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Social bookmarking has finally got a foothold. Social bookmarking is being seen by many marketing experts as a cost effective method of augmenting distribution of content, branding and image building and marketing. According to a survey, it has been seen that almost 28% of users on the Internet on a normal day have been tagging online content while 7% of users on the Internet have been either tagging or categorizing content. This method is being seen as a highly successful idea and this can be seen with the amount of success achieved by http://Del.icio.us.

Del.icio.us had acquired their first million visitors in 3 years but they acquired the next 2 million visitors within a span of 6 months. So what is social bookmarking? Social bookmarking can be compared to linking. Social bookmarks are basically links that help an internet user to classify, share, store and even search for content using a process called tagging. Tags just make it easier for internet users to find the content they are looking for. You can apply social bookmarks to content or information in different formats like PDF, video, blogs, websites, images etc.

Some of the top social bookmarking websites include StumbleUpon, http://del.icio.us, Google Bookmarks and Furl. Reddit and Dig are two social news websites, which are also considered as social bookmarking sites. The idea is to create positive content about your services, products or overall business and then optimizing the content on these social bookmarking websites.

Social bookmarking is an interesting concept that can be used for enhancing the process of marketing and promotions. What marketers can really do is allow sharing of content by the visitors. As a result, the bookmarks encourage a kind of functionality that is most often referred to as forward-to-a-friend process. Apart from this, marketers can also post their own content on different social bookmarking websites, which will initiate movement of traffic to their sites. In a sense, this is an online version word of mouth advertising where surfers share their bookmarks.

But for social bookmarking to be a real success, you need to have engaging or interactive content, which users will find useful, interesting and entertaining. It should be the kind of content that most users can recommend to others or forward it. The content should attract users and this is where creativity plays an important role. You will have to look from the perspective of an internet user to gauge what he or she might be looking for and then provide it. There are certain tips you can follow to make social bookmarking a marketing success for your online business and they are:

Understand the requirement of your audience and try to focus on topics that will interest your readers, audience or users.

Content should be interesting and yet easy to read. The more heavy words and sentences you use, the more difficult and unfriendly it will be for the reader. Look at the blogs – most blogs have reader friendly and more personalized content. Apart from this, you can also add bold and colored or highlighted fonts to assist in increasing readability.

The title should be interesting and hint at what the article is all about. If you want to provide information only on Pay-per-click then there is no point having a title like “The best internet marketing tools.” Readers will think that this article encompasses all the methods and it will be useless for a reader who wants specialized information about Pay-per-click. On the other hand if you have a title like “Less money, more traffic using Pay-per-click” This title will attract the attention of readers looking for specialized information on Pay-per-click and other readers who want information on internet marketing methods.

Keywords are extremely important in bringing traffic to your website. Use of keywords is a key factor that drives search engine optimization. If you don’t use the required amount of keywords then internet users or readers might not be able to find your article using the Google or Yahoo search engines.

Using a content format that will ensure readability is important. If the size of your font is too small then it might be difficult for most of the readers to appreciate the content however important the information provided by you may be. If you want users to tag your content then it is important that you place buttons at the top or the bottom of your article. You can also avoid clutter by including bookmark option of only those social bookmarking communities that are best linked to your business.

These are some of the ways by which, you can use social bookmarking to your advantage.

Author:  Seomul Davis is a senior SEO Services expert with “SEO 1 Services” an internet marketing company specializing in Search Engine Optimization

First, if you’re new to affiliate marketing, some preliminary explanations may prove helpful in your quest for becoming a part-time or full-time affiliate marketer.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is quite simple to explain: you promote and market a product or company in return for a commission if a sale or lead is made from your marketing efforts. With online affiliate marketing you simply place your affiliate ID embedded links on your web pages and if a customer clicks your link and proceeds to that designated company’s site and makes a purchase or signs up for a service, you earn a commission.

Affiliate marketing, if done right, can prove to be a very lucrative venture. Commissions can run anywhere from a few pennies to thousands of dollars for just one click or sale. Professional marketers develop affiliate relationships with hundreds of companies and build sites to promote these companies and products.

Needless to say, the advent of the Internet has been a golden opportunity for affiliate marketers to really expand their promotions and marketing. As more as more customers choose to buy online, advertising and purchases keep increasing at a maddening pace.

To accommodate all this online ecommerce we have seen the birth of large affiliate networks, operated by large corporations. Make no mistake, affiliate marketing is big business, accounting for billions in sales and commissions.

What is an Affiliate Network?

An affiliate network is a third party facilitator which brings affiliates and companies together. It connects Advertisers (companies with products or services to sell) together with Publishers (those who display and promote these products or services) so they can do business. The affiliate network does all the tracking, accounting and payment of commissions.

The following Top 10 list of the best Affiliate Networks is compiled by an actual full-time affiliate marketer who has worked these programs for over five years. This list is subjective and based on first-hand experience. It should be seen in this light and every marketer probably will have a different list or have these in a different picking order depending on the type and nature of their marketing.

But this list of the 10 Best Affiliate Networks will give you a general rundown on these affiliate networks and how they operate.

1. Commission Junction (www.cj.com)

Now owned by ValueClick, Commission Junction was one of the first affiliate networks. It is also one of the most important with many of the Top Fortune 500 companies listed here.

