Internet Marketing Lessons....The Real Stuff

[malcolan]

Internet Marketing Lessons....The Real Stuff

Your primary goal in Internet marketing is to get your Online or MLM business seen by as many people as possible in your target market. Your target market is anyone interested in making money. There are millions of people searching for a way to make extra money online. By the time you have finished reading these pages, you will know where and how to approach these prospects.

I believe that the best way to learn anything is to actually do it. And learning by doing is what makes these Internet marketing lessons different - and far more effective - than any others.

These lessons are not just for beginners. Many of the techniques and strategies demonstrated here are the same as those found in expensive direct/Internet marketing courses and seminars. Beginner and experienced Internet marketers will discover a handful of valuable marketing ideas to help you promote your MLM or online business.

FREE ADVERTISING VS. PAID ADVERTISING...

There will always be effective free ways to gain exposure for your offer. But they will almost always take more work and more time to produce less significant results. This is fine, if you're willing to put in the time. But you must consider that your time carries a price tag too.

Consider the following scenario. You make $20 per hour at your current job. You spend two hours using your free marketing technique, which produced 40 hits to your web site. If you apply the "time you're worth" at your job, you in effect paid $40 for 40 hits, or $1 per hit. It wasn't truly "free", if thought of in this way...

Now, your actual free marketing efforts may produce much better results. But my point is that you should place a value (in dollars) on the time you spend with your free marketing efforts. Then, when you decide to try some paid advertising techniques, you can weigh and compare the results of both. If done correctly, 9 times out of 10 your paid advertising will actually "cost" less, and produce much better results.

Most free marketing techniques are an exchange of time for results. On the other hand, most paid advertising allows you to leverage your time.

So what's my advice to you? Use a combination of free marketing techniques and low cost (paid) advertising services and strategies, all of which you'll learn about throughout these lessons. If you're then able to come up with creative ways to make these techniques "feed" off of each other, and thereby multiply/leverage your time and money invested, you'll separate yourself from the pack (your competition) and reap some serious rewards.

Company success for any MLM or online business hinges on your success. The more successful you are, the more distributors you'll bring into the business ... the more money the company makes ... the more money they pay you and your organization. Everybody wins.

Ok ... It's time to roll up your sleeves and get started!

[malcolan]

SEARCH ENGINES...

Your first assignment is to go to searchenginewatch.com . You are going to find plenty of information about search engines on this website. Be sure to read the section on "Search Engine Submission Tips". Do it now, and then come on back!

As you're contemplating new ways to gain exposure for your business, think about what you do when you're looking for a product, service, or bit of information. If you're looking for a phone number, you usually turn to the white or yellow pages right? And on the Internet, if I asked you to find information on just about anything, where would you begin your search? Most likely, the answer is search engines!

Search engines are without question the #1 way for people to find what they're looking for on the web. And getting your site listed with most search engines is completely free. But there's a catch. Most search engines only display the first 10 listings after a search has been conducted. There is generally a significant drop in the traffic that search engines generate for sites listed 11th and beyond.

So the obvious, ultimate goal for business owners is to be in, and stay amongst, that elusive top 10 group. As you can imagine, the competition is fierce to stay near the top of the list. And more often than not, staying near the top does not come without a price. Unless your niche/key phrase is "purple frog warts", it's just plain tough to get a top ten placement without special software and/or paid placement services. Two of the most popular subjects on the net are "marketing" and "making money", making the competition in these categories especially tough.

For the reasons we've been discussing, chances are you're not going to be in the top ten listings when you submit your URL. But there's a good possibility you'll begin to generate a modest flow of traffic by doing so.

The downside to getting listed with the search engines is that it can take weeks, even months for your listing to appear.

However, there IS another option, called "Pay-per-click" search engines. By far the most popular of these are Google.com (http://Google.com) and Overture.com (http://Overture.com) . Overture works on a bid-for-placement format. Depending on how much you're willing to pay, you can GUARANTEE yourself a top placement with most of the major search engines - AltaVista, MSN, AOL, etc.

Your mission: List your link with the major search engines, either by doing a search on "free search engine listing", or through a pay-per-click service such as Google.com and Overture.com. Also, submit your link to several web-sites relating to making money and/or online marketing. This is free marketing, but it will take some time. It is important to try a variety of keywords and phrases when searching for sites. It will likely take a half-dozen or more searches to complete your mission. Don't give up!

