How to Make Money On The Net

Writing That Killer Sales Copy -To Win New Customers

2010-04-18T03:57:00.000-07:00

Selling services or products over the Internet can be done in two ways. You can either sell through catalog style e-commerce marketing or through direct response marketing. Catalog style e-commerce marketing involves putting a range of services or products with their specifications, functions and uses before the eyes of prospective buyers. Pretty easy. The buyer makes his choices based on the information he sees.

In direct response Internet marketing, you must be able to move your reader to take action (often it is to buy your product) simply by communicating through the written word. You must be a master at writing eyeball-grabbing sales copy.

Here are three elements of great sales copy.

Firstly, your copy must have an attention-grabbing and captivating headline. It must stop the reader in his tracks so that he reads nothing else except your copy. Firstly, you write the main benefit of your product into your headline. Notice it's benefit, not feature that you must highlight. Suppose you are selling an automated blog post making software. Writing, "Introducing the World's Best Software that Makes Blog Posts to Your Blog Automatically" is writing about the feature.

Features of your product are important, but not in the headline. If you read the headline above, your most natural question would be 'How is this accomplished?' and you will likely read on. Once you get your reader thinking like that, then your headline has done its job. Now comes the body of your copy.

The body of your sales copy must be riveting and engaging. Every word must be written for the sole purpose of getting your reader to read the next sentence. Here's one simple technique to accomplish that.

Think about the old bucket system of dousing a fire. Each person in the line passes a bucket of water to the next person until it reaches the end of the line and the water is poured onto the fire. It must move the reader to read the next line and subsequently the next paragraph until he comes to the end.

To do that, your each sentence must lead on to something in the next sentence that your reader wants to know. And the last sentence of each paragraph must leave the reader with some missing piece of the puzzle such that he is compelled to read the next paragraph. Look at the last line of each paragraph of this article. They were designed to lead you to the next paragraph. (as in the first two paragraphs), you covertly challenge the reader to find out something he does not yet know. Another way is by stipulating a certain number of points beforehand (as in the fourth paragraph) then your paragraph does not cover all the points you said you would bring up. The reader then concludes there are more points in the following paragraph and reads on.

Another way to write like a 'bucket system' is by using the last line of a paragraph to 'introduce' what's in the next paragraph (as in the 5th and 6th paragraphs). Yet another way is to pose a question in the last sentence (as in paragraph 8).

Finally, great sales copy must have a clear call to action at the end. Your call to action must be convincing and compelling enough for your reader to take the action you want of him (usually it is to buy your product). Your call to action can be made more convincing by answering your reader's objection, favorably comparing the price of your product with another similar product or challenging him to make a change by buying your product instead of remaining the way he is.

ALL You Need Know About Traffic Exchanges

2010-04-18T03:43:00.000-07:00

A traffic exchange is a membership website where the members can promote their own web pages by earning or buying "credits". Credits can be earned by viewing other members' web pages - otherwise known as "surfing for credits".

To surf for credits all you need to do is to log in to the traffic exchange and hit the "Start Surfing" button. You will then be shown a member's web page and a countdown timer. How long you will have to view the page varies from traffic exchange to traffic exchange and also depends on your membership status, but typically the timer takes 10 seconds to run down.

The more you surf, the more credits you will earn. And with some traffic exchanges you will also stand the chance of winning bonus credits and even cash prizes.

As your credits accumulate you can allocate them to your web pages, which will then be shown to other members of the traffic exchange.

Most traffic exchanges operate a "surf ratio" policy. Some traffic exchanges offer a 2:1 ratio, 3:1 or a 3:2 ratio, with a 1:1 ratio reserved for members who upgrade.

Another option for traffic exchange members is simply to buy credits. Traffic exchanges often hit you with "One Time Offers" where you can get a lot of credits at discounted rates if you buy straightaway.

As well as page viewing credits, traffic exchanges also offer "banner ad" and "text ad" impressions. Banners and text ads are shown above or below pages that you view when you surf for credits. You can get these impressions at a much cheaper rate than standard page-viewing credits.

So what are the benefits of upgrading?

2. Your "surf ratio" improves.

3. The countdown time decreases.

5. You earn more in credits or commission whenever you recruit a new member for the traffic exchange.

Yes, traffic exchanges are also online affiliate businesses and when you join one you are allocated an affiliate number. If you check your member's area you will see that there is a section devoted to promoting the traffic exchange.

Since you will be given free credits whenever you recruit someone to the traffic exchange, it makes sense to devote some space on your website or blog to promoting the traffic exchange.

You will also be encouraged to promote the traffic exchange on other traffic exchanges.

A lot of people join several traffic exchanges to gain extra exposure for their web pages, and also cross-promote their traffic exchanges in order to generate a lot of credits in the form of commission when people join traffic exchanges through their links.

2. Don't try to promote your main product with a long sales page. Keep your pages clean and simple with a basic message and either a sign up form for more info, or a "click here" button that will open up your main promotional page in a new browser window.

4. Make sure you do not run out of bandwidth - it is amazing how many times you see a "bandwidth limit expired" message instead of a member's page when surfing traffic exchanges.

5. Do NOT promote XYZ traffic exchange on XYZ traffic exchange!! This sounds unbelievable, but a number of clueless people try to get traffic exchange members to join the traffic exchange that they are surfing on and are therefore already members of! Duh!

Traffic exchanges offer website owners a cheap and cheerful method of promoting their website pages and can be very effective if you know how to work them.

10 EASY WAYS TO GET FREE TRAFFIC

2008-01-19T13:21:00.000-08:00

In this world you only have two types of assets: Money and Time. The easiest way to drive traffic to your site is to buy it. But if you are an Internet marketing beginner you probably don't have much money to invest in traffic building.

The following traffic techniques are time consuming, but they are 100% free and will get you a fair amount of targeted traffic. If your site is properly optimized for monetization, you will soon be earning enough money to invest in buying traffic, and save your precious time to build new money making websites.

So here are 10 surefire free traffic techniques:

This tip is so obvious it will not even be counted, but it is often overlooked : submit your site to the major search engines (Google, yahoo, msn) and to as many other search engines as you can.

1. Use this proven Bummarketing technique, write 5 to 10 articles and submit them to the free article directories. Off course you must include a link to your site in the article itself or in your bio box. The articles should be optimized for a keyword your site is targeting.

2. Find blogs related to your topic and leave useful comments with a backlink to your site. In the same way you could go to answers.yahoo.com, and answer questions related to your site’s topic. Off course put a link to your site in each of your answers. Another thing you should consider, is joining the most popular forums that deal with you site's topic and becoming an active poster. Include a link to your site in your signature. Write a press release about your site and submit it to press release sites such as prweb.com. If you are not familiar with press releases, take some time to do a little research : a press release is not written like an article.

4. If you are happy with a product or service you have used, write an unbiased testimonial and trade it for a backlink to your site.

5. Start a blog on blogger.com and a blog on wordpress.com, link them to your site and submit them to the hundreds of free blog directories.

6. Try posting ads with a link to you site on all the free classified ad site you can find (such as craigslist.com). The best ones will allow you to post a live link.

7. An easy way to get a extra more free traffic is to add a link to your site in your email signature.

8. Start a page on myspace.com and on any other high page rank social bookmarking site you can find.

9. Submit a viral video to youtube.com.

10. Search your main keywords on Google and see if you can exchange reciprocal links with related websites that come up in the top results. Then submit it to all the free ebook directories you can find online. If you find a good available domain, grab it and redirect the traffic to your site.

Now all this looks like a full time job ! Invest 30mn to an hour daily in building your free traffic. Then step to your next favorite technique and within a few weeks you should be earning enough money to afford to buy traffic and concentrate your time and efforts on building your online business.

How to Make your Site Visitors Make That Vital Purchase

2007-10-02T15:55:00.000-07:00

In his book "Practical Thinking", Dr. Edward de Bono talks about the basic thinking processes, how one understands, and the ways to be right or wrong in thinking. He said that the main purpose of thinking is not just to accumulate knowledge but also to get enough knowledge in order to act on something. He also said that, in practice, the validity of an idea does not have any bearing in being right in thinking, for being right is a feeling, a belief that one is right during the time of thinking.

To put this into practical use, you should write your ad copy so that your visitors will feel it is right to buy your products. Make them feel that it is their idea to make the purchase. By doing so, it will be easier for you to persuade these potential customers to hit that buy button.

