From: Ewen Chia
Hey guys,
A new issue of “Internet Marketer Newsletter” is ready!
Hot topics covered in this issue:
* Google+, will it be a big player
* Google ranking misconceptions and SEO facts
* New options on Facebook comments box
* How to get a top Google ranked website
* The Perfect Online Business Plan (Part 1)
You can download this issue here:
http://www.secretsinternetmarketing.com/imn-aug-1.zip
This is COMPLETELY FREE for you as my way of
adding some value among the clutter of emails
you get in your inbox…
And also to thank you for being a reader and subscriber!
Have a great day.
Ewen
Don’t Expect Miracles Overnight with Adsense Revenues
From: Ewen Chia
SecretsInternetMarketing.com
There is a lot of hype among internet marketers about the income potential of Google’s Adsense program. While Adsense will not likely make anyone a millionaire overnight, the program does bring the potential for a healthy passive income. Webmasters who find it most successful are those who take the time to study trends and developments, test different approaches, track their results, and continue to develop their websites and the way they use Adsense.
Simply putting Adsense on a website will not likely generate any income for most webmasters. Income varies due to a number of factors.
• Number of visitors to the website. Sales has been called a numbers game, because the larger the pool of potential prospects, the greater the chance that a sale will be made. So it is with internet marketing. Adsense won’t work as a revenue generator unless there is significant traffic to the website.
Webmasters can make Adsense more successful by focusing on attracting more visitors to their sites. There are several ways to accomplish this. Improving content is critical, as visitors are more likely to view the site when it holds quality material. Market to the right people, and take every opportunity to give the website url exposure, such as adding it to the signature line of the webmaster’s email. Develop a mailing list, create a newsletter, offer a free item to encourage sign-ups, and publish a form on the website that allows visitors to request more information. This is all free advertising, which keeps viewers aware of the website and encourages new viewers to visit. The more of it that is done, the faster traffic will increase.
• Appeal of Adsense ads. Just as some print ads are more effective than others, so it is with website ads. Visitors won’t bother clicking if the ad holds no appeal due to its appearance or location.
Adsense allows webmasters to change the size, shape, and color of ads appearing on their sites. Make ads blend with the style and appearance of the website, so that ads and content flow together smoothly. Then, track the click thru rate on each new layout to determine which ones work best. Pay attention to position of the ads, too. Most clicks are received by ads near the top of the website and near the left edge of the page. Ads that are surrounded by white space also receive more clicks than those that are crowded together.
For many webmasters, income generated through the Adsense program is sufficient to cover hosting costs and other expenses associated with their websites. Making the program work requires knowledge, effort, and patience. The potential rewards make the effort worthwhile.
Ewen
Aweber Phishing Warning!
From: Ewen Chia
Hi everyone!
Just a quick warning that may save you a lot of headaches and pain later…
If you’re using Aweber, please be careful of a recent spate of phishing emails like this:
This is NOT from Aweber and is a phishing email to get your personal information.
It usually (althought may change) has a subject line like:
[Case AW-PX239UD] Your Aweber account has been flagged
I’ve personally checked and confirmed with the Director of Operations at Aweber that this is not from them. Hope this helps.
On another note, there’s quite a lot of content on this blog so do have a look. I’ll be adding regular posts so come back often 
Take care!
Ewen
Drop Shipping- What Is It and How Does It Work?
From: Ewen Chia
Do you like the idea of making money on eBay, but not the idea of having to package and ship products? It is possible to make money on the popular auction site without handling an actual product. How? By having items drop shipped!
Drop shipping is an arrangement whereby you get orders for a company’s products, collect the money, then send the customer’s order and the price you pay for it to the company. You keep the profits, and the company sends the product directly to your customer. It’s that simple.
How Do I Get Started With Drop Shipping?
There are lots of companies that will drop ship products for their distributors. You can find them by doing an online search for “drop shipper”. You may also be able to get recommendations from friends or business contacts.
It’s important to do some research on any company you consider becoming a distributor for, and this is especially true if they will be drop shipping the products. If they don’t deliver the items as promised, you are left holding the bag. So it is a good idea to check the company out with the Better Business Bureau before signing up with them.
If everything checks out and you decide to become a distributor, you’ll need to make sure you meet their requirements. Most require that you have a wholesale license in order to get the best prices, and some have further requirements. Some also put restrictions on how you can promote their products, so be sure to read the fine print.