[malcolan]

EZINES...

Ezine advertising is widely thought of to be the most effective form of advertising for Internet direct marketers. There are several types of ezine ads that you can place...

1) A "classified" style ad
2) A "sponsor" ad (usually at the top, or in a prominent part of the ezine)
3) A "solo" ad (where the publisher runs your ad in a separate letter all by itself)

Each of the 3 ad types are effective in their own right, with classified ads being the least expensive, but also the least likely to be noticed. If you're on a tight budget, classified ads are a good place to start. If you've got a little more to spend, sponsor ads and solo ads are perhaps the best form of advertising on the Internet for the money.

With that in mind, the key is finding the right ezine, and creating an effective ad. I recommend you create and run your own ads. Doing so is excellent training, as you'll be developing a money making skill (copywriting) that will be with you for life! Direct Internet marketing is the modern form of mail-order, and you won't have much success without the ability to sell through the written word (unless you want to pay a professional copywriter $100+/hr. to write your ads for you). Your ad copy is your sales pitch!

Your next assignment is to write your own, unique ad for Your MLM or online business. You can refer to the following formula to help you along. When you're finished, I will show you how to begin placing ads in the ezines that get results!

[malcolan]

HOW TO WRITE A KILLER SALES LETTER STEP BY STEP!

Learning to write a powerful sales letter is a money making skill that will be with you for life. Finding a product is easy in comparison to actually selling the product. As a mail-order/Internet marketer, your sales letter is your sales pitch. Every aspect of it should play a part in convincing and motivating the reader to take action, and buy your product.

You need to formulate the foundation of an effective sales letter - and an effective business for that matter -by researching the desires, habits, needs, hobbies, and absolutely EVERYTHING you can find out about your prospective customers. Thoroughly get to know the type of people you are writing and marketing to, and you'll be much more effective in presenting your product (or service) in a way that's appealing to them.

Before you can begin writing your sales letter, you'll need to determine the primary benefit of your product. If you've been selling a particular product for a while, you can simply ASK your customers what they like best about the product. If you're starting out with a new product, ask others why they would (or wouldn't) purchase it.

Steps to follow...

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Your first step in writing the ultimate sales letter is putting what you've determined to be your NUMBER ONE benefit in the form of a provocative headline. The purpose of your headline is to create curiosity or desire - TO STIR UP EMOTION - within the prospective customer to read on...

Here are a few examples of effective headlines:

FIND OUT HOW TO TURN $1,000 INTO $23,400 IN JUST 3 WEEKS!!!

HOW TO TAKE FIVE STROKES OFF YOUR GOLF GAME IN FIVE DAYS, GUARANTEED!

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WEIGHED 75 POUNDS LESS BY SUMMER?

Avoid yes or no questions in your headline.

Use headlines that are thought provoking or arouse curiosity.

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Open the main body of your letter with a short, potent paragraph or a sentence that reinforces the headline, and "hooks" the prospective customer into reading further. Summarize how you are going to deliver the benefit you've promised in your headline.

Here's an example of a headline followed by a powerful opening paragraph:

HEADLINE: FREE REPORT - HOW YOU CAN START MAKING $200+ A DAY!

OPENING PARAGRAPH: Create your very own, custom software/information product and have it ready to be instantly "delivered" to your customers... All in about the same amount of time it takes to read this letter!

I sometimes open with a short story to draw my readers in. If it's interesting enough, and relates to your product's main benefit, a story can be THE most effective hook of all.

[malcolan]

Once you've got your reader anxious to read every last word you've written, begin bombarding them with a good strong list of the emotional and/or problem solving benefits of your offer. List ALL the features of your product and ALL the benefits of those features.

I like to find similar sales letters to the products I'm selling and see what types of benefits they list. I often find benefits that apply to my product, and that I can add to my list by re-wording the sentence or phrase.

You can effectively list your benefits in the form of bullet points.

[malcolan]

After your features and benefits, or as part of your features and benefits, demonstrate why your product is better than the competition's. To build credibility with the reader, describe some of the competitor's products and why they are inferior to yours. Your readers will ask themselves why they should select your product over your competitors product. So the idea is to build your product up while discrediting other products, thereby making your product stand out as the "clear choice". Think of it as creating a "margin" between your product and competing products. The wider the margin (of superiority), the better. If it's not feasible to marginalize on a product to product basis, you should be able to minimally create a contrast between you and your competitors' products in general. For example, "Our line of products is better than you'll find anywhere else because..." and list as many reasons as you can come up with.