Here, then, are some ways to create that feeling of rightness in your readers:

1. Provide the benefits of your product.

People usually buy because of the benefits, not because of the features of a product. They think, "How can this help me? What's in it for me?" By providing the benefits, you can show how your product can avoid pain. For example, you may say, "Never again be rejected when asking for a date." You can also show how your product can gain pleasure. An example, you can say, "Imagine yourself opening the doors of your dream home."

2. Use "goody-goody" words to build up the positive emotional reaction of your readers.

Words such as honesty, freedom, dignity, love and dream, convey such emotions that your readers react positively to them. For example, you can say, "Financial freedom for you." Your visitor will then have the feeling that financial freedom is possible for them, and they may want to take a look at your product.

3. Use "bad" words to elicit the negative reaction.

Using "bad" words, such as hate, weak, or debt convey the opposite. By using these words, you can heighten the negative feelings of your readers that they may see your product as a tool to avoid or end their pain. You can say, for example, "Don't you just hate your job?"

4. Assume your visitors will buy your product.

A popular line in ad copy starts with the words "Who wants to be the next". For example, by asking, "Who wants to be the next millionaire” you are assuming that by buying your product, your visitor will become a millionaire. You can also start your sales letter with the greeting, "Dear Future Millionaire".

5. Add a little humor in your sales letter.

Humor can put people in a good mood, making them to agree with you and lower their resistance to buy. This can provide that little extra push needed to close a deal.

Remember; make your readers feel that buying from you is a right decision they are about to do. Provide the benefits of your product, use words laden with emotions, and add a little humor in your ad copy. This way, you may see a drastic improvement in your sales conversion.

Why Internet Marketers Shouldn't Discount Print Advertisin

2007-07-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

Over the years, the Internet has become the primary means of trying to sell products, services, or information for many marketers and businesses. However, as popular as the Internet is, it still may not be the most profitable way to advertise or sell.

In our modern day of high-speed technology, many seem to forget that the tried and true method of direct sales marketing through print advertising can still prove to be the most profitable way to go.

Why is this you say? It's because basic human nature has not changed, nor have human buying triggers. Having something tangible in hand that can be touched is still trusted more than words or images thrown up on a computer screen. In spite of the Internet's capability of reaching out to multi-millions of email addresses or viewers in a matter of minutes... a printed circular or flyer in hand still holds more credibility.

Think about it. When you get a printed circular or flyer that you can hold in your hand... you tend to look at it as something real that is produced by a real person whom you can identify with. You don't generally look at it as some unknown face or entity hiding behind a computer screen trying to scam you.

It seems illogical that so many marketers and businesses are unaware of, or have forgotten this old proven method of advertising and selling. Printed forms of advertising and direct sale pieces have stood the test of time, and have proven itself over and over again against everything that has come and gone.

Here's something else to think about. Most people go online looking for information, not sales offers. So the chance of them running across your online offer is slim to none. However, when a printed direct sales offer is physically placed in the hands of people, they will put forth the effort to seek out the source of the offer. It doesn't matter if it's right up the street from them or online... the printed direct sales piece established a certain form of credibility.

With direct sales, you don't have to worry about getting traffic to a web site, search engine optimization, black hat, white hat, or any of the other online techniques you see touted. People coming online to your web site after reading your printed direct sales piece are generally looking to buy the product or service offered.

The World Wide Web, or Internet should wisely be used in combination with direct sales as an extension of your advertising and sales efforts... not as your primary medium. More people who are ready to buy will find you through direct sales than they would just surfing the internet to see what's available amid the billions of web pages.

A printed advertising or direct sales piece is really much easier to produce than a web site... wouldn't you agree? All it has to do is make people aware of what is available, the cost, and where to get it. If the offer is located in a physical building, then give the address and times of operation. If it is located online, the give the web site addresses. It's just that simple.

Most internet exclusive advertisers will likely see their sales efforts pay off in a much greater way by combining print advertising and direct sales with their online methods. Once a printed direct sales piece establishes credibility, a web site would only need to highlight benefits and give access to the offer.

Now that you realize the benefits and advantages... do yourself and your business a favor, and make print advertising direct sales an important part of your financial well being.

Google's Supplemental Index

2007-06-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

If you're not familiar with GSI, let's start with Google's own definition of their new supplemental index.

"A supplemental result is just like a regular web result, except that it's pulled from our supplemental index. We're able to place fewer restraints on sites we crawl for this supplemental index than we do on sites that are crawled for our main index. For example, the number of parameters in a URL might exclude a site from being crawled for inclusion in our main index; however, it could still be crawled and added to our supplemental index.

If you're a webmaster, please note that the index in which a site is included is completely automated; there's no way to select or change the index in which a site appears. Please also be assured that the index in which a site is included doesn't affect its Page Rank."

Although there is no direct way you can influence which pages of your site will be in the regular or supplemental index, you can take steps not to let your site get put into Google's Supplemental Index (GSI) in the first place. Google is telling webmasters, if your site is difficult to crawl or deemed to be of low quality without much to differentiate it with unique content from other sites in your niche, your site will be placed in a second rate low quality index.

However, even though it would appear that there is no direct way of influencing which of your site pages will be affected, here are a few steps that you can take to avoid getting listed on GSI. Quality is king!. If the Google crawler finds your site difficult to index or locates duplicate content, then you'll probably end up in "Supplemental Hell". So why do so many pages end up in Google's Supplemental Index?

Well, here are some reasons why?

1. Using Duplicate Content (on the same site or externally).
2. The page in question contains the same Title and META tags as other pages on your site.

3. Having loads of unrelated external links on one page or not enough internal or external inbound links.
4. Your web page no longer exists, or is orphaned with no internal links pointing to it or buried too deep to be crawled properly.

... and a few steps to avoiding it!

• Remove duplicate content from your website and keep your remaining content as fresh and unique as possible.
• If you're using PLR content - rewrite at least 30-50% of it.
• Shorten any long URL's to something simple.
• Increase relevant inbound links and use contextual linking where possible.
• Use deep-linking (linking to other pages than just your index page), but try to keep within 2-3 levels.
• Create and submit a Sitemap which will allow Google easy access to all your web pages and ensure that all your pages are indexed regularly and correctly.

The above is by no means an exhaustive list of avoiding Google's Supplemental Index, but it is certainly enough to get started on.

Ways to Build Your Opt-In List

2006-11-09T05:11:00.000-08:00

The light bulb has finally started flashing in your head and you realize that you need an opt-in list to make money on the Internet. You've read hundreds of articles on the subject and sought expert advice. You've head all the stories of people creating a profitable business with opt-in lists.

With that light bulb still flashing away you finally decide to do something about it - start a list of your own. But how do you get started? And better yet, how do you build a list big enough to generate an income from?

It can be pretty scary when you're first starting out. Do you need a web site? An opt-in form? Should you use an autoresponder service or a script on your own site? How should you format the messages? How many should you send a week? The list goes on and on.

The answers to a lot of these questions will greatly depend on how experienced you are on the Internet. If you have no knowledge of CGI or PHP, then hosting your own script may not be an option. If you don't know HTML or don't have direct access to your on-line files, then editing your pages to insert the code for an opt-in form will not be possible.

These, unfortunately, are just some of the obstacles that you will need to overcome if you want to give this 'Internet Thing' a go. Having your own web site is almost a necessity. Without one, you would only be able to promote other people's products (as they would have their own web sites for you to send traffic to through your affiliate links).

Below are three easy ways that you can use to start building your opt-in list:

• Offer a free report that contains links back to your web site or even includes an opt-in form on one of the main pages. You can also make it necessary for your visitors to fill out your opt-in form before they can access the report.

• Join some of the Fire Sales and Giveaways that other marketers are running (sometimes called Joint Ventures). Add your gift to the site and when visitors want to download your gift make them fill out your opt-in form first.

• Exchange ads with other opt-in list owners. You run an ad for them and they run an ad for you. Granted you probably won't be able to join up with someone who has a huge list (as they won't be getting much exposure in return) but if you can find other lists that are of a similar size to yours, you should be in with a chance.

• Building a profitable opt-in list won't happen overnight, but it will happen. Keep at it and be creative. Try things outside of the box; put a twist on an old idea. And most of all - be persistent.

If Only I'd Known Then What I Know Now!

2006-11-02T01:45:00.000-08:00

Hindsight, we all know only too well, is a wonderful thing. For example, if we had only known that the ceiling on membership at a popular site was going to be subscribed so quickly - we would have joined up the minute we heard about it.

If we had only known that niche marketing was going to be so wildly popular we would have focused on that instead of MLM.