How Can I Sell the Products?
Most drop shipping companies will allow you to sell on eBay. When selling on eBay, it is important to make sure you make enough money from each sale to cover your costs. This requires a clear understanding of the company’s shipping and handling charges, as well as how much you will be paying for the items themselves. Setting your starting bid at a price that will ensure a profit is crucial.
You can also set up your own website to promote products in most cases. If you don’t want to do it yourself or hire a web designer, many drop ship companies offer website packages to their distributors. Some companies offer mail order as an option as well.
Getting the Best Prices
Some drop ship companies offer products to all distributors at the same price. But most give discounts to distributors who have higher sales volumes. This results in more money for both the company and the distributor.
Some companies charge monthly fees for membership in their drop ship program. Others offer free memberships, but give bigger discounts with paid ones. It is up to each seller to determine whether or not these fees are worth it to him.
Many eBay sellers do very well with drop shipping. It gives them a way to make money without physically handling the products. If you are considering eBay but would rather not deal with inventory, drop shipping could be the answer you’ve been looking for.
Ewen
Tips For Outsourcing When You Don’t Have A Lot of Extra Money
From: Ewen Chia
You have probably heard about the benefits of outsourcing some of your business tasks. Maybe you would like to, but you just feel you do not have the money to hire anyone. It may seem backwards, but paying others to handle some of your business tasks will actually make you money in the long run.
Take a look at the number of hours you are working on your business and figure out which tasks are actually helping you to earn money and which tasks are taking away from the time you could be spending on more important things.
Think about how much more money you could be earning if you spent all of your working hours on the tasks that make you money. The truth is you cannot afford to not start outsourcing. The following are tips for outsourcing your tasks when you do not have a lot of extra money to spend on hiring others.
Start outsourcing your tasks slowly. Maybe you can hire a ghostwriter to write a couple articles for you. That may not seem like much, but those articles can be used on your website and distributed to article directories, which can help bring in a lot of traffic to your site. You can hire a virtual assistant to write and distribute a press release for you. Which, again, can help bring in a lot of traffic for you.
Another option is to barter with service providers. If you sell Tupperware and are looking for someone to help you create a newsletter, ask if they will accept some of your product instead of cash. Or, if you are a ghostwriter in need of a website, ask a web designer if she will trade her services for articles.
If you visit a service-providers’ website and you notice that they charge $15 per hour but you can only afford to pay $10 per hour, send them an email and let them know your situation. If they know that you plan on being a steady client, they may be willing to offer you a reduced rate.
You can also contact your local high school or college and offer an internship in your business. An intern is a student who is willing to work for free in exchange for the experience. Depending on what the student is studying, he or she may be able to handle administrative tasks such as answering email and returning phone calls or highly technical tasks such as web design.
As your profits increase, you can slowly start adding to the list of items you outsource. Even if you add one thing per month, within a year you will have gained a lot of time and maximized your profits.
Ewen
How Freebies Generate Leads for Websites?
From: Ewen Chia
It’s human nature. Everyone loves getting something for free. Business owners can use this behavioral truth to increase traffic to their websites and generate qualified leads.
Not everyone who visits a website is ready to make a purchase. In many cases, consumers will comparison shop, visiting several times before making a decision. So even if the website is the main portal through which customers place orders, an equally important purpose of the website is to generate leads.
Creating an ezine or newsletter is a common “freebie”. Subscribers opt in, which means they provide minimal personal information in order to receive the newsletter. Each new subscriber becomes another lead. The result over time is a large mailing list of qualified prospects. In addition to the newsletter, business owners email announcements of new products or services to this custom-made pool of potential buyers.
Many website owners give away “freebies” such as a special report or ebook to increase newsletter sign-ups. This gives visitors to the website an additional incentive to take action, an important step in converting the visit into a future sale. Making the offer time-limited increases urgency and gives prospects a good reason to sign up now, rather than later.
Another benefit of offering “freebies” is the valuable market information it provides. A significant response to an offer suggests the item is a hot topic among qualified buyers. Such data can be useful in driving new product development for the business.
Marketing experts have noted one downside of the free offer, the possibility of attracting people who solely want the “freebie” but are not interested in purchasing anything in the future. One way to decrease the likelihood of this is to make the free offer enticing to those in the market for the products and services offered for sale, but unappealing to others. A direct seller, for example, could offer a free item to anyone who books a sales party that month. By tying in the “freebie” with the desired action, only serious shoppers will respond.
