The Secrets Of Internet And Online Marketing

There are a plethora of things you can do online and of all the things you can do online, there is one that you should definitely know how to do. MARKET YOUR OWN BUSINESS ONLINE!

Now with the incredible power of the Online World to reach millions of people, online marketing is definitely an amazing tool that every business should utilize. The simple fact that advertising is can be very low cost and sometimes even practically free. The ability to get the results of thousands of dollars in free publicity is practically unheard of in the business world today. Only recently have more and more people figured out how to utilize the ever exploding online world to market their business ventures.

There is probably isn't a business in existence that wouldn't benefit from free publicity! The fact that properly utilizing free and low cost advertising raises net profits to unbelievable levels! Using any or all of the major online services can help you market your business efforts.

Let's begin with plain advertising. For example, on AOL, they will let you place classified advertisements for free! They have a variety of classifications and categories to choose from. By placing some of these free ads you can generate some very quality leads that can turn into sales. If you are an excellent marketer you could sell something straight from your free ad.

There are other services that offer free advertising from time to time. When they do charge for classified ads it is usually a very low cost, and they are still a great deal considering how many people may see them. When you place any ads you should always "track" your ads. This means put something in each individual ad that will tell you, if you get any business from it, which ad it came from. This way, you will probably find that some sections are better producers than others, and you will want to concentrate on these sections and not the ones that weren't making any money.

To track an ad you could make them request a certain "report" for more information. You should give each report different tracking links for each ad. Such as: "ask for report #1tv" , this way you would know that this request came from the ad on television, for sale category, and so forth. If they send you an order straight from the ad, make them give you an order #, which would be different for each ad. THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ADVERTISING ONLINE ARE NOT USING THESE AD CODES!!! THIS IS A MAJOR MARKETING MISTAKE!!!

If you do not track exactly which ads are making money, then you are wasting your time by continually placing ads in "loser" categories that don't provide any sales. ALWAYS keep track of every ad you place. Make a note of what it said, where and when it was placed. You will be pleasantly surprised when you analyze your "ad data" and see some positive trends developing. Just repeat these trends and it will help you to make more money!

Wouldn't you like to have a name list of several hundred (or even thousand) people who might be interested in the particular product or service you are selling based on their jobs or interests? Wouldn't that be great!? Well, you can! And the Online Services supply this service as a part of your regular membership.

This little unknown tool is called the "Member Directory!" You can do searches in the directory for other users with certain characteristics. For example, if you were selling fishing equipment, you could do a search by "fishing." All of the people that were registered in the directory and had listed fishing as one of their hobbies would show up on that search list. You could now send each one of those people an e-mail message telling them about your product or service, it's just like using a mailing list, but you have no postage! (*Make sure you check with your online service to see if they allow unsolicited email.)

The bottom line is that you "test" and record the results of your Online Marketing efforts. Then just repeat the steps that are making you money and expand on them to reach more people. You should conduct split-testing on your site. A method were you have two different pages, performing the same function but with different copy so you can tell which one is converting better.

You will also find hundreds of articles on the World Wide Web. By searching one of the WWW search engines like Webcrawler you can find all the information you can read. Use search strings such as: "online marketing", "internet advertising", "selling online", and so on.

You can also find many books on the subject at your local bookstore or being advertised online.

The Ultimate Internet Marketing Strategy Every One Should Practice

Every successful online marketer says this is the bar-none, top-of-the-list, number one way to guaranteed success for any online venture.

What Is it?

Any marketer knows that nothing beats word of mouth advertising. It is simply the most powerful and cost effective advertising ever known. Even before the days of the Internet. Word of mouth advertising got every business where it is today.

Many entrepreneurs never have and never will spend money on advertising. Their entire business comes from people telling other people about their product or service.Could you imagine never spending money on advertising, but always having a steady stream of customers on your door step begging for your product or service.

This word of mout is what we call viral marketing.

However, word of mouth does not come easily.There is one catch to running a business only on word of mouth advertising. You must be selling an outstanding product or service. If you sell crap, the only word of mouth advertising you'll have is negative.

I'm sure you've heard the expression before. A satisfied customer will tell three people about your product or service, an unsatisfied customer will tell ten.

If your customers aren't happy you'll have to work ten times harder and spend more money on advertising to sell your product.