If we had only known that Google was going to change its algorithm and the rules of AdWords were going to change we would have...

Stop.

Stop, stop, stop.

In the world of Internet marketing, you can safely bet that the only constant is the rate of change! There's always news of the latest product dropping into your email inbox. There's always another promise of quick and easy money. Google will keep changing its algorithm, and new search engines are quite likely to pop up to challenge Google.

What can you do about this? Four main things:

(1) Continue To Educate Yourself.

Understand that those who rise to the top of any field - whether it's internet marketing or something else - are good at what they do. This means that they never stop learning. There are always new materials, new techniques and probably new 'experts' showing the way.

Most of us learn in three main ways: (a) from experts who specialize in a certain niche related to our field; (b) from others who are following the same path as we are, and (c) by trial and error, from our own results.

You will find that the more you immerse yourself in the world of internet marketing, the more you will be able to analyze which products, services and opportunities are right for you.

(2) Focus. Pick One System And Give It A Fair Go.

Countless people who start out on the internet with high hopes follow the same pattern. They get excited about a new product or system. They throw themselves into it and invest long hours (and potentially quite a bit of money) in getting it up and running. It might be e-books sold from mini-sites; it might be setting up an eBay business; it might be directory-type sites with text manipulators; it might be AdWords or content sites optimized for AdSense.

Then one day they get wind of another new system (probably one created by someone who claims "the gurus are angry with me for giving away all their secrets..."). Discouraged by the lack of results with the first "opportunity", they decide to let it rest for a while and try the new one. Back they go into the cycle of try-the-new-product, get-discouraged, discard-it-and-try-the-next-thing.

And so it goes on. Months pass. Perhaps years pass. They struggle to pay the credit card bills mounting from buying into every new system that comes along... with very little money coming in to offset their 'investment'. As they look back, they start muttering "If I had only known then what I know now..."

If you can recognize yourself in this scenario, the good news is this: Now you DO know better. You don't know what the next new product will be that's going to set the internet world abuzz, but you do know enough to choose a system that's right for you and stick to it.

(3) Take The Time to Plan.

Give yourself from two to four weeks to regroup. Go through all the products you have on your shelves or on your computer. Make a list. Decide which products you now know (so wise with hindsight!) to be worth keeping. Then analyze the 'keepers' and pick on the best system for YOU to use at this time. (This will depend upon your level of knowledge and which one you would enjoy most. Work with your strengths.)

Finally, devise a game plan. You are going to focus on this ONE method and devise a practical time-line to achieve results. Don't be in a rush. Make sure you give yourself enough time to see it 'take hold' so the money starts flowing in. That will give you the motivation to continue.

Clear the decks, physically as well as mentally. Put all the products that don't fit in with your plan in boxes or on disk for safekeeping. You may return to them one day, but if you've chosen the system that's right for you, you probably won't.

4. Don't Get Distracted by New Products.

Resolve to buy ONLY products or services that will save you time or money in implementing the system you have chosen. Never buy anything on impulse. Print out the sales letter, read it through, then put it aside. Read it through again the next day. Does it still seem so appealing? Check out a few forums to listen to the buzz. If a product doesn't deliver, you'll soon hear about it. If it is exceptional value, you'll hear about that, too.

Some questions to ask: "Will this help me to streamline the business I have chosen? Is it worth the money? Will it make a significant difference?" And above all, "Do I need this, or is it just another distraction?"

Resolve to make this the year you will succeed. No more pocket change. No more "If I had only known..."

You DO know.

So make it work.

Your Internet Business - Achieving Success While Avoiding Burnout

2006-10-20T12:32:00.001-07:00

Hang around any internet forum for a while, and you're sure to read a post from some exhausted, disillusioned 'apprentice' internet marketer who is ready to give up.

It's not only internet forums that carry sad tales of endless hours spent trying to 'break in'. You'll often see stories like this in testimonials for a system that has finally worked: relieved buyers tell of their rocky journey before finding the solution that did it for them.

If you're one of those who are dealing with a fed-up spouse who is urging you to find a 'real job', or credit cards that have reached the red zone after huge sums spent on the next sure thing, you may well be getting close to burnout.

What do you do? Keep trying - or give up? And if you do keep trying, how can you know what will work best for you? What is the best use of the hours you have available to you, without your health suffering?

Here are a few tips to help you find your way through the maze.

1. Work on the Tasks That You Find Easiest - Outsource the Rest.

There are many ways to make money on the Internet, but most of them require you to know how to work with two things: words and websites. When you're a beginner, focus on working with your strengths. For example, if you are a confident writer but a dud with the technical stuff, spend your time and money wisely. Use sites like Elance.com or Workaholics4Hire.com to find someone to do the things you find difficult. (You could spend a whole day trying to master something an expert could do in twenty minutes.) Instead, let the professionals work on the geeky stuff, while you write your own sales copy and tweak articles to make them unique.

If you're not so hot with either words or the technical aspects, you have a choice: (a) you can pay others to do most of the work, while you come up with the ideas; or (b) you can invest time to teach yourself necessary skills.

The quickest road to burnout is trying to master everything at once. ("I have to work this stuff out in the next three weeks or get another job!") Be kind to yourself, and allow yourself whatever training period you need.

2. Work With Your Personality, Not Against It.

By the time you're ready to embark on an Internet business, it's likely that you have enough life experience to understand your own work patterns. It is essential that you create whatever conditions you need to work efficiently.

Once you have chosen the type of business that seems right for you (for example: creating niche products, or building content sites that will bring in money from AdSense and affiliate sales) your first step should be to create a checklist of necessary tasks. What is the very first thing you need to do? What is the second? What is the third? Write them all down.

Decide on which tasks you will handle yourself, and which tasks you will hand over to others. Arrange these tasks in two separate lists. (If you have no money to outsource anything yet, then you'll still have one big list.)

If you are outsourcing certain tasks, find the professional who will be handling them and get things underway before you begin on your own list. This will give you a mental boost, because things are already happening! (Note that some outsourced tasks may have to wait until you have completed a step on your own list.)

Look back at your past experiences with approaching projects or new tasks, and decide which of the two following work patterns sounds most like you:

- you work best with a 'to do' list that challenges you, ticking off each task as it is completed.

- you become overwhelmed if you have too much on your list; you work best if you have just one task in front of you at a time.

Far too many new internet marketers panic at the sight of a seemingly interminable list of tasks. At the end of a day, if they've checked only three boxes out of twenty-seven, they panic. It all seems too much - and paralysis can set in. That, in turn, leads to disillusionment and another failed business.

If you know that this will be your reaction, then put your list away. Instead, write out the very first task on a piece of paper, and put THAT in front of you. That's all you have to accomplish - that one task.

Be careful that you don't look upon a whole complex project 'one task'. For example: don't write down 'build a website' as Item 1 on your To-Do List! Break large tasks down into smaller jobs, and focus on that. If your first task in building a website is to download the necessary software and install it on your computer, write that down as one thing on your to-do list.

Work your way through one task at a time, and give yourself credit for what you have accomplished. One final tip: pretend that you are hiring yourself, and treat yourself kindly - like a new employee that has to learn the ropes. As a boss, you wouldn't unfairly overload a 'newbie' starting out in the business - so don't do it to yourself!

How to Use Blog Trackbacks to Your Advantage

2006-10-20T12:22:00.000-07:00

First of all, what is a blog trackback? A trackback is a type of blog feature that is used to associate blog posts on different blogs - or a way to notify a website or another blog that you have published an entry that references it. The result of this is that two or more different blogs are able to share readers.

The description above is a little hard to fathom so here is an example. Say you just posted an article to your blog about Pit Bull dog training. Now, as you are surfing the internet, you run across a similar or related post on another blog. So, you could use the trackback feature to notify the person who posted the other post about Pit Bulls that there is a similar post on your blog.

When your trackback, which is the permalink to your post, appears on the other blog's post, that blog's readers find out that you have something to say about Pit Bulls and may even pay your blog a visit to find out more.

In order to create a trackback, you have to get the trackback URL from the post where you want to send your trackback notification. It will be shown on the blog as a Trackback URL or possibly a Permalink. Once you have found it, copy the URL into the correct place in your blog's post. Your blog software will have some notation like Trackback URL identified for where the Trackback URL would go.

Once you have done this, save and republish your blog. Your blog software will automatically send the Trackback ping to the target blog's post. So now your trackback, which is the permalink to your post, will be listed on the other blog's post after that blog owner has approved it.

