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August 4th, 2010
Archive
Archive for the ‘SEO’ Category
What you should know about Blogging – 316th Edition
June 2nd, 2010
Chris Maddaloni
Are you aware of the new way to keep your friends, family and co-workers updated of the things happening in your life and business? This is a revolutionary way on the internet that can let you keep a personal diary that can be viewed by many people. This is called the weblog or more popularly known as the blog or blogging.
A blog is like a journal where you can write or post your daily activities on a regular basis. The term blog is the short term for web log. Blogging is the act of adding, writing and maintaining a blog.
There are several types of blogs. These are the following:
• Personal blog – this is the most famous type of blog used in some of the friendly hub in the net. This is defined as the online diary or journal, where you can post your poem and other literature piece.
• Cultural blog – it discusses all about music, arts, theater and other popular culture.
• Topic blog – it focuses on the function like some of the search engines present now. Some writers who want to write about something unknown can use it.
• Business blog – this talk about the stock market and other business related topics. It is also use to promote businesses, to talk about economics in forum type and manage information.
• Science blog – it is the mode used to disseminate information and data. However, scientists only use this mode for simple scientific data and information because they believe that it could damage the credibility of their science as many people can read it.
• Moblog – it contains all the information from a mobile phone.
• Collaborative blog – this kind of blog is written by two or more writers. Particular site is open for all the writers to write together with others.
• Eclectic blog – it focuses on niches individually or collaboratively made.
• Educational blog – this is used by students to record the things they learned from their teacher including the activities done in a day.
• Directory blog – this blog gives a regular update of all the visited links. It focuses on particular news and happenings.
• Forum blog – it functions as an internet forum. It allows two or more bloggers to post discussion on the net.
• Spam blog – this is a form of persuasive advertising. Commonly known for the name splogs. It is characterized by the use of bold letters and self-claim advertisements.
There are many web-based blog journals available online. You can post your own blog, too. Anyone can start writing a blog. In many cases, it is free. How do you start making a blog?
Here is how, follow the following steps in writing a blog.
1. There are many blog sites available online that offers free blog posting. They also offer free accounts with many features.
2. You can blog in private and in public. Many blog site offer a blog that contains a password, only a few can read your blog. You can also post a blog that can be read by anyone.
3. You will be given an option to choose the scheme of your blog site. You can edit your own color, layouts and schemes according to your taste and personality.
4. You can write your own blog and post it afterwards.
5. Many offer more schemes for you to personalize your own blog site. You can even post a picture and testimonials from friends like most of the friendly hub do today.
6. By sending the URL to your friends, you can now publish your own blog.
You should keep your writings interesting as it can be. Do not focus on topics that readers do not find interesting. Remember to post only writings that are not offensive so readers will become more interested in your writings. You should also check your spellings and other relevant mistakes that can ruin your credibility as a writer.
Use words that can be easily understood by readers. Proofread your writings before posting. Never copy others blog, you can be issued a case called plagiarism.
With this, you are able to let the people know about what you want to speak. Information will be easier to deliver this time. Visit some blog sites and start writing your emotions.
Blog with a Fresh Voice – 317th Edition
June 2nd, 2010
Chris Maddaloni
When it comes to internet marketing, there’s no better way to reach your target audience than with a well targeted blog. When you offer news, content, or other useful tips that your readers can use, you’re building trust and a relationship. People return to your blog to continue to get the quality information you’re providing.
Think about the blogs you return to on a regular basis. They’re filling a need, whether it’s a humorous break, details on how to do something, or news on a topic you’re interested in. The question becomes, what are you offering your readers? Consistency is an important factor when you’re creating a blog. You need to know what your blog is about, offer consistent quality information, and know who your readers are.
Another way to make your blog stand out in a crowd is to offer a unique perspective on a topic. If you’re interested in writing about racing, and 95% of the blogs in that field cover the race cars, you might consider covering race car drivers, or race car tracks. By taking a fresh look at a crowded topic can make you stand apart from the crowd. Give people something different, and they’ll start to seek you out.
Do you have a voice? When you’re building your blog, you need to find your own spin, and find your natural voice. People can see through you when you aren’t being yourself. If you’re trying to be offer reporter style writing, but you have a very casual tone, you need to learn to use that to your advantage. While many people say that copying someone is the sincerest form of flattery, when it comes to blogging, it’s the quickest way to failure. You need to be your own person, have your own voice, and offer a fresh perspective to find success.
