow you to deliver your message to an interested audience with a controlled frequency that will further build your brand.
Customers are becoming savvy and more discriminating when it comes to online interactions, and retailers need to provide a consistent, positive marketing experience. Great websites put substance before flash and that's what branding is all about - your promise of value.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat, the only online marketing and advertising company employing Brandcasting, the most effective way to brand your company on the web. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. The approach is simple, highly effective and affordable. Learn more at: http://www.Brandsplat.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Enzo F. Cesario
The term "brand" has been around for many years and can be used to refer to a company name, a product name, an advertising campaign or a logo. Branding is used to create an emotional attachment to a product or company. It can also create a sense of perceived higher quality or value.
In internet marketing, branding is more than logos and theme songs. Branding lets customers know who you are, what you do and how you do it. It's your promise of value. Effective branding will increase your potential customer base and more potential customers will always equal more sales opportunities.
In recent years, consumers have been spending more time and money on the internet. In addition to communicating with friends, they're comparison shopping and making more and more purchases online. It's imperative for a business to use the internet to make an impact.
Here are a few ways to define your online identity:
Describe Your Brand First - Start With What You Do
When they land on your website, your visitors should know immediately what your company does and how it can help them. Don't be ambiguous and don't try to be too cute. Build a unique shopping experience that a visitor will remember. With regard to graphics on your website, remember that images can convey more than words, and good ones can play a major part in online branding.
Find Your Target Market
The focus of a marketing campaign is people. Your goal is to reach a subset of the population who might be interested in your particular product - your target market.
The more you know about your target market, the more precisely you can develop a marketing strategy. Your branding efforts should focus on that target market. Your message should be clear and should appeal to your visitor and make them realize the benefits of visiting your website, your store and ultimately buying your products or services.
Humanize Your Website
What is your company's personality? The online world can be a cold and daunting place. Your branding efforts can be much more effective when you add a human element to your website. Brands are like people in that a strong one has personality, expresses opinions and elicits feelings. Your website and brand could and should do the same thing.
If you are the sole owner, put your name and photo on your site to take away the mystery and distrust of a cold, impersonal website. Take a good look at your site. Does your design scheme complement your identity? You should be working toward your site having its own identity, unique language and clear personality.
Take a look at some of the sites you enjoy visiting and see what makes them special and satisfying to you. Branding is not about making your site more corporate - it's about making it personal so that visitors want to come back.
Be Consistent
For effective branding on the web, you should be consistent in terms of your approach, your message and your language throughout your visitors' experience. Any gateway to your customers - website, blog, newsletter, emails - should have your consistent, unique personality.
Content, Content, Content
Just as location, location, location is crucial in real estate, having great content on your site is a major factor in getting customers to return. Useful, brand-related information coupled with your unique voice will help you gain fans and ultimately loyal customers.
With good content, your website becomes "sticky", that is, it's able to keep visitors on the site browsing and reading longer. When the content is what people are looking for, they are not only more likely to stay longer, they'll bookmark your site and maybe recommend it to others. They will learn that you are a reputable source of information and eventually go to your site for purchases.
Your branding goal should be to provide rich information on your site to build an expert reputation that will be recognized by both customers and search engines.
Have an Online Presence Outside of Your Site
Post regularly to online forums where people who might be interested in your brand are gathering. Use your expertise in your field to offer intelligent and useful information and include a link to your website in your signature.
With good online content, you can satisfy people's craving for suitable information and increase your linking strategy at the same time. For example, if you have a site that sells art and painting supplies, you could write a history article on Rembrandt to be published online. This page for history or art buffs will now link potential customers from your target market to your site, and will become part of your linking strategy.
On your website, offer a free newsletter or rss feed. This will allow you to build a database of potential customers who have gone out of their way to express interest in your brand. Your newsletter will then allow you to deliver your message to an interested audience with a controlled frequency that will further build your brand.
Customers are becoming savvy and more discriminating when it comes to online interactions, and retailers need to provide a consistent, positive marketing experience. Great websites put substance before flash and that's what branding is all about - your promise of value.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat, the only online marketing and advertising company employing Brandcasting, the most effective way to brand your company on the web. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. The approach is simple, highly effective and affordable. Learn more at: http://www.Brandsplat.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
The Roller Coaster Of Link Popularity
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2007-2009 Bill Platt
Most webmasters are in a constant state of confusion about how to create link popularity and how to rank well in the search engine results. Three of the top four search engines, Google, Yahoo and MSN calculate link popularity as one part of their search algorithms. So, for all intent purposes, building link popularity will be an important part of getting recognition and strong placement in the search engine result pages (SERPs).
Link popularity, in essence, is a count of how many web pages point to one of your web pages.
The Google PageRank Version of Link Popularity
PageRank (PR) is a Google tool that expands on the simplest link popularity calculation. PageRank is a value given to every web page on the Internet, with 12 possible rankings.
* The Gray Bar in the PageRank tool indicates that a web page has not been added to the Google PageRank database, or Google has banned the website. (If any page on a particular domain has its own PageRank, or if any pages are shown in the Google search results when someone searches "site:www.yourdomainurl.com", then the website in question has not been banned by Google.)
* PR0 to PR10. PR0 indicates that the web page has been added to the Google database, but it does not yet have any PageRank assigned to it, generally because there is not any PR value pages that link to it at this time.
If one is tracking PageRank from the Google toolbar (http://toolbar.google.com/), then it needs to be understood that the database that stores PageRank values is only updated about once every 3-4 months.
While Google does use links to a web page to determine the web page's PR value, it is impossible these days to utilize Google to find what links are directed to your pages. Even the Google webmaster tools (http://www.google.com/webmasters/) interface will not show you all of the links Google is counting towards your own Link Popularity or PR value.
Playing Follow-The-Leader
In earlier years, Yahoo and MSN did not employ a link popularity calculation in their search algorithms. But, when one competitor is thoroughly kicking their competition, then the underdog competitor must respond, if they have any desire to remain relevant.
So, after years of lagging behind the Google powerhouse, Yahoo and MSN decided it was time to work a link popularity calculation into their search algorithms.
Both Yahoo and MSN are still struggling to find a way to retake some market share from Google. Even with Yahoo's Project Panama rollout and MSN's Live Search rollout, both are still finding Google to be a difficult 800-pound gorilla to conquer.
Building Link Popularity
In essence, even if search engines did not include link popularity as a portion of their ranking procedures, one would still want to develop links to his or her websites.
Links are the roadways that keep Internet users moving from one website to another. Before the search engines became the all-powerful providers of Internet traffic, the role of Internet promotion was to establish links on pages where a website's target audience is already going.
The goal of course is to get the person reading the page to click the link to the target website. With every visitor to a website being a potential customer, it makes good sense to get as many visitors to the website as possible, and that requires getting as many links as possible pointing to a website.
Google PageRank 101
Since Google drives the largest portion of search traffic on the Internet, I am only going to focus on their link popularity system.
All web pages on the Internet have been assigned a PageRank value by Google, according to the value of the web pages that link to them. This number is always in flex as links are made, lost or change value.
In short, the pages linking to your pages have their own Google PageRank value, according to who links to them, and the value of the pages that are linking to their web page. As the web pages linking to your web pages gain value, then your pages will also gain value in the Google PageRank algorithms.
As a Webmaster, it should be your goal to create as many links to your website, as you can muster. Eventually, most of the web pages with real value will gain their own PageRank, and they will pass some of their PR value to your web pages.
But, I Tried That Once...
Whatever link building strategy one might recommend, there will be someone else saying, "But, I tried that once and it did not work." Some may go a bit further and say that they tried it once and received initial good results in Google's SERP's, but then those results shortly dissipated and the previous high placement in Google evaporated.
A common story I hear is that "we tried" a specific link building process. Shortly after doing so, our website went from result 300 in Google's results to page two or three of the search results. Then a month later, our website dropped to around 100 in the search results as the link page slipped into Google's Supplemental results. These people often conclude that the link building process used was not effective.
They make this statement because they do not understand the inner-workings of what is happening to their link popularity and search engine placements.
