Archive for the 'Marketing' Category

Published by MatthewBredel on 07 May 2008

Email Marketing Success – Optimization Techniques

It’s a common trend that internet marketers do whatever they can do to get the e-mail address of the people visiting their site. Online, you have a really small window of opportunity to convert a visitor into a client and if they’re not ready to buy whatever they’re browsing on your site, it’s a good idea to at least find out who they are so that you can try a different sales approach on them on another day. Just because they’re not interested in what you’re selling today doesn’t mean you can’t find something else to tickle their fancy.

There are many ways to do this such as:

- Offer a free report with information they’ll find valuable

- Ask them to opt in to your newsletter or subscribe to your website for update

- Intrigue them with entry into a free draw for a prize

Once someone has signed up for something you’ve got a valuable e-mail address that you can use to build your list of potential customers. Once you have that e-mail address, you want to be very careful with it because otherwise it won’t do much for you.

How do you stay out of the spam filter?

It’s a good idea to have someone confirm before you give away anything. Many will put in a fake e-mail address just to get something for free. You can require them to confirm by receiving an e-mail from you and clicking a confirmation link. Remind them to check their junk folder and if they mark your message as not being Spam, their email software could then automatically whitelist you so that you don’t land in the spam folder in future. By requesting a confirmation, you also ensure that you are getting a real e-mail address.

Autoresponder software is a good investment for anyone marketing online. Buying into a package AutoResponsePlus or something similar will help you easily manage your mailing lists. The thing is, once you have a mailing list in place and a plan that includes autoresponders, you need to work on your email content and deliverability.

Each communication you make in future with prospective client should do two things:

1) The e-mail needs to offer them something valuable otherwise they’ll unsubscribe. Give information or tips or helpful information that will have that person anxious to open future emails from you.

2) You need a call to action line at the end which will entice them to do something you want after they close the email. This could be to visit your website with a handy link, sign up for another service, refer their friends to you or even offer a purchase link so they can buy what you’re selling.

Deliverability is definitely a key factor. You want to know that your e-mails reach their recipient’s email box so here are a few things you can do to increase the likelihood of your target audience actually opening your e-mail. People are fed up with Spam and using all sorts of programs and techniques to ensure they’re not having to sift through spam to get to the important e-mails.

People make use of domain keys and SPF records so that they aren’t getting phishing e-mails by those posing as their bank or PayPal.

People use spam filters and this helps them build the trust in their incoming messages. Once you make it past that filter, you’re set.

By getting yourself whitelisted, you can increase the likelihood of being delivered to an e-mail inbox instead of a Spam folder and by buying an autoresponder product that’s hosted on your own server, you can more easily get past Spam filters because if you’ve done your bit to get whitelisted, you’ll be trusted by your recipient’s e-mail server which will increase the chances of your brilliant and persuasive copy being taken seriously.

For helpful information about e-mail marketing success, autoresponder programs like AutoResponse Plus and more helpful advice for entrepreneurs, visit TheWebReviewer.

Published by MoeTamani on 06 May 2008

Avoid Internet Marketing’s Costliest Mistakes

Companies resorting to services of an ad agency for an online campaign often find themselves with a single option, the pay per click scheme (PPC). This falls under the broader search engine marketing scheme (SEM). The PPC scheme is recently popularized by Google’s Ad words and is primarily the cause of the company’s stellar rise in Wall Street’s stock portfolios. With this marketing scheme garnering so much attention with the clients the cost per click have also steadily risen, a single click may cost a company as much as $12. Why shouldn’t it be so grossly-priced, it’s what everyone wants, after all? It is precisely the popularity and high price of PPC campaigns which make this scheme in the forefront of an ad agency’s marketing strategies, it is the ultimate cash cow and leaves the relatively unknown SEO services in the backdrop.

In contrast to PPC campaigns, SEO creates so called organic traffic for websites and uses less visible means of generating site hits. To illustrate, when a person searches for the term “cabbage”, an SEO site may turn up on top of search results. Since this person is interested in cabbages, he’d naturally click on this top ranking site, hence the term organic traffic. PPC ads, for its part, turns up on websites in an almost unpredictable fashion. Using the same example as above, the person who searched for cabbage online may find PPC ads for tomato wholesale crowding his screen. In all probability he would not click those ads since he’s interested in cabbage and not tomatoes. All things considered, despite being more reliable as a scheme in online advertising, SEO is relegated to a lesser status because of the conceived danger it causes to PPC advertising.