A growing internet trend is to offer visitors a free membership to the website’s online community. Membership entitles the user to access restricted areas of the site, publish a profile, and interact with other members of the community. Usually only a basic amount of information is required to join, such as name and email address.
Industry estimates show that response rates triple when a “freebie” is offered as incentive for prompt action, effectively lowering the business owner’s cost per lead substantially. Even if the free gift increases the total expense of the campaign, the higher volume of qualified leads will result in higher sales volume, thus offsetting the additional expense.
Ewen
Posted in Business, Email Marketing Tagged freebies, lead generate, leads 2 Comments
Will Audio Help My Blog?
From: Ewen Chia
When you look back ten years ago, life seems pretty simple. Cell phones were a luxury item and if you were really lucky, you had dial-up internet. People were blogging, but they didn’t know they were, as the word “blog” wasn’t used to describe these online journals. No one was podcasting, and there weren’t any iPods, so you couldn’t listen to a podcast, anyway.
Thanks to rapid investments in technology and the widespread availability of high speed internet, the world is a much different place today. In the past few years, blogging became one of the biggest online trends. You could find a blog on just about any subject, and the people writing them came from all walks of life. Businesses caught on to this phenomenon and realized what an effective tool this was for communication and promotion.
A new trend has popped up in the blogging world: audio. Instead of typing your thoughts and feelings, you can simply record an audio file and upload it to your blog. This is exactly how podcasting became popular. The first podcasts were actually “audio blogs”. It caught on so fast, that these audios took on a life of their own and became an entirely different category, more similar to an internet radio show.
Using audio on your blog is a great way to add interest and let your personality show through. You can keep it simple; you don’t need to add audio to every blog entryand don’t have to develop a whole podcast. If you wanted to simply add a touch of audio, you could record a welcome greeting that your readers could listen to upon entering your blog.
If you currently have a large readership and are afraid that you will lose readers if you change your format, you could work the audio in slowly. You could add a bonus audio message to a few posts. For example, if you wrote a post about housecleaning, you could add an audio message containing your five best tips for quick cleaning. Your readers could choose to listen to it if they wanted.
If you find yourself getting a lot of positive feedback, you may want to increase the amount of audio you add to your blog. You may even want to have a few posts per week that are strictly audio based.
You will find that some people absolutely love audio and will greatly enjoy audio blogs, and some will prefer to read blog posts. Combining the two can add a bit of variety to your blog and keep all of your readers and listeners happy.
There are several companies that provide audio services that make recording your blog posts simple and easy. You can check out Audio Acrobat as well as Hipcast. You can also perform a Google search to find more companies providing this service. Each company will have different pricing, so check each one out thoroughly before making a decision.
Ewen
How to Keep Going When You Feel Like Giving Up
From: Ewen Chia
When you are your own boss, motivation can be a tricky thing. Those who work for someone else are usually presented with incentives to keep them motivated and working hard. But when you have no boss, it’s up to you to find ways to motivate yourself.
Taking the road less traveled is difficult at times. By choosing to be your own boss, you put your success in your own hands. This can be much more rewarding than working at an hourly job, but it is also much harder in many ways. There will be times when any business owner feels like throwing in the towel.
It is completely normal to feel like giving up at times. But when that happens, it is important to keep on keeping on. Here are some ways to do that.
1. Make a list of the reasons you decided to do what you’re doing. Just getting started in business takes a tremendous amount of motivation, so going back to that time can help us get back into a similar frame of mind. Once your list is finished, keep it in a safe place for future reference.
2. Set goals and reward yourself for achieving them. Setting goals for our businesses helps us stay on track, and rewarding ourselves with something meaningful gives us the extra incentive we need to attain them.
3. Network with fellow business owners. It can be reassuring to know that others have been where you are and come out on top. They may also have helpful advice to share about any specific problems you are having.
4. Consider investing in some motivational videos, CDs, books, or seminars. The people who make these have a knack for getting people on their feet and helping them succeed. There are lots of choices when it comes to these items, so if you don’t know which speaker or author to choose, ask a fellow businessperson for a recommendation.
5. Get away from it all. One of the biggest motivation killers is burnout. If you’ve been working long hours and not seeing the rewards you think you deserve, consider taking a long weekend and going on a mini-vacation. Have someone else attend to calls and emails if possible. When you get back, you can get back to work with a clear head.
