Articles to Promote
Internet Marketing Sweetie Products

Remember, always replace the XXXXXX's with your affiliate ID or log into your account for shorter links. If you are sending these links via email to your opt-in list, I recommend you redirect them through your own domain or the links may break up in the emails you send. There are many types of redirects you can do, if you'd like to create a simple javascript redirect, here are some instructions.

ARTICLE TOPIC CONTENTS: Press Releases | Affiliate Marketing  Information Products | Copywriting | Affiliate Management 
Email Marketing | Blogging

Articles on Press Releases

Article: "Marketing Your Website with Press Releases"

Marketing Your Website with Press Releases What is a Press Release? A press release is a newsworthy story about your business that you submit to various media outlets ~ newspapers, magazines, website, radio, television. This is a wonderful way to get free promotion for your website. Any story that the media picks up will be far more valuable than a paid advertising spot. Having the media do a story about you is like a personal endorsement of your website and business. What is the Appropriate Format for Your Press Release? Your press release should have six basic components and they are: 1. Release Instructions "For Immediate Release"; "For Release Before [date]" or "For Release After [date]" Use one of the latter two if your press release is of a time sensitive nature. For example, if you are holding a public speaking event, you will want to use the "For Release Before [date]" and make sure you input the final date for registrations. If you are using the "For Release Before [date]" ensure you are sensitive to media deadlines. Send your release out well in advance. 2. Headline Write an attention-grabbing headline. Make it benefits-oriented (why would it be of interest to people?) and descriptive. Avoid hype and promotional language ~ remember, this is a news story. 3. Contact Information Include as much information as possible here. Make it easy for the media to contact you. Include your phone number, address, company name, fax number, email and URL. Include the hours you are available at the listed phone number and add an after hours phone number, if applicable. 4. Summary Before you get into the body of the release, write a sentence or two to summarize your press release. Make it interesting, you want the recipient to keep reading. 5. Content This is the meat of your press release. Again, write a benefits-oriented story. Think of the target audience as you are writing. Your target audience is partly the editor or reporter who will be reading the release. Ultimately, however, your target audience is that editor or reporter's readers or audience. You need to write a story that will be of interest to them. The first paragraph should answer all the important questions - Who, What, Where, When, Why & How? Add some quotations to add credibility and to break up the story. Quotations can be from you about the topic. Testimonials or commentary from your customers are very effective as well.6. 6. Signify the End of Your Release The end of your press release is shown by a few simple characters. Place ### at the end of your release. Other General Formatting Tips - Always remember that your press release is not an ad. It is a newsworthy story. - Address your release directly to the appropriate reporter or editor. The media receives many press releases each day. A release addressed to a specific person is more likely to get attention than a general submission. - Keep your release to about 1 page (or 2 pages maximum). - Number your pages 1 of 2, 2 of 2, etc. - Use active verbs. - Do not use excessive adjectives ~ they sound like hype. - Tweak your release when sending to different media outlets. If you are sending to the local paper your content may be slightly different than if you are sending it to a trade magazine. - If you are sending your release by mail, use 8 1/2" x 11" paper. - If you are sending your release by email, never send an attachment. Copy and paste your release into the body of the email. Where to Send your Press Release You need to build a media list and this will likely take some time. Start local and small. Local and/or small media are most likely to be interested in your story and it's the perfect way to hone your release writing skills. Besides, a lot of the larger media outlets scan the little guys to find stories to pick up. Try newspapers, trade journals, topic specific magazines, websites, radio shows, television show ~ whomever would be interested in your topic. Again, always remember to get specific contact information for your press release. A release address to a particular person will get a lot more attention than a general release sent to the media outlet. Alice Seba is a “Retired” Press Release Writer that now teaches other website owners to increase their media exposure. Find out how you can get the media to sing your praises at http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.pressreleaseprofits.com

Article: Don't I Need A Publicist to Get Any Worthwhile Publicity?

Don't I Need A Publicist to Get Any Worthwhile Publicity? By < a href=“http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.pressreleaseprofits.com”>Alice Seba</a> Starting a press release or publicity campaign can seem overwhelming. How are you going to get yourself into a national magazine or how will you finally get Oprah’s attention? Well honestly, it’s not necessary to work that hard in order to get beneficial publicity for your business . So, the short answer is – No, you don’t need a publicist to generate worthwhile publicity for your business. Personally, I’m not into being famous, but instead I choose to generate lots of low-key publicity that helps build my business. I am asked for interviews, quoted in articles, etc. and those things bring in new subscribers and customers steadily, but I’m certainly not famous. Nor do I have any desire to be. If you position yourself as an expert in your market, you can receive plenty of worthwhile publicity. Becoming an expert isn’t always from sending out press releases either, but also from having plenty of quality content out there, being visible in search engines and networking with others who will refer media to you. Also, keep in mind that fame comes at a price. Talk to just about any book author that knocks herself out on a publicity tour. Ask her what a difference it made in book sales. It’s a huge investment of time and expense and doesn’t always give back a great return. The low-key approach works well and you won't burn yourself out! <b>Editor’s Recommendation</b> Start generating plenty of exposure for your business with minimal expense and time investment. Join Alice Seba, a former professional press release writer as a Press Release Profits student. <a href=“http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.pressreleaseprofits.com”>Click here </a> to get started instantly.

Article: What's the Difference Between Writing Articles & Press Releases?

What's the Difference Between Writing Articles & Press Releases? By < a href=“http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.pressreleaseprofits.com”>Alice Seba</a> You probably already know that writing articles for website promotion is an excellent way to generate free exposure for your online business. Adding press releases to your distribution plan can provide with even more exposure. There is definitely a different in format between articles and press releases, but the good news is, many of your articles can become press releases...or vice-versa. When you write articles, you are basically writing as if you were writing an email or a report. You have your title, opening paragraph, detailed paragraphs and a closing paragraph followed by your author bio, or resource box. You are usually teaching your readers about a particular topic or showing them how to do something. Articles also tend to be more informal than a press release. With a press release, media outlets have a specific way they would like to receive press releases and though some differ, for the most part they are all the same. There are components that every press release should include. You can see a basic layout, along with a bit of detail about what to include in each section < a href=“http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.internetmarketingsweetie.com/faq/content/view/133/72/”>by reading the FAQ here</a>. Although some traditional press releases are designed to give news about a particular company, releases that educate, just like your articles do, can also be highly effective. For example, if you write an article to teach about a new digital scrapbooking technique and in your byline you promote your software, you can certainly turn this into an article that informs people of the new technology and its benefits. Of course, the format of the release is different, but the message is essentially the same. <b>Editor’s Recommendation</b> Start generating plenty of exposure for your business with minimal expense and time investment. Join Alice Seba, a former professional press release writer as a Press Release Profits student. <a href=“http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.pressreleaseprofits.com”>Click here </a> to get started instantly.