Further differentiate your product from competing products with a "USP", or "unique selling proposition"... This is similar to the main benefit of your product, but you'll possibly need to dig even a little deeper to find your USP.

Find what is unique about your product OR the way your product is offered. Mention this unqiue aspect several times throughout the sales letter. Can you still have a USP if you're selling the same item as someone else? Sure you can! Again - it's a unique SELLING proposition, not a unique product proposition. More often than not, it's not the product that's unique but the way that product is offered. Including a USP is not only critical in your ad copy... It's also important in your overall business.

What is unique about your business that makes it stand out? What's your niche?

[malcolan]

Next, continue to establish credibility.

The best way to do this in the sales letter itself is through testimonials, or refferals from satisfied customers. Your testimonials should be specific, and reinforce the benefits that you listed.

If you're starting out with a new product and don't have testimonials, you could possible send out free product samples in exchange for honest testimonials. This works especially well with information products, which are relatively inexpensive to produce.

[malcolan]

After you've established credibility - and there's no such thing as too much credibility - create a sense of urgency in the reader.

You can do this in a variety of ways... A "special, limited time offer" is one of the most common ways. For example, "You must act fast as these won't last long at this incredible price!" or "Order within the next 30 minutes and I'll throw in this special bonus absolutely FREE!"

[malcolan]

At this point you'll hopefully have your prospective customer nearly ready to order, but now it's time to "set the hook": Include one or two (or as many as you want) free bonuses to customers.

Sometimes bonuses are more appealing to people than the main product, and therefore can make all the difference in making the sale!

[malcolan]

Next, throw in a strong "risk-reversing" guarantee.

Take away your customers' risk by offering the most powerful guarantee you can back up. If it's a thirty day money back guarantee, great! But if you can stand behind a "double your money back" guarantee, even better!

Here's a guarantee for you: NOT having a solid customer guarantee on your products or services will cost you business!

[malcolan]

Before asking the prospective customer to take action, summarize everything you've presented in your sales letter thus far.

Give the reader a "mind's eye view" of owning, using, enjoying, and benefiting from the product you're selling.

Ideally, you want to convey an emotion or feeling within the reader that he (or she) "can't live without this product!"

[malcolan]

Finally, it's time for the most important part of the letter - the call to action.

ASK the prospective customer to place the order.

In addition to asking for the order, EXPLAIN exactly how to go about placing the order. The easier you make it for people to place orders with you, the more business you'll recieve.

In your eBay ads, this means including a brief section about the cost of shipping & handling, the types of payment you accept, your policies, and other related information you may need to include.

[malcolan]

After closing the letter, include a "P.S."... In the P.S. you can once again summarize the strongest benefit of your product, reiterate your guarantee, offer a final bonus... Include whatever you feel will remove any last inkling of doubt or reservation your reader may have about ordering.

There are exceptions to every sales letter rule, but you'll want to stick pretty close with the sales writing formula I've just given you.

This is a formula that WORKS, plain and simple, and only once you've mastered the basics would I advise experimentation.

[malcolan]

ADDITIONAL SALES LETTER TECHNIQUES


Make your sales letter personal, using the word "YOU" throughout.

Use short paragraphs and seperate each with a line of space.

Use attention grabbing subheadings when you change subjects, such as before your bonuses (i.e., "Here are 30 more good reasons why you need this product!"), before your testimonials (i.e., "Don't take just my word for it, look what others are saying..."), before your guarantee (i.e., "You have nothing to lose and EVERYTHING to gain!"), before your bonuses (i.e., "Get these exciting FREE bonuses, alone worth over $150, by ordering now!"), and so forth. Put your headlines and subheadings in bold and in a larger font than the rest of the text.

Use exclamation points (!) where fitting to make your point strong!

Make the most important words and phrases stand out by putting them in bold, in color (red or blue), underlining, in italics, or in caps (don't use all caps throughout your letter).

If in doubt of which colors to use for the background and text of your ad or sales letter, you can't go wrong with black text on a white backround.

Always do a spell check, to look professional and credible.

Follow the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle when designing the layout for your ad or sales letter (this applies to web sites too!).

