Welcome to Michael's Article Collection

How to Sell Your Products and Services Now

Need some ideas to kick-start your sales? Or maybe you’re looking to increase them or add some pizzazz to your campaigns? Try some of these ideas! Make your reader visualize they have already bought your product in your ad. Tell them what results they have gotten and how it makes them feel. They'll already become emotionally attached before they buy. Turn your ad into an article. It could be . . .

*7* Laser Focused Secrets to *Close* Every Sale-EXPOSED!

Are you ready? Read this article then print it out and post it where you can see it. But first a Warning.. I warn you.. When applied.. These *Secrets* will cause you to *Break all of your Past Sales Records*! but even better... Your Check will EXPLODE! Here we go! 1) Simply lose the always be closing mindset and live with the mindset of always be "opening relationships for the long term" 2) Nev. . .

3 Elements to a Deal-Sealing Classified Ad

Have you ever wondered why your perfectly fine classified ad fails to attract the attention you desire? There should be dozens-no, hundreds-of perspective buyers swamping your e-mail inbox with offers. After all, you are offering a mint baseball card, a vintage coat, pristine used car, those wholesale-priced sporting goods, and whatever other attractive items are in your inventory. Instead, you. . .

More Marketing Dope

Direct marketing can make you very successful, but you’ve got to understand the basics. Here are some more gems of the industry that can take you from being a diamond in the rough to the luminous bling-bling.When advertising your product or service, honesty is not only the legal and ethical path, but also the path to the highest amount of repeat business.Many times companies fall into the trap . . .

2005 Super Bowl Ads... Winners & Losers

Well, Super Bowl XXXIX is history. Too bad for the folks who consider themselves the always-pullin'-for-the-underdog type. The Bandwagon team won. But, as far as Super Bowls go, the losers played well. For those who care, the Eagles actually covered the 7-point spread. T.O. is the deal, too. At least on the field, anyway. They had a chance late in the game, but poor field position and bad clock. . .

Basic Marketing Dope

Sometimes the simplest data is the best. Marketing is not complex if you know the basics – that’s true with anything by the way. Here are some tools that are brilliantly simple and with them you really won’t have to sweat the small stuff.Hot Dope #1) The more that your potential customers see your name in front of them, the more likely they are to call your number (and not someone else’s) whe. . .

Public Relations — A Free Lunch?

Seems like everyone is looking for the proverbial free lunch these days, particularly when it comes to marketing communications. Well, I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but there's no such thing. However, there are ways to stretch your budget and marketing public relations (PR) is one of them. By MARKETING PR I mean publicity that is directed towards your marketing target audience and carries ma. . .

Writing Marketing Copy That Sells

When your prospects see your marketing materials, your brochure, your web site or your ads you want them to read them. You want prospects to read not just the first sentence but the majority of your copy. Once they've read it, you want them to decide that they need your product or service and either make a purchase or contact you for more information. When prospective clients and customers. . .

Marketing or Selling -- Which Is More Important?

A question I often get from clients and students goes something like this: "I've been collecting marketing ideas... and I have a drawer full! I also have a stack of promising leads I've accumulated. And I know it's important to stay visible, so I do a lot of networking, but then I just end up with more names in the stack. How do I prioritize all this?"If you've ever wondered something similar, . . .

NoInvaders.Org Proves to be "Interesting" and "Useful" in...

The immigration reform Web site "NoInvaders.Org" recently saw an escalation of Internet traffic on February 9, with an increase from 9 visits a day to 275 visits, and is maintaining a high traffic count daily thanks mostly to a press release sent in January to over 100 newspapers nationwide. The portal takes on the unenviable task of publishing six directories including complaints of immigratio. . .

Rules of Thumb for Marketing to Your Past Customers

Keeping in touch can dramatically increase business, when done properly.It’s a fact that your customers are your best leads. This means that the most likely people to purchase your products and/or services are the ones who have paid for them before. It’s also a fact that it costs far less money to keep a customer than it does to go out and get a new one. These are the two reasons that using di. . .

Direct Mail – Don’t Assume, Just Test and Track

Where to Start:Most novice marketers have definite fixed ideas about direct mail that are way off base - most often in the area of what to spend and how much to do. You should determine what you are able to spend for your marketing budget, spend it, and determine the maximum number of leads that you can create. For instance, I’ve heard this statement quite often: "We aren’t that large of a c. . .

Top 10 Blog Writing Tips

Most of the "rules" about writing for ezines and newsletters apply to writing posts for your blog, but there are some important differences. Keep these 10 tips in mind and you'll be publishing great blog content that attracts prospects and clients in your niche market.1. Write with the reader in mind. Remember WIIFM? It’s marketing jargon for What’s In It For Me? That’s what you should be keep. . .

Marketing Your Shows the 4 C's Way

Traditional marketing is changing: Customers are more sophisticated and price sensitive. They expect products and services to be delivered faster and more conveniently. And they have no qualms about switching to competitors. At the same time, traditional marketing tools are less effective than in the past. Products are not much different from each other, pricing is quickly matched by competitor. . .

16 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog

You've got your blog set up and you've started posting pithy, useful information that your niche market would benefit from and enjoy. Days go by, you keep publishing, but no one comments and your traffic stats are barely registering. What do you do?Like any website you own, you must do some blog promotion to start driving traffic to your site. Here are 16 steps, in no particular order of import. . .

Effective Offline Promotion

Although, most of your traffic will still come from search engines and various online promotions, a little effort using traditional media might also bring a large number of visitors to your website. Reasons, why you should take offline promotion of your website seriously include: Internet is increasingly becoming a part of our daily life. However, still a big segment of the society – especially. . .