Several Factors Drive the Roller Coaster
With press releases, it is easy to comprehend the how and why of the climb and fall. Press Releases are treated as news stories, and as such, they are more important in real time than they will be in a month or so. That is why press releases can generate big results quickly, and it also explains why those results quickly fade away.
With article marketing, it is common for a new article placement to help any website mentioned within the article and its accompanying resource box (about the author information) to rise in the search rankings early, then to drop away for a time, and perhaps rise in value again later.
Let me explain how this process works, and it will make more sense to you.
Google's Main Index and Supplemental Listings
In order for the referenced website to get the PageRank it needs to climb in the search results, the web pages linking to it must have their own PageRank. As a single web page gains in link popularity and PageRank, the web page will also improve in the search results.
When a new article is placed for the first time, it is always placed on a "brand new" page on the Internet. New pages on the Internet, by their very nature, do not have any external links pointing to them and therefore, they do not have any established PageRank.
In recognition of this "brand new" status, Google is giving a pass to those new web pages. As far as the Google algorithm is concerned, these "brand new" pages might have value, but that value cannot yet be determined based on the number of links pointing to the page.
At the end of Google's "pass window", Google checks to see if this new page has developed any of its own inbound links and PageRank value. If the new web page has not developed any value of its own after a window of 30-45 days, then the new page will be moved from Google's main index to Google's Supplemental listings. If the new page has developed PageRank, then the page will remain in Google's main index.
According to Matt Cutts, the Google Guy, "Having urls in the supplemental results doesn't mean that you have some sort of penalty at all; the main determinant of whether a url is in our main web index or in the supplemental index is PageRank." (http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/infrastructure-status-january-2007)
Many web pages that have slipped into the Supplement listings will gain their own PageRank over the long term, and as such, those pages may return to Google's main index in the future. If articles are valuable resources to their readers, then many placements of those articles will be given their own inbound links and therefore PageRank, but it takes time.
As a general rule, it appears that the average web page will gain a measure of PageRank somewhere in the range of 90 to 180 days from the day the web page was created. While not all pages will receive inbound links and PageRank, enough of them do to make the whole process worthwhile.
You Cannot Win If You Do Not Play
As a Webmaster, your website will never gain link popularity if you do not take actions to increase the number of links pointing to your website. If the web page never accrues any link popularity, it will not gain PageRank, and it will not rise in the search engine rankings.
You are in the driver's seat, so if you fail to accomplish link popularity and search placement, then it will have been the fault of your inaction.
Do you remember my sample scenario above, "Shortly after (completing a link building campaign), our website went from result 300 in Google's results to page two or three of the search results. Then a month later, our website dropped to around 100 in the search results as the link page slipped into Google's Supplemental results."
These people frequently conclude that a specific link building activity produced no results, because they did not stay on page two or three of the results. Surprisingly, these people tell us that they started out at #300 and ended up at #100, and yet they claim that the process did not work in their case. How so? They climbed 200 places in the search results. How is that an ineffective link building campaign?
So, the next time you hear someone crying about the link popularity roller coaster, think back on this article, and you might be able to help him or her to clear the fog of confusion.
About the Author:
Bill Platt has offered article distribution services at http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ since 2001. If you are more interested in performanced based SEO services, then Bill's team can help you with that as well. If you have questions that only Bill can answer, give him a call at (405) 385-7038, between 9am-6pm CST, Monday through Friday.
Read more Articles written by Bill Platt.
Copyright © 2007-2009 Bill Platt
Most webmasters are in a constant state of confusion about how to create link popularity and how to rank well in the search engine results. Three of the top four search engines, Google, Yahoo and MSN calculate link popularity as one part of their search algorithms. So, for all intent purposes, building link popularity will be an important part of getting recognition and strong placement in the search engine result pages (SERPs).
Link popularity, in essence, is a count of how many web pages point to one of your web pages.
The Google PageRank Version of Link Popularity
PageRank (PR) is a Google tool that expands on the simplest link popularity calculation. PageRank is a value given to every web page on the Internet, with 12 possible rankings.
* The Gray Bar in the PageRank tool indicates that a web page has not been added to the Google PageRank database, or Google has banned the website. (If any page on a particular domain has its own PageRank, or if any pages are shown in the Google search results when someone searches "site:www.yourdomainurl.com", then the website in question has not been banned by Google.)
* PR0 to PR10. PR0 indicates that the web page has been added to the Google database, but it does not yet have any PageRank assigned to it, generally because there is not any PR value pages that link to it at this time.
If one is tracking PageRank from the Google toolbar (http://toolbar.google.com/), then it needs to be understood that the database that stores PageRank values is only updated about once every 3-4 months.
While Google does use links to a web page to determine the web page's PR value, it is impossible these days to utilize Google to find what links are directed to your pages. Even the Google webmaster tools (http://www.google.com/webmasters/) interface will not show you all of the links Google is counting towards your own Link Popularity or PR value.
Playing Follow-The-Leader
In earlier years, Yahoo and MSN did not employ a link popularity calculation in their search algorithms. But, when one competitor is thoroughly kicking their competition, then the underdog competitor must respond, if they have any desire to remain relevant.
So, after years of lagging behind the Google powerhouse, Yahoo and MSN decided it was time to work a link popularity calculation into their search algorithms.
Both Yahoo and MSN are still struggling to find a way to retake some market share from Google. Even with Yahoo's Project Panama rollout and MSN's Live Search rollout, both are still finding Google to be a difficult 800-pound gorilla to conquer.
Building Link Popularity
In essence, even if search engines did not include link popularity as a portion of their ranking procedures, one would still want to develop links to his or her websites.
Links are the roadways that keep Internet users moving from one website to another. Before the search engines became the all-powerful providers of Internet traffic, the role of Internet promotion was to establish links on pages where a website's target audience is already going.
The goal of course is to get the person reading the page to click the link to the target website. With every visitor to a website being a potential customer, it makes good sense to get as many visitors to the website as possible, and that requires getting as many links as possible pointing to a website.
Google PageRank 101
Since Google drives the largest portion of search traffic on the Internet, I am only going to focus on their link popularity system.
All web pages on the Internet have been assigned a PageRank value by Google, according to the value of the web pages that link to them. This number is always in flex as links are made, lost or change value.
In short, the pages linking to your pages have their own Google PageRank value, according to who links to them, and the value of the pages that are linking to their web page. As the web pages linking to your web pages gain value, then your pages will also gain value in the Google PageRank algorithms.
As a Webmaster, it should be your goal to create as many links to your website, as you can muster. Eventually, most of the web pages with real value will gain their own PageRank, and they will pass some of their PR value to your web pages.
But, I Tried That Once...
Whatever link building strategy one might recommend, there will be someone else saying, "But, I tried that once and it did not work." Some may go a bit further and say that they tried it once and received initial good results in Google's SERP's, but then those results shortly dissipated and the previous high placement in Google evaporated.
A common story I hear is that "we tried" a specific link building process. Shortly after doing so, our website went from result 300 in Google's results to page two or three of the search results. Then a month later, our website dropped to around 100 in the search results as the link page slipped into Google's Supplemental results. These people often conclude that the link building process used was not effective.
They make this statement because they do not understand the inner-workings of what is happening to their link popularity and search engine placements.
Several Factors Drive the Roller Coaster
With press releases, it is easy to comprehend the how and why of the climb and fall. Press Releases are treated as news stories, and as such, they are more important in real time than they will be in a month or so. That is why press releases can generate big results quickly, and it also explains why those results quickly fade away.
With article marketing, it is common for a new article placement to help any website mentioned within the article and its accompanying resource box (about the author information) to rise in the search rankings early, then to drop away for a time, and perhaps rise in value again later.
Let me explain how this process works, and it will make more sense to you.
Google's Main Index and Supplemental Listings
In order for the referenced website to get the PageRank it needs to climb in the search results, the web pages linking to it must have their own PageRank. As a single web page gains in link popularity and PageRank, the web page will also improve in the search results.
When a new article is placed for the first time, it is always placed on a "brand new" page on the Internet. New pages on the Internet, by their very nature, do not have any external links pointing to them and therefore, they do not have any established PageRank.