There are two ways you can benefit from positive word of mouth. These are:

1. It's free advertising. This is self explanatory. The less you have to spend on advertising, the more money you can put in your pocket and back into your business.

2. People are endorsing your product or service. Having someone endorse your product puts you at a greater advantage. When someone tells their friend about the positive experience they've had with your product, there is instant trust. People trust their friends. If a friend says your product is it, they'll instantly trust you. Trust is a huge barrier to break down when it come to selling anything, online or off.

The one way I have found to work well with positive word of mouth is list building.List building by refering like ten people from your own effort and then these ten will go on to build your list up to a big size.

To give you an idea of how powerful word of mouth advertising can be in helping you to build your list, take a look below. Your list can grow exponentially without you ever even having to lift a finger again.This is a whole new way to LEVERAGE your efforts into a MEGALIST of monstrous proportions!

Let's say you enroll SEVEN people from your paid advertising or any other form of advertising Seven is still pretty conservative for a completely FREE program... And let's say each of those 7 also told 7 people and enrolled them And each of those also enrolled 7 people and so on

That would look like this:

YOU
1x7 Members =7
7x7 Members =49
49x7 Members =343
343 x7 Members =2,401
2,401x7 Members =16,807

TOTAL: 19,607 Members

That is 19,607 subscribers you get to mail to! And you only referred seven subscribers yourself!

Want to run the example with 10 referrals each? (That'd be a whopping 111,110 subscribers!) Or 20? I

won't even do the math on that one, because frankly, you wouldn't believe the numbers!

You get the idea. More and more people just keep learning about your business all through friends and associates. And it's all free advertising!

Want To Become A Super Affiliate Marketer?

The humdrum existence of going to the office day after day doing the usual 8 to 5 shift is a trying task for those who have lived all their lives doing so. This is why the convenience of doing work at home under amazingly flexible working hours is a dazzling prospect to them. Doing work at home that is as fulfilling as having a career working for a computer on the 19th floor of a skyscraper is already a possibility in these modern times. This is because the jungle-like network that is the Internet has given birth to a business that has given some people practically new lives doing nothing but so.

This particular business allows people to work at home under flexible working hours. There is no boss to scream around putting pressure on everyone about the deadline at hand. There is no clutter of messy paperwork that needs to be completed the soonest possible time. Conveniences such as these are experienced by those who are into affiliate marketing, the newest way to earn money without having to go through all sorts of routine found in regular employment.

Those who have been in the business long enough can attest to the fact that it is a lucrative business indeed, one that can actually give people things that they could not possibly possess or experience under ordinary circumstances.

The business called affiliate marketing involves an affiliate’s promotion of a merchant’s website. Here the website owned by the affiliate is made to advertise and market the website of the merchant through the affiliate program that they run. Whenever someone clicks on the merchant’s website promoted by the one owned by the affiliate, the affiliate is given a commission. This is in recognition of his effort in helping the merchant make a sale.

The system involved in affiliate marketing seems easy, but it also takes a lot of diligence and perseverance for one to be able to penetrate it thoroughly. Those who want to get into this type of business should possess the necessary skills to be able tread through the industry with confidence and self-assurance. Still, other factors are needed by one to be able to really break in. Knowledge about the business at hand is very important as it dictates the actions that are to be done by people who are into it.

The leading figure in affiliate marketing is the super affiliate. He or she is basically an e-mail marketer who collects large databases of e-mail addresses through newsletters. Super affiliates are also those who know the business even better than affiliate managers as a result of their knowledge about the affiliate marketing industry inside out. Those who want to be super affiliates should know that becoming a super affiliate is not easy, because it takes a lot to be able to master the marketing craft.

Becoming a super affiliate means having one’s own website and auto responder. These tools will help a lot in one’s facilitation of the business. Building one’s own list is another. Creating a loyal customer base and taking care of it is one secret that successful super affiliates have. Making good customer relations is also important if one wants to be a super affiliate to reckon with.

Continuing to market to the people on one’s list is another must if one wants to succeed as a super affiliate. Sending out quality content in lieu of ads is an advantage as products are marketed better whenever enough information is given about them.

Building traffic to one’s own site is also one of the most essential points in the affiliate marketing business. Making one’s affiliate links his own business will allow him to build a strong relationship with his customers, enabling him to market to them over and over again.

