Archive for the ‘Internet Marketing’ Category

You’ll probably be relieved to know that this article is not all about the technical structure of your website. I could go on about that for days on end, but fortunately, structure for you is non-technical and pretty easy to understand. So here goes…

Getting Rid Of The Brochure Mentality
Most small business owners and entrepreneurs build a website without understanding the fundamental reasons for doing so. As such, they create what I call a ‘brochure’ website. You may have done this already.

Well don’t be upset, it’s a pretty natural thing to do. For some reason we decide to follow the lead of the majority, thinking if everybody is doing it, it must be the right thing to do… WRONG!

So, going against all conventional wisdom, why do we put up a website? What is the best way to use it?

Read the rest of this entry »

The main goal of your website is LEAD GENERATION
Unfortunately most people believe the main goal is online sales, but that would be considered the ultimate goal. In order to get sales you have to generate leads first. Once you follow up with those individuals, if you do everything right it can produce a sale.

One thing to understand is that if you think about your website as a lead generation portal, then that’s what you’re going to have in front of you. However, if you think of it like a company brochure, then the dullness and approach will be the same. As Earl Nightingale said ‘we become what we think about’ and so it is with our websites.

The Concept of Lead Generation
In order to create a lead one side (your website) has to make an offer, and the other (your potential prospect) has to be interested in it. If you have this scenario then you have yourself a “hot lead” as some people call them. These are definitely the ones you want to follow up with whenever they come across your path.

The Exact Nature of an Online Lead
Let’s be perfectly clear. You absolutely must get visitors to your website to give you their email address. This has to be obtained ethically with the visitor’s permission. Think about it. If you don’t at least get their email address how will you follow up? You can and sometimes must also get a street address, phone number etc. But for now, let’s assume you’re trying to get an email address.

Providing an Offer
In order to get someone to actually provide an email address, you usually need to offer them something. It has to be something they need that will entice them to join your subscriber’s list. It has to be of VALUE to the reader, which in turn their email address will be valuable to you.

So you see; there isn’t much point in just asking people to subscribe to your newsletter. I’m not saying they won’t. I have customers that do just that and get subscribers. But most people are already overloaded with information and their inboxes are bulging, so they probably won’t sign-up unless the information is valuable or specific.

Get the Offer In Front of the Visitor
There is little point in hoping that a visitor will stumble across your website, search for and find your newsletter sign-up link and then subscribe happily to your newsletter. It just isn’t going to happen! Here’s the kicker. The MAJORITY of websites DO EXACTLY THAT! Have you heard the term landing pages? Well, YOU GENERATE YOUR LEADS ON YOUR LANDING PAGES! That’s right. Give your visitor the option to subscribe to a list that is relevant to the content of your landing page, with an offer that is also relevant and valuable.

Lead Generation IS List Building
This article is about lead generation marketing. There are a lot of online marketers that call this effort List Building. It is that, but I prefer lead generation as it makes me think more specifically about whom I’m trying to interest with my offer and how I’m going to follow up with them. You may have heard the saying ‘The Money Is in the List’? Well, the list is the end result of your lead generation efforts. And yes, the money is in the list, but you have to know what to do with the list and how to do it.

Personalization of your sales message is very important and most people don't do it. You personalize a message as simply as adding the persons first name into the copy you are writing, so it speaks directly to them. It's really simple to do if you are using an autoresponder beacause you can add the name field tag of the autoresponder to the message. Very few people actually take the time to do this though. You really should, because personalizing your message is proven to increase response by 10% or more… Now the spamming bastards of the world are trying it too! I've recently had some unsolicited email form these scumbags with very tardy personalization attempts. But at least they're trying! Here's a couple examples for your viewing pleasure… This one is even made to look like an html newsletter, very sophisticated! Of course, having my actual email address name embedded looks really stupid, but it's an attempt at personailzation and if my email was just Steve@ then it would work! This is another, less sophisticated example;

Twitter is exploding at the moment and everyone is climbing on the bandwagon, blogging about its benefits etc, and you could be forgiven for thinking that this was the new easy way to online success.

In the real world, clients want to talk about search engines, search engine optimization or search engine marketing (Google Adwords / Pay-Per-Click).

Why? The current economic downturn is having an impact on businesses and with the majority of people now using Google (mainly) to find information on an all subjects across the board, many organizations are re-evaluating their online marketing and website strategy. It’s an area that clients in every market are asking for advice on.

Many are now concerned by their visibility to prospective customers. Businesses that previously saw a website as an online brochure are waking up to the fact that online they’re completely invisible to those searching online for the products and services that they offer. Not a good place to be at the best of times, but a business killer in a recession. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been reading recently about some major newspapers requesting, and getting, tax breaks because they are failing in the current economy.

A tax cut has been approved in Washington state; I quote “Newspapers across the country have resorted to layoffs and other cost-cutting moves to deal with a wounded business model and a recession-fueled drop in advertising”

Read about tax breaks here

I really don’t get it. They are even blaming Google for their problems? I’ve been recently checking into advertizing rates for display and other types of ads in local papers and magazine here in Sarasota. They have got to be kidding! Sky high prices, with no way of really tracking results. And yet they are still failing?

