Resource of Marketing & Advertising

It never ceases to amaze me how many otherwise intelligent people set-up a website, without any type of plan or clue about how to promote it, how to write a sales letter, how to write an ad nothing! Fact is, nowadays, anyone can have a website. But once you get one, then what? How are you going to make money with it?

If you don’t know what you’re doing, then do the smart thing and hire an Internet marketing expert.

What? You say you can’t afford to hire an Internet marketing expert. Well, believe it or not, there are other ways to hire an Internet marketing expert, besides paying an expensive flat rate or hourly fee.

You can hire an Internet marketing expert by simply buying his products. So, why should you buy his products?

Because Internet marketing experts are masters at marketing. They’ve already arrived at the place you want to get to. They also derive great pleasure from sharing their incredible knowledge. They have the answers to every single one of your questions. All you have to do is ask them.

However, you shouldn’t expect any Internet marketing expert to spend their valuable time mentoring you for free. Like I mentioned earlier, at the very least, you have to buy their products. I mean, let’s get real. You wouldn’t walk into a doctor’s or lawyer’s office and expect to get free help and advice.

Well, Internet marketing experts are highly trained professionals as well, and deserve to be compensated for their time. And some of them will offer you some sort of limited consultation, if you buy their products or use their service.

So, how do you go about finding an Internet marketing expert? It’s actually a lot easier than you think. Most of your top Internet marketing experts are very high-profile.

You can find many of them by reading articles like this one. That’s right. Many Internet marketing experts write articles. Not all, but most do.

In fact, you should read lots of articles anyway. Not only will articles help you learn, but you may also find a writer you like. And by finding a writer you like, you just may find an Internet marketing expert you like.

When you find a writer you like, make sure you check out his website carefully. If he doesn’t have a website, don’t consider his services. Why? Because you can’t learn Internet marketing from someone whom doesn’t have any type of presence on the Internet.

A website is critical, because there are certain things you need to look for such as:

Does the website have a strong headline and sales letter? Even if you don’t have any experience in this area, you’ll be able to tell right away, if the headline and sales letter are effective.

How? Because if the headline is able to pull you into reading the sales letter, and the sales letter keeps you interested and makes you want to buy whatever’s being offered, chances are, both the headline and the sales letter are effective. Other important things to look for are:

Is their website design professional? Is it attractive and easy to navigate? Or is it busy and distracting?

Do they have their own domain name, or does it contain the names, “Geocities”, “Angelfire” or “Tripod”?

Can they back up their claims with cold, hard, indisputable and verifiable facts?

Do they have their name, telephone number and street address on their website?

Do they use authentic customer testimonials, complete with first and last names?

Do they make it easy for you to purchase their product or service?

Do they offer a fair and reasonable money-back guarantee?

If the answer is “Yes” to every single one of the above questions, congratulations! You may just found your Internet marketing expert!

Having some difficulties in starting a new business? Well, for those whom have little experiences in running a business before, it’s really a risky for them to enter a business field randomly since that not all of it suitable for their skills and abilities. While running a new business is kind of an investment, you should ensure there will be profitable business to maintain in the future then.

One site you should consider visiting when you are looking for franchise New Jersey that really matched your profile is Frannet.com. They have the credibility and excellent track record in years lately, and will ensure you to get the best assistance in figuring our business opportunity in New Jersey based on your skills and abilities. This is true that there are many options of it available out there, and this agency is there to lead you into the right decision.

They will analyze your submitted profile with the high calculation in everything, and compare it with the available franchises New Jersey prospects, so the result of the business recommendations would be really suited your need. Wishing to run franchise business, while having no idea the best field for your skills? Find out your best matched business opportunity in this site.

Do you use mini-courses in your online marketing? If not then maybe you should! Mini-courses are an important part of Internet marketing. A mini-course is a tool that enables you to provide valuable content to your subscribers and promote your own or affiliate products at the same time.

A mini-course is fr*ee information on a specific topic. It is normally distributed as multiple articles in e-mail format over a defined period of time. The mini-course also goes by the name eCourse, free report or autoresponder course.

