February 20, 2007 by rcarruth.

I promise you, the following is very good advice if you are an internet marketer..  Read on..

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Marketing through website is different and at the same time not very different, in so many ways to other forms of Marketing. It is different as the medium requirements are different. But it is similar as the principles remain the same and of course the objective is the same - to make people buy.

When marketing through web you should remember the acronym AIDAS

AIDAS - Attract, Interest, Desire, Action and Satisfaction

Your website should be able to fulfill all the words above and you will be able to not only entice surfers to your site but keep them there and make them customer.

In the following pages there are many tips which if followed will help you put up a winner.

Web site design is more than simply finding a photo you like and a color that works with your logo. It incorporates readability, functionality, usability - all of which boil down to one simple concept: good web site design practices make your web site work for your business.

ONLY AESTHETICS MAY NOT TIC Most of us think about web site design in terms of our aesthetic preferences, but good web site design incorporates some fundamental elements that will make your web site work for your business and your customers.

ITS ALL ABOUT READABILITY Make “readability” a fundamental part of your web site design If you want a professional-looking web site design that encourages visitors to read about your business, products or services, the first thing to do is to make sure visitors can, in fact, “read”. Stay away from all capitals in your writing and use common fonts that are easy to read.

LET THE LOGIC PREVAIL Organize content into logical sections. Make it a snap for visitors to find information.

BROWSING NOT READING Incorporate headlines into your web site design. Web users will browse more often than read.

Use headlines and subheadings to give customers a quick idea of what your page has to offer. Someone in a hurry should be able to read your headlines and subheadings to quickly understand what products, services, and benefits they will get. Put your most important phrases in bold letters, too.

BULLETS WILL HIT THE RIGHT PLACE Include bold words, bullet points, section titles and short paragraphs. The visual experience on a web site is quite different than on a printed page.

NO BACKGROUND NOISE Never (really, we mean never) use patterned or distracting background images as part of your web site design. Your content will be “lost” in the noise.

EASY ON THE EYES

Eliminate bright background colors with bright text. Make reading easy on the eyes. Basic colors and a white background do best with the many different ways your page will look on different monitors.

CONSIDER COLOUR-BLINDS Good web site design considers colorblind visitors. Certain combinations of colors may be invisible to some of your most potentially valuable customers.

NO GRAPHIC MODE Consider visitors with graphics turned off (yes, they can do that to your beautiful web site design). Use ALT tags to label graphics with descriptive text.

JUST RIGHT FONT Use an appropriate font size. Find a happy medium between too big and too small.

STRUCTURED APPROACH Make “Structure” an integral part of Good web site design.

It’s a good idea to map out the pages of your site; in effect, design the sitemap first.

Find the most logical, most direct way to link your pages to one another. Think like your customers - if you were visiting your site, how would you want to find information? Better yet, get your customers to tell you!

PLAN BEFORE PLUNGE Good web site design practices start with good planning. Do not develop a single graphic until you’ve set up a skeleton site and done some real-world testing to see if the structure makes sense. Sit your employees or customers down and see if they can navigate your site easily and locate information quickly.

BE CONSISTENT A good web site design will always (yes, we mean always) use navigation consistently. That means that your common navigational elements will be in the same place, and will have the same look on every single page of your site.

STANDARD PRACTICE Sometimes, good web site design is simply following standard practices. Keep your logo in the upper left hand corner of the page and use it to link from your interior pages back to your home page.

And use common names for things - “home” for home and “about us” for a page about you. If you have a search field, put it prominently near the top of your page. Most people have grown accustomed to these basic web site design principles.

WHEN “MORE” IS NOT ALWAYS “BETTER”

It’s a safe bet to say that all businesses want an effective web site. But what’s “effective” and what’s “excessive”?

When it comes to good web site design, more is not always better.

Yes, your site can flash, blink and sing, but there are reasons not to add that extra feature.

By “extra features” we mean things that do not improve your sales, make your business more efficient or advance your goals, but are simply surface enhancements. Music, a twinkling star, graphics that fade in and out.

HAZARDS OF SHOWING OFF TOO MUCH All of these things may impress you but they may not impress your visitors. Extra features can:

• Slow your site down so that people with slow Internet connections might never get through your opening animation.
• Stop or inhibit search engines from listing your site.
• Annoy visitors so that they leave your site before learning anything, signing up for your newsletter, or making a purchase.
• Flashing-blinking-singing things can be distracting, repetitious or detract from the real purpose of your site.

That is not to say that these elements should never be used. Each has its place and can be an integral part of good web site design. But any enhancement should advance your business goals, and your animations and music should come equipped with an “off” button. Remember, the purpose of a web site is to convert visitors into customers. 

