Getting & Growing Online

The A to Z Guide to Getting Website Traffic

Many marketers have been shifting their marketing budgets to the web over the past few years. Marketing online allows you to target specific audiences and easily track return on investment, commonly referred to as ROI. Unlike traditional marketing methods, results of Internet marketing campaigns are almost immediate. This allows you to better evaluate what elements of your campaign are producing results and which are not. When buying online media, you must be willing to shift your marketing dollars to the online methods that produce a positive return.

To be successful at Internet marketing, you must understand the essential secrets of Internet marketing. These secrets can allow you to achieve success by finding the right audience, communicating your message properly, and leading consumers down the path to purchase. These secrets include:

1. Website Directory Listings. Before you begin any marketing campaign, make sure that the website you’re promoting has been listed in the common directories such as DMOZ, Yahoo!, and Google. Even if you’re using a marketing page off of the root directory of your website, be sure that the primary site is listed. This ensures that prospects can continue to find your marketing pages long after you’ve launched your campaign.

2. Generating Traffic. In order to realize a return on your investment, you need to generate traffic to your marketing pages. There are a number of ways to do so online. Some of the most popular include Google AdSense, Overture, and Looksmart. Other methods include affiliate programs and targeted website advertising. Research other websites that have the audience you’re looking for and negotiate favorable ad rates for your online marketing campaign.

3. Marketing Pages. Don’t lead prospective purchasers to a generic website. If you do, potential buyers won’t know what to do next. The easier you make if for prospects to take advantage of your offer, the better. Whenever creating a marketing campaign online, provide a specific page for leading purchasers to your product or service or a billboard that showcases the offer. Take the guess work out of making a purchase and more consumers will buy.

4. Testimonials.
Customer testimonials are the most powerful way to sell your product or service. When consumers hear from those who have purchased and used your product or service, they gain a certain level of trust and comfort in what you have to offer. Solicit testimonials after each purchase and use those that are the most convincing to prospective purchasers.

5. Create a Compelling Offer.
Be sure to offer something that no one else is currently offering. If your offer is similar to your competitors or is not very interesting, consumers have no reason to learn more. Of course providing something for FREE is often a great way to entice potential customers. Maybe it’s a 3-day free trial or a free evaluation of some kind. Be creative, try something new, and measure the response.

6. Developing Trust.
Before anyone will buy from you, your website or company needs to be seen as reputable. This means that consumers can purchase from you and not worry about the safety of their credit card information, personal information, or anything else being exchanged. A good method for developing trust is to purchase and display safety and reliability icons such as BBB Online, Trust-e, and VeriSign.

7. Provide a Guarantee.
Nothing makes a consumer more comfortable with a purchase than offering a guarantee. Perhaps you can offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee or a money back guarantee. A guarantee is a great way ease the risk of making a purchase. If your competitors are offering a guarantee, you want yours to be equal or better.

Internet marketing is an incredibly powerful medium for segmenting your prospects and delivering targeted advertising. Online, you can easily measure you return on investment and refine your marketing campaign over time to improve results.

If you are a local business you can benefit from Internet marketing as well. Look for local directories to list your business or service. Or, you can supplement your local advertising with product marketing pages on your website. Internet marketing is more than just placing ads online, it’s using the web to communicate the value of your products and services.

About This Author:

Michael Fleischner is the founder and President of MarketingScoop.com. He has appeared on major media including the TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and more. With more than 12 years of marketing experience, Michael has developed major brands as well as a variety of businesses in need of leading marketing programs. Visit MarketingScoop.com for more free marketing articles.

10 Powerful Internet Marketing Strategies That Bring In Sales

Increasing website traffic is the name of the game on the internet. It's important to note, however that there is no one thing that can bring instant traffic or ongoing sales. It's a combination of strategies that promote contact and networking.

Not all strategies work for everyone, so it's important to know what the options are, utilize a few that look appealing and stick with what works for you.