The trackback feature works by actually sending a ping from your blog to the blog you are trackbacking to notify them of your post. This also causes your post to be listed on the other blog, after it has been approved of course.

Trackbacks should be used to elaborate on or add to a related post. So if your post is on Pit Bulls, your trackback on another blog should also be about that related subject and not one like pet care in general or something like that. Blog comments can be used for posting non specific comments on blogs where trackbacks are topic related specific posts.

You may have noticed that by trackbacking you are essentially placing your link (permalink) on another blog, which creates a backlink to your blog. For this reason, when you set up your blog, modify the permalink structure to be more search engine friendly. This can be done a few different ways, but you want a structure that ends up having keywords in it as opposed to having more dynamic looking links.

By having the backlinks to your blog and by having them relevant to the content of your blog, you now have the ability of improving your blog's page rank. Those backlinks will strengthen both your link popularity and your link relevancy which will bring your blog more organic search engine traffic.

It should be noted that trackbacks should be used with care and not used as methods for spamming other people's blogs.

Learning the Tricks of Free Classified Advertising

2006-08-16T00:47:00.000-07:00

Online free classified sites offer a risk free, no cost solution to promote your businesses and sell products and services. Advertising in free classified sites can be time consuming and frustrating if you do not know how to successfully profit from these sites. Knowing the right tricks and tips of online free classified ads will separate you from the hundreds who post thousands of ads without getting any results.

All free classified sites are not created equal. You should focus on a few good sites and post your ads regularly in those sites only. Your starting point is Google search. Go to google.com and search for "free classifieds" and "free ads". From the search result pages, visit 10 to 15 sites and register in those sites. If a site asks too many questions during the registration process, abandon the site and go to the next site. Why should you have to provide all your personal information for the site's benefits? Good sites will only ask minimal questions to setup your account so that you can edit, delete and renew your ads. Also, look for sites that will allow you to post without any registration.

Write a precise ad using 80 to 100 words. Write about benefits of your products and services for ad viewers. Try to think benefits in terms of generating extra income, improving health and relationships and providing a sense of good feelings when they use your products and services.

Write a concise, interest grabbing, key words filled ad title with action words that asks the reader to do something now. If you are promoting an affiliate product and many ads are also about the same affiliate product, write your ad title and ad copy differently than others so that your ad stands out in the crowd.

If you are selling personal items, like used cars, cameras etc., provide details description of the item, its selling price, and your contact information. If you are promoting an item to make a profit, do not try to sell your products or services in the classified ad. Use the free ad to lead to another site or your affiliate site where you can provide more information to make a sale.

In classified sites, most recent ads are listed on the top of the ad search or ad listing pages. Some free classified sites have paid premium ads which are displayed on the top of the listing pages, followed by the free ads. Avoid those free sites that accept premium listings. In free classified sites, your ads will be buried deep in the listing pages as more ads are posted in the same category. To keep your ads fresh and on the top of the listing page, renew your ads every couple of days.

Do not spam by posting your ads in all categories. Post only in a few relevant categories, preferably using different ad copies and ad titles. If the site has regional sections, e.g. US states, cities, or countries and your target is to reach every region, post in 10 to 15 regions only. For the search function of the site to pickup your ad for display, you do not have to post in all the available regions. This will save you time.

Always use photos or banners in your ads. Make sure that the size and dimensions of your image files are within the site's acceptable limits. Otherwise, the site may not display your images in your ad at all. There are a few free sites where you can create your banners or you can use your affiliate banners. If you are using the picture of a product, take the picture using a good digital camera and then convert the image to jpeg format and reduce the dimensions prior to uploading.

Using the simple techniques mentioned above, you should be able to minimize your online free advertising effort and increase responses from your ads. Remember, your ad title and ad copy should stand out with action words and pictures. You should regularly post your ads to keep them fresh and on top the listing page.

Your Blog: An Easy Alternative to a Website

2006-08-16T00:43:00.000-07:00

These days, it is much easier to create a website than it used to be. In general, website-creation programs are much simpler to use - and you also have the option of signing up with an online web host with easy-to-use page creation tools.

But the biggest change has to be the advent of the blog.

"Blog" is short for 'web log'. Blogs started off as a way for people to create an online diary. Bloggers would simply log on, tap out a paragraph or two giving their thoughts on life and the universe (and everything in between); click 'publish' and that was that. Their words were live on the Internet for anyone to see. The big appeal of a blog was that it was interactive: readers were welcome to add a comment on any post, with a link back to their own blog or website.

Gradually, bloggers started to want more. They wanted easy ways to upload photos, and extra pages on the site - just like a 'real' website. They wanted a range of themes, to better express their personality or business.

Programmers everywhere came to the party, particularly with WordPress, a well-known open source. Now, if you want a website/blog, it's possible to:

* Sign up with a web host with CPanel for a low monthly fee

* Install WordPress with just a few clicks of the mouse, using Fantastico on your website's CPanel

* Either use one of the pre-installed themes, or browse the various themes available at WordPress (and on many other sites) to choose one that suits your personality or business

* Upload the theme you want to the wp_content folder, using a simple FTP program (such as WS_FTP or Cute FTP)

* Start posting your articles or comments

* Add extra pages to your site (if you want to)

Now that you can add separate pages to blogs - just as you can with a standard website - many people are turning to them as their preferred way of building a website. By using various plugins, it's possible to do pretty well anything you want.

=== What Are "Plugins"? ===

Plugins are extra features available for your blog to make your life easier. You can get plugins, for example, that will:

- help you block spam

- make it easy to upload and sort your photos

- ping the search engines so they know when you've added new content

- insert Adsense blocks so you can earn money from your blog

There are quite a number of plugins available now - take some time to find out what they will do.

=== Help With Using Wordpress ===

While Wordpress is not the only blog software available, it is an excellent choice because (a) it's free; (b) it's relatively easy to use; (c) it's open-source, and therefore has a lot of people working on it constantly to make it better, and (d) there are quite a few 'how to' sites on the Internet showing you how to make the most of your Wordpress blog.

One of them is Guido Stiehle ("The Jungle Marketer") who offers an excellent free tutorial (with video tutorials) that will show you, step by step, how to set up and use your blog. You can find other providers by simply typing 'how to use Wordpress' into a search engine.

Spend an hour or two browsing, and you'll see why a blog is a very viable option for establishing your presence on the Internet.

How to Boost Your Revenue With Google Adwords

2006-06-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

Google Adwords is the most sophisticated and popular pay-per-click advertising system on the internet. Unlike regular search engine listings, which are listed for free according to "relevance," as defined by the particular search engine involved, Adwords are small text ads which usually appear to the right of the unpaid listings. Advertisers bid on specific "keywords", which determines where the ad is displayed. However, unlike other search engines, where placement is completely determined by the amount of the bid, Google uses a complex calculation which also takes into the account the popularity of the ad as well. Thus, an ad which gets clicked on a lot can end up in a better position than one with a higher bid. That's how Google rewards the ad for relevancy, so it pays to create an ad that will invite clicks.

Advertising with Adwords has many advantages. First, the ad is displayed immediately, as opposed to waiting for sites to show up in regular listings, which can take months. Second, they can be highly targeted, meaning you can make sure you're only paying for clicks by customers who are sincerely interested. Third, Adwords allows you to run several ad campaigns simultaneously, so you can test the results and experiment on the fly to constantly improve the quality of the ads. You can even track the "conversion rate," or the actual number of sales generated by a given ad. This is extremely precise marketing.

The first step is to come up with the best possible list of keywords. This is extremely important, because if you bid on the same ones everyone else is bidding on, you will end up with very expensive clicks. You can use any of the many keyword search tools available (wordtracker.com has a popular one) to determine which keywords have lots of searches but not too much competition. If you bid on enough low-cost keywords, you can do as well or better than if you had placed an expensive bid on a popular term. You can also place a limit on your budget, so that you can control how much your total expenditure is per month. You can also specify certain words you do not want included, so that you don't attract a lot of clicks from people looking for something related that you don't offer.

The ad itself consists of four lines: a title of no more than 25 characters, a description with two lines of up to 35 characters each, and a line for your url, also limited to 35 characters. The title is what really attracts attention. It should include the keyword you're targeting, and should be as striking as possible so as to stand out from the crowd. If it's truly attention-getting, it could end up getting more clicks than other, duller ads higher up on the page. Some suggest that it should be in all caps, and include a price if possible.

The description should include the major selling point of your product, and also include enough information to discourage clicks by unqualified customers. Make sure they know what you're selling and what to expect, as well as what sets you apart from the competition.