6. Outsource. If there is an aspect of your business that you aren’t crazy about, you might consider hiring someone else to take care of it. This will free you up to work on the things that you are passionate about.
Staying motivated is essential to success. When we lose our motivation, our work suffers and we lose ground. By reminding ourselves what we want to accomplish and taking steps to reenergize ourselves, we can regain the momentum we need to get through the tough times.
Ewen
Posted in Others Tagged motivate, motivation 1 Comment
Affiliate Contest Ideas
From: Ewen Chia
It is not uncommon for an affiliate to join a program, promote it for a few months and then become inactive. This may be due to a personal problem that takes their mind away from work or perhaps they found a new product that has caught their attention. This brings up the question of how to motivate your affiliates to keep at it. One way is to hold contests.
Affiliate contests are a great way to jumpstart sales, motivate affiliates and add a bit of fun to your affiliate program. By holding a contest, affiliates receive a gentle reminder of the product and program. Contests also give affiliates a fun goal to strive for. Plus, who doesn’t like to win a contest?
Some people are naturally competitive. They do not want to think that someone else can do a better job than they can. They will work hard to win the contest because they want to be “number one.”
Other people simply enjoy the recognition that winning a contest brings them. They want to feel appreciated and by winning a contest they will know that you are aware of, and appreciate, their hard work.
There are many ways to hold a contest. Many contests are based upon who has the highest level of sales. You can base that on a dollar amount or the number of products. If you offer more than one product, you can base the contest around one product in particular.
If your affiliate program is tiered, meaning you offer your affiliates a portion of the commission earned upon the sales of the affiliates they have personally recruited, you can choose to offer a recruiting contest. The winner is the person who recruits the most affiliates in a given month. This type of contest can help you add a significant amount of affiliates to your program in a short time as well as motivate affiliates to promote the program and products more.
If your affiliate program happens to be full of people who are not very active, offer a contest where the winner is the person who has shown the most improvement over their last month’s sales. Let affiliates know that they don’t need to sell 10,000 products in order to compete with a super affiliate. Let them know that someone who sold 1 product last month and 10 products this month, just had a 1,000% increase and could end up winning the contest.
You can choose any type of prize for your contest. Cash is always a popular prize among participants, as that is something that everyone can use. Some people may enjoy receiving an extra commission percentage, especially if they sold a lot of products that month. Other ideas include a gift certificate to a restaurant or even a pampering treatment at the spa.
Holding a contest will definitely add to sales and provide some fun and friendly competition to affiliate program. All the while, building the program and creating more income and less work for you.
Hope you’ll like this! 
Ewen
Affiliate Contest Ideas
From: Ewen Chia
It is not uncommon for an affiliate to join a program, promote it for a few months and then become inactive. This may be due to a personal problem that takes their mind away from work or perhaps they found a new product that has caught their attention. This brings up the question of how to motivate your affiliates to keep at it. One way is to hold contests.
Affiliate contests are a great way to jumpstart sales, motivate affiliates and add a bit of fun to your affiliate program. By holding a contest, affiliates receive a gentle reminder of the product and program. Contests also give affiliates a fun goal to strive for. Plus, who doesn’t like to win a contest?
Some people are naturally competitive. They do not want to think that someone else can do a better job than they can. They will work hard to win the contest because they want to be “number one.”
Other people simply enjoy the recognition that winning a contest brings them. They want to feel appreciated and by winning a contest they will know that you are aware of, and appreciate, their hard work.
There are many ways to hold a contest. Many contests are based upon who has the highest level of sales. You can base that on a dollar amount or the number of products. If you offer more than one product, you can base the contest around one product in particular.
If your affiliate program is tiered, meaning you offer your affiliates a portion of the commission earned upon the sales of the affiliates they have personally recruited, you can choose to offer a recruiting contest. The winner is the person who recruits the most affiliates in a given month. This type of contest can help you add a significant amount of affiliates to your program in a short time as well as motivate affiliates to promote the program and products more.
If your affiliate program happens to be full of people who are not very active, offer a contest where the winner is the person who has shown the most improvement over their last month’s sales. Let affiliates know that they don’t need to sell 10,000 products in order to compete with a super affiliate. Let them know that someone who sold 1 product last month and 10 products this month, just had a 1,000% increase and could end up winning the contest.
You can choose any type of prize for your contest. Cash is always a popular prize among participants, as that is something that everyone can use. Some people may enjoy receiving an extra commission percentage, especially if they sold a lot of products that month. Other ideas include a gift certificate to a restaurant or even a pampering treatment at the spa.