CJ is an international network with excellent stats and tracking (some of the best you will find), along with regular monthly payments makes this the obvious first choice for anyone wishing to try affiliate marketing. For those new or old at affiliate marketing, CJ also holds regular seminars and training sessions.

Most merchants offer pay-per-lead or pay-per-sale, one of the best features is the performance bonuses and incentives. As most experienced marketers will know, selling 50k to 100k each month for merchants will bring in the big incentives or bonuses.

Commissions run as high as 50% but most are in 3% to 15% range. You have the option of direct deposit for your payments. One major plus, CJ will tell you which merchants and ads are earning the most revenue for affiliates so you can easily choose which merchants are worth promoting.

2. ClickBank (www.clickbank.com)

ClickBank is another professional affiliate network with excellent stats and tracking. Easy to use and pays every two weeks.

ClickBank is slightly different from the other networks in that it deals mainly with digital download products. The commissions from ClickBank are usually much higher than the other networks, around 40% to 50% or more.

ClickBank has over 10,000 products but keep in mind, info-marketing products will have stiff competition from all the savvy and well established Internet marketers promoting these same products. Consider youself warned!

The most successful marketing tactic here is to first dominate your targeted niche with your blogs and sites, then find affiliate products to match your content or niche subject matter, whether it be gardening equipment, gaming laptops or Mediterranean cruises!.

3. LinkShare (www.linkshare.com)

LinkShare is another excellent affiliate network. It is one of the oldest affiliate networks on the web. LinkShare was recently acquired by the Japanese Portal Rakuten, with a price tag of $425 million.

Very good stats and reporting with their Synergy Analytics system. Many Top Fortune 500 companies are presented here so you will no trouble finding products and services to promote. LinkShare pays commissions as they receive them from merchants - monthly checks.

4. Affiliate Window (www.affiliatewindow.com)

Affiliate Window is an UK based affiliate network which offers top brand companies and good commission rates. Pays once a month and has excellent stats.

Savvy affiliate marketers know promoting in other countries can be much easier than promoting in the American market place. Mainly because these other countries haven’t become saturated with online marketers, little competition means more sales.

5. Amazon (www.amazon.com)

Amazon is another excellent affiliate network to join if you want to sell products from your site or blog. Amazon has excellent stats and the links are very easy to create and place on your web pages.

You also have the option of creating your own store with Amazon aStores. Amazon also now has context link ads and Widgets!

Commission rates are somewhat lower than the other networks but making sales thru Amazon is much, much easier. You will make more sales mainly because Amazon is a well known and trusted online company. Amazon now pays monthly.

6. Shareasale (www.shareasale.com)

Shareasale is yet another easy system to work with good stats and simple to create links. With 1,700+ merchants to choose from, Shareasale is another good affiliate network to promote.

The control panel is easy to use and the reporting is very good. Usually pays the month following your sales.

7. Google (www.google.com/adsense/)

Many won’t think of Google as an Affiliate network but it does run affiliate products thru its Adsense program. Very few products but like everything from Google it is professionally run and top caliber all the way.

Please note, top marketers know affiliate links/products on their content pages will return 10 times what Google Adsense will give them. However, these marketers will also know using Google Adsense on less targeted pages throughout your sites or blogs will give you a healthy return.

Besides receiving that monthly check from a multi-billion dollar company like Google will put a smile on your face every time.

8. LinkConnector (www.linkconnector.com)

LinkConnector is a relatively new affiliate network which launched in 2004. It has Pay Per Click, Pay Per Sale and Pay Per Lead. Good stats and reporting. Worth checking out for their different types of new affiliate technology such as Direct Linking which passes pagerank along to the merchant’s site.

9. CPA Empire (www.cpaempire.com)

Great CPA (Cost Per Action) network especially if you do a lot of email marketing and promotions. Geared towards acquiring leads and sign-ups but does offer other merchants as well. Good stats and reporting.

10. Independents

Individual affiliate deals with different companies which may or may not be listed with the major networks above. Your independent affiliate deals will be some of your most lucrative since you can sometimes work out separate private commission rates and bonuses. Aim for residual income here. Don’t ignore this aspect of affiliate marketing as it will pay the highest dividends.

Keep in mind, all the above affiliate networks are middlemen, they come between you and the merchant you’re promoting. For affiliates with a proven track record, who have shown they can deliver the customers and sales, a private deal cutting out the middleman/fees can prove very beneficial for both parties. If you’re fortunate enough to become known as a super affiliate, these private deals will become more common and more profitable.

Professional affiliate marketers use all of the above networks to create multiple income streams from their marketing efforts. In the process, they build a healthy monthly income for themselves and their families. There is no reason why you can’t do the same.

Author:  Titus Hoskins is a full-time online marketer who has numerous websites, including two sites on Internet marketing. For the latest and most effective web marketing tools try: www.bizwaremagic.com Or why not try these excellent free training manuals and videos: www.bizwaremagic.com/Free_Marketing_Courses.htm 2007 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

Lead time is one of the most often overlooked aspects of a design project. For some projects it’s not a huge concern - you just need to get your designs reasonably quickly so you can start marketing. You should expect quick service from any designer.

