The Problem With Internet Marketing

I've recently discovered something that may be considered a tiny problem with Internet marketing. Bear with me as this is a bit long, but it's not a long list of complaints, just observations.

Have you ever showed up for work one day to find out that someone, in another department no less, was out sick and they want YOU to cover for them? This is an all too common occurrence at least in the veterinary industry, but I'm sure it exists in countless other professions as well. Having worked as a vet tech for a number of years I can vouch for how it feels to be pulled in multiple directions on a daily basis.

As a veterinary technician, you are expected to do everything: take care of the animals, clean up bodily fluids, check in clients, answer phones, carry sick/dead animals into the clinic, carry sick/dead animals and heavy bags of food out to clients' cars, chase the doctors around to get permission to refill prescriptions, listen to clients complain to you while you sit there with a smile on your face pretending you're not thinking about how you want to tell them that you're sorry, but actually no, they're not the center of the universe. In the meantime, the receptionists just have to check in clients and answer the phones. If the reception area is short-staffed, one of the techs is expected to go up front and help out. If one of the techs is out, you're screwed. Receptionists are RARELY asked to help in the back end.

This is pervasive throughout every animal hospital I have ever worked at. Technicians are required to be well-rounded, agreeable, 'able to do it all' kind of workers. It occurred to me the other day, Internet marketing, well, it's not so different. It also occurred to me how lucky I am that working as vet tech prepared me for this.

Now please don't think this is a "How Internet Marketing is Like Being a Vet Tech" article. I just want to iterate the point that being an IM'er, even if you are outsourcing a lot of your work, requires that you be a well-rounded, 'able to do it all' kind of worker. As an Internet marketer running your own business you pretty much have to do everything. You are the:

Creative department: You have to come up with all your creative ideas for your business. As the creative department you must be able to brainstorm about your skills/interests before finding a profitable niche, create your own product (if you go that route), think of all the features and benefits of a product you own, design your website, think of things to write about, actually write about them, and write and design sales letters.

Exception to the rule: You can always outsource your sales letters and articles, but as most successful Internet marketers will tell you, eventually you need to do some of this at least once so you have an understanding of how it's done.

Customer Service: You have to know how to deal with your customers, aka, your purchasers and subscribers. You have to know how to deal with rude comments, refund requests, and complaints. You also need to know how to build good relationships with people; not only your subscribers, but other marketers. This is just a no-brainer. No successful marketer is an island.

Exception to the rule: You may have reached the point where you can outsource customer support. If so, congratulations! You have proven you are quite capable. But you still need to maintain good relationships with other marketers.

Research Department: You must be able to conduct basic research in order to find profitable niches, see what other successful marketers are doing, look up 'how to' tutorials, and check the stats of your own marketing methods. You may do this through an A/B split test, or some other method of tracking where most of your leads and sales are coming from.

Exception to the rule: Sorry, but there's really no exception to this. You, at a minimum, must be proficient at researching a profitable niche, even if you outsource the rest. This is a fundamental, basic first step in Internet marketing.

Tech support: As the tech support department, you have to be able to set up a website or blog, utilize an autoresponder, upload a squeeze page, use a cPanel or FTP server, know at least a bit of technical terms, and know how to backup all your stuff in case something happens (which as we know, is not a case of 'if', but 'when').

Exception to the rule: You may know someone who is technically inclined that can walk you through the set-up of all this or you can pay them to do it for you. If you're resourceful, you may think about utilizing your research department to look up video tutorials on how to set all of this up. The good thing is, you don't have to know why it works, just that it works.

Human resources: As the HR person in your business, you have a huge responsibility. You maintain the ebb and flow of every part of your business. You must make sure that all of your departments are doing their job correctly, keep them all motivated with rewards and bonuses, make sure they get holidays and sick time (but not taking advantage of them), and of course find the right outsourcers for the job at hand. If you want, you can assign the task of finding potential outsourcers to your research department (once again, that research department is coming in pretty handy. You may think about giving them an extra bonus).

All jokes aside, as the HR person, you have to hold yourself accountable, pat yourself on the back, make sure you're not overdoing it, and make sure every part of your business is flowing correctly. The HR department, hands down, has it harder than any other department.

Exception to the rule: If you can outsource your HR department, you're not an Internet marketer, you're more likely a Corporate CEO Tycoon. Really, if you're outsourcing your whole business, you probably don't need to be reading this, but thanks for taking the time to!

Now, is all of this that I've just talked about really a problem? It depends. Are you the kind of person that can handle being all of these things? How much can you outsource right now? Even if you have reached the point where you can have a large part of your business done for you, you didn't get to where you're at by NOT rounding a sharp learning curve. At some point you worked in every department of your internet marketing business. You still have a basic, fundamental knowledge of how everything works. In other words, you understand how all of this comes together.

It's like weaving a fine tapestry. Or better yet, like building a car. If you were going to pay someone to build a car from scratch, you would need to tell them all the features you want your car to have, right? And to do that, you would need to know what features are available, or even possible. You would at least need to look at other cars to see what they have (research department), decide on the best features to suit your needs as well as a good color, and type of fabric for the interior (creative department). You'd have to know how to go about finding the best mechanic for the job (research department and/or human resource) and then hire them (human resource). Once your car is built, it would be a good idea if you knew how to check the oil and change a flat tire (tech support). I think you get the picture.

Is this a tough part of Internet marketing? Yes, sometimes. Is anyone capable of doing it? No. If you can't handle having to do all of these things at some point and recognize that it's just part of the job, you're probably not going to make it.

Now, I bet I know what you're thinking.

"Geez, Liz. This is all kind of depressing. Is there a point to this? Is there any good news?"

Why, yes there is! Thanks for asking! The good news is, it's really not all that hard to be all those things, most of the time. And here's why: once you weigh the pros and the cons of all of this to having a real J.O.B., you will realize that as an Internet marketer you have a lot of benefits that include not having to commute, no workplace drama, no boss breathing down your neck, you can determine your own schedule, and the monetary rewards are huge (if you do it right).

And of course there is the exception to all of this: You can get a push-button software system that will handle the automation of all of this for you in as little as 2 hours, 49 minutes and 16 seconds, and be making money right away!!

Yeah, good luck with that!

If you found this article helpful please feel free to visit my blog at http://www.lizbradshaw.com and leave a comment!

Sure Fire Internet Marketing Tips

Now, more than ever, internet marketing is a vital tool for your business. Failing to do this may give your competition an advantage and make you miss out on new customers. Here are several key tips to Internet marketing.

Current content is very important on your website. Visitors to your site that see outdated information may believe that your company is floundering and that getting in touch with you would be a waste. An up-to-date site is sites that people enjoy visiting.

Find ways to utilize Facebook and Twitter throughout your Internet marketing. Your site will be visible to your customers at all time if you use social media websites, this will give you the opportunity to send out quick promos. Yet you should exercise restraint and not overdo it with promotional tweets and remarks. Try to give valuable and helpful postings with an occasional marketing message appearing here and there.

Consider what your customers and visitors want to see when visiting your site. If you can give them what they are looking for, you will see your marketing efforts pay off in more sales for the product. Consider asking your customers for unbiased opinions about your website. You could ask your family and friends to comment and give you their opinion. Engage in a lot of research in order to develop a site that truly has value for the people visiting it.

You can do Internet marketing in several ways; one of the easiest ways is to put ads on the Internet. Many companies use AdSense for this. The benefit to you is that the company you are paying does most of the work.

Avoid spam as much as possible. It might seem good to use web crawlers to spam, but this won't give you the results that you desire. When you fail to add personal touches to your advertising people recognize this and are less likely to give your business.

Try to find a niche and stick with that to hone in on what your clients desire. Why not? In this way you can locate similar problems in need of solutions. By finding out what sort of problems exist in an area, you can come up with some answers. If you make use of this method, it may enable you to locate a good niche within your market. It may also help you in devising an excellent mission statement.

Have your site filled with original and interesting content. Search engines will rank your website higher if it contains unique and valuable content in the articles and your customers will be more favorable to your site as well.

Instead of marketing your site as a business, market it as a group or a social site. Using this technique will generate more traffic because your customers can communicate with one another. This will also make your site more memorable for consumers. Create interesting logos related to your company that customers can place on their website or blog to help get the word out about your product or service.

Keep yourself informed with all of the different things available on the Internet. Things change quickly and constantly in the online world, and vast numbers of potential customers can suddenly flock to a site or a service that didn't exist a week ago. Keeping tabs on where the users are will allow you to market more effectively.

Try and be as knowledgeable as you can be about anything you market on the Internet. This will make you seem credible, as you will offer relevant, correct information. You can easily lose your credibility, should people be able to tell you really don't know what you're talking about.