Holding a contest will definitely add to sales and provide some fun and friendly competition to affiliate program. All the while, building the program and creating more income and less work for you.
Hope you’ll like this!
Ewen
FREE REPORT WITH A TWIST: BEST OF BLOG POSTS!
From: Ewen Chia
Hey guys,
Hope you’re having a great week so far!
For the past few days, I’ve been collecting my old blog posts into a convenient report for your reading and learning pleasure…
http://www.secretsInternetMarketing.com/omsp.pdf (PDF file)
These are some blog posts I wrote for the past couple of years on www.secretsinternetmarketing.com. They were removed sometime back so you won’t be able to see them if you go to the site.
They contained a wealth of online marketing secrets and tips that will definitely make you more money if you apply them.
PLUS you even get Master Resale Rights and giveaway rights to the report!
Hint: You’ll also receive a surprise gift on page 2.
This will give you from 4 automatic income streams!
Download the report below:
http://www.secretsInternetMarketing.com/omsp.pdf (PDF file)
Hope you’ll like it
Comments are welcomed!
Ewen
6 YouTube Video Formats Explained
From: Ewen Chia
The easy answer to the question, “just how many video formats are there, anyway”, is a glib: “Probably more than either of us realize!”
However, that’s not exactly helpful to those new to video marketing and video making, so here are 5 YouTube compatible formats – with some clues to the differences between them…
.WMV
“WMV” stands for “Windows Media Format”, and is Microsoft’s standard video file format. It is highly versatile, with its main advantage lying in its video compression abilities, which allows it to function at varying bandwidths. If you use Windows Movie Maker, you can easily output your files as WMV files. (Notice, however, that among all the file types that YouTube accepts, the standard Windows Movie Maker .MSWMM file format is not one of those “on the list”).
.MOV
The MAC version of .WMV. Works best with QuickTime, if you’re going to download and play. You’ll find many .MOV files on YouTube.
MPEG 4 (MP4)
The advantages of the .MP4 file format lies in the way it discards any non-essential information, reducing file size to the minimum.
MP4 format is most often used with PSP’s and iPods.
.3GP
Yes, Virginia – you can upload this popular mobile phone format! But be aware that you can lose quality when transferring .3GP files to YouTube.
.FLV
Adobe Flash format. Flash movies work well on YouTube – but to play .FLV files, you’ll need a Flash Player such as Adobe or Applian installed on your computer. (Run your spyware program after downloading the latest Adobe Flash Player. The last two times I’ve upgraded, I’ve immediately been hit by an Adobe spyware program, according to my anti-virus.)
.MKV
Written in open-format Extensible Binary Meta Language, Matroska is quick to point out it is XML-based, and not a video compression codec. Free to use, it aims to become “the open source alternative to existing containers such as AVI, ASF, MOV, RM, MP4, MPG”.
You will need to be familiar with all these types of video file extensions, in order to make the most of your video marketing – but mercifully, of course, you don’t need to know how to use them all.
Just knowing what they are can make a difference to how you choose your hardware and software.
Read more on YouTube Marketing Secrets report.
Build Your Online Presence
From: Ewen Chia
Even offline businesses receive tremendous benefit from creating and building an online presence. It is estimated 70% of internet users research purchases online before they head out to the store.
For local retailers, this can be the single opportunity to capture attention, sell a product, and build a customer relationship. One simple and straight forward approach to creating an online presence is to simply register your business with the local search engines.
What is a local search engine? It’s a tool many internet users access, often without knowing it, when they’re looking for a local place to shop. Say for example you want to find a pizza joint in your city. You’d probably type Pizza Miami into your search engine of choice, assuming you’re from Miami! The results will be a list of pizza restaurants in Miami with a telephone number, address, and often a map to the restaurant. Businesses don’t need a website to take advantage of this online resource.
If you already have a yellow pages ad, chances are you may be listed with the search engines already – they pull their information from the same databases. To see if you’re listed visit:
http://www.local.google.com
http://www.local.yahoo.com
http://www.local.msn.com
Enter your city and industry and see if your business is listed. If not, visit each search engine, for example with Google you’d go to the Google Local Business Center, and register your business – or get a yellow pages ad. It’s that easy.