But if you’re planning an event, make sure you start designing any promotional materials well in advance. This includes events like an open house, creating a class, or speaking at a conference. There are several aspects to the timing of a project. These aspects must be taken into consideration when you begin to plan your project and determine your project’s start date.

Before the design even starts, you need time to search for and hire a web designer. You want to make sure that you schedule a few days, if not a few weeks to go through this important step. It can take time to get a referral to a great designer or search the web for one. Then you have to review their work and get in touch with them. Then add on a couple more days to discuss the project and get a quote. If you’re getting quotes from several designers, or want to have a face-to-face meeting, it might be necessary to add on a few more days to the schedule. Then once you’ve chosen a designer it takes another couple of days to get the contract written and signed. Then you have to pay the deposit before they can get started. Be sure to allow plenty of time to go through this process. And be aware that sometimes the process won’t go as smoothly as you’d like.

You may get part of the way through the process with a designer then hit a stumbling block in the negotiation process. Then you have to start over again. Don’t make another designer rush your project because you can’t come to an agreement with the first designer you find.

Even if you already have a designer who you’ve worked with, keep in mind that they might not be immediately available. I know that my schedule is typically booked up a couple of weeks into the future - I stay busy! So sandwiching another project into my already-full schedule is usually difficult if not impossible. Give your designer as much advance notice as possible so that they’ll be able to set aside time for you.

Be sure to respect the time that your designer has set aside for you. There’s nothing worse than clearing my schedule for a project that has to be done quickly and then sitting around waiting for the contract to be signed, the deposit to be sent or the project text to arrive. If you schedule some time with a designer, get them your materials on time so that they can help meet your deadline.

Time to define both your company and the project. When I work on a design project, I require the client to fill out a questionnaire about their company, the purpose of the project and the results that they would like to get from the project. This takes some time and attention from the business owner and is often not scheduled for. Set aside plenty of time to think over the message you want your designed pieces to communicate. Also think about the results you want to create with this designed piece, so you can set your project up for success from the very beginning. If you’re designing any sort of marketing piece that includes text, the designer will need this text before beginning the project. So you’ll have to write the text or get the text written before the project can be designed. This also applies to your logo and Visual Vocabulary elements from prior designs, photos, website hosting, package pricing and product information. Include any other background information that may be important to the project. One way to cut down the amount of time needed in a design is to make sure that the text you provide to your designer is complete and has been proofread. Text changes can be very time consuming and add time to the overall length of a project.

Time to design: Unfortunately the creative process isn’t instantaneous. And it doesn’t always happen on demand. So allowing a bit of time in the timeline for the designer to think about the project, your problem and how to create a design that will bring the results you need will result in a more unique and effective design. It also takes a bit of time to put together a design file - especially if you’re designing a website or a detailed or multi-page printed piece. There’s a common misconception that design programs like Photoshop or Illustrator enable designers to click a button and instantly produce gorgeous, finished designs.

But putting together an effective design requires time. A designed needs time to strategize about your project, research your competition and conceptualize a few design solutions that will help you meet your goals. Then time is needed to go through a review process with you, complete any revisions and prepare the final files for use. In all, this takes some time - 3 to 4 weeks for a logo, or 2 to 3 weeks for a 5 page website for example.

Time for you to review the designs. Most designers will give you a couple of design options and variations to choose from. You’ll need time to review those and get back to the designer. Many design processes include a couple of rounds of available revisions - make sure there’s enough time to do those and for you to review them. Make sure that you’re available for reviews! If your short timeline requires the designer to work after hours or on weekends and you’re not available to review the designs at those times you could delay the project. Make sure you can review the project quickly and get back to your designer so you don’t lose precious time.

These are just a few of the timing concerns you need to consider when planning your design. There are still several steps left in the design process that should be considered.

Watch for those steps in Part 2 of this article.

Author:  Erin Ferree is a brand identity and marketing design strategist who creates big visibility for small businesses. Through her customized marketing and brand identity packages, Erin helps her clients design effective websites that help them extend their brands, bring in new clients and make sales. http://www.elf-design.com

It’s the biggest mystery on the internet. Everyone wants to open an online business. Everyone has a great idea. Everyone has a sure-fire strategy for success. And in many cases, they go out and build impressive websites around their idea. They include features that make the site sticky, drawing visitors in and inviting them to browse around. The graphics are slick and the layout beautiful. Java and Ajax make the browsing experience smooth and seamless. But in the end, no one shows up.

The vast majority of websites never get much of any traffic. Of course, this should come as no surprise. There are millions of different websites, even within a single topic, and there’s no way for the average internet browser to find one specific website without some help. And that’s what this article is about. What can you do as an online entrepreneur to identify yourself to the masses and help them find their way to your website? More importantly, what can you do to achieve that objective with little or no money?

That last sentence is the most important one so far. We all know the pay-per-click options exist and our hard earned money can quickly and easily drive traffic to your website. We all know it can be done at the click of a mouse. But how much will it cost? For those of us who have tried this type of advertising, it’s truly amazing how quickly you can run a tab paying for one click here and one click there. Well, as it turns out, there are some other options available that can drive just as much traffic and won’t cost you a penny.