I think most people see printed news as largely outdated and cumbersome.

This video post from Danny Sullivan of SearchEngineLand. I’m off to apply for a bail out too!

A poorly designed website can cost you sales and hurt your credibility.

That’s why I’ve written a special report;

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6 Hidden Traps that Kill Online Business
and Why Most Web Designers Don’t Want You to Know About Them
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The information in my report is honest and really good advice if you are looking to buy a website.

You probably put up your website without knowing exactly what to do. Or you hired a designer that was focused more on graphics than the sales copy. The sad fact is few website designers know how to build a site that sells.

Web designers seem to think that your sales message is less important than logos and pretty pictures. They love high-tech things like animations, little intro movies and fancy navigation menus. Well, fancy animations don’t generate income… except for the web designer. In fact, they frequently drive visitors away.

Clearly, people online are in a BIG hurry. More than likely, they didn’t get online to go shopping. They came to your website seeking information or a solution to a problem.

You have a tiny amount of time to convince visitors that your product or service is the solution they need. If your website doesn’t demonstrate that solution, FAST, they’re gone. That’s why fancy animations and graphics just get in the way.

If you would like to read my special report you can download it here and you can get $261 worth of FREE Bonuses too, no really! Go get yours now!;

6 Hidden Traps that Kill Online Business

Presonalization seems to be a pretty big buzzword right now, but is it as important as everyone is saying?

I recently heard from a friend who has implemented personalization in his landing pages that he has improved conversion rates by anywhere from 15-20%. Now that’s got to be worth a look.

So what is personalization? Its where you take a prospect’s name or some other piece of information you know about them and use it in a mass-marketing promotion. At least thats one form of it. We’ve all been doing this for years in our mailing right? Mail merge the persons first name into the salutation of our mailing so it starts ‘Dear firstname’.

But could just a simple first name improve response and increase conversion? and by how much?

The answer is a resounding YES! The REASON?

Read the rest of this entry »

If you don’t know who Mike Filsaime is I suggest you check him out, you will learn a lot from him about internet marketing and marketing in general. He is a true inovator on the web and mentored by none other than Mark Joyner…

The video below is for his new Butterfly Marketing 2.0 system, which he is giving away, FREE. He is giving away the manuscript, which he sold for 97 dollars and I purchased a while back now, as a download for registering.

Just FYI but Mike Filsaimes first Butterfly Marketing launch was the first launch I saw as I was just getting interested in marketing. I think he was selling it for $1,997 and I thought he was a crook and out of his mind. He sold 1 million dollars worth in a few days and has become an internet marketing legend. Anyway, history lesson over, the video below is for his launch.

Please note he is using Brightcove http://www.brightcove.com/ for video streaming services and social media tools. Also, look at the twitter graphic below the video. That’s how to use twitter for full effect! Click on that image link and login to Twitter, then look at the update ready to be posted to see what I mean.

This is a link to the video

Go here to get Mike Filsaimes Butterfly Marketing: http://butterflymarketing.com/free/

If you’re not already using twitter signup right now…

** Get over to Twitter and sign up with your name, company name, or the generic description of what you do (example: SkinDoctor, MarketingConsultant, DogExpert, etc.). It’s free, and even if you aren’t going to participate right away, you’ll want to lock in a good name.

** Search for people you know at http://search.twitter.com and follow them, as well as look at who they are following to build a list you are personally interested in. It’s likely a large number of your followees will follow you back.

** Start posting and participating in the community and providing value to your followers. Remember, you are limited to 140 characters, so it won’t take you more than a few minutes to get going, plus it’s fun.

** Follow me at http://twitter.com/SteveTickner for details on what I’m up to.

Apparently the average age of Twitter users is 31, so this isn’t just something the “kids” are doing, it’s a serious business tool. Get started now!!

Glenn Livingston is a genius at analysing a market. His information product How To Double Your Business is an amazing resource, I know first hand because I bought it.

The statisical analysis that he teaches is quiet in depth and really shows you how to zone in to a markets needs and wants. The great news is though that you can do far less than he teaches in his course and still do far better than 98% of most marketers. Its simple really…

The following video is a 90 minute in-depth overview of Glenn Livingston’s methods for evaluating a market and developing a comprehensive strategic blueprint of it’s wants, needs, and the language most motivating to its purchasers. Great for niche marketers … even better for people with existing, profitable businesses. Find the true points of difference in your market, not just the “price of entry” benefits which most people expect to find for free. Enjoy

Well, they probably don’t get any slower than this do they?

My good friend and business associate Paul Da Costa and I have just started a joint venture with Rev. Keith Lyndon, Certified Exchange Consultant and the man behind the Academy of Creative Real Estate.

His property exchange training manual, 1031 ways to make money in slow real estate markets is now available online for a bargain price!

You can find it here;
1031 ways to make money in slow real estate markets