USE THE RIGHT TECHNIQUE On the technical side of web site design.

So far, everything we have mentioned has some visible effect on your web site. But there are other “behind the scenes” design elements that can help to make your web site the best it can be. A good web site design professional will take care to be sure that:

• GRAPHICS ARE OPTIMIZED FOR DOWNLOAD. Visitors should be able to get to your web pages quickly, even on slower Internet connections.
• COLORS ARE “WEB SAFE”. Some browsers display a limited color palette. Visitors should be able to view your site in all its glory, whatever their browser.
• VISITORS USING LOW RESOLUTION MONITORS CAN SEE YOUR PRIMARY CONTENT WITHOUT SCROLLING. It’s usually best to design for the “least common denominator” so that your most important content is immediately visible on all types of monitors.
• YOUR SITE WILL WORK ACROSS MULTIPLE BROWSERS, ON MULTIPLE OPERATING SYSTEMS. Customers come in a variety of shapes and sizes and so do their web tools. People using a Mac, or IE 6.0 or 7.0 should be able to see your site as well as someone using a PC, or Firefox 2.0.

PROOF OF THE PUDDING Include testimonials from your customers and suppliers. Nothing builds trust with customers and prospects like good words about you from people who know you and have done business with you. UPDATE OFTEN Make sure you update your important info often. Search engines, just like customers, check back often to see how your site is progressing. Lots of helpful articles, tips, and a question and answer page will give customers all the information they need. Also include links to other recommended sites like yours. Try to get those sites to add your link as well. Customers will see you as an authority in your field and will appreciate your ability to help them in a variety of ways. 

OWN YOUR WEBSITE Your own domain name will make your business look bigger and your Internet effort more serious. Yourname.com looks a lot more impressive than freewebsite.com/10101/yourname

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January 16, 2007 by rcarruth.

Copy is everything. Sure, you may get a rare sale or two with weak copy… but why waste your time creating a web site and filling it with something that’s not going to do the job you want it to? Would you open a used car lot and only put four of twenty cars on the lot to ‘WOW’ potential customers? Of course not! You’re going to put everything you have out there, in part because you’re competing against every other used car lot in town and you need every advantage you can muster..  The same holds true with writing web copy. You need to put your best effort forward,  because i can guarantee you.. your competition will..

Sharon has a great grasp on the basics of copywriting and how YOU can create content worthy of your time and effort…

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Writing for the web is no doubt a very special skill. As web content is most of the time the only thing that is standing between your potential consumer and that BUY button, it pays to invest time to ensure that your web copywriting skills are highly effective. Put simply, better web site writing = better sales! To master writing for the web, one must possess the following to some degree:

1) Knowledge of the subject matter or topic being discussed. Everybody knows that anybody can put information online so why should people listen to you? Studies show that people tend to pay more attention to web copy writing that conveys authority so ensure that you have a good grasp of what you are talking about as most people can smell a ‘fake’ a mile away. However, do not pepper your copy with words that require the reader to reach for the dictionary. The most effective type of writing for the web is one that is conversational. If your business is geared towards providing corporate products and services, then by all means use ‘corporate speak’ (common business language). But if your target market is the average online buyer, then your web site writing should use more informal words and even colloquialisms (i.e., words or expressions not normally used in formal speech or writing).

2) A crystal-clear objective. (What is the exact purpose of your web copy? What do you want your site visitors to do?) Many so-called web content writing professionals suffer from the ambiguity disease. In many a writer’s desire to address everything that a site visitor may want from a site, the web copy (and thus its message or purpose) becomes diluted. In the end, the site visitor is not properly prompted to do what you want him or her to do. So before you start writing for the web, ask yourself what it is exactly that you want readers to do after reading your web copy. Do you want them to sign up for your newsletter, download a product or purchase something from your site today? Whatever the goal, stay focused on it and make sure your web content writing works to achieve that sole purpose.

3) And last, but not the least, you must have an in-depth understanding of the psyche of online readers. You have heard it often enough, online readers are just not the same as an offline audience. You need to sustain their attention better and you need to call into their ‘inner self’ to compel them to do what you want them to do. Ok, so how exactly do you do this? Well, read on!

Writing for the Web – Top 5 Fool-Proof ‘Visual Aids’ to Better Web Site Writing Online readers or site visitors have a very short attention span. In fact, as much as you ensure that your web content writing is ‘perfect’ (i.e., grammatically correct and logically presented), you must understand and accept one thing – online readers do not really read web copy… they scan. So here’s a quick guide to practical web writing.

1) Use “Move Me” Headlines. The headline is probably the most important aspect of writing for the web. It should immediately convey what the copy is all about in an exciting, intriguing and ‘can’t wait to read this article’ way!