Here's a few tips and strategies that have worked for me. Give them all a try or perhaps just one. Any or all can make a healthy difference:

1. Write A Press Release
A press release is not a sales pitch and sales hype is not allowed. It is, however, your chance to provide your business story which can be a powerful form of marketing. When writing your press release you'll want to provide the who, what, where, when, how and why of your business. Create interest by detailing who you are, what you are about, why you went into business, but more importantly, how your customers have benefited.

An effective press release can create a newsworthy story that is capable of creating buzz and interest all across the web for a long time to come.

2. Create A Blog
Whether you have a website or not, a blog is an ideal tool for giving you and/or your business a favorable presence.

Think of a blog as a diary. Create your blog by posting your products and information. Then on a daily or weekly basis add additional products, information or comments. Invite comments from others and before you know it you'll have a steady stream of visitors.

If you don't have a website, creating a blog is a great place to start and you can create one for free. If you do have a website, a blog will help generate visitors. The beauty of blogs is that you can also add Google adsense ads for additional revenue.

3. Create Special Offers
A limited time sales offer will encourage your visitors to act. If you have customers that are interested in your products, give them an occasional boost by holding a sale. Chances are they've been eyeing your products for some time, and with a special offer incentive, they just might take the leap.

4. Use Pay Per Click Advertising
Every internet business owner should consider pay per click advertising. It's fast, it's targeted and can be cheap if done correctly. Therein lies the key, you must research how to create a cost effective pay per click campaign.

It's not rocket science. You simply need to write a compelling ad, research relevant keywords and understand your return on investment. This means that if your product earns you $20 per sale then you must pay no more than 20 cents per keyword, preferably less. For example, on average, your ad will bring in one sale per 100 clicks on that ad. If 100 clicks brings one $20 sale then you've just paid $20 for that ad (100 x .20) and you broke even. Therefore, your goal should be to pay less than 20 cents per keyword but no more. Finding relevant, less popular keywords is goal.

Of course, the better the ad and the better your website's sales copy performs, the more sales you will receive.

5. Write An Article
Don't put this one off. The internet is designed to deliver information and what better way for you to get the word out about you, your business and your expertise than by providing relevant, useful information. If you're selling scrapbooks, write an article on how to scrapbook. A well written article can show someone how easy scrapbooking is, boost their interest and therefore encourage a sale.

If writing an article is not something you feel you can do, have it written for you, it's not expensive and it's one of the best ways to bring traffic to your site.

6. Carefully Optimize Your Site For The Search Engines
Don't build your site and forget it. Utilize the search engines to your benefit by taking the time to optimize your site. Optimization doesn't have to be complex. Simply create a title that clearly depicts what your site is about and write a description that accurately describes to your readers what information you have to offer. Research relevant keyword phrases as opposed to single words and repeat that phrase in your title, description and throughout your page.

7. Create A Newsletter
Your goal should be to keep your viewers coming back to your site over and over again. The best way to keep in touch with viewers is through publishing a newsletter or a periodical that offers beneficial, useful information.

Post a newsletter form on your site and specifically direct your viewers to sign-up. Don't just expect them to notice that you have a newsletter, direct them there and be specific about what your newsletter offers.

By publishing a weekly newsletter you are reminding your readers of your products, sales or upcoming events. Avoid pushy sales tactics and sales hype. Simply offer useful information, tips and advice. Make your newsletter a thing of value by keeping them interested and encouraged.

It's important to remember that it takes an average of 7 visits for a viewer to buy; they're not likely to visit seven times without a reminder.

8. Offer Something Free
We all love free and the internet is no exception.

- If you publish a newsletter, offer a free ebook or free e-course in exchange for an email address. In your newsletter also offer a free tips section that pertains to your site's topic.

- If someone makes a purchase, consider offering a free bonus, this often prompts sales.

- Offer free teleseminars. This is an excellent way to let your viewers hear your voice and experience who you really are. It builds trust and they won't soon forget who you are and what you are about.

9. Make A Donation
Create a promotion where you will be donating a percentage of your proceeds to your favorite charity. Donating money or services to your favorite charity builds trust and a positive image for your business. I'd much rather buy from someone
that donates a few dollars to a worthy cause than someone who doesn't.

10. Participate In Discussion Forums
Take the time to find online forums that are relevant to your business. By responding to questions, offering advice or posting your articles, others will see you as an expert in your field as well as someone willing to help. Posting on a weekly basis will allow readers to become familiar with you and your business as well as regarding you as a respected authority.

When registering on a forum be sure to create a signature file that includes your website address. This will post your website address each time you make a forum entry.

Your business will do well to perform each and every strategy noted above, however, performing just one of these powerful marketing strategies will improve your chances of drawing visitors to your site, but more importantly, it will help keep them coming back.

About The Author

Elizabeth is a seasoned internet marketer focused on helping
anyone interested in <a href="http://www.homenotion.com">building
a home internet business</a> by providing free marketing advice,
marketing product reviews, free courses, motivation and a friend.
Grab Elizabeth's comprehensive<a href= "http://www.homenotion.com/newsletter.html">
free newsletter </a>today.

4 Common Pitfalls When Choosing A Web Development Company.

The One Man Con-Artist
Web companies are popping up everywhere. Everyone who knows a little HTML & a little flash has bum rushed the web. It is very easy to get conned into thinking that somone can do a site for cheap. Make sure you qualify the companies you talk with so that you don’t get stuck with a one man show. Believe me it will be one big headache.

The Hypocritical Search Engine Optimizer (SEO)
This is a very HOT subject everywhere in nearly every type of business that is online. Some companies have employees 100% dedicated to research in this field. TEST TEST TEST every company you talk with. Type in their respective industries and locations into google and see how well their own SEO is doing.      
TEST US FOR EXAMPLE - goto google and type in “website design louisville ky” Do You See Media Marketers?

A Spelling Error That Could Cost You $100
As you investigate using a web development company you are certain to hear HORROR stories of how John Smith needed a minor change on his website and his web design company sends him a huge bill claiming that it took all sorts of man hours. Qualify their update procedures BEFORE you give a single dime.

You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression -Not Using A Good Graphic Designer Can Really Hurt Your Bottomline
When a customer visits your site they will make an immediate judgment about your ENTIRE Company. Even if you are the best at what you do if your site looks cheap people will go somewhere else. It’s like visiting your top prospect in jeans and a ratty t-shirt. Whats even worse is that once that visitor has seen your cheap site it is nearly impossible to get them to take a second look after you have improved it.

Ask These 42 Questions Before Doing Business With Any Web Development Company.
At MediaMarketers.com we are very familiar with all of the issues when finding & hiring a web development company. We have compiled a list of 42 questions for you to DRILL the companies that you are considering.

Stanford University's - Top Ten Guidelines For Establishing Web Credibility

How You Can Make Your Website Look More Trustworthy

Stanford University has a department completly dedicated to studying how to build crediblity for websites.

Top Ten Guidlines For Establishing Web Credibility

10 Reasons Why People Fail At Internet Marketing

Internet marketing is one of the fastest-growing and profitable businesses today. It is an excellent way for anyone to start a small business with little investment, no overhead, and high profit margins. Anyone can get up and running with an online
business in hours. Sounds like an easy way to make money, doesn’t it? Compared to other offline small business ventures, it is.

Yet internet marketing failures still vastly outnumber those who have succeeded in internet marketing. For every story you hear of someone making $10,000 a month at internet marketing there are hundreds of untold stories of those who failed to
make a profit or only made a few dollars and then quit. Why do so many fail when the potential to succeed is high?

1. Failure to plan

No matter what type of business you are running you need a business plan with well-defined goals. What are your short-term and long-term goals? What steps do you need to take to meet those goals? Write out your plan and review it frequently. You are running a small business. Treat it as one.

2. Failure to work the plan – So you already have a business plan? Are the following it? A plan means nothing if you don’t follow it. Work the plan every single day. Revise it if necessary but don’t detract from it.

3. Making goals too big early on

Many internet marketing failures try to do too much too fast. You are not going to create the ultimate web site for dog lovers overnight. Start small with dog training tips and add content daily. Those 1,000+ page web sites took months or years to build, so will yours.

4. Lack of knowledge

Would you be a successful plumber without knowing anything about plumbing? No. Then to be a successful internet marketer you need to learn internet marketing. Find a successful mentor willing to help you and you will be way ahead of the crowd.

5. Not investing in your business

You won’t get any support or very much web traffic on with a free web host. Many times, the best ebooks, scripts, and tools are the ones that cost money. You can run an online business for next to nothing but you’ll achieve faster and more profitable results by investing in the right tools.

6. "If I build it, they will come"

You can have the most comprehensive and informative website on natural healing in the world but if you don’t promote your site and work to drive traffic to it no one will know about it. There are many ways to drive traffic to your website. You should be using several of them.

7. Lack of patience

You will not be making $10,000 a month when you start. Internet marketing is not a get rich quick scheme. It takes time and testing to build your web traffic and increase your conversion rate. In the beginning you might actually lose money and this is when too many people give up without giving their business time to grow.

8. Wrong niche

So you wrote that ebook on underwater basket weaving and you’re wondering why nobody is buying it? Find a niche but make sure it’s profitable first. Too many times people create the product first then try to figure out how to sell it. Find out what the people want then give or sell it to them.

9. No Uniqueness

There are a million low carb diet books out there, what makes yours so unique? Why should I buy your widget when Bob’s widgets are just as good and he’s been selling widgets a lot longer than you? Stand out from the crowd and get noticed. Know your competition and do what they do better or do something totally different.

10. Lack of commitment

To be successful, you must be committed to success. Behind every success story there are many hours of work and dedication. You’ll need drive and determination if you want to be the next internet success story everyone is talking about.

Print out these ten reasons for failure and post it next to your computer monitor or tape them to your bathroom mirror.

Everyday review your online business and make sure you are not making any of these mistakes. Do this and you are well on your way to being an internet marketing success.

About This Author:

Another article by Gary Durkin
Gary is the creator of the Internet Advice Center http://InternetAdviceCenter.com - as well as numerous other 'net businesses. He has been doing business online, since 1999. Offline, he heads up a company and is personally responsible for millions of dollars of global investments each day.To join the thousands of other subscribers to his newsletter, go to http://iPAYworld.com/newsletter

© Copyright 1999 - 2006 Gary Durkin
All Rights Reserved worldwide.

The 7 Secrets of Internet Marketing

Many marketers have been shifting their marketing budgets to the web over the past few years. Marketing online allows you to target specific audiences and easily track return on investment, commonly referred to as ROI. Unlike traditional marketing methods, results of Internet marketing campaigns are almost immediate. This allows you to better evaluate what elements of your campaign are producing results and which are not. When buying online media, you must be willing to shift your marketing dollars to the online methods that produce a positive return.

To be successful at Internet marketing, you must understand the essential secrets of Internet marketing. These secrets can allow you to achieve success by finding the right audience, communicating your message properly, and leading consumers down the path to purchase. These secrets include:

1. Website Directory Listings. Before you begin any marketing campaign, make sure that the website you’re promoting has been listed in the common directories such as DMOZ, Yahoo!, and Google. Even if you’re using a marketing page off of the root directory of your website, be sure that the primary site is listed. This ensures that prospects can continue to find your marketing pages long after you’ve launched your campaign.

2. Generating Traffic. In order to realize a return on your investment, you need to generate traffic to your marketing pages. There are a number of ways to do so online. Some of the most popular include Google AdSense, Overture, and Looksmart. Other methods include affiliate programs and targeted website advertising. Research other websites that have the audience you’re looking for and negotiate favorable ad rates for your online marketing campaign.

3. Marketing Pages. Don’t lead prospective purchasers to a generic website. If you do, potential buyers won’t know what to do next. The easier you make if for prospects to take advantage of your offer, the better. Whenever creating a marketing campaign online, provide a specific page for leading purchasers to your product or service or a billboard that showcases the offer. Take the guess work out of making a purchase and more consumers will buy.

4. Testimonials.
Customer testimonials are the most powerful way to sell your product or service. When consumers hear from those who have purchased and used your product or service, they gain a certain level of trust and comfort in what you have to offer. Solicit testimonials after each purchase and use those that are the most convincing to prospective purchasers.

5. Create a Compelling Offer.
Be sure to offer something that no one else is currently offering. If your offer is similar to your competitors or is not very interesting, consumers have no reason to learn more. Of course providing something for FREE is often a great way to entice potential customers. Maybe it’s a 3-day free trial or a free evaluation of some kind. Be creative, try something new, and measure the response.

6. Developing Trust.
Before anyone will buy from you, your website or company needs to be seen as reputable. This means that consumers can purchase from you and not worry about the safety of their credit card information, personal information, or anything else being exchanged. A good method for developing trust is to purchase and display safety and reliability icons such as BBB Online, Trust-e, and VeriSign.

7. Provide a Guarantee.
Nothing makes a consumer more comfortable with a purchase than offering a guarantee. Perhaps you can offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee or a money back guarantee. A guarantee is a great way ease the risk of making a purchase. If your competitors are offering a guarantee, you want yours to be equal or better.

Internet marketing is an incredibly powerful medium for segmenting your prospects and delivering targeted advertising. Online, you can easily measure you return on investment and refine your marketing campaign over time to improve results.

If you are a local business you can benefit from Internet marketing as well. Look for local directories to list your business or service. Or, you can supplement your local advertising with product marketing pages on your website. Internet marketing is more than just placing ads online, it’s using the web to communicate the value of your products and services.

Michael Fleischner is the founder and President of MarketingScoop.com. He has appeared on major media including the TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and more. With more than 12 years of marketing experience, Michael has developed major brands as well as a variety of businesses in need of leading marketing programs. Visit MarketingScoop.com for more free marketing articles.

Reasons To Start A Blog

Blogging is taking the online world by storm. It is the fastest rising new activity on the internet. It is allowing people to post their thoughts not only about personal things but also about the world at large.

Blogs, otherwise known as web logs, is both an online diary and a guestbook. Anyone can set a blog account or function on their website and then post entries on it. As part of the blogging function, it can either be set up as a private journal where people can just read what is posted or it can be set up in such a way where readers can get together and then place their own comments on your entry or to each other.

Blogs can be considered as opinion pieces on a particular topic or field. There are topic specific blogs where entries are limited to the topic set by the blogger. There is also an area specific blog which can be a resource on particular place. There are also blogs that are set up as a source for news on a highly specialized topic of field that would otherwise be ignored by the general media. Blogs can be used by internet marketers and business owners to promote a website or use the internet traffic generated by the blog to promote a product, service or an affiliate program (as a separate source of income).

Internet marketing professionals highly encourage website and business owners to start their own blogs because they acknowledge that it is a powerful tool for internet marketing.

Here are some reasons why starting a blog is a great business move:

Blogs allow you to stay in touch with the subscribers and clients. A blog allows you to keep communication lines open with so that you can always interact with subscribers or readers. It also helps nurture trust in you as an individual and owner of a business owner.

It’s a great way to get regular feedback. A blog’s feature that enables readers to post comments is a great way of getting feedback from your clients. Clients and readers can comment on what you have posted and these replies can help you determine what they need.

A blog is not labour intensive. You don’t need a knowledge of HTML or other web designing skills to make and post blogs. Most bloggers use WYSIWYG HTML editors to help in the blogging function. These very easy to use and require very little technical skills, if at all.

A wonderful way to disseminate information. The biggest benefit of blogging is that you can post articles in the form of articles or reviews. These articles can help lift your reputation as an expert in your field.

It is a big help to your page ranking. Blogs are so rich in content that search engines can’t get enough of them. The fact that blogs also offer new content makes it attractive to search engines.

It is a great vehicle for advertising. Blogs can be a great venue for advertising because of the potential for the community to achieve a massive number of participants. It is also a cost effective advertising platform.

By Mark Saunders

The 7 Most Common Marketing Mistakes

When marketing your product or service, you need to have a firm understanding of your audience, the message you want to deliver, the offer you’re willing to make, and the optimal timing for your marketing campaign.

Too often novice marketers, even marketing veterans, make costly mistakes that result in poor performance of their marketing campaign. Common marketing mistakes can be avoided with adequate planning, attention to detail, and ongoing measurement and evaluation.

If you’re considering a traditional marketing campaign, an Internet marketing campaign, or something that’s never been tried before, be sure to avoid these common marketing mistakes.

1. Timing. You may have a great list, a fantastic offer, and even a well designed marketing piece, but if your timing is off, so too will be your results. As an experienced marketer, I have seen some very expensive marketing campaigns that were very compelling but failed to produce results. This is because the campaign reached consumers at a time in which they had no interest in buying the product. For example, trying to sell snow shovels in July would not be considered good timing.

2. Failure to Test Your Headline. As the first thing your prospect usually reads, the headline is essential for luring your prospective buyer into the message, your offer, and the action you want them to take. Regardless of the medium, you should continually test your headlines (or subject lines) by running split tests and evaluating response. This ensures that your marketing message attracts the largest number of prospective buyers.

3. Failure to Test Your Offer. In direct marketing, the offer is directly correlated to 40% of your response. If you have the right offer, people respond. There are other factors to consider as well, but providing a compelling offer is required in most instances. Offers can range from discounts to “hurry while supplies last”, but the commonality remains. Test your offers for optimizing response.

4. Having a Good List. Having the best offer and award-winning design is not enough. For many types of marketing campaigns, success is directly tied to having a targeted list. With today’s sophisticated list generation tools, you can acquire lists that are highly segmented based on demographics, psychographics, buying behavior, and many other characteristics. The key here is not to be penny wise and pound foolish. If you’re wondering where to invest your marketing dollars, spend them on developing a good house list (names you acquire on your own) or by renting/purchasing a well segmented marketing list.

5. Relying on a Single Communication. On average, consumers are hit with over 2,000 marketing messages everyday. In fact, recent studies have indicated that consumers need to see your marketing message an average of 12 times before they take notice. If there is any truth to the claim in part or in whole, it means that you must communicate to prospects on a regular basis. Placing a single ad in the newspaper or sending a single email cannot deliver effective results. Determine the media that prospects use to gather information and develop an ongoing campaign that works within your budget.

6. Not Measuring Campaign Effectiveness. Over time, your business is going to do a lot of marketing. Even if you are a small business wondering how you’re going to communicate to a prospective audience, you’re going to eventually have some type of communication. Regardless of the marketing campaign size or expense, you need to track your results. This can be done with a simple spreadsheet or a multi-million dollar CRM system. The bottom line is you need to record what works and what doesn’t so that you can improve your results in the future.

7. Failure to Continue the Dialogue. After consulting for a number of large companies, I’m still amazed at how many fail to communicate to customers on an ongoing basis. Often times, consumers or businesses only hear from the seller when its time to buy again. If you have an established customer base, chances are you’ve worked hard to acquire them. You should be spending some of your marketing budget to retain them. Be sure to open a dialogue with customers, solicit their feedback, and communicate with them regularly. This will help to build your business over the long-term.

If you’re new to marketing, have experience as a marketing professional, or simply want to improve your current marketing results, be sure to learn from the mistakes of others. To be successful, continually work towards improving your marketing effectiveness. Avoid the 7 most common marketing mistakes, and you’re on your way to delivering tangible results.

About This Author:

Michael Fleischner is the founder and President of MarketingScoop.com. He has appeared on major media including the TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and more. With more than 12 years of marketing experience, Michael has developed major brands as well as a variety of businesses in need of leading marketing programs. Visit <a href="http://www.marketingscoop.com" target="_blank">http://www.MarketingScoop.com</a> for further details, FREE Marketing resources, or more FREE articles.