Articles on Affiliate Marketing

Article: "Redirect Your Affiliate Links for Efficiency and Better Results"

Redirect Your Affiliate Links for Efficiency and Better Results Here’s a question I received from one of my subscribers recently: “I notice that you redirect your affiliate links through your own domain. Why do you do this?” Yes, I definitely do and for a number of reasons. A lot of people do redirects to avoid people "stealing" commission. For example, if it is a ClickBank link, someone can see that and they can easily enter their own affiliate ID and collect the commission on their own purchase. I honestly don't worry too much about this aspect. People who want to collect commissions for themselves will always find a way to do it...so let him. Besides, if you don't sell to other Internet marketers, the chances of your referrals even knowing what affiliate programs are is pretty slim. Here's the reasons I redirect: - Saves time - I make one easy-to-remember redirect link on my domain (ex. aliceseba.com/seobook.html) and I can use it over and over again. I don't have to hunt down my link all the time. Of course, if I'm using special tracking, I may set up another link, but in most cases, this makes it a simpler process. - Easy to change - If an affiliate link is no longer valid or the company goes out of business, it's easy to change to an alternate product. If you use the link provided and you paste it all over your website, into ebooks and other places -- those links won't work anymore. If you redirect, you can simply change the link you are redirecting to on your server and there's no need to update your pages or ebooks. - Tracking - I like to see what my visitors and subscribers click on from. If the company doesn't provide tracking, I can see my clickthrough stats this way. - Shorter URLs - Many long affiliate links will break up in email and many of your subscribers won't know why the link won't work...and most probably won't bother to ask. I also use this for ebooks in case people print them out. It's easier to type in a short URL then a long cumbersome affiliate one.If you want to do a redirect, there are many ways to do it. I use a simple javascript redirect (but realize if your users don't have javascript installed, the links won't work). Here's how to do it: Name the page whatever you'd like. For example: mydomain.com/bestsoftware.html Then insert this html into the body of your html document (copy and paste into a text file first or you might get garbly goop):----------------<html><head><meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0;url=http://www.linktolinkto"></head><body></body></html>----------------And voila! You’ve redirect your link and it’s easy to change and you can track clickthroughs anytime. --------- Alice Seba is an online entrepreneur that has been earning a full-time income from affiliate programs since 2003. She thrives on helping people get ahead in their Internet businesses. If you’d like tips to help you increase your affiliate income, sign up for free here: http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.affiliatemarketingsweetie.com/tips.html

Short Article: "Should I Get into Affiliate Marketing or Sell My Own Products?"

Should I Get into Affiliate Marketing or Sell My Own Products? It’s really not a matter of one or the other. If you want to maximize your online income, you're going to do both. There is absolutely no way you can personally offer your target market everything they're going to buy...so you definitely want to include affiliate links, even if you sell your own products. As one of my favorite Internet marketing teachers, John Reese, says - People are going to buy from your commission no matter what you do. You may as well make some money doing it. Having your own products often allows you a higher profit margin and you'll be building your own list of customers that will buy from you over and over again. But sticking with your own products can be limiting. Let's say you're writing an ecourse about getting a better night's sleep and you have an ebook on the topic. Obviously, you'll promote your ebook in the course, but there are other products you can recommend too. Perhaps some more comfortable pillows, eye masks or even a special herbal tea that encourages a more restful sleep. The possibilities are endless if you open your business up to promoting all the products your target market needs and desires. --------- Alice Seba is an online entrepreneur that has been earning a full-time income from affiliate programs since 2003. She thrives on helping people get ahead in their Internet businesses. If you’d like tips to help you increase your affiliate income, sign up for free here: http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.affiliatemarketingsweetie.com/tips.html

Short Article: "Can I Track Links with Commission Junction?"

Can I Track Links with Commission Junction? One of my members recently asked, “I am really new with CJ (Commission Junction) and looking at my stats and wondering if there is a way to see which links are getting the clicks? I really am trying to track what is working and what isnt. I did get a new sale which is GREAT but I want to learn more about CJ.” Good for you on trying to track things. Knowing exactly where your sales come from allows you to improve your offers to your website visitors and subscribers..and you can dramatically increase your profits by tracking. CJ doesn't specifically track where links are coming from, but you can definitely track with CJ. All you need to do is go into your account and click on "Account" in the top menu on the left Then choose "Website Settings" and click "Add a New Website". You can just put a descriptive name there that will help you track where your clicks and sales are coming from. --------- Alice Seba is an online entrepreneur that has been earning a full-time income from affiliate programs since 2003. She thrives on helping people get ahead in their Internet businesses. If you’d like tips to help you increase your affiliate income, sign up for free here: http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.affiliatemarketingsweetie.com/tips.html

Short Article: "Which Affiliate Programs are Best?"

Which Affiliate Programs are Best? This is one of the questions I am asked most frequently about affiliate marketing for certain. I believe searching for the best product to promote is doing things completely backward. Yes, you can get recommendations from friends on products that sell well for them - but it all comes back to your target market and what they want. The key to success in affiliate marketing is relevancy. If your target market is women over 65 interested in reducing wrinkles - you probably shouldn't be bombarding them with satellite offers, even if your friend says satellites sell great! If you want to make your projects work for the longterm, you need to start by finding a target market and deliver great information to them, establish your expertise and make sure you give them all kinds of irresistible offers. After all, it's people who are going to buy your products - get to know them and exactly what they want before you try to sell to them. --------- Alice Seba is an online entrepreneur that has been earning a full-time income from affiliate programs since 2003. She thrives on helping people get ahead in their Internet businesses. If you’d like tips to help you increase your affiliate income, sign up for free here: http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.affiliatemarketingsweetie.com/tips.html

Articles on Information Products

Article: Going Beyond Ebooks - Adding Value & Usability to Your Info Product

Going Beyond Ebooks - Adding Value & Usability to Your Info Product Many people immediately think of ebooks when they hear the words "information product", but there's so much more you can do with your information products that will make your products more useful to your customers AND will help you make more money. Why Your Customer Benefits from Different Information Formats: People learn and like to consume information in different ways. Many people do like to read and printed reports or ebooks will do the trick for them. Others like to listen to information. They may want to download audios to their mp3 players, burn them to CDs so they can listen in the car or listen on their computer while they attend to other tasks. Some people may prefer to watch and you may even want to include video in your information products. Why YOU Benefit from Different Information Formats: When you offer different formats, you can increase the perceived value of your products. A product that is just a downloadable PDF may not be seen as valuable as a product that offers an ebook, audio recording and transcripts. This means, you can charge more for your information product...increasing your bottom line. You can also reach more customers with your multi-media information product. Some people won't buy ebooks because they'd prefer to listen. Others may have slow Internet connections and can't easily download mp3s, so they would rather have typed information they can read. There are so many reasons why customers prefer different formats and it's easy to provide those formats...so why not go the extra mile. Keep in mind accessibility. People with visual impairments may find it easier to listen to your audio and those with hearing impairments wouldn't be able to listen to your audio. Don't limit their options. And Don't Just Limit Yourself to One Product: It's tough to make a great living off just one information product and if you make a great product, your customers are going to want more. So, when you're creating your first information product, make a plan for additional ebooks. These can give more in-depth information on certain topics, could contain more advanced techniques or anything that your target customer would be interested in. Alternatively, if you can't develop your own line of products immediately, ensure that you have some backend sales lined up and recommend further products through affiliate links. Always make the most of your marketing efforts! ----- Alice Seba is an information marketer that loves to help people create easy-to-manage high-profit information product businesses. Learn how you can stop working so hard and earning more at => http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.informationproductsweetie.com