In recognition of this "brand new" status, Google is giving a pass to those new web pages. As far as the Google algorithm is concerned, these "brand new" pages might have value, but that value cannot yet be determined based on the number of links pointing to the page.
At the end of Google's "pass window", Google checks to see if this new page has developed any of its own inbound links and PageRank value. If the new web page has not developed any value of its own after a window of 30-45 days, then the new page will be moved from Google's main index to Google's Supplemental listings. If the new page has developed PageRank, then the page will remain in Google's main index.
According to Matt Cutts, the Google Guy, "Having urls in the supplemental results doesn't mean that you have some sort of penalty at all; the main determinant of whether a url is in our main web index or in the supplemental index is PageRank." (http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/infrastructure-status-january-2007)
Many web pages that have slipped into the Supplement listings will gain their own PageRank over the long term, and as such, those pages may return to Google's main index in the future. If articles are valuable resources to their readers, then many placements of those articles will be given their own inbound links and therefore PageRank, but it takes time.
As a general rule, it appears that the average web page will gain a measure of PageRank somewhere in the range of 90 to 180 days from the day the web page was created. While not all pages will receive inbound links and PageRank, enough of them do to make the whole process worthwhile.
You Cannot Win If You Do Not Play
As a Webmaster, your website will never gain link popularity if you do not take actions to increase the number of links pointing to your website. If the web page never accrues any link popularity, it will not gain PageRank, and it will not rise in the search engine rankings.
You are in the driver's seat, so if you fail to accomplish link popularity and search placement, then it will have been the fault of your inaction.
Do you remember my sample scenario above, "Shortly after (completing a link building campaign), our website went from result 300 in Google's results to page two or three of the search results. Then a month later, our website dropped to around 100 in the search results as the link page slipped into Google's Supplemental results."
These people frequently conclude that a specific link building activity produced no results, because they did not stay on page two or three of the results. Surprisingly, these people tell us that they started out at #300 and ended up at #100, and yet they claim that the process did not work in their case. How so? They climbed 200 places in the search results. How is that an ineffective link building campaign?
So, the next time you hear someone crying about the link popularity roller coaster, think back on this article, and you might be able to help him or her to clear the fog of confusion.
About the Author:
Bill Platt has offered article distribution services at http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ since 2001. If you are more interested in performanced based SEO services, then Bill's team can help you with that as well. If you have questions that only Bill can answer, give him a call at (405) 385-7038, between 9am-6pm CST, Monday through Friday.
Read more Articles written by Bill Platt.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
How Can I Take Advantage of Breaking News? Publicity Dilemma 9
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Marcia Yudkin
If a news story breaks that relates to the services or products you sell, become alert, find an interesting way to make the connection, and take action as soon as possible. This is one of the fastest and cheapest ways to earn media coverage that captures attention in the marketplace.
The news you use as a hook might be front-page stuff or much more obscure. It could be national, international or local.
Let's say you're a plumber and you learn that the price of copper, which has been sky-high for the last year, suddenly dropped. The connection is that homeowners will soon have an opportunity to undertake kitchen or bath renovations for less because the price of copper pipes will be lower.
Or an earthquake occurs halfway around the world, killing thousands, in a city thought to have a low risk of quakes. You own an insurance company. You now have an opening to offer advice on whether or not those living in your locale should have earthquake coverage.
Or a celebrity's young daughter gets kidnapped, ransomed and returned home unharmed. Your firm manufactures bracelets that also secretly function as location devices. Had the daughter been wearing one of your bracelets, the police would have been able to find her within an hour.
Got the idea?
In the first two of these situations, the business seeking publicity serves local customers only, so they should direct their publicity tie-in efforts to local newspapers, TV and radio. In the third situation, the company should aim at national publicity first, since their customers live anywhere.
The simplest way to jump into action with your breaking news connection is to call a media outlet you have reason to believe would consider your story relevant and track down the reporter or editor who handles the subject matter. This is much easier than it sounds. You see, tips are the lifeblood of news organizations, so that unlike companies that shield employees from the public, they have to have a system of channeling story suggestions to the proper person.
All you have to do is call the main telephone number of the media outlet, ask for the "news desk" and then ask who you should contact about a real estate (for our first example), business (for the second) or child safety (for the third) story. When you reach the person covering your topic, explain your news connection in four sentences or less. If you're leaving a voice mail message, end with your call-back number. If you're talking to someone live, finish your pitch, shut up and wait for their response.
You can make this sort of pitch by email also, if you have a reliable email address for a reporter, tip line or topical editor. Keep it brief and to the point and include a phone number as well as your email address for a reply.
When you're trying to interest national media in your story, pitching media outlets one by one takes too much time. If you have a particular media outlet you think would be a likely match for your publicity angle, contact them as described above. For example, the child safety bracelet story would be perfect for morning TV news shows like "Today" or "CBS This Morning." Otherwise, writing and distributing a press release is the way to go.
A press release presents your news tie-in in a specific journalistic-style format. (Google "sample press release" to find models to follow.) Normally these are 400 words or less - a page or so - in length. Use a press release distribution service such as PR Newswire, PRWeb or Emailwire to get your release in front or media people and the public.
Above all, do not delay. What's hot and exciting today may evoke no interest at all tomorrow or next week. Inform yourself now about all the steps described here so that when news breaks that can launch you into the public eye, you're prepared to jump right into action.
About the Author:
Publicity expert Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free Publicity, Persuading on Paper, Web Site Marketing Makeover and eight other books. She has engineered coverage for herself or her company in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Success, Women in Business and dozens of newspapers around the world. Get free access to a one-hour audio recording in which she answers the most common questions about getting media coverage at http://www.yudkin.com/publicityideas.htm
Read more of Marcia Yudkin's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Marcia Yudkin
If a news story breaks that relates to the services or products you sell, become alert, find an interesting way to make the connection, and take action as soon as possible. This is one of the fastest and cheapest ways to earn media coverage that captures attention in the marketplace.
The news you use as a hook might be front-page stuff or much more obscure. It could be national, international or local.
Let's say you're a plumber and you learn that the price of copper, which has been sky-high for the last year, suddenly dropped. The connection is that homeowners will soon have an opportunity to undertake kitchen or bath renovations for less because the price of copper pipes will be lower.
Or an earthquake occurs halfway around the world, killing thousands, in a city thought to have a low risk of quakes. You own an insurance company. You now have an opening to offer advice on whether or not those living in your locale should have earthquake coverage.
Or a celebrity's young daughter gets kidnapped, ransomed and returned home unharmed. Your firm manufactures bracelets that also secretly function as location devices. Had the daughter been wearing one of your bracelets, the police would have been able to find her within an hour.
Got the idea?
In the first two of these situations, the business seeking publicity serves local customers only, so they should direct their publicity tie-in efforts to local newspapers, TV and radio. In the third situation, the company should aim at national publicity first, since their customers live anywhere.
The simplest way to jump into action with your breaking news connection is to call a media outlet you have reason to believe would consider your story relevant and track down the reporter or editor who handles the subject matter. This is much easier than it sounds. You see, tips are the lifeblood of news organizations, so that unlike companies that shield employees from the public, they have to have a system of channeling story suggestions to the proper person.
All you have to do is call the main telephone number of the media outlet, ask for the "news desk" and then ask who you should contact about a real estate (for our first example), business (for the second) or child safety (for the third) story. When you reach the person covering your topic, explain your news connection in four sentences or less. If you're leaving a voice mail message, end with your call-back number. If you're talking to someone live, finish your pitch, shut up and wait for their response.
You can make this sort of pitch by email also, if you have a reliable email address for a reporter, tip line or topical editor. Keep it brief and to the point and include a phone number as well as your email address for a reply.
When you're trying to interest national media in your story, pitching media outlets one by one takes too much time. If you have a particular media outlet you think would be a likely match for your publicity angle, contact them as described above. For example, the child safety bracelet story would be perfect for morning TV news shows like "Today" or "CBS This Morning." Otherwise, writing and distributing a press release is the way to go.
A press release presents your news tie-in in a specific journalistic-style format. (Google "sample press release" to find models to follow.) Normally these are 400 words or less - a page or so - in length. Use a press release distribution service such as PR Newswire, PRWeb or Emailwire to get your release in front or media people and the public.