[malcolan]

POWERFUL WORDS TO USE IN YOUR SALES LETTERS

Absolutely.. Amazing.. Approved.. Attractive.. Authentic..
Bargain...Beautiful.. Better.. Big.. Colorful.. Colossal..
Complete.. Confidential.. Crammed.. Delivered.. Direct..
Discount.. Easily.. Endorsed.. Enormous.. Excellent.. Exciting..
Exclusive.. Expert.. Famous.. Fascinating.. Fortune.. Free.. Full..
Genuine.. Gift.. Gigantic.. Greatest.. Guaranteed.. Helpful..
Highest.. Huge.. Immediately.. Improved.. Informative..
Instructive.. Interesting.. Largest.. Latest.. Lavishly..
Liberal.. Lifetime.. Limited.. Lowest.. Magic.. Mammoth..
Miracle.. Noted.. Odd.. Outstanding.. Personalized.. Popular..
Powerful.. Practical.. Professional.. Profitable.. Profusely..
Proven.. Quality.. Quickly.. Rare.. Reduced.. Refundable..
Remarkable.. Reliable.. Revealing.. Revolutionary.. Scarce..
Secrets.. Security.. Selected.. Sensational.. Simplified..
Sizable.. Special.. Startling.. Strange.. Strong.. Sturdy..
Successful.. Superior.. Surprise.. Terrific.. Tested..
Tremendous.. Unconditional.. Unique.. Unlimited.. Unparalleled..
Unsurpassed.. Unusual.. Useful.. Valuable.. Wealth.. Weird..
Wonderful.

You don't need to write a complete sales letter... But follow some (or all) of the techniques that you've just read to write a shorter ad (1/4 or 1/2 page). You may want to talk about the benefits you've personally received as a MLM or online distributor. Tell people how easy it is to get started, etc. One of the most effective ads is a specific testimonial by you. You entire focus is getting people to click on your link.

Remember these key points... Get the reader's attention with a headline (the most important element of your ad) that provokes curiosity and further interest, keeping in mind that many people will just be skimming the ads.

Make the reader stop and take notice. Then go into your testimonial, or body of your ad.

Finally, tell the reader to take action by clicking on your special link to find out more, and to "get started making money in just minutes from now".

[malcolan]

Here's another technique for the effective use of ezine advertising. This is more of a "round about" approach, but can be even more effective than the direct approach I've just explained.

You could offer your reader an enticing free product, such as a special report or eBook, via email autoresponder. Make sure your readers know it's free, and that there's "absolutely no catch". It's easy to set up an autoresponder, allowing readers to receive your special report or free download link in just a couple minutes.

Include your ad - and special link - along with the free offer. Your free offer, by the way, should be a product related to making money, or marketing on the Internet. By offering a free product related to your business, you're "pre-qualifying" your prospects.

What's the advantage to this method of ezine advertising? Repeat exposure! Studies have shown it takes an average of 7 "exposures" before a person finally orders a particular product or service.

When a person clicks on your link and is taken to your website, they may choose not to order right away for a variety of reasons. And once they leave, they may never visit the site again! But if they've downloaded your product, or received your special report via email, there's a much better chance of repeat exposure to your ad.

In addition, you can also set up your autoresponder to (automatically) deliver follow up messages, saving you time and helping you make more money!

Here's how to gauge the results of your ads using autoresponders... Autoreponders allow you to "key" your ads by inserting a special code/key word in the email "subject" bar. The html tag to do this is as follows:

mailto:autoresponder@autoresponder.com?subject=key .

Replace the word "key" with your "secret" word, letting you know which ad is being responded to. There are a lot of good autoresponders on the web...just do a search for autoresponders. You could also gauge your results using the web page/hit counter set-up to deliver your free report or download link.

The bottom line: When your visitors are taken to the website, they'll have a powerful sales letter right in front of them, the same one that convinced you to order. Your job is to get them to that sales letter - in one way or another - and let it do the rest of the selling for you.

[malcolan]

As you research various ezine publishers, pay attention to what kind of ads they allow. Different ezines have different requirements and options for placing your ad. Some will allow you to create your ads using html, and others accept only text with your URL or autoresponder link. Make sure your links will be "live" in the actual ad as received by subscribers, or your ad will be relatively ineffective.

Some ezine publishers allow you to place free ads simply for subscribing to their publication. You can gain some good exposure this way, and test your ads in the process, before graduating to paid ads.