Before attempting to write your mini-course, identify a “niche market” that has a unique need for information. A niche market is a small segment of the total general market. It is a group of individuals with a common interest that have specific wants and needs. Individuals in a niche market may also have a common problem that needs a solution.

Creating a mini-course is similar to creating an ebook but on a smaller scale. You need to select a “killer” topic that is of interest to your niche market and satisfies a want or need or solves a problem. Read More »

The competition in the business world is getting tougher these days. If you plan to establish a business and you don’t want to risk yourself, you should choose one system that totally suitable with your need. A simple and profitable system that you can take is the franchise business.

Consult your franchise purchase to the specialist is a good starting point. If you make the right decision at the beginning, the chance to reach more success is bigger. There are many companies that can help you find the right franchise to buy but only FranNet that comes with better service. This company has many professional consultants to assist you. It is easy to find the consultants in many areas including North Carolina. For this area, a reliable consultant that will guide you is Mike Hall. He completely knows the franchises North Carolina that are available today and he will help you choose one that matches with your need. You can send your profile to FranNet today and they will find one franchise North Carolina based on the profile. All of the consultation is sessions are free and convenient.

Get free consultation from FranNet is a good idea to make your franchise business start easier. Please feel free to contact the consultant via phone and get franchise guidance soon.

Every online entrepreneur I talk to is asking the same question, “How do I increase my online sales, NOW?”

Online selling is essentially a numbers game. The more visitors to a site, the more sales that site will make. The number of sales made divided by the total number of visitors to a site is called the conversion rate. A typical site will have a conversion rate of between 1 and 2 percent, or 1 to 2 sales per 100 visitors.

It is obvious that if the number of visitors increases, and the conversion rate remains the same, then sales will increase. Traffic is the first variable that most online marketers attempt to influence when they begin their online marketing campaigns.

There are two basic problems with the increase traffic method. The first is that it is expensive to run advertising and improve a site’s ranking in the search engines. The second, and subtler issue is that there is no guarantee that the conversion rate will remain constant.

So what about increasing the conversion rate? Using the example above, if the number of buyers could be increased from 1 or 2 per hundred visitors to 2 to 4, sales will have doubled! So what can be done to increase a web site’s conversion rate? Below I list 7 techniques designed to accomplish this goal:

Provide plenty of testimonials

These testimonials should be from previous customers and should include specifics as to how the product or service helped them solve a problem.

Obtaining testimonials is no problem, just ask. People love to be asked what they think; most will be willing to share their thoughts on your product or service. Implement a process of following up with your customers with a questionnaire. Leave plenty of room for their comments and make it clear that their comments may be used in your advertising.

Improve your follow up

Many people will not buy the first time they see your product. In fact, some experts claim that people must see your message seven times before they are ready to buy. Autoresponder courses are a great way to follow up with the potential customer. There are many free autoresponder services on the web. I use FreeAutoBot.com.

Give away free samples

By letting your customers try before they buy, you can significantly increase your sales. If you sell an information product, provide a few paragraphs or even the first chapter by autoresponder. This technique also helps to improve follow up by guaranteeing you obtain contact information.

Give a bonus product

Everyone likes to get something for nothing, especially if that something is perceived as valuable. E-books make a great bonus, especially if they contain original content. If you are unable to create your own e-book, you could give away someone else’s. Free-eBooks.net is a good resource for finding E-books to give away.

Focus the web site

Use the Direct Response Site model. A direct response site is one where the customer’s choices are very limited. Essentially they can buy the product, bookmark the page, subscribe to your ezine, or leave the site. The more options a visitor has, the less likely they are to make a purchase.

Follow on sales are crucial

It is well known that successful businesses make 75% of their sales to repeat customers. Start a free ezine and get your customers to subscribe. Get their permission to send them information on upgrades and new products. On their receipt, mention a product that compliments their purchase. Don’t have a product to offer for follow on sales? Find and join an affiliate program offering products of interest to your target market.

Change the web site copy

Appeal to target emotion rather than reason. People respond more intensely to emotional appeals than to intellectual discussion. Design your copy to focus on the visitor’s dreams, desires, fears or goals. Position your product to appeal to their emotional needs.

Implement these seven tips, and watch your online sales increase.