Above all, do not delay. What's hot and exciting today may evoke no interest at all tomorrow or next week. Inform yourself now about all the steps described here so that when news breaks that can launch you into the public eye, you're prepared to jump right into action.
About the Author:
Publicity expert Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free Publicity, Persuading on Paper, Web Site Marketing Makeover and eight other books. She has engineered coverage for herself or her company in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Success, Women in Business and dozens of newspapers around the world. Get free access to a one-hour audio recording in which she answers the most common questions about getting media coverage at http://www.yudkin.com/publicityideas.htm
Read more of Marcia Yudkin's articles.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Article Marketing Secret: How To Identify and Write For Your Target Market
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Bill Platt
Many people question as to what topic they should choose to write their articles... Fortunately, the short answer is simple... Write articles that appeal to your target market. But what does that mean exactly?
I always pose this set of three questions, when I am talking to clients about what they should write about:
1. What do you sell?
2. Who is most likely to buy what you are selling?
3. How can you "answer a question" or "solve a problem" to help those people who are likely to buy what you are selling?
What Do You Sell?
Maybe you sell widgets, cell phones, car parts, or marketing services... It does not matter what you sell... There will always be a topic that you can write your articles about.
Do keep in mind that the point of article marketing is not to directly sell your products, but rather to educate, inform, or entertain your reading audience. So long as you stick to the idea of educating, informing, or entertaining your readers, you will never have a shortage of people who want to read the articles you write.
However, if you keep your focus on trying to overtly sell your products or services in your "article" copy, then it will be difficult to find publishers who WANT to publish what you have written.
This is important to note, in that publishers NEED content, but publishers tend to be very picky about the content that they want to share with their readers. In order for a publisher to become or remain profitable, he or she must always serve the desires of his or her readers. And readers do not want to be sold to, preached to, or criticized. Instead, readers want to improve their lot in this life and solve the problems that they face.
If you keep the needs of the publisher foremost in your mind, and the wants of the reader, then article marketing is a great tool that can help you to earn thousands of dollars.
If you lose focus of what publishers and readers want, then all you can hope for is a few links from your articles, from a few websites that very few people visit or read.
Who Is Most Likely To Buy What You Are Selling?
Just because you sell cars does not mean that anyone who has a drivers' license is in your target market. Let us put this statement in perspective.
If you sell $2000 cars, most of the people in your target market are the poor - including those in poverty and students.
If you sell $10,000 cars, your market is mostly families in middle-class America. Occasionally, you will find the college kid coming to your store to buy a car for college, and sometimes you will see a bunch of tire kickers who can only pray to get financed.
If you sell brand new cars, your target market will again differ by what kinds of vehicles you sell. A Cadillac-buyer is different from the SUV-buyer and the economy-car buyer.
There is not a car dealership anywhere in the world that tries to target its advertising to everybody with a pulse and a drivers' license. It just does not happen. Either the dealership talks about its available cars and the benefits of owning a specific car, or the dealership points out that they can finance anyone.
Once you understand who is most likely to buy what you are selling, then figuring out what to write about has been made much easier.
Help Your Readers Solve A Problem
Before you start writing your article, you should try to get into the heads of the people most likely to buy what are selling. Those people as a general rule have common problems for which they seek solutions.
One way to get a handle on what those problems might be is to review the email correspondence and phone calls you have taken from your clients. If you read that email all at the same time, certain questions will be asked over and again. In fact, you might even have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page on your website that you can reference at this point in the brainstorming session.
Your email and phone correspondence and the FAQ page on your website can lead you to a better understanding of the kinds of questions your customers are always needing to be answered for them.
Once you have achieved the understanding of what problems your customers seek to have solved for them, then you have to come to the magic formula for writing articles that find wide publication and a large readership.
In your article, present your readers with the questions that people have, and then present answers to the questions and show people how to solve their problems.
In doing so, publishers who have heard the same questions you have heard will be strongly inclined to publish your articles. And when publishers agree to publish your articles, you will be able to reach the publishers' readers and a huge network of already targeted people who are very likely to buy what you are selling.
Understanding The Mechanics Of Article Marketing
When you write your articles, it is important to remember a few key points while writing the articles. Those key points are:
The title serves to get your article opened, so it needs to be good.
The body of the article answers questions and sells readers on your credibility in the marketplace.
The article should be easy to read, and it should easily carry the reader to your About The Author information at the end of the article.
Once at your Resource Box (About the Author information), the role of the Resource Box is not to sell your products or services, but to get the reader to visit your website, where the real selling will take place.
Using the formula that I have outlined here, you are sure to find success with your article marketing endeavors.
Sure, I know some people might be thinking that the only reason for article marketing is building links, so all this extra effort would be unnecessary. But let me tell you something that I learn from time-to-time...
Did you know that if you write an article that gets published in a large newsletter that you can in fact earn $10,000 plus in sales from that single article? This is a lesson that I have learned more times than I can count. And to be honest, it is a lesson I like to learn.
Consider this... You can spend a few dollars and very little time to create an article that will generate a few back links, hopefully helping you to rank in the search engines for your target keywords. Or, you can spend a few more dollars and a little more time and create an article that could generate back links for the search engines AND find a wider audience for your article in newsletters - newsletters that could potentially deliver thousands of visitors to your website and generate thousands of dollars in sales in the next couple weeks. Which strategy makes more sense to you?
If you are wondering if I practice what I preach, then read this article again and then see my resource box below. I provide article distribution services to my customers, and my customers frequently ask me what they should write about in their articles and how to best construct those articles to reach a wider audience, and more specifically, their target audience. If I have answered these questions to your satisfaction, then visit my website and let me help you to promote your articles too.
This article was originally published here.
About the Author:
Bill Platt has been writing about article marketing and SEO for a number of years. If you have written an article that you feel is good enough to get publication in a major newsletter or website, then you owe it to yourself to use Bill's article distribution service at http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ If you are interested in learning about coop article marketing, then visit Bill's newest website: http://www.sponsorarticles.com/
Read more of Bill Platt's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Bill Platt
Many people question as to what topic they should choose to write their articles... Fortunately, the short answer is simple... Write articles that appeal to your target market. But what does that mean exactly?
I always pose this set of three questions, when I am talking to clients about what they should write about:
1. What do you sell?
2. Who is most likely to buy what you are selling?
3. How can you "answer a question" or "solve a problem" to help those people who are likely to buy what you are selling?
What Do You Sell?
Maybe you sell widgets, cell phones, car parts, or marketing services... It does not matter what you sell... There will always be a topic that you can write your articles about.
Do keep in mind that the point of article marketing is not to directly sell your products, but rather to educate, inform, or entertain your reading audience. So long as you stick to the idea of educating, informing, or entertaining your readers, you will never have a shortage of people who want to read the articles you write.
However, if you keep your focus on trying to overtly sell your products or services in your "article" copy, then it will be difficult to find publishers who WANT to publish what you have written.
This is important to note, in that publishers NEED content, but publishers tend to be very picky about the content that they want to share with their readers. In order for a publisher to become or remain profitable, he or she must always serve the desires of his or her readers. And readers do not want to be sold to, preached to, or criticized. Instead, readers want to improve their lot in this life and solve the problems that they face.
If you keep the needs of the publisher foremost in your mind, and the wants of the reader, then article marketing is a great tool that can help you to earn thousands of dollars.
If you lose focus of what publishers and readers want, then all you can hope for is a few links from your articles, from a few websites that very few people visit or read.
Who Is Most Likely To Buy What You Are Selling?
Just because you sell cars does not mean that anyone who has a drivers' license is in your target market. Let us put this statement in perspective.
There is not a car dealership anywhere in the world that tries to target its advertising to everybody with a pulse and a drivers' license. It just does not happen. Either the dealership talks about its available cars and the benefits of owning a specific car, or the dealership points out that they can finance anyone.
Once you understand who is most likely to buy what you are selling, then figuring out what to write about has been made much easier.
Help Your Readers Solve A Problem
Before you start writing your article, you should try to get into the heads of the people most likely to buy what are selling. Those people as a general rule have common problems for which they seek solutions.