2) Use compelling subheadlines. This will not only break your web copy to make it visually appealing, it also helps site readers scan your copy more effectively. However, don’t just put a subheadline for the sake of having one. Come up with stimulating subheadlines to keep readers interested.

3) Use short paragraphs. Long paragraphs mean “uh-oh, this requires some time to read and think about, better skip it,” while short paragraphs mean “this will only take a minute, let me go through this now.”

4) Use emphasis. Boldface, italics type and underline all help to guide readers in scanning your web content. However, do not overdo this. Remember that emphasis tags aim to do just that – emphasize. Too many words or phrases in bold, italics or underline will only create ‘visual noise’ and minimize the effect you wanted to achieve in the first place.

5) List them down! When writing for the web, see to it that you have something to itemize and put these in a numbered or bulleted list. Lists help you present information in short, bite-size pieces. Further, they help the reader grasp the information you are presenting better.

Many say that writing for the web is an art form. And you know what? It is. Web site writing is not just about presenting information and asking potentials to be clients. It is about presenting information in a visually effective and mind-compelling way that simply convinces potentials to be clients.

Sharon Vaz is Webexplosion Limited’s Web Strategist for Design & Optimization, specializing in web search engine marketing. Increase your website’s conversion rate by 35%, with the amazing headline creation software, Headline Creator Pro at http://www.headlinecreatorpro.net

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December 20, 2006 by rcarruth.

I am a UK based independent travel consultant, Europe a la Carte. As a small business I have to find ways to get visitors to my site without a large advertising spend. However while I may not spend money, I certainly put in a lot of time and effort!

1 You need to find a niche angle, something that makes you stand out from other similar websites. Every industry is very competitive and you need something to get your site noticed. I feature less well known destinations in Europe, like Lake Iseo in northern Italy, then I can come in the first few listed on a natural search (as supposed to a sponsored or paid for result). If I promote well known destinations like Florence, I will probably turn up on page 100 and nobody will find me.

2 Try to write as many articles as possible relevant to the product/service that you are selling on your website. I write articles and guides about these less well known destinations and promote these articles and guides as widely as possible eg submit to Ezine Articles and Helium. This way you can become an expert on your niche market and your site comes higher in natural searches.

3 Start a blog on your site. Again only post articles which are relevant to your product/service. I write posts about travel in Europe. I try to make at least one post per day. You must then get your blog listed on blog directories and make comments on other related blogs with links back to your blog. Search engines like the way blogs are structured and that fact that there is a constant stream of fresh content on your website. Again this brings you up higher in the natural search results.

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December 7, 2006 by rcarruth.

I read the first lesson in church today. It was Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 8, starting from verse 1. As I was reading verses 11 and 12, I almost stopped, and had to collect myself to continue reading.

To save you trying to find a Bible, verse 10 says “I want to suggest that you finish what you started to do a year ago”, and verse 11 is even better – it says “Let your enthusiastic idea at the start be equalled by you realistic action now”.

The reason I nearly stopped reading is because these words really struck home to me as an internet marketer, and I suspect it would have struck a chord with you too.

Have we not all been guilty of enthusiastically downloading the latest magic formula for online riches? We probably only bought what we did because of the “$15000 worth of bonuses” which were offered along with the product.

Now we have hard drives cluttered up with stuff we have never opened, and sometimes stuff we have actually paid money for, and yet still have never used.

What went wrong? Did we get too busy with other things, thinking we would get around to using that marvellous money making scheme later? The trouble is, later never comes, as we get distracted by another hundred emails, each of which promises so much, but which will just as inevitably deliver so little, and off we go again, looking for the next big thing.

Have a look on your hard drive. I’ll bet you’ve got stuff that you can’t recognize from the file name, can’t remember where you got it from, or why you ever downloaded it.

It is a known fact that if an internet marketer sold private label right books or articles to a limited market of 300 people (and for PLR you wouldn’t want any wider distribution than this), only about a third or less would ever appear on the net. This is why PLR products are so good – if you follow up your enthusiasm with action, you will have a great chance of making good, as you will have a significant advantage over the vast majority who will do nothing with their purchase.

So, how do you get yourself into this happy situation?

What you have to do is BEGIN! Yes, it’s as simple as that. Tell yourself that on a certain day at a certain time you will start on ……………… (Enter your own project here – fish it out of the “too hard” basket.

Don’t open any emails on that day, don’t get distracted by anything at all, and at least MAKE A START. This is how writers get over their mental block. Rather than sit there staring at a blank piece of paper in their typewriter (those that still use typewriters), they start typing. What they type doesn’t really matter, it is just a trigger to get them going.

For instance, this very evening I found out why the links on my website were in large print, and bolded, thereby using up too much space in my website ads. I had been putting this off for months, knowing it was something to do with a mysterious CSS file, but not quite knowing what a CSS file actually was, what it did, and what I had to do to achieve what I wanted.