Finally, make sure the URL listed takes them to the most relevant page in your site for what they're looking for. Make sure the link is up to date and functioning correctly.

That's it in a nutshell, although the nuances are quite a bit more complex than we can deal with here. Many resources are available on the net which go into greater detail. But now that you understand the basics, you should be armed with the information you need to explore one of the most potentially lucrative marketing tools on the

Mentorship Programs - Are They a Good Investment?

2006-05-31T08:01:00.000-07:00

Mentorship programs are becoming increasingly popular on the Internet. Usually, they require a significant investment of money and time - but are they worth it?

Imagine this scenario.

You get out of bed early (as usual), sit down at the computer and open your email program. As you watch a flood of emails pour in, you feel overwhelmingly tired. This is understandable: you're putting in hours and hours at the computer. You've tried one income-earning method after another; you've worked on building your list; you've uploaded a ton of content to your sites. Surely it should be getting close to 'pay off' time? Yet the income level never seems to go up...

It's definitely one of those "Should I just give up and look for a real job?" days.

Then an email header catches your eye. It says "Don't Use Johnny Marketer's New Software Before You Read This!" You realize it's a subject line deliberately crafted to get attention, but it's also from one of the marketing 'gurus' that you actually trust. You are pretty sure that there's substance behind this bold statement.

Jaded as you might be, your interest is piqued. You'd been thinking of buying this new software. You've been trying not to put too much on your credit card, but if it helps your bottom line... Hmmmm, you'd better check this out and make sure you are not wasting your money.

You open the email and find a short paragraph advising you that this information is essential reading for any would-be buyer. There's a link directing you to read the rest of the story on the website. You click through... and you find a credible explanation of why you shouldn't use this software before you learn a few essential facts. In essence, your trusted guru is explaining that without key knowledge that surrounds the use of this software, your chances of success go way down. It's a brilliant product, he admits... but there are five essential techniques that will guarantee better results. He's going to explain the most important one in detail.

And he does. He also briefly lists the other four techniques. You have enough understanding of the Internet to know that this is really good stuff. You'd love to have the other four techniques fully explained, but this valuable information is available only to those in his mentorship program.

You sit and think. You click a link and read the details of the program. It runs for a year and you are guaranteed an in-depth analysis of your current situation and a step-by-step plan for growth. You will find out the best current software and approaches to use. It sounds perfect for where you are now. However, it costs big bucks.

You mull it over some more. Your mind goes over the struggles you've had to date, and the thought of a helping hand is incredibly tempting. You could really do with that objective overview of your business. Your hand hovers over the mouse - and finally, you click through and sign up.

Will this be worth it to you? It could be - but this depends on several factors.

1. The Promise: What does the mentor actually promise to do?

- Is there a guaranteed figure or result, or does he just promise to work with you and show you the way?
- Is there a safety net if he doesn't deliver?
- What exactly does he require from YOU in order to achieve what he promises?

2. Credibility: Do you have good reasons for believing that your mentor will deliver the goods?

- Does he have a background of success himself? Is he living what he preaches?
- Have you purchased other lesser-priced products from this person? Did they deliver?
- Has he coached others to success before you?
- Does he have the ability to TEACH as well as DO?

3. Your Own Work Ethic: Will YOU deliver the goods?

- Are you prepared to work hard to make the most of your time?
- Can you take direction? Do you usually work well with others?
- Are you willing to believe that an experienced marketer can see your business path more clearly than you can?
- Can you stick it out for the full year?

4. Can You Afford It?

- Can you afford the payment without unnecessary hardship?
- Can you afford the time?
- Can you afford the emotional investment?

A good mentor can save you days, weeks and years of errors and frustration. A bad mentor can result in your losing money, time and even your health. Before you sign up, evaluate the program and your mentor carefully. If you decide to commit, be prepared to work hard to achieve the results you desire.

Are Big Ticket Private Label Rights always a good idea?

2006-05-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

As an online marketer you are always looking for fresh new products to promote. One of the fastest ways to acquire new products is to purchase Big Ticket Items with Private Label Rights (PLR). PLR Big Ticket Items usually start at around $147 for a range of 5 to 10 e-products that have not been previously released on the internet.

PLR Big Ticket Items provide you with a wide range of options in order for you to grow your online business, but are they really worth it?

Consider the Positives:

With PLR Big Ticket Items you buy an instant “business in a box” solution. This requires you to do no work on creating the product, and in addition these big ticket items typically come with a web site, professional sales pages and graphic images.

You receive a number of products that you can resell immediately after setting up your payment processor. All that remains is for you to market your products.

If you have an existing mailing list centered on your niche products, your financial outlay to purchase the PLR big ticket items can be viewed as an investment in which you can immediately make significant gains.

Further, with PLR content you typically have the right to use and repackage the content in any way that you can – depending on the rights and restrictions that come with the package when you purchase.

This provides you with a lot of flexibility when offering your product to end users. For instance, you may brand the products with your own (or affiliates) name and website. Although you cannot claim copyright to the product, by repackaging it with other PLR products you may be able to create a whole new product with a higher perceived value.

Consider the Negatives:

Although you purchased the products with the right to do anything with the content, you do not own the copyright. Even if you are encouraged to put your name on the product, you are unable to copyright it unless you make significant changes to the product itself, so that it becomes quite unlike the original product.

Another factor that you need to consider is that a limited number of other marketers will also possess the same PLR Big Ticket Items. This amounts to a small amount of competition.

There is also likely to be restrictions on the sale and use of the products. These are usually introduced to preserve the long-term value of the product in the marketplace. While this limits your marketing methods, it also stops other marketers from introducing too much competition and reducing the overall value of the product in the market place.

As the PLR products are introduced into the marketplace, some marketers may purchase products with Master Resell Rights, so you will be competing with a higher number of marketers than the original “limited” number who purchased the products with Private Label Rights.

Your Strategy:

Now that you know the benefits and risks of purchasing PLR Big Ticket Items, let’s look at your strategy for acquiring the products.

1. Are the products in your niche?

Don’t even consider purchasing the products if you think that you will be unable to resell them, or if you don’t plan to use them.

2. What level of Rights do you need in your business?

Do you need to own Private Label Rights for what you want to do with the products, or can you purchase them individually from other marketers with Master Resell Rights?

3. Understand the restrictions.

You may be attracted by the ability to own content that you can do anything with, but check out the things that you can’t do. For example, some common restrictions are that you are unable to resell the item on auction sites, or you must meet a certain price criteria.

4. Is the price affordable?

Don’t rack up credit card debt in order to get the products. Spend wisely!

5. What is your expected rate of return on your investment?

If you are spending $147 (or more) to purchase PLR Big Ticket Items, when do you expect to get that money back? How much profit do you expect to make once you’ve paid off the initial investment?

6. How do you plan to market the products?

A marketing plan is essential to knowing how to make money from any product that you promote. If you are purchasing PLR Big Ticket Items then it is important to consider how to market each item prior to purchase.

7. Can you include the products in Membership Sites?

8. Do some keyword research.

Are the products as popular as the owners claim them to be?

9. Will you add value to your website, your customers and your affiliates if you purchase the PLR big ticket items?

10. Can you give the products away for free?

If so, consider that the market may become flooded with the same products in the next 3 months by other marketers using this approach to gain subscribers,

Are PLR Big Ticket Items for Everyone?

Using your strategy, you will need to determine whether purchasing the PLR Big Ticket Items will enhance your business model and make it attractive. Beware of being caught up in a buying frenzy in order to claim the ‘latest to market’ products, especially if you have no plan to market them.

However, if you carefully consider your strategy then purchasing PLR Big Ticket Items can provide you with some heavy hitting products and tools that can seriously boost your online income, without the enormous time and effort required to create your own products.

Making Money with Affiliate Links And Google Adsense

2006-03-29T04:29:00.000-08:00

One of the most frequently asked questions of all time is, "How do I make money on the Internet"?

If you have been trying to make money on the Internet for even a short while, you have undoubtedly heard quite a few names being thrown about. It seems as if everyone sees themselves as an expert and everyone who is anyone knows everyone else who is someone. It is like a marketing guru clique. And they make you think that if you do not know somebody, you will always be a nobody.

You have probably encountered product launches, audio and video streaming, teleseminars, and joint ventures, etc. The gurus that are selling these products and services are making money hand over fist. In all fairness, these products and services are genuine and valuable to the folks who buy them.