To increase search engine rankings, so your business is listed on the first page or two of local results, get reviews. Results are generally ranked by highest number and best reviews first. The more good reviews you can garner for your business, the higher the search engine ranking – which results in more views and more visits to your store or business.
Another way to build your online presence is to participate in social media. Create a page on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or any number of the social sites available. Find sites relevant to your business. If, for example you have a very young demographic then MySpace may be a great place to build a page. However, if you’re more of a business to business establishment then LinkedIn may better fit your needs.
Lastly, explore putting up a simple one page website. When people become aware of a business, even a small brick and mortar store, they like to visit a website to see what the business is all about. Store hours, About Us, Location, and even a quick contact form are all that is needed to get started. Many website hosts offer easy to use and customize templates making getting started online easy.
Effectively Use your Signature Line
From: Ewen Chia
Do you post on forums? They are a good way to find out what is going on in the rest of the world. Forums give each member a signature line to add personal information so that other posters can learn a little something about you. If you run an online business, use that signature line to your advantage.
What is a signature line anyway? It is the space at the bottom of a post where you can record something about yourself. It can hold five or six lines of text. You can simply use it to sign your name so people know who you are if your screen name is not your real name. Or, you can use it to advertise your business and get some free advertising.
Now, forums are used to exchange information between posters. Internet marketing forums are used to meet others who have small businesses and to discuss issues related to running a business. The forums prohibit anyone from advertising their businesses in subject lines and information in posts.
If you think that they won’t know, guess again. Forums have moderators whose job it is to keep up with that kind of thing. Forum posters can also report you to the moderator and your posts can be removed. You can also be booted off of the forum for not complying with their terms of service.
Instead, use your signature line to get the word out. Think of this as a mini glimpse into what your business is all about. You are not writing a book, so do be concise with your description of the business and how to contact you.
What do you need to include in your signature line? Start with your name. A physical address is not needed since you want them to visit your site and not your home. Include the name of your business. A business name that is catchy and short will stick in people’s heads better than something that is long and drawn out.
What is your business philosophy or the reason that you sell your product? Summarize this in a few words – no more than two of the lines. Be sure not to give away too much because you want them to find out more on the site. This is only a well-baited hook. Lastly, add the address of your website. Be sure that the link works and will not redirect them somewhere else.
Add this signature line to each forum that you join. The more exposure that you have, the better it is for the business. Take advantage of private messenger service on forums. Other posters can contact you in private without it being known by everyone else on the forum.
Signature lines are useful but few people take advantage of it. As a small business owner, see every situation as a way to get some free advertising.
Email Etiquette
From: Ewen Chia
There are some very useful tips regarding email etiquette that if used properly, will increase the chances of an email being read more thoroughly and responded to timely. It will not only provide for clearer communication but also better response levels – and in general, save both sender and recipient time and hassle. This is in lieu of lost, ignored, forgotten or unintentionally rude emails.
While there are many, many tips that are highly useful, I will go over a few main ones and this will give you an excellent start of being on board the successful email train.
Keep your messages to a concise format and brief length, getting to your point. There is no reason to provide more details than what is necessary. Your email should start with a proper salutation using titles such as Dr., Mr., Mrs., etc. Only start with a person’s first name if that is the only information that you have. Beyond that, state why you are writing and request any information that you are seeking. Do not abbreviate as this looks unprofessional and may cause confusion for those who may not understand the abbreviation.
When needing to deal with several different subjects it is recommended that these subjects are broken down and separate emails are sent, with the subject line having a descriptive, yet short heading. In this fashion, the recipient understands the topic almost immediately and more clearly, and is able to respond more precisely. In addition, he does not forget a response, such as can happen with an email with many different topics. This also provides ease in scanning quickly for a needed email, ensuring a proper and timely response – which in turn will save time.
As regards a timely response, emails don’t necessarily need to be answered immediately but there are the occasions when it is more prudent to do just that. In cases of sales, customer service or tech support this may be required, otherwise effectiveness of the communication loses ground.
When composing your emails, always keep in mind the tone that is being set. It is much harder to decipher the exact inflection of an email than it is when in a face to face conversation. Know that if you are angry, upset, frustrated or even tired that this can easily come across in your email and thus send out the wrong tone, possibly causing misunderstandings which serve only to waste time.
Resist criticizing others, as this is never professional and can show as a poor personality on your part. In responding to emails, be mindful of who this email will go to. You may have sensitive information that is not suitable to use for the ‘reply to all’ option. Also avoid chain letters; they contribute to clutter akin to junk mail and will usually be deleted before they are even read. Always, always be sure to use “Please” and “Thank you” as it is courteous and will be received much better than if you don’t.