One way to get a handle on what those problems might be is to review the email correspondence and phone calls you have taken from your clients. If you read that email all at the same time, certain questions will be asked over and again. In fact, you might even have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page on your website that you can reference at this point in the brainstorming session.
Your email and phone correspondence and the FAQ page on your website can lead you to a better understanding of the kinds of questions your customers are always needing to be answered for them.
Once you have achieved the understanding of what problems your customers seek to have solved for them, then you have to come to the magic formula for writing articles that find wide publication and a large readership.
In your article, present your readers with the questions that people have, and then present answers to the questions and show people how to solve their problems.
In doing so, publishers who have heard the same questions you have heard will be strongly inclined to publish your articles. And when publishers agree to publish your articles, you will be able to reach the publishers' readers and a huge network of already targeted people who are very likely to buy what you are selling.
Understanding The Mechanics Of Article Marketing
When you write your articles, it is important to remember a few key points while writing the articles. Those key points are:
Using the formula that I have outlined here, you are sure to find success with your article marketing endeavors.
Sure, I know some people might be thinking that the only reason for article marketing is building links, so all this extra effort would be unnecessary. But let me tell you something that I learn from time-to-time...
Did you know that if you write an article that gets published in a large newsletter that you can in fact earn $10,000 plus in sales from that single article? This is a lesson that I have learned more times than I can count. And to be honest, it is a lesson I like to learn.
Consider this... You can spend a few dollars and very little time to create an article that will generate a few back links, hopefully helping you to rank in the search engines for your target keywords. Or, you can spend a few more dollars and a little more time and create an article that could generate back links for the search engines AND find a wider audience for your article in newsletters - newsletters that could potentially deliver thousands of visitors to your website and generate thousands of dollars in sales in the next couple weeks. Which strategy makes more sense to you?
If you are wondering if I practice what I preach, then read this article again and then see my resource box below. I provide article distribution services to my customers, and my customers frequently ask me what they should write about in their articles and how to best construct those articles to reach a wider audience, and more specifically, their target audience. If I have answered these questions to your satisfaction, then visit my website and let me help you to promote your articles too.
This article was originally published here.
About the Author:
Bill Platt has been writing about article marketing and SEO for a number of years. If you have written an article that you feel is good enough to get publication in a major newsletter or website, then you owe it to yourself to use Bill's article distribution service at http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ If you are interested in learning about coop article marketing, then visit Bill's newest website: http://www.sponsorarticles.com/
Read more of Bill Platt's articles.
How Information Products Help Customers Say Yes Faster
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Judy Murdoch
An unfortunate side effect of an economic slowdown like the one we're in currently, is spending slows down.
If you're a small business owner the slowdown in spending shows up in two ways:
1. Some prospects and customers who might have said "yes" in the past are now saying no because they simply don't have the resources to pay you
2. Those who DO have the resources are take longer to say yes
This means less revenue coming in and if you own a small business, that's a big "ouch" for your bottom line.
=======================================
Oh the Irony of It All!
=======================================
What's funny about this situation in a not-so-funny way is that during economic downturns, your clients and customers need what you offer MORE THAN EVER!
Why? Because we're all in business to solve problems people have, right? Recessions typically multiply problems and amplify the pain we feel from those problems.
But we also become hyper-aware of the downside of our actions and we feel there's no wiggle room for error. We become extremely Risk Averse.
Whether or not their fear is founded in reality, customers step back and become less willing to do anything that is new or risky because they don't feel safe.
If you're having doubts whether you are offering something customers really need because your sales have slowed down, I'm suggesting it isn't that they don't need what you're selling--it's because these scary times are making them unusually risk averse and less willing to take chances.
=======================================
Reducing Perceived Risk Using Information Products
=======================================
To help your prospects and customers feel safer to spend, you need to reduce their perceived risk of working with you. There are many ways to do this including lowering your prices, doing one-day sales, etc. But I'm partial to creating information products because the benefits extend far beyond the immediate revenue streams they provide.
Information products reduce perceived risk for prospects and customers in two important ways:
1. It's easier to say "yes" to buying a $19 how-to guide than a six-month $4,000 consulting engagement.
2. When customers get results using your information products they develop confidence in your ability to deliver what you promise.
This makes it easy for your customers to feel good about buying your more expensive products and services.
=======================================
Two Easy Information Products Small Business Owners Can Create and Sell
=======================================
How-to guides and tip sheets are my favorite low cost information products to offer because it's easy for your prospects to see the value they'll get.
How-to guides teach them how to do something they've always wanted to do; step by step
Tips sheets tell them how to do something better and get better results
The other thing I love about how to guides and tip sheets is they're easy to create because all you're really doing is answering a common question you get from customers.
=======================================
Example: Using a How-to Guide as a Low Cost Information Product
=======================================
Amy is a coach who works with what she called the corporate "walking wounded"; typically high level managers who have successful corporate careers but are tired of the cost to their personal lives.
Amy's core service is one on one coaching; typically clients work with her for six month intervals at $600 per month.
Amy has noticed that even though stress levels are higher than ever, people who once would have said "yes" to becoming one-on-one clients are now saying things like,
"I'm just happy to have a job."
"What if I get laid off, I'll need that $600"
"What if I work with you and you don't help me?"
And they're putting off the possibility of working with her.
Amy asked herself "If there were just one thing I could do to help these folks what would that thing be?"
She realized that for busy, stressed out professionals, taking on something new would require very small, simple steps. Small to the point of being ridiculous.
So she did some brainstorming around small but significant changes her clients made and came up with over 100 small actions. She edited the steps down to 101 and created a booklet: 101 Ways to Have More Fun and Less Stress at Work.
She sells it on her website and brings a dozen hard copies to sell at networking events.
Amy is very clear that this booklet is not a substitute for her coaching services. However people who buy the booklet get some substantive help and a percentage of those who buy the booklet like what Amy has to say enough to eventually become one-on-one clients.
The results:
Amy reduced the perceived risk of her services and has helped 50 prospective customers who otherwise would have put off working with her
In addition, two prospects who otherwise may not have hired her, felt confident enough about what she had to offer that they signed up and became one-on-one coaching clients.
=======================================
Bottom Line
=======================================
During challenging times such as our current economic uncertainty, your customers become very sensitive to perceived risk and less willing to commit their time and money -- especially when it comes to buying new products and services.
If you aren't currently selling information products that enable prospects to get a small but significant taste of what you can do for them, you are missing an opportunity to bring more revenue to your business AND to help more customers sooner than later. My best to you and your business.
About the Author:
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
Read more Articles written by Judy Murdoch.
Copyright © 2009 Judy Murdoch
An unfortunate side effect of an economic slowdown like the one we're in currently, is spending slows down.
If you're a small business owner the slowdown in spending shows up in two ways:
1. Some prospects and customers who might have said "yes" in the past are now saying no because they simply don't have the resources to pay you
2. Those who DO have the resources are take longer to say yes
This means less revenue coming in and if you own a small business, that's a big "ouch" for your bottom line.
=======================================
Oh the Irony of It All!
=======================================
What's funny about this situation in a not-so-funny way is that during economic downturns, your clients and customers need what you offer MORE THAN EVER!
Why? Because we're all in business to solve problems people have, right? Recessions typically multiply problems and amplify the pain we feel from those problems.
But we also become hyper-aware of the downside of our actions and we feel there's no wiggle room for error. We become extremely Risk Averse.
Whether or not their fear is founded in reality, customers step back and become less willing to do anything that is new or risky because they don't feel safe.
If you're having doubts whether you are offering something customers really need because your sales have slowed down, I'm suggesting it isn't that they don't need what you're selling--it's because these scary times are making them unusually risk averse and less willing to take chances.
=======================================
Reducing Perceived Risk Using Information Products
=======================================
To help your prospects and customers feel safer to spend, you need to reduce their perceived risk of working with you. There are many ways to do this including lowering your prices, doing one-day sales, etc. But I'm partial to creating information products because the benefits extend far beyond the immediate revenue streams they provide.
Information products reduce perceived risk for prospects and customers in two important ways:
1. It's easier to say "yes" to buying a $19 how-to guide than a six-month $4,000 consulting engagement.
2. When customers get results using your information products they develop confidence in your ability to deliver what you promise.