Try using banners on your site that don't look like your typical banners. If they appear to be links to valuable content, there is a greater chance that the customer will click on them. Many people find banners a real turn-off, so this practice may entice them to click where they otherwise would not have.

Do you have a product that no one else offers? If you can offer a unique, exclusive product, it can make a dramatic difference in the amount of traffic you receive. The increased visitor numbers not only get more eyes on your products, they also add legitimacy, which will increase your page ranking.

If you have a place on your site people can comment, it might help you market your products. Seeing feedback from genuine customers can be very persuasive to those trying to decide whether or not to buy. The extra content is also great for increasing your site's visibility!

If you use your website to its full potential, you will be successful at Internet marketing. Experiment with designs until you find a pleasing layout and color scheme. Then add the features and elements that will allow you to effectively present your product and communicate with your customers. Just remember that the website's appeal to your visitors can make them stay or go away.

Use image searches to your advantage when dealing with internet marketing. When you have relevant photos on your site, the interest in your site can be increased since you are not relying on text searches only. People who are searching for other things might wind up at your site because they were searching for a particular image. It also gives the customer a visual that will make them more likely to remember your product.

Source respected leaders in your field or industry and ask them to provide interviews for your website. You can provide a written interview or do it as an audio or video. The interviews do a great job of increasing your reputation as more people will be driven to your site the more people you interview.

Now that you've come to the end of this article, you can see the need to effectively employ Internet marketing within your own business. Adopt these practices to improve your sales, customer relations and your company's recognition.

Learn how a stay at home mum generates a 4-5 figure income monthly to pay off her debts thru internet marketing here >>> http://www.iwealthcreation.com

Twitter in Internet Marketing

The MLM industry is certainly growing very quickly. This may be because many people are looking for business opportunities that present great compensation plans and alternative methods of marketing. People nowadays are looking for opportunities to earn money that do not ask that much effort from their part. As such, a lot of companies are emerging over the horizon to answer the needs of the society and appeal to people with amazing compensation plans and reward systems. Network marketers are rewarded for their individual sales. More so, they can easily organize a network of individuals composed of those they have successfully brought into the company. Having a downline also entitles you to various bonuses that will help you get the most out of your every effort. Because of everything that multi-level networking businesses has to offer, individuals eagerly step into the shoes of being a network marketer. Most novices to the network marketing industry experience several different problems that may hinder them from fully experiencing the advantages of being a network marketer. Here are some of these common problems and the solutions you can use to find success in the thriving MLM industry.

One often weighs every aspect of each marketing strategy and looks into the pros and cons of using each. Traditional marketing methods are very easy to use even for those who are new to the industry. However, using such methods may reflect heavily on your pocket. More so, not that many people spend their time ogling at flyers or banners displayed and promoting your business. Personal communication and relationship with the clientele also hinders you from reaching out to a lot of people. Internet marketing, on the other hand, is also easy to use and offers you with countless ways to promote your business online. People nowadays solely depend on the Internet for the facts they end to find whatever products and services they may need. Communication between you and the clientele is made much easier when you make use of the Internet since the constraints once set by differences in time and location have become eliminated. As such, you can easily build harmonious relationships with them, something that often leads to repeat business transactions. Choosing the multi-level marketing campaign you will employ in your business should also depend upon your lifestyle and the nature of the business itself. Some businesses are ideally marketed offline while others seem to prosper more when promoted online.

Social media has absolutely captured the attention of the public, which is evident in the fact that nearly everyone has an account in a social networking platform somewhere. Indeed, a lot of social networking sites have emerged to satisfy everyone's need for communication. Twitter is among the most popular social media platforms that keep people busy. Twitter is successful in connecting millions and millions of people together. However, this can mean more than plain communication for a crafty network marketer. As such, several MLM business owners are utilizing Twitter to aid them in their Internet marketing campaign.

Most people are looking for a way to earn money. Some of these people may have lost their jobs to the economic decline, while others desire to become self-employed and attain some sense of freedom and independence by venturing into their very own business.

Since multi-level marketing is a booming industry, more and more MLM companies are coming out like mushrooms every day. As such, the overwhelming desire of marketers to discover promising business opportunities is growing by the minute. This is so because MLM industry promises great results in terms of earning money. Generally speaking, MLM operates on the principle of leveraging whereas people utilize other people's resources, efforts, and time for maximized result. They do this by acquiring individuals known as distributors to do the leveraging as well as sell their products and services.

In turn, these distributors are paid through commissions that they made from their sales, varying from 25% to 50% from the retail sales. The income earned from this is apart from what they could earn when they build a downline organization to maximize the sale of the company's products and services. In addition, there's the compensation plan, which payment scheme vary depending on the MLM company's system. Active distributors enjoy lucrative income whereas the network marketers who are not serious in doing the business receive less compensation. The type of compensation ranges from money, cars, cruises, and trips abroad among others.

A lot of things that we may have gotten used to has changed. Technology has changed the thing we have come to know, and for the better. Everything has become virtually much easier and convenient. We are able to keep pace with the changing times and meet the changing demands of society. As such, in order not to be left behind in the network marketing industry, you should know of the many innovative ways through which can promote your business and head towards success. Online marketing is one such technique, and social network marketing is one of its most popular options.

Social media marketing has indeed become extremely widespread, and Twitter has become an essential tool for Internet marketers who wish to have access to as many Internet marketing strategies and methods as possible. This is a great move for MLM business owners because Twitter actually has a number of advantages when used in Internet marketing.

The most obvious and essential advantage of using Twitter in Internet marketing is its wide and extensive reach. The Internet is accessible by everyone who has an Internet connection, and nearly everyone has access to it. However, the chance of getting found online can be quite miniscule. Using Twitter gives you a much better chance and puts you on the mainstream of the online community. It helps you gain prospective prospects by providing a series of relevant and useful tweets that will attract them to your business. Also, it's a great way to maintain communication and build lasting relationship to your already existing market base.

Internet marketing is generally cheaper than other conventional marketing methods. Using the Internet as a marketing tool also does not require the employment of individuals, saving you from having to pay salaries. These savings will reflect on your earnings, reducing the amount of costs and adding to your income. Establishing a website or a blog can be basically free, though fees has to be paid in order to develop it further but maintaining them can be quite difficult and expensive. This is when Twitter becomes handy. You only have to create your account and follow as many popular users so as to help you get noticed by others. You only have to constantly Tweet, and you have already maintained your Twitter account that has the potential of leading people to your business.

Internet marketing is really important for MLM businesses. You can use different methods, but using Twitter can prove to be of help to top your campaign for success. Don't know where to start? 7DigitBluePrint will teach you how. Learn how to dominate the market by learning what only the top 3% of this industry know!

Alternatively, you can visit Michaelangelo Flores' Official Blog to find out more tips and reviews on more upcoming opportunities and strategies regarding network marketing and other home-based businesses.

Internet Marketing Basics

To be successful at internet marketing its important that you understand the basics of this subject. If you type in internet marketing into Google you are bombarded with websites trying to sell you the latest techniques and products that claim you will earn thousands of dollars a week.

Well the truth is you can actually make thousands of dollars a week with internet marketing but not over night. It's a skill like being an electrician or a car mechanic, you need to learn the trade.

So how does internet marketing work?

Well the basic idea is to sell a product to someone online and if they buy the product you then get a commission, JUST like in real life. A sales person earns a commission if he sells a car, or another example is if a person refers someone to a gym and they sign up that person who did the referring gets a commission.

In the online world its the same, for example if you're searching for dog training techniques on Google you will retrieve many results.
Once you go to a website that you like the look of from the results its possible that site might have an advert displayed on their website for an eBook called SUPER DOG TRAINING TECHNIQUES.

If you click on that advert you will be redirected to another site selling that eBook and if you buy that book a sale is made and the website who referred you to that site gets paid a commission, this is the basics behind internet marketing and there is money to be made.

When you are ready and want to tackle internet marketing you must choose an easy to spell and easy to remember domain name related to your website, visit GoDaddy.com and experiment with some names.

Do some research so you know who your target audience is going to be and cater the website to your target audience.

Things don't happen over night and can be months before you will be making any money but you can easily speed things up with the correct knowledge.

One important thing is learning how to drive traffic to your website, this is a skill in its self but can be easily achieved with the correct research and if you have the correct mindset to learn these new skills

There are many ways to drive traffic to your site, some of them is using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, link build and so much more.

If you want to learn these skills here is a great place to start.

If you are interested in internet marketing then you can view a free video course accompanied with a free eBook on building a one page website which is the starting block for a career in internet marketing and will surly speed up your process.