SEO services, however, are starting to catch up with PPC ads. PPC campaigns just cost too much these days and companies running on a limited budget are forced to look for alternative means of strutting their stuff online. Ad agencies to a certain extent may feel that a revenue niche is being threatened but this should not be the case. Instead of undervaluing SEO, ad agencies should understand its true worth in making things work for the client.

If revenues from PPC are affected when clients opt for the SEO solution, the more reasonable solution is to increase the value of the latter and not relegate it to the background. Otherwise it might spell doom for the client, and doomed clients endanger an ad agency’s revenues more than SEO, to say the least.

A suggested option for client is to avail both PPC and SEO services in their online campaigns. These schemes should not be viewed in isolation of the other when they could actually work together. Diversifying a website or even putting up several sites which either PPC or SEO also gives a chance for a client and agency to evaluate which solution works best for them. Some may argue that diversifying the means of conducting an online ad campaign or adopting PPC and SEO in tandem increases costs for the client. However, increased costs may easily be subsidized by allowing third party advertisers to likewise show their stuff on a client’s website.

A site utilizing both PPC and SEO is bound to have a higher ranking and a revenue generator for a client and such a site is the most attractive place for other companies to put up their ads.

Necessity is the mother of invention and inventions are solutions for problems. In the present case, invention of an alternative for high PPC campaigns is no longer required since the solution already exists, in the form of SEO. Despite this, SEO remains largely undervalued and unknown. As companies start to realize the importance and value SEO can bring to their online presence, ad agencies sometimes cannot help but feel threatened because it may undermine the importance of their blockbuster and profit generating PPC ads.

As hammered at above, profits need not be threatened by SEO as there are other ways of compensating for the possible decrease in profits. Increasing its value, adopting several schemes, etc. are just some of the means to compensate for possible losses. Moreover, whatever is better for the client benefits an ad agency in the long run. Indeed, PPC advertising is not an end of itself, increased visibility of the client is the goal. SEO should not then be viewed with contempt but with favor because of its benefits for a client. After all, a happy client is a paying client.

Moe Tamani is a consultant with Dallas based Internet Marketing company specializing in Natural SEO.

Published by PattiRob on 06 May 2008

Make Your B&B Special On Valentine’s Day

Of all the holidays out there that people celebrate, Valentine’s Day is one that is very special. It is a time for a couple to really remember why they fell in love with each other in the first place. So it is only reasonable that they will go to great lengths to show their true feelings to each other. You may realize in your quest for a gift that you don’t get to spend as much time together as you once did.

If that is the case, change all of that by planning a stay at a bed & breakfast for Valentine’s Day. This is a great way to show your partner you are still completely infatuated with them. Nothing says that like asking someone to go away and spend some time alone with you. If you are new to what a bed & breakfast can offer you, the entire trip can really be exciting for both of you.

Since Valentine’s Day isn’t always on a weekend you may find it hard to get away. However, don’t overlook the bed & breakfast locations that are in your town. You can even look for that are an hour or less away. The drive will give you plenty of time to talk. Just spending some quality time together in a new environment can be very exciting.

You can also decide to choose a weekend in February to celebrate Valentine’s Day at a bed & breakfast. It doesn’t matter if it is on the actual day of the holiday or not. What matters is that you are both taking time to continue forging a quality relationship with each other. You will also be able to relax and focus on the needs of each other while you are there.

Many of them will be offering specials to accommodate this holiday. For example your room many include chocolates, flowers, and champagne. If you need something special just ask. Most of them will likely do all they can to help you with it. If you want to have a nice gift waiting for your wife upon arrival just ask them if you can ship it a few days in advance.

You should start making your plans soon though. Chances are the bed & breakfasts will fill up quickly. You can call some you have stayed at before or you can search for a new one. You can look for them online or in the phone book. If you are in a rush since Valentine’s Day is almost upon us then you better get started.

You will always remember how you celebrate Valentine’s Day with the one you love. Therefore it is important that you do something great for each other. It is romantic as well as fun to stay at a bed & breakfast so check it out. You will be able to have lots of privacy to spend time with each other here.

You will be very happy spending Valentine’s Day at a bed & breakfast. Most of them will go to great lengths to make it a happy and special time for you. Some couples enjoy the experience so much that they make it a yearly tradition.

Patti Rob - entrepreneur, author, and Bed and Breakfast industry enthusiast. Visit the website to discover why most new B&B owners fail to reach their business dreams.