This makes it easy for your customers to feel good about buying your more expensive products and services.
=======================================
Two Easy Information Products Small Business Owners Can Create and Sell
=======================================
How-to guides and tip sheets are my favorite low cost information products to offer because it's easy for your prospects to see the value they'll get.
The other thing I love about how to guides and tip sheets is they're easy to create because all you're really doing is answering a common question you get from customers.
=======================================
Example: Using a How-to Guide as a Low Cost Information Product
=======================================
Amy is a coach who works with what she called the corporate "walking wounded"; typically high level managers who have successful corporate careers but are tired of the cost to their personal lives.
Amy's core service is one on one coaching; typically clients work with her for six month intervals at $600 per month.
Amy has noticed that even though stress levels are higher than ever, people who once would have said "yes" to becoming one-on-one clients are now saying things like,
And they're putting off the possibility of working with her.
Amy asked herself "If there were just one thing I could do to help these folks what would that thing be?"
She realized that for busy, stressed out professionals, taking on something new would require very small, simple steps. Small to the point of being ridiculous.
So she did some brainstorming around small but significant changes her clients made and came up with over 100 small actions. She edited the steps down to 101 and created a booklet: 101 Ways to Have More Fun and Less Stress at Work.
She sells it on her website and brings a dozen hard copies to sell at networking events.
Amy is very clear that this booklet is not a substitute for her coaching services. However people who buy the booklet get some substantive help and a percentage of those who buy the booklet like what Amy has to say enough to eventually become one-on-one clients.
The results:
=======================================
Bottom Line
=======================================
During challenging times such as our current economic uncertainty, your customers become very sensitive to perceived risk and less willing to commit their time and money -- especially when it comes to buying new products and services.
If you aren't currently selling information products that enable prospects to get a small but significant taste of what you can do for them, you are missing an opportunity to bring more revenue to your business AND to help more customers sooner than later. My best to you and your business.
About the Author:
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
Read more Articles written by Judy Murdoch.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Newsletter Publishers: The Redheaded Step Children Of Internet Marketing
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Bill Platt
People who publish online newsletters, often referred to as "ezines", have always played an important role in the growth of the Internet economy. In fact, if you listen to any of the Internet gurus, they are going to tell you time and again that the most important thing you can do towards the success of your online business is to build a list.
I think Titus Hoskins said it best when he said, "It is a well known fact that the key to successful online marketing comes from building a well targeted and responsive opt-in email list. This is mainly because your online marketing success comes from building relationships with a large subscriber base." Titus is the owner of http://www.bizwaremagic.com/
Successful newsletter publishers have built profitable niche businesses that represent the very specific needs of very specific consumers in the marketplace. While it is true that some newsletter publishers have subscribers that number in the hundreds, those who have been building their newsletter for years have a subscriber base ranging in the 10's to 100's of thousands of subscribers.
Joel Christopher (http://www.masterlistbuilder.com) says, "It's not just about building a list of names and emails, it's about building relationships and connections." He also says that newsletters are "not about huge numbers, it's about conversions. Converting names and emails into prospects, then into customers/clients, and finally into people who will promote you."
For the newsletter publisher, it is about giving readers what they want and to win the loyalty of their readers for the years to come.
Alexandria K. Brown, The Ezine Queen (http://www.ezinequeen.com/) advises her clients, "By showcasing your knowledge and skills, you will attract more and better clients and customers. You don't have to go say you're an expert. Instead, your audience will assume it." She also recommends, "What many folks don't know is that THE easiest and most effective way to do all this is to publish an e-mail newsletter or ezine."
As an advertiser, it makes a lot of sense to have your ads appear in the newsletters that best serve your target market - preferably in those newsletters that have a large subscriber base of responsive readers.
Ironically, it was newsletter marketing that turned me on to the potential of article marketing to promote my online endeavors. Ten years ago, I had a newsletter of my own. In order to grow my opt-in mailing list, I began doing advertising swaps with other newsletter publishers - a process by which I ran an ad for the other newsletter, and in turn they ran my ad in their newsletter.
As the result of those advertising swaps, I found that some newsletters had a really responsive group of readers. I was so impressed with the interest generated for my business in some newsletters that I began to pay for advertising in those mailing lists.
Angela Booth (http://www.hotwebcopy.com/newsletters.html) says, "Once someone is on your ezine's subscriber list, you can connect with them each week or each month. Since you need to have several interactions (some authorities say up to seven times) with a customer before they buy, an ezine gives you the ideal way to build the customer relationship." Booth also pointed out that "An ezine can be 'the lifeblood' of your business."
Yes, the money is in the list. And there is money not only for the person, who owns the mailing list, but also the advertiser who supports the publisher of the newsletter, and the persons who are involved in contributing content to the newsletter.
I never fully appreciated that concept until March 6, 2000. That is the day that my first "reprint article" was published in a newsletter called Internet Day. It was a fairly substantial publication, formerly operated by http://www.Internet.com. In 2000, Internet Day had over 150,000 subscribers. The response to that article was huge. I signed on a boatload of new subscribers to my newsletter, and I began to field questions from other Internet marketers about their businesses.
Suddenly, I was considered an expert, and my advice was in demand.
Between you and I, although the article was decent, it was not exceptional, and I was not the guru that so many of Internet Day's readers wanted to believe that I was.
But, Internet Day did teach me a very important lesson about the value of writing reprint articles. When an article gets published in a newsletter, it can drive a boatload of traffic to the authors' website on the day of publication, and over the next three days after publication.
In a recent article of his own, Willie Crawford (http://timic.org/) explained, "I also understand that part of my job as an ezine publisher is to serve as a filter. My subscribers learn to expect quality from me, and will pay more attention to future offers from me than they will from the marketers who filled their hard drives with a bunch of useless 'fluff'."
When I sit down to write an article, I write that article with the express intention of making sure it is good enough to be considered by a publisher for his or her newsletter.
In my thinking, publication in a newsletter can be more important than publication on a website, because it can literally put thousands of readers on my website in a single day. Over my years of writing articles, I have found that publication in a major newsletter can very realistically send a wave of thousands of targeted visitors to my website in just a few days - visitors who are interested in buying what I sell.
It is true that like everyone else, I also want my articles to be published on websites, so that I can get that all-important link popularity from Google and to improve my websites' rankings in Google's search results. But above links on websites, I want my articles exposed to large newsletter audiences. I find that I still get my articles published on websites, whether I write the article with the intent of finding publication in newsletters or not.
Did you realize that most newsletters are archived on the Internet? So when published in a newsletter, not only do I get a ton of traffic from the newsletter itself, but I also get links from the newsletter's online archives, and I also get my articles published on websites, whose webmasters tend to reprint articles found in their favorite newsletters.
One example of someone who reprints articles found in her favorite newsletters is Debbie Johnson (http://friendfeed.com/debbiejohnson). Whenever she sees one of my articles in a newsletter that she reads, she adds the article to the forum at http://www.DreamTeamMoney.com. This results in my article being read by hundreds, perhaps thousands of additional people - people who may have not had the chance to see my articles elsewhere.
Another example of someone who republishes articles they like, after reading that article in a newsletter, is Flavio Bernardotti from Alessandria, Italy. After reading one of my articles in a popular newsletter, Flavio republished the article on his Italian-speaking website (http://www.bernardotti.it/portal/showthread.php?t=128997).
If you think for a minute that my article would have been published on Debbie's or Flavio's forums if the article had not been published in several large newsletters, then you are bound to keep overlooking the real potential of publication in newsletters.
This article has actually been inspired by a number of people, with whom I have spoke with on the phone. Each wanted to know a bit more about my business. And when I told them that our article distribution service targets publication in newsletters and websites, I was told that they did not care about publication in newsletters. I was told by each person that his or her only concern was links on websites to propel their websites rankings in Google.
Every time I hear this from a potential client, my initial thought is, "Oh, my mistake... I have mistakenly believed you were in business to make money..."
To tell you the truth, I am floored when I hear people tell me that newsletters don't matter... I have personally earned hundreds of thousands of dollars in free advertising, as a result of my articles appearing in newsletters over the years. And more to the point of everyone reading this article, I have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars in new sales, as a result of being published in newsletters.