The first strategy is encompassed by this article you’re reading. I wrote this article and posted it to the internet for free. Nobody’s paying me a penny. I took the time to write is all down because I know how to post it to thousands of different article directories quickly. And at the bottom of this article is a short bio with some brief information about me along with my website address. That means everyone who reads this article has the option of clicking through to my website directly. It’s called article marketing and it’s one of the best strategies for driving website traffic.

The second strategy involves posting comments on popular industry forums. Once you register with a forum, you can post comments within any topic you can find a string for. Your profile usually allows you to create a signature and that signature can include your website address. Once again, you’ve leaving behind a direct link to your website every time you post a comment. And as such, I would post as many comments on industry forums as you possibly can – perhaps as many as 15 or 20 comments each day.

The third strategy is to post comments on popular blogs in your area of expertise of beginning a blog of your own. If you post comments on a blog for 10 consecutive days, I can almost guarantee you that someone is reading your posts. It just happens. People find stuff and you can quickly gain an audience by creating a blog. And of course, you can revert to posting comments on someone else’s blog. You can always leave behind a direct link to your site when you do so.

The forth strategy is to make your website easy to bookmark with any one of the many social bookmarking sites that have emerged during the past year or so. It’s the new craze and sites like StumbleUpon or Boing Boing or Digg can quickly drive traffic to your site if the content you’re providing is appreciated by others. Adding the appropriate buttons and links only encourages that process.

Driving internet traffic doesn’t have to be a mystery. It doesn’t need to be a secret. And there are lots of things you can do to get plenty of organic traffic landing on your website. In most cases, it doesn’t cost any money. It just takes time. And if you can allocate the time, you’ll be amazed at how quickly it will also start happening. Good luck!

Author:  Tactical Execution with Patrick Schwerdtfeger (http://www.tacticalexecution.com) is a strategic company focused on growth marketing and program implementation across business markets.

Most webmasters go totally “gaga” for top 10 rankings in Google. And for good reason, Google is the most dominant search engine on the net and will deliver the largest amount of traffic.

Even those webmasters who are fortunate enough to get No. 1 rankings for their keywords in all the three major search engines will tell you Google is the one that will deliver the majority of their traffic. Hands down.

More importantly, those same webmasters will also inform you, getting top 10 rankings in Google often means your site will prove profitable. Mainly because obtaining targeted traffic is usually your first obstacle in creating a viable online business. In other words, if you get top ten listings in Google for good searchable keywords, it is almost impossible not to earn money

How To Proceed?

First, you must know the rudimentary basics of how keywords work. Keywords and keyword phrases are the exact words someone types into a search engine to find what they’re looking for online. If you have a site on “dog training” then your goal is to get a top 10 ranking for the keywords “dog training”.

Now if no one searches for “dog training” it would be a useless keyword, you would get no traffic no matter how perfectly your site is optimized for that keyword.

How Do You Know If A Keyword Is Good?

To find out, you have to do some keyword research on your particular keywords. Many professional online marketers use keyword research software like Brad Callen’s Keyword Elite. However, you can also use the keyword suggestion tools supplied by Google Adwords or Overture. Try here: http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/suggestion/

Now if you check “dog training”, you will find it receives around 4,469 searches each day. That’s a lot of traffic but you must realize that it may be too good, or rather too competitive for your purposes, especially if have a new site.

Biggest Mistake When Choosing Keywords

The most common mistake most novice webmasters make is targeting keywords which are too competitive. You simply will not be able to compete or place for extremely competitive keywords. Well established sites and businesses with very deep pockets have the resources to completely dominate those keywords.

While it is not entirely futile nor a waste of time to concentrate your efforts on highly competitive keywords, you will have better success if you target low to medium competitive keywords such as “dog obedience training” with 285 searches per day.

Long Tail Keyword Marketing

Besides online marketers have discovered that longer keyword phrases are usually the most lucrative. These phrases deliver traffic which is better targeted and more likely to convert into a sale. “Dog hunting training” which gets around 100 searches a day will be more targeted than the general term “dog training” and if you have a site devoted to training hunting dogs then this keyword phrase may convert better for you.

Always keep this “Long Tail” keyword strategy in the back of your mind as you implement the following steps to achieve your own Top 10 Rankings in Google.

1. Make A Master Keyword List

Your first step is to make a master list of the keywords you wish to target. Obviously these should be closely related to the theme of your site. As you can see from the example above, it is best to choose low to medium competitive keywords. Check the keyword competition by seeing how many sites are listed in Google for that keyword. Webmasters also check the Google PageRank of the sites that hold the top 10 positions. If all those sites are PR6 and above it may be hard to get ranked high for your keywords.

2. Choose Related Keywords

Once you have your master list of keywords, find long tail related keywords to target. Again, check out the competition and daily searches made for each chosen keyword.

3. Use Quality Content For Your Keywords

Creating quality content should always be your main goal. Write for actual visitors who will see and read your content. First and foremost you must have good useful content that your visitors will use themselves and recommend to their friends or colleagues. Tie this quality content in with your chosen keywords. Use one keyword phrase per page.