But what most of them will not tell you is that there are thousands of people on the Internet making thousands of dollars a month without spending a lot of money. They do not fly to every seminar in the country just to make contacts. They rarely do joint ventures, because frankly, no one knows who they are. They literally sit in front of their computers in their underwear, click a few links, and wait for the money to roll in.

How do they do it? Affiliate links, Google Adsense, and content.

Take Google Adsense, for instance. Search engines love good content, the more, the better.

When you create multiple content pages on your website, the search engine spiders crawl the site, then follow each link to more content, which helps raise your rankings.

How does this make you money? By placing Adsense ads on every page. As readers click through your pages, many will also click the Adsense links. Every time they do, you make a commission from Google. It can be anywhere from a few cents to several dollars.

They do not have to buy anything. Just clicking the link makes you money. The more people you drive to your site, the more people will click the links, and the more money you will make.

Now all you need is content. If you are a good writer, you can write your own. But most of us are not.

One option would be to use articles written by others. Go to any of the popular article directories and you will find thousands of articles. Most can used free of charge as long as you include the resource box with each article. Since you are not promoting your own product, this is a very viable option.

The major downside to using other peoples articles is that the reader will view them as the expert and likely click the link in the resource box instead of the Adsense links, and you lose money.

However, the best option is Private Label Rights articles. Just a little editing can turn these articles into your own creation. The reader will view you as the expert, since you are not competing with another writer.

You can also include your own resource box with a link to an affiliate program, so whether they click the Adsense links or your affiliate link, you have increased your chances of making money. And you have done it without a single product of your own.

Making money on the Internet is not as difficult as some would have you believe. As with any business, give the people what they want and they will keep coming back.

The Use Of Private Label Articles On Your Site.

2006-03-10T03:39:00.001-08:00

Regular users of Private Label Rights content are delighted to see more and more PLR sites appearing. The proliferation of such sites has, however, given rise to a new problem - the overall quality of the articles users pay for. Good writers are snapped up fast and given ongoing work. Regrettably, some PLR site owners seem to be only concerned with getting a batch of articles uploaded no matter what the quality.

Competition, as we all know, is a GOOD thing. Quite a number of PLR users are now making a practice of signing up to check out the quality of what's on offer in a new site. If they like it, they stay. If they don't - they vote with their feet, or more appropriately, with the 'cancel this subscription' option at PayPal.)

Your Rights as a PLR Site Subscriber
_________________________

Don't feel that you have to accept the articles you get no matter what the quality. You are entitled to get articles and/or ebooks that have been proof read and edited to correct grammar and spelling mistakes. It is the responsibility of the PLR site owner to check that the articles are of an acceptable standard.

PLR users expect to have to tweak and change an article to create unique website content. They should not, however, have to edit every article. We all expect an error to creep in here and there - but an entire batch of articles written by someone whose language is quite obviously NOT English is not acceptable. Nobody wants to have to copy-edit every one of 20 articles before turning them into an e-book!

What You Can Do If You Are Not Satisfied With the Quality of PLR Content.
____________________________________________

The first and most obvious option is to cancel your subscription. However, you would be doing everyone a favor if you took the time to contact the site owner to explain why you are not happy. Copy and paste a few examples from the articles to demonstrate the errors.

In the past, PLR site owners have sent back batches of articles to be corrected and/or rewritten when they are not satisfied with the job. In extreme cases, they cut their losses and just hire a new writer. Any PLR site owner who wants to build a profitable and well-regarded business will be interested in working with you on this - they don't want to lose customers!

If you can't get any satisfaction, move on. Sample the content of several sites. Ask for recommendations from friends or other publishers before you sign up. (Look for more than one satisfied customer - never forget that some reviews are there solely to get you to sign up via the reviewer's affiliate link.)

Find a Site to Satisfy Your Personal Needs
____________________________

Different sites offer different things. Some sites offer articles and completed e-books, sales letters, and well-produced graphics. Others provide only articles and a few bonus products.

If you are a competent graphic designer and know your way around programs like Photoshop, graphics may not be important to you. (Indeed, you may prefer to create your own graphics so your site looks different to everyone else's.) Some sites offer 'extras' like web hosting and autoresponders, plus ready-made AdSense sites. If you are just starting out, you may like these all-in-one solutions.

Check out the following:

- What you get for your monthly subscription - articles, e-books, e-courses, AdSense sites, graphics and sales letters.

- The quality of the articles that are immediately available - general style, grammar, and spelling.

- Is the content original (not copied from some other source)?

- The regularity with which content is posted. (Check out the forum, if there's one available. Are there constant complaints or queries about when this month's content will be available?)

- The range of topics covered. You will find that some sites specialize in one subject area, while others cover a broad range of topics. Are you using enough of the monthly content to make it worth your while? There's not much point in being able to access 200 articles a month if you can use only five of them.

It's common for PLR users to belong to more than one site. An example: $250 a month spread between four to six sites comes to only $3,000 a year - which is an excellent business investment compared to the cost of hiring your own writer. Well-written, carefully-edited PLR articles are usually well worth the monthly fee. Take the time to assess the content of any PLR site - and stay with the ones that believe in quality control.

How Not To Use Article Marketing

2006-02-17T08:47:00.000-08:00

Article marketing seems to be the latest rage and with good reason. It's by far the best free method of promoting your business and increasing your sales and opt in subscribers.

By submitting your articles to article directories, article announcement lists, and ezine publishers, you accomplish several things.

First, you establish yourself as an expert in your field. Readers are more likely to listen to you if they feel you know what you are talking about.

Second, by attaching a resource box to your article, you are giving the reader a link to your website. If the reader is impressed with your knowledge, they will likely click on your link to see what it is that you are offering.

Third, you increase your search engine page rank by providing a non-reciprocal link to your website. Search engines seem to give extra weight to non-reciprocal links in their page rankings.

But many marketers are not comfortable writing their own articles. They just do not know how to put their thoughts into words. Or worse yet, they do not have any thoughts worth printing.

That is why private label articles are in such high demand these days. There are several of these services available and more seem to be popping up every day.

Therein lies the problem. Depending on how these articles are used, the results can be good, bad, or downright ugly.

The Good: As stated previously, private label articles, when used correctly, can give the non-writer a big advantage over other marketers. They can increase your traffic, sales, and opt in subscribers. That is good.

The Bad: A common mistake made by marketers using private label articles is getting lazy. They simply copy and paste the article and submit it, as is, with no personalization.

At the very least, you should change the title. Most article directories require that your article be approved before they are posted. But do you really think they read every article that comes in? Not likely.

They get dozens, even hundreds of submissions every day, so it's unlikely that your article will actually be read.

But most directory software will automatically search their database for duplicate titles. If the title of your article matches one in their database, yours will be rejected.

So do yourself a favor and at the very least, change the title. It might also be a good idea to change the wording in the first paragraph.

The Ugly: Many marketers load so many links in their article that it becomes one long ad. This will not only get you rejected, but eventually banned if you do it often enough.

A good article contains useful information to the reader whether they buy your products or not. Give them good content and you will increase the chances that they will click your link in the resource box.

Private label articles are a great tool, but do not get lazy!

Strengthen Your Website Content with Online Database Access

2006-01-27T03:57:00.000-08:00

Website content, as articles, has taken center stage as web publishers scramble to differentiate their online offers. As both the quantity and quality of articles have accelerated, so too have online directories. These directories often resemble mere lists, but they can be powerful content additions that serve to deepen the value of the overall selling proposition by helping users in locating critical, related resources that for the visitor is otherwise much too time consuming.

On today's websites, it is not uncommon to find online databases designed to provide the data-hungry website visitor with more comprehensive database management functions which are far superior to list-style directories. At a minimum, we find web-driven data pages that include search and display functions which facilitate quick and easy manipulation of back-end SQL databases. Many sites also include options to add, edit, delete, print, and even download data directly from the database to the desktop, all enabled with multiple levels of login/password security. While this is not revolutionary, the technical expertise required to build database-driven web pages has been the domain of more sophisticated online publishers who not only owned the back end database outright, but possessed the required expertise to build and maintain such access for their loyal constituents.

But that has all changed. A flurry of new, low-cost desktop tools have entered the scene, leveling the playing field for the budget-strapped internet marketer who, until recently, was limited to throwing in a basic "telephone book" style directory in an attempt to bolster his value proposition.

Three such tool categories warrant a closer look:

Web data extraction tools costing less than $400 enable web content, as "repeating data", to be easily extracted to MS Excel, MS Access, or virtually any SQL database in high volume. This data serves to build, or at least augment the publisher's's new online database. (Ideally, one should first obtain permission from the website owner before scraping large volumes of data).