Article: The Confidence to Create Your First Information Product

The Confidence to Create Your First Information Product It’s no secret that information products can be a highly profitable online business. For products like ebooks, mp3 recordings and other digital downloads, the start-up and overhead costs are minimal – allowing for a high profit margin. In addition, the ability to attract affiliates with high commission percentage gives you a great advantage in the online marketplace. But maybe you just don’t think your idea is good enough. Or maybe you don’t think you’re a good enough writer. Enough! You’re a smart cookie with great ideas – and with the right plan, you can make your information product a success. Even though we may have the best intentions, it’s true that just because we think something might be a good information product idea, it may not pan out that way. To feel confident that you should move forward with your project, you need to do your research first. Here’s some ideas to conduct research: 1. Look for other products on the same topic. If there is no other information product or book on the same topic, that may be a sign that the idea may not be profitable. A bit of competition is a healthy sign of a viable market and if you create a better product and have better marketing, you can blow your competition right out of the water. 2. Promote similar products as an affiliate. Sign up for the affiliate programs for these type of products and sell them through a Google Adwords campaign, to your mailing lists and/or on your website. If they sell, you might just have a winner. 3. Poll your readers and your target market. If you already have a mailing list reaching your target market, poll them on whether they are interested in such a product and ask what kinds of information they’d like included. You can also conduct polls through Google Adwords campaigns and other advertising methods. Don’t be afraid to spend a bit of money on an advertising campaign to research your ideas. It’s better to spend $50 or so to find out that your idea may not be so fruitful than to spend countless hours developing your product and your marketing to find out you’ve created a dud. And hey, if you’ve done your research, you may find that you may just have a great seller and, in that case, you’ll have found out a lot of useful information by studying your competition and polling your target market. That means you’re REALLY ready to roll with your information product. But Do You Have Good Enough Information to Share? Many people seem to doubt their knowledge and expertise, but when they finally get the courage to share what they know, it’s amazing what results come with it. Even if you don’t think you can create your whole information product, there are options to help you along the way. Here’s some ideas to develop your content easily: 1. Interview industry experts. You can record audio interviews with noted experts and sell the mp3s and transcripts. 2. Hire a ghostwriter to help you. There’s plenty of people who are excellent researchers and can help you put your content together for a fee. And don’t worry, it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. You can use a service like elance.com to find a quality writer to help you write an ebook for a few hundred dollars. The time and agony you save may be well worth it. 3. Answer questions. If you’ve done surveys, you’ll probably have plenty of questions from your target market. So, instead of trying to create all your content from scratch, you can simply answer some of the most frequently asked questions. Creating your first information product doesn’t have to be complicated. Just do your research and get started. Once you’ve done one, you’ll see how fulfilling it can be…and you’ll be creating your own Information product empire in no time. ----- Alice Seba is an information marketer that loves to help people create easy-to-manage high-profit information product businesses. Learn how you can stop working so hard and earning more at => http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.informationproductsweetie.com

Articles on Copywriting

Article: "How to Know When Your Website is Ready for Traffic"

How to Know When Your Website is Ready for Traffic By Alice Seba Many people worry about perfecting their website before they start advertising campaigns and other promotional strategies. The thing is, your website will never be perfect and as you drive traffic to it, you will be able to make improvements over time by seeing what really works on your website. Without the real-live visitors coming to your site, it's tough to know how effective your website will be. Still, you don't want to make sure that your website is presentable and will motivate people to buy your product, sign up for your mailing list or whatever you want them to do Here's some quick pointers: 1. Do you have attention-getting headlines? If your website says, "Welcome to MySite.com" - go back and find something that will immediately grab your visitors attention and make them want to stay and read more. 2. Avoid distractions and excessive navigation. When a visitor hits your website, you want them to follow certain actions. If you give too many choices with a ton of links, they'll end up going elsewhere on your site or just leave altogether. When people are presented with too many choices, they often make no choice at all. That's not good for your website. 3. Make sure you have a call to action. Each page of your website should direct your visitor on what to do next. Whether it's to buy a product or join your mailing list...make sure they know what to do next. 4. Study copywriting. It will be one of your most powerful sales tools. You can't interact with all of your website visitors personally, so your website needs to do the selling for you. Look at other websites and see which sites really grab you and hold your attention. Use these ideas as a starting point. Perfection isn't really required before getting started, but be ready to make improvements as you go along. Recommended for Further Study: For more help with your copywriting and creating a website that people will stick around to read and buy from, check out Alice Seba's <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.copywritingsweetie.com">Copywriting Sweetie</a>. It comes complete with software and training to help you sell more of your product to customers who will buy from you over and over again.

Article: "What Makes a Good Product Testimonial & How to Get Them"