4. Use Keyword In Domain Name, Title and URLs

Having your keyword in your domain name will score big points from search engines. Plus, each page of content should contain your keywords in the title & meta tags for that page. Most experts also suggest you have your keyword in the URL and use hyphens to separate your keywords. Although the author has gotten good results by using an underscore and htm in URLs. Example: www.yoursite.com/your_keyword.htm

5. Do On Page Optimization

Keyword ratio is a much discussed topic by SEO experts and many suggest you should have your keyword in the H1 or headline title of your page. Sprinkle your keyword and variations of it throughout your page. Don’t over do it but make sure the robot/spiders will clearly discover what your page is about. Many webmasters make sure they include their main keyword in the first and last 25 words on their pages.

6. Use Traffic Modules

One technique that works extremely well in Google is clustering a closely related topic or subject into a distinct separate section on your site. For example, if you have a marketing site, you could create a whole section on article marketing where you would have 50 to 100 keyworded pages all relating to your subject. Writing articles, formatting articles, submitting articles, article software… place a keyword linked menu on each page to connect all your pages together.

Keep in mind, your main objective is to supply quality information to your visitors. One reason Google may favor this type of structure is because they want quality content returned in their SERPs.

7. Try Article Marketing

Article marketing is writing short informative articles on keyword topics related to your sites. You then submit these helpful keyworded articles to ezine directories on the web, when your articles are picked up by related sites you receive quality One-Way links. The higher the quality of your article, the more links you will receive.

Another ranking tactic to use, if you’re just starting out your site will probably have a low PR rank and you will find it hard to rank for even modest keywords. That’s why it’s useful to take advantage of the higher PageRank of the major ezine directories. Your keyworded articles on these high PR sites will get picked up by Google and displayed in the top 10 rankings. Now the displayed URL will be the article directory site but the links in the resource box will be pointing back to your site. Over time this article marketing technique will raise your own site’s rankings for those keywords. Simple but effective.

8. Anchor Text And One Way Links

Off page optimization is important in obtaining high rankings in Google. Getting quality One-Way links is very important. Anchor Text simply refers to “the underlined clicked on words” in your links. Most webmasters include their keywords in their anchor text as this tells the search engines exactly what the links are about.

9. Tags, Blogging And Web 2.0

Take advantage of Web 2.0 by using blogs, RSS feeds and the social bookmarking sites like Reddit and Digg. Try AddThis.com for a simple social bookmarking system. At the very least your site should have a blog and RSS feed attached to it as this is an effective way of boosting your keyword rankings.

Tags have become very important for getting higher rankings. Keep in mind, in free blogging software such as WordPress, categories will automatically be seen as tags. Blogger, which is owned by Google, now has a form where you put your keywords (tags) for each post you make.

10. PPC vs Organic Search

Of course, one of the fastest ways to get your links displayed on Google is to pay for them by using Google Adwords. Your ad and links will sit side by side with the organic link results. In Pay Per Click advertising you bid or pay so much per click for your keywords and you only pay when someone clicks your links. But smart marketers also know since you’re getting millions of impressions advertising your products, acquiring name recognition and branding through PPC advertising can be a major side-benefit.

However, most webmasters would say that organic links (SERPS) will return better traffic than paid links or advertising. In most cases, this may be true because Google’s organic rankings are becoming more respected and more trusted by users. They simply carry more weight with surfers.

This makes it even more beneficial to obtain top 10 rankings for your keywords in Google. Depending on the competitiveness of your chosen keywords reaching the first page listing or even the favored number one spot is well within any webmaster’s reach. Just go for it. The rewards are well worth your efforts.

Authfor:  Titus Hoskins is a full-time online marketer who contributes his high rankings in Google as the major source of his online income. For the latest web marketing tools try: Internet Marketing Tools For the latest Internet Marketing Strategies go here: Internet Marketing Strategies http://www.bizwaremagic.com

Whenever you go to a website, you’re looking for one of two things: to buy something you’ve bought before or something new that you will buy. When you visit a website for the first time, you want to see that there is value in coming to that website over the others that are on the internet. So, knowing this, as an online business website, how can you offer this value to your next website visitor? Here are three ways to make their visit worth their while.

Give Good Information for Free

If you create a website that offers only the basic amount of information, you’re going to have visitors that are confused. While they can get to your products and to your contact pages, they’re wondering what else you can offer them for free. The truth is that website visitors want to get as much as their can from a website before they even spend a cent in most cases. For example, when you visit a news website, you look at all the stories before you would even consider signing up for a subscription to their forums or up to date news, right? This is the same situation for any website.

To help encourage your visitors to do more with your website, you need to create the sense that they are getting something for free – just for stopping by. Here are some ideas:

Newsletter signups – If you can offer your visitors a good newsletter on a regular basis (either via email or on your site), you will help to create a connection between your customers and your business. This will work well to keep your customers in the know, while also helping to give them something for free. The only thing to keep in mind is that this information needs to be relevant and not just a bunch of sales jargon. Free articles – By having regular free articles on your site that other websites or visitors can use, you will help to spread the word about your site (be sure to include your web address on the articles) as well as give good information to your site visitors.

Make Them an Offer They Can’t Refuse

Too often, websites will only give out special offers to customers that are buying something or who have already bought something. Do something different by offering freebies without any other strings attached. These might be free samples, free eBooks, or anything else that you can give away that is related to your products.

Of course, you can also offer discounts on purchases and create subsequent discounts for future purchases as well. This will show that you value customer loyalty and that you are eager for them to come back.