The most important thing one should remember if he wants to become a super affiliate is to treat affiliate marketing as a business first and foremost. If he is capable of doing this, then he will never have to go back to the humdrum existence of working the 8-5 shift. A career as a super affiliate in the business, which will change his life forever, could possibly take that unexciting job’s place.

How To Market Your Book Sale Fundraiser

Used book sales are quickly becoming one of the most popular ways for nonprofits to raise money for their organization. Friends of the Library groups have been doing this for some time, but now groups such as Planned Parenthood and the American Association of University Women hold regular, successful book sales. Of course, behind every successful book sale is a solid marketing campaign.

Keys to planning the marketing strategy for your book sale:

• Create a webpage specifically for your own sale, preferably host it on your organization’s website.
• Market not just the sale, but also for donations.
• In this case, an inch deep and a mile wide is the best strategy – cover all possible markets, do not rely on one place to market your sale.
• Have a cause! If you a part of the Friends of the Library group, add what the funds will go toward (or have gone toward in the past). If you are another nonprofit, what program will these funds help?

Places to market your book sale:

Book Sale Scout (http://www.booksalescout.com) – Book Sale Scout is the net’s only searchable book sale directory. It’s professional service and appearance matches your professional needs perfectly. Basic sale listings are free and, for bigger sales, our paid advertisement options are the cheapest out there.

Craigslist (http://www.craigslist.org) – Don’t deny the power of Craigslist to promote ANYTHING.

Freecycle (http://www.freecycle.org) – Freecycle is a great program that is run in a ton of local areas through an email mailing list. Basically you can post things to give away or request free things. The moderation is pretty heavy on these lists, for good reason, but I talked with a few moderators who said a WANTED ad for used books would be permitted. This is a good way to drum up some more books for your book sale. I think book sales underutilize this tool.

Submit a press release (http://www.prweb.com) – PRWeb offers free press releases, which would be perfect for book sales. You’re probably not going to drum up any news stories from their free press releases, but it does help get notification of your sale out on the web.

AdWords (http://adwords.google.com) – Promoting a book sale on Google, using their Cost-per-click system, may not be for every sale, but it definitely would be worthwhile for events with gross sales of $10,000 or more. There are only a few book sales currently promoting on AdWords and they are very large. For most sales, including the large ones, it is most wise to limit your campaign to a local area. Also, you’ll want only to run your campaign on keywords that wouldn’t already bring up your sale webpage or notification.

Post at Upcoming (http://www.upcoming.org) - Another free resource for posting and finding events (works best in urban centers).

Post at Eventful (http://www.eventful.com) - Searchable events website who tagline is, "Life is short... make it eventful!"

Post at ZVENTS (http://www.zvents.com) - Upcoming Web 2.0 free events posting site. Still growing, but it is always good to get additional links to your site.

- Post on the Amazon or other bookseller discussion boards – Booksellers love a good book sale and they are going to be the ones who really drop the money at your sale and, perhaps more importantly, clear out much of your stock.

- Free classifieds – There are a variety of local newspapers who offer free classifieds, if space permits. In Washington, DC, the City Paper does so. A great way to promote book sales in print (off the internet)

- Use organization newsletters and boards – This may be a no-brainer, but I definitely remember stumbling upon a book sale at my own public library, without even knowing it. Don’t forget to get the word out their in your organization’s newsletter, bulletin board, website, wherever!

- Hold your sale during a larger event – This way is the best, because you do not need to do anything extra. If you plan your book sale during a town’s garage sale days or community fair, you automatically get indirect advertising for your sale from this event.

- Get creative! Now, the return on time invested begins to dwindle here, but start Googling things like "post an event" and your city. Or "community calendar" and your city.

Marketing Without Selling

I remember back in the mid 90s when I was "in between" jobs, in debt and broke. My "in between" job status at that time for a period of about one year was a car salesman. Now, I know what your thinking. Why? My answer.....hmmmmmmmm. Anyhow, it happened and as it turned out, it became quite a learning experience. What I experienced as a car salesman in my very brief career by choice, was rather disturbing. This is by no means an article on selling cars. This is what salesmanship is and is not.