What Makes a Good Product Testimonial & How to Get Them By Alice Seba Testimonials can be one of your most powerful online marketing tools. When someone is looking to buy a product, she often seeks the opinion of someone else who has used the product. If you have testimonials from your previous customer presented on your website, you already have a head start on making the sale. Or do you? You may have heard people say that testimonials don't work or that when they see a website they never read the testimonials. I believe that's true - on websites that don't use testimonials effectively. If you see a site that says: "I love it." - Jan "This is the best ever" "This is going to be a great product." - Jim Bob, Florida ....then yeah, I'd skip over that too. To be effective, a testimonial needs to include concrete detail and be believable. Let's discuss these two items: Concrete Detail The problem with the testimonials above is that they don't really say anything. It simply says they liked the product. And in the third, case it sounds like Jim Bob hasn't even tried the product...he just thinks it's going to be good. That's not effective at all. Testimonials should include information about how your customer used the product and the results she achieved. When you ask for feedback on your product, ask your customer specific questions, so you can formulate a well-written testimonial from the information you gather. Here's some example questions - and these may not apply to all products, but it gives you an idea of what I'm talking about: 1. How long have you been using the product? 2. How has XXXX improved since starting to use the product? 3. How do you use the product (ex. at work, to relieve pain, etc)? 4. How much time do you invest in using the product on a weekly basis? 5. What is the most helpful/useful part of the product? 6. What would you say to someone who is interested in buying the product. 7. What other information would you like to share with us? You can ask whatever questions you'd like, but ask specific questions, so you can get specific details. Believability The problem with the 3 example testimonials I gave earlier is that they aren't believable. Who's Jan? Who's Jim Bob? Are they real people or a figment of someone's imagination? The second one didn't even have a name. You need to add as much information about your customer as possible in order to make your testimonials believable. If you think your customers won't offer this information...you'll probably be surprised and won't know until you ask. 10 mediocre testimonials are not nearly as effective as 3 great ones. So, if fewer people say yes to offering their personal information, that's just fine. Here's some information you should try to collect. You don't have to have every item for every testimonial, but try to get as much as possible. 1. Full name (first and last) 2. Location (city/state, etc) 3. Photo 4. Proof - If there is a way to show the proof of results, get it. For example, for a weight loss product, you can have before and after pictures. For an child's educational product, you can have scanned report cards. For a money-making product, you can show screenshots of bank accounts (with personal info removed), etc. What to Do Next Start by asking your customers for feedback on the product. Present them with a small questionnaire and offer them a small free gift (a special report, coupon or something else your customers would like) to complete it. You can be upfront and tell them that by submitting the questionnaire that they agree that you can publish their comments on your website, but be clear that you are looking for ALL honest feedback about the product...not simply glowing reviews. Make sure it is clear that you are not offering a bribe in return for the good feedback. It's up to you on whether you want to collect the personal information (full name, location, photos and proof) along with the questionnaire. If you collect it immediately, it will save you time from going back and asking for it later. If you decide to collect it later, make sure your customer provides an email address or some other contact information, so you can be in touch. Then, when you're ready - publish the chosen testimonials on your website and watch the results. Recommended for Further Study: For more help with your copywriting and creating a website that people will stick around to read and buy from, check out Alice Seba's <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.copywritingsweetie.com">Copywriting Sweetie</a>. It comes complete with software and training to help you sell more of your product to customers who will buy from you over and over again.

Article: "Strategies for Writing Effective Website Copy"

Strategies for Writing Effective Website Copy By Alice Seba It's relatively simple to gain trust with your website copy and establish yourself as the expert in your area of business. This article will help you star doing that. Whether you sell candles or mining equipment, your online customers want to know that you are a reputable business person and that you "know your stuff". You need to speak directly to your target audience and give them the information they are looking for. Writing for the Web Requires a Different Approach Internet surfers are continuously looking for information and a solution to their problems. If they're going to buy anything from you, you need to establish yourself as a credible and informative resource, who also happens to have a terrific product. Speak directly to the needs and desires of your visitor and you will have a captivated audience. A Few Tips: 1. Talk to your customer - Avoid focusing on yourself. You are irrelevant. Tell your customer how she will benefit from using your product. Use the word "you" and you can be certain you are speaking directly to your customer. 2. Understand your target customer - Understand what motivates your customer and write from their perspective. Don't try to appeal to everyone. You'll get better results when you can speak directly the pains and problems your potential customer has than trying generic copy to sell to a wide variety of people. 3. Get attention - You can do this with a good headline and sub-headlines. That way, people will know instantly if you have what they are looking for. Forget cute and clever headlines...give your visitors the straight goods. 4. Keep it simple - Use short sentences and simple words. Your visitors eyes tire easily. Be kind to them! Break up your paragraphs and create plenty of white space. 5. Be casual - The web not the place for a formal essay. Write as you speak and be friendly with your visitor. Do double-check your spelling and follow most grammar rules, but keep the tone light, especially when your target is a more casual group. 6. Set yourself apart from the competition - What makes your product unique? 7. Prove it! - Add testimonials, sales statistics and anything else that proves your claims. 8. Create a sense of urgency - If people don't sense urgency, they aren't likely to click on your link. Limited time offers are perfect or showing your potential customer can no longer wait to solve her problem, can be effective. Make sure your potential customers feel the need to click on your link now. Recommended for Further Study: For more help with your copywriting and creating a website that people will stick around to read and buy from, check out Alice Seba's <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.copywritingsweetie.com">Copywriting Sweetie</a>. It comes complete with software and training to help you sell more of your product to customers who will buy from you over and over again.

Article: Don’t Have a Swipe File? Here Are 3 Reasons Why You Should Get One

Don’t Have a Swipe File? Here Are 3 Reasons Why You Should Get One By Alice Seba, Teacher at <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.imcopymakeover.com">Internet Marketing Copy Makeover</a> When I first heard someone say "swipe file" in regard to copywriting a few years back, I was horrified. If you're not familiar with the term, it's basically keeping a folder (printed or digital) of sales copy to refer to when crafting your own copy. I know! It seemed like people were suggesting that I keep a swipe file, so I could actually plagiarize the copy of others. It was totally shocking. But really, that is not the purpose of a swipe file. Keeping a swipe file is simply a learning opportunity to improve your own copywriting skills. Here are three reasons why keeping a swipe file is a GOOD thing: 1. <b>One of the best ways to dramatically improve your own copywriting, is to study the copywriting of others.</b> Yes, getting a foundation in copywriting principles that can be found in copywriting books is important, but honing your skills comes from study and of course, practice. Studying shows you how people can create compelling stories, make copy flow and transition seamlessly and more. 2. <b>Studying the copy of others increases your copywriting vocabulary.</b> By studying copy, you start to see which words and phrases can be most powerful. Sure, you can buy lists of "power words" or "power phrases", but seeing them in action really solidifies how it all works. 3. <b>Just use your brain when you use your swipe file.</b> Realize that every product and every target market is different. What works well with one, may not work well with others. Also, there is often some specific logic in using a particular angle, wording, etc. in copy - and you need to build your understandings of the WHY certain things are done in certain ways. Through basic and then in-depth study and practice, these things will become more obvious to you. So...what's in your swipe file? If you don’t have one yet, keep your eyes peeled for great sales copy to add to your file. <b>Recommended for Further Study:</b> For more help with your crafting copy that will bring you ultra-targeted prospects that will buy from you over and over again, check out Alice Seba's <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.imcopymakeover.com">Internet Marketing Copy Makeover</a>. This one-on-one 4-week coaching program is customized to the needs of your unique business and shows you how to transform your current under-performing copy into an effective sales tool.

Article: Three Tips for Improving Your Copywriting Skills

Three Tips for Improving Your Copywriting Skills By Alice Seba, Teacher at <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.imcopymakeover.com">Internet Marketing Copy Makeover</a> If you sell any type of product, it’s no secret that copywriting skills (or a skilled copywriter on hand) goes a long way to selling more. We have just a few moments to grab a visitor’s attention, draw them into our offer and make the sale. We need to anticipate their objections and questions because most will click away to another seller instead of sending you an email to ask. It sounds daunting, but it can be done by improving your own copywriting skills. But how do you do that? <b>Here are Your Three Tips:</b> 1. <b>Theory is Important:</b> Getting to know the basics and then applying them to your own business is an important first step to learning to sell more through your writing. Start with a copywriting book or course that takes you from the beginning. 2. <b>Study Others:</b> Take a look at other sales copy that you find compelling and/or know that produces good sales results. Copy reaching a similar target market to yours is helpful, but GOOD copy in any market will give you very good clues to what works and what might not work. 3. <b>Test Your Own:</b> As you apply what you learn to your own copy, track the results. Copywriting isn’t an absolute science and some techniques may or may not work. Make sure you are testing your copy results to ensure you’re working toward continuous improvement. These are the same basic steps I took when getting started. And actually, I still do these things because the cool thing about copywriting is that you can keep getting better all the time — and keep improving your response rates. That’s definitely good for business! <b>Recommended for Further Study:</b> For more help with your crafting copy that will bring you ultra-targeted prospects that will buy from you over and over again, check out Alice Seba's <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.imcopymakeover.com">Internet Marketing Copy Makeover</a>. This one-on-one 4-week coaching program is customized to the needs of your unique business and shows you how to transform your current under-performing copy into an effective sales tool.
 