Yes, I do get links in websites also, and my websites generally rank well in Google and other search engines for competitive keywords. But my Google rankings are only part of the story... Less than 10% of the 2.5 million page views on my website were delivered by Google in 2008, and still, I received more than 200,000 visits to my website in 2008, as a result of the thousands of top 10 and top 20 listings my websites possess in Google.
The truth is that you can target newsletters with your articles, and still achieve your search engine goals. But then again, if you never write articles that newsletter publishers want to publish, you will never know the power of newsletters for driving traffic, sales and search engine rankings.
While newsletter publishers may be the redheaded stepchildren of most Internet marketers, they are and will always be "my favorite stepchildren".
About the Author:
Bill Platt has operated The Phantom Writers article distribution service since 2001. Rather than to rely on article directories, The Phantom Writers has been designed to send articles to the newsletter publishers and webmasters who are most likely to want to publish an article. One of his customers recently said, "I've used other article distribution sites, but your distribution seems to yield a higher quality of publisher and a higher volume. So I'm a happy camper, even if you are more expensive." Learn more at: http://www.thePhantomWriters.com/
Read more Articles written by Bill Platt.
Copyright © 2009 Bill Platt
People who publish online newsletters, often referred to as "ezines", have always played an important role in the growth of the Internet economy. In fact, if you listen to any of the Internet gurus, they are going to tell you time and again that the most important thing you can do towards the success of your online business is to build a list.
I think Titus Hoskins said it best when he said, "It is a well known fact that the key to successful online marketing comes from building a well targeted and responsive opt-in email list. This is mainly because your online marketing success comes from building relationships with a large subscriber base." Titus is the owner of http://www.bizwaremagic.com/
Successful newsletter publishers have built profitable niche businesses that represent the very specific needs of very specific consumers in the marketplace. While it is true that some newsletter publishers have subscribers that number in the hundreds, those who have been building their newsletter for years have a subscriber base ranging in the 10's to 100's of thousands of subscribers.
Joel Christopher (http://www.masterlistbuilder.com) says, "It's not just about building a list of names and emails, it's about building relationships and connections." He also says that newsletters are "not about huge numbers, it's about conversions. Converting names and emails into prospects, then into customers/clients, and finally into people who will promote you."
For the newsletter publisher, it is about giving readers what they want and to win the loyalty of their readers for the years to come.
Alexandria K. Brown, The Ezine Queen (http://www.ezinequeen.com/) advises her clients, "By showcasing your knowledge and skills, you will attract more and better clients and customers. You don't have to go say you're an expert. Instead, your audience will assume it." She also recommends, "What many folks don't know is that THE easiest and most effective way to do all this is to publish an e-mail newsletter or ezine."
As an advertiser, it makes a lot of sense to have your ads appear in the newsletters that best serve your target market - preferably in those newsletters that have a large subscriber base of responsive readers.
Ironically, it was newsletter marketing that turned me on to the potential of article marketing to promote my online endeavors. Ten years ago, I had a newsletter of my own. In order to grow my opt-in mailing list, I began doing advertising swaps with other newsletter publishers - a process by which I ran an ad for the other newsletter, and in turn they ran my ad in their newsletter.
As the result of those advertising swaps, I found that some newsletters had a really responsive group of readers. I was so impressed with the interest generated for my business in some newsletters that I began to pay for advertising in those mailing lists.
Angela Booth (http://www.hotwebcopy.com/newsletters.html) says, "Once someone is on your ezine's subscriber list, you can connect with them each week or each month. Since you need to have several interactions (some authorities say up to seven times) with a customer before they buy, an ezine gives you the ideal way to build the customer relationship." Booth also pointed out that "An ezine can be 'the lifeblood' of your business."
Yes, the money is in the list. And there is money not only for the person, who owns the mailing list, but also the advertiser who supports the publisher of the newsletter, and the persons who are involved in contributing content to the newsletter.
I never fully appreciated that concept until March 6, 2000. That is the day that my first "reprint article" was published in a newsletter called Internet Day. It was a fairly substantial publication, formerly operated by http://www.Internet.com. In 2000, Internet Day had over 150,000 subscribers. The response to that article was huge. I signed on a boatload of new subscribers to my newsletter, and I began to field questions from other Internet marketers about their businesses.
Suddenly, I was considered an expert, and my advice was in demand.
Between you and I, although the article was decent, it was not exceptional, and I was not the guru that so many of Internet Day's readers wanted to believe that I was.
But, Internet Day did teach me a very important lesson about the value of writing reprint articles. When an article gets published in a newsletter, it can drive a boatload of traffic to the authors' website on the day of publication, and over the next three days after publication.
In a recent article of his own, Willie Crawford (http://timic.org/) explained, "I also understand that part of my job as an ezine publisher is to serve as a filter. My subscribers learn to expect quality from me, and will pay more attention to future offers from me than they will from the marketers who filled their hard drives with a bunch of useless 'fluff'."
When I sit down to write an article, I write that article with the express intention of making sure it is good enough to be considered by a publisher for his or her newsletter.
In my thinking, publication in a newsletter can be more important than publication on a website, because it can literally put thousands of readers on my website in a single day. Over my years of writing articles, I have found that publication in a major newsletter can very realistically send a wave of thousands of targeted visitors to my website in just a few days - visitors who are interested in buying what I sell.
It is true that like everyone else, I also want my articles to be published on websites, so that I can get that all-important link popularity from Google and to improve my websites' rankings in Google's search results. But above links on websites, I want my articles exposed to large newsletter audiences. I find that I still get my articles published on websites, whether I write the article with the intent of finding publication in newsletters or not.
Did you realize that most newsletters are archived on the Internet? So when published in a newsletter, not only do I get a ton of traffic from the newsletter itself, but I also get links from the newsletter's online archives, and I also get my articles published on websites, whose webmasters tend to reprint articles found in their favorite newsletters.
One example of someone who reprints articles found in her favorite newsletters is Debbie Johnson (http://friendfeed.com/debbiejohnson). Whenever she sees one of my articles in a newsletter that she reads, she adds the article to the forum at http://www.DreamTeamMoney.com. This results in my article being read by hundreds, perhaps thousands of additional people - people who may have not had the chance to see my articles elsewhere.
Another example of someone who republishes articles they like, after reading that article in a newsletter, is Flavio Bernardotti from Alessandria, Italy. After reading one of my articles in a popular newsletter, Flavio republished the article on his Italian-speaking website (http://www.bernardotti.it/portal/showthread.php?t=128997).
If you think for a minute that my article would have been published on Debbie's or Flavio's forums if the article had not been published in several large newsletters, then you are bound to keep overlooking the real potential of publication in newsletters.
This article has actually been inspired by a number of people, with whom I have spoke with on the phone. Each wanted to know a bit more about my business. And when I told them that our article distribution service targets publication in newsletters and websites, I was told that they did not care about publication in newsletters. I was told by each person that his or her only concern was links on websites to propel their websites rankings in Google.
Every time I hear this from a potential client, my initial thought is, "Oh, my mistake... I have mistakenly believed you were in business to make money..."
To tell you the truth, I am floored when I hear people tell me that newsletters don't matter... I have personally earned hundreds of thousands of dollars in free advertising, as a result of my articles appearing in newsletters over the years. And more to the point of everyone reading this article, I have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars in new sales, as a result of being published in newsletters.
Yes, I do get links in websites also, and my websites generally rank well in Google and other search engines for competitive keywords. But my Google rankings are only part of the story... Less than 10% of the 2.5 million page views on my website were delivered by Google in 2008, and still, I received more than 200,000 visits to my website in 2008, as a result of the thousands of top 10 and top 20 listings my websites possess in Google.
The truth is that you can target newsletters with your articles, and still achieve your search engine goals. But then again, if you never write articles that newsletter publishers want to publish, you will never know the power of newsletters for driving traffic, sales and search engine rankings.
While newsletter publishers may be the redheaded stepchildren of most Internet marketers, they are and will always be "my favorite stepchildren".
