Copyright (c) 2008 Don R. Crawley

Legitimate email marketing is a great way to stay in touch with your customers and prospects. It’s inexpensive, fast, efficient, and environmentally friendly. Email marketing allows you to target your customers and prospects by their particular interests, it allows you quickly announce special promotions (either planned promotions or impromptu promotions based on changing conditions). Email is the perfect way to send a monthly newsletter. Email marketing’s efficiency was underscored in a study by the Direct Marketing Association which found that in 2005 email marketing returned an amazing $57.25 in revenue per dollar spent on it!

How can you get started with email marketing? Start by collecting your customers’ email addresses. Even if you don’t currently do email marketing, gather your customers’ email addresses now so that, when you decide to start communicating with your customers via email, you’ll already have a good list. Have a sign-up sheet at each of your checkout counters or at your reception desk. Be sure to include a sign-up form on your website. Offer an incentive such as a monthly drawing from the collected email addresses. Be sure to include a privacy statement on your forms and sign-up sheets such as, “Privacy notice: We don’t share your information with anyone.” (Of course, that means you can’t share that information ever.) Remember, email addresses are free (or very inexpensive) to gather.

Now, the three secrets to making email marketing a winner for your business.

Secret number one: Do only “permission-based” email marketing. In other words, only send email to people who have requested your email messages and make it easy to opt-out of future emails. There is a slimy side to email marketing thanks to spammers. Obviously, you want to be associated with the reputable side of email marketing. If a customer, a prospect, or a site visitor willingly provides their email address, you’re not spamming. If you get it any other way, you’re spamming. A commonly used technique for dealing with subscription requests from your website is called a “double-opt-in”. A double-opt-in requires the individual to first request your email marketing, then a confirmation request is sent to their email address. They must click a link in the confirmation email or otherwise confirm their desire to receive your email before they’re added to your list. The rule is simple: If in doubt, don’t send it out.

Secret number two: Make your email marketing messages compelling for the reader. Keep them short and to-the-point and ensure that the recipient will see the value in whatever you’re saying. Increasingly, people are becoming distrustful of “hypie” messages that sound like they were written by an advertising copy writer. Make your message real, make it personal, and make it deliver a benefit from the readers’ perspective. If there’s nothing in it for them, they’ll just delete your message or possibly even report it as spam.

Secret number three: Be consistent. Whether you choose to send an email campaign every week, every month, or every quarter, be consistent. One very successful email marketer even includes these words at the top of every email he sends: “Sent the third Tuesday of every month…” Your consistency in your marketing efforts reflects your dependability as a company.

What about the mechanics of email marketing? Many very small businesses just use their regular email accounts. Such a solution can work, but it doesn’t scale well as your email list and business grow. It also requires you to manage your new subscribers and unsubscribe requests. A better solution is to use a commercial email marketing service. Such companies provide templates to make your messages look professional. They also provide tracking information on how many messages were actually opened and read, automatic opt-out links on your marketing messages, tutorials, assistance in complying with the CAN-SPAM act, and more. Costs start at about $10 per month and go up from there based on various criteria such as the size of your list and the frequency with which you send messages. Most such companies provide a free trial period so you can get familiar with their service. There are many email marketing companies, but here are three for you to consider: iContact (www.icontact.com), GetResponse (www.getresponse.com), and Constant Contact (www.constantcontact.com).

Make sure you’re compliant with the CAN-SPAM act. Of course, this is not legal advice (I’m no lawyer!), but compliance means being honest in your subject lines about the content of the message, including an easy opt-out method in every message, and including your complete contact information in every message.

Regardless of how you decide to do your email marketing, now is the time to start gathering email addresses. Email marketing, done properly, is flexible, affordable, efficient, and potentially very profitable for your business.

One of the fastest ways to reach prospective customers to your products or services is through Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. Pay Per Click internet marketing works when a website contracts with with one or more of the search engines, namely Google, Yahoo or MSN and bids on keywords. A person types in a keyword in the search box, and their ads pop up on the search results page as a sponsored ad. Achieve an immediate stream of potential customers by making your ad stand out above thousands.

Know Your Niche

A niche is an area of the online market specializing in one type of product or service. In PPC internet marketing, knowing your niche involves knowing what keywords surfers are most likely to type into a search box when looking for a site such as yours. Create a basic list of keywords that portrays your niche market; you can even search the internet to help you find additional keywords that you might not have thought of to add to your list.