Article: How Killer Copy Can Potentially Kill a Long-Term Business

How Killer Copy Can Potentially Kill a Long-Term Business By Alice Seba, Teacher at <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.imcopymakeover.com">Internet Marketing Copy Makeover</a> <b>Killer Copy (n):</b> Emotionally-based website sales copy designed to sell a product to as many prospects as possible. You’ve probably heard about killer copy and the amazing effects it can have on your potential prospects. We’re talking amazing conversion rates, but a problem arises when killer copy becomes the main focus of the whole marketing process of a business. You bet, copy is important…but it doesn’t stand on it’s own for long-term business success. I’ve had the honor of learning copywriting from some of the greatest direct marketing masters out there, but I have to tell you, some of them scare me a bit. They share amazing techniques about increasing conversions to astronomical proportions and it’s very impressive. On the surface, it sounds like a very good thing. After all, who doesn’t want to sell more? But selling more can actually mean a lot more unhappy customers. Realize that many of these direct mail and online marketers simply sell products via direct response. They aren’t necessarily into branding, building a reputation, etc. If you’re running a business for the long term, you need to ensure your copy does a few things: * <b>Your target market should be clearly defined.</b> Sure, killer copywriters are good at targeting a market, but because the copy is so emotionally based, they often sell a product to segments of the market for which it’s not really intended. If that sounds confusing, let me give you an example - Let’s take your garden-variety Internet marketing course using killer copy. The copy usually is written to appeal to people who want to make easy money. Well, just about everyone wants easy money. The copy plays on the emotions of this group when realistically, they don’t want to set up an Adwords campaign, write articles or whatever the product teaches you to do. * <b>Your copy should match your offer.</b> Killer copy often overplays the benefits of a product and that leads to disappointment by the prospect when they don’t receive quite what they were expecting. For example, things that are labeled as “push button” or promise “results overnight” often simply can’t deliver. So, if killer copy is this dangerous, why do people to do this? Well, it’s simple. Even though they may have a high refund rate (and this is very often the case if they’re honest), the overall high conversions result in a lot more initial sales. And remember, all they’re really interested in is the INITIAL sale. But for the business working to build a brand and reputation, the initial sale is not enough. One of the important keys to your success are repeat customers and word of mouth. If your customers aren’t totally satisfied, they certainly won’t buy from you again and they won’t recommend you to others. In fact, they may spread the word, but the result won’t be positive. :-( Instead, stick with copy that effectively targets your prospect, matches your offer and inspires customer loyalty. If you need step-by-step help in doing that, you can grab your copywriting course here and of course, do share your thoughts below. <b>Recommended for Further Study:</b> For more help with your crafting copy that will bring you ultra-targeted prospects that will buy from you over and over again, check out Alice Seba's <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.imcopymakeover.com">Internet Marketing Copy Makeover</a>. This one-on-one 4-week coaching program is customized to the needs of your unique business and shows you how to transform your current under-performing copy into an effective sales tool.

Articles on Affiliate Management

Article: "3 Commonly Asked Questions about Affiliate Management "

3 Commonly Asked Questions about Affiliate Management People always have all kinds of questions about starting their own affiliate program and it's always a good idea to be prepared. Starting and managing your own affiliate program isn't something that can be done on the fly. It takes carefully preparation and planning, but the results are well worth it. Here are 3 commonly asked questions: Question 1: How much commission should I offer in my affiliate program? How much you offer will depend on the amount you can afford, taking into consideration the lifetime value of a customer, what your competition is doing and how attractive you can make your offer. As a general statement, information products usually have a higher commission rate - often between 25-50% with the higher end being more common. Consumer products with smaller profit margins can be as low as 5%, but don't often go above 20%. But what you charge should be based on your own unique business. Here are some more things to help you come to a decision: Sometimes it's okay to pay a bit more for a first-time customer who will buy from you over and over again. Always see what your competition is offering, but you don't have to get into a commission war. Just make you can make your program very attractive through good conversion rates, unique and useful promotional tools and other attractive features. Question 2: What kind of affiliate tools should I provide to my affiliates? The simplest answer is: Give them what they want. Talk to your affiliates and see what they need to serve their unique audience needs, and where possible, provide it to them. For hard-hitting promotions, you can craft email copy, conduct live teleseminars with content and sales pitch, special reports, etc. For the content-starved webmaster (and there are plenty out there), give them things like articles, free ebooks and other informational content. The important thing is to listen to your affiliates and watch which tools convert best. Question 3: Q: Can I have an affiliate program with a service-based business? Sure you can. If you have a profit margin or a lifetime customer value that allows you to pay commissions, certainly. If you have services available that are at a set price, it's easy to automate everything and run your program, just like a product-based one. If you charge by the hour or have to give project estimates, it's a little tougher to automate completely. Here are a few options: - Have a script that can track who referred your potential client to you. Ex. Affiliate recommends your service through a tracking link. Potential client clicks the link, checks out your website and fills out a form for more information. Your system tells you who referred the client and if they purchase your services, you can give the affiliate a commission. - You could do it as a pay-per-lead opportunity where the affiliate is paid a smaller fee for every person that fills out the form for more information. This would be easy to automate in most affiliate systems that can handle pay-per-lead transactions. - Don't want to go with a full-blown affiliate program? You can institute a client referral program where you simply allow your clients to recommend your service, in return for credit for services. When a new client comes to you, you ask where they heard about you and you add a credit to your referring client's account An affiliate force is an incredibly powerful thing and when you consider you don't have to pay affiliates anything until they produce results for you, it's one of the best deals going in Internet marketing today. Plan your program well and you'll soon have your own active force of affiliates bringing you new customers every day. ----- For more answers to your questions about starting and running your own profitable affiliate program that your affiliates will love, claim your copy of Alice Seba's step-by-step Affiliate Manager Sweetie course at <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.affiliatemanagersweetie.com">http://www.affiliatemanagersweetie.com</a>

Articles on Email Marketing

Article: "How Often Should I Email My List?: Tips to Make the Right Decision for YOUR Business":

