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Archive for May, 2010
May. 31st 2010
One of the major differences between the way that people read in real life, and the way that they read on the web, is speed. On the web, people skim. When they are reading newspapers or books, they read in depth. So, while some article promotion topics are worthy of an in-depth analysis, most of what you write for web publication needs to be adapted for skimmers and scanners. This is how you do that!
Cut it down to the bare bones – Your Title
One of the most important places for you to cut down what you want to say to its ‘bare bones’ is in your title. You might be writing an article about purchasing office furniture, for example. A title that ran something like:
Using whole-of-life cost accounting to ensure that your office furniture purchases are good value
Is very likely to be ignored. However, a title that sounded something like:
Five Ways to Save on Office Furniture
Or even simply:
Get Discount Office Furniture
Would get far more clicks. As people are skimming and scanning, if something looks like too much ‘work’ to understand, people don’t even bother. They skip to something that looks more succinct.
Cut it down to the bare bones – Your copy
Apply the same logic to your copy. If you’re a conversational style writer, you’ll often fid that you take 50 words to say what can be cut down to 20. I understand! Don’t stifle your flow by editing words out as you go; just go back over what you’ve written at the end when you’re doing a final proof and edit.
You can also help improve your skimmer and scanner credentials in your article promotion by utilizing the inverted pyramid process that journalists write by. Put the most important piece of information first. Then the next most, then the least important piece. All of a sudden, you’ll find that your article are getting more reads, your by-lines are gathering more clicks, and your website is doing more work!
May. 26th 2010
Popunder marketing is a method that you use to buy targeted traffic. It can get very decent results if used carefully. What everyone always wants to know about popunder marketing is how much they can expect to pay, and how many conversions they can expect to get for their dollar. Well, the statistics vary considerably – here we look at what happened when we experimented with several different popunder marketing ad delivery websites. The advertisement in question was already in use on the website to which it belonged, and was getting around an 8% conversion rate on its own site, seeking to get people signed up to the newsletter. Here are the results, and the lessons learned!
The Stats
Cost of the service
The cost of the service ranged from:
* #1 – $149 / 20,000 unique visitors (gained 53 subscriptions)
* #2 – $90 / 10,000 visitors (gained 13 subscriptions)
* #3 – $20 / 10,000 visitors (gained 59 subscriptions)
Visitors promised versus visitors delivered
You can check on whether your popunder marketing firm is delivering close to the correct amount of traffic by looking at your own web analytics impression statistics. In most cases, the number of actually impressions is somewhat below the number of ‘unique visitors’ that you buy. This is normal, and due to technical factors beyond anybody’s control. You may actually receive between 60% and 90% of the visitors stated.
Cost per subscriber
This ranged from:
* #1 – $2.81
* #2 – $6.70
* #3 – $0.42
Lessons learned!
Wow … popunder marketing traffic can get some awesome, very cost effective results … and some very poor results! Just like anything else in life, some companies deliver, and some don’t. Go with a trusted name if you’re interested in popunder marketing, and take out a short trial first to check out your results. A conversion rate of less than 0.5% isn’t unusual … but in real subscriber terms, it is a very cheap way to broaden your marketing reach!
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May. 25th 2010
We all know what web links are … little pieces of text, usually underlined, often a different text color, that cause your cursor to change shape when you hover over them to indicate that you can click them to go on a strange and mysterious journey across the net! However, the importance of website linking is the thing that eludes many people. Today we explain why more colorful, underlined bits of text pointing to your site mean A LOT to your overall business!
From web linking to whopping profits!
Here’s the basic equation that shows you how web linking can turn into profits for any business! I’ll go into detail in a second:
Web linking = Better rankings in Google
Better rankings in Google = More website visitors
More website visitors = More customers
More customers = More money, better reputation, better branding … better business!
Why do web links equal better Google rankings?
Web linking is one of the major factors that Google uses in determining which sites should be in the first ten results when people search for a particular keyword. The other factors include (but aren’t limited to):
* Keyword usage – whether you have the searched-for keyword in your page title, page copy, and in anchor text pointing to your site
* Domain strength – the age of your domain, whether the domain name includes the keyword, whether it’s a .edu or .gov domain, etc
* The web linking profile – how many links point to your site, the ‘quality’ of sites that those links are on, whether they are one way links or reciprocal links
* User data – The number of users that click on your site when it shows up in results, time spent on site, etc.