Tips on Implementing an Effective Email Marketing Strategy

Introduction

An email marketing strategy plays a major role in ensuring that you attract the attention of as many customers `s possible and you increase traffic to your website. Note that email marketing is considered to be among the most efficient marketing strategies. In addition to that, it costs much less than other forms of marketing. However, you may find that your email marketing is not as efficient as you would like because your strategies are not working. Below are some methods that can help you implement an effective strategy.

Get an email market provider

Getting the ideal email marketing provider is very important. The provider will assist you in the management and sending of emails. There are several available services that you can rely on, and they will help you get rid of bouncing emails that fail to reach the recipient due to invalid addresses.

Build an email address list

Another effective strategy is building an opt-in form, which collects customer's emails and prospects. You will simplify the work of your marketing providers as they use the form builder if you add your email details and messages. The service providers will build a code that you can embed on your website. Remember that it is important to give those subscribing to your emails valuable gifts that act as tokens for letting you have their email addresses and names. In addition to that, it is necessary to add the opt-in form in all pages of your website.

Create a newsletter

When it comes to designing email campaigns, you can decide to come out of the ordinary. You can send your campaign messages in newsletter form. This is an effective email campaign strategy and your email marketing providers will help you with it. You just need to make the newsletter as interesting as possible. You can include your business headers and logos to help the subscribers recognize you easily. You can also add your discounts, offers and probably the links you would like your customers to click.

Send emails and get them opened.

Nowadays people are very busy and they receive many emails that they do not have time to open. Most likely, they will start by sending unfamiliar emails to the trash. It is therefore advisable to make yourself known to your subscribers. You should also make sure that the message is valuable and interesting since recipients will not waste their time reading a boring message.

Test and evaluate

Evaluating and testing is another important strategy. Note that, in email campaigns the number of emails opened varies according to the nature of recipients, size of list and time of sending among others. It is therefore necessary to evaluate and test. For instance, it is not wise to send important email campaigns during holidays because the probability of having them opened is very low. It is also important to evaluate interested subscribers and new subscribers.

Include social sharing

Another effective email marketing strategy is to build up social network pages for your business such as Twitter and Facebook since it will help you reach more prospects. You can do this by including them in your newsletters and encourage your customers to join you in those forums. In addition to that, make an effort of ascertaining your customers' preferences. It is important to ask your subscribers if they prefer your email and newsletters on a weekly or monthly basis.

Conclusion

Using the right email marketing strategy goes a long way in making you a successful email marketer. This can translate to more sales and profits for your business. Any given strategy will enhance your email marketing and enable to you to achieve a good return on your investment.

Todd Martin owns and operates a local marketing firm. As well as blogging, he works weekly in ministries to the underprivileged, active hiker, biker and racquetball player to mention a few items.
Come and visit his Internet Marketing Consultant web page or visit Marketing tips and strategies blog. Thank you.

Psychology Books for Internet Marketers

Using the Internet successfully requires several skills. These days, for instance, you need to be able to write - after all even if you live your entire life on Facebook most of it will be spent typing material you want people to read. Never before have people written so much. But writing requires knowledge of your audience - what do they want and how can you influence them to agree with your point of view? On top of this, the Internet requires new thinking skills because we flit from idea to idea, from site to site and from text to video, all in the blink of an eye. Processing the information and remembering everything is an increasing problem online.

To be successful online you need to be able to work smart, to communicate well and to understand your audiences. So, how can you do all that? The answers for you may very well lay inside these seven books which tackle some of the fundamentals of being successful online. Only one of these books is specifically about the Internet - the others are general psychology books. But they all provide ways in which you can significantly increase your online success.

How the Mind Works

This is a psychology "classic" by Professor Stephen Pinker, a specialist in the psychology of language. The book is an excellent introduction to the whole arena of psychology and gives examples from hundreds of different research studies which reveal the complexities of the human mind. Within the pages of this book you will find plenty of material that will help you understand your online customers, for instance. Just how can you empathise with them and get them to connect with you? The answers lie in How the Mind Works. It is a fascinating book which in spite of its scientific authority is remarkably easy to read.

Language and the Internet

This book by the world-renowned linguist, David Crystal, is essential reading if you want to communicate well online. The book looks at the different kind of languages used on email compared with web pages or social networks. The book shows how people are using language online in shaping their own identity and it also looks at how our language may change in the future as a result of our online activities. More than this, however, Language and the Internet is an excellent thought-provoking read for anyone who writes online -i.e. all of us..!

Human Communication

Although this book was written back in the mid-1990s, well before the Internet really took off, it is a timeless title because it covers the fundamentals of communications psychology - which have changed little as a result of the web. For instance, the chapter on how we communicate within relationships has much to commend it in terms of what you might do on a social network. Equally, how we communicate across cultures is tackled in the book - an essential notion for the global Internet.

Influence

One of the key things you need to do online is persuade people you are right. Whether you are discussing things in a social network, or trying to sell something from a web page, your success is dependent on your powers of influence. The world expert on the psychology of persuasion is Professor Rober Cialdini and his book Influence is his complete guide on how you can be more persuasive. There are several techniques revealed in this book, which combined will make you a powerful force online.

The Speed Reading Book

One of the problems with the modern world is that there is more information for you to read than ever before. Indeed, according to Google, the amount of information it adds to its database every 48 hours is equivalent to the amount of information ever produced by humans from the first steps we took on the planet. The information explosion brings a whole new meaning to "exponential growth". The result is you are going to be reading more than ever before and next year you will need to read even more than you did this year and so on. So, The Speed Reading Book is what you need. By mind mapping expert Tony Buzan, this book reveals how your mind can process more words than you ever thought possible.

Learn to Remember

The author of this book is not a psychologist, but he has been the World Memory Champion six times. So, Dominic O'Brien clearly knows a thing or two about remembering stuff. With the increasing amount of technology that an Internet Marketer needs to remember how to use, having the ability to recall things is clearly an advantage in the online world. This book explains how to boost your memory and is backed with solid psychological evidence - it's not one of those cheap, tacky books on memory..! This is the real deal.

Manage Your Mind

This book is about mental health and fitness. One of the problems with using the Internet all day is that you can become lonely and anxious. There is evidence that long-term use of the web is associated with increased levels of depression, for instance. And if you are anxious or depressed you cannot make decisions well which could therefore have an impact upon what you do online. This book will help you ensure your brain stays in tip-top condition so that you can make the most of the Internet.

So there you have it - seven books which will help boost your online success. They are clearly not mainstream Internet books - but they do reveal some fundamental aspects of psychology which will help you succeed on the Internet.

Simple Steps to Book Marketing

So, you've taken the plunge and written your book. Now what? It is time for editing, cover graphic and layout; then off to the printer or digital converter. If you have already done so, good for you. If not, then those next steps are critical to the success of your book. Be sure your title, cover and layout are strong enough to effectively grab the eye of your reading public. But, if you already have your book or eBook ready for distribution what do you do next? MARKET! Oh but of course. I hear you thinking perhaps even out loud, "Easy for you to say, but how do I do it?"

First, the distribution channel you chose will make all the difference in the amount of work ahead of you. If you are truly going it solo then you will have to upload your book or eBook to each and every available retail outlet; and there are a ton of them out there. Amazon and Barnes & Noble are NOT the only book resellers - and, these types of resale outlets are difficult to get into and expect a huge discount, usually 55-70%.

Alternatively, you could hire a small publishing assistance firm to help you. These types of firms can upload your publication one time and make it instantly available to the whole lot of distribution sources through the Ingram book catalog. What or who is Ingram? Well, they are just the biggest book catalog and where resellers turn to for the latest and best books for their outlets; yes, this includes Amazon and B&N. True, depending on the firm, they will keep 10-20% of your after discount and printing fee commission. But, for all the work they will save you and their ability to get your book listing in Ingram's catalog, this is peanuts.

So, now how do you begin marketing? The answer is not a simple one. In fact there are hundreds of ways available to the enthusiastic author. To choose those which you are willing to do is the task at hand. If you are independently wealthy, you might consider hiring a marketing firm. But for the vast majority of us, marketing our books falls deftly on our shoulders. Herein I will share a mere 10 ways to market your book or eBook.

1. Article Marketing

This avenue entails more writing, which, hey, if you are an author you are pretty good at and should be a piece of cake, so to speak. Write articles that speak about the subject of your book and are informative. Excerpts from your work should be considered for inclusion. Even if you want to write about a different topic than your book or eBook touches you can still use article marketing to your advantage. How? Easy, include the link to your work in the author resource section provided by the article house.

The key here is to not write and submit one article to one article house, but many articles over a period of time to many article houses. Some of the ones that I have used in the past are EzineArticles, Article Garden, GoArticles, Self Growth, ISnare, and Associated Bontent. Some of these are paid while others are free submission sites. Also, Free Article Submission Organization has a list of 1,000 submission sites if you are up to the task.