How Often Should I Email My List?: Tips to Make the Right Decision for YOUR Business By Alice Seba, Teacher at <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.emailmarketingreformschool.com">Email Marketing Reform School</a> Have you ever worried if you’re emailing your list too often? Have you had nightmares about losing subscribers, getting angry hate email and other horrible things? You’re most certainly not alone. There is always a great debate on how much one should email their list. Some will boldly state appropriate intervals, but I haven’t a clue how anyone figures they can put out a blanket frequency rate for all lists, across all markets. The fact of the matter is – there is no one size fits all for every email list, but here are some guidelines… <b>Stay in the Mind of Your Prospects & Customers</b> Your goal in email marketing is to keep your business in the minds of your prospects and customers. You also want to your readers to consider you the go-to source for information you share and the products you sell. If you email to infrequently, that could become problematic as they’ll just forget about you. <b>But what about the other side of the coin? Can you email too much?</b> Maybe, but what works best for your market and your list is up to you to test. You can look at open rates, response rates, etc. to help you determine what is best for you. Personally, I email my Internet marketing list 2-3 times per week. It’s quite likely that some people don’t like it, but I’ve found this works very well in the grand scheme of things and I’m here to please the majority of my active subscribers. If you’re on my list, you know that I tend to write short emails. And amongst the product promotions I do, there is plenty of free stuff, information, etc. In other markets I’ve dabbled with, I’ve also found a similar formula works. Stay in contact a couple times per week, keeping it short and sweet. <b>But does that mean you need to start emailing more often if you’re not already?</b> No, of course not. If you’re on a weekly schedule and it suits you fine, don’t sweat it, but you might start doing some testing. For example, if you’re sending a weekly email that includes information on a few different subjects, try breaking it up into multiple emails. Remember, when you give your readers too many topics to focus on at one time, you diminish your chances of them paying attention to all those subject. Instead, send them one subject per email at a time and see how that improves your response rates. <b>Above all, think value</b> In the end, it’s not really the frequency that’s important…it’s the value you provide your subscribers. If you deliver tremendous value, your readers will look forward to and act on your emails. <b>Recommended for Further Study:</b> For more help with your email marketing and building a list that is dying to take your product recommendations, check out Alice Seba's <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.emailmarketingreformschool.com">Email Marketing Reform School</a>. This isn’t some simple ebook or audio course – it’s a one-on-one 4-week coaching program is customized to the needs of your unique business. It’s a must for every online business owner serious about email marketing.

Article: "Building Your List with Freebie Giveaways: The Missing Ingredient":

Building Your List with Freebie Giveaways: The Missing Ingredient By Alice Seba, Teacher at <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.emailmarketingreformschool.com">Email Marketing Reform School</a> You may have heard other online business owner’s say that it’s a good idea to offer some kind of freebie to entice your visitors to sign up for your mailing list. That way you’ll get more people on your list that you can turn into subscribers. This advice can be true, but it’s only telling <b>part<b> of the story. Do it wrong and you might grow the list, but your responsiveness will go down the tubes. <b>The Key to List Freebies</b>: Make sure the freebie is something created by your company, represents you and your products…and is very relevant to what you plan to sell to your list. That may sound simple enough, but I see people scrambling to acquire resell/giveaway rights to products they can put as bribes for subscribers. <b>Why This is a Problem</b> This strategy promotes someone else’s business and showcases someone else’s expertise. To have a truly responsive list of your own, you have to knock their socks off with YOUR stuff. You want to start your relationship-building off with a bang and you can’t do that giving away Joe Blow’s Guide to Growing Beautiful Tulips. <b>Freebie Ideas</b> * A topic-specific report you created (if you use PLR, take it and make it unique, add your branding and promotions). * Go the extra mile and create a full-on course (instead of a teeny-weeny report) that will show your readers exactly the kind of great stuff you are famous for. * Coupons and other special offers for your product - particularly for shopping cart style websites with store update newsletters. * Useful tools, spreadsheets, software…anything your customers need to help them eventually consume more of your products. If you currently offer a freebie made and branded by someone else…cut it out. If you don’t offer one, try a highly-targeted free offer and see what it does for your opt-in rates. Take the time to create something that will WOW your readers and they’ll be tuned into what you have to say, week after week. <b>Recommended for Further Study:</b> For more help with your email marketing and building a list that is dying to take your product recommendations, check out Alice Seba's <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.emailmarketingreformschool.com">Email Marketing Reform School</a>. This isn’t some simple ebook or audio course – it’s a one-on-one 4-week coaching program is customized to the needs of your unique business. It’s a must for every online business owner serious about email marketing.

Article: Nervous about Selling to Your List? Get Over It with These Tips!

Nervous about Selling to Your List? Get Over It with These Tips! By Alice Seba, Teacher at <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.emailmarketingreformschool.com">Email Marketing Reform School</a> If I had a dime for every time I heard an online business owner say, “My subscribers get angry when I try to sell something,” I’d be a ridiculously wealthy woman. Unfortunately, I can’t make dimes that way and you can’t make money from your list with this type of mindset. If you’ve ever held back out of worry of offending your subscribers, it’s time to cut that out. Here a few things for you to think about: 1. <b>Your mailing list is a business building tool and should be treated as such.</b> It's nice if you've promised to deliver good content to your subscribers, but if all you deliver is content, how are you going to convert those readers into customers? From the outset, tell your subscribers that you'll be sending them information and offers...and do so. 2. <b>If a subscriber complains that you tried to sell them something, there are two things to consider.</b> First, you probably haven't trained your subscriber to receive promotions. Second, if someone gets ANGRY about being sold to, they probably aren't a valuable subscriber anyway. Not everyone who is on your list will buy from you, but if they're put off by the fact that you tried to sell something, it's probably a good thing that they have removed themselves. You only want people who are open to your offers. 3. <b>If you’re afraid to sell, email more often.</b> How often you should email your list will depend on your subject matter and your own testing, but one way to easily put in more offers is by giving them more emails with content. Keep the emails short and sweet - no need to publish a novel or full-on magazine each time, but get them used to opening your content rich emails and your offers too. 4. <b>Don't hide your offers in a mess of other content.</b> I am a big believer in informing while selling, but keep it on topic and weave your promotions into the content. A lot of people prefer try to mix their offers into an ezine-style email, but the offers just gets lost amongst all that content. If you have all kinds of links and sections, the attention given to your actual offer will be diminished. 5. <b>Selling advertising isn't really NOT selling</b>. A lot of publishers will opt to just sell advertising because then they can comfort themselves by saying, "I'm not really selling to my list." Now, I agree that selling advertising might be a very viable option for an email publication, but consider this: a. Your subscribers will respond much better to an offer made by you, the person they trust, rather than a typical advertisement, so make your own offers in addition to any advertising you accept. And in most cases, don't put ads alongside your own offers. b. Allowing advertising could mean a loss of ongoing revenue for you. If you allow someone to sell a product through your newsletter, they get the customers they can sell to over and over again. You have given your potential customers away. Even if you don't have your own product, but make affiliate recommendations. When you choose a company that offers lifetime cookies or subscribers, you can make repeat sales. It doesn't work that way with advertising. c. Your reputation is on the line. When you investigate and sell your own products or make recommendations, you KNOW that you can stand behind a product. With advertising you lose some control over what is presented to your list. Of course, you can do your homework, but it's not the same as selling a product you are very familiar with. <b>Recommended for Further Study:</b> For more tips for overcoming your fear of selling to your list, sign up for free access to Alice Seba’s <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u= www.emailmarketingreformschool.com/sell-confidently.html">Selling Confidently to Your List Audio & Transcripts</a>. If it’s time to make more money from your subscriber list, grab your free access now.