Is MLM a Viable Membership Model? – 318th Edition
June 2nd, 2010
Chris Maddaloni
If you think you want to get involved with MLM, do your research first. The challenge with MLM businesses is that people at the top are most often the winners. The biggest majority of people at the bottom end up spending money and time to get involved and end up losing whatever they put in. Multi-level marketing (MLM) is a marketing and distribution structure. People at the top sell to those below them, who in turn sell to those below them. The higher up you are in this structure, the more money you can make. Be sure to check with at least a few other people who’ve entered at your level (who you identify on your own, separate from people the MLM promoter refers you to), and see what they have to say. Find out what they have to say on how – and if it’s possible – to be successful.
There are advantages to Multi-level marketing. First, the start up cost is usually very low and that is a big plus to the work-at-home mom (for example) who has limited funds to launch an online business. It is a way to get started in an online business with a very small personal investment and that is a very appealing thing for many people. Pre-packaged tools and products are provided and that saves a lot of money and relieves the need for warehousing.
Also, sales techniques are given and for the newbie to Internet marketing this is a very attractive advantage.
There are also disadvantages to Multi-level marketing. Many (if not most) people lose money in MLM activities, because they can’t sell the product as effectively as they thought they could. And then there is the problem of credibility. It can become an issue, especially if you start treating friends like they’re customers.
Why Directories Are Important – 319th Edition
June 2nd, 2010
Chris Maddaloni
Directories should play a major role in your SEO efforts, well, at least the big and important ones, for the following reasons:
- Listings within major directories provide “context” to search engines. For example, if your web site is listed in the Open Directory Project under the category Pets -> Weird Pets -> Blue Cats, search engines will assume your web site has something to do with blue cats. Your web site and pages will be indexed faster and might have a better ranking in search results for specific terms (in this case, “blue cats”).
- Major directories (such as Yahoo! Directory, ODP, Jayde etc.) have high page ranks and as long as you obtain a non-reciprocal listing from them, paid or unpaid, your page rank will benefit greatly.
- Major directories are often replicated by other web sites (think of ODP, with hundreds of copies) which means that a listing somewhere in such a major directory will cause listings in all replica sites, contributing towards your link popularity efforts and boosting page ranks.
- The ODP (Open Directory Project) feeds results to Google, AOL, AltaVista, Lycos, Netscape – once again, a presence in ODP can get you quite far.
Submitting to Directories
As with most good things in life, you need to make efforts to get into quality directories. Although detailed instructions on how to submit your web sites are always provided by the directories, there are certain aspects to consider before you start hunting for directories and submit your web sites:
- Start with Yahoo! Directory and the Open Directory Project: being listed in the two of them is worth more than being listed in all other directories together! You will find soon enough that, unfortunately, being listed in these two is the hardest thing to do: Yahoo requires a $299 annual fee for regular web sites (only non-commercial sites qualify for a free listing) and $600 for adult sites, while ODP is free but you need A LOT of luck to make your way into it. ODP is so large yet is strictly human edited, which means the waiting time for a listing can extend to even years! Make your duty as a SEO worker and submit your web site, but don’t get your hopes too high, unfortunately.
- Religiously follow the submission guidelines provided by directories: read them as many times as you need to make sure you will not upset its editors by submitting your site the wrong way, with inaccuracies, the wrong description style, or to the wrong category.
- Try to find niche directories if your web site’s content is suitable for that. For example, if your web site covers Marketing topics, focus your efforts into finding a Marketing-only directory (such as MarketingWHO.com) and submit your site there: search engines love links from sites relevant to yours!
- You will probably come across many directories with paid inclusions: use your common sense to appreciate if it’s worth it or not. A good criteria is to check their Google Page Rank: if it’s at least 3 levels higher than your site’s Page Rank, it’s probably worth spending the money for the inclusion fee. However, do look for directories with a flat, one-time fee rather than recurring monthly or annual fees: you’ll end up spending less money!
In the end, remember a simple rule: if it’s too easy to get into a directory, it’s probably not worth the effort to get into it in the first case.