Acknowledge Your Competition

While it might be tempting to criticize your competition, a better strategy is to offer discounts that match their prices – when you’re both selling the same items. This will help your customers see that you are aware that you might not always offer the best price, but that you are willing to do whatever it takes for a customer to come to you instead of ‘the other guy.’

You might also want to create a clear listing of the differences between your competition and your own website to help customers make the right decision for their purchases, without looking disparaging.

When you want to create value on your website, you need to remember what the customer considers valuable – discounts, freebies, and information. The more you can offer in these categories, the better you will look to your new customers.

Author:  Scott Oliver offers free video coaching to help you build a profitable home business FAST. Get an hour of “Website Traffic Secrets” and “Minisite Creation Tactics” for FREE — immediate access here: http://www.InstantWebsiteBusiness.com

Mobile marketing can be a great way to create customer loyalty, increase sales, and generate awareness about your business. However, a mobile marketing campaign differs from a campaign on the Web. Several different varieties of mobile marketing campaigns exist. One of these ways is an opt-in SMS (short message service) campaign. Consumers are persuaded to give the advertiser their cell phone numbers in exchange for special offers or alerts delivered via text message. For instance, a retailer might send SMS alerts to customers with a reminder that it’s time to reorder a product and then offer a 15 percent discount coupon urging them to buy now.

Another variety of mobile marketing campaign is a display ad designed specifically for local search on the mobile Web. Such ads can also be used to drive traffic to an offline business. Here’s an example of such a campaign: A consumer searching from Yahoo! Local on a cell phone might be trying to find information on running shoes. That consumer would be served an ad within the search results for a nearby shoe store. The consumer could click on the ad for more information or even click to call the store.

Marketing Potential

Currently, mobile marketing is used primarily by large corporations; however, online and offline companies are beginning to see its potential. A cell phone is a very personal device. People take it with them wherever they go. This makes it easy for marketers to develop a relationship with customers through their cell phones. Messages sent to a mobile phone are more likely to be read than email sent to a PC, which can get caught in the spam filter.

As a result, mobile marketing has the potential to be more effective than other forms of advertising. For instance, consumers typically redeem 5 to 20 percent of the coupons delivered to cell phones because mobile marketing campaigns are highly targeted and are opt-in. This compares to a mere 1 to 3 percent of coupons redeemed when received through direct mail or email.

Mobile marketing can help you gather valuable data like cell phone numbers for consumers interested in your products or services. Once a customer opts in to receive an offer or an alert via text message, you can put their information in your database and use it later for loyalty marketing and customer retention. Additionally, mobile marketing can help generate buzz about your products or services. Your offers reach consumers while they are actively shopping or socializing. This is when they’re more likely to make buying decisions rather than when they’re at work.

Growth Potential

The growth potential for mobile marketing is huge. The number of worldwide mobile phone users is expected to grow from 2 billion in 2005 to approximately 3.3 billion in 2010. Currently, there are over 2.8 billion mobile phone subscribers. In the U.S. alone, we had 233 million subscribers at year-end 2006, which is over 76 percent of the population.

SMS messaging is increasing as well. In December 2006, approximately18.7 billion SMS messages were sent in the U.S., an increase of 92 percent over the same period in the previous year. The global mobile ad market is expected to reach $9.5 billion in revenue by 2011, while the U.S. market is projected at $2.3 billion.

No doubt fueled by this exciting growth, reports are that 49.2 percent of marketers are thinking about conducting a mobile search campaign, and 13.8 percent will definitely conduct a campaign or test campaign this year, according to Marketing Sherpa.

Success With Mobile Marketing

To succeed with a mobile marketing campaign, you must know and understand your customers. For instance, you need to know if your customers are heavy text message users, and if they frequently use their cell phones to find products and services. If not, a mobile campaign may not be worthwhile.

If you do go into mobile marketing, don’t forget: Every mobile marketing campaign must be opt-in. Otherwise, you risk alienating your customers. It’s important to campaign wisely, as noted in the quote below from a December 2006 Forrester Research Report.

“The near ubiquity of mobile phones and accelerating consumer acceptance of applications other than voice make mobile a powerful new channel for marketers. When done right, mobile campaigns yield high response rates and increase consumer engagement. Still, 79 percent of consumers are annoyed by the idea of mobile marketing. To avoid consumer backlash against ads on their phones, marketers must adopt a mindset where value replaces interruption and campaigns are designed for an abbreviated and immediate mobile experience.”

The Cost of Mobile Campaigns

Mobile marketing campaigns can be expensive; however, there are some low-cost options you can explore. You might be able to find a carrier that allows you send or receive a batch of SMS messages for about $200. Some carriers do not charge their customers to receive text messages; others include a certain number in their standard plans, and these included messages usually cost less than 10 cents per message.

However, sophisticated SMS marketing services can start at $3,000 or more. This includes hosted, Web-based mobile messaging campaign software, which provides a dashboard interface, reports, a customer database, and various other tools. Then you can spend another $100 to $300 monthly for hosting fees, plus up to 10 cents per message. Some mobile ad campaigns run $5,000 to $10,000 and more. Inexpensive campaigns are called blind buys. You can’t select the mobile sites where you want your ads to display. These campaigns can be launched quickly, sometimes within a day. Expensive campaigns take more time to launch, but they allow you to specify the sites where you want your ads to display.