Articles on Blogging

Article: "What RSS Can Do For Your Business"

What RSS Can Do For Your Business Article by <a href="http://www.imbloggingbootcamp.com">Lynette Chandler</a> Did you know there are lots of ways RSS can be used for your business? Here are some example uses that you may not know about. Quick note: Some can be easily abused so… use them wisely, if you use it. Twitter: Automatically create a new tweet when you have new posts. There are many ways to do this, a popular and free tool to use is Twitterfeed. Facebook: Create updates when you make new posts. There are applications you can use to do this. I’ve found Facebook apps to be very flaky but one that seems to work is My Blogs. Widgets: Make a widget of your latest blog content so others can display it on their blogs or on their desktop. You can do this easily at Google Gadgets or Spring Widgets. Deliver files to your audience: If have a podcast, you’re already doing this but you can deliver other files too from PDF’s to video. Create affiliate branded RSS feeds: Let affiliates display your blog content and let them be rewarded for it. I’ve created a custom feed for my affiliates, which contains the affiliate’s ID. Find deals for your business: Who doesn’t like to save money? Save on your next business purchase. There are lots of ways you can track sales and deals from stores like Amazon. For Internet Marketing related purchases, you can save a feed like the one from Deal.com to your RSS reader. Track packages: Track your own packages with SimpleTracking.com or let your customers know if you sell a physical product. Track latest questions on Yahoo Answers: Answering questions on Yahoo Answers can be very effective to promote your business. Subscribe to the RSS feed of the category you’re interested in so you’ll be notified when a new question you can answer comes in. Track your own or other blogs’ comments: Sometimes email notifications quit working. But the RSS always does. If you are using a WordPress blog, your comment feed is usually: http://yourblog.com/?feed=comments-rss2 or http://yourblog.com/comments/feed/ Competitor watch: Find out what competitors or other marketers are doing on social networks, blogs, video and more using FriendFeed. Track what’s going on in your industry: Do a search on Yahoo or MSN for a keyword or phrase you’d like to watch. Using Firefox or IE 7, an RSS feed icon will appear. Click to subscribe. Advertise: While I personally have not done any RSS advertising, I have displayed ads in RSS feeds. The click through ratios for that one site performed better compared to web site click through. You can advertise on RSS feeds through Text-Link-Ads, Pheedo and FeedBurner. Notify clients of service status: This works well for businesses who offer a service like web hosting, online shopping carts. Publish a system status feed and let customers know they can be alerted of status changes immediately. What if you don’t even understand RSS that well? Can you take advantage of these suggestions? Absolutely. But if you prefer to better understand RSS, you can find a free report at TechBasedMarketing.com that explains RSS in simple every day English. More Blogging Help: If you're looking to pull more profit out of your business blog, check out the <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.imbloggingbootcamp.com">IM Blogging Bootcamp</a>. This 4-week intensive program designed to get you actively and effectively blogging to reach more of your prospects and convert more of them into lifelong customers.

Article: "How to Get Blog Traffic - 11 Steps to Growing Readership"

How to Get Blog Traffic - 11 Steps to Growing Readership Article by <a href="http://www.imbloggingbootcamp.com">Alice Seba</a> Many of us work so hard on our blogs and frankly, it kind of sucks if we don’t get the traffic we want. And it’s a catch-22…you can’t get the traffic without the work, but it’s tough to justify all the work if you don’t get the traffic. Well, here are 11 suggestions to get the traffic you want to your blog. 1. Be Remarkable - This one is number one for a reason. If you do this, most of the rest of this list will come into place and will have lasting effect on the growth of your readership. Be remarkable by: * Being informative: Teach your readers what they want and convey the info in a way your audience appreciates. * Entertain - Insert humor, amaze your readers…do what’s appropriate to get their attention. * Connect with Your Audience - Understand and speak to their pain, worries and even their dreams and desires. * Be Controversial - Share an opinion…not everyone has to agree with you to find you interesting. I have been accused of having an “if you build it, they will come” attitude with this suggestion and I guess to some extent, it is true. That doesn’t mean you can’t be proactive in your traffic building as well, but the more remarkable your blog is…the better the long and short term effects of your efforts. 2. RSS Feed: You’d think it’d be a given, but I see plenty of blogs without an RSS feed. If you’re not familiar with the term, an RSS feed allows your readers to be notified when you make new blog posts. Unless your audience is totally tech-savvy and is all over the RSS thing, I recommend setting up a feed that allows your reader to sign up for updates into their feed reader or email if they prefer. An easy way to set up this type of feed is to use a free service like FeedBurner.com. 3. Ping!: Make sure your blog is set up to ping the various web blogs. Many blog platforms allow you to set this up in your settings. This helps a variety of information/search sites know that you’ve updated your blog. 4. Make Comments: Make useful comments on busy blogs related to your blog’s subject. Usually, you can link back to your site when you make a comment on another blog. BE RESPECTFUL!: Only use the space provided for your link…don’t write ads or fancy signatures AND make sure your comment is relevant and useful to other readers. 5. Do Trackbacks: Many blogs allow you to make commentary about their posts on your own blog. When you link to their particular blog post, a link to your own blog post appears in the comments area on their blog. For trackbacks between WordPress blogs, all you need to do is link to a blog post and it’s automatically set up. BE RESPECTFUL: If you’re going to trackback, have something useful to say. Just summarizing and linking to someone’s post does NOT add to the discussion. 6. Keep Your Email List Up-to-Date: You probably already know that your mailing list is a valuable asset. Use this asset to the fullest by sending them to your blog to read the posts you think they will find helpful, enjoy, etc. 7. Distribute Content: A great way to get people read more of your content is by getting content out there to more people. You can distribute articles, post videos, guest post on other blogs…just get some good stuff out there and lead people back to read your blog. 8. Affiliates Link to Your Blog: If your affiliate program allows your affiliates to link to any page on your site, encourage them to link to and write about your various blog posts. The system I use at Quicksales.com (a private-label 1ShoppingCart) allows my affiliates to quickly and easily link to any blog post they want. Affiliate referrals are cookied when someone follows a link and if that referral eventually buys, they get the commission. Of course, the conversions on blog links aren’t going to be as good as linking directly to a sales page, but it gives your affiliates the opportunity to bring value to their own readers (by linking to your AWESOME content) and potential benefit financially. 9. Social Networks: You can use various social networks (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace) to drive traffic to a blog. People you connect with socially are likely to be interested in what you have to say on your blog. Make sure you follow proper etiquette and use your common sense. Also, don’t overdo it and get lost in your social networks all day…you’ve got WORK and other important things to do. Plus, if you are remarkable, those who use social networks will be doing the work for you and talking about you. 10. Social Bookmarking: Social bookmarking includes sites like Digg, del.icio.us and Stumble Upon, where you can share links to a variety of content. Some people self-bookmark, but realize this could put your account in jeopardy, so read all the rules first. Others choose to work with others in helping each other bookmark. Being remarkable also encourages people to spread the word on your behalf. 11. SEO (Search Engine Optimization): I put this one last, where I know a lot of people tend to put it first. If your goal is repeat visitors who become faithful fans, put SEO on the backburner and SEO your other content pages where you are looking for first-time or drive-by visitors. The problem with trying to optimize all your blog pages is that it takes away from you being remarkable. A remarkable blog is written with interesting subject lines (rather than boring keyword phrases) and isn’t always on topics that people use a search engine to find. Of course, you can combine the two (SEO and being remarkable) in some ways, but don’t let SEO take anything away from the interest and word-of-mouth your blog creates. More Blogging Help: If you're looking to pull more profit out of your business blog, check out the <a href="http://www.imbloggingbootcamp.com">IM Blogging Bootcamp</a>. This 4-week intensive program designed to get you actively and effectively blogging to reach more of your prospects and convert more of them into lifelong customers.