Eventually, I did a search, and found a CSS tutorial. Then I went to Dreamweaver and loaded up my money-making site. I then found that I didn’t need the tutorial at all, Dreamweaver let me edit the CSS file on the screen. The whole thing took less than thirty seconds! All I had to do was make the commitment to myself to actually start doing what I had been putting off for so long. I urge you to do the same.

Next I resolved to carry out what I had thought about in church, that there was a good article somewhere in St. Paul’s words, so I opened up Word, typed the headline, and haven’t stopped until I got to here!

So, type out verses 11 and 12, and stick them to your screen, or somewhere where you will see them each time you sit down at your computer, and marvel that St. Paul’s words are still so relevant to us today as internet marketers!

©Peter Phillips 2006

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November 26, 2006 by rcarruth.

Finding a niche market is simple. Finding a PROFITABLE niche market is a little harder, but it’s still easy once you know what you are doing. Otherwise, you will end up like 90% of the other niche marketers out there who spend weeks or months on a niche market only to find out there is no money to be made there. Luckily I will reveal the secrets to finding a profitable niche market later in this article.

There are literally hundreds of ways to find niche markets. You can spend your time searching for popular keywords using tools such as Wordtracker, or you can walk around your local bookstore looking for common book topics. I’ve tried both of these options when I first got started in niche marketing, and let me tell you, I lost the most money when I picked a topic that way. Why? Well, it’s simple. Just because people are searching for a keyword or phrase online or because there are a bunch of hard copy books on a topic, it doesn’t mean those markets will buy your products online.

Have you ever heard the advice “Target a niche market you are passionate about”? What a bunch of garbage that piece of advice is. It doesn’t matter how passionate you are about a topic, if people in that market don’t buy products online, YOU WILL FAIL and fail miserably.

Here are 2 ways to find cash generating, starving niche markets that you have probably never seen before…

1) Ebay - the unlimited supply of niches. Everyone has heard of ebay, but few people think to go to ebay to find a niche market. You would have to be crazy NOT to use ebay to find a market. This is one of the only places you can go and see exactly what people are buying in real time. Here is how you do it.

First, go to ebay’s main page at www.ebay.com. At the bottom of the left column of links, click on the link that says “All Categories”. When you get to the next page, click on the link at the bottom right of the categories that says “See All Categories”.

What you have just done is list every product currently for sale on ebay, but even more importantly, you can see HOW MANY products are for sale in each category. There are literally thousands of categories of niche topics right in front of your eyes, and you can see how popular each one is in just a couple clicks.

I just clicked “See all Antiques categories…” and I uncovered several hundred niche markets within the antiques category.

This is what niche marketing is all about. The category “Antiques” alone is too broad. If you go after this one, you will fail, however if you go after a sub niche such as “Asian antique bowls” or “Antique sterling silver flatware”, you greatly increase your success rate.

Then, go to http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/whatshot.html and see just how flaming hot they are.

2) The next way to find a popular niche market is by going to the website www.meetup.com. From the homepage, there is a link that says “Browse All Interests”. The website will then list hundreds of topics in which people signed up to be a part of a group. It also lists how many people joined each group, or “niche market” if you will. Who would have thought there would be a group of over a thousand people crazy about scooters? I found this niche market under the automotive category.

Using these two methods, you should be able to uncover hundreds of niche topics to begin targeting immediately. Once you find a niche market you want to build your business around, the next step would be to learn how to develop products these markets will knock each other over trying to buy.

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Mark Kessler offers a FREE 34 page report where you’ll “Discover The Most Simple, But Extremely Powerful System that reveals the 4 secret steps you need to achieve maximum niche profits!” your copy is at http://www.profitattractor.com

Article Source: http://www.Marketing-Seek.com

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November 5, 2006 by rcarruth.

Titus Hoskins understands exactly what it took me a couple of years to figure out. I concentrated on getting sign-ups for a popular newsletter I edit at the expense of everything else. Once I understood how to incorporate all the primary strategies into my web site, not only did my subscriber base take off, but money from other sources took off as well.

A quick example - I sell a couple of ebooks that are sold primarily through Clickbank. Once I set up the ebooks to sell on my site, I also created image links using the ebook covers, used alt text to create keyword significant phrases that would be read by the search engine bots and bring traffic to my site from relevant searches, although the products were not mine.  Don’t be afraid to list a product name in your description. If I’m giving up valuable space on MY web site to help another author earn money via sales, then I’m going to get some of the traffic from customers searching from that particular ebook.