2. Newsletter Marketing

On the same direction, offering a newsletter or ezine can help you sell your book. This again takes a firm commitment as you will need to provide your ezine or newsletter on a regular basis, without fail! Content is key. If the content is not informative you will lose your hard sought readership; and readers are what you are after, after all.

Some newsletter/ezine providers are free while others are vastly costly. Three that I am familiar with and have used in the past are Constant Contact, Your Mailing List Provider and of course AWeber. The greatest benefit to newsletter marketing is building your list of contacts who read and enjoy your content. These are the readers who will most likely buy your books and eBooks once you make them aware of their availability.

3. Teleselinar/Webinar

Public speaking made easy. That is how I see these events. While giving you the opportunity to practice your speaking talents you will find these less costly and easier to effect. No hotel bill, no travel expenses, and a willing audience. However, scheduling of these events must fit not only your audience, but your schedule too. Too late and you may lose your opposite coast listeners; too early and you risk losing your target audience; working folks and parents.

If you don't know where to start looking for the right host or club simply ask around. Your friends might just know of a host that is the perfect fit for your subject. Be aware of and familiar with the technology that will be used. Will it be a video conference or just audio, such as the telephone provides? Will you be able to use a whiteboard or other interactive tools or just speak? Knowing your venue before your presentation will help you put together the right information in a manner that will engage your audience.

Be sure you know the audience that your host or hostess is in touch with. Don't just give the same information to everyone. Meld your topic to fit the audience. For example, as I mention in my book Presentational Skills for the Next Generation, if you are speaking to children you would use examples that they are familiar with while when speaking to a scientific convention you would use more technical terms and such. A singles group wouldn't be apt to care about your stories of familial significance as much as a single parent's group. The key here is to make the material relevant to your audience. Use examples that fit your listeners.

4. Public Speaking

Vastly similar to Teleseminar/Webinars is public speaking. However, this involves doing so in person. Whether you offer to be a guest speaker for pay or for free this is up to you. However, many groups and organizations need speakers. Each time you speak in front of a group you get better and more at ease. Besides growing into an interesting speaker these events give you the opportunity to sell your book to an eager public. The more you books you sell directly from the 'back of the room' or your 'trunk' the more money stays in your pocket.

Book clubs order thousands of units. So, you should definitely attempt to use these to market your book. Offer to speak at your next local book club meeting. If you can't afford to travel, offer to speak at your local clubs. Rotary, Chambers and such are just a few other ideas. Remember, they need you as much as you need them.

5. Blogging

Blogs are terrific tools for authors. They allow you to instantly interact with your audience. Be aware that you will need to offer interesting and relevant content on a regular schedule. If time is an issue for you, you can either hire a Virtual Assistant (VA) or use other blogs as in a Blog Tour. I probably don't need to list blog hosts, but WordPress is my blog of choice.

6. Book Trailers

With people's attention spans getting shorter and shorter book trailers are fast becoming an author's tool of choice. While costs can vary between one and several thousand dollars these can be just the spark that will sell your book. Consider carefully before you buy. Check out the quality of previous offerings; don't just go with the cheapest price. One that I have found to offer both good quality and affordable pricing is Master Koda, master marketer Kim Emerson's latest venture.

7. Press Releases

No marketing plan would be complete without the tried and true press release. Notice the 's' in the title. That's right. Not just one, but many are needed. Time them out; don't just put them all up at one time. Also, remember what a press release is and what it is not. It is a newsworthy information piece, not a sales letter.

There are a few companies who will help you write and submit your press release. Be sure to use both online and offline submission sites. Using fax blasting as well as online submission sites will multiply your efforts. Also, focus on your local area as they are more interested in promoting you than would be a newspaper all across the country.

This is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. To ensure the success of your book or eBook it is up to you, the author, to promote your work. These are just a few to get you started. For more ideas search the web or hire a marketing firm that can further assist you to reach the Best Seller status you and your book deserve.

Ginger Marks is the founder of DocUmeant, a family of Publishing and Design companies. For more information, visit DocUmeant Designs and DocUmeant Publishing Mrs. Marks has recently released the third annual edition of her book Weird & Wacky Holiday Marketing Guide available through Lulu.com and Amazon. She also offers insight into marketing solutions through her ezine, Words of Wisdom, available through her websites.

Simple Steps for Beginning A Content Marketing Strategy

This post will provide some simple steps to help you outline what needs to be done when developing a digital marketing strategy. Sure, there is a heck of a lot more to go with this, but this should help you create the foundation.

Social/Digital Media Assessment
The first step will be to become more familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of your existing digital communication process. This will help define how to move forward with each existing process and which we develop from scratch.

Content Audit
Immediately after the assessment the content audit begins. A thorough review of existing content will be conducted. Agreed upon content should be considered as digital assets that can be used within the overall strategy.

Competitor Analysis
A competitor review will also be conducted. Data will be gathered to study and compare performance across competitive media channels. For example,  study competitor websites, social media channels and audience reach. This data will be used to shape entry into competitor-occupied, digital media channels.

Trend Research
Research into the consumption habits of digital media amongst stakeholders. Key findings will help identify who, where and when to communicate with the various types of stakeholders. This will also help define a publishing schedule.

Persona Development
Identify key stakeholder personalities and assign them a persona. The criteria used to form the persona will consist of media consumption habits, demographic, needs and location. The persona will be used to determine the digital voice and communication strategy.

Audience Development
The primary focus of this stage will be finding the audience that you want to speak with. This stage will also be used to identify the where and when of audience engagement. A gentle entry into the digital media channel will be necessary to develop this stage.

Publishing
Begin to leverage the digital content assets that were identified in the content audit stage. Use this content to create blog posts, white papers, case studies, tweets, email campaigns and anything else that is needed to communicate your voice. Develop an editorial calendar and stick to it. Treat your business like a publishing company.

Monitoring
Analytics software and digital media monitoring tools make it possible to track when people engage with SHP. The data gained in this stage can be measured against industry benchmarks and used to help us define a success metric.

Tips for Finding Your Small Business Social Media Voice

On a weekly basis we meet with dozens of small business owners; from the local deli to the automotive superstore, everyone is trying to leverage social media to boost their business. We've noticed the folks having the most success all have something in common, they have a definitive voice. Voice in social media is all about extending your brand via words, by tweet, status update or video posting, your voice is how people hear you when they consume your content.

Here are 5 Tips for Finding Your Social Media Voice

    Use Humor - using humor will let people know that you're approachable. By being approachable people will feel comfortable interacting with your brand and they'll ask questions when they need something. Humor also implies that you're not a selling machine and that you don't take yourself too seriously. People also want to do business with people that are fun; fun people make us feel good and feeling good can lead to a purchase decision. So be sure to work a little humor into your voice.

    Self-Deprecation - this is always a sure thing because people love it when we make fun of ourselves. Think about all of the self-deprecating actors/actresses and comedians that you've been entertained by. Now think about why that was effective in terms of making you laugh. For one, you can probably relate to some of the self-deprecation. For two, it demonstrates a sense of humility. Self-deprecation also implies a level of self-awareness and that more than likely means you'll be aware of me as well, your potential customer.

    Dumb Things Down - whenever possible, dumb-it-down. Your audience does not want to be bored with all of the details of your product line. They just want to know what it does and how it works. Keep it high level and save the details for a later conversation. This eliminates a perception of pretentiousness can come through when being too detailed on a given topic. Knowledge is power, but too much can lead to the lights turning-off.

    Refresh & Recall - point out older blog posts or content that support your current initiative. This will demonstrate consistency of your brand vision and commitment to sustaining it. Refresh your audiences memory about what you're trying to achieve and point to anything you have available to support your effort. Recalling past client experiences or sharing testimonials can also be powerful in demonstrating not only credibility but transparency.

    Call to Action - your social media voice should contain a call to action. This does not mean that it needs to be over the top and salesy. Just make sure that you're asking people to do something when you interact with them. Whether it's contacting Customer Service or sharing a story with you about their experience or even downloading a coupon; work a solid call to action note into your social media communication strategy.

These might seem like fundamental elements to follow but you'd be surprised how people forget them. Instead of developing a voice using these communication strategies a lot of small businesses will just keep pushing out the same boring message. Too many times business is lost because of underwhelming communication and boring content. Keep it fun, relevant and focused on your core capabilities and you'll find your voice in no time.

Tips for Finding Your Small Business Social Media Voice

On a weekly basis we meet with dozens of small business owners; from the local deli to the automotive superstore, everyone is trying to leverage social media to boost their business. We've noticed the folks having the most success all have something in common, they have a definitive voice. Voice in social media is all about extending your brand via words, by tweet, status update or video posting, your voice is how people hear you when they consume your content.