So I was in the car business, and was virtually taught the wrong way to be a salesman or salesperson. When it comes to shopping for a car, overall it becomes somewhat a rather unpleasant experience for all parties involved. Here is a typical day in the car business: You wake up in the morning to put on the shirt and tie for the day in the middle of July in Florida. Its about one hundred degrees with humidity. You get in the car and drive to work asking yourself, why......why..... because you know there is going to be an unpleasant experience waiting somewhere around the corner.You arrive at work and find yourself getting ready for the morning "meeting abuse" which always ends up that we are terrible salesman and we need to sell cars! Really? We need to sell cars? Ok. So, after the meeting we all leave the room with bruises and bumps and we are ready to practice the art of being a salesman.

For those of you who do not know, when a person arrives on the lot to car shop, he is referred to as an "up" in the car business. Usually, all of the salespeople are lined up outside like vultures waiting for an "up" so we can swoop in and turn on the really lame salesman charm. Now, at this point, you meet the customer. "Hi, my name is Dave" (smile). Then, the customer replies, "Were just looking". Of course they are just looking. Not by the time I get through with you. By the time we get through with you, you might be running out the door and never look back.

So, Im following the "We are just looking" people around the lot because if I don't, I will get yelled at by the powers that be. The potential customers that I am with do not want me near them at all at this point.And with good reason. Car shopping and or buying is the equivalent of going to the dentist. It can be a painful experience.

Now I am asking the nice folks on the lot all types of questions, trying to create trust and learning something about them that will help me sell to them. This is an ok method for the car business, because this is the way it has been taught. Now the problem from the "get go", is that most customers back then were the old school. To them, car buying was rolling up your sleeves and get ready to do battle. That's really not the way I want to make a living, but that's what it was.

So, what do you really have from this? You have uninformed people at all angles. First of all, customers come onto the lot thinking their "trade-in" is worth a fortune. And to there surprise, it's not. They did not do their own research on their "trade-in". Second, they don't know what they want. They want to spend no money on a car they can not afford to begin with. Again, they did not do their research.

Now, another problem. As a salesman, if you are going to make it in the business of selling anything, you have to rise above everyone else and figure out a strategy that is going to attract people to you automatically without being annoying and pushy from the start. I noticed that most of the salesman on the lot were not doing anything but waiting for something to happen, and unfortunately I was one of them. Because I didn't know either.

Now, when I could not close someone, here comes the sales manager thinking he's the be all to end all and that the "hammer them" into the car technique is going to work. You see the philosophy behind most selling in the car business, as an example ,is if they leave here without buying from us, they will never buy from us.Well, maybe your right. But let's not forget. In the world of sales, let the salespeople do their job by giving there potential customers all of the information they need to make a well informed decision. And if they don't buy today, let them remember you and your salesmanship and whatever great strategy you came up with for them to make the buying process easier. Believe me, after they have been everywhere else, they will remember you.The "in your face" approach does not work anymore.

How to Successfully Retain and Grow Your Customers

Okay, so your marketing has paid off - you have new customers. The key to growing your business is to effectively communicate and leverage these new customers into advocates for your products and services and purchasers of additional services.

This can be done in a variety of ways. However, some basics steps must be followed to ensure retention. Here are a few tips you can use to develop long-term relationships with newly acquired customers.

1. Proactively shape impressions about your business. Whether you're sending a welcome message, making the first contact via phone, or sending a letter, be sure to position you company for the long-term. Often times, individuals buy products without knowing a whole lot about the company their buying from.

A popular tactic is sending a welcome kit or an overview letter that introduces your company, your values, and the additional resources you have available for your customers including a support email address, 1-800 number and so on. This lets you control your company's image among newly acquired customers. Otherwise, your customers are free to form their own opinion without any guidance whatsoever.

2. Categorize your customer. Is your customer a high potential? Are they a transactional buyer that will likely never buy from you again unless you offer the lowest price? By segmenting your buyers based on your existing database or known behaviors, you can develop customized communication plans to retain them for years to come. Some communication plan may be focused on up-sell while others may only be focused on retention. The communication plan you implement should be based on the proper categorization of your customer.

3. Show your thanks. Once you've acquired a customer, don't forget to thank them. This may seem trite, but done properly, this goes a long way. Often a hand-written note or personalized email from a company president can do the trick. The real key is to make the customer feel good about the purchase they've made and the company they've chose.

4. Provide consistency among all touch points. Once you've acquired a new customer, you must make sure that you provide a consistent user experience. For example, if the prospect contacts your technical support rep the first day after they've purchased a product and receive an answer to their question, then call the following day only to receive a different answer, they're going to lose faith in your company's ability to provide consistent and reliable support.