Take a day periodically and devote it to one aspect of marketing. Decide that you are going to spend today working on nothing but increasing your subscriber base, or finding new products to promote on your web site. If you’ve had a product up for awhile, have decent traffic, and the products not producing.. Get rid of it and replace it with something that may increase your bottom line. Your sales figures will let you know whether your audience wants your product or not. Now, on with Titus’ article…

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Creating multiple income streams from your website is a proven marketing strategy. An effective strategy anyone can use to earn a part-time or full-time online income. If you are not currently earning revenue from your site, you could be leaving significant amounts of cash floating in cyberspace.

Significant amounts of cash that can help pay your monthly bills: your rent or mortgage, your car payments, your utility bills or even your hosting costs. Many alert webmasters are doing just that by creating multiple income streams from their site or sites.

Creating these multiple income streams is not a difficult task. Nor is it a lengthy or time consuming one; monetizing your site can be done within a few hours of work.

Here are some effective ways of creating multiple income streams:

1. Affiliate Programs

Joining affiliate programs related to your site is an easy process. Placing html code or java script on your site with your affiliate IDs embedded only takes seconds. I find joining major affiliate networks like Commission Junction, LinkShare, Amazon, ClickBank, Shareasale… to be the most effective. You can quickly find and join affiliate programs related to your site’s topics.

Affiliate programs are excellent income producers, all you have to do is supply the traffic or leads and the affiliate company does the selling, shipping and handles all customer interactions. These programs pay on time each month and there are no disputes about commissions. Amazon pays quarterly!

2. Google Adsense

Perhaps one of the easiest way to monetize your site is through Google Adsense. All you have to do is add a snippet of code to your site and Google serves up ads to match your site’s content. Getting those checks from Google each month will put a smile on your face. Guaranteed!

3. Sponsored Links

Another simple way to earn revenue from your site is offering sponsored links. Selling links to other sites who want to be listed on your site. Set up a PayPal subscription service, and if your site has a high PR page rank you will have plenty of webmasters more than willing to pay you each month.

4. Banner Advertising

A simple, direct way to earn revenue from your site is to host and sell banner advertising on your site. Bit traditional but still a money producer for high traffic volume sites.

5. List Building

Building an opt-in list of contacts interested in the topic of your site can be one of your most effective income producers. Many webmasters and marketers use followup e-mails to keep in contact with their site’s visitors. This does require some work and set-up time, but once you have your autoresponders in place, you can forget about them.

In addition, marketing special deals, joint ventures and offers to your permission based email contact list can be another lucrative income stream for you.

That’s just five ways to create multiple income streams from your site. There are many, many more but these are good starting points for any webmaster who wants to monetize their site or sites.

Additional Marketing Tip

Here’s my #1 marketing strategy on how to increase your number of income streams:

I use the Long Tail keyword marketing model to create high ranked keyword listings in organic search for profitable keyword phrases on the topics of my sites. First, I use a keyword research tool like Brad Callen’s Keyword Elite or an online site Yahoo’s Overture to find profitable keyword phrases for my sites.

These tools will tell you how many searches are made each month for a given keyword phrase and also tell you how much marketers are willing to pay for each click to this keyword phrase - as in PPC or Pay Per Click advertising.

The trick is to find low to mid-range keywords or keywords phrases that are profitable but have little competition. Then design a content page on your site to target these keyword phrases and draw in traffic. I use keyword targeted articles which I place on my site and also submit to online article directories like Ezinearticles, Goarticles, Articlealley, among others.

In the resource box at the end of each article, I place my keyword anchor text and links back to my site. As these are competitively low ranked keywords, my content pages usually land on the top positions in the search engines for my targeted keywords within a week or so.

This is a simple effective marketing strategy that feeds targeted traffic into my sites, making them more profitable with each keyword phrase I develop content for on my sites. It is an online marketing strategy that you can also use to booster your multiple income streams from your own website.

Granted, all the above information comes with a disclaimer, the amount of income will usually correlate to how effective you are at marketing your site and how much traffic you can generate. Your different abilities will play a large role in how much you will earn. However, there is no reason why any healthy site getting a decent amount of traffic can’t be used to create multiple streams of income. Just cash in!

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November 4, 2006 by rcarruth.

Liz Tomey has created a really helpful ebook titled ” Confessions of an Adsense Girl - 60 Cut throat Questions and Answers About Making Money With Google Adsense “.  Now, many sites are charging for this ebook… I’m not. In fact, I’m going to offer you the ebook for free AND give you free re-sell rights as well.. Can’t beat that!

adsenseinfo.pdf

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October 23, 2006 by rcarruth.

 Ebooks and reports are my favorite method for generating passive income. I have an article in the works that will detail the tools needed to generate your own ebooks and reports, from your computer, at NO cost.. Stay tuned..  