* Text quality and readability
However, your web linking profile comes around equal first (with keyword usage and domain factors) in determining your search engine result placement.
But I promote my website in plenty of other ways…
It’s always good practice to put your website address on the bottom of TV ads, on your business card and on your customer information packs. However, if these are the only methods by which anybody finds your website, you are limiting your audience to only the people that already know about and are interested in your company.
Google is the giant Yellow Pages of businesses, only instead of listing the businesses in alphabetical order according to category, it lists them according to the ones it thinks are best. And frequently, the ones Google thinks are best are the only ones that searchers see. Without a focus on web linking as part of your marketing strategy, you’re effectively hamstringing your business!
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May. 24th 2010
We all know what an ‘inactive’ email marketing recipient is … usually because we are one ourselves, on one or more lists. Personally, I’m subscribed to around 10 or 15 email lists, mostly because I wanted to access some content which required that I sign up. However, for the most part, I don’t really open these emails any more. Yet every now and then something in one of these email marketing messages catches my eye … and I’m sure the same is true for you! Today we break down exactly what aspects of the message help return these inactive, ‘prodigal’ email marketing recipients back to the land of your web site promotion.
1. Identify who is ‘inactive’
You’ll need to get down and dirty with your email marketing analytics function – find out which recipients haven’t opened any of your last ten emails, or perhaps have opened one message but not clicked.
2. Segment these recipients
Try to find some common factors in these inactive recipients. Are they all female? Did they all sign up for a specific report on a topic that you no longer cover? Do they all come from a city where you have no physical stores?
3. Ask them why they don’t read their emails!
This is the only smart way to get data about what people think of your email marketing … anything else is nothing more than educated guesses. You can either try sending the survey out via email (with a REALLY catchy subject line!), or phoning the recipients, if you have that data.
4. Listen, and change
Listen to why people don’t read their emails. Never get defensive or make a single excuse … just listen. Then analyze what you can cost-effectively change to re-engage these people.
5. Test the results
Put those analytics that you used in step 1 back to work again. Find out whether your changes were enough to re-engage people. Try a couple of different strategies, including incentives and bonuses.
6. Adjust your techniques
Make adjustments again based on your test results. The most important thing to remember when you are assessing the effectiveness of an email marketing system, is that every single step counts. From the way you sign up your subscribers, to the design of your messages, the bonuses they include and the subject line that introduces them.
If you want to retain email marketing subscribers, you need to offer value. Find out how to create a million dollars worth of value to people, and you will become a millionaire!
May. 20th 2010
Most of the press release advice you’ll hear is very repetitive. Be newsworthy, format correctly, use your inverted pyramid, etc. This sort of press release guidance is great for those new at this way of marketing websites, but if you’re well past that stage you might be wondering how to amp up the value you get from your press releases. Today we help out with just that – looking at 4 little known tactical tips for press release submission and marketing.
1. Pay attention to the time
There are more people looking at news sites in the morning than the evening – they’re catching up with what happened overnight before starting their work at 9am; at 4pm they’re trying to fend off the sleepies, and thinking about dinner! Submit your press release so that it will hit Google News and the front page of the press release sites in the morning.
2. Tell Google about it!
It’s that old piece of advice – if you don’t ask, you won’t get. You can actually ask Google News to index your news area, by going to the News Contact area of their Support section, and clicking on the link that says ‘I’d like to suggest a news source’. If you don’t tell Google News that your piece belongs in their News section, it will just go in the regular index. Search engines aren’t that smart yet!
3. Use URLwire
These site announcements are indexed by every major search engine within a day or so, and are considered to be better quality because there are fewer announcements.
4. Tuesday and Wednesday rule
Submit your stories to Google News on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. In the same way that Tuesdays are the cheapest day to buy gasoline, they are also the slowest news days. Journalists and Google are all looking for good content on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when people have mostly just got their heads down, working.