Why You Need To Use Landing Pages – 310th Edition
June 2nd, 2010
Chris Maddaloni
All the products that you want to sell online are ready. You have already signed up with the Google Adsense program or with other affiliate marketing programs and you have already prepared the ad you want to post on your affiliate’s site. Your mind is now set to being the next most successful online businessman. But is there anything else that you might have forgotten to prepare? Maybe none.
But how about your landing pages? Are they all set for your business?
Landing pages are simply web pages where visitors are directed to whenever they click a result in a web search or whenever they click a web ad. For affiliate marketing, landing pages would refer to the web page where you, as a merchant, would want your potential customer to be directed after clicking your ad on your affiliate’s website. Landing pages are, at most times, nothing really different from other web pages in a particular website, especially if the said website is an e-commerce site. Some online businessmen would even use the homepage of their websites as the landing page for their ads. Are these businessmen making a big mistake? Or should you follow their method in creating landing pages for their ads?
Well, you can always follow what most online retailers do, directing their potential customers to the homepages of their websites. But if you want to achieve something more from your online business, and if you want to earn a lot of profits, you better create a special landing page for your web ads. Why? Here are a few reasons why you need to use landing pages for your web ads. And take note, it would do you a lot better if you create a great landing page than a so-so one.
Reason no. 1: It is the only way you earn conversions in an affiliate marketing program.
There are a variety of affiliate marketing programs today, but most of these programs let the merchant pay the affiliate in a pay per click basis. Basically, all you have to do is sign up with the program and submit your ad. The program owner would then distribute your ad to various affiliates who would then place your ad on their websites. Whenever your ad is clicked, a visitor would be directed to your landing page and you would have to pay the affiliate for his service.
As a merchant, you earn in an affiliate program through conversions—that is whenever a visitor that is directed to your site actually buys a product on your site. Without these conversions, you actually earn nothing from the program. Also, the more visitors that your affiliates have directed to your site, the larger would your expense be. And the only way that you can recover from these expenses is through conversions.
Now, you sure won’t get any conversion if you have posted an ad on your affiliate’s site without an actual landing page for the potential customer to be redirected into. It’s just like advertising a product without actually having a store to sell your product. Your advertisement may be enticing enough to encourage people to purchase a product, but without the landing page, how will they know how to purchase the product
It is therefore important to have landing pages for your ads because it is the only way for you to earn something in an affiliate program. Without landing pages, all you do is spend money paying your affiliates without actually getting anything in return.
Reason no. 2: Other web pages may just not be enough.
Many people make the mistake of making their website’s homepage as the landing page for their ads. The same is true for those who make use of other pages like a “contact us” page or a product page. Homepages are often designed to serve multiple users and contains a lot of links to other pages or to other websites. The same is with the other two pages mentioned. If you want to be successful in an affiliate program, we’re sure that you don’t want your landing page to cater to the needs of various people, most of which may not be really interested with your product.
When choosing a landing page, you must always have the customer directed into that page in mind. Therefore, your landing page must be relevant to the keywords and the contents you placed on your ad. It is also important that the landing page can induce your visitor to take action—that is to purchase your product or at least provide leads for potential customers.
Final Word
You probably entered into an affiliate marketing program with these things in mind: to save on advertising expenses and to gain more profit. But if you get into an affiliate marketing program without actually having a landing page, you’ll end up paying too much without getting anything in return. So if you still don’t have a landing page for your ads, you better start creating one now. And don’t get us wrong; it isn’t enough for you to have just a landing page—it should be a great landing page!
Blogging News Stories as They Happen – 311th Edition
June 2nd, 2010
Chris Maddaloni
Blogging news stories as they unfold is one of the most exciting and controversial applications of technology that bloggers have discovered. One thing that makes the blogosphere so active is the fact that it is possible to update a blog instantaneously, so the news on blogs tends to be more current than the news in the paper, or on television. Unlike news delivered by these other media, news that appears on blogs does not have to travel through a series of editors and administrators before it reaches the public eye. This has some advantages, and some distinct disadvantages.
One of the most notable cases of news hitting a blog before appearing in other media took place in July 2005
when terrorism struck London. As passengers were evacuated from a subway car near an explosion, one
man took several photographs of the scene with his cell phone, and within an hour these images were
posted online. First-person accounts of the catastrophe began appearing on blogs soon after these photos
appeared, and people all over the world learned about the events in London by reading the words and seeing
the photos posted by bloggers.