Following these simple tips will improve productivity through good communication skills. This in turn will allow for a much smoother transaction all the way around. Your professionalism will show and good reputation will come forth.
Is all Traffic Good Traffic?
From: Ewen Chia
You’ve slaved away night and day with your website. You’ve researched keywords, paid for advertising, and tried to get the word out. You know that traffic will cost you some money in the beginning, but it is supposed to bring you sales in the end. However, when it comes to traffic on your website, is all traffic good traffic? Surprisingly, the answer is no.
Good traffic consists of the visitors who click around and investigate your site and all its content. The good traffic and interested visitors will generally come from search engines if the visitor has typed in keywords that relate to your site. The traffic will also come from e-newsletters or word-of-mouth. Consider this traffic visitors who are genuinely interested in the content or subject of your site. They will eventually purchase from your site or subscribe to whatever it is you are offering. Their word-of-mouth will attract other visitors to your site, looking for the same information.
All this clicking can add up, however. Depending on how much you are paying for pay-per-click services, some visitors could be costing you money. What do you do about the user who visits regularly but does not act on anything? Is this considered bad traffic? In a way, yes. You hope that your newsletters and advertisements bring you the best traffic possible.
When should you be leery of your website traffic?
Believe it or not, there are websites out there who pay people to just click around on sites. These clickers are not interested in what you are offering, but are merely third party to a company who has promised you more site traffic. This not only costs you money to use the program, but also costs you money with all of their pointless clicking. The clicker never acts on or signs up for anything. This is considered bad traffic and it is traffic that you should strive to keep off of your site. Don’t sign up for services that offer to increase your site traffic if they are not willing to advertise your site on a related website or search engine. Be wary of services that promise some huge monumental increase in a short period of time. Chances are, behind these promises are dozens of paid clickers at home on their computers, aimlessly clicking while watching a movie or television show.
While it is hard to believe that any traffic to your site could be considered viral or unwanted, scammers will do anything to get your money. If you pay for traffic services, make sure you research before signing that bottom line.
Use YouTube as an Effective Marketing Tool
From: Ewen Chia
YouTube is more than a phenomenon. It has changed the way the world works. Anyone can make a video and post it on YouTube to be viewed and shared by thousands. In fact, YouTube videos can make for great marketing. Here are just a few ways to use YouTube as an effective marketing tool.
While making a YouTube video is a simple and straightforward process: Grab a digital video camera, prepare a script, push that little button labeled “record,” upload and you’re good to go. Once the video has been uploaded, now what?
Post it on a blog – video blogs, aka vlogs, are a great way to mix up the message. Video blogs assist with branding and takes advantage of the buying behavior trigger “likeability.” It gives viewers, prospects, and current customers the opportunity to get to know you. We’re all much more inclined to buy from people we feel we know and like.
Use a “how to” video as a twist on your regular newsletter or autoresponder. Rather than adding another long article, spice up the newsletter with a link to a video. Test it to see if click through ratings increase – chances are they will.
Social networking. Link to a YouTube video in your online forum, chat room, and message board communications. Again, this is not only a great way to share a message, it gives viewers the opportunity to see and hear who you are. When people have a voice, face, and personality to match with a company – they’ll remember you. This creates recognition and awareness in the minds of your prospects and when they have a need, they won’t go to the search engines or yellow pages – they’ll come right to you.
Pay Per Click ads linking directly to a YouTube video embedded on a web page also work effectively to share a message and market products and services. Everyone enjoys free content, particularly when it’s both informative and entertaining – share the benefits in your message.
What types of YouTube Videos work best?
There really isn’t a hard and fast rule. Very effective “commercial’s” have been produced on low budgets. The key with commercials is to remember the medium – You Tube is widely successful as a marketing medium because it is viral. People share videos, they email links to each other, they talk about them on blogs, and one viewing multiplies until thousands of people have viewed your commercial. The key is to make sure it is entertaining and informative.
Like articles, YouTube videos can offer tremendous value and benefit to viewers. How to videos, tips videos and tutorials all work as an effective form. Again, the key to ensuring success – make them fun and interesting!
How Podcasting Can Increase Your Business
From: Ewen Chia
Podcasting is one of the “hot” new things on the internet. Named after the Apple iPod MP3 player, podcasting refers to uploading MP3 recordings onto your website. Other people can download these into their MP3 players or listen via the internet.