About the Author:
Bill Platt has operated The Phantom Writers article distribution service since 2001. Rather than to rely on article directories, The Phantom Writers has been designed to send articles to the newsletter publishers and webmasters who are most likely to want to publish an article. One of his customers recently said, "I've used other article distribution sites, but your distribution seems to yield a higher quality of publisher and a higher volume. So I'm a happy camper, even if you are more expensive." Learn more at: http://www.thePhantomWriters.com/
Read more Articles written by Bill Platt.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Finding Balance Between SEO and Non-SEO Traffic Generation
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Kurt D. Lynn
So much SEO.
You might think, from all the buzz about search engine optimization - SEO - that it offers a cure for all the world's business ills. Somehow, SEO has been propelled from the backwaters of Internet geekdom into the forefront of modern business marketing. For example, if Google's own search results are any indication, the interest in SEO yields almost 50% of the interest in general advertising. That level of interest seems way out of proportion to the realities of business advertising.
So Why All The Hubbub?
The excitement seems to be around the notion that SEO means "free advertising", that it means, if you do it right, millions of people will be clicking through to your site willy-nilly having found you on some search engine and then will immediately do business with you. And behind all that excitement are thousands of overnight SEO "experts" that, variously, all claim to ... (pick one)
Have SEO secrets that will help you get an unfair advantage over the next guy;
Guarantee you a first-page listing for an incredibly low monthly rate;
Provide hundreds of high page rank sites that will link to your site;
Give you 5/10/20 quick tips to immediately improve your rankings;
Tell you what Google/MSN/Yahoo doesn't want you to know about SEO;
Tell you that whatever SEO you're doing is all wrong; or
Some other variant of the above.
To some extent, this notion of "free advertising" is not altogether inaccurate. SEO can result in your site being found - free of charge - and it can result in traffic to your site that may, in fact, result in new business. But the reality of SEO is not quite that simple.
SEO Is Far From "FREE".
SEO takes work... often, hard work. For those that aren't familiar with what's involved in SEO, below is a list of some of the typical activities that (as the CREST commercials used to say) "when applied in a conscientious program of regular professional care" will result in higher search engine rankings.
Researching and selecting keywords that are truly relevant to your desired audience;
Researching competition for desired keywords;
Researching and analyzing competitive websites;
Re-writing and restructuring your website to address desired keywords, to be moreaccessible by search engine "crawlers", to appropriate label meta tags, headings, and inter-page links;
Create a program to build links to your site from other sites (directories, exchanged links,article marketing, etc.)
Create a program to keep content on your site regularly refreshed and synchronized with all the above.
Regularly (daily or weekly) monitor all the search engines and your competitors positions
SEO Is Not Easy.
Doesn't quite sound as easy as some people suggest does it? That's because it's not. And it's all the more complicated when you realize that every site on that first page, and on the second and third, is trying to do the same thing - but against you! You boost your rank above them. They go to work and boost their site back above yours. And so on and so on... It's a war and the SEO "experts" are the arms dealers.
Your Goals And Those Of The Search Engine May Be Different.
If you're going to pay good money for SEO, it may also be worthwhile to keep in mind that search engines don't necessarily have a goal of making you the most findable site on the web. The bottom line for them is making sure that their users finds what they are looking for. Satisfying that requirement may mean that you don't and should not come up first. Google is the number one search engine for a reason: Google users get results they want. Those may not be the results you want.
Short Term and Long Term.
In the short run, there may be some serious benefits from investing in SEO to boost your search engine rankings. In the long run, however, there's probably not much you can do beyond a certain point. Frankly, if you have a finite budget, altering the basic nature of your site and trying to boost how valuable your site is to others (as represented by links to your site) can only be taken so far. After a point, the perfect market characteristics of the search engine will prevail.
Balance SEO With Other Forms Of Traffic Generation.
What this means is: yes, do make sure you do the essential SEO necessary to optimize your rankings in search engines. But do it in the context of an overall marketing program. Definitely use SEO to ensure that you get a fair and accurate appraisal by search engines. But also invest in other non-SEO lead-generation methods to bring traffic to your site and business to your table.
Above all, measure the results of your SEO and non-SEO activities carefully and frequently. When SEO reaches the point of diminishing returns, cut the rate in which you invest in it and boost your reliance on non-SEO marketing to reach your goals. In the long run, traditional non-SEO marketing may just be the most reliable and consistent way to boost traffic to your site.
This article was originally published on my blog, here.
About the Author:
Kurt D. Lynn has been a founder, cofounder, or senior executive of half a dozen enterprises in both the U.S. and Canada. Currently Kurt provides consulting and communication services focused on the needs of emerging and growing businesses. His consulting firm, KLynn Inc, offers an assortment of proven services for the development of sound marketing strategies, tactics, and project execution. His communication services, while more diverse, are focused on optimizing sales and marketing effectiveness: http://www.klynn.ca/
Copyright © 2009 Kurt D. Lynn
So much SEO.
You might think, from all the buzz about search engine optimization - SEO - that it offers a cure for all the world's business ills. Somehow, SEO has been propelled from the backwaters of Internet geekdom into the forefront of modern business marketing. For example, if Google's own search results are any indication, the interest in SEO yields almost 50% of the interest in general advertising. That level of interest seems way out of proportion to the realities of business advertising.
So Why All The Hubbub?
The excitement seems to be around the notion that SEO means "free advertising", that it means, if you do it right, millions of people will be clicking through to your site willy-nilly having found you on some search engine and then will immediately do business with you. And behind all that excitement are thousands of overnight SEO "experts" that, variously, all claim to ... (pick one)
To some extent, this notion of "free advertising" is not altogether inaccurate. SEO can result in your site being found - free of charge - and it can result in traffic to your site that may, in fact, result in new business. But the reality of SEO is not quite that simple.
SEO Is Far From "FREE".
SEO takes work... often, hard work. For those that aren't familiar with what's involved in SEO, below is a list of some of the typical activities that (as the CREST commercials used to say) "when applied in a conscientious program of regular professional care" will result in higher search engine rankings.
SEO Is Not Easy.
Doesn't quite sound as easy as some people suggest does it? That's because it's not. And it's all the more complicated when you realize that every site on that first page, and on the second and third, is trying to do the same thing - but against you! You boost your rank above them. They go to work and boost their site back above yours. And so on and so on... It's a war and the SEO "experts" are the arms dealers.
Your Goals And Those Of The Search Engine May Be Different.
If you're going to pay good money for SEO, it may also be worthwhile to keep in mind that search engines don't necessarily have a goal of making you the most findable site on the web. The bottom line for them is making sure that their users finds what they are looking for. Satisfying that requirement may mean that you don't and should not come up first. Google is the number one search engine for a reason: Google users get results they want. Those may not be the results you want.
Short Term and Long Term.
In the short run, there may be some serious benefits from investing in SEO to boost your search engine rankings. In the long run, however, there's probably not much you can do beyond a certain point. Frankly, if you have a finite budget, altering the basic nature of your site and trying to boost how valuable your site is to others (as represented by links to your site) can only be taken so far. After a point, the perfect market characteristics of the search engine will prevail.
Balance SEO With Other Forms Of Traffic Generation.
What this means is: yes, do make sure you do the essential SEO necessary to optimize your rankings in search engines. But do it in the context of an overall marketing program. Definitely use SEO to ensure that you get a fair and accurate appraisal by search engines. But also invest in other non-SEO lead-generation methods to bring traffic to your site and business to your table.
Above all, measure the results of your SEO and non-SEO activities carefully and frequently. When SEO reaches the point of diminishing returns, cut the rate in which you invest in it and boost your reliance on non-SEO marketing to reach your goals. In the long run, traditional non-SEO marketing may just be the most reliable and consistent way to boost traffic to your site.
This article was originally published on my blog, here.
About the Author:
Kurt D. Lynn has been a founder, cofounder, or senior executive of half a dozen enterprises in both the U.S. and Canada. Currently Kurt provides consulting and communication services focused on the needs of emerging and growing businesses. His consulting firm, KLynn Inc, offers an assortment of proven services for the development of sound marketing strategies, tactics, and project execution. His communication services, while more diverse, are focused on optimizing sales and marketing effectiveness: http://www.klynn.ca/
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