Your assignment: Search the web for "free ezine ads" and similar searches. You can start out at Google.com as they provide a decent list of ezine publishers that offer free ad placement. Create several ads of your own (if you haven't already). Register for a "hotmail" email address, or some other free email service provider. Use this when subscribing for a 1/2 dozen or so ezines. You want to subscribe to ezines that relate to the subjects of business, the Internet, online marketing, making money online, etc. By doing so, you're targeting the right group of prospective customers - those that are most likely to be interested in Your MLM. Next, test your ads, one at a time, by submitting them to the ezines you've signed up for. Take your best performing ad and set it aside. You'll be needing it soon.

When you feel comfortable enough to begin paying for your ads, do a search for "paid ezine ads" on Google.com and start researching ezine "candidates" for your ads.

Research only the ezines that have some relation to marketing, home business, making money on the Internet, etc. You want your ad in amongst your competitors' ads, and not in ezines where ads similar to yours can't be found. Compare pricing in relation to the number of subscribers for each ezine. In some cases, you'll have to send out some emails to the various ezine editors to inquire about pricing/rates and subscriber numbers. Make a list of the ezines that seem the most promising. Subscribe to the ezines on your list, and browse through a sample issue of each one, looking for content and the type of ads contained within. Now here's my personal "secret" for finding the ezines that really get the results... Email a handful of advertisers (those with similar offers) from the ezines you're interested in and ask them if they're happy with the results of advertising with that particular ezine. You can also "follow" what other advertisers are doing by regularly reviewing the issues of the ezines. Keep an eye out for repeat ads. Repeat ads are a good sign, not just for the product or service of a particular advertiser, but for the effectiveness of the ezine itself as well.

Your mission... Place an ad with one or two of your most promising paid ezines. If the ad performs to well, put your advertising with that ezine on "autopilot", by telling the editor to regularly place your ad. Depending on the frequency of issues, you may not want to advertise in every single issue. Once a month is usually satisfactory, however, there are exceptions... If you're ad is performing extraordinarily well, you may want to "roll out" and advertise as often as you can until referrals/sales begin level off.

[malcolan]

EMAIL...

In the previous section, I discussed using autoresonders in conjunction with your ezine advertising. That's just one example of effective email marketing...

If you market a website, you can use additional forms of email advertising to provide exposure for your special link (assuming you've placed it on your web site), and at the same time, whatever else you're offering.

Effective email marketing has nothing to do with spam, and everything to do with targeted mailing lists...

By a targeted list, I'm talking about a list composed of people with one specific interest, such as "Internet marketing". The idea is to send out regular (every 21 days is a good rule of thumb) offers that you believe will be of interest, and of value to the recipients. A list composed of people with varying interests is all but useless.

In the business of direct Internet marketing, your mailing list should be considered your most valuable asset. Let's say you have a list of 10,000 people that regularly receive your mailings - people that have grown to know and trust you. You've got a goldmine at your fingertips! With one simple mailing, if just 2% of the people on your list order respond, you'll suddenly have 200 orders to fulfill (if it's an MLM or online business, you won't have to fulfill orders)! They'll order because they trust you, and because they know they'll be receiving a product of value.

This applies to business in general - not just having success with mailing lists... Many web sites sit dead in the water, and are eventually abandoned because site owners fail to recognize the "trust building" principle. Creating an aura of trust, professionalism, and credibility on your web site is absolutely critical. Do whatever you can to reflect credibility, and build trust with your prospective customers in every aspect of your offer, or you'll never reach your full potential.

Your assignment: Ask yourself the following question and give some serious thought to the answer: What are you doing to make your prospective customers trust you? Here are several ideas... Include testimonials throughout your site, make certain you offer a solid guarantee, sign up with a third party quality control sites such as i-cop.org, etc. to reassure your customers you're not just some "fly-by-night" operation ready to take their money and not deliver.

I like to break mailing lists into two different groups - "prospect" lists and "customer" lists. Prospect lists are easier to compile, but have considerably less selling power than customer lists. If you don't currently have a customer base, start with a prospect list, and work on converting prospects into customers. As you begin fulfilling orders, you can compile your customer list along with your prospect list.