Select Unique Keywords

To win the PPC war and not sacrifice a lot of money on very competitive keywords, opt to pick on low competition variations of your main keyword that are unique and are less popular, and therefore cost much less. You can use keyword analyzer software for this or simply type in your keyword in the search box and count the ads.

Design Eye-Catching Ads

You only get to have less than 125 characters for every PPC ad, so make the most out of that valuable space. Create striking adverts to catch your surfers’ short attention span. The best way is to ask your readers how they will benefit from your product or service. Ensure that your advert is related to your business. Some search engines, like Google, will place your ad on the higher list of ads bidding for that keyword based on how many times your ad has been viewed, rather than how many times it has been clicked. Use your main keyword in the title of the ad and in the ad itself to increase the likeliness that surfers will visit your website because your ad contains exactly what they are searching for.

Test Your Ads

After you’ve written and designed your ads, included with the keywords you would like to bid on, write another ad and run it along side your first ad to test which one gets more clicks or sales. Keep on writing a different set of ads and strive to beat your previous statistics. Through this, you are sure to have the best ads possible for your selected keyword. A lot of Pay Per Click internet advertising providers will let you run two adverts instantaneously, dividing the account funds to each and showing every advert equal number of times.

PPC search marketing can be successful, yet cost-effective when done the right way. With the help of the right PPC advertising company, you can choose the right keywords and create relevant ads to promote any online business you have and make a profitable PPC campaign.

One of the fastest ways to reach prospective customers to your products or services is through Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. Pay Per Click internet marketing works when a website contracts with with one or more of the search engines, namely Google, Yahoo or MSN and bids on keywords. A person types in a keyword in the search box, and their ads pop up on the search results page as a sponsored ad. Achieve an immediate stream of potential customers by making your ad stand out above thousands.

Know Your Niche

A niche is an area of the online market specializing in one type of product or service. In PPC internet marketing, knowing your niche involves knowing what keywords surfers are most likely to type into a search box when looking for a site such as yours. Create a basic list of keywords that portrays your niche market; you can even search the internet to help you find additional keywords that you might not have thought of to add to your list.

Select Unique Keywords

To win the PPC war and not sacrifice a lot of money on very competitive keywords, opt to pick on low competition variations of your main keyword that are unique and are less popular, and therefore cost much less. You can use keyword analyzer software for this or simply type in your keyword in the search box and count the ads.

Design Eye-Catching Ads

You only get to have less than 125 characters for every PPC ad, so make the most out of that valuable space. Create striking adverts to catch your surfers’ short attention span. The best way is to ask your readers how they will benefit from your product or service. Ensure that your advert is related to your business. Some search engines, like Google, will place your ad on the higher list of ads bidding for that keyword based on how many times your ad has been viewed, rather than how many times it has been clicked. Use your main keyword in the title of the ad and in the ad itself to increase the likeliness that surfers will visit your website because your ad contains exactly what they are searching for.

Test Your Ads

After you’ve written and designed your ads, included with the keywords you would like to bid on, write another ad and run it along side your first ad to test which one gets more clicks or sales. Keep on writing a different set of ads and strive to beat your previous statistics. Through this, you are sure to have the best ads possible for your selected keyword. A lot of Pay Per Click internet advertising providers will let you run two adverts instantaneously, dividing the account funds to each and showing every advert equal number of times.

PPC search marketing can be successful, yet cost-effective when done the right way. With the help of the right PPC advertising company, you can choose the right keywords and create relevant ads to promote any online business you have and make a profitable PPC campaign.

One of the fastest ways to reach prospective customers to your products or services is through Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. PPC search advertising works when a website contracts with one or more of the search engines, such as Google, Yahoo or MSN and bids on keywords. A person types in a keyword in the search box, and their ads pop up on the search results page as a sponsored ad. Acquire an instant stream of likely customers by making your ad stick out above thousands.

Know Your Niche

A niche is an area of the online market specializing in one type of product or service. In Pay Per Click internet marketing, identifying your niche involves determining what keywords surfers are likely to enter into a search box when looking for a website like yours. Come up with a basic list of keywords that describe your niche market; you can even search the internet to help you find more words that you might not have thought of to add to your list.