The next challenge is to manipulate the collected data now resident in multiple files, and often in disparate data formats. Though list processing applications have long been available, lower cost tools now offer powerful merge/purge capabilities without the need to import and export files in the process. Some simple routines and the data is ready to upload to the database on the host web server.

Finally, the publisher builds the web pages which access the database. Perhaps most exciting is the arrival of a wide variety of desktop code generators, many which are open source, that allow a non-programmer to build customized web pages that rival the database search, display, add, edit,delete and download capabilities previously reserved for the more technical publisher. No longer is the web publisher required to know a single SQL command to accomplish this feat. Amazingly, most of these tools generate pure PHP or PERL code. All that remains is to upload the generated code to the host database and the project is complete. The website now houses a "living, breathing" database, to the extent that the publisher desires to maintain fresh data.

One of the more common, and simple applications of database-driven web pages is to build versatile Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) pages. Questions and answers can be queried by category (e.g. pricing, product) or keyword (e.g. sporting goods), while enriching the users support experience.

How can such newfound capabilities be monetized? The possibilities are plenty. Limited datasets can be made freely searchable and viewable for casual visitors, though it's usually wise to request that the user register even if membership is free. The idea is to prime the pump, getting casual users to thirst for more comprehensive database access. Extended and full database access can be reserved only for paid members.

Never has a publisher had such power to build data-rich content that can serve to immediately strengthen his unique selling sales proposition. In the old paradigm, he who owned the data held all the power. Today, data is everywhere for the internet entrepreneur. By applying the latest database tools, any website publisher can now cement the most loyal of customer relationships by ensuring that his customer has a reason to keep coming back.

Web visitors have a difficult enough time sorting out the perceived sameness of online offerings. For the content builder, there are few better methods to establish and lock in immediate credibility with customers than to implement an easily accessible database that underscores the site's overall content theme.

Market Your Online Business For Less

2006-01-09T04:28:00.000-08:00

Business can get expensive. If you are like most people starting an online business you may quickly find your savings tapped and your credit cards maxed. That is, unless you know how to market your online business for free - or nearly free.

There are many ways to market your business, but not all methods deliver the same results to every business. While you learn your way around the online business world it makes sense to start with the cheap or free methods of marketing before spending a lot of money on a system that will not work for you.

Here are three methods for marketing your business for little or no cost. Some will work better than others and some will take longer to show results. Find out the costs as well as the Pros and Cons of each method.

MARKETING METHOD ONE: TRAFFIC EXCHANGES

Traffic exchanges are very popular for new online businesses. They can be free or charge a monthly fee. The way they work is that each member views other members websites, usually for a specified period of time, to build credits. Their sites will then be displayed to other members depending on the number of websites they have viewed.

PRO: Usually free. Lots of traffic quickly.
CON: Traffic is not targeted so usually works better for businesses that appeal to a wide audience. Viewing other members websites is time consuming.

MARKETING METHOD TWO: ONLINE FORUMS

Forums are online communities that discuss specific topics. There are forums (or discussion groups) on just about any topic you can think of. You can find these by doing a search for 'forum' and your topic. Or you can go to Google and search the Groups for your key word or phrase. Forums are usually free to join.

Most forums do not allow commercial solicitations. The focus is on exchanging information. Be prepared to add useful comments to the discussion and follow the posted rules. You may be allowed to attach a signature to your comments. Put your website in the signature to attract the search engine spiders and send visitors to your site. Develop a reputation as an expert on your topic and give free advice when possible to build credibility.

PRO: Targeted traffic. Builds credibility
CON: Have to be careful not to be labeled as "spam". Must spend time answering questions and posting comments. Depending on where you post and what you say you may or may not see a lot of traffic initially.

MARKETING METHOD THREE: NEWSLETTERS

Start your own newsletter right away. While this does not bring traffic to your site it does take advantage of the visitors who do come. The code for collecting emails can often be obtained from your host provider for free or an autoresponder service which is free or paid depending on your service.

Have a place for visitors to enter their email address and name. Send them a free report or email once a week with tips or news about your topic. This will permit you to build a relationship with prospects as well as grant you permission to contact them again with your offer. It often takes up to seven contacts before a prospect will buy, so don't let them leave without getting their email!

PRO: Permits you to contact interested prospects again. Builds relationship with customers and potential customers.
CON: Effort is needed to provide quality information on a regular basis. Does not attract new visitors.

Each of the marketing strategies outlined above are proven to work. What works best for you and your business will depend on various factors such as; what your business is, what time you can spend marketing and what information you can provide. Start using two or all three of these methods and you will be creating a solid marketing foundation for your business.

How to get Your Business Noticed

2005-12-19T13:18:00.000-08:00

Many people will tell you that to get your web site noticed you need to 'optimize' your site for the search engines. You are then led up a path where you have to keep changing your web site as the search engines change their ways of listing things. As fast as you 'optimize' your site, Google and the others have moved the goalposts, meaning you have to keep optimizing over and over again.

Now consider some facts. Most people in the world are not users of the Internet. Let's repeat that. The vast majority of people who you want to reach don't use the Internet. It doesn't matter how well you optimize your web site, they simply will never find it.

Here's another fact. Some of the best Internet marketers make most of their sales 'offline'. They sell their books, CD-ROMs and so on at seminars, workshops and conferences. Indeed, for many 'Internet marketers' these 'offline' sales represent the bulk of their income.

So what do these facts tell us? They show us that 'offline' promotion is more important than online promotion. You may be able to optimize your web site to get high rankings in a search engine. But that doesn't mean you'll reach the vast majority of people who could buy your product or use your information.

This was confirmed recently by one study that showed most people go to an Internet address (URL) after having read it in a newspaper or magazine, been given it by a friend or colleague, or having heard it being mentioned by someone speaking at a meeting or on TV. In other words, it seems that significant numbers of people who get to your web site will do so having heard the URL somewhere outside the Internet.

You can get many people visiting your web site, even if you are not ranked highly by the search engines. You can do this in two main ways:

1. Write articles for use in regular publications - newspapers, magazines and so on. Always include your URL in the article and you'll get millions of people to notice your web site address.

2. Speak at every opportunity. Make presentations to business clubs, chambers of commerce, local societies - you name it, you should speak at it. Every time you speak, announce or your web site address.

Although these are the two principal ways of gaining offline publicity for your web site, don't neglect your business stationery, posters, car stickers and so on. The more your web site address is visible outside the web, the more visitors you will get regardless of how kind the search engines are to you.

How to get Targeted Traffic to Your Website!

2005-12-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

Everyone who has a website knows that to have sales you must have traffic, but not just any traffic it has to be targeted traffic.

What is Targeted traffic? It is simply visitors to your website that are interested in what your website is about. For example, people interested in buying jewellery will find jewellery websites interesting.

How do I get targeted traffic I hear you ask? The following are tried and tested methods:

Forums: Subscribe to forums that discuss your topic. Answer questions and join in the debates there. Become an expert in the field. Then with each article reply you write have a discreet link to your website in the signature file. What can be placed in your signature is often determined by the forum moderators. Do not spam the forum or you will be stopped from posting. This is one of the most productive ways of getting free traffic as those who click your link have already read and liked your style.

Linking from/to other websites: Contact website owners that have similar but not competitive websites to yours, ask them for a reciprocal link from their website to yours. Be sure to select your link partner to match closely your customer profile. Software programs such as Arelis are very helpful in this process.

E-Zines: Contact e-zine owners that have your target readership and buy advertisements from them. Be sure to have a test run to see that the return on investment is sufficient to cover the costs involved. If you are buying an extended run of advertisements haggle with the e-zine owner over price. You may save a considerable amount.

Newsletters: When people visit your website offer them something of value for free if they sign up to your newsletter (like an e-Book). Your newsletter should be written tightly geared towards your topic. It should be published regularly at weekly intervals.

E-Books: Often used, these are usually free informational books for your clients and for others to give away free if they leave your links in the book itself. You can place links back to your website in the books you sell or give to your clients.

Joint Ventures: Contact online marketers looking for new products to sell. They often have large mailing lists with eager to buy customers. Normally they are willing to email their list for a cut of the sale price. This works particularly well with informational products. It has several advantages. It can give a very sizeable boost to both your sales and mailing list within a very short period.