The way to begin building a prospect list is with an "opt-in" mailing list. You can promote your mailing in many of the same places you would your special link (web sites, online auctions, etc.) Offer a free report or eBook in exchange for signing up. The free information can be delivered via autoresponder. (Your email link doesn't have to be an autoresponder, but the easier you make it for people to receive your offer, the more success you'll have.)

[malcolan]

Here's an example of how you might prompt people to join your mailing list...

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Receive the following eBook absolutely free (a $19.95 value) when you join our mailing list...
"101 Power Internet Marketing Tips and Secrets!"
To join and receive your free copy via email right away send a blank email to: power@bogusemailaddie.com
-------------------------------------------

There are other ways to build your prospect list, but none are as simple and effective as offering an irresistible free offer to people in exchange for receiving your mailings.

The next step is deciding what type of mailing to send out. There is nothing wrong with sending out direct-response special offers, as long as these offers are of interest, and of value to recipients. But the most popular, and considered most effective, type of mailings on the Internet are ezines and online newsletters.

Just a short, 2-3 page newsletter containing valuable information for your subscribers is all that's needed. Nothing fancy. Your newsletter might simply be serving the purpose of reminding people of your site.

Your assignment: Subscribe to several ezines and newsletters (if you haven't already) and study them. Study content, formats and layouts, and how promotions and special offers are integrated into the mailings. When you're ready to start your own newsletter, you can emulate the newsletters and ezines that appealed to you.

So how do you mail out your ezine or newsletter? If you've got a relatively small list of subscribers, using a mail program like Eudora is fine. But as your list begins to grow, you'll want to use a "list hosting service" such as that provided by AutresponderAny.123. In a sense, these services act as your personal administrative assistants. They automatically process requests to subscribe and unsubscribe from your publication, handle requests for general information about your newsletter, and perform the actual mailing out of issues to everyone on the subscription list. And they're available around the clock, seven days a week.

Due to the nature of email marketing, no matter what you do there's always a chance you'll receive a complaint or two from people who have forgotten they "opted in" to your list, etc. Follows these simple rules to help avoid complaints and claims of spamming being sent to you or your ISP.

* If someone on your list requests to be removed, or sends a complaint for whatever reason, remove that person immediately.
* Don't send email to people that aren't on your list!
* At the top of your letter, remind people of why they're receiving your mailing (because they opted in).
* Don't go for long periods of time without sending out a mailing. (21-30 days is normal.)
* Send offers only to those that have, in some way, demonstrated an interest in the type of product or service you're presenting (i.e., send offers that relate to your free report/eBook).

If a complaint should reach your ISP, demonstrate that the person complaining has opted in to your mailing list, and reassure your ISP that you'll be removing this person immediately. ISP's are reasonable, realizing that complaints are sometimes unavoidable, so don't let a single complaint worry you too much. Just do your absolute best to "make everyone happy".

The bottom line: As you gain new customers and add them to your mailing list for future promotions, focus on keeping them as customers: Always be up front and honest, provide excellent customer service, and offer only top quality products. Following these simple tips will ensure your customers will return to you again and again for years to come.

[malcolan]

PRESS RELEASES...

More free advertising! Ezine (or online newsletter) publishers in particular are always looking for new articles to offer their subscribers. By providing these publishers with articles they can include in their publications, they'll allow you to include a link to your offer. Some Internet entrepreneurs use this method almost exclusively in attracting visitors to their sites.

Your assignment is as follows... Email a list of ezines that relate to your offer (such as ezines on Internet marketing), and request details on submitting your article to them... Do they accept outside article submissions? What type of material are they looking for? How long should the article be? Is there a specific email address to submit articles to?... Request information on including your promotional links (your special link or web-site URL) in the articles you'll be submitting as well. Each publisher will vary somewhat, so create a special file for your list of ezine publishers and their preferences for future reference.

Once you have compiled a list of ezines related to your offer, it's time to come up with articles for submission... Here's one method: You can purchase info. disks with reprint reports and booklets, and modify them to suit the publication as well as include your promotional links. The other option is to write your own articles. Here are a few general tips for writing effect submissions...

Use plenty of facts throughout the release; make sure it is well written, using proper wording, punctuation, and spelling; avoid obvious sales pitches; make certain your article in "on topic" and newsworthy, and use personal contacts for best results (especially relevant for offline submissions).

TIP: If you've already got an information product of your own, an eBook for example, you could divide it up into sections and submit these sections one at a time to various publications.