The fact that these stories and images were being spread directly by individuals operating without the added
filter of a reporter helped to make the crisis feel very immediate to people across the globe. When it comes to blogging, news often appears in a very personal context. This has the potential to be the beginning of an exciting new era of reporting, one that takes “New Journalism” to it’s logical next step by putting the power to shape how the news is written and read directly into the hands of the public.
Many bloggers and cultural commentators who are champions of the weblog movement feel that this
growing trend of individuals who getting their news from blogs is a good thing, because it makes the flow of
information more democratic. By decentralizing the control of news, blogs allow more voices to enter the
field of debate about important current events. However, many people are adamantly opposed to the
use of blogs as news outlets, and there are plenty of good arguments on this side of the debate. Unlike
newspapers or television stations, few blogs have fact- checkers, and there is little attention paid to journalistic accountability on many blogs. This can lead to the rapid spread of misinformation, and more than one falsehood has taken the blogosphere by storm. The questions about whether blogging news as it happens is ethical or not are very complicated, but no matter where you stand on the topic of current events blogs you are almost sure to agree that this movement has the potential to revolutionize how modern people get their news.
Blogging: What’s Your Brand? – 312th Edition
June 2nd, 2010
Chris Maddaloni
People choose to blog for different reasons; as a form of expression, or as an extension of their business. When it comes to blogging, if you’re in business, a blog is the perfect place to not only define your brand, but also make other people aware of who you are, what you do, and what you represent.
Often times, small businesses think that branding is only for larger businesses. This is a big mistake. A brand can help a small business clearly identify themselves, and offer a stronger way to market themselves.
Blogging is a perfect medium for expressing your brand, and letting future clients understand who you are, and how you can help them fill their needs. You are the solution to their problem- they just don’t know it yet. A small business blog is the chance to be seen by a wider audience.
When it comes to branding your company through your blog, first you need to clearly define how your business stands apart from other businesses. A clear identity is a priority. Can you explain what your business is about in less than 10 seconds? Once you’ve done this, you can expand with a logo or even a slogan. This material should be used on your small business blog.
You want people to come to your small business blog and recognize your site immediately. Will they recognize a color scheme, a logo, or maybe a slogan you’ve chosen? Consistency in your branding is a priority!
Now that you’ve got your branding down, use that blog to broadcast it out to future clients. With a clear identity, it’s not only easier to explain what your business is about, but it’s easier for your clients to identify with you.
A blogging platform levels the playing field. With a solid brand, and a solid blog and website, you’ll be able to compete with larger businesses in your field.
Ecommerce: Profit In Data Feeds? – 313th Edition
June 2nd, 2010
Chris Maddaloni
You’ve been to a shopping engine online. You know the kind, a place where you can do comparison-shopping online before you actually make a buying decision.
If you are a entrepreneur you may wonder if it is even possible to have your product considered for price comparison sites like, Yahoo Shopping, Shopzilla NexTag, Shopping.com, Froogle and PriceGrabber.
It is possible, but your inclusion into the world of online price comparisons relies on significant work from you in the area of data entry. Product information must be supplied to each of these sites in the form of a data feed. These feeds may vary from one location to the next, but primarily require model number, StockKeeping Unit (SKU) and price.
Tamara Mendelsohn, a principal analyst at a Forrest research analyst said the following in an interview with E-Commerce Times. “Almost three quarters of U.S. households are connected to the Internet, and the majority use it for researching products online. Retailers can’t afford to ignore their multichannel consumers anymore,”
Engines that thrive on comparison-shopping care less about your site and more about your product. If your product is sought and you have a credible data feed for the product your site will likely be included in the price comparison.
Some ecommerce professionals believe this is the next wave of site optimization. Instead of dealing in keywords or phrases the customer is directed to your site specifically because you have a product for sale that they are motivated to purchase.
Forecasts predict a significant amount of growth potential through the use of data feeds for product comparison search engines.
The primary caveat with the ‘possibilities’ of shopping engines is that the ongoing work in data feeds can be exhaustive while the benefits come with a price tag. The principle is very similar to Pay Per Click (PPC). When a customer clicks your link to check out your prices you will pay an advertising fee to the search engine.