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Information products are a hot commodity in the online marketplace, transforming traditional entrepreneurs into infopreneurs. Ebooks and special reports are two of the most basic forms of info products. They are relatively easy to create and distribute and best of all, these products can generate passive income—money you make while you sleep.

An ebook is an electronic book that can be downloaded to a reader’s computer or hand-held device. Special reports are similar, but typically shorter in length. Some savvy internet marketers sell special reports ranging in size from two to twenty pages. Ebooks tend to be more comprehensive, with page counts from twenty to three hundred.

If you’ve been thinking about cashing in on this trend, then follow these simple steps to get started.

Establish Your Expertise

Everyone is an expert at something. Whether you are great at writing financial reports, organizing a home or training hamsters, you have something to offer the public. Sure there may be other people out there with similar qualifications, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t room in the market for another expert. If you have a unique approach, you can compete with the best of them.

Building your expert status takes some effort. If you have special degrees in your field, a popular website, have published articles, been quoted by the media or given presentations on your topic, you are on the right track. If you don’t yet have these qualifications on your resume, start working on adding as many of these credibility-builders as possible.

Find Your Audience

You could write the most fascinating ebook on the planet, but your parents and friends will not be enough of an audience to make it worth your while. To be successful at selling ebooks and special reports, you must be able to reach a broad group of buyers. The best place to start is with a content-rich website.

For example, if you want to become an expert on dog training, your website should appeal to dog enthusiasts. To attract an audience, offer resources and articles that appeal to the dog-loving community. You can write your own articles or ask others to contribute content to your site. You can also locate articles available for reprint from sites like ezinearticles.com and ideamarketers.com. The key is to offer as much valuable information as possible. When your site visitors find value, they will be more interested in investing in the products you have for sale.

Communicating With Customers

One of the most effective ways to reach potential buyers is with an ezine. By sending a monthly or even weekly electronic newsletter, you accomplish several things at once: you get your name in front of your website visitors, you establish your credibility as someone who provides valuable information, and you can get your products in front of readers repeatedly. Studies show that the average consumer must be exposed to a product six to eight times before making a decision to buy. Your ezine can become a powerful tool for your information product business.

To capture subscribers to your ezine, provide a subscription link on every page of your website. You may want to offer a bonus, such as a complimentary special report or ebook, to entice visitors to sign up.

Create Your Products

Once your website is drawing traffic and your ezine is going out on a regular basis, you’re ready to create your first information product. First you must decide what topic to cover in your ebook or special report. Consider what information your site visitors want to know. Do you receive the same questions over and over? Answering those could be the basis of your first product. You could also survey your customer base to find out what interests them.

Once you know what your subject matter will be, then get to work on writing your first ebook or special report. It would be wise to have your content edited by either a friend or a professional so you can ensure you are delivering the best output possible. Don’t forget to include your website and contact information along with a copyright statement similar to the following:

Copyright © 2006 by Annie Author

Once your work is complete, you will want to convert it to a user-friendly format. Adobe PDF Creator software allows you to convert your document to PDF format which can be viewed on personal computers, Macintosh computers, and numerous handheld devices. You can also choose security settings to protect the contents of the document. If you don’t already own this software, you can visit www.adobe.com to convert up to five documents at no charge.

Automate the Sales Process

Once your finished product is ready to go, you will need to automate the sales process. You could add a link to your website and attempt to process payments and deliver your info products manually, but this will only leave you and your customers frustrated. One of the benefits of info products is the instant gratification. When a customer makes a purchase, he wants to access the product immediately instead of waiting for you to check your email and deliver the goods.

There are a variety of online merchant systems available and one such solution is offered by www.payloadz.com. This service manages the sales and delivery of electronic products. You can upload your file to Payloadz and create shopping cart buttons that can be placed on your website. When a customer makes a purchase, Payloadz will handle collecting the payment (which is processed via Paypal), and will send the buyer a link to download the product from their server. All you have to do is sit back and wait for the cash to hit your bank!

Market, Market, Market

Once your product is created and the sales and delivery process automated, your focus should be on marketing. Few businesses can be successful without marketing, and information products are no exception. Here are some ways to market online without breaking the bank:

*Publish articles in related industry publications and websites.

*Publish articles through content sites such as ezinearticles.com.

*Write a book. Being an author is an instant boost to your credibility and a book can open the doors to a variety of opportunities such as media appearances and speaking engagements.

*Form strategic alliances with website owners in your industry. Trade links to each other’s sites, swap ads in your ezines, or partner on a project or event.

*Be everywhere. Participate in teleconferences, internet radio interviews, blogs, and industry-related forums and chat rooms.