Buy Traffic: This is probably the cheapest in terms of time and most expensive money wise. It gives a traffic boost normally within 30 days. What are you buying? You are buying traffic from expired domain names which the company selling the traffic has bought. They are domain names still registered on the search engines which get a considerable amount of traffic. The previous domain name owners have either lost interest in the name or simply forgot to renew the registration. This means that the traffic from the expired domain name is simply redirected to your website. This is usually high quality traffic as only websites with traffic such as you want is redirected to you. As always, a test run to see if this traffic is suitable should be undertaken.

When you combine these techniques and apply them consistently over time you will find a rich source of targeted traffic coming to your website. This, combined with quality products will ensure the success of your online business.

7 Reasons Why Seasonal Marketing Sells Products

2005-11-22T03:43:00.000-08:00

The celebration of Thanksgiving is approaching and later on will come Christmas, then New Year's, Saint Valentines Day and so on...

Now, what is so special about each celebration? They all increase the selling of products. There are many reasons why you should consider seasonal marketing to promote your products, including the seven which are listed below:

1. People tend to buy more products during seasonal celebrations than the rest of the year.

2. People are determined to purchase products, so it is easier to persuade them to purchase a product you offer (assuming of course you are doing it the right way).

3. Most purchases concern gifts to others, therefore quality is what matters while price is less significant.

4. The time of celebration is limited and specific. Therefore people cannot leave for tomorrow what they need to buy for the celebration. They must act in a timely manner. This urgency is a huge advantage to marketers trying to sell products.

One other motivating factor for buyers is that seasonal products are limited and something they have in-mind may not be available in the stores at a different time.

5. People connect seasonal celebrations with their childhood. That makes them more emotional and as you might already know emotion is the key factor that makes people buy a product.

6. It is not always necessary to offer a celebration related product to increase your sales. Even a valued Internet product like software or e-books can be a valued gift.

7. Marketers do not have to invent new or never before used methods to create interest in seasonal products. The old traditional marketing techniques are effective and can still be applied. People want to buy because of the "celebration". In fact, many people may not see their purchase as buying at all, but as an act of making someone (including themselves) more happy.

Naturally, seasonal marketing may use different strategies to promote products. Instead of offering a product discount try the following:

- Offer a portion of the price of your product to charities and make people feel they contribute to this charity themselves.

- Try a special offer like "purchase one product and get the other at half price" or "purchase one product and get another free to offer as a gift".

These types of special offers can very easily increase your sales volume.

So, do not hesitate. Start promoting your products (or affiliate products) now. And don't forget, once a celebration ends, there are many others right around the corner. People are always looking for reasons to purchase gifts for others or for themselves.

Writing Articles that Captivate Your Readers

2005-11-14T15:53:00.001-08:00

You've heard it time and time again: if you want to get your name out there, write articles and allow them to be freely reproduced (with a resource box pointing back to you, of course). Largely, that is true. A well-written article can:

- help you build your profile as an expert

- draw traffic to your site, and

- help you to build a database of potential clients through associated e-courses or a newsletter.

So far you probably haven't heard anything you didn't already know. What YOU are likely to be struggling with is the process of actually writing the article. Sure, you can come up with the content - but how do you really grab those readers? How do you keep their attention all the way through? And most importantly, how do you make them want to come back for more?

Let's assume that you understand the basics of constructing and editing an article (it has a beginning, middle, and an end and you know how to check the grammar and spelling.) Most of us can manage that. But if you're not content with simply "getting something out there" - if you want to WIN readers - then you need to start thinking about what they want to know, rather than what you want to tell them.

Put your readers first - every time. Give them what they want, and they'll be queuing up to read anything you produce. Give them something bland (or worse, blatantly self-serving) and they'll blast by you so fast you'll be spinning in the back draft.

The following four steps will give you a blueprint for writing articles that captivate your readers - whatever the topic.

== 1. Find Out What Your Readers Really Want ==

Sometimes you'll know what they want because you're an expert in the field, and understand the problems. If you don't know the subject area well, you'll have to do more research. Look for forums on your topic and see what people are discussing. What are the problems that need solving? Can you provide an answer? ("If they have a headache, give them an aspirin.")

== 2. Start With An Attention-Grabber ==

Spend time working on your opening. Try to avoid trite questions like "Have you ever wondered why so many people find it difficult to lose weight?" Firstly, it's dull. Secondly, it's not targeting the person reading the article - what do they care about the difficulties "many people" have with losing weight? They only care about THEIR weight problem!

Try to come up with an opening paragraph that gives the reader that warm "Hey, this is about me!" feeling right away. Better still; try to generate a rush of excitement - "This could be the answer I've been looking for..."

Example: "The diet gurus make it all sound so easy: to lose weight, all you have to do is expend more energy than you take in. Huh! If it were that simple, the "Big People" stores would be out of business in a heartbeat. Luckily for those of us who are tired of diets, gyms and dull group meetings, there is a back-to-basics way to tackle this. A way that won't cost you a fortune or leave you feeling deprived."

== 3. Write As You Speak... Then Edit! ==

The sample opening above also illustrates the importance of the tone you use in your article. You need 'meat' in each article, of course, to make it worth reading - but make sure it's not indigestible!

You're better off writing your article in a natural, relaxed style that's akin to normal conversation. It doesn't matter if the first draft is a little too informal - you can fix that when you edit. Naturally you don't want to irritate your readers with a too-breezy style, but too-formal is worse. Readers may want facts, tips, and strategies, but they hope to be entertained, too! Let your personality shine through.

== 4. End On A High ==

What's one of the biggest problems with most articles? They fizzle out! Writers often don't know how to end on an upbeat note. They either just stop dead or they come up with a trite ending like: "So what are you waiting for? Get started today!"

The beginning and the end of your article are the two parts that make the biggest impression. Start by creating a feeling of anticipation... and leave them feeling satisfied (or excited) when you finish.

If you are offering advice to help them solve a problem (like obesity) gives your readers a reason to feel optimistic and good about them. Don't make rash promises... but do offer hope. If you are giving hints on marketing or business, sum up the benefits of acting on your tips. You can also experiment with using a pithy/humorous quote, or giving readers a specific action to get them started. Be creative - and don't rush it.

Here's a final tip: create an article-writing cheat-sheet for yourself. Divide it into beginnings/middles/ends and add more useful strategies as you think of them. (For example, using the tips in this article, you might write: ENDINGS - end on a high, offer hope, use funny quote, suggest action to get started.)

Do this, and you'll be steadily cranking out articles that everyone wants to publish!

Why Blogging is Essential to Your Business

2005-11-07T14:42:00.000-08:00

In the 'good old days' - about three years ago - you used to keep in-touch with your customers using phone calls, email messages and face to face meetings. Nowadays the world has changed. People expect even more frequent updates, yet it's nearly impossible to meet with every business contact on a regular basis.

Thankfully, blogging has come to the rescue. Setting up a blog on your web site - and having an associated RSS feed - means you can keep in constant touch with your clients and potential customers. Plus you don't have to email them and they can get your latest news without having to visit your web site.

So how does this all work? A blog is really a fancy name for a web page that gets updated regularly. It's nothing special. There are several methods of writing 'blogs', but they are nothing more than computer programs which allow you to easily update a web page. Far and away the easiest way to start a blog is with a website called blogger.com.

However, for keeping in touch with your customers, RSS is the key. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. What this means is that your blog can be automatically delivered to people who want to read it - you don't have to send it to them and neither do they have to come and collect it. All they need is the address of your RSS Feed and their RSS Newsreader can do the job for them. There are several RSS readers available and new web browsers incorporate the ability to read RSS feeds and keep them updated.

Whenever you add new content to your blog, the RSS Feed automatically gets updated in everyone's Reader program or web browser. That means you are guaranteed to be able to keep in touch with clients and prospects. You don't have to do anything other than produce the content. Equally, you don't face the problems of email filters and anti-spam programs blocking your email. Furthermore, people tend to read RSS Feeds because they have subscribed to them whereas they tend to ignore non urgent emails.

As you can see, there are several advantages to Blogs and RSS Feeds. But it doesn't stop there. Search engines love them. That's because blogs provide fresh and new content - precisely what searchers are looking for. Hence the search engines are actively pushing blogs higher up the search engine ranking. This means if you don't have a blog for your business, you are seriously reducing your chances of a high search engine ranking. You need a blog nowadays to get noticed by the search engines.

So, blogging is essential. Not only does it improve your web presence, it also means you can keep in touch with clients and prospects more easily. And all the marketing research you can find will tell you that keeping in regular touch with your customers is an important component in gaining new business. So get blogging!