Here are 5 Tips for Finding Your Social Media Voice

    Use Humor - using humor will let people know that you're approachable. By being approachable people will feel comfortable interacting with your brand and they'll ask questions when they need something. Humor also implies that you're not a selling machine and that you don't take yourself too seriously. People also want to do business with people that are fun; fun people make us feel good and feeling good can lead to a purchase decision. So be sure to work a little humor into your voice.

    Self-Deprecation - this is always a sure thing because people love it when we make fun of ourselves. Think about all of the self-deprecating actors/actresses and comedians that you've been entertained by. Now think about why that was effective in terms of making you laugh. For one, you can probably relate to some of the self-deprecation. For two, it demonstrates a sense of humility. Self-deprecation also implies a level of self-awareness and that more than likely means you'll be aware of me as well, your potential customer.

    Dumb Things Down - whenever possible, dumb-it-down. Your audience does not want to be bored with all of the details of your product line. They just want to know what it does and how it works. Keep it high level and s`ve the details for a later conversation. This eliminates a perception of pretentiousness can come through when being too detailed on a given topic. Knowledge is power, but too much can lead to the lights turning-off.

    Refresh & Recall - point out older blog posts or content that support your current initiative. This will demonstrate consistency of your brand vision and commitment to sustaining it. Refresh your audiences memory about what you're trying to achieve and point to anything you have available to support your effort. Recalling past client experiences or sharing testimonials can also be powerful in demonstrating not only credibility but transparency.

    Call to Action - your social media voice should contain a call to action. This does not mean that it needs to be over the top and salesy. Just make sure that you're asking people to do something when you interact with them. Whether it's contacting Customer Service or sharing a story with you about their experience or even downloading a coupon; work a solid call to action note into your social media communication strategy.

These might seem like fundamental elements to follow but you'd be surprised how people forget them. Instead of developing a voice using these communication strategies a lot of small businesses will just keep pushing out the same boring message. Too many times business is lost because of underwhelming communication and boring content. Keep it fun, relevant and focused on your core capabilities and you'll find your voice in no time.

Prioritizing Your Marketing Choices

One of the toughest challenges for entrepreneurs is prioritizing their day and focusing their time.

And one of the reasons for this is because it's like a buffet! So many things to choose from and we want to dive into it all!

Well, just like a buffet, if we pile too much on our plates, some items will get cold before we can get to them, some items will melt into others and some will lose their pure "flavor" by being so close to stronger seasonings.

If you want to enjoy the bounty that a buffet provides you want to "sample" before you fill your plate. This way you can dive deeply into a pan of tasty dishes that will fill and satisfy you.

Now that you're sufficiently hungry, let's talk about how this relates to your business.

When you have the bounty of tools, tactics, resources and strategies from which to choose to grow your business, how in the world do you decide which to choose. And once chosen, how do you prioritize how to include it in your already full agenda or "to do" list?

My clients, and myself at times, go back and forth with how to prioritize the bounty we're presented with every single day. As an example, do we focus on networking - offline or online. In either case, where's the best place to spend our expensive time and dollar? Why would we want to use this one strategy over any other?

Next, do we invest in newsletters, audio or video for our communications vehicles? Are more people interested in reading, listening or seeing what we have to offer?

You see, same buffet of choices. What's a busy, hungry entrepreneur to do?

My recommendation has always been and continues to be similar to that approach to a buffet filled with lots of different foods to try. And that is to "sample" those different approaches. You want to put a couple on your schedule to see what response you receive from prospects and potential ideal clients.

You may find that in your profitable market, your prospects read and highlight things of interest to them. Or perhaps they're on the road more often and would enjoy audio messages from you. Then there are those who prefer to "see" what you have to offer.

Since there are so many ways to see which of your dishes deeply fills and satisfies. Here are just a few to get you started:

- You can measure where your traffic comes from - Google Analytics

- Run a test to see how often your email messages are opened

- Look at how many downloads there are of your articles

- Review how many comments or views there are of you videos on YouTube.

Now you have several ways to determine who is "sampling" and who is going back for seconds. And that, my friends is one of the best ways to determine how to prioritize your time and day, and where you want to put your focus.

We are often blinded by the latest and greatest tools, tactics, etc., but why not pursue excellence where we know our prospects and clients get their enjoyment and fill their plates?

Just to give you a quick example close to home. I observed ezine authors use a new strategy to drive traffic to their blog, so I decided to try it too. I would put a couple of paragraphs of my article in the ezine and direct readers to my blog to read the entire article online and comment.

So what happened? My open rates for my newsletter plummeted! Fewer people were reading it. When I returned to posting the full article, open rates went up, as did new subscribers! However, without the test, I wouldn't know the buffet choices of my readers!

Now you have some examples and strategies to help you approach and prioritize the buffet of marketing choices in front of you as a busy entrepreneur. Choose wisely.

The business mentor to the service professional who is ready to thrive as an entrepreneur, Chris Makell shows her clients a different way to "Think Big...Play Bigger" so they create profitable 6 & 7-figure businesses. Claim your free special report "5 Critical Steps to Get High Paying Clients, Today" at http://ChrisMakell.com/specialreport/

Internet Marketing Tips - Avoid Spamming People

Avoid Spamming People

With so many people moving towards an online community to get goods and services, Internet marketing tips seem to be on the mind of small business owners and affiliate marketing talent alike. If you're in either one of those categories, it's important to look into options that will get your information into the eyes of millions of potential friends and customers. While some skeptics will scoff at the notion of getting free advertising, many large companies have figured out the best way to get promotion is to befriend others through free profiles on social networking websites.

Success without spamming people

Most recently, in an issue of Money Magazine, a small business was highlighted as getting an increase of 200% in profit through simply giving away their software in exchange for a social media shout out. With so many people taking advantage of this, and so many users talking about it on their social media page, the company become profitable nearly overnight, and millions of new potential customers came to their website and purchased other items.

If you want to duplicate that kind of success, you'll have to figure out what internet marketing tips will work for you and what won't. There are several do's and don'ts that are applicable to situations of marketing potential. For instance, you do want to engage people in conversation about what it is you and your company do, but you don't want it to be so transparent that you're selling something to someone. If you're not selling anything, but rather are trying to communicate with a new user base, you'll find that spamming people is easy.

If you simply send a message to a stranger, even if they seem interested, you could be labeled as a spam artist. In the marketing world, the spam title is a major blunder that you want to never have to deal with. Instead of sending people blind messages, make sure that you engage all friends and neighbors in any social networking site with sincerity, and do not mention what you're promoting for quite sometime.

Let the conversations happen over time, naturally. It will take some savvy, but you can get any one to be interested in your content, if you simply engage them at a social level that is not pretentious in any way. The easiest way to facilitate this is to simply comment on their posts, pictures, and communicate with them through simple questions and answers.

Simple Method For Internet Marketing

Internet Marketing can be very rewarding and fun. There are a few different methods that you can follow to achieve your goals. Remember it is always a good idea to think outside the box and try some new methods yourself. A lot of people are lured into the idea that marketing can be automated and you don't have to put any time into it. This is totally false if you have been sold on this idea then you are destined to failure. No matter what type of job you do there is a certain amount of work you have to put into it this is the same for making money online.

One method that I have had a lot of luck with is, using a squeeze page. Squeeze pages are set up to collect info from the visitors such as emails and names, usually if people fill out the form they are given a free gift of some sort such as a news letter, ebook, video etc etc... Building a list can bring you a lot of success. Sending out emails from your auto responder is much more effective then sending out a tweet on twitter, think about it people can just ignore your tweets but it is pretty hard to ignore email messages. My favorite part with this method is it is very quick and simple to set up. The main focus of your squeeze page should be to set it up to convert. Make people want to fill out your opt in form give them a gift that is to good to pass up.

The next obstacle to overcome is to get a steady flow of traffic to your page. My suggestion here is to get your link out there. You can do this by forum posting with a link added to your site in your signature, promote on social networking sites, and blog commenting don't get me wrong there are several ways to bring traffic to your site like I said before think outside the box. Forum posting may take some time before you start seeing results but the wait is well worth it. Make sure you are posting interesting content within the forum so people will take notice. This goes the same for social networking make your tweets on twitter interesting enough for people to take notice, like I said above it is pretty easy to ignore a tweet. And blog posting this can work just like forums and it also adds a one way link to your site so it works out real well for you. Keep your post on the topic and interesting the rest will take care of itself.

So as long as you do a good amount of research and promote your site well you can make a very descent living online. Don't lose your focus keep your head up and have a little patience it will all pay off for you as long as you do not give up. There is plenty of help out there just look for it.