While it’s not yet common for typical Web sites to market directly to consumers via their cell phones, many companies are testing this strategy. It’s a good time to start learning as much as you can about your customers — find out what would trigger a response and what would be a no-no. Then experiment with a mobile marketing campaign. If you don’t, your competitors soon will.

Author:  Susan Esparza is the Senior Editor at Bruce Clay. She joined Bruce Clay in November 2004 and has written extensively for clients and internal publications. She also knows where the knives and forks go in a buffet line. The latter makes her invaluable to the Bruce Clay organization.

Is your marketing dull, flat, and downright boring? Does it lack zest and appeal? Without realizing it you may be driving away folks who could easily buy your products or services. Read these ten signs and raise your awareness of what drives folks away and how to create a message which will catch fire with your target audience.

1. Its all about you.

Folks are not interested in you and your accolades. They want to know what you can do to solve their problem. Drop the focus on you, and turn the spotlight on what is important to your buyer. Remember Radio Station WIIFM. That stands for, “What’s in it for me?”

2. Its filled with details and research.

People become bogged down and bored with details and statistics. They are much more interested in buying from someone who shares their personal experiences and who is willing to build an open and honest relationship.

3. It lacks action-oriented words.

People love to buy Nike products, because the words “Just Do It” communicate action. By using words such as run, dance, live, sing, move, or play, you will get potential clients moving, excited about buying your product or service.

4. You have nothing new to offer.

People are bored with the same old same old. Put yourself on the bleeding edge of your profession by taking advantage of the new tools and resources which are out of the norm. If you are offering a solution that’s tired, old and outdated – people will respond in kind. Offer a solution that’s new and exciting, or old secrets that are little-known yet proven, and you will create more interest.

5. Your message says “neediness” and “desperation.”

If your marketing message is focused on “sell, sell, sell,” you will send the message that you are needy and desperate which will drive customers away fast. Communicate confidence, self-assuredness, but not arrogance and a willingness to provide value, and you will develop raving, happy fans.

6. Your message lacks “color.”

An selling message can be viewed in black and white and yet paint an amazingly colorful picture. Use powerful words which grab the attention of your potential customers such as discover (suggests excitement), proven (sends a message of peace of mind), and savings (everyone wants more money and more time). Get your hands on a copy of “Words That Sell” or “More Words That Sell” by Richard Bayan and you’ll have an array of great power words available to you.

7. You are marketing “on the surface.”

People buy based on emotions and then they back it up with logic. (Another good reason not to lead with statistics.) If you are selling shampoo, don’t just sell shampoo…sell beautiful hair, how others react to it and how that feels. If you are selling bookkeeping services, sell peace of mind and trust. If you are selling a vacation, sell a luxurious day on the beach and romantic walks under the stars.

8. It lacks “personality.”

Even if you are selling widgets, folks want to know who is selling the widgets. Why? Because they want to know you can be trusted to deliver as promised. Use fun photographs and life stories so that your buyers can get a closer look at your life. The connection you will make will be unforgettable.

9. Your message lacks “added value.”

Studies show people buy if the value is understood. If you charge extra nickels and dimes for small extras, you will quickly drive buyers away. People who “nit pick” over incidentals are considered “uptight” and “inflexible.” Yawn!!! Drop the nit-picking, and over deliver by adding extra value. Customers will love you for it!

10. You’re playing “Follow the Leader.”

People want to buy from leaders. Be bold and unique in what you stand for. Make this known on your website, in your brochures, and in the articles you write. Claim your position as a leader and people who resonate with your message will follow your lead. When you position yourself as someone who is unique, confident, and worthy of trust people will see that and be more likely to want to do business with you.

Author:  Denise Michaels’ ground-breaking, “Secrets of Money Making Sales Letters provides amazingly simple, step-by-step help to help you transform your cash flow. Find it at, http://www.SalesLetterEbook.com Also, discover more about marketing mentoring with Denise at, http://www.MentoringwithDenise.com

There is a new branch of the Web growing like a well organized storm cloud. This recent trend on the Web can be used to strengthen your presence with major search engines and reach an active audience that is highly interested in your content. Welcome to the world of “folksonomy” and “tagging.”

What is Folksonomy and Tagging?

Folksonomy is a combination of the words folks and taxonomy meaning “people classification management.” This allows users some level of control over how the web is organized. One of the most popular tools of the folksonomy concept is tags. Tagging, in the context of this article, is the process of labeling a piece data with metadata.

Using Tagging & Folksonomy to Advertise

Three of the most effective sites currently using tags and/or folksonomy are: Del.icio.us, digg.com, and technorati. Each of these sites is a major player in the folksonomy world.

Del.icio.us is a social bookmarking web application that is growing very fast in popularity. With a free account, del.icio.us users can submit and access all of their bookmarks from any computer with Internet access. By submitting and tagging your own web pages, you instantly give access to thousands of other users with interests in the same tags. Encouraging site visitors to submit your selected webpages to their own del.icio.us bookmark page is a very good way to get more exposure to del.icio.us users. Submitting to del.icio.us is instant and it creates meaningful relevant links important to the major search engines.