If you provide a price that is competitive and have a reputation that is strong, the use of a shopping engine may make sense. If you are tentative about the use of a shopping engine you should investigate the finer details and see if this labor-intensive service can provide enough customers to offset the costs in labor and advertising.
Ecommerce is as ever-expanding and sometimes complex device that can be simplified in certain situations. It can also be highly complex, but useful if you have the time, resources, knowledge and drive to learn and apply ecommerce skills.
When Blogging is Not Enough – 314th Edition
June 2nd, 2010
Chris Maddaloni
Because there are so many blogs and web sites about blogs on the internet, it can be tough to distinguish your blogging web site from all of the others. Whether you are starting up a new web site aimed at bloggers or whether you are looking to make your existing blogging site more distinctive, the key to building and
maintaining a site that will capture the interest and attention of the blogging community is finding your niche. If you can fill a unique need in a way that no other web site does, you’ll be able to build a lasting
readership among web surfers. Once you have discovered a niche, you will still have a lot to do, but
finding your place in the blogosphere is the place to begin.
Every great blogging web site starts with a great idea, and you can’t build a successful site that will last
without one. There are many great sites aimed at today’s bloggers, and competition for the attention of
this growing demographic is fierce. To make your blogging web site stand out from the pack, you will
need to offer something that no other site is currently offering, or you will need to do the same thing that an already popular site does but in a more impressive or valuable way.
One way to discover an ideal model for your blogging web site is to look at the sites that have successfully
captured a blogging audience already to determine if you can appropriate some of their strategies to help
realize your vision. Of course, you will also need to add a unique flair to your project in order to stand apart
from your competition. Many people agree that the web sites that do the best in today’s market are the sites that have the most personality. The fiercely individual surfers who are bloggers are a demographic that
responds especially strongly to personality, so consider how you can give your site a unique and attractive
feeling by lending your own voice and sensibility to your site’s design and content.
Once you have a great idea for your site, have pinpointed a special niche that you are well equipped to
fill, and have infused the site with personality, the next step is figuring out how to get the word out to bloggers. In the long run, a great idea just isn’t enough to propel your blogging web site to success. You will need to draft a smart and realistic marketing plan in order to draw readers to your site. Once you hook a blogger, your great content will keep them coming back, but it is vital to get that first glance or your site won’t have a chance to shine.
3 Things All Affiliate Marketers Need To Survive Online – 315th Edition
June 2nd, 2010
Chris Maddaloni
Every affiliate marketer is always looking for the successful market that gives the biggest paycheck. Sometimes they think it is a magic formula that is readily available for them. Actually, it is more complicated than that. It is just good marketing practices that have been proven over years of hard work and dedication.
There are tactics that have worked before with online marketing and is continuing to work in the online affiliate marketing world of today. With these top three marketing tips, you will be able to able to increase your sales and survive in the affiliate marketing online.
What are these three tactics?
1. Using unique web pages to promote each separate product you are marketing. Do not lump all of it together just to save some money on web hosting. It is best to have a site focusing on each and every product and nothing more.
Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial understanding on what the product can do to those who buys them. Also include testimonials from users who have already tried the product. Be sure that these customers are more than willing to allow you to use their names and photos on the site of the specific product you are marketing.
You can also write articles highlighting the uses of the product and include them on the website as an additional page. Make the pages attractive compelling and include calls to act on the information. Each headline should attract the readers to try and read more, even contact you. Highlight your special points. This will help your readers to learn what the page is about and will want to find out more.
2. Offer free reports to your readers. If possible position them at the very top side of your page so it they simply cannot be missed. Try to create autoresponder messages that will be mailed to those who input their personal information into your sign up box. According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospect.
Only two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: closed sale or the prospect leaving the page and never return again. By placing useful information into their inboxes at certain specified period, you will remind them of the product they thought they want later and will find out that the sale is closed. Be sure that the content is directed toward specific reasons to buy the product. Do not make it sound like a sales pitch.
Focus on important points like how your product can make life and things easier and more enjoyable. Include compelling subject lines in the email. As much as possible, avoid using the word “free” because there are still older spam filters that dumps those kind of contents into the junk before even anyone reading them first. Convince those who signed up for your free reports that they will be missing something big if they do not avail of your products and services.