As your business grows, continue to evaluate what your customers want to know and develop products to meet those needs. Remember that it’s much easier to fill a need than to create one. And if you can do just two or three things each day to market your business, it shouldn’t be long before your website traffic and product sales exceed your wildest dreams.

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October 19, 2006 by rcarruth.

No matter where you go or who the source might be, the advice is still the same. You can’t make a sale without benefit of *killer* content (otherwise known as sales copy).

Unfortunately, for most individuals, meeting this criteria is much easier said than done. After all, not everyone is blessed with the ability to write well, let alone establish content that’s geared toward advertising genius.

So… if the only way to guarantee sales is to use killer copy, and you don’t happen to possess that level of writing ability, what alternative does the average webmaster have?

The obvious choice, of course, is to simply hire a professional copywriter. Needless to say, we’re talking major expense here so let’s just forget that one. And assuming you don’t have some close friend or family member that writes for a living and is willing to donate their expertise to you free of charge, two choices remain.

1. Find some way of writing the sales copy yourself.

2. Don’t even worry about it and let the chips (or potential buyers) fall where they may.

Since the latter choice is totally unacceptable, let’s roll up our sleeves and see what it takes to transform a non-writer into the necessary advertising genius.

The first priority is to swipe good copy.

And before you ask, no one’s suggesting you go out and steal someone else’s hard word. At best, it’s immoral to do so, at worse, it’s downright illegal.

Instead, the word “swipe” refers to developing a file that contains each and every piece of quality sales copy you happen to find.

Every copywriter worth their salt has a swipe file, a folder (or folders) stuffed with headlines, sales copy examples, and advertising ideas in general. Then, when it comes time to write something, they merely breeze through the material and pull out what works best for a particular ad campaign.

Naturally, the more information contained in your swipe file, the easier the chore of putting together the entire sales content. So now the question is, where do you begin?

Start by checking out websites owned by top Internet marketers, more specifically, the pages where they’re promoting a specific product. Pay close attention to how they present their sales copy, how they skillfully lead the viewer to the order button.

If you run across a headline or an ad in a newspaper or magazine that not only grabs your attention but compels you to make a purchase as well, make certain you add it to your swipe file.

Once you’ve collected a good assortment, take a closer look at what prompted you to add them to your file in the first place. Regardless of whether it was the headline, the copy in general, or the basic format, see if you can determine exactly why it was so effective.

Choose the methods that made the most impact and then use those same techniques in your own sales content. Keep in mind, most successful (and high-priced) copywriters didn’t start out creating genius ad campaigns and neither will you.

The only way to learn how to write well is to write and then write some more. If you start by using material taken directly from your swipe file, practice re-writing it to suit your own product or service, you’ll eventually reach the point where you can simply create original content on your own.

And since the ultimate content you create will have been based on proven, professional methods, your own writing skill will not only excel but continue to improve as time goes on.

Keep in mind, however, that if you skip this crucial “practice writing” method, there’s not much chance you’re ever going to have the ability to create killer sales copy. Practice, practice, practice… write, write, and then write some more.

If you’re not willing to invest hard work and effort, you’re not really serious about succeeding online. Let’s face it. It’s a very simple equation. Top Internet marketers are successful because they worked hard at it, not because it got handed to them on a silver platter.

So follow their lead and establish a commitment to do it right by investing whatever time and energy is necessary to get from Point A to Point B. The end result will be well worth the effort.

For more detailed information about this topic, make certain you grab a copy of the free distribution ebook entitled “Learn How To Write Killer Sales Copy” at www.ebookhelper.com/FreeEbooks.html.

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October 4, 2006 by rcarruth.

 I use these tools. That’s why I published this article. If you aren’t using Google’s array of tools for marketers and web site builders you’re missing out on a ton of freeware. Check it out… 

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 10 Most Valuable Free Google Marketing Tools
Google has become the dominant search engine on the Internet. It would be hard to imagine a web without Google. For that matter, it would now be hard to imagine a world without Google. As frightening as that may seem to many people, it is none the less true.

For better or worst, Google has permeated into almost every aspect of our everyday life. Being Googled is now a common expression and an act carried out by millions of users around the world each day. New Google products and services are coming on stream at a frightening pace, further increasing Google’s impact on our lives.

Despite this dominating presence, many people still don’t realize Google offers some excellent free marketing tools for marketers and webmasters. Marketing tools which can prove extremely valuable to any webmaster or marketer trying to promote their sites or products online. Useful tools that will make your promotions easier and much more profitable.

Don’t be fooled by the ‘free’ label, these marketing tools might be free but there are also valuable. One even wonders why Google would be giving away these tools and services for free? It probably makes good business sense in the long run, by providing these free tools Google is fostering a lot of company good-will and building up the Google brand name in the process. Good PR is good business.