Published by PattiRob on 06 May 2008

Marketing Your Bed & Breakfast Business

It is vital to the success of your bed & breakfast business for you to spread the word. Not everyone is familiar with these types of establishments so they pass them over for hotels. Why not encourage them to stay at your business instead? There are plenty of different ways you can advertise your business. The internet is one of the most successful because people use it all the time for their travel plans.

These days people look for anything and everything online. It is one of the first places they turn when they need accommodations while traveling. You should have your own website in place. Many people have the idea that this is too hard or too expensive but it doesn’t have to be. Do what you can on your own and then hire someone to take care of the rest of it for you.

Make sure your website includes plenty of pictures of the business. People like to know what it is going to look like so take the time to offer this information. It can make the difference between someone making a reservation and deciding not to. The unknown is something many people just don’t deal with very well.

Think about all the different places that hotels advertise their business. This can include newspapers, fliers, and phone directories. You want to be listed in all the same places as they are. There are some individuals that will always pick a bed & breakfast over a hotel if one is available.

When individuals are planning to come to town to see family and friends they are going to ask for a good place to stay. You want your bed & breakfast to be something that they readily think of. This way they can set up a reservation for their guests that will benefit you. Chances are these individuals will come back again and stay with you in the future as well.

You can be sure many of your guests are going to tell others about your business. If you are taking care of things as you should all of these discussions will be very positive. One way to help ensure they do pass along your information is to give them discounts when they recommend other people to your business.

Don’t forget to thank all of your customers for taking them time to come in. Make it a very personal experience for them. Some people will be coming back to town on a regular basis. Chances are they will find your business to be exactly where they want to spend their money.

Advertising needs to be a priority for your business so that you aren’t having empty rooms. The more people are aware of what you have to offer them the more likely they are to take you up on the offer. It is a good idea to implement as many types of advertising as you can. This way you can reach people from all different angles.

Patti Rob - entrepreneur, author, and Bed and Breakfast industry enthusiast. Visit the website to discover why most new B&B owners fail to reach their business dreams.

Published by SergeDandelin on 06 May 2008

The Stronger Your Guarantee, The More Sales You’ll Generate - Guaranteed!

Most of us has at one time or another been ripped off by some unscrupulous individual. Because of this bad experience, we are now more careful about with whom we do business both online and in the real world.

If you are looking for a sure fire way to increase your sales and remove any obstacle that stands in the way of your profits, then you need to look at what kind of guarantee you are offering. Offering a guarantee is a very important part of how you do business. You have to make sure that people feel safe trying your product or service.

You have to show them that you are so confident that they will like your product that you guarantee them their money back if they do not like it. This is a way to start building up trust with your customers. After all, it’s the customer who needs to be happy. The happier the customers are, the more business you are going to be doing. However, will a guarantee generate more sales?

The answer to that question is yes. A guarantee will give you more sales. For example, if you choose not to go with a guarantee, but there is another web site that is selling what you are selling except with a guarantee, then you can bet people are going to go with them. Your product may be just as good or even better, but people want to be reassured that if things do not go right, the guarantee is going to make everything all better.

Seeing a guarantee on a box is good for everyone, and that goes for the person that is offering the guarantee as well. This is because if you have a guarantee then you are going to be having more sales, and that means that you will have more money, which makes everyone happy.

What kind of guarantee should you offer? Well that is a question that only you can answer. You can make a whole bunch of guarantees that you do not plan on keeping, but then your name will be drug through the mud. That means that if you are going to have a guarantee then you better be willing to back it up. This is a sign of good faith, and if you break that sign then people are not going to trust your business.

It’s always better to just have one guarantee out at a time. If you have too many out, you may not be able to keep all of them. There is nothing worse in the business world than having to break your guarantee. So be sure you can handle everything before you promise something.

By creating a rock solid guarantee and taking the risk on your shoulders, you make it easier for your customers to buy from you.Your customers will be astounded at how you are confident about your product or service and you’ll capture more sales and increase your profits in the process.

Do you want to learn more about Internet Marketing? I have just completed my brand new guide to Search Engine Marketing Success: ”How To Consistently Drive Thousands Of Targeted Visitors With Search Engine Optimization”. Download it free here: Search Engine Optimization Success. Serge Daudelin Affordable Search Engine Optimization Services.com. Serge Daudelin is a Search Engine Optimization specialist and consultant who has written over 300 articles in print and 5 published ebooks.

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