Prioritizing Your Marketing Choices

One of the toughest challenges for entrepreneurs is prioritizing their day and focusing their time.

And one of the reasons for this is because it's like a buffet! So many things to choose from and we want to dive into it all!

Well, just like a buffet, if we pile too much on our plates, some items will get cold before we can get to them, some items will melt into others and some will lose their pure "flavor" by being so close to stronger seasonings.

If you want to enjoy the bounty that a buffet provides you want to "sample" before you fill your plate. This way you can dive deeply into a pan of tasty dishes that will fill and satisfy you.

Now that you're sufficiently hungry, let's talk about how this relates to your business.

When you have the bounty of tools, tactics, resources and strategies from which to choose to grow your business, how in the world do you decide which to choose. And once chosen, how do you prioritize how to include it in your already full agenda or "to do" list?

My clients, and myself at times, go back and forth with how to prioritize the bounty we're presented with every single day. As an example, do we focus on networking - offline or online. In either case, where's the best place to spend our expensive time and dollar? Why would we want to use this one strategy over any other?

Next, do we invest in newsletters, audio or video for our communications vehicles? Are more people interested in reading, listening or seeing what we have to offer?

You see, same buffet of choices. What's a busy, hungry entrepreneur to do?

My recommendation has always been and continues to be similar to that approach to a buffet filled with lots of different foods to try. And that is to "sample" those different approaches. You want to put a couple on your schedule to see what response you receive from prospects and potential ideal clients.

You may find that in your profitable market, your prospects read and highlight things of interest to them. Or perhaps they're on the road more often and would enjoy audio messages from you. Then there are those who prefer to "see" what you have to offer.

Since there are so many ways to see which of your dishes deeply fills and satisfies. Here are just a few to get you started:

- You can measure where your traffic comes from - Google Analytics

- Run a test to see how often your email messages are opened

- Look at how many downloads there are of your articles

- Review how many comments or views there are of you videos on YouTube.

Now you have several ways to determine who is "sampling" and who is going back for seconds. And that, my friends is one of the best ways to determine how to prioritize your time and day, and where you want to put your focus.

We are often blinded by the latest and greatest tools, tactics, etc., but why not pursue excellence where we know our prospects and clients get their enjoyment and fill their plates?

Just to give you a quick example close to home. I observed ezine authors use a new strategy to drive traffic to their blog, so I decided to try it too. I would put a couple of paragraphs of my article in the ezine and direct readers to my blog to read the entire article online and comment.

So what happened? My open rates for my newsletter plummeted! Fewer people were reading it. When I returned to posting the full article, open rates went up, as did new subscribers! However, without the test, I wouldn't know the buffet choices of my readers!

Now you have some examples and strategies to help you approach and prioritize the buffet of marketing choices in front of you as a busy entrepreneur. Choose wisely.

The business mentor to the service professional who is ready to thrive as an entrepreneur, Chris Makell shows her clients a different way to "Think Big...Play Bigger" so they create profitable 6 & 7-figure businesses. Claim your free special report "5 Critical Steps to Get High Paying Clients, Today" at http://ChrisMakell.com/specialreport/

Internet Marketing Strategies - Keyword Research

One of my top tips for anyone starting out online or setting up a business is to put together a sound marketing strategy plan. But before you do this, I want to let you in on one of THE most important internet marketing strategies you will ever learn.

Keyword Research - Keyword Research is the most important foundation of any business in today's markets. be it an online business or an offline business, your internet marketing strategies are going to prove to be the lifeblood of your research and planning when setting up.

A solid approach keyword research will show you in an instant whether there is a market out there for your product or service, and will determine the profitability of your future marketing campaigns.

Sounds like a strong statement doesn't it?

I'm sorry to say, but it's true. For those of you who put little to no thought into, OR who don't understand the high significance of keywords, in their internet marketing strategy, the keyword research you do before getting one single web page up will have a tremendous impact on how well you market to your target audience.

If you're an offline business (purely shopfront) you will need to consider implementing keyword research into your marketing strategy before you start, as most consumers now search online for their product or service before purchase or physical visits to businesses.

No pressure.

So - you're probably wondering "why is this keyword research so darned important to my internet marketing Strategies?"

Imagine for one moment that you own a Web Design Company and you've been invited to speak at an event.

You turn up, ultra prepared, notes in hand to deliver the presentation of your life.

You step out in front of the 200 or so attendees, everything goes to plan, and you speak ever so compellingly for about 25 minutes.

When you are finished, the crowd claps nicely...almost out of obligation. Everyone leaves their seat immediately, and heads to the hotel bar, leaving you standing their, no questions to answer, no-one to follow up, no exciting after speech buzz to attend to.

You're knocked sideways. It was your best presentations to date! You were compelling, but not too sales-y. You presented the problems with no pitch, and you managed to outline the available solutions, before unveiling your perfect product to fit the bill.

So, what happened?

The people you were presenting to weren't expecting you...they were waiting on someone else who was going to present about business network marketing. They don't even understand and weren't interested in your area of expertise and had little or no interest in your product.

Put simply.....this wasn't YOUR audience. This was not your target market.

You had everything prepared...you had perfectly prepared, presented and led right to the obvious solution...your product. But you were in front of the wrong people.
But how does this relate to keyword research as part of my internet marketing strategy?

People who visit your site are a direct relation to the keywords you are optimizing for. If you only tell search engines about your company name, how will people looking for your services find you?

For example - Say you're a trendy hairdressers called 'Zap Cuts' and you build your website stuffed with Zap Cuts specials and Zap Cuts Pricelist etc, you're not directing it towards your consumer. Your target market are not looking for 'Zap Cuts' They are looking for "Hairdressers."

By setting out Keyword research as the most important part of your internet marketing strategy, you will determine what phrases people are searching for that have the problem for your solution. They are searching for "perfect pick up lines" or "golf swing techniques" not "The Potty Putter." They don't even know you company even exists!

And, unless you do effective keyword research and optimize your site for it, they never will.

So, how do you go about finding the right keywords to research? Put yourself in your customers shoes. If you were someone out there with the problem your product solves, what would you be searching for?

"How to perfect my golf swing"

"Free Dog Training Guide"

"Best Art Museums"

"Traditional kids toyshops"

These keywords are the search terms your customers are using to find YOUR BUSINESS. These are the terms you need to incorporate in your Internet Marketing plan.

Of course, keyword research doesn't end there. There are many internet marketing courses and marketing skills you can use in conjunction with KW research that will compliment your findings and enhance your ability to translate the necessary action you need to take to optimize your website and online marketing campaigns.

Internet Marketing Tips - Avoid Spamming People

Avoid Spamming People

With so many people moving towards an online community to get goods and services, Internet marketing tips seem to be on the mind of small business owners and affiliate marketing talent alike. If you're in either one of those categories, it's important to look into options that will get your information into the eyes of millions of potential friends and customers. While some skeptics will scoff at the notion of getting free advertising, many large companies have figured out the best way to get promotion is to befriend others through free profiles on social networking websites.

Success without spamming people

Most recently, in an issue of Money Magazine, a small business was highlighted as getting an increase of 200% in profit through simply giving away their software in exchange for a social media shout out. With so many people taking advantage of this, and so many users talking about it on their social media page, the company become profitable nearly overnight, and millions of new potential customers came to their website and purchased other items.

If you want to duplicate that kind of success, you'll have to figure out what internet marketing tips will work for you and what won't. There are several do's and don'ts that are applicable to situations of marketing potential. For instance, you do want to engage people in conversation about what it is you and your company do, but you don't want it to be so transparent that you're selling something to someone. If you're not selling anything, but rather are trying to communicate with a new user base, you'll find that spamming people is easy.

If you simply send a message to a stranger, even if they seem interested, you could be labeled as a spam artist. In the marketing world, the spam title is a major blunder that you want to never have to deal with. Instead of sending people blind messages, make sure that you engage all friends and neighbors in any social networking site with sincerity, and do not mention what you're promoting for quite sometime.

Let the conversations happen over time, naturally. It will take some savvy, but you can get any one to be interested in your content, if you simply engage them at a social level that is not pretentious in any way. The easiest way to facilitate this is to simply comment on their posts, pictures, and communicate with them through simple questions and answers.

Basic Google+ Tips for Small Business Owners

By now you've probably noticed that Google places has morphed into Google+. The platform now closely resembles the functionality of Facebook. Early adopters where wavering as to whether Google+ would become relevant but it appears that critical mass has been reached and now big brands and small businesses of all kinds are leveraging it to connect with their audience. This post will share some fundamental steps to help you get your Google+ presence organized and optimized.

1. Create a Google Profile - if you have a Gmail account then this will be a snap. You simply head over to the Google+ page and start building out your profile. Their are several pre-set fields that will guide you through completing the profile. Be sure to be thorough as this information will show up in search engines. If you don't have a Gmail account, you can still create a profile and walk through the same process outlined above.