If your press releases have been languishing in the viewing stats, these little tips could perk up your readership with very little effort!
May. 19th 2010
Many issues in Internet marketing and corporate web presence have a fairly clearly defined ‘preferable’ side. One odd issue that is evenly divided is in blog marketing – while some people feel that outsourcing blog marketing and writing is the only way to run a blog, others say that completely betrays the spirit of your blog! The reality, as always, is a little more balanced than the extreme views. Today we check out the arguments on both sides of the fence about outsourcing your blog marketing and writing.
Time
Blogging well takes time. And if the people at your company that are ‘qualified’ to blog are worth in dollar terms per hour doing something other than writing, then the amount of time for blogging that their bosses will put in their schedule is nil. However, there is another consideration to make – the occasional post by a true expert in their field can add a lot of value to a blog … in the longer term.
Outsourcing isn’t all-or-nothing
You can outsource part of your blogging, and still retain the personal flavor. For example, there’s no reason for the ‘brains’ behind the blog to do any of the legwork, such as comment moderation, editing and proofing, finding images, etc.
New perspectives versus inconsistent perspectives
We often hear that people who don’t like the idea of outsourcing their blog marketing/writing are worried about having an inconsistent voice on the blog. However, once a blog has been up and running for a while, it really grows beyond the individual single voice that created it. Blogs can certainly evolve without alienating readers. Simply give your ghostwriters or guest writers some style guidelines, or retain the right to edit the posts that they create, and there is nothing to worry about.
Is blog marketing the same as blogging?
Given the blogs are mostly content, most of the marketing of a blog is in the creation of the content. However, there are still blog marketing tasks that SEO firms are well-placed to help with. They’ll also have some pretty handy ideas about content creation, as the subjects of your posts will inform the keywords you can use, which are the basis of good blog marketing.
May. 18th 2010
After determining what banner ad size will suit your message best, the next most important factor in choosing a size is the sort of response it will create from consumers! There is no single magical banner ad size that will put your brand recognition through the roof, your response rates up to 10% and will be accepted on websites everywhere … but consumers do think differently about different banner advertising sizes. Here are some of those thoughts!
468×60 Banners
These are somewhat of an awkward size. Most of the sites offering 468×60 banners have them left over as a relic from many years ago … they simply haven’t upgraded their advertising standards. This is definitely not the width of a standard computer screen, so it doesn’t allow the content to stand out along the top of the web page – it usually ends up being surrounded by ads with little opportunity to stand out. Worst, consumers simply see it as a hangover from the early nineties … the dotcom bust era.
120×600 or 160×600 Banners
This is the skyscrapers size, and it is relatively heavy use across the net still. From a consumer’s point of view, these are definite attention grabbers. However, they often necessitate scrolling back up or down in order to see the whole ad, and many people just won’t bother. After all, it isn’t like most consumers have a shortfall of advertising in their lives!
300×250 and 180×150 Banners
These ‘close to square’ banners are much mire widely used nowadays – you have probably noticed that many web design and blogging sites nowadays have a raft of them along the right hand side. They are actually seen as quite a contemporary banner advertising size by your consumers. The other reason that consumers are starting to appreciate these more regular sizes is that DESIGNERS are starting to appreciate them more! It is actually pretty difficult to fit images and copy within a horizontally or vertically thin advertisement, and many of them end up looking pretty so-so. Listen to your designers – if it’s good for the graphics folks, it’s good for your customers!
Of course, there are dozens of different banner advertising sizes to choose from on many sites. As a general guideline, look for balance of horizontal and vertical space, and take up as much of the web page as you can!
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May. 17th 2010
Article marketing is one of the SEO tactics that will probably be around for some time to come – simply because it panders to the very reason for the Internet’s existence … to provide information! The first lesson you’ll read on article marketing, no matter what the source, is to publish informative content.
While we aren’t disputing that guidance here, we would like to add that there are plenty of subtle ways to include sales-oriented copy within your articles and use those documents to help push conversion as well as helping your customers and building you up as an expert. Remember not to overdo these article marketing sales tactics, and you could do very well out of them!