3. Get the kind of traffic that is targeted to your product. Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are offering, they will be among those who move on and never come back. Write articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. This way you can locate publications that is focusing on your target customers and what you have put up might just grab their interest.
Try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day.
Always remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or get your services. If you can generate as much as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, that means you can made 10 sales based on the average statistic.
The tactics given above does not really sound very difficult to do, if you think about it. It just requires a little time and an action plan on your part.
Try to use these tips for several affiliate marketing programs. You can end maintaining a good source of income and surviving in this business that not all marketers can do.
Besides, think of the huge paychecks you will be receiving…
Blogging: What’s Your Brand? – 302th Edition
April 24th, 2010
Chris Maddaloni
People choose to blog for different reasons; as a form of expression, or as an extension of their business. When it comes to blogging, if you’re in business, a blog is the perfect place to not only define your brand, but also make other people aware of who you are, what you do, and what you represent.
Often times, small businesses think that branding is only for larger businesses. This is a big mistake. A brand can help a small business clearly identify themselves, and offer a stronger way to market themselves.
Blogging is a perfect medium for expressing your brand, and letting future clients understand who you are, and how you can help them fill their needs. You are the solution to their problem- they just don’t know it yet. A small business blog is the chance to be seen by a wider audience.
When it comes to branding your company through your blog, first you need to clearly define how your business stands apart from other businesses. A clear identity is a priority. Can you explain what your business is about in less than 10 seconds? Once you’ve done this, you can expand with a logo or even a slogan. This material should be used on your small business blog.
You want people to come to your small business blog and recognize your site immediately. Will they recognize a color scheme, a logo, or maybe a slogan you’ve chosen? Consistency in your branding is a priority!
Now that you’ve got your branding down, use that blog to broadcast it out to future clients. With a clear identity, it’s not only easier to explain what your business is about, but it’s easier for your clients to identify with you.
A blogging platform levels the playing field. With a solid brand, and a solid blog and website, you’ll be able to compete with larger businesses in your field.
Ecommerce: Profit In Data Feeds? – 303th Edition
April 24th, 2010
Chris Maddaloni
You’ve been to a shopping engine online. You know the kind, a place where you can do comparison-shopping online before you actually make a buying decision.
If you are a entrepreneur you may wonder if it is even possible to have your product considered for price comparison sites like, Yahoo Shopping, Shopzilla NexTag, Shopping.com, Froogle and PriceGrabber.
It is possible, but your inclusion into the world of online price comparisons relies on significant work from you in the area of data entry. Product information must be supplied to each of these sites in the form of a data feed. These feeds may vary from one location to the next, but primarily require model number, StockKeeping Unit (SKU) and price.
Tamara Mendelsohn, a principal analyst at a Forrest research analyst said the following in an interview with E-Commerce Times. “Almost three quarters of U.S. households are connected to the Internet, and the majority use it for researching products online. Retailers can’t afford to ignore their multichannel consumers anymore,”
Engines that thrive on comparison-shopping care less about your site and more about your product. If your product is sought and you have a credible data feed for the product your site will likely be included in the price comparison.
Some ecommerce professionals believe this is the next wave of site optimization. Instead of dealing in keywords or phrases the customer is directed to your site specifically because you have a product for sale that they are motivated to purchase.
Forecasts predict a significant amount of growth potential through the use of data feeds for product comparison search engines.
The primary caveat with the ‘possibilities’ of shopping engines is that the ongoing work in data feeds can be exhaustive while the benefits come with a price tag. The principle is very similar to Pay Per Click (PPC). When a customer clicks your link to check out your prices you will pay an advertising fee to the search engine.
If you provide a price that is competitive and have a reputation that is strong, the use of a shopping engine may make sense. If you are tentative about the use of a shopping engine you should investigate the finer details and see if this labor-intensive service can provide enough customers to offset the costs in labor and advertising.
Ecommerce is as ever-expanding and sometimes complex device that can be simplified in certain situations. It can also be highly complex, but useful if you have the time, resources, knowledge and drive to learn and apply ecommerce skills.