Select Unique Keywords

To win the PPC war and not sacrifice a lot of money on very competitive keywords, opt to pick on low competition variations of your main keyword that are unique and are less popular, and therefore cost much less. You can utilize keyword analyzer software for this or basically type in your keyword in the search box and count the adverts.

Design Eye-Catching Ads

You only get to have less than 125 characters for every PPC ad, so make the most out of that valuable space. Craft eye-catching ads to grab your surfers’ short attention span. Asking your readers how they will benefit from your product or service is the best way. Make sure that your ad is applicable to your niche. Some search engines, like Google, will place your ad on the higher list of ads bidding for that keyword based on how many times your ad has been viewed, rather than how many times it has been clicked. In the title of the title of the advert and in the ad itself, use your chief keyword to increase the likeliness that persons will click your site for your advert has exactly what they are looking for.

Test Your Ads

After you’ve written and designed your ads, included with the keywords you would like to bid on, write another ad and run it along side your first ad to test which one gets more clicks or sales. Continue writing another set of ads and try to beat your previous stats. Through this, you are definite to have the best adverts imaginable for your selected keyword. Majority of PPC internet advertising companies will let you run two ads at the same time, dividing the campaign budget to each and displaying each ad equal number of times.

PPC search marketing can be successful, yet cost-effective when done the right way. With the help of the right PPC advertising company, you can choose the right keywords and create relevant ads to promote any online business you have and make a profitable PPC campaign.

This is a traffic building and basic internet marketing principal that any serious internet marketing professional or beginner must know.

This has changed the way many approach their businesses on the internet.

If you really want to succeed in any business, you must know and understand the basics of Marketing.

Here it is â?? Always give your TARGETTED market precisely what they are looking for.

It is crucial to understand that if you have a product and you start prospecting and sharing it with everyone and anyone, you might as well not do anything at all.

The internet market is too large that by hoping to hit any tom, dick and harry you will get a sale is the most futile and amateur approach!

The key secret to success is to give your prospects precisely what they are looking for. Know exactly what your prospects want, where they are and target them furiously.

To give and to add value and improve other people’s lives by giving them what they

want. This basic principle will help to boost your sales significantly.

Your Step By Step Guide To Traffic Generation

In internet marketing a key area you need to focus on and allocate a major portion of your time to, is building killer and targeted traffic to your website.

The more traffic you generate, the more money in your hands.

Here are key basic methods that once implemented will have traffic swarming to your website.

The following are 4 key basic traffic building methods that must be done everyday.

Implementing these four steps religiously will help you get your website thousands of hits every single month. This will generate some serious passive income for you.

Article Marketing:

Write articles and submit them to article directories. Try to submit at least 2 articles per day.

The articles should be written in simple clear language and should be free of spelling and grammatical errors.

The content of the article should be relevant and up to date. Reliable, interesting and informative content will prompt visitors to read and also recommend your site to other interested parties.

Articles that are well written and submitted to article directories will boost your incoming links and your site will get higher rankings on the search engine results page.

Email Marketing:

Here in lies the key to monetizing your website.

All internet marketers will agree that email marketing is the absolute best way to generate sales.

Email marketing is basically collecting emails of prospects and then keeping in touch and building a rapport with them.

However email marketing requires time to build your list and also to create a bond and rapport with your customers.

Building relationships with potential customers and maintaining good relationships with existing buyers is going to keep you in business for a long time.

The idea is that once the trust is build, you can start marketing products to them and they will bite.

However email marketing will require a small maintenance fee. If you are financially challenged, this can be postponed until you see some income.

At some point this is a must do as the potential is by far the largest and it will explode your income.

Social Networking:

Social Networking is the buzz word at the moment and it can provide massive FREE traffic to your website.

Creating an attractive profile on social networking websites will attract more visitors to your site and give you the opportunity to advertise your products.

Sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter are great places to build your network.

However always be sure to know your market and target them furiously.

Forum Marketing:

Sign up on the most relevant forums and post answers to the members queries.

Forums are also a powerful tool in determining what the market wants. For example if you are an expert in relationships; you can target relationship forums and study what sorts of questions are most popularly asked.

If you can give answers to these problems, you are already guaranteed a sale and a very loyal following.

However you should always give the impression of being an expert in the field and for that you need to be well aware of all the recent developments in your chosen niche.

With all these methods always remember to be consistent and do it every single day. Remember to always include a link to your website in these methods. 

If you follow these methods, you will be generating a very nice income. 

Good luck and take care.