Every marketer and webmaster should be taking advantage of Google’s good-will and snapping up these professionally run services and marketing tools. Here’s a quick run-down of the 10 most valuable free Google Internet marketing tools:

1. Google Analytics

Perhaps the premier marketing tool offered by Google. It will prove helpful to both the marketer and the webmaster. Google Analytics gives you a daily snapshot of your web site. Google Analytics analyzes your traffic, where it comes from and what it does once it enters your site. You can monitor up to three sites for free.

Google Analytics is extremely valuable in analyzing your marketing funnel, it tracks all the steps leading up to your sales or checkout page. Vital information for raising your conversion rate and ROI.

You may be placed on a waiting list for this highly in demand service from Google.

LINK http://www.google.com/analytics/

2. Google Sitemaps

Webmasters can use Google Sitemaps to almost instantly place newly created pages on their site into the Google Search Index. This is an XML file that is uploaded to Google as new pages are added on your site. Needless to say this can be a valuable service for any webmaster or marketer who wants to get their information on the web quickly.

LINK https://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/docs/en/about.html

3. Google Alerts

Be notified when someone or another site lists your site or mentions your name. Great way to keep track of all your online activities. Great way to monitor all your online business interests and products.

LINK http://www.google.com/alerts

4. Google Froogle

Froogle is Google’s price directory! It simply lists all the cheapest prices for different products on the web. For marketers and webmasters who are promoting products, it should be studied and analyzed. Optimizing your site’s content for Froogle may prove to be very beneficial.

Follow Froogle or Google directions exactly on how to list or display products on your site. Froogle will spider your site and display your prices and products to thousands of targeted customers. That, as they say, is priceless.

LINK http://froogle.google.com/

5. Google Checkout

Not exactly free but for those marketers who use AdWords — for every $1 spent on AdWords you can process $10 for free. You can also place the shopping cart logo on your AdWords ad and take advantage of the prestige and trust the Google brand name has built up.

Over time marketers may find this tool to be very effective and valuable.

LINK https://checkout.google.com/

6. Google eBlogger

Blogging has become vitally important to the health and functioning of your web site. No site should be without at least one blog and RSS feed. Creating a blog (online journal) on the topic of your web site or product will bring in extra traffic and targeted customers. eBlogger is a simple free blogging service that even lets you publish or post your blog files to your own web site server. Keep in mind, each blog has that all important Google Blog Search bar.

LINK http://www.blogger.com/

7. Google Toolbar - Enterprise Version

Try the new enterprise version of the Google Toolbar for your company or business. Integrates countless features with all your employees or corporate network. These could include a common customer database, company calendar, financial news…

Keep in mind, Google also ranks every page it indexes on a scale of 0-10. While it is important to know the Page Rank of your own pages, it is even more important to know the PR of your competitor’s pages. You can use the toolbar to get the PR of each page you’re visiting. Extremely helpful information for webmasters and marketers to know when forming online linking or business arrangements.

LINK http://toolbar.google.com/T4/enterprise/

8. Google Groups

Every marketer knows the important of having a large contact list of people with a similar interest. Social networking will play an ever increasing role in your success on the web. Just look at the growing popularity of sites like MySpace and LiveJournal.

Google groups is another form of social and business networking that every marketer should be aware of and pursuing.

LINK http://groups.google.com/

9. Google Adsense

One simple way to monetize your web content is to use Google Adsense. Just place the Adsense code on your site and receive a check from Google each month. For webmasters who are not really into online marketing (does such creatures exist?) Adsense can be a painless way to earn extra income from your site.

For professional marketers using the Adsense system can supply a tremendous amount of marketing information on the keywords in their particular niche. It keeps the marketer informed on what keywords are being bid on and how much advertisers are willing to pay.

Adsense also has an excellent real-time tracking system you can use to keep track of all your important web pages.

LINK https://www.google.com/adsense/

10. Google Writely

A recent addition to Google’s stable of free products. Writely is a full featured online writing editor with spellcheck and great collaborating features. It also lets you publish your content directly to your blogs. One feature that may be of interest to marketers, it lets your save files in the popular download format of PDF.

Lets face it, until video takes over the web in four or five years time — the written word is still king on the net. It is the medium that markets, promotes and sells your content or products. Writely will help you write better.

LINK http://www.writely.com

Honorable Mention - Google Trends

This Google program will let you search popular trends, important for marketers searching for the latest hot product to promote. You can also break down these trends by different regions.

LINK http://www.google.com/trends

Final Note

Please take note that signing up for a Google account will usually help you in obtaining most of these free services or programs. Some of these programs may have to be applied for individually. But be assured, all these free Google marketing tools are well worth your time and effort. They will make your marketing easier and they will help any webmaster or marketer run their online business more efficiently.

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