There is almost no limit to the amount of traffic you can generate with press releases, but it will take some persistence.

Your mission... Produce an article containing your special link and send it to the ezines on your list. In addition, conduct a search for alternative places to submit your article, as there are many other sources (in addition to ezine and newsletter publishers) open to accepting or distributing press releases. Here's just one example: Check out "PRweb", a free press release distribution service!

[malcolan]

LINK EXCHANGES...

"Link exchanges" are a modestly effective way to promote your site (or offer) for free...

A link exchange (also known as reciprocal linking) is simply swapping links with another site... In return for another site posting your link, you post their link on yours. You can trade different types of links, including banners, text links, buttons, etc.

You can easily go after your target target by trading links with sites that relate to your offer. How do you find sites willing to trade links? You can go directly to sites that interest you and see if they offer reciprocal linking, either by reviewing the site, or by contacting the site owner/publisher by email and asking. (TIP: As you're contacting site owners, make sure to include your "marketing signature", as you never know - the person you contact may be interested in Your MLM or online business themselves!) You can also conduct a search (try dogpile.com) under "reciprocal linking", "directory of link exchanges", "banner exchanges" etc., to find sites that either are willing to trade links themselves, or provide a list of other willing sites.

Some sites request a paid "entry fee", or request that you "sign up for free", to access their particular directory of link exchanges. These sites will often help you find the link exchange opportunity that's right for you, aid you in designing a banner ad or creating another type of link, assist you with the link trade, etc.

TIP: Many search engines pay attention to how many links "point" to your site. This is known as "link popularity", and search engines will use this information in determining your ranking, assuming that if a good number of sites are linking to yours, your site must be "in demand". For this reason, link exchanges are a "double edged sword"... Not only are you drawing traffic through the reciprocal link, but through the upgraded search engine placement as well. To maximize link popularity, link to sites that relate to yours, and use text links whenever possible as search engines can interpret the these text links as added keywords.

You can easily promote your business through link exchanges by setting up a quick web page (see angelfire.com for free web hosting). This could be the same page containing your free report (see the section on ezine advertising)... You'll just need to reserve a little space on the page to include your reciprocal links!

Keep in mind that not every web site, even those that are open to link exchange programs, will trade links with you. They may need to see your site as adding value to theirs, or providing a service to their visitors. If they don't feel that trading links with you offers these things, they may decide to pass on the exchange. This shouldn't deter you in your mission, which is to find 2 or 3 related sites that are willing to exchange links with you. Site owners may want to know what they'll gain by trading links with you. If so, explain to them the various ways in which you build traffic and gain exposure, and how your "free report page" is an integral part of your marketing system.

[malcolan]

ASSOCIATE PROGRAMS...

Associate programs (also called affiliate, or reseller programs), are a great way to build what I call "residual exposure"... I recommend advertising your associate program in the same way you advertise your main offer (or along with your main offer). As you do, you'll gain new associates who will further promote your main offer. So you see, your initial output of advertising to build your associate base is producing the residual effect, and you're effectively multiplying your efforts.

Click Bank is one of the most popular merchant services providers on the web for those selling digital content. In addition to allowing you the ability to accept credit cards without a merchant account, and the ability to "deliver" your product automatically, ClickBank offers a full featured associate (affiliate) tracking program. Not only does ClickBank track the commissions due your associates, they also send the commission checks out for you!

Once you have your associate program set up, you'll have the ability to arrange "joint ventures" with eBook or newsletter publishers, mailing list owners, and so forth. Here's an example of how a joint venture might be arranged... You contact the publisher of an ezine that relates to your offer, and ask that your offer be sent out to the publisher's subscriber base, ideally along with an endorsement from the publisher. You'd, of course, offer a nice commission on each resulting sale in exchange. The publisher will most likely want a copy or sample of the product before offering it to subscribers (especially true if you're seeking a publisher endorsement to head your sales copy). In your initial contact, or letter to the publisher, you'll have to "sell" your product to that person... Convince the publisher of the quality and value of your product (or let the product speak for itself by sending a free sample), and demonstrate how it relates and can be of use to the publisher's subscribers. Offer a generous commission, 50% if possible.

Joint ventures can be somewhat of a challenge to arrange, but are worth the effort when you consider you're benefiting from someone else's prize possession - their mailing list. The key is in finding your "match"... Someone who feels they will benefit from the venture as much as you, and that their list is not "in danger".