Article: "Track What Your Readers Click"

Track What Your Readers Click Article by <a href="http://www.imbloggingbootcamp.com">Lynette Chandler</a> Your traffic stats already tell you a lot about your blog. Like where your visitor comes from, which articles are popular, who’s sending you the traffic. But every square inch of the screen is prime real estate. Do you know where is the best place to put your RSS feed or newsletter subscription? Your Ads? How about where to put links to your products and services? What do people actually click on? What are people’s eyes drawn to? Each blog has its unique ‘heat map’ - where people focus their eyes or click on the most - since many of us have unique blog designs. So what may work very well for your friend’s blog may not be so hot on yours. It’s easy and free to find out this information using CrazyEgg.com. I find heat maps especially useful when moving things around or changing the blog theme. This way, you know the new design is effective as well as pleasing to the eye. Beyond just clicks, the nice thing about CrazyEgg is it also tells you which visitors from where are likely to click on which links. You can use this to track all kinds of advertising or promotions you participate in. There are other alternatives to CrazyEgg if you want to try them out. ClickHeat - this is actually an open source script from Labsmedia.com, which you can install on your own site. Works a lot like CrazyEgg, maybe not as detailed reporting. Feng-GUI.com - uses artificial intelligence to simulate what users will click at based on a picture of your site. So it is an estimate. There is a Firefox plugin called “View Finder website heat map” to make using this tool easier. Might be useful when you start a new theme but I’d definitely follow up with a real click tracking tool like CrazyEgg. Clickdensity.com - much like CrazyEgg but looks like it has A-B testing in the premium product that CrazyEgg doesn’t. More Blogging Help: If you're looking to pull more profit out of your business blog, check out the <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.imbloggingbootcamp.com">IM Blogging Bootcamp</a>. This 4-week intensive program designed to get you actively and effectively blogging to reach more of your prospects and convert more of them into lifelong customers. </p>

Article: "A Blog is Not for Selling” - WHAT?"

A Blog is Not for Selling” - WHAT? Article by <a href="http://www.imbloggingbootcamp.com">Alice Seba</a> Blogs (used for business) are supposed to be relationship builders, so they say. Of course, purist bloggers will say they shouldn’t be used for business, but if you read this blog, you’ve gotten past all that and we can discuss blogging for business candidly, right? But many people who give advice on blogging for business say that you shouldn’t sell on your blog. The blog is just for building those relationships. Well, I love to make new friends and cement relationships with existing ones as much as the next guy/gal…but ummm…I also blog to build my business. If You Don’t Tell Them What You Have to Offer, How Will They Know? See, I don’t really understand how one could think that just writing interesting blog posts without ever making any offer to your readers is going to do you much good. Sure, you can do some promos/ads in the side bar of your blog, but realistically…most of your readers ignore the side of your blog. They are interested in what you have to SAY. And if you don’t SAY what you have to offer…how will they know? Making offers in the context of your posts makes the most sense. Tell them while they are listening and engaged in what you have to say. Of course, I’m not saying that every blog post needs to be a full-on pitch (but go ahead, make some pitch posts sprinkled in with the great content), but include some kinds of business-building call-to-action in a large percentage of your entries. If you have an ecourse or newsletter that focuses on the topic at hand, mention it. If you have a product that helps people with a problem you’re writing about, tell your readers about it. If you know another company that sells a great product solution, link to it with an affiliate link. Your blog readers are not mind readers, plus they read your blog because they like you and/or your company. They WANT to know what you’re up to, what you have to offer, etc. NEVER assume that your readers already know what products you have and that they’ll take the time to investigate what would suit them best. You need to guide them and tell them. This is something Lynette Chandler and I really try to drive home in our Internet Marketing Blogging Bootcamp. Some Outside Perspective on How My Blog Sells Interestingly enough, a number of people have caught on to my money-making scheme with my blog…he he he. Andy Beard says about myself and Lynn Terry “they probably have more paying customers than many A-list bloggers have subscribers.” Read the full quote in context at andybeard.eu. John Reese wrote about an audit his team did for BlogRush members and he mentioned that a lot of make-money blogs were disapproved because “most of the blogs in that category were heavy with ads and promotional material compared with the ratio of tips, techniques, and true unique ‘helpful’ content.” And then he proceeded to list this blog as one of the blogs that actually got it right. Read the full quote in context at income.com/blog. Brent Hodgson wrote about “over-the-shoulder-selling” which “is a type of inclusive sales pitch which just engages people - not as sales prospects, but as people,” and listed me as one of the people who “use this tactic (either subconsciously, or very deliberately).” Read the full quote in context at brenthodgson.com. Yes, It Applies to YOU! And please don’t tell me this is only suitable for this type of “Internet marketing” blog because it’s simply not true. If you have products to sell and you have people who enjoy your related content - you can incorporate selling into your blog. So tell me, do you incorporate selling in your blog? Subtle or direct…it doesn’t make you a snake oil or used car salesman. It makes you someone who can relate to and make great recommendations to your readers. More Blogging Help: If you're looking to pull more profit out of your business blog, check out the <a href="http://www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=XXXXXX&u=www.imbloggingbootcamp.com">IM Blogging Bootcamp</a>. This 4-week intensive program designed to get you actively and effectively blogging to reach more of your prospects and convert more of them into lifelong customers.