A well-designed chart can be one of the most persuasive elements of your trade show booth display and literature. It illustrates to your customers why your product is the obvious solution to one of their specific needs. It can communicate major benefits or features more clearly than words can.

To make a great chart, you need to create a clear, compelling picture of the data that will call your customers to action. Your chart’s message must be easy for them to understand without having to study it. Three of the most easily understood chart types are:

1) Bar charts

Bar charts are an excellent method of comparing groups of data. Each data group can consist of a single bar for simple comparisons, or multiple bars breaking information down into subcategories for more in-depth analysis.

Bar charts are easy to interpret because most people are already familiar with seeing data in this format. You can use bar charts to emphasize the data represented by the tallest bar, the shortest bar, the overall trend of the bars, or a change in the bars caused by a certain variable.

2) Pie charts

Pie charts are useful for showing percentages of a greater whole. In a pie chart, the entire pie represents the total data, and each “slice” represents data from a particular group within the whole.

A pie chart is straightforward and easy to understand. It provides a clear visualization of the data class that represents the largest percentage of the whole (represented by the largest piece of the pie), and the relative value of each of the other data classes.

3) Line graphs (also called run charts)

Line graphs show or compare trends, cycles, increases and decreases over time. Typically a line graph shows events on the y-axis affected by time on the x-axis. Often a line representing an average of the data charted is included as a reference point. Or multiple lines may be charted on a line graph, with each representing a different product or variable.

Tips for a Successful Chart

Be sure your chart compares your data on an equal basis. Use the same scale for all data categories in one chart (for example, comparing data measured in dollars with data measured in hundreds of dollars isn’t equal). And use a consistent interval between your data categories (measuring one-week intervals against 5-week intervals isn’t an accurate comparison).

Use charts to communicate the significance of your statistics. Some of the statistics you may want to highlight in your chart are:

• Mean value (the average point of all data).
• Maximum value (the maximum data point in the series).
• Minimum value (the minimum data point in the series).
• Sample size (the total number of data points in the series).
• Range of data (the maximum value minus the minimum value).
• Standard deviation (how widely data are spread around the mean).

Once you’ve chosen the best type of chart for the data you want to show your customers, remember to keep your graphic as simple as possible. Trade show customers are assaulted by thousands of images. Don’t compare too many things, or include too many categories of data. Your goal is to educate your customers, not confuse them.

And resist the temptation to add fancy extras like pictures and 3-D effects if they make the chart look busy. If a chart is too detailed or cluttered, customers won’t invest the effort required to figure it out. They’ll bypass it as a technical output of mumbo-jumbo, and move on to something that clearly and compellingly calls them to take a closer look at a product.

Here’s a surefire method to guarantee you achieve the best results from your sales letters. Rather than make a sales pitch that your prospects will very likely ignore, instead present your products or services as the answer to their problems.

When you offer the help that your target audience is looking for it won’t be hard to make sales. You can show that you really do understand the needs of your market by addressing these five specific questions right up front in your sales letter.

1. What’s In It For Me?

This is the number one rule of salesmanship. People buy products for one reason only…what they will receive out of it. You must instantly tell any prospect exactly what they will get out of your product. Your best opportunity to do this is in your headline. Make a bold statement right up front and capture your target audience immediately.

2. How Will My Life Become Better?

This is where you have to understand the emotional appeals that attract your prospects like moths to a flame. Do they want to become richer, smarter, better looking, thinner or more popular? Do they want to save time, money or effort? Study your niche market until you know what emotional buttons to push and you’ll see a huge increase in your sales instantly.

3. What Will Happen If I Say No?

You have to give people a compelling reason to buy from you. A good way to do that is by reminding them what will happen if they don’t purchase your product. What problems will continue to exist for them, how much money will they lose, how type of frustration will they continue to endure? Help your prospects to see that they really can’t afford to say no because your product truly is the solution to their problems.

4. Why Should I Trust You?

The best way to establish trust in your sales letters is by using testimonials. A good testimonial is the written equivalence of a word of mouth referral. Prospects naturally trust what other people say about their experience with you. Get your past customers who have been happy with your business to give you testimonials to use in your sales letter.