Digg.com is mostly a technical news site. If you are familiar with the Web phenomenon Slashdot, then digg will remind you of that geek culture. The difference is that ALL of digg’s content is created, submitted, and judged by its audience. If your page, blog or online article is good enough to be “dug” by digg users, you could receive literally hundreds of unique visitors immediately. Virtually any participation (comments, submissions, links in your profile) can get your site traffic from digg. The beauty of digg is that it is so popular that many submissions to digg can instantly dominate some keywords on search engines such as google.com.

Technorati.com is a power house in the world of tagging. If you have a blog, Technorati should become one of your favorite search engines on the World Live Web. Many Technorati Tags are beginning to dominate the Web by having constantly updated, fresh blog content on highly focused subjects. The beauty of Technorati is that blog application such as blogware and others are completely integrated with it allowing blog categories to be instantly tagged and syndicated into the blog search engine. Any blog can be manually added as well to technorati’s very open tagging system. Like digg, even if you only happen to get a trickle of traffic from technorati itself many times the link value alone will sky rocket the speed in which your site rank in the search engines.

There are many other folksonomy sites that can help you with tag syndication. With its encouragement to get users to submit their own RSS feeds as content, My Yahoo! is a great way to increase traffic and links. Web applications like TagCloud integrates RSS and tagging while wikipedia.org is a method of allowing social webpage and content development. All these methods and many more have two great things in common:

1. they are free (as of this writing)
2. they give the power to reshape and categorize the Web to the people.

If content is King then content management is the kingdom.

Author:  Sandra Stammberger is the owner of Insider Scripts. At Insider Script’s programmers are working around the clock to develop affordable, powerful money making scripts that will help you drive traffic to your business. http://www.insider-scripts.com

Cash and leads are king if you have an internet business. You may be familiar with the concept of an email automatic responder. You can use these versatile autoresponder systems to generate both cash and leads. Even if your website is geared towards advertising, you need to work on aspects such as list building. Gathering names and email addresses can create a cash machine that will pay handsome dividends in the long run. With an email automatic responder it will be simple to contact your target group from time to time to entice them into another affiliate purchase or a visit to your website.

If you are new to the web-based model, you will soon discover that an autoresponder is a crucial part of the package. What you have here is an email address that has been set up to respond automatically to a message it receives.

For example, your subscription to the service provides you with an opt-in form that you can utilize on your website. A visitor to your site sees this form and completes it. Immediately the details go through to the email autoresponder service. The service then replies automatically with a message you have prepared in advance. The most important aspect is that all the details of the new subscriber are captured and stored in a database, and thus your treasured leads list begins to take form. Other options in the functions also enable the response service to comply with specific requests, such as redirecting a new client to a particular web page.

Virtually every kind of internet business needs an email automatic responder. If you are working with an SEO consultant, this should be one of the first steps you are advised to take. It is as important as on-page search engine optimization tactics. You can use such a service for an MLM work at home business opportunity, an affiliate business or advertising website. Even if you are trying to make some money for college, this type of system can come in handy in a variety of ways. Lead generation is a vital part of every business and these services make it something that happens while you sleep!

Six Benefits Of An Email Automatic Responder

1. Create Automatic Communication Channels

Imagine how hands-off your business can become if you create an automatic communication channel with all your visitors and leads. This can continue twenty four hours a day, without you lifting as much as a finger. Simply make sure that you have a few messages or newsletters ready, and the service does the rest for you. You can concentrate on all the other facets of your business, or go on holiday for that matter. This is super-delegating! Your family will love your for it, as it gives you more time with them.

2. Gather Data Day-Long

An email automatic responder service is on call 24/7, ready to compile lists of prospects. As your leads give their permission for this gathering of details, it is a win-win situation. You are slowly building an absolutely targeted prospect list that will give you exponential growth in your virtual real estate’s value.

3. Counting The Clicks

With every discount or special offer, you can include a link in the message. This enables the email automatic responder service to track the clicks. You can therefore keep a close eye on your stats, without becoming involved in the process. You will be able to form a picture of what is effective, and what should be skipped next time. The accuracy with which you can keep track of the results will help you to have your finger firmly on the pulse of your business.

4. Market Without Making A Move

As soon as you have set up a series of messages or newsletters, the service takes over. The messages are dispatched at regular intervals without your input. All those follow-ups can be used for marketing, even though you are out of the equation. You have no tracking and no paper work. The autoresponder marketing machine kicks into action, bringing in new leads and transforming them into loyal clientele. Best of all, you can make sure that each client is addressed personally. This doesn’t have to be mass-mailing.

5. Natty Newsletters

This is your chance to put on your designing hat and play editor. The service has facilities you can use to come up with tempting looking material. Your clients won’t be able to resist the deals and will have to take a peek at what you offer. Every lead in the database will receive his or her special message at a specified date. Imagine what a time-saver this professional service can be.

6. Energize Existing Lists

Even if you have your own, existing list of leads, this is no problem. Your new system will easily and seamlessly incorporate these prospects into your new list. If you want to give a section of the leads list special treatment, your wish is their command. The email automatic responder service will send out what you want, when you want it, to whom you want.

Author:  WebAdjust.com - Also read 14 Secrets Behind Aweber Email AutoResponder’s Unlimited Lead Generation Success. Also: Don’t miss the How-To Guide To Ebook Publishing. Copyright: Rika Susan