When Blogging is Not Enough – 304th Edition
April 24th, 2010
Chris Maddaloni
Because there are so many blogs and web sites about blogs on the internet, it can be tough to distinguish your blogging web site from all of the others. Whether you are starting up a new web site aimed at bloggers or whether you are looking to make your existing blogging site more distinctive, the key to building and
maintaining a site that will capture the interest and attention of the blogging community is finding your niche. If you can fill a unique need in a way that no other web site does, you’ll be able to build a lasting
readership among web surfers. Once you have discovered a niche, you will still have a lot to do, but
finding your place in the blogosphere is the place to begin.
Every great blogging web site starts with a great idea, and you can’t build a successful site that will last
without one. There are many great sites aimed at today’s bloggers, and competition for the attention of
this growing demographic is fierce. To make your blogging web site stand out from the pack, you will
need to offer something that no other site is currently offering, or you will need to do the same thing that an already popular site does but in a more impressive or valuable way.
One way to discover an ideal model for your blogging web site is to look at the sites that have successfully
captured a blogging audience already to determine if you can appropriate some of their strategies to help
realize your vision. Of course, you will also need to add a unique flair to your project in order to stand apart
from your competition. Many people agree that the web sites that do the best in today’s market are the sites that have the most personality. The fiercely individual surfers who are bloggers are a demographic that
responds especially strongly to personality, so consider how you can give your site a unique and attractive
feeling by lending your own voice and sensibility to your site’s design and content.
Once you have a great idea for your site, have pinpointed a special niche that you are well equipped to
fill, and have infused the site with personality, the next step is figuring out how to get the word out to bloggers. In the long run, a great idea just isn’t enough to propel your blogging web site to success. You will need to draft a smart and realistic marketing plan in order to draw readers to your site. Once you hook a blogger, your great content will keep them coming back, but it is vital to get that first glance or your site won’t have a chance to shine.
3 Things All Affiliate Marketers Need To Survive Online – 305th Edition
April 24th, 2010
Chris Maddaloni
Every affiliate marketer is always looking for the successful market that gives the biggest paycheck. Sometimes they think it is a magic formula that is readily available for them. Actually, it is more complicated than that. It is just good marketing practices that have been proven over years of hard work and dedication.
There are tactics that have worked before with online marketing and is continuing to work in the online affiliate marketing world of today. With these top three marketing tips, you will be able to able to increase your sales and survive in the affiliate marketing online.
What are these three tactics?
1. Using unique web pages to promote each separate product you are marketing. Do not lump all of it together just to save some money on web hosting. It is best to have a site focusing on each and every product and nothing more.
Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial understanding on what the product can do to those who buys them. Also include testimonials from users who have already tried the product. Be sure that these customers are more than willing to allow you to use their names and photos on the site of the specific product you are marketing.
You can also write articles highlighting the uses of the product and include them on the website as an additional page. Make the pages attractive compelling and include calls to act on the information. Each headline should attract the readers to try and read more, even contact you. Highlight your special points. This will help your readers to learn what the page is about and will want to find out more.
2. Offer free reports to your readers. If possible position them at the very top side of your page so it they simply cannot be missed. Try to create autoresponder messages that will be mailed to those who input their personal information into your sign up box. According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospect.
Only two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: closed sale or the prospect leaving the page and never return again. By placing useful information into their inboxes at certain specified period, you will remind them of the product they thought they want later and will find out that the sale is closed. Be sure that the content is directed toward specific reasons to buy the product. Do not make it sound like a sales pitch.
Focus on important points like how your product can make life and things easier and more enjoyable. Include compelling subject lines in the email. As much as possible, avoid using the word “free” because there are still older spam filters that dumps those kind of contents into the junk before even anyone reading them first. Convince those who signed up for your free reports that they will be missing something big if they do not avail of your products and services.
3. Get the kind of traffic that is targeted to your product. Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are offering, they will be among those who move on and never come back. Write articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. This way you can locate publications that is focusing on your target customers and what you have put up might just grab their interest.
Try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day.
Always remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or get your services. If you can generate as much as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, that means you can made 10 sales based on the average statistic.
The tactics given above does not really sound very difficult to do, if you think about it. It just requires a little time and an action plan on your part.
Try to use these tips for several affiliate marketing programs. You can end maintaining a good source of income and surviving in this business that not all marketers can do.
Besides, think of the huge paychecks you will be receiving…