A podcast is similar to a blog, or weblog. Instead of reading your words, however, with a podcast people can listen to them. Many podcasts have a format similar to a radio talk show, where the host gives their thoughts and opinions on a given topic; some also interview guests or include a roundtable discussion with others.
Podcasts are great for publicity. As stated before, they are the newest thing on the internet and people are hooked on them. You can integrate your podcast with iTunes. People can have your podcast automatically downloaded onto their Mp3 player. There are also RSS feeds that will do the same thing.
You can choose to have a general podcast that will serve as publicity for your website. You can also opt to have your podcast promote a single item, such as an information product you created.
You can monetize your podcast by selling ad space, or commercials, that will play during your podcast. You can also give out your affiliate links during your podcast. For instance, you can review a product that you are an affiliate for, and tell your listeners to check out the product at your affiliate link.
Some people may choose to have a member’s only podcast. This is a podcast that is only offered to people that have paid a membership fee to you. Usually, these types of podcasts are highly informative and at least an hour in length. You may interview experts or present the podcast as a mini information product.
You can promote your podcast in several ways. Of course, you will want to include information about your podcast on your website. You can give a sneak peek at upcoming topics or guests. You may also want to create a newsletter that reminds people when new podcasts are uploaded and provides links for more information.
If you interview someone, ask them to send out an email to their list letting them know they will be a guest on your podcast. If your interviewee has a large following, many people will subscribe to your podcast in order to hear the interview. You can also provide a press release template so they can alert the local media of their appearance, or you can also send out press releases to publicize your guests’ appearance.
To create a podcast, you can use a service such as Audio Acrobat. For a small monthly fee, you can record and upload audio files to your website. Audio Acrobat allows you to record via your telephone or computer microphone. They are also integrated with iTunes, so your podcast will have the potential to be accessed by millions of people. To edit your audio, you can use free shareware, such as Audacity.
Podcasting can be a fun and profitable way to market your business. Give it a try and see if you like it. Unlike traditional internet talk radio, you don’t have to put too much money into it. You really have nothing to lose.
Don’t Let Your Subscribers Forget About You
From: Ewen Chia
You’ve accomplished the most difficult and significant part of the job, you’ve acquired email addresses and built a subscriber database. Are you taking advantage of the invaluable resource or have you let your subscribers forget about you?
Subscribers get neglected for many reasons:
- Business owners run out of content ideas.
- The system isn’t as automated as it can be and communicating with subscribers takes too much time.
The automation is a process that can be easily implemented. Find a database management and autoresponder system and let it go. You can then create a year’s worth of content, schedule it and then let it go. Your subscribers needs will be met and you’ll be taking a huge step toward increasing your company’s bottom line.
Running out of content ideas is another issue altogether. There are a number of solutions.
Hire a ghostwriter. Let’s face it; if you’ve been writing your own content for some time, you’re going to start repeating yourself. It happens to everyone – even professional writers. Sometimes it takes a fresh mind and a fresh voice to find new ideas. A ghostwriter may be able to present a wealth of new topic ideas so you can continue to deliver value and benefit to subscribers.
Mix up the offerings.
Articles and newsletters are great but they’re not the only red jelly bean in the bag. There is a wealth of content offerings to consider:
* Video
* Audio
* Podcasts
* Email courses
* Online seminars
* Workbooks
* Reports
* Case Studies
* Reviews
* Expert interviews, audio and/or transcripts
* Surveys and quizzes
The list goes on and on. Additionally, mixing up the type of content sent to subscribers will keep them interested in your company. Everyone has their own content preferences, some people prefer to read, and others love to watch videos. When you offer a mix of content, you make sure everyone get’s what they like.
How much is too much?
The big question for many business owners is how often should I communicate with my list? The answer is, it varies. Experts recommend no more than twice a week and certainly at least once a month. However, the key is to communicate with them as frequently as you promised. If they signed up for a weekly newsletter then by all means honor it and send them a weekly newsletter.
Consistent communication with your subscribers keeps them thinking of you. Timing is everything when it comes to making a sale. If you’re in regular communication with your prospects, chances are your timing is going to hit the target frequently. If you allow them to forget about you, they may fill their need for your products and services elsewhere. Don’t let them do that! You’re the best solution for their needs, right? Make sure they know it too.
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