2. Optimize Your Profile - include copy and keywords that are relevant for your industry. Also, be sure to hyperlink the most important keywords in your profile copy back to the most relevant pages on your website; this is called link-building. These links will help Google identify the terms your website should rank for. Include links to as many social media profiles as possible and make sure to check all links to ensure they're working.

3. Make it Pretty - include photos in your profile that represent your brand or business. There is also a section specifically for adding photos, outside of just the standard profile photo. This is a great place to upload pictures of your business in action. Whether you're a restaurant, dentist or landscaper, this section will best used by showing pictures of the results you produce; examples might be pictures of food, equipment used, customers or your staff. There is also a section for uploading videos. This is a great way to stand out and build an interactive element into your profile. The video does not have to be fancy either; shoot one with a smart phone and upload it if you don't have a fancy recording device.

4. Connect - Google+ will recommend people for you to follow, that's a great start but you'll also want to connect to others. Take some time and find people that are in your area; these are the people that will most likely want to do business with you. Focus on not only connecting with them but also engaging them by either sharing or commenting on the posts they make. This part is ongoing and will be a regular exercise each time you use Google+.

Google+ can be a real advantage for your business. Allowing you to connect with new customer and increase your exposure in Google and other search engines. Don't be intimidated by having yet another social media platform to manage; embrace it and think of it as a potential revenue stream and communication channel to help you grow your business.

Internet Marketing Strategies

The Internet has truly revolutionized the world around us. This is particularly true for those in the business world, as a decade ago the term 'online marketing' meant very little. At this point in the game, there is a good chance that your specific company is utilizing some type of Internet marketing strategy. Online marketing utilizes various tactics to essentially increase awareness about your specific product or service across the Internet. While strategies are constantly evolving, there are a few proven methods that cannot be overlooked.

Similar to the concept of paying a magazine a fee to have a page of print ads, one approach is paying a particular website, directory or search engine a fee to advertise on their site. Through negotiations you will determine where on their site your advertising spot will be physically located, how large the area will be, the length of time your ad will be featured and various other options. This allows you to specify which audience to target by selecting popular sites with your target audience. However, there is no guarantee that someone will physically visit your site, which is why there are online marketing tactics that allow you to pay (the host or publisher) when you have results; when someone visits your own website.

Pay per click advertising (known as PPC for short) works on this very premise. Essentially you only pay your chosen host or publisher a fee (as negotiated between the two or more parties involved) when a user clicks on your advertised link (wherever it is located on said hosted site). Many companies employ this method because you only pay when you have results. Furthermore, should you choose to place your ad with a directory or search engine, you can choose to have your ad appear when people enter specific key words into the search query. By selecting product or service specific keywords, you can further tailor you ads to those seeking what you are offering!

However, all the traffic in the world will not increase profits if users aren't intrigued by your website, and your website can be your best salesperson. By utilizing PCC or other forms of advertising, you have managed to get users to visit your website that are inherently interested in your product or service, and now it's time to close the deal. Providing information and facts about your products is vital, but perhaps you want to reward these specific digital customers by offering special deals or discounts. The point is that once you have the visitors, the opportunity is yours.

This is why contacting a professional web design and advertising company is so important. From the first to final stage, you can have a single business entity handling the technical side of your digital marketing campaign. Furthermore, there are different techniques to incorporate into the structure of your website to facilitate specific Internet marketing approaches. A professional company with a proven track record can harness these approaches for you, ensuring a steady stream of clients. Whether you need to build a website from scratch or bring your old site up to date, using one company for all your digital marketing needs can be a money and time saving decision.

Stop by www.siteboost.ca to visit Toronto's web design and Internet marketing experts. They specialize in adword services and PPC Toronto, and can offer you expert Internet marketing advice should you be seeking it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Patrick_A_Thompson

Internet Marketing Leads Garden

In today's business environment, use of the internet to acquire customers is vital for your venture to survive. A modern business owner must be confident they can develop their business rapidly online. One of the strongest mechanisms to accomplish this is the utilization of online lead generation. Online lead generation can be accomplished in one of numerous methods, including the following: marketing in articles and forums; the implementation of social networking (with an emphasis on Facebook and similar services); usage of viral marketing, including the effective creation of YouTube videos; and, finally, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to increase the prominence of your endeavor on web search engines. Each tool has its advantages and drawbacks. Used in concert, they can, together, work to increase business volume via the internet, an absolute prerequisite for success in today's business environment.

Article marketing is, and long has been, a powerful means of spreading a message about a company. This technique bears many similarities to the press release as used to influence journalists. Simply put, the strategy is to generate an informative article that will be considered interesting and worth sharing. By making such an article about one's own business, a business owner has the opportunity for this article to be shared on sites that are consistently hungry to more content. In this way, the business owner, eager to share information about their venture, and the news site author, always desirous of more content and opportunity for visitors (and advertising click-throughs), can find a common interest and advance their mutual goals simultaneously. Unfortunately, it has always been difficult to determine whether any given article will be considered interesting enough to spread, and for the marketer of the article, typically the business owner, to distinguish their contribution from the overall noise of other articles in the system.

Social networking is also an exciting new avenue for online lead generation. Using connections built on social networks, links can be shared with a significantly higher click-through rate. This is undoubtedly because of the sense of trust and loyalty that is found between friends on a social network that is not typically available in a forum or within the blog author/reader relationship. Once again, it can be difficult, however, to have one's message spread in this manner. But, a single well-deployed marketing strategy (such as an attractive offer for users of social media) can create a rapid spread of interest across the internet.

In the end, the opportunities for an business for online lead generation, and its attendant benefits, are numerous. Any business owner considering spreading their message and attracting customers in a modern environment would be well-advised to consider the various techniques discussed here in order to maximize their chances for revenue generation and customer awareness.

Rellie Lorenzo invites you to get your hands on the Social Media Marketing Success Strategies to generate leads and increase your sales the right way.
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Great Tips for Boosting Your Internet Marketing Success

With the advent of the Internet, internet marketing is fast becoming an effective way to promote and market one's business and its products/services. It is very important to create an enticing website which will promote your business in the market quite efficiently and effectively. It's very important for your website to attain success and for that you shall always keep the content of website fresh and current. You shall remember that an old, outdated information sends out the signal that you don't care much about your own company and hence your customers also. A website that consists of all current information always helps in giving a positive impression to the clients.

For gaining success in the field of internet marketing, you should always keep a check on your competitors and how they are performing in the online marketing activities. You shall observe their success and also their failures. By observing them, you can get a fair idea about what works and what does not in the field of internet marketing. You can learn a lot from them. It will help you to move ahead in the business and not make the mistakes which they have done. An effective Internet marketing campaign will always help in the growth of your business in future. If you can make a cycle that includes customers and a search they often use, they can locate your business and purchase your products.

For getting success in this field, it is quite important that the website of your business should be user friendly and easy to navigate. A complicated website always irritates the visitors and they will log out from your website and will end up visiting the website of your competitors. So, keeping your website easy to use is quite important. You shall always make sure that your customers have the information that they can opt out of receiving email from you at any moment of time and whenever they wish for. Nowadays, there is too much spam and unwanted emails running around in the internet world, so you shall make sure that your emails are important and contain useful content. Make it clear that their participating is optional in order to boost your credibility among the customers.

One of the important things you shall keep in mind to attain success in this field is to combine your knowledge. You should be able to combine all your knowledge and use them for getting success in this field. Direct marketing is one of the important factors which can be used for the success of your internet marketing campaign. You should offer special deals and services by direct contact with your customers through phone, email, text messaging or Twitter. A local phone book or online directory can be an invaluable source of information which you can use to contact customers. By now you must be aware of the fact that how important tool internet marketing is to gain success in your business endeavor.

Search Eccentric is a Reputed SEO Company in India that provides expert, professional and dedicated SEO to its valuable clients and used by updated web promotion Strategies after Google panda and penguin update in the internet marketing field.

Great Tips for Boosting Your Internet Marketing Success

With the advent of the Internet, internet marketing is fast becoming an effective way to promote and market one's business and its products/services. It is very important to create an enticing website which will promote your business in the market quite efficiently and effectively. It's very important for your website to attain success and for that you shall always keep the content of website fresh and current. You shall remember that an old, outdated information sends out the signal that you don't care much about your own company and hence your customers also. A website that consists of all current information always helps in giving a positive impression to the clients.