5. Will I Be Stuck With Your Product?

Here’s where you can literally seal the deal. Reverse the risk of doing business with you. Always offer a money back guarantee so that people will feel confident that they won’t lose out if your product is not what they expected. When your prospects see that you stand behind your products enough to assume the risk they can feel more comfortable in purchasing your products.

When you use these easy tips to answer your prospects questions in your sales letter, not only will you gain an unfair advantage over your competition, but you’ll also show your prospect that you care about their problems and your product is the solution that they need.

Marketing strategies abound on the internet. We all know that bad advice is floating all around the net.

Your marketing department must work seriously, if you have intentions of making a decent e-income. How do you decipher the junk from the gems? I am not going to present a marketing plan to you. I am going to show you what, why and how every marketer should use a checklist, for effective marketing with every business plan.

First and foremost, there must be a real need for what you are trying to sell. If enough research has “not” been done, you will have very low chances of success.

O.K., let’s assume that you already have a good product or service. The sales and marketing team is supposed to promote it after finding out “who” needs this product or service. If the product or service has a target market, these people should be ready to promote for profit! Regardless of the motive for starting a home business, the product must be sold and always at a profit.

Here are a few things that you need to look for when you are wondering if your marketing plan will be effective

1. You will need a market summary to determine if there is a need for your offer.

2. You must clearly be able to explain your product or service definition.

3. You need to do some ethical research on your possible competition.

4. Positioning is something many people worry about. If you have a good, well rounded plan or method, this should fall in place, if you are patient. Spending a lot of time and money to position your business is useless, until you know what your market will buy from you. Beautiful and popular websites are only one part of the sales process.

5. Communication strategies are very important. Know who to contact and build your business image.

6. You must have a launch plan set in place, if this applies.

7. Public relations, advertising and other types of promotion should be considered, according to your budget.

8. Next comes pricing and distribution, if this applies to you.

9. Verticle and related markets must be examined.

10. Consider international markets for a broader customer base.

11. Metrics can help but there is a cost to equip yourself with metrics. If cost is a factor, look into metrics after you acquire some experience and profits.

12. A marketing schedule needs to be mapped out. Inconsistent marketing will get you no place. Have a plan and a set schedule to promote your offer. Never get lax about that schedule.

You now have a way to get started with an effective marketing plan. No matter what you intend on selling, you must have a concrete and organized, sell-for-profit-plan.

Football is an interesting game, isn’t it? With ten other players running with us, we chase the ball, kick it, and try to make it goal. If we don’t play the football, we can still be the spectators. We can watch the game from the start till the end in the stadium of in front of the TV.

But, do you ever notice that we can play the gambling game while watching the football match? If you don’t, then it’s time for you to learn. Visit Wsn.com and you will find the online bookmakers on which you can put your bet over the matches. You can directly visit them because the direct link is available. Then, if you want to see the livescore of the football matches, you just need to browse a little bit on the website because the score has already been there in a very neat list and is always being updated. If you need more football fixtures such as the odds of your betting, then stay on the website because they are all there.

Now, get to the website immediately. Place your bet before the game is started. Support the teams that you love the most by betting for their winning in the matches.

It’s no secret interactive (web-based) marketing has arrived. The IDC research group just released a study in late June of this year indicating 99.9% of a survey of executives and entrepreneurs said they currently conduct online marketing activities, or, are in the process of implementing or initiating some form of interactive marketing. The problem or challenge that many of these executives (marketing, management, etc.) and entrepreneurs (marketing, principals, etc.) have is how do they measure their online presence?

Most interactive marketing types, whether they are agencies working for/with clients or in-house personnel, typically just measure a company’s return for a specific process or period of time. Many never think to actively monitor what a company’s competitive position is vis-à-vis Search Engines or Directory Listings, the number of links they have pointing back to their web site or what type of “net buzz” is being generated (positive or negative) via the Usenet/Newsgroup community. In short, its digital warfare and the fog of war is obscuring the battle lines.

Entrepreneurial competitive intelligence sounds like a real mouthful, or much more than it is. Basically it’s using off-the-shelf tools (software or ASP services) to understand what your page 1-3 keyword rankings are versus: Read More »