You can benefit greatly by developing procedures that can be documented and delivered consistently - meeting customer expectations. This builds trust in your business and can minimize defections. If the consumer knows they can count on you to give them what they need/want, they'll be willing to forgo a better price or promise of a better deal elsewhere.

5. Share customer testimonials on future marketing pieces. Many marketers believe that testimonials are only for prospects. The truth is that testimonials can help retain customers, especially new ones, when they are exposed to positive experiences of individuals just like them. In addition to sharing testimonials, it is always a best practice to ask newly acquired customers (within 30 days of purchase) for their feedback/testimonials.

The benefit of reaching out to your customers is that if a problem exists, you can react to it and if they have something positive to say about your product or business, it can be used to reinforce your brand. (Note: be sure to get permission to publish a customer’s testimonial).

These techniques are very effective for maximizing lifetime customer value. By shaping the image of your company, providing a consistent experience, and sharing testimonials for similar customers, you can develop a positive, lasting impression with your marketplace.

Most importantly, keep it simple. Don't overwhelm your new customers with tons of email, or direct mail. Develop a well thought-out communication plan that has a definite purpose. And most importantly, remember to thank your customers for choosing your company, product or service.

Effective Client Communication

Whether you know it or not, your database of current and past clients is your best source of new clients. “Prospecting” for a new client is time consuming and expensive. If you can find a way to increase your sales without the time commitment and expense of cold calling, mass direct mail, advertising or purchasing leads, would you be willing to implement it? Of course, you would.

Taking the time and effort to keep in contact with past clients will grow your business through new direct sales to the client and generating referrals to qualified prospects.

Often salespeople complain that keeping in touch with past clients takes too much time, effort, and money. Considering the return on investment, this really is not true—at least for most salespeople. The key is finding a way to communicate that is time efficient, relatively inexpensive, and effective.

Studies indicate that in order to keep your name at the top of your customer’s mind, you need to “touch” your customer a minimum of 14 times per year—more if at all possible.

What is a “touch?” A touch is any communication from you to your client—email, telephone call, snail mail, postcard, holiday card, in-person meeting, or any other method of getting in front of your customer. If you are communicating with the client, you are touching them.

What is the most effective way to touch your past clients? Studies have shown that there is not a “best” way to touch the client, but rather, the most effective client communication programs enlist a number of communication formats.

Sending 14 emails, a year is better than nothing, but it is not the best way. Neither would be sending 14 snail mail pieces. Or, making 14 phone calls. Nor, sending 14 postcards during the course of the year. However, constructing a campaign using a combination of these methods could be a very effective program. For instance, setting a marketing calendar to send 4 postcards per year, 6 emails, 2 snail mail letters, one phone call, and one holiday card during the course of the year allows you to touch your client approximately once every 3 ½ weeks during the course of the year.

But, what do you send? What do you say 14 times during the course of the year? The content of your communication is just as important as the fact that you sent something. When you communicate with a past client, the fact that you have something in front of a previous customer is not necessarily a good thing, in and of itself.

Many traditional marketers will disagree. Much traditional thinking says that any time you get your name in front a client it is a good thing. However, is a 3-second trip to the trash for your expensive postcard or letter best the use of your money?

Whether or not your communication campaign is effective will depend on what you are communicating. If you send junk, just to send something, your customer will quickly learn to ignore you and your communications and everything you send will take that 3-secnd trip to the trash. On the other hand, if your communications offer something of interest and value, you will train your client to pay attention to you.

Which would you rather have: a client that ignores you, or one that pays attention to you?

I assume you would rather have a client that pays attention to you. To train your clients to pay attention, and, therefore, to keep you at the top of their mind, you must figure out how to send them communications that give them value. Can you offer a special for them or someone they refer to you? Can you provide them an annual or semi-annual update on their purchase? Can you send or email them articles of interest that relate to their purchase or an interest of theirs? What you send does not have to be large or costly—it just needs to be of interest to the client.

A program such as this requires thought and considerable customization of content, but the payoff can be enormous. Think about what you are sending and what it will—or will not—communicate about you and your business. If you want your clients to think of you and not ignore you, then take the time and the effort to make sure you are sending value. If you are not sure it has value, it probably does not. Marketing to your client database should be at the top of your “to do” list and your campaign should be constructed with the thought and care as if you were marketing to the most important people in the world, because for you, they are.