For gaining success in the field of internet marketing, you should always keep a check on your competitors and how they are performing in the online marketing activities. You shall observe their success and also their failures. By observing them, you can get a fair idea about what works and what does not in the field of internet marketing. You can learn a lot from them. It will help you to move ahead in the business and not make the mistakes which they have done. An effective Internet marketing campaign will always help in the growth of your business in future. If you can make a cycle that includes customers and a search they often use, they can locate your business and purchase your products.

For getting success in this field, it is quite important that the website of your business should be user friendly and easy to navigate. A complicated website always irritates the visitors and they will log out from your website and will end up visiting the website of your competitors. So, keeping your website easy to use is quite important. You shall always make sure that your customers have the information that they can opt out of receiving email from you at any moment of time and whenever they wish for. Nowadays, there is too much spam and unwanted emails running around in the internet world, so you shall make sure that your emails are important and contain useful content. Make it clear that their participating is optional in order to boost your credibility among the customers.

One of the important things you shall keep in mind to attain success in this field is to combine your knowledge. You should be able to combine all your knowledge and use them for getting success in this field. Direct marketing is one of the important factors which can be used for the success of your internet marketing campaign. You should offer special deals and services by direct contact with your customers through phone, email, text messaging or Twitter. A local phone book or online directory can be an invaluable source of information which ynu can use to contact customers. By now you must be aware of the fact that how important tool internet marketing is to gain success in your business endeavor.

Search Eccentric is a Reputed SEO Company in India that provides expert, professional and dedicated SEO to its valuable clients and used by updated web promotion Strategies after Google panda and penguin update in the internet marketing field.

A Simple 2-Step Approach To Internet Marketing

On the internet, there are many strategies that get passed on as "the best" or the "only" way that you should do things. This ir mainly done by "gurus" who just want to sell more of their product to a vulnerable group of beginners who don't know where to go or where to start.

These beginners get sucked in to the hype that these "gurus" claim that are making them rich online. And sadly, many newbies fall victim to these claims and outlandish ideas - and in the end... causes them to go out of business, leaving them convinced that an online business just isn't the way to go if they want to have a successful home business.

Luckily, there are people out there on the internet who really care about your success and who want to help you out. In the internet business world, there's a simple "2-step" approach to making money simply and easily without much fuss. This 2-step approach is as follows:

1) Collect a lead
2) Email to this lead

To collect a lead online, I mean sending someone to your website and having them subscribe to your opt-in email newsletter. Once they sign up to your email newsletter, you should email to this lead about every 3 days until they buy from you. This is one of the most reliable ways to earn money on the internet simply and easily.

The trick to making this technique work is to have a lot of people visiting your website and getting them to sign up. Now, you can make this process a lot easier if you lead them to something called a "squeeze page". A squeeze page is simply a small web page that is specifically designed to capture opt-in subscribers. That's it. That's its only function. And tests have shown that this model can produce boatloads of new subscribers - as opposed to leading them to a site where the opt-in form is on the side of the web page.

This is a great way to promote your products online. The more leads you get, the more sales you will make, and the more profits you will get. There are people online who have over 100,000 highly qualified leads who have signed up via a squeeze page. And these business owners online are making an incredible amount of money from their list simply and easily.

This is a proven model to go by, and the sooner you implement it in your business, the sooner you will start to see your sales and profits increase within a matter of weeks.

Now depending on your price, you could also just lead people to your sales page. If you sell a product under $50, this may work well for you. But if you sell a product over $50, you may want to lead people to your squeeze page, and then follow up on them until they buy.

This 2-step simple approach to internet marketing is something that you should consider using in your business. It's very easy, and the more you implement this technique, the more leads you whll get, and the money you will make in your business.

Good luck with using this strategy to have online business success today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Randall Magwood is one of the most respected and highly-regarded online marketing experts on the internet. He has a website about internet marketing that helps small business owners learn how to market their business online simply and easily. To learn more, simply visit his website here: http://www.internetmarketing-rules.com

SEO And Internet Marketing As Online Business Opportunities

Among the more complicated but certainly lucrative online business opportunities are providing services as search engine optimization experts and internet marketers. Corporate organizations need the assistance of SEO experts to provide them with professional direction in marketing and technical aspects. With numerous firms supposedly engaged in search engine optimization, the key in making the right choice depends on the capacity of the SEO experts to place business websites on top of search engine rankings.

Become SEO experts
SEO people have complicated responsibilities but you can easily get trained in this job. SEO professionals give online companies insights about the reliability and credentials of the team that will provide innovative strategies in internet marketing and search engine techniques. Remember that it is not sufficient to develop and deign websites with just the client in mind. Primary consideration should be given to the aspect of search engine optimization to make it easy for spiders or crawlers which refer to common software that indexes content on the web.

SEO experts must be able to discern that visibility is the essential requirement in the success of an online business. Make sure that your website will not just fade into oblivion. On the contrary, it has to be several steps ahead of major competitors and be the top alternative of discriminating curtomers. Your campaign in search engine optimization has to yield lasting results. The direction is to drive highly-targeted traffic towards your website and create a potent online identity. The task of SEO Experts is to help online businesses to acquire visibility, build a strong presence in the market and ultimately enhance sales continuously.

Useful Pointers in Internet Marketing Services
You can also train to become internet marketers. Online companies rely on so-called internet strategies and tactics to strengthen their business ventures. It is important to avoid spending time and resources on techniques that do not guarantee the best results. Their marketing campaign can only be successful by making use of dependable internet marketing services such as search engine optimization. This is a valuable component of any internet marketing initiative.

In the same manner, website, or SEO copywriting, is another integral element of internet marketing services. The copy is not just a mishmash of words put together on a web page. It has to inform and inspire readers to take actions that you want them to take or acquire products and services that you are offering for sale. An excellent copy is the heart and soul of an internet marketing campaign. It is often the message in the website that consummates or squanders a sale. The other equally vital ingredient of internet marketing services includes the production of optimized press releases that will serve as a functional tool in dissemination of company information and news updates. Just like optimized press releases, the process of online article publishing introduces two principal benefits. The first is that it helps generate publicity and web presence by spreading messages online. At the same time, it can help enhance the website's search engine visibility. Finally, there is the business blog which assists in expanding the scope of the online marketing program effectively. These are online business opportunities that are very rewarding provided you learn the procedures and techniques properly.

Among the more complex but certainly lucrative online business opportunities are providing services as search engine optimization experts and internet marketers for online business firms. Learn more about- home business ideas

Important Components Of Internet Marketing

One of the biggest components of internet marketing is email marketing. Some people feel that email marketing is dead and that it doesn't work anymore in the same way that it used to work a few years ago. Personally, when it comes to generating free leads, I kind of agree with this notion. But when it comes to backend marketing, this idea flies out the window.

Backend marketing is the backbone of your internet business. Without it, you can't earn repeat sales from customers, you can't offer any continuity products, and you can't host your own seminar each year. When it comes to backend marketing and putting your customers into an email marketing funnel, this is the best thing that you can do for your business.

So yes, if you're collecting free leads to put into your autoresponder sequence, don't look for a high converting result. You may wind up getting something around 1% to 2% conversion rates - which honestly... you can attain this by simply leading people to your sales letter page. Especially if you have a low sellhng product!

Your customer list is the most valuable list that you can build. It's easy to get free leads, but it's much difficult to turn these leads into customers, and keep these customers for years to come. If you can master the practice of turning free leads into customers... you will have a lot of success when it comes to making money online.

Now if my advice above sounds foreign or strange to you, then you probably have been taught some ill-advised advice from unsuccessful marketers or your college professors. You will hear a lot of people saying, "build a brand" or "it's all about exposure". Truthfully, none of these techniques are solid.

What you want to do is focus on something called "direct response marketing". With direct response marketing, you're focusing on getting results NOW. I mean as soon as you run your ad, it starts getting you a lot of opt-in email subscribers, or it starts getting you sales.

It doesn't matter what advertising medium you use. Whether it's pay per click, solo ads, advertising on high traffic website, or ezine advertising. Your ad needs to work, and it needs to work right away. Otherwise, you will find yourself losing tons of money on marketing practices that are traditional and that simply doesn't work.

If you want to build an online business that will last for years to come, then you will have to follow the advice in today's lesson. Focus intensely on building up a large customer list, and getting backend sales from these people also. This will help you out big time when it comes to earning the money that you're looking for in your business.

Take these tips and put them to work today. You won't be disappointed. Selling to backend customers are the "peanut butter and jelly" combination that will yield you excellent results. Email marketing can be made profitable... it's up to you to revamp your current campaign, and focus on the things that I stated here in this lesson. So be sure to use them today.

Good luck with your online marketing efforts.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Randall Magwood is one of the most respected and highly-regarded online marketing experts on the internet. He has a website about internet marketing that helps small business owners learn how to market their business online simply and easily. To learn more, simply visit his website here: http://www.internetmarketing-rules.com