Giving something away
Let people know if something valuable is free in your article. This is a great way to drive traffic to your website, and also drive conversion rates. You don’t have to make a big deal of it – people naturally pay more attention to the word ‘free’ than just about any other word! If you hype anything too much, many article marketing syndication sites will reject your article.
Show people how your service saves money
A less powerful version of the above tactic, but one that will still help you get clicks, is to show people how a product or service can save them money. Again, don’t hype this fact to much – keep to your original informative aims – but don’t forget to mention it!
Highlight novelty
If something is new, make a big deal of it in your article. People pay attention to things that they haven’t heard of or seen before, and it’s a great curiosity arouser that will help actually get people clicking through to your website.
Let people know if something is risk free
As in the first three tips for article marketing, let people know if a particular service or offer is risk-free in some way … but don’t overdo it.
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May. 14th 2010
When looking at Internet marketing options for your online business, you never want to overlook the value and importance of your very own customers. For instance, if you offer people information or services in the form of newsletters, ezines, articles, or e-courses, you can set up a page within your site for subscriber feedback. As new people visit your site and are invited to read what other customers have to say, you instantly have a powerful marketing tool.
A subscriber marketing tool can actually serve you better than other marketing strategies in many instances. In addition to having feedback for other prospective customers to review, this form of marketing does much more. For instance, you can also take the information being provided about your company, product, or service, and make needed adjustments so you better your processes, thus becoming an even more competitive online business.
Some helpful tips you might consider when using a subscriber marketing tool include:
* Website Statistics – Whether capturing statistics manually or investing in a special software program, you need to know what is happening with your site. If you were to look at these numbers daily, you would have a much better understanding of what is and is not working, again allowing you to make needed changes. Information included in statistics would include overall number of visitors, the number of times a particular ezine, newsletter, or e-course was read, etc.
* Listening to Customers – With the use of a subscriber marketing tool, it is absolutely imperative that you listen to what existing and prospective customers are saying. In other words, if you receive a complaint or suggestion, take it to heart. Respond to the customer so he or she knows the information was heard and that it will also be acted on.
* Website Forums – Forums can be very advantageous to your site. These open or public forums are simply gathering areas where people can go to discuss things relating to your business. If people are not leaving direct feedback on your site, you can read through posted comments and learn exactly what the customer is saying.
* Surveys – With a subscriber marketing tool, you also want to provide visitors with an occasional survey asking them what they think about the product or service being sold on your site, as well as pricing, shipping, customer satisfaction, and so on. Again, you have a great opportunity to use this information to make your online business powerful and highly profitable.
May. 13th 2010
If you have been managing an online business, you need to consider an effective email advertising campaign. When done right, email advertising and marketing can completely transform the level of success your online business experiences. Just imagine being able to watch sales go through the roof without spending a lot of money, time or effort, which is exactly what you get with email advertising.
As you will discover, email advertising can be established using four simply rules. The result is that in a very short time, you will notice the number of sales increasing dramatically. The following are things you can do to enhance the performance of your website, pushing the limits of potential sales.
1. Opt In – Make sure your website has an opt-in option or page. With this, people can check a box and then provide contact information for receiving emails, ezines, articles, newsletters, etc. from you about the company, product, or service. Once the person has chosen the opt in, anything sent is no longer considered spam, meaning you now have full permission to start your marketing and advertising campaign.
2. Articles, Ezines, and Online Courses – People by nature love to learn. Therefore, when you create your online site, provide a way for visitors to gain even more helpful information through a variety of media. For this, there are various ways of setting the site up, which might include a separate page where articles and such can be found or perhaps live links that redirect then to another page or site.
3. Blast Offers – You also want your email advertising to include blast offers consistently and often. This is a type of email whereby you are promoting something on a weekly basis. If you sell products, then your potential and existing customers need to know of new inventory, sales, closeouts, etc.
4. Newsletters – Just as weekly blast offers are an important part of email advertising, you also want to offer bi-weekly newsletters. Included in the newsletter could be information not only about the company, product, or service, but also information that would complement or coordinate with what you have to offer. In other words, if you have an online business providing financial advice, you might promote a professional seminar, a book, CD, or something else that goes along with your own online business.
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