Here's a sample letter to potential venture partners that you can refer to when you're ready to give the joint venture method a try...

----------------------------------------------------------
Hi "Bob",

I've recently completed my new eBook, called "Make $5000 a Month Raising Butterflies!", and the positive feedback is already rolling in. I'm certain your subscribers would love it. But don't take my word for it... Following is the download link if you'd like to check it out for yourself:

http://www.thisnotarealink.com/XcapiperSecret.exe

If you'd be interested in dropping your subscribers a note that I've prepared about the book (and perhaps send along a quick endorsement yourself), I'd be willing to pay you 50% ($10.00) for every resulting order.

Bob, this could be a real win/win for both of us...

Let me know if you'd like me to make arrangements to get something going...

Best Regards,

(Your Name)
(Your URL)

[malcolan]

OFF-LINE MARKETING...

Newspaper and magazine classifieds can be an effective way to gain exposure for any offer. Just as with online advertising, you'll want to make sure you advertise WITH your competitors - in the same publications, and in the same areas of those publications. Create a headline that stands out from the crowd. Most "readers" of classifieds are actually "skimmers" looking for something that catches their eye, arouses their curiosity... That's why it's said that your headline accounts for 80% of your success. The job of your headline is to make people stop and read the rest of your ad. The rest of your ad is to give people a kick in the butt - giving them enough motivation to get up, turn on their computers, log on, and type in your URL (or to make them tear out your ad and put it beside their computer for later, OR to commit your URL to memory).

Learn from your competitors... Here's a little game you can try to see how good an eye you have for effective classified ads. Each week, study the classified ads section (choose a particular category such as "Business Opportunities"). Cut out the ads you feel are most effective and save them. The following week, look over the same category again. Go through the ads you pulled the previous week and see which of them are still listed. Label which ads reappeared as well as those that didn't. Continue this process each week, always keeping track of which ads continue to appear.

The bottom line is this: You can be fairly certain that a re-occurring ad (appearing a good number of times) is not only a successful ad, but the ad of a successful offer. The idea behind tracking the ads is to study those you find to be successful. Determining what makes them successful can sometimes mean digging deeper than the ad itself. Most classified ads, by their very purpose and nature, leave much information to be desired. You may need to obtain this additional information to discover the "secret" behind a particular ad.

Keep in mind that the purpose of a classified ad is different from a display ad or the information contained in a direct mailing. Your sole purpose is to get the reader to take action and either obtain, or request additional information. That's it. If you can do this in three lines great. But who knows, you may need 10 lines (ouch!). Either way, a strong headline and a good "hook" within the body of the ad should do the trick.

In addition to newspaper and magazine classified ads, placing your URL virtually anywhere is good. Business cards are cheap. Why not print up several hundred that include your URL and have them ready to pass out whenever an opportunity presents itself? Every time time I take a trip to the gas station I see a lawn sign advertising a work at home business opportunity. You could market business in the same way. With a little creativity, there's almost no end to the ways in which you can promote and gain exposure for your URL and special link through off-line marketing!

[malcolan]

ADVERTISING BUDGET...

I highly recommend setting aside a specific amount of money to serve as your monthly advertising "budget". As little as $50-100 per month will go a long way in helping you gain exposure for your offer.

YOUR FINAL MISSION...

Do at least one thing per day to promote your business. Invest the total amount of your advertising budget each month, spending it wisely and economically. Mix in as many free techniques as necessary to get you to the end of each month. If you stick with it, your efforts should really begin to snowball after just 2-3 months...

Be patient! Your efforts will eventually pay off, and pay off in convincing fashion. Internet marketing takes a certain level of faith - believing things will happen without seeing immediate results.

As you go along, pay attention to which advertising techniques and services are the most effective (and which are not so effective) based on the number of referrals you generate, and the response you get from each ad (via keying your ads). Keep a daily log of your marketing activities, so that you can check back and determine without much doubt which of your activities caused a sudden influx of orders. If you're not sure, repeat the "suspected" activity after some "downtime", and see if the results repeat themselves.

Finally, make a list of the techniques/services you like, and stop using the ones you dislike. When you've reached a level of performance you're satisfied with, work on automating the items on your list. For example, you can work out arrangements with ezine publishers to have your ad run regularly.

Soon ... your advertising campaign will be running on "autopilot".

:cool: