I found a great RSS tool you can use on websites and blogs it will create 12 RSS feeds to plug right in to your site. These RSS feeds allow you to publish content written by other people on your website for free and never have to worry about updating your website because the owner of the feed will take care of that. Of course, the content will have links back to their website, but I can deal with that.

Now I can easily set up automatic updating blogs and websites in just a few minutes, and never have to worry about them again.

But, here’s the real kicker.

I recently ran into RSS feeds that you can plugin your affiliate ID and you will get paid commission on all sales you make from each post you make on your blog. So now not only do you get fresh content but you can also get paid from publishing that fresh content on your website or blog.

Let’s not forget the ‘old school‘ method of making money from publisher networks such as Yahoo, Google Adsense, Bidvertiser etc. You know the now infamous pay per click method, that has made a lot of people rich and a lot more really frustrated.

In just 5 easy steps, this desktop software creates…

Creates Niche Article RSS Feeds From Goarticles.com.

Creates Latest News RSS Feeds From Yahoo & Google.com.

Creates Video RSS Feeds From Google, Youtube & Metacafe.

Creates Affiliate ID embedded RSS Feeds From Clickbank, Amazon & Ebay.

Creates RSS Feeds From Technorati.com Tags.

Creates Niche Keyword Targeted Podcast RSS Feeds Too.

This easy to use software will create all these feeds for you at once and you can save them into a text file for future use too. You will get 12 Niche keyword targeted RSS feeds, to put enough content on your blogs and websites. These feeds are all from different sources that if you were to publish them on one blog, your visitors and search engines will have more fresh content than they can handle.

Also, the keyword targeting feature, allows you to be able to publish content in super targeted niches, reducing the risks of duplicate content. If you’re serious about getting fresh content for your blogs and websites, you should check this software out go to http://sleekurl.com/?rssfeedgenerator

One of the great mysteries of the internet is why people take the time to build a website, but then essentially walk away when it comes time to promote their website.  Building websites is not like the movie “Field of Dreams”, just because you build your wesbite does not mean “…they will come”.  To make your website a success you need to promote and market your website on a regular basis.

Traffic Tactics Gold http://www.traffictacticsgold.com is the perfect website marketing software solution that provides any website owner with the tools to effectively market their website.  Laid out in a step by step fashion, it makes this a simple approach for consistently reaching new markets and customers.

Rather then a one dimensional approach that most website marketing systems take, the TTG System Software uses a multi-channel approach that distributes your website’s links and free products to hundreds of websites.  This wide dispersion approach reaches new markets and new customers that would never occur with say a solely search engine optimization approach.

The TTG System Software is broke down into four main categories:
1-Search Engines and Directories
2-Social Marketing
3-Media Marketing
4-Direct Marketing

Each of these categories is then split up into seven or eight promotion modules that cover in a step by step fashion:
1-The Marketing Objectives of that promotion module
2-The Components or tools needed to use that module
3-Multiple Promotion Module Tactics that provide you with specific techniques to use
4-An Action Guide – that spells out in detail what you need to do utilize that promotion module
5-A browser based auto-form-filler that is directed at websites looking for the the information that was setup for that particular promotion module.
6-A Topic specific Resource section that provides tools, software, ebooks, and helpful links.
7-A “Show Me” Video section that walks a person step by step through every aspect of that module.

All total there are thirty different promotion modules covering everything from onsite seo factors, WordPress optimization, Web2.0 websites, blogging, videos,mp3 distribution, articles, affiliate programs, to offline marketing.  Each module is broke down into specific steps, making it easy to follow and market your website.  The vast majority of these modules direct you to websites and services where you can leave your information, links, and viral products – at no cost to you!

The TTG Systems was designed using the exact same systems that have driven over 1.2 million unique visitors to just a handful of websites in the last twelve months.  Everyone of these tactics are what is referred to as white hat – techniques that the search engines approve of – in fact actually love.  So rather and try to cheat the search engine systems – learn how you can work with them to expand your website’s reach across the web.

As comprehensive as the TTG System Software approach is, it is not something you can “whip through” in a few hours – it is designed to give you a clear cut path, where with just a few minutes of effort on a regular basis – you can perform a specific actions – that is designed to grow your business – every step of the way.  With the step by step approach along with it’s accompanying videos, it is very conducive to outsourcing as well.  I highly recommend you use the TTG Systems software to promote almost any type of website – so you increase your interested visitors, as well as your online profits.

http://www.traffictacticsgold.com

Choosing the Right Domain Name

Domain names are to websites as book covers are to novels.  If they are not interesting enough, or don’t properly convey what a website is about, visitor will have no desire to enter them in their browsers.  Yet, excessive creativity doesn’t make for a good domain name either.  Why is this so?  It’s because if a domain name is creative but not keyword-rich, search engine bots won’t be able to index it in search engine listings.  So, ultimately, your domain name must be both catchy yet search engine optimized.  This article will explain how you can achieve both objectives.
First and foremost you will need to find a popular search engine keyword that can be incorporated into your domain name.  A keyword analyzer can help you in this task.  These can be found pretty easily with a basic search engine query.  When you find one, enter in a keyword that best summarizes the purpose of your website.  The keyword analyzer will return different versions of this keyword.  If the more specific instances can also fit within the nature of your website, choose one.  This is because when it comes to search engine optimization, more specific keywords are better since they are less likely to be used by other webmasters.
Now you can start selecting your actual domain name.  Most domain name companies will allow you to see whether or not your domain name is available.  If it is not available, it will return a list of recommended domain names.  Take advantage of this tool by first entering your selected keyword.  If your keyword as a domain name is not available, consider the suggestions the domain name company gives.  If the main keyword is still included in these suggestions and it ends with .com, consider it.  Otherwise, you will have to be more creative.
For example, you can use ‘filler’ words, numbers or phrases within your domain name to still include your selected keyword.  Fillers could be ‘a,’ ‘an’ or ‘the.’  Search engines tend to not look at these words, so you still have a good shot at getting indexed while having a domain name that is memorable and catchy.  You can also consider fillers at the end of a phrase, such as ‘101′.
What if you do these things and you still can’t get .com?  Well, there are some situations where it is better to stick with a lesser-used extension because the keyword is just that popular.  Extensions that still get noticed include .net, .biz and .org.  Additionally, you can also consider using country or state-based extensions if you don’t mind international or local-based marketing.  It’s better to be number 1 in France’s version of Google than to be number 200 or worse in America’s version of Google.
In conclusion, choosing a domain name that will get the right buzz from both humans and search engines doesn’t have to be hard.  The keyword analyzer will help you with 90% of your domain name, while your wit with fillers can help you the other 10%.  And, if after an immense amount of pondering, you still can’t get the .com, you can opt for other extensions.

Cheap Domain Names

In order for people to access a website, they must first enter in its associated domain name.  This is a word or phrase that denotes the name of the site and/or summarizes what it is about.  Even free web hosting companies offer domain names, but there’s an essential difference.  With free web hosting companies, the domain names offered are in the form of third level domain names.
This means their domain name must be included when a person is trying to access the third level domain.  The only problem with this is that it makes a domain name long and hard to remember.  For this reason it’s best if a person considers just buying their own domain name.  And with the availability of cheap domain names, it is possible to get one that is very affordable.
Cheap domain names can range from being completely free to around $6.95.  Usually free domain names that are worth anything are included with a web hosting package.  So, a customer is technically still paying a fee.  The other types of domain names that require a fee can be purchased separately without a web hosting package.  The prices for these start at $1.00 and go up from there.
When a person purchases a cheap domain name, the overall registration process is the same as it would be for regularly-priced domains.  This means that first they would have to see if their domain name is available.  To do this they must enter in their desired domain name in a special text box, then select the extension they want.  If the domain name is available, they are free to purchase it.  If it is not available, they will have to choose another domain name.  Cheap domain name companies will offer suggestions on alternative domain names when this scenario occurs.
Are there any downsides to using cheap domain names?  Unfortunately, yes.  If a cheap domain name company is unscrupulous, a person may never receive a domain name at all.  What happens is the company tells the customer to wait a few days for the domain name to become active.  However, at the end of the timeframe, the domain name still doesn’t work.  And since the company is unscrupulous anyway, emailing customer service won’t do anything.
How can a person ensure they don’t encounter a fraudulent cheap domain name company?  First and foremost they need to check to see if it is registered with the Better Business Bureau.  This is an organization that ensures businesses are operating in a legitimate manner.  Secondly, they need to see if the company has normal contact information, such as an address and a telephone number.  Thirdly, they should see if the company has a bad reputation on message board dedicated to webmasters.  Of course, one may not always get an opinion on a particular company but if they do they will know to stay clear of it.
Yet, if a cheap domain name company is legitimate, there is no other disadvantage to getting a discounted domain name.  They work just like regularly priced domain names, so if a person has one available to them they definitely need to take advantage of it.

The Internet Marketer’s Guide to Generating Daily Traffic

The aim of a website is generally to provide a window of one’s offers on a platform where a good deal of people can get access. A website is nothing more than a ‘storefront,’ in a way, providing a catalog of products, services and information, depending on the area of expertise of the one behind the site.The general aim then is to get the maximum number of people to view this window, be interested in its content, and then make them loyal followers who will come back repeatedly to the site. In the jargon of the cyber world, these ‘visits’ can be termed traffic. Traffic, in everyone’s minds, shows how many people are coming by a site, a good indicator of its popularity and content relevance. Traffic is actually more technical, explained as the amount of data sent and received by visitors to a site, and not exactly as the number of visitors.

Though both definitions can be considered the same, giving an idea of the popularity of a site, traffic is thus a very good indication of whether a site is thriving or failing. Traffic is usually the first indicator of whether a site is attracting visits or not, and as such, is a basis for advertising ventures with sites. Given that advertising helps site owners financially, regular traffic ensures they will be considered for advertising proposals–or that they will earn more from current advertisers (by increasing views and clickthroughs). Through traffic, owners can also see which pages are more popular and which are less visited, helping to know where their strengths and weaknesses lay. This data can further help them to determine trends on the site, and tailor their offers accordingly by remaining one step ahead of the game. Thus, generating traffic and increasing it is a major concern of site owners.

Whether a site caters to marketing products or to providing information on a specific topic, traffic will be the general indicator of its success and popularity, and consequently, of its survival – survival of the fittest on the Net referring to the site that receives best traffic. Consequently, the aim of sites is to increase traffic. This differs slightly depending on the type of site. Marketing sites, provided by Internet marketers and Internet business owners, will want to increase their traffic to get more unique visitors and also to keep their returning visitors, ensuring that the products they offer are seen and considered by a wider number of potential clients. Content sites, for marketers and Internet business owners that offer information on a narrowlydefined topic and that generate revenue through advertising, will want to increase the number of page views (and, thus, click-throughs) of the site so as to increase the scope of penetration of their content.

How To Start Generating Daily Traffic

Traffic can be increased through the following strategies, such as: Search engine optimization. Increased visibility on the Net. Links to and from other sites (i.e. reciprocal and one-way) – an easy way to increase presence on the web. Interesting add-ons on the site. Increasing the amount of time each customer spends on the site – making sure all the pages are viewed, instead of only the home page/link destination page, thus generating more page views, an indicator of good traffic. Making the most popular pages even more popular and increasing internal links to the site’s other pages to encourage views. Forum-involvement and blog commenting Use of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter Advertising – such as the purchase of bulk email, pop up ads, inpage advertising, as well as the purchase of traditional and nonInternet based advertising.

Of all these options, which cover only a very small part of how traffic can be increased, advertising seems to be the most popular. Paid advertising is an e-marketing concept that enjoys a good reputation to generate traffic. Concepts such as banner advertising and pay per click are the most well-known and sought-after. Banner advertising has somewhat evolved to pop-up ads features when it turns out that Internet viewers got used to the concept of the banner at the top of the page. Pay per click uses the concept of sponsored links on search engine results pages by buying keywords and phrases that are bound to be associated with the site’s products or content. There are many ways to increase traffic, and most of them will be covered in more detail later. It is important to proactive and reactive methods of generating increased traffic first. Most methods of increasing traffic are reactive measures that identify an avenue to exploit on the site and then use it to generate traffic.

Advertising and search engine optimization (SEO) placement are reactive measures undertaken when the site is already afloat Many site creators and business owners underestimate the impact of proactive methods. The difference here has to be made between two concepts, namely natural traffic and organic traffic. Natural traffic Natural traffic is the traffic that can come naturally to the site. It deals with the site itself and its origins, name and content, whether it is for a product or for information. This traffic is associated mostly with the name and the keyword content of the site. It concerns generic aspects, and the first thought that comes to mind when one thinks of something. The domain name of the site plays a big part in here. For example, someone looking for a keyword may not go through search engines and directly type the keyword as domain name in the browser.

The likeliness of falling exactly upon what one is looking for is enhanced in this kind of maneuver. As such, domain name – its choice and use – is the main determinant in this type of traffic increase. A well-chosen domain name, and one that is immediately associated in everyone’s mind to the product or content being offered almost guarantees a visit to the site. Thus, traffic can almost be guaranteed to a site even at set-up stage, because of the easy and direct association of people with the name. Organic traffic

Organic traffic, on the other hand, pertains to traffic that is ‘sent’ to the site. Gearing this traffic route is then the best way of ensuring good organic traffic. The easiest way of getting such traffic is through Search Engine Optimization. Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic a site receives. Crawlers, which are small programs, are sent to a site by a search engine when the site is submitted for placement. These crawlers, also called spiders, scout the pages for keywords and tags attached to the site to compile a list of search-related features to generate the site on the search engine’s results page. Crawlers usually look for keywords, so optimizing their use in the pages is a good way of making sure they are picked up. Also, the more information available for a page, the easier it is for those programs to reference the page. For example, each page should have its own page name clearly defined, and this should include the title and header, which is also known as the meta tag, which the crawlers look for. Tags should also be well used, for they allow for broader scope when the crawlers are doing their job.

A good bet would also be to include the most relevant information of the site in the first paragraph of the home page. The first 2-3 lines of this paragraph are usually included in search engine results a page, providing at first glance whether the site has what the person doing the search is looking for. In this way, the inverted pyramid structure of writing, whereby the paragraphs are written in order of most important information to least important, should be followed when writing the content of the page. All these help the site have a better chance of ranking among the top spots on the search engine’s results page. 5 to 10% of clicks are generated through higher up placement on results pages. One thing to steer clear of here – bad links or ‘under construction’ pages on the site. This is a deterrent for crawlers, which may thus not add the site to the results, as the site is not fully functional.

Regular maintenance and updates of links and pages help to keep this issue at bay. Another good option to increase organic traffic is to submit the site to directories and other guides on the Internet. These too will make the site come up through searches in their databases. Other tips to increase organic traffic are: • Increase the number of related phrases that are typed in search engine boxes in the content of the site – this could allow for the site or page to be featured in results. Provide the geographical location of the business – this works mostly for product-based sites, as the likelihood of someone choosing to buy something in their area is enhanced. Providing location, especially if the site is international, helps target more people that could have geographical location as part of their search parameters. Listing products/content topic individually – the more pages on the site, the more a site is considered ‘worthy’ of being included in search engine results. Specific pages for specific content also show in-depth knowledge about the product/content, enhancing the reputation of the site as a good destination.

The above-mentioned options are only the tip of the iceberg where increasing traffic is concerned. Other methods do exist, and shall be considered individually. Following is a detailed, random listing of the most popular and some of less well-known avenues to generate traffic to a website quickly and on a daily basis. These are in no particular order, and all those tips work in their own right.

SEO: Keyword/Phrase Placement This feature has already been mentioned above, but it pays to always reiterate this fact – good placement in search engine results pages help to generate more traffic as the exposure and visibility of the site and its offerings are enhanced through such a process.

Using keywords is the key here, no pun intended. Concise and related keywords will help to funnel the search to your site, despite competitors’ presence as it has geared the search to find it more easily. Keywords should also be well chosen. Generation, locations and slang may play a part in here, as different people may not use the same word to define a product or information. Providing a varied list of keywords helps cover this base nicely. Optimizing pages themselves for SEO placement (keywords, working links, tags) further enhances the probability of good placement on results pages. Another option could be to generally increase the number of keywords and their recurrence on the site as a whole.

Tracking keywords It is important to scan the data of traffic analysis to find which keywords are more popular and which are allowing the site to receive more visits. Identifying them can then lead the marketer or business owner to optimize the use of this keyword to make it even stronger in its positioning. In addition, those less-popular keywords could be identified and then removed from the content, to allow more space for the keywords that should be optimized. List with directories This feature can enhance visibility and exposure on the Net. Listing with directories that target the same industry or field of the site can also enhance its placement on the web and in clients’ minds. Social exposure There are a lot of social networking sites on the web, as well as specific networks for an industry or niche.

Find which networks cater to the sector of the market or industry your site falls in, and register with them. These networks usually allow the registered user to create a profile for himself. Use this profile to present your site, as well as the products or content offered. Where possible, and if the network allows it, feature a link to your website on your profile page. An intriguing profile coupled with a link to the main site will tickle many potential visitors. Links Links work by providing paths from other places and platforms. Links to your site can be placed on industry-specific or product-specific sites. It is always a good idea to contact the big-name-websites to ask if they are willing to feature a link to your site. Exchanging links is also another good option. In return to featuring someone’s link, this person features your link too on his site. Links exchange programs also work upon the same premise. An aspect often overlooked is the ability to link within the site itself.

This increases the likelihood of navigating within the site, thus enhancing page views. This can be extremely useful to content-based sites. Product-based sites can also use the same strategy to present other products that may interest a visitor. Buying text links Using such links on a page enhances its potential to be picked up by search engines. Buying banner ads Banner ads are now assimilated within the framework of what a visitor expects on a site. Buying banner ads on other sites provides exposure for your site. Doing so on industry-related or product-related sites further enhances the potential to generate traffic. Banners usually hold a link back to the site it is promoting.

Also, it helps build brand recognition of the site being promoted. A banner is an advertisement in itself, and people usually pay attention and remember banners. This then represents a wonderful opportunity to brand and present a site. Participating in banner exchange programs This premise follows upon the same reasoning as banner ads, and is the easiest effective option to follow. Banner exchange program increases exposure and visibility on the Net, as well as providing branding opportunities. Such programs work on a swap ratio of 2:1 usually. Typically, if a banner is being shown on your site, for every 50 views on your site, in return, your own banner will be posted on 25 other sites. Participating in a WebRing A WebRing allows a site to connect to other sites in its niche. Exposure is maximized and effective in this way as the ring is for the same industry/area of your site. Affiliate programs Affiliate programs allow for a site to register with them and refer customers to them.

For every sale then that is triggered by a referral, the site that sent the customer earns a commission of the sale. These programs also work on the premise that your site can be associated to a big name and thus earn recognition. Affiliating in your own sector helps broaden the scope of your exposure. Furthermore, a site that sells products may set up is own affiliate program, whereby other sites will affiliate with it. This is another very good opportunity to create presence, clout, and exposure. Tag images Tags are an important aspect of search engine optimization. Photos search has increased in popularity lately. Almost all sites are expected to have photos on their pages. An undervalued aspect of this practice is not tagging the pictures.

Adding tags to pictures allow for photo searches to generate the photo and the address of the site. Not to be underestimated, tagging photos can become another tool to increase exposure of a site. This works especially well for sites that sell products. Tagging the product pictures can help bring people to the site through photo searches. Use smart PR approaches A typical PR (Press Release) campaign can be worked for a site as well. News coverage and media exposure can make the site known, and thus create awareness and bring visitors to the site. Off-line marketing Using traditional marketing tools outside the virtual world can also create awareness. Promotion and advertising needs not be simply in cyberspace. Business cards, written-support advertising, advertising on cars, etc, are all means that can and should be used to promote your website. This works better for sites that sell products, as these products can be advertised in such ways. Hosting regular promotions Store-type promotions can be applied to websites as well, especially those that sell products. There is nothing like the word ‘discount’ to attract people – make good use of it on your site too. Publishing on other sites Publishing articles and blog posts on other sites and newsgroups help to increase your visibility. Furthermore, writing articles and getting them published can also establish you as an ‘expert’ in your field. This is a very good tool to exploit for content sites. Another feature of articles is that it allows you to have a signature line at the end, which you can use to feature the link to your site.

Product sites can also use publishing articles to make product reviews and referrals, an aspect that shouldn’t be ignored. Update content regularly Viewers like to check back on sites where they received good information. However, if they fall upon the same information again, it is likely that they will write the site off and not come back. This is where updating content plays in. Regular, new content will keep visitors coming back as fresh content is found. This also shows that the site is being looked after. Search engines also regularly scout pages, and when they find updated content, they are more likely to keep a page’s listing or even move it further up as opposed to a site whose content remains the same since conception. For a content site, updated content means more pages, and this in turn can increase page views, which is its aim in increasing traffic. Reviews Get reviews of your site. Ask at bigger sites in the same niche/area as yours. This increases exposure, especially if your site gets a very good review. Write briefs on the site This keeps content fresh and regularly updated. It sits well with search engines and viewers alike. Having a newsletter A newsletter keeps people informed about updates and other changes to the site. Offers can be showcased this way, and this is a very good opportunity for product sites. Furthermore, the newsletter can contain links back to the site, and in itself, a newsletter helps ‘refresh’ people’s memories that your site is still present and ready to deliver good content and products.

The newsletter can contain teasers that will incite its readers to come to the site to get their curiosity satisfied. Content sites can have classes or seminars featured or advertised on the newsletter, said classes which people can have access to on the site. An e-zine works with the same concept. Posting in chat rooms This helps to increase exposure. Giveaways, freebies, and polls All these are good ‘lures’ to get people to come to the site. Polls work on another level as it shows interaction. This ‘human’ aspect of the site can attract lots of people who are repulsed by mechanical sites that do not have a human touch. Content sites can hold polls and can also preview aspects of content that is to come. Small downloads can be offered for free, for example an ebook on a specific topic. Product sites have more scope as they can offer prizes, rebates, discounts and contests. Another tip for this side of the marketing is to offer a freebie for every purchase, thus enticing people to buy. Contests, promos and polls can also be announced on various loops and in newsletters, helping to draw visitors to the site. Freebies, especially for content sites, can consist of the following: checklists for a task, templates for specific documents, text workbooks on the site’s topic, classes and seminars, a dictionary of terms of the industry/niche, a live advice chat room, plans for setting up specific things, email reports, as well as designed forms. An awards feature The site can offer links to other sites it deems worthy by giving them an ‘award’. This can work as double-lane avenue as the awarded company can tell its visitors to check its award on your site.

An option for content sites is to feature an ‘Additional Resources’ box where it offers links to other sites it deems worthy. In turn, the sites on the list can mention that they are recommended by your site, providing exposure and link presence. Respond to queries or comments left on your site This feature can help both product sites and content sites. Nobody likes to be ignored – showing your visitor that you cared enough to reply to his query or comment enhances your goodwill and the feeling that you are a ‘human’ site. Robotic content and atmosphere is a deterrent for many Internet users, so showing that you are not like that can work wonders for you. For a content site, it shows that you are dedicated to providing information accurately and as people need it. For a product site, it may show tremendous customer support and willingness to take care of the customer. Hold contests and promos People generally love to play and win. Enticing them with contests is a good bet. In either case, a person who took part in the contest will come back to check the result. This can be built upon. Have your own domain This builds brand recognition and easy association of your content/product in viewers’ minds. The name can even become a brand in the long run. Join places that are relevant to you Associations that cater to an aspect of your industry, local chambers of commerce, and other such organizations can provide a wealth of exposure when you are added to their directories. Being associated with them can also boost your name and enhance your reputation. Create RSS feeds on your site

This allows easy access to your information and updates. Offer free consulting This works especially well for content sites. Free consulting can help establish your site as an ‘expert’ name in the field, and bring more to you through enhancing your reputation. The option of obtaining free consulting itself can gear more people to visit you. Product sites can do the same by offering samples and trial runs or demonstrations of products. Ensure accessibility A site that is easily accessible, easy to navigate and browse, doesn’t hurt the eyes, encourages more people to visit it than sites which are complicated and cluttered. Good layout and color choice is vital. Another aspect that shouldn’t be underestimated is spelling errors in page content. This can act as a big deterrent. Build uniqueness Give your visitors a unique experience and unique content and atmosphere. Chances are they will surely come back. A unique concept can also embed your site in viewers’ minds, thus allowing for recognition and easy association. Provide useful resources Be an expert in your field and also aim to help the people who visit you. Product sites can provide links to related items, or guides such as maintenance for the product they offer. This also helps create goodwill in your name.

Content sites can do so through their content itself, by providing accurate information and becoming the one destination for their topic. Again, replying to queries and comment add in to the helpful experience. Provide follow-up Especially useful and vital for product sites. Following up with clients will create a good impression of your site and place you in your clients’ good books. Auto mail and responders also work, and can be used by content sites. Providing exit popups When a viewer exists your site, a window pops up where he is taken to another address. This takes place in an exit popup program where sites can register. As a window pops up from exiting your site, your site can pop up the same way on another website that is part of the program. This helps to increase your visibility, and clients who may not know of your site can be exposed to it in this way. Blogs Use trackback links from blogs. Ask viewers to bookmark your site Bookmarked sites are more visible to a viewer, as the links are right there in front of him when he opens his browser. This can entice a viewer to visit back when exposed to the site’s presence in his favorites list. Be active on discussion boards This can generate awareness of your site and provide exposure. Furthermore, having your own discussion board on your site enhances the interactive, human feel viewers look for on the Net.

People who have had a good experience on your discussion board will think of it when they run into a problem again, and some may even come back just for the social aspect, to meet new people in a setup that is familiar and pleasant to them. Product review boards would work well for a product site, further working as a tool to promote the products. Content sites can make use of the board as a platform to help others and provide insight and further information about their topic of predilection. Use our free content but link back Encourage your viewers to forward your free articles or newsletter, provided they always include the link to your site on it. This provides additional exposure as you will have circulation in clients’ private contact lists, a feature that would not have been accessible to you otherwise. Encourage viewers to spread the word If viewers are satisfied with the experience and content/product you provide them, ask them to tell others about their experience. Word of mouth is still one of the most effective promotion tools even in this age, so make use of it. Have a blog This allows for easy updates and an added ‘human’ touch to your site. Blogs also provide features that can generate traffic and exposure even more. Features pertinent to blogs, for example pinging, allows for each update to the blog to be pinged and updated on blog directories that are scouted by lots of people. There are other, very effective methods of generating additional traffic to your site. These methods, which will be mentioned in the coming paragraphs, have gained lots of popularity recently and as such, will be considered in more detail. Forums

Forums allow you access to industry/sector specific areas where you can comment and interact with others. Interacting on forums is a good way of getting your name out. Topicspecific forums can allow content site owners to provide helpful and judicious advice on forums posts, thus helping to present them, and in turn, their site, as ‘experts’ in the field. Most forums also allow the one posting to have a signature attached at the end of a post. This signature can be used to provide links back to the site and specific pages if it is content-oriented. Always make sure whether signatures are allowed though. Products can promote themselves on forums too. However, it is wise to refrain from spamming and even too-obvious promotion posting on forums. Aim to offer relevant and accurate content, and offer your help wherever possible. This established goodwill already allows your reputation to precede you before the person even goes to your site. There are many forums out there, and finding one or a few pertinent to the sector your site specializes in should not be too hard. Pay Per Click or PPC Pay per click is the process whereby a site pays for every click generated from its advert on a specialized page or a search engine results page. This process works on the premise of selected keywords. The site selects its keywords and states the amount it is willing to pay, or bid, for every keyword. The highest bid for this keyword then earns the best placement in the sponsored links section of a search engine’s results page. If a viewer clicks the link to the site, the site owner then has to pay the search engine the amount it was willing to pay for the keyword. Thus the site only pays for a ‘clicked’ visit. PPC is basically a new form of paid advertisement that is getting more and more exposure and popularity as site owners are not reluctant to pay to earn traffic.

However, the process doesn’t work just like that to ensure good results. Even landing a prime spot in the sponsored links section, people may simply scan over the ad and discard it. The key then, is to have a very good ad copy to present for your link. Something that is intriguing and catchy and which covers what the viewer will find at your site is bound to work better than a general description of your site offerings. Using varied keywords for better exposure is also another way of ensuring broader scope. It pays to note that the ad should be linked to the specific product/content page it is advertising. Another requisite of PPC is that links should constantly be checked to see if they work. Also, testing can allow the site owner to find which keywords are earning him the best placements and consequently focus his attention and money on those keywords. Blog commenting Commenting on blogs, especially industry-specific ones, allow for broader scope of networking and exposure. Blogs have literally exploded in recent times, and as such, should not be dismissed. Blog commenting helps to increase visibility, and the great feature with blogs is that the one posting the comment can always link back to his site, since, on top of signatures in the comment, signing-in for commenting allows one to provide the link back to any site. Blogs also help to increase the exposure of your site, especially for content sites. These comments can be seen as preludes to the indepth content offered on the site. Commenting can also further help to brand your site and your own way of responding can be a unique experience people look for. In a way, by reading your comment, readers may be intrigued to know more and thus head over to your site. This can work well with product promotion. It is a good idea to remain brief and concise on comments, and to comment on blogs and topics that relate to and are pertinent to your own sector of operations.

Also, links should not be added in the comment itself but kept to the signing-in name section, where your name can link to your site. Joint ventures Joint ventures have garnered increased popularity lately as networking sites started to abound and everyone could connect on the same platform. Aspects of joint ventures cover links exchange, banner swaps, referrals and reviews. MyBlogLog MyBlogLog (www.mybloglog.com) is a social media-networking site that builds communities of bloggers and allow those bloggers to have a MyBlogLog calling card featuring their own avatar or picture. Featuring the MyBlogLog widget on blogs is a good way of knowing who dropped by your blog, and also allows others to see you when you leave your calling card somewhere. The widget further helps to determine who dropped by and thus have an idea of the audience visiting your blog and site. It is advantageous to have a very good and accurate profile set up if you are planning to use this opportunity to promote your site and this way earn more traffic. A catchy avatar also intrigues and garners attention and a second glance. The username you allow to have displayed could be set up to give the name of your site or your domain name, further increasing awareness. For this feature to work though, one needs to remain logged in the project. Surfing lots of blogs and leaving relevant comments allow further exposure. Leaving comments also encourages people to do so on your page, and by returning visits to those who visited you, you encourage them to notice you as a ‘good’ presence out there. Press Release A press release can help generate increased awareness and provide avenues of immense professional distribution. As such, it should not be overlooked, and it also helps provide a reader base.

Contrarily to the press releases of the past, the ones that are drawn up now are also featured on the virtual world, and as such, are search engine optimized with keywords too. The press release can also use links to your hubs and the fact that it allows feed subscriptions ensures that any update to the information will immediately be communicated to anyone subscribed to the feed, thus allowing for instant updates. Freebie Giving away freebies is another way of generating additional traffic to a site. Product sites have more scope as they can offer prizes, rebates, discounts and contests. Another tip is to offer a freebie for every purchase, thus enticing people to buy. Content sites can offer the following: checklists for a task, templates for specific documents, text workbooks on the site’s topic, classes and seminars, a dictionary of terms of the industry/niche, a live advice chat room, plans for setting up specific things, email reports, as well as designed forms. Facebook Facebook is another social networking site that boasts high levels of activity and membership. As such, in itself, Facebook is a great opportunity to increase your contact base by ‘friending’ many people. The network allows you to customize your profile and page, and making effective use of the layout boxes can provide better awareness and exposure for your site, its content or products. The Marketplace widget/plug-in is a good tool for showing your products. Additional features that can help generating traffic pertain to activity on the site. Commenting on walls increase exposure, and the profile name links back to your page which can in itself be a window as to what your site offers. ‘Friending’ people with extensive contacts lists is another way of making yourself seen out there.

Other options to generate traffic from Facebook would be to create applications and widgets that the network can support. These can then provide glimpses as to what your site offers, and is a wonderful opportunity for content sites. The update status feature should also not be neglected, as it can trigger curiosity as to what your profile is up to. Twitter Twitter (www.twitter.com) is another site which allows social networking, but the difference here is that Twitter is more a ‘talk’ site and more social in its approach, by allowing users to ‘follow’ others’ moves and updates (auto updates) and to leave short messages (twits). Good options to generate traffic from Twitter would be to post questions or ask questions at the end of your posts. This generates attention and encourages people to reply. As with all networking sites, using your signature and linking back through it to your site is the thing to do to create a buzz around your site. Twits can also be about your content, products, or the updates that just happened. In this light, twits can act as teasers to encourage visiting the site. Participation is key at this site. Visit, reply, and return visits and comments for those who came by yours – all these help to create a presence and goodwill for you and your site in people’s minds. All the above-mentioned avenues to help gain more traffic quickly and on a daily basis work. It is up to you now to find the best possible combination and strategy to make it work for your site.

Conclusion

You know it, I know it, and all Internet marketers know it: without receiving a steady stream of visitors, no business will be able to stay in business for long. Thus, if you want your business to be successful and to flourish, you must find ways to constantly sustain and increase your traffic flow. Using the strategies outlined in this report, you should be fully equipped to do this. All you have to do now is take action!

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Introduction

One of the most powerful tools in your sales arsenal is the informed and judicious use of words and terminology. Words have the ability to entice a prospect, hold the attention of the potential buyer, and ultimately result in the establishment of a relationship that not only results in a sale today, but helps to create other sales activity in the future. At the same time, words have the power to turn away potential clients, make people feel unappreciated, and ultimately lead to not only the loss of a sale today, but also the loss of sales opportunities in the future.

The effective salesperson knows the importance of choosing the right verbiage to present both the seller and the product. Whether in verbal communications or in the creation of written documents such as sales brochures, letters and emails, or any other type of promotional materials, using the right words in the right places is key to being successful at the task of sales. Here are some ideas that will help you hone your sales vocabulary, and enhance your ability to utilize words that ultimately lead to productive client relationships.

Section One: How to Write Words that Sell in Your Copy

Using verbiage that will result in sales opportunities is important in any environment. This is especially true when composing sales copy for a web site, an online press release, or an electronic advertisement. There are several factors to keep in mind when writing the text for your web copy. Here are some of the most important things to keep in mind. First, it is imperative to keep your target audience in mind when composing the web copy. This will often mean making sure that the text is sprinkled with terminology that will be immediately recognizable to the reader. Adding in terms that are familiar to the consumer helps to accomplish two things.

First, they serve as markers that help the reader know that he or she is at a site that has relevance to their needs and interests. Second, the use of familiar terms creates the impression that the author of the web site possesses a competent knowledge about the subject matter. Both of these factors help to hold the interest of the reader long enough for the web copy to present all the reasons why life would be so much easier with the acquisition of the advertised good or service.

Technical terms may be fine in some instances, while their use may actually be a deterrent in other situations. For example, even though your product offering may have to do with conference room telephones, you may want to refrain from using a lot of telephony terms. This would be true if you are looking to promote your products to administrative assistants and busy executives. Instead of technical terminology, the focus should be on the features included with the unit, as well as emphasizing how easy the unit is to use.

Of course, if the focus is on promoting the telephone equipment to Information Technology managers, then the inclusion of technical terms and specifications would be a must. Knowing what type of verbiage will connect with your target audience will go a long way in making the copy of your web text interesting and attractive to your audience. Another thing to keep in mind about your web copy is that you want to get the highest ranking as possible in various Internet search engines.

The easiest way to accomplish this is to make sure there are keywords sprinkled throughout the copy. Keywords are simply words that are easily picked up as being relevant to the subject matter, and which are likely to be used by anyone doing research online related to that particular subject. For example, if an assistant is charged with the task of finding qood buys on a speakerphone for the conference room, there are several key words that he or she is likely to use as part of the search criteria.

Words such as speakerphone, conference, conference room, meeting, business, and telephone are some examples of words that may be used as part of the search. Having all those words included in the text of your sales web copy will help to ensure your web site is included as part of the search results that are returned by the search engine. One way to get an idea of what types of keywords to include in your web copy is to conduct a search of your own. Check out competitor sites and make note of some of the words that seem to occur two to four times in their copy.

Chances are repetition at that level is done in order to maximize the chances of getting a high ranking on an engine search. Keeping in mind that you do not necessarily want to replicate the keywords that are used by your competitors, think of other terms that are similar in meaning and that you think would be likely words or phrases to use for a search. Try out your theory by doing a few searches using your own set of keywords. You may find that the results are very positive, and could lead to greatly increasing your chances of a high ranking on all the major search engines.

Section Two: Using Words Effectively in Email Marketing Campaigns

Just as you want to attract attention with the web copy on your web site, there is also the need to structure promotional emails so that they will catch the attention of consumers, and help to generate interest in the goods or services that you have for sale. There are a couple of key factors to keep in mind when you put together a promotional email. First, the subject line for your targeted email needs to include elements that will grab the attention of the reader. There are several schools of thought on how to best accomplish this. One approach is to employ a question in the subject line. The idea behind the question is that people have a tendency to not overlook a question, while a statement may not make much of an impression.

Because the question will result in more people at least stopping to consider the email, the chances that the promotion will be opened and read increases. This at least gets the promotional email past the first obstacle, which is being junked by a consumer without being read. Another approach is to build on the relationship that you already have with the consumer. Assuming that the email campaign is directed at persons who have done business with you in the past, you may want to include an identifying mark in the subject line, such as the name of your company, or the name of the product that was previously purchased. Using a familiar term helps to create instant recognition. If the consumer had a favorable experience with your company in the past, there is an excellent chance that he or she will open the email and take a few moments to read through your epistle.

Of course, once you have gotten through the minefield associated with getting the consumer to open the email, it is imperative to entice the prospect to keep reading after the first couple of sentences. Most people today are not interested in long winded emails that seem to have no end in sight. This means you want to do several things with the text to keep them reading. First, use short paragraphs. When the email is opened, the eye will quickly note how many solid lines of text occur before there is a break of some sort.

The brain immediately sends out a signal that reading this email is going to be a tiring process, and there is a good chance the email will be scanned at best, then abandoned. This impression can be avoided by using shorter paragraphs that focus on one aspect of the subject. Breaks in the text make it easier to digest the whole email in manageable pieces. The end result is that you have the chance to build your sales pitch point by point as the reader moves through the text of the email.

Using bullets in the body of an email can also be effective. However, it is important to keep the bullets focused and short. Using a bunch of words to create what amounts to a bulleted paragraph will quickly cause the reader to lose interest. A bullet should contain no more than seven to ten words, and focus on one complete thought that the consumer can easily relate to and digest. Remember, the purpose of the bullet is to present an idea, not expound on it. You can always do that on your web copy. Don’t try to accomplish that with any email, and certainly not in a bullet contained in the body of the email. Another good thing to keep in mind about the wording in an email is to not get complicated.

Employing the old business adage of KISS is ideal for crafting email text. The need to keep the wording simple and easy to read is essential. You may have only a few seconds to attract the attention of the reader, and that is most certainly accomplished by using words that do not cause the consumer to pause and have to think about what the word may mean. Technical wording should be kept at a minimum, thus keeping the talking points accessible to just about everyone who might read the email. The main factor to keep in mind with the use of words in promotional emails is that the text needs to be easily read, does not seem to be overwhelming, and is focused enough to increase interest in going to the web site for more details.

Section Three: Using Sales Copy Effectively

Using the sales copy you have created for the web and as part of email promotional campaigns can also be used in other ways to create interest in your products and services. The great thing is that you don’t always have to come up with more original copy to create other pieces that will help to spread the word. Here are some examples of how you can use that web copy and email text to create more promotional documents that will help you to generate additional sales. Even if you operate mainly as a web business, it pays to participate in trade shows and conventions.

Of course this means you need to set up an exhibit that will attract the attention of attendees as they walk by. At the very least, you will want some graphics that will catch the eye that can be mounted on tables or on the back panels for an exhibit booth. Along with images, you may want to include a few snippets from the text that you use on your web site or email promotions. Remember those crisp and concise bullets that you used as part of the email campaign? They now translate into some wonderful visual slogans to catch the eyes of conference attendees. Create some storyboards that splash those bullets across the facades in colors that will attract attention.

By using your words to entice people to come over to your exhibit, you have the chance to engage them in conversations that will help lead to the collection of leads that you can follow up on after the show closes. Along with using your web text as graphics for the booth, consider reorganizing some of the information into a slide presentation. This will allow you to set up a computer screen and have the presentation continually running on a loop. Movement helps to attract the eye. People will come over and check out your presentation, even if you are currently busy with other visitors. This gives you the chance to make a connection even if you are not free to engage the person in dialogue at that very moment.

Because you are using words that are part of your web site, the visitors will feel a sense of familiarity when they visit your online business at a later date. You will also need some printed matter that interested parties can take along with them. This will most likely be in the form of sales brochures. Use text from your email campaign to create one easy to read bi-fold brochure, then the text from your web site to create at least a couple of other brochures that are different in size and format. This adds an element of visual interest to your printed matter, so odds are the visitor will take one of each. Three brochures taken would mean three opportunities to capture the interest of the reader.

Chances are you will need to do little to no editing in order to adapt your web text for hard copy publications. Keep in mind that when the trade show is over, you also have the ability to use those same brochures as part of a direct mail campaign. This sort of application, while not necessarily a big money maker, is usually worth the investment. Going with printed mail campaigns opens up one more means of getting steady customers. Using your existing copy to accomplish the task is all the better for your bottom line.

Section Four: Using Psychological Triggers

Psychological triggers are simply words, images, and sounds that can be used to promote a particular response. When it comes to the use of these triggers in your sales effort, two of your post powerful tools will be words and the way you choose to present them. Here are some things to keep in mind that will help you make the most of psychological triggers in the sales copy you compose, as well as some visual approaches to help those triggers do the job. To a degree, the use of keywords sprinkled throughout your copy is an example of using psychological triggers. Keywords provide the basis for rapport between the reader and your copy.

Chances are that the consumer is already looking for something in particular. Keywords are evidence that he or she is at the right place to find that which is desired or needed. Thus, having important keywords in the text is one way of causing the triggering of a reaction that ensures the consumer will keep reading through the web site, assured there is something of value there. Another thing to keep in mind is that you want to use phrases and words that speak to the mindset of the reader. For example, including words that describe applications with special meaning to your target audience will help to elicit the desired response.

Someone who is looking for financial software for a faith based organization is likely to respond very positively to such words as stewardship, accountability, and trust. Triggers of this type resonate with some of the reasons why the individual may be searching for a good deal on financial software, and will easily help to draw in interested persons. Triggers can also be used to invoke the emotions of the reader as well. Invoking a sense of fun into the search, while still being professional, is often enough to get people to take a few moments and check out what you have to offer. Humor may not be right for all products and services, but in many cases, the strategy works.

If you market office products and cater to busy administrative assistants trying to keep the boss happy, you may want to try a tag line with a trigger that speaks to the frustration that can come with the job. Something along the lines of “tired of searching the Internet to keep your boss from popping a vein? Get everything you need here!” can help to soothe frayed nerves and at the same time creates the impression that there is no need to look anywhere else. Guilt is also being a trigger that can be used to good advantage.

Using verbiage that conveys a sense that failure to purchase your good or service is something akin to a dereliction of duty. Of course, this tends to work better when the intimation is somewhat understated, since that does not insult the intelligence of the consumer. Something along the lines of “a day without software is a day with a lot of wasted time” hints at the advantage of buying your product and impressing the boss with a high level of productivity. At the same time, the intimation is that without the software, the reader will not be as productive and thus will not be able to do the best job possible. Preying on the sense of responsibility, then trigger motivates the consumer to read further and learn what your product can do to make the day a successful one. Motivation through the written word is another example of a great psychological trigger.

The vast majority of people want to do a good job with everything they do. However, they also want to accomplish that good job in as little time and with as little effort as possible. Using triggers in your sales copy like “easy to use”, “cuts hours off your workload” and “increase your free time” will definitely play to the desire for more success with less investment. Using these types of triggers in headlines throughout the text is one way of getting noticed, but don’t forget to work a few of these motivational style motivators into the main text as well.

Section Five: Writing Solo Ads

As part of your sales campaign, there will be many opportunities to compose solo ads that can be used in a number of situations. In some cases, these may be general ads that are designed as part of the materials for a marketing campaign aimed at a new target group of consumers. At other times, you may want to develop a solo ad that is aimed at appearing in a one time publication, such as an annual chamber of commerce directory. There are also situations where it may be advantageous to develop a series of solo ads that spotlight several of your high profile products or services. Here are a few tips to help you come up with solo ads that will work.

When planning an ad, it is a good idea to think about the amount of space you can afford. Obviously, you want to target print publications that will reach the types of consumers that you want to connect with. Keep in mind that a quarter page ad in the right publication is a much better investment than a page ad in a publication that does not include a readership that would have an interest in what you have to offer. Spend your money on ads that are geared toward the right people, and make sure the text of the ad makes that clear. Knowing where to place ads is your first step in deciding what type of copy to include in the customized solo ad.

The same type of approach can be applied to online ads as well. Creating a simple but effective solo ad that is targeted and can be placed on particular sites where potential clients visit. The text should be short, snappy, and make the point without taking more than a couple of seconds. Generally, an online ad will also redirect visitors to your web site, so make sure that the tag or trigger you use with the ad is relevant to what the prospect will see when he or she arrives at the site.

Keep in mind that solo ads are not meant to be detailed repetitions of the information on your web site. Instead, they are meant to call attention to some aspect of your business, and build enough interest that people will want to learn more. Don’t try to accomplish too many things with one solo ad. If the purpose for the ad is to promote a sale, then make sure the verbiage proclaims how good the sale is. Perhaps you want to tout a new and improved product. Under those circumstances, focus on one or two new features of the enhanced offering. That is enough to act as a teaser without spilling all the details about what is so good about the new version of the product. One easy way to create a series of solo ads is to come up with one basic format that can easily be adapted for different venues.

Once the basic elements are in place, it is relatively easy to use the master ad as the template. From that vantage point, it is easy to make some changes that will personalize each ad placement to target the specific print publication or set up web sites where the solo ads will appear. This approach also provides a sense of continuity. Consumers who see two or more of your solo ads will easily recognize all of them as associated with the same products, based on the choice of graphics and the layout of the content.

Section Six: Writing Classified Ads

Both in print and around the Internet, there are opportunities to write classified ads to spread the word about your business. In some cases, the classified ad may be only a sentence or two. In other cases, you may be able to manage something longer and still make it profitable.

Writing copy for classified ads is a little different from larger advertisements, in that no matter how generous the room for a classified ad, it is still a small space. Your challenge is to use that little bit of space to make a big impact. The nature of a classified ad is to say a lot in just a few words. This means you will need to be as exacting in your choice of words as possible. Fortunately, a classified ad does not have to rely on proper sentence structure. This makes it possible for you to make use of phrases to get your point across, if they are appropriate.

Quick blurbs that are crafted properly will get the point across, and allow you to convey your intent in just a few words. Another way to pack in more detail in just a few words is to employ the use of abbreviations. Depending on the publication where the classified ad will appear, you may be able to get by with using certain abbreviations that will be easily understood by the readers.

For example, if the classified ad is appearing in the back of a magazine dedicated to Information Systems professionals, then there is no need to spell out those words in the ad. Use the abbreviation “IS” and you save a lot of space that can be used to squeeze in another possible point of interest. Along with industry related abbreviations there are generally accepted abbreviations that work both in print media and online. One such abbreviation would be “ISO” which is commonly used as the abbreviation for “in search of”. You may be surprised at how many abbreviations you can use without damaging the flow or integrity of the ad text.

Still, it is a good idea to balance the shortcuts with at least a couple of terms that are spelled out. If you are unsure of what types of abbreviations would be acceptable, check out some of the other ads for ideas. One component that you should always include in the ad is contact information. Make sure that the type of contact detail you provide is completely reliable. If there is not a good chance of returning a phone call in a timely manner, then opt for an email address.

Better yet, include the URL for your web site, so that the reader can go right to the source. Usually, directing readers to the main page of your site is the proper procedure. However, if you are running a sale or want to feature one of your products or services, you may want to redirect the reader directly to a page that focuses on the particular item. In fact, reading through several of the classified ads that are found on the ad web site or in the print publication is a good idea. It is possible to pick up on a number of pointers about the type of classified ads that the publication considers be acceptable. You can easily incorporate those ideas into your concept for the classified ad, making sure that you are in compliance with accepted guidelines. This investment of time doing a little quick research will help to make the task of actually writing the ad a lot easier.

Section Seven: How to Use Sales Language

Sales language is simply the use of accepted terms and verbal techniques that are understood to be helpful in the process of identifying qualified leads, talking to interested prospects, and closing a sale. While the verbiage may tend to vary slightly from one sales setting to another, there are a number of rules that seem to apply across the board. Here are some examples of effective sales language and how these approaches may be helpful. One of the first things that any successful salesperson learns is that proper sales language employs the basic principle of conveying confidence. That confidence has to do with the belief that all the goods and services on the table are of the best quality.

Further, each and every one of them will make a huge difference in the quality of life for any person who chooses to buy any of the services offered. Along with the knowledge that the goods and services are absolutely the best thing since sliced bread, the salesperson also has full confidence in his or her ability to convince the buyer of how good the products happen to be. Without this underlying level of confidence, even the most convincing of all verbal techniques will fall short of the mark.

Sales language is all about accentuating the positive. Helping people to realize the value of what you have to offer involves conveying that what you have will make any task easier to accomplish. Along with making the task easier, your product will also speed up the process so there is more time to devote to other matters. Best of all, it will also pay for itself in a very short period of time. This means understanding what types of approaches will make an immediate impact with a customer.

For example, if you open with something along the lines of “how would you like to leave a half hour early every day and still get all your work done?” you are certain to grab the attention of just about anyone. You are using sales language to offer something of value to the individual and chances are you will get the chance to explain just what you mean. Another part of employing sales language is learning when to ask clarifying questions. One you have engaged a prospect and you begin to get feedback, it is important that you check now and then to make sure the two of you are on the same page. Clarifying questions is one of the verbal tools you can use to keep on track.

A clarifying question is simply when you take a moment to ask a question that helps to ensure you understand something that the prospect has told you. Often, these types of questions are phrased to allow a simple yes or no response. For example, if the client has mentioned the use of word processing software applications, you may want to take the matter one step further, and ask of in addition to word processing, would spreadsheet capability at no extra cost be something that would help out in the workplace.

This allows you to add more value to a need that is already expressed, and provide the prospect with one more reason to keep talking to you. Along with the clarifying question, another verbal tool in your arsenal is the perception check. Here you are making sure that you assimilated information provided by the prospect. Often, a perception check will begin with a phrase like “if I understand you correctly” or “from what you have told me, I understand that you need.” The point of the perception check is to allow the seller the chance to present in his or her own words what the buyer has indicated is a want or need. In turn, the buyer has the chance to affirm that the seller has indeed grasped the need, or has the chance to correct the perception of the seller if the connection did not quite capture everything.

It is important to frame the perception check so that any miscommunication is owned by the seller, and does not reflect on the buyer. In fact, sales language should always place the burden of providing services on the seller. This leaves the buyer as seeming to be in complete control of the conversation, and without any sense that the buyer is being unclear or imprecise. This approach also conveys the sense that the seller is genuinely interested in meeting the needs and desires of the buyer. Sales language is employed in online communications with prospects in several ways. First, email correspondence should always convey the desire to meet the needs of the buyer. Second, sales language that is positive, leads to discussions about what the products can do, and anticipates questions will go a long way in keeping the web copy for your site fresh, interesting, and entertaining.

Conclusion

Using words to sell is something that every successful sales person has to learn to do. This is true when talking live with any prospective client. Along with live discussions, using the right words can make all the difference in the ability of a web site to attract visitors, and hold their attention long enough to make a sale. Ads, both electronic and print types also depend heavily on choosing the right words for the right situation. Knowing what to say and when to say it will help keep a sales career fresh and exciting, not to mention lucrative.

Introduction

Setting up your online business presence is a major accomplishment. However, it is only the beginning. Contrary to popular opinion, people will not come just because you built it. Part of the reason for that set of circumstances is that no one is likely to visit a web site that they do not know exists. So, after you have put together the most spectacular, intuitive, and fun to browse web site, the time has come to get busy and find ways to generate the traffic to your little corner of the Internet.

The good news is that there are many options when it comes to the task of driving traffic to your site. While many of the strategies involve online methods, there are also some offline effective procedures that will also lead to more hits and thus increase the chances of making a sale. Here are some tips on creating a comprehensive battle plan to publicize your site and generate interest that will result in making your online presence a successful venture.

Section One: Pay per Click Advertising

One of the easiest methods to employ in your plan to drive traffic to your site is pay per click advertising. This particular advertising model has been around since the late 1990’s and has been a means of generating hits for many different businesses with an online presence. Pay per click advertising is an excellent way to get the word about your company to a wide audience. The process involves spotting an ad on various web sites that will forward an interested party back to your web site. Part of the attraction of pay per click advertising is that the ad owner only pays when someone clicks on the ad and actually follows through to the web site. When it comes to PPC advertising, never forget the importance of keywords.

Essentially, keywords are words and phrases that are considered to be common modes of searching the Internet to find desired content. As an advertiser, your job is to come up with keywords that you believe are likely to take you to web sites that are relevant to the type of business site you currently operate. The rationale is that persons who visit those sites would most likely be interested in the content of your site. If you manage to find the right web sites for your ads, then the chances of generating clicks to your site are much greater. While the keyword mode of pay per click advertising is very common, there is also a second method.

Known as content match PPC, the principle is still the same. The main difference is that rather than basing the search on keywords, the results are based on the content of the site. As an example, if you run a site that is dedicated to gardening supplies, then it would be a natural for you to want to place ads on sites dedicated to gardening.

Content matching can be used right along with keywords to create a well rounded pay per click component in your overall publicity campaign. Finding online resources to help you with the process of placing pay per click ads is relatively easy. One of the most popular approaches is to make use of the Google Adwords program. You can get started by identifying a list of relevant keywords. You can also get help in designing the appearance of your ad, using online tools. Adwords also includes a number of online tools, so you can keep track of how many hits get to your web site through those hits. This allows you to stay on top of how much pay per click is advertising is costing you each month. By comparing the sales that result from the hits with the cost of your pay per click campaign, you can determine if the program is making money for you. Another target for your pay per click campaign is online comparison shopping engines.

These types of engines often are willing to provide feeds through the placement of ads on their searches. Just as with the ads on informational web sites, persons can click through to your web site and see what you have to offer. Some of these sites provide you with the ability to see the number of hits, while others do not. Payment for placing the ad on the shopping comparison site may be in the form of a fixed monthly amount or based on a fixed rate per click. Keep in mind that there is no such thing as exclusionary pay per click arrangement. This means you can sign up with as many keyword and shopping ad services as you like. In fact, you may do very well to try out several different services, to see which ones seem to provide you with the best matches and coverage. If funds for advertising are limited, go with a well known service, and then add more services as your revenue stream builds to the point you can afford to do so. Remember that your goal is to build a solid foundation for your web site, so it may take some time before you begin to see results.

Disregard stories about overnight success. Chances are you will go about six months to a year before you see significant traffic that results in sales. Pay per click advertising is often an affordable way to launch your advertising campaign. The cost per click is often a fraction of a cent, so it certainly will not cost a great deal, unless you happen to get a huge number of visitors clicking through to your site. The law of averages would dictate that of that huge number, enough sales would result to make your investment in the pay per click program well worth your time and the expense.

Section Two: Search Engine Optimization

While you are running ads through one or more pay per click programs, it is important to not underestimate the effectiveness of the content of your own site. In fact, paying close attention to your own web content will help your web site to show up higher on search engines. The magic way this happens has to do with search engine optimization. Here is how the process works, and why it is so important to make the best use of this value method of publicizing your web site. When people think of search engine optimization, the first thing they think about is keywords scattered through the content that is found on the site. Keywords help people who are interested in what you have to offer find your site. Generally, persons entering one of those important keywords into one of the several search engines will be directed to sites that are directly of interest. A judicious use of keywords on your part will help improve the chances that you will appear in those listings.

Along with keywords that are in the text of your web content, you also want to register your web site with each of the various search engines. As part of that registration, you can include all sorts of keywords that will add your site to a search command. You can use terms that have a direct relationship to the content and purpose of your site, as well as keywords that have some indirect relationship to your content. For example, if your web site has to do with pet supplies, a direct keyword would be “pet.” An indirect keyword might be something like house, bed, or snacks. Registration on all the search engines does not cost anything, if you choose to take the time to do the work yourself. However, there are services that will create a profile for you and register your web site on a huge number of sites on your behalf. Many of these services do an excellent job, but be prepared to pay for what you get. Most of these registration services offer different size packages, with each package including a select number of search engines. While some of the packages will include the more popular search engines, it is always a good idea to verify which of the engines are included. This will help you to determine if the price tag is worth it.

If you choose to go with a registration service for the search engine optimization, make sure you provide them with an exhaustive list of keywords. Once the task is done, you cannot go back and update the list at will. Don’t rush into this project. Instead, take a few days and add more keywords to the list as you think of them. After several days, you will probably have a list of keywords that is broad enough to make a real impact. One other benefit of using a registration service is that some of them will guarantee that your site will make it to the top of the search engine results. Be prepared to pay extra for this option.

However, it may be worth the extra cost if there is a lot of competition in your line of work. You can gauge the effectiveness of the venture by the number of hits you receive, plus the resulting value of the sales you make. Of course, you can also handle the registration site on your own. This will involve going to each search engine individually and setting up the search engine criteria. A good rule of thumb is to come up with your list of keywords and key phrases before you jump into the task. Have the list in an electronic format, so you can cut and paste them into the registration form. This will save you a lot of time with the data entry, and allow you to move much more quickly in completing each registration. Another tip is to begin with the well known search engines first. Generally, it takes somewhere between twenty-four to forty-eight hours to deploy information about a web site into the search engine files.

By taking care of major search engines first, such as Yahoo, Google, AOL, and MSN, you will have an Internet presence very quickly. Once these are taken care of, you can move on to some of the smaller search engines. Don’t dismiss the smaller search engines as part of your search engine project. While the major engines will cover just about all the Internet, you never know when one of the minor engines will yield some results. Since it costs nothing to register with the engine-all which is required is a bit of your time. And after all, one sale is more than a make up for your investment. Most search engines provide information about registration that will provide you with some tips on how to create the registration profile. In some cases, the process is very quick, provided you have all the details and keywords handy. Try one or two of the search engines first, just to get a feel for how much time and effort is involved. Then, you will be able to decide if registration is something that you want to do on your own, or farm out to a service.

Section Three: Blogging

Chances are you have seen at least one blog. Blogging is an ideal way to get your thoughts broadcast into cyber space. A blog can be about anything you choose. In fact, your blog could even be all about your business. Structuring your blog is a matter of personal preference. It is possible to organize your own private soapbox in any manner that you like. This means you can make your blog into a site where you write articles that have to do with subjects connected to your business. You may toss in something that is involved with more general topics as well, such as business ethics, customer service techniques, and anything else that you think may drive the right people to your web site. You can even use the main section of the blog to publish articles that spotlight features of various products and services that are sold on your web site. The possibilities for your article section are only limited by your imagination.

Along with the main article section, you can also use the blog to allow customers to ask questions or make comments on either the articles or your product line. These types of features can help to bring people back to visit your blog regularly, since a question and answer or comments section is fairly likely to include something new to read every few days, if not every day. In fact, you may get some great ideas for new articles from these sorts of activity, which will also go a long way in keeping your blog fresh. Plus, if you base articles on reader response, that is one more reason for people to come back and see what you have done lately.

Of course, you want to be sure to include links over to your web site that is easy to find. They may be imbedded in your articles or featured in handy sidebar on the main page of your blog. Making sure that your readers always have easy access to your business site is an ideal way to tempt folks to click over and make a purchase. Don’t underestimate the impact of colors and images when it comes to your blog. Making your own little corner of the Internet visually appealing will only make visitors want to return from time to time. However, be careful of using too much animation or large images that slow down the loading of the pages. This is especially important if your target audience is likely to be among the millions of people who still rely on dial up connections for Internet access. The longer it takes your pages to load, the less chance that someone will wait around to see what is going on at your blog. Quick loading means people will start reading sooner, and will be more likely to find something that catches their interest. There are a number of resources online for setting up your own blog. In some cases, you may be able to become an expert on a how to site.

This is an excellent opportunity, since some of these sites will pay a monthly stipend based on the amount of traffic you generate. In exchange, you agree to keep the content of the site fresh and informative. This usually will require no more than a few hours per week, and the opportunity for generated revenue will be worth the time and effort. If you are not in a position to piggyback on an information site, check with the service provider who provides you with bandwidth for your web site. Chances are they can also provide you with space and resources to create your own stand along blog. While this approach does not allow you to generate revenue from the space provider, it does allow you the opportunity to promote your own business, and also sign up with an adword service to allow ads that have some relevance to your blog to place ads there.

You will at least make a little money off the ads, and still have the ability to redirect people to your own site. Before you jump into setting up your blog, take some time and check out several blogs that are already online. Make note of the page layouts, the arrangement of the content, the types of graphics and images, and the space that is set aside for ads. This will give you some ideas on what you can do with your space that will result in driving traffic to your business, as well as making a few pennies by hosting ads for related web sites.

Section Four: Getting the Most from Banner Ads

Employing a banner ad strategy may also be one of the elements you want to incorporate into your overall publicity campaign. Banner ads are an approach that will cost a fair amount of money, but if they are placed in the right spots around the Internet, they can provide a huge return on the investment. Here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to putting together a successful banner ad. One of the first things to remember is that a banner ad is meant to accomplish one central function. The banner ad is to grab the attention of the reader long enough to entice the individual to click on the ad to learn more about what you have to offer. As such, you need to be very careful about how you put together the ad. A very common mistake that people make with banner ads is to try to cram too much information into a very small space. Keep in mind that the ad is not supposed to provide a lot of fine reading. Nor do you necessarily want to make it a point to include your company name or logo in the ad.

What you do want to do is use a short and sweet slogan that acts as the ideal teaser. Keep the amount of words as few as you possibly can. Don’t think that you need to make use of full sentences. You are selling an idea at this point. Using the right words to convey that idea is far more important than correct grammar. If you find that two words will create a slogan or catch phrase that carries a lot of power, then go for it. While a company name or a logo can be helpful, chances are you will do much better without cluttering up the banner ad with that information. Logos on the ads are only helpful when the company name and image are well known to the public, and popular to boot.

While all of us hear that good business means getting the company name out there, the fact is that the Internet has altered that philosophy somewhat. Keep in mind that keeping the look of the ad simple and effective will create the opportunity for people to visit your site and look around. Your company name and logo will be on every page of your site, so the customer will certainly get familiar with your name in no time. Thinking about the fonts and colors that you use with your ad is also important. This can be somewhat tricky, as you want the banner ad to stand out as it pops up on the screen. The ad should be different enough from the web pages that signal the banner ad to show up, but you also want it to make a point very quickly. People tend to give a banner ad very little time to make an impression. That means the colors and the fonts can play a big role in providing those critical extra seconds to establish an interest. Bright colors for the background with a contrasting color for the fonts will often make a good impression, and entice the visitor to click through to your web site.

Don’t be afraid of getting too bold with the choice of colors, but do be aware of the type of image you want to cultivate. For example, if you sell natural health products, you may want to make good use of greens in your banner ad. They will help set the tone for your web site. On the other hand, if you are offering high tech products, electric blues and reds may prove to be fun and winning combination. Finding the right locations for your banner ads is also important. There is one school of thought that dictates that you worry less about the type of web site and focus more on the amount of traffic that the site generates. Of course, this does not mean that you want your ad associated with content that is completely inappropriate for your products and services. For example, if you sell faith-based products, you would probably not want your banner ad to show up on an adult dating site. Still, you would want to define a broad range of sites that would be right for your ad, check into the average daily and monthly traffic that is generated by the site, and then make some decisions about placing your ad. Keep in mind that depending on how you go about arranging for the creation and placement of banner ads, the cost may be minimal or it may be significant. Weigh this information against your budget and determine just how much of your advertising funds can be allocated to the use of banner ads, without hurting the other components in your program. If you find that banner ads really work well for you, there is always the chance to expand your use of these ads once there is a larger revenue stream to work with.

Section Five: Offline Traffic Generation

Even if your business is Internet based and has no physical store or office, you can still make excellent use of offline advertising to promote your business. Some of these methods will be free of charge, while others will cost very little in the way of financial resources. Here are just a few of the ways you can create new customer opportunities with the use offline advertising. One of the easiest ways to kick off your offline traffic program is with the use of a flier. With the quality software that is on the market these days, you can easily design fliers that help to advertise your business. The real question will be where to place the fliers, so they are not an irritant and can be placed legally. For this, you will need input from the local authorities. Contact your city or town government and find out what the local laws and regulations are when it comes to passing out fliers for a business. In many cases you will find that there is some restriction when it comes to municipal parking lots. It may be possible to obtain a permit that will allow you to place fliers at a specific event that the city is sponsoring. Also, the city will often know which shopping centers around town allow fliers to be placed on cars in their parking lots, Along with the local government, check with the local chamber of commerce.

You may find that they will have events coming up where you will be free to pass out fliers to persons entering or leaving the event. You may find the chamber especially receptive to this idea if you sponsor or co-sponsor an event, which is another way of saying you agree to pay for part of the cost of putting on the event. While you may not want to do a lot of this sort of thing, it may very well help you to try it out once or twice. Another place to think about fliers is at local retail stores, such as supermarkets. Many grocers now provide community bulletin boards that allow fliers to be posted for a specified period. This is also true with some restaurants. While the placing will not be permanent, at least the information will be in front of people for an extended period of time. Along with the flier, you will also get a lot of mileage with a business card. Of all the forms of advertising, a business card is one of the easiest ways to cultivate sales opportunities. Any conversation is a chance to leave a card with your web address in the hands of a potential client. You can place a business card in a fish bowl at the local eateries, post them on bulletin boards, and give some to friends to pass on to interested parties.

You may also try some unorthodox methods, such as “accidentally” leaving one or two of your cards at the table or booth when you go out to eat, or even leaving a couple on the sink in a public restroom. Believe it or not, this can actually lead to some sales. Contrary to popular opinion, business cards do not have to be unusual in order to be effective. A plain card that sports simple fonts may be just what you need in some businesses. Have some fun with the color scheme on the card, but make sure the information is easy to read. More important, make sure the card works well with card scanning equipment. Many people who are interested in your products will run the card through a card scanner as a quick way to put your information in their address book. If the card has fancy fonts the scanner software does not recognize, or the text fades into the background, the scan may fail and your chances of being added diminish. At the same time, there is no rule that says you can’t have some fun with your business card. Try making it a little thicker, so the card stands out in a pile. Consider putting text on both sides of the card for some added interest. Also, you could try a circular card rather than a rectangular card. Just make sure the circle will run through a card scanner without jamming it.

Just as you can leave a flier or a business card in your wake, there is also the matter of leaving behind a brochure. Home printing software allows you to create some excellent trifold brochures that are ideal for use around town. They also are great for use at business shows, conventions, and trade shows. As an added bonus, a trifold brochure fits nicely into a standard business envelope, which makes the piece ideal for use in direct mail campaigns. If you design your own brochures and save the templates, it is very easy to customize the brochure for special occasions or for a particular campaign. Keep in mind you will need to get paper that is the proper weight for a brochure, if you really want to create a slick and professional look. Along with brochures, think about the use of post cards as a means of promoting your business. This excellent direct mail option works very well, since research indicates people are more likely to take a moment to check both sides of a post card before discarding.

That is one side more than most people check when it comes to envelopes. This second chance may be just what you need to create interest and get the recipient to check out your web site. Post cards can be created at home using software, or you can use an online printer for the job. Doing the cards yourself is very cost effective, but a postcard that makes good use of the stock formats and images of an online printing service may not be as expensive as you may think. In fact, you may find that the savings on time and supplies may be enough to make the use of the service well worth the effort. Just make sure the spelling, punctuation, and layout of the post card is exactly what you want before signing off on the print job. Classified ads in magazines, newsletters, and the local newspaper may be worth looking into. Normally contracted on a fixed rate per word or characters, take a long hard look at the circulation figures for the publication. Also, keep in mind the sector of the public that reads the paper or magazine.

For example, if you sell vegetarian foods, there is not much point in placing your ad with a publication that caters to people who love to eat meat. On the other hand, a newspaper may be ideal if your products or services are attractive to a wide variety of people. With any type of offline advertising, make sure that you understand what opportunities are right for your business, and learn all you can about that medium before committing to any sort of advertising arrangement. This will help to ensure that you get an equitable return on your investment.

Section Six: Posting on Forums

Posting on various forums around the Internet has become a quick way to get the word out about your web site. There are a number of sites that are set up to allow businesses to create a short post about what they offer. In most cases, there is no charge for the posting, which certainly makes the price right. Of course, there are a few things to keep in mind before posting your ad on a forum. First, get to know the forum. This means reading some of the other ads, picking up some tips about what is and is not allowed on the forum, and what types of responses you see posted to the business postings. If there seems to be a lot of spam postings on the site, then look elsewhere. You do not want to be associated with that sort of thing. Also, if there appears to be some sort of regulations that you do not feel comfortable with, move on. There are so many business forums out there that allow advertising posts that you do not have to put yourself in a bad position.

Another thing to do in anticipation of posting an ad on forum is to create a standard ad and then cut and paste it into the forum template. This will save you a lot of time, as you do not have to reinvent the wheel each time you create a new advertisement. Keep in mind that is the forum allows replies, you will have the chance to post responses to the replies, and those do need to specifically address the questions or comments of the replies.

Conclusion

Generating traffic that will result in sales for your business is an important part of your success. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to create some buzz and excitement about what you have to offer. Combining online with offline advertising strategies can help you broaden the reach of your campaign so that everyone has the chance to learn who you are, what you do, and how to make the best use of the services or products you offer. Look into all your options with advertising, and pursue those that seem to be the best fit for your business model.

Section One: Do you have what it takes to create Your Own Product?

One profitable way of succeeding as an Internet marketer is to create your own basic information products and then couple them with existing goods or services that help to enhance the reputation and effectiveness of your own brain child. This, of course, means that you will need to create your own basic product that will serve as the foundation for your efforts.

This is not something that just anyone can do, and do well. In order to create your own products, there are several characteristics that will prove to be absolutely essential, if you really want to make an impact on a public that by and large are already jaded by all the products and services that are found online today.

One of the first things you have to ask yourself is just how creative are you? People may exhibit creativity in a number of different ways. For some people, creativity comes about by taking elements that are already in hand and finding new and exciting ways to employ those elements.

For example, a growing trend in decorating these days is the redesign. Rather than scrapping existing furnishings, interior re-designers come into the space and reorganize the items that are already owned by the occupants.

Persons with the ability to look at existing elements and see new and exciting ways to make use of those same elements definitely have what it takes to create a product that may contain a lot of the usual stuff, but is put together in a way that brings a whole new dimension to the concept.

Other people are much better at starting with nothing and creating something brand new. This ground up approach is usually the province of people who love the blank canvass, seeing it as a space that can be molded and shifted in any way they choose.

There are no boundaries, no preconceived expectations, and nothing to prevent making anything that they want. People who have exhibited the ability to take nothing and turn it into something certainly have what it takes to create a successful online product.

Then, there are people who express creativity by taking something that are tried and true and giving it a fresh and new looks. People with this type of ability often see all the good points of a product or service that has a proven track record.

Still, they feel it can be enhanced or improved in a number of small ways that will not only help to retain the interest of long term users, but also attract others who may have overlooked the product in the past, because it was such a common thing.

People with the ability to take a good thing and make it a little better, a little more user friendly, a little easier to understand, definitely have what it takes to come up with a product or service that can be effectively marketed online.

So where does your creativity level exhibit itself to best advantage? Let that direction lead you into the next step of the process, which is learning how to create products that will be marketable online.

Section Two: How to Create Your Own Information Products and Sell Them

One of the first tasks you will face when it comes to creating informational products for sale on the Internet is deciding what the subject matter for the product will involve. There are actually several ways that you can come up with ideas that will allow you to form the basis for your product.

As is true with any type of informational writing, it is a good idea to start with that you know. The basis for your informational product may be the result of just about any type of experience that has been part of your life.

For example, you may find that some of the formal educational experiences of years past have given you some particular insights that can form the basis for an informational product. Work experience is another fertile field for coming up with numerous topics and approaches for constructing products that convey a great deal of information.

Religious backgrounds are another example of mining past experiences that may help to produce marketable information products that will have an appeal to one or more niche markets. In like manner, hobbies can also yield a wealth of ideas for information products that would attract the interest of a credible section of consumers.

Along with mining your own past experiences, there is also the need to determine the direction of your pitch in the informational products. Do you want to adopt an approach that helps to inform people of how to perform a task associated with a specific subject? Perhaps your emphasis is not going to be so much on how to do something, but what not to do.

With this approach, your direction is more along the lines of presenting information that will help people avoid pitfalls associated with particular actions or tasks. The idea is to create a credible and thought provoking information product that prevents people from wasting time and resources by pursuing ideas or procedures that have proven all too often to be nothing more than dead ends.

Cautionary information products are certainly a viable option, since they often attract the attention of people who do not want to be slowed down on the road to success.

If for some reason you do not want to mine your own past life experience, there are still other ways to come up with ideas that are likely to be ideal for creating information products to market and sell.

One method is to take a long hard look at the people around you. What types of interests do they have? Are there life experiences of theirs that you can learn from and thus utilize to create a product that would be attractive to a wider public? Spending some time with family and friends and just allowing them to talk about whatever comes to mind may yield some interesting topics that you can explore as subject matter for your information product or products.

Regional or national issues may also be a source of ideas. Events that seem to have a significant impact on the ideas and attitudes of a large group of people can often provide the seed of an idea for an information product.

For example, persons who work in industries that are going through a period of downsizing may be very interested in an informational product that has to do with making lateral moves into new industries, as well as products that have to do with starting a whole new career.

Natural disasters may be the impetus behind the creation of informational products that speak to the development of skills and practices that help to keep people going when waters rise, the power is off, and weather conditions are not comfortable. Looking around you and connecting with what is going on in the world right now can often lead to several intriguing ideas for information products.

Once you have your basic idea for your information product, start putting it together. If your mind is a jumble of ideas and thoughts, sort them out by making a simple outline. This will provide a basis for how you want to present the information and will help you organize the data in a flow that is logical and easy to grasp. The outline will also help you to not forget a point of interest that strikes you as being particularly relevant to the subject matter.

As helpful as the outline will be to the process of drafting the content of your information product, don’t feel as if you are a slave to the outline. As you progress with the work, you will no doubt encounter other ideas or thoughts that you want to include. Feel free to see the outline as a work in progress, and add, revise, and delete as you see fit.

One of the truly great attributes of the computer age is the fact that a word processing program is a lot easier to use than a typewriter. It is very easy to go back and insert additional text when a burst of inspiration strikes.

No doubt, as you go along, there will be details that come to you that may be relevant to a section of the product that you have already completed. Simply go back and find a way to insert the new thought in the right place, so the integrity of the product is maintained.

Along with finding the inspiration for your information products, there is also the need to find ways to market and sell the products. One thing to understand is that there is no one mode of advertising that is going to be the only solid avenue to generating sales. One of the quickest ways to kill the chances for making money with a product is to assume that engaging in one mode of advertising will take care of everything. Before you ever begin the first stages of working on your information product, make up your mind to be open to multiple options for marketing your work.

This will often include establishing your own web site, which will provide a connection to your product. You may also look for ways to establish ads on other web sites, providing links back to advertising copy and ordering instructions for your product.

Don’t forget to look into print media options as well. You may be planning on going after a big audience via the Internet, but the fact is that many people still look for information in magazines, newspapers, and community publications. You may be surprised how much attention you can get from a simple well-placed ad in a well regarded print publication that caters to your target audience.

Section Three: Where and How to Find Physical Products to Sell Online

If you are interested in pairing your informational product with one or more physical products, chances are you will need to find products that can be easily ordered over the Internet, and also have a clear and concise connection to your information product. For example, if your information product has to do with conducting business meetings, you would want to partner with vendors who provided services that had something to do with the meeting process.

For example, you may want to consider becoming an independent agent for an audio conference call bureau. Along with marketing your own informational product, you could also pick up teleconferencing clients who visit your site, like your product and find they would like to try holding meetings via an audio conference. Many conference call bureaus offer agents a customized URL that will take prospects to a sign up page that is associated with the agent. Thus, the client gets to set up their own account with the conference bureau, but you as the agent get credit for the sale and any resulting commissions from their activity.

At the same time, you may also find that an alliance with a vendor who supplies conference room tables and supplies might be a good fit. Once again, creating a branded link from your advertising web site over to the vendor’s online store will help generate traffic for them, and you will get credit for the sale.

Another potential vendor alliance would be with companies that produce conference room audio equipment. Many of these vendors also make good use of vendors and can easily create customized links that can be dropped on your web site.

People read your information, order it, and then notice that they can also be redirected to a site to look at speakerphones for a conference room. You may money with the sale of your information product, and also realize a return off the sale of a speakerphone via the branded link.

Finding all these wonderful vendors who want to set up a marketing strategy with you will take some careful investigation. First, you need to be able to establish the legitimacy of the vendor. What type of track record does the vendor have with processing orders in a timely manner? Does the vendor sell quality products? What can you find out about delivery methods? How does the vendor provide quality customer support to people who purchase products from them?

Keep in mind that your reputation and your credibility will be tied back to that of any link that is found on your web site and associated in some manner with your information product. Shoddy products, poor customer service, and limited shipping options will all reflect not only on the vendor, but also on you. For this reason, you want to find out everything you can about the vendor before you ever begin to promote any type of relationship between you and the supplier.

Of course, there are also a number of private branding opportunities to be found on the Internet as well. You may find that you want to gear your information products toward a particular sector of the retail consumer market, such as in the case of health foods or herbal supplements. Along with your written products, you may want to offer the convenience of a privately branded online health food store.

There are actually several vendors who offer this type of arrangement. With most of them, you are able to take a generic store front that is already stocked with products, use the owner control features that are granted to you as part of the total package, and set your own retail rates for the items included in the store. Orders placed online are routed to a central fulfillment house, which handles the preparation and shipment of the order, as well as processing the payment.

In return for marketing the online store through your web site and other means, you get the difference between the retail price you set for the item and the wholesale price that is charged by your vendor. Generally, companies who offer this type of private branded online store also provide the reseller with online access, so it is easy to monitor the number of orders and get an idea of what items are selling well.

One of the easiest ways to begin your search for these types of opportunities is to conduct a keyword search using phrases such as “online store,” “agent,” “reseller,” and a keyword that is closely associated with the subject matter of your information product. This can help you find opportunities that will be worth investigating.

As part of the process of your evaluation, make sure to look for online consumer reports about the parent company that handles the order fulfillment and stocks the shelves of your online store. Just as with agent opportunities, you need to be concerned about how the standard operating practices of your retail vendor partner will reflect on you and your efforts to build a viable business.

Look for companies that appear to have a high level of customer satisfaction, are not the frequent subjects of complaints, and appear to provide features that will allow you to easily develop a marketing campaign to promote the store.

It is important that you take your time in researching these opportunities. Don’t be lured in by gimmicks that offer you some extra incentive if you sign up today. In the long run, that can be costly to both your reputation and your finances. Instead, do your homework and create a list of potential vendor partners whose products you can represent and offer with full confidence.

Then, do some market testing. Begin with a simple effort, such as having friends or family check over the product offerings and get their opinions about the pricing, sizes, and range of products that are offered. What you are looking for is not only positive feedback, but also constructive criticism. Chances are that if your friends spot some liabilities associated with the product offerings, others will feel the same way.

This may be enough to convince you to look for other opportunities. However, if you feel strongly about the chances of succeeding with that vendor product line, you at least will have the chance to address those concerns in any information products you create that speak directly or indirectly to the product line.

Before launching an official and public relationship, you may also want to place a few orders yourself and see how things go. This will help you get familiar with the ordering process, so that in the event you are contacted by someone who is interested in how to place an order, you can respond based on your experience.

Second, this will allow you to inspect a few of the products first hand, and thus be assured of the general quality of the goods that are sold. Last, you will have the opportunity to test drive the vendor partner online tools, make sure you understand how they work, and can interact with their customer support team on any questions you have.

If you find that the responses you get are either both canned and ineffectual, or that there seems to be an unacceptable lag in how long it takes to get a response to any of your queries, this is a sure sign that you need to sever the relationship and look elsewhere. You can rest assured that if the vendor takes a casual approach to communicating with a partner, there is not much chance of them being in a big hurry to interact with anyone who purchased goods from the online store.

The main rule of thumb about locating potential vendor partners for online sales to support your information product is to keep your focus. Make sure that whatever arrangements you make with a vendor; their offerings have a clear and supportive connection to your product.

Also, make sure you select a vendor partner that knows how to deliver both the goods and high quality customer care. If you manage to find all these qualities, then there is an excellent chance of consistent and continual success for both you and your partner.

Section Four: Defining the Essential Steps in the Product Creation Process

Getting back to your own product, it is a cinch that you will need to follow some important guidelines in order to come up with a product that will be enticing, informative, and affordable to your target audience. Here are some tips to help you get into the swing of developing the idea for such a product, actually following through with the creation of the product, and getting everything in order so you can effectively market the product.

It is important to always start at the beginning. When it comes to product development, there is really no other place to get your start. Assuming that you have performed due diligence and settled on the subject matter for your product, it is time to get into the design aspect of the product.

For the purposes of this section, we will focus on the creation of a line of informational E-books that will anchor a web site that also includes access to an online store that sells products related to the subject matter of the electronic books.

The thing to remember about informational E-books is that they have one main purpose or function. That function is to educate and promote further investigation into a specific subject. For example, if you plan on combining electronic books with an online herbal supplement business, then you will want to make sure the subject matter of the E-books is accurate, timely, and relevant to the products that are sold in the store. This will mean doing a great deal of research before you begin to write the first word.

You will want to explore the origins of the use of herbs in various schools of medicine and healing. Find what you can about the effectiveness of herbal remedies at various times and places. Locate research into the claims made for various herbs regarding the treatment of bodily ailments, and provide solid information about your source documents. In short, before you can hope to educate anyone else, you will need to spend some time educating yourself.

Once you have amassed sufficient knowledge and documentation to write effectively on the subject matter, you will need to begin the process of organizing your data. Hopefully, your research will have provided you with plenty of information that can serve as the basis for several E-books. Carefully divide your information into sub-categories, and organize the information in any format that will make it easy for you to retrieve the data. This may mean resorting to traditional methods, such as the use of index cards. You may be able to create a series of electronic files and save them to your hard drive or on a CDR. The form of the organizational method is not as important as making sure that however you choose to organize the data, it will make it easy for you to locate what you need when you need it. It does not matter if you use a system that makes no sense to anyone else. The system only has to work for you.

Next, use the collected data as the inspiration for an outline of your E-book. Not only will this help to lay the groundwork for your table of contents, but the task will also create a resource that will help prevent you from wandering too far off the main topic. The purpose of an outline it to help create a logical and cohesive flow to the information that is being presented in the document.

Just as with any type of book, you want the thought processes presented in the material to follow a sensible chain of presentation, with each section or chapter logically leading into the following section. Thinking through this process in advance, rather than arbitrarily creating a collection of disjointed sections, will mean a lot less editing on the back end.

At the same time, it is important to not be so married to your first draft of the outline that you fail to include vital information or don’t provide enough attention to any one point within the document. Keep in mind that the outline is a guide, not a sacred document that once handed down — it can never be changed. Treat it with respect, but do not revere the outline to the point that you refuse to change it in any way. Feel free to revise, improve, rework, and in general adapt the outline as you move forward with the project.

One other thing you need to understand about the writing process as it relates to the production of an effective E-book. At some point, the text will begin to take on a life all its own. Do not be surprised if you find that the flow of the book demands that you state information in ways that would not normally occur to you. In fact, you may find that some of the themes of the E-book are so important to the integrity of the contents that you find yourself repeating those themes in several chapters. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that approach, as long as there is a valid reason for doing so.

To keep the content fresh, make sure that even if you are presenting a point for the third time, keep the verbiage you use different from the other instances. This will help the flow of the document in two ways.

First, it helps to reinforce key concepts when you present them in slightly different settings throughout the work. Second, it provides the reader with the chance to evaluate the theme or concept in a different light each time that you bring up the point. If the first attempt to educate with the theme did not quite click with the reader, there is every chance that by the third attempt, a connection will have taken place.

When creating the text for the E-book it is important to apply a certain amount of self-discipline. The fact is that you may not feel much like writing on a given day. However one of the secrets of writing is that you engage in the task even if you are not in the mood.

All the fairy tales about muses who come to sit on your should and provide you with pearls of wisdom that appear as if by magic are just that – fairy tales. Writing is work, and often happens to be hard work.

If you are having a little trouble getting started, stop thinking about the five thousand words you planned on writing today. Instead, focus on creating one good paragraph. Once that is done, it will be a little easier to convince yourself to write just one more. In a short time, you will find that the entire page is filled and you just got some great ideas on how to expand on the subject matter on hand.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that creativity comes and goes. It is always present. But sometimes it is necessary to drag creativity to the surface, kick and screaming. Don’t be afraid to do just that.

Once you have the first draft of the content for your E-book, set it aside for a day or two. This will allow you to refresh your mind and be able to go back and edit the draft with eyes that are fresh and capable of being balanced in the way you read the document. There is an excellent chance that you will find sections you want to rework slightly, or perhaps change a word here or there to make the section a little more cohesive or clear in its meaning.

By all means feel free to do so. Just as the outline was not to be considered above reproach and change, your manuscript, though a work of art, is also subject to revision and improvement. Make one round of edits and put the manuscript away for another day or two. Then try a second round of edits. You may find very little to correct the second time, which is a sound clue that you are just about ready to begin the formatting process.

After the text for your E-book has gone through editing, the time has come to begin formatting the material from a manuscript into a workable E-book format. Fortunately, there are plenty of excellent software packages that can take a basic word processing document and easily format it for use in an electronic book format. Most will allow you to set the page sizes, arrange major headings, create a Table of Contents, and then import the text of the manuscript into the program.

You can also use the tools included with the software to create a cover, just as if you were publishing a hard copy of the work. In fact, that is the look and feel you want to set as your goal. The only difference between your electronic book and a “real” book should be that one is a collection of images on a screen, and the other is a tangible paper document.

Don’t hesitate to experiment with different formats for your E-book. There is nothing that says you have to pick the first format and stick with it. If you find have images that are original and belong to you will enhance the text, then include them. Should flow charts or diagrams that you have created be helpful in illustrating points, then by all means work them into the body of the E-book.

Keep in mind that at the end of the process, you want to have a product that is high quality, and everything that you wanted it to be. If you are not proud of what you have created, it will make it much harder to interest anyone else in purchasing your product.

Before you actually place the E-book for sale online, you may want to provide one or two trusted individuals with an electronic copy, and get their feedback. You are looking for not only comments about the text. You also want to get their impressions about the organization of the material, the effectiveness of any images or charts you chose to include in the information, and the general look of the E-book.

This type of feedback may be very helpful in getting some idea of the reaction you can expect from your target audience. Little things, such as noting that the cover or images take too long to load on a dial-up connection may be important, if you plan on marketing the E-book to an audience that is more likely to still be using that technology.

This will give you one last chance to make some changes in format that will make the E-book more user friendly, and increase the chances that people who actually buy the book will recommend it to their friends and acquaintances.

Conclusion

Developing your own information product can be an exciting challenge. There is a lot of ground to cover before you ever begin the actual process of creating the product.

During those early stages, it may seem as if there is simply too much to do. Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed with the details and don’t set up some sort of deadline for completion that is not reasonable.

If you are creating the product in your spare time, realize that chances are you will need to devote the equivalent of several days or a week to the effort at the very least. Unless you are working with information that you have a strong relationship with, you will not be able to research and write content for an informational product over the weekend. This means you will need to focus on turning out quality work, and realize that it will take as long as it takes.

At the same time, do not use the process as a reason to put off until tomorrow what you can do today. While you may reach a point where you feel frustrated or intimidated, don’t let a day go by that some sort of progress is not made with the project. Even if it means only doing a little work, get that much done. You may be surprised how easy it makes the task of picking up and continuing on easier to face.

Above all, be realistic and don’t expect to create a finished product in one simple round. Edits are your friend, and will only serve to make the informational product all the more useful. By exercising patience, an ample amount of discipline, and being open to correction and improvement, you will soon have an information product that you can market with full confidence.

Using Private Label Rights products is a great way to get a head start on the software creation. You can rebrand, rewrite, re-edit, redo graphics and  rename the products as your own. The following link is not illegal just a good catchy title.