Why I Need a Website?

* Cost Effective Advertising.* Online selling.* Increased geopgraphic range.* Wider customer base* Efficient marketing.* Improved customer support.* Succesful market research.* Customer feedback.Just a few of the reasons why your business or organisation, however small, can benefit from having a professional web presence.Your web site can be viewed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by anyone with. . .

Selling To Your Affiliates

While success with any internet marketing program falls on the head of the marketer, what the program offers in pay outs and products plays a big roll. What I am going to focus on is the product side of the business. The products that you sell make the difference on who is going to buy them. Either you sell to people outside your own affiliate base. You sell to people within your base. Or you t. . .

7 Ways Email Can End Your Business Relationships Before T...

Too often, people forget they're anonymous in the internet world. Your friends and colleagues might know you as being a tireless worker, a great friend and loving parent, but I don't know that. To me, you're just a font. You're a font in an email, or in a forum post. If you give me access to your website, then you're whatever impression the website creates. But largely, you're anonymous. So if . . .

5 Breakthrough Marketing Ideas

Do you ever get frustrated with your marketing? Are you putting in a lot of effort but not getting the results you want? Don't you wish you could just hit a switch and get a better response from your mailings, sales calls and web site?You hear a lot about breakthroughs; is it all hype, or can you really create a breakthrough in your marketing and sales? I know that you can.I spent last weekend . . .

Using the Media Effectively

The media has the power to influence your tradeshow efforts whether it be in television, radio or print. Your job is to target your endeavors to create a positive company image and brand awareness of your products/services. How do you do that? Outlined below are 27 important points to help maximize your tradeshow effort.Before the show1. Define and select your target audience so that you can ta. . .

Learn the Secrets of Print Interviewing

1. Remember you're always on the record. Even when the tape is off, even when the reporter has put away his pad, even when you think that the reporter thinks you walk on water, you are on the record. One of my clients who knows better, gave an interview to a columnist at a prominent national paper. She thought they had a jolly rapport and became a bit loose lipped about the fortune the business. . .

The Words That Sell

What You Say, Who You Say It To, How you Say It:If you have or can get a list of people who are already interested or genuinely likely to be interested in your product or service then you are well on your way to being successful with your postcard marketing. Before that, you have to answer the key question, "Who should I send my postcard offers to?"After that is answered, your next problems are. . .

Introduction to Marketing for 1st time business owners

Marketing is determining which orders you would like to win. Selling is getting out there and winning orders once you have decided which orders you would like to win. Marketing is a continuous process of creativity, research, testing, analysis, development and implementation. We must stay close to our customers. We must satisfy our customers' needs and anticipate their wants. We love our custom. . .

The Marketing Secret Every Child Knows

Little Kids Ask Until They Get What They Want.Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, can I have an ice cream? Can I, Can I, Can I, Can I? Please, Please, Please, Please. I'll be good for a whole year. I promise. Just give me a dollar. I won't ask again for a long time. Pleaseeeeee!Regular, repeated mailings are the way to create big predictable results. When you mail every 30 days for a year you will cause a dram. . .

How to "Really Get Your Customers"

What Really Makes Your Postcard Mailing Successful?The biggest single factor in the success of your postcard mailings is who you send your postcards to.You need a list of people or businesses to send your postcard offer to.This can be a list of existing customers or prospects who have inquired as a result of any of your marketing efforts or a list which you purchase. The list must contain the n. . .

Postcards Work

What's the fastest, simplest and cheapest way to promote just about any business? The answer is postcards sent by direct mail. You can get your message to a targeted group of prospects or to your existing customers for a cost of about 25 to 30 cents each including postage. You can actually send someone a postcard every 30 days for only $3 a year. Postcards Work.You can generate leads, create sa. . .

The SKINNY on Newspaper Advertising

Using the paper is considered gospel by many people in business. Use it wisely and it can be a good tool. Remember, newspapers are passive, non intrusive media. They tend to reach only buyers who are looking for the product. They are poor at reaching prospects before the need arises. Think about it, there are few times you have been driven to go to a store to buy a product you never heard of be. . .

Creative Ways To Make Money With eBooks

How creative are you when it comes to making money and increasing your subscribers using ebooks or other digital products? Here are some tips on how to increase your profits with ebooks.You could show your prospects a sample page out of your ebook. This will make your prospects curious to buy. You could even give away a free version of the ebook and then give people an option of buying the paid. . .

4 Steps to a Successful AdWords Campaign

Not getting the satisfaction you want from your AdWords account? Want to make more money by spending less?Google AdWords has made many businesses successful by providing them with a great deal of highly targeted traffic for as little as 5 cents! Yet many webmasters and advertisers are incompetent when it comes to using AdWords efficiently. After $100 in losses and having many failed campaigns, . . .

How to Write Your News Release

Follow this step-by-step process to write and expose your news. FormatCall it a 'News Release', 'News Bulletin' or 'Announcement'. 'Press Release' sounds like propaganda. Add, 'For immediate use'. This implies urgency. It also allows them some choice on when to run it. If the news is date sensitive state 'for use before' or 'for use after'. Fax or mail? If urgent - fax. But to get noticed mail . . .

Increase Repeat Business and Referrals with Direct Mail

So you have been writing mortgages like crazy now for the last few years. You have a pretty big database of customers and hopefully you have been getting and keeping full contact information for them. An organized database is the first key to customer retention. The next step is to put together a direct mail campaign to keep these customers thinking about you when they think about mortgages. It. . .

Top 3 Viral Marketing Techniques

Interested in finding a way to literally draw new customers to your website without doing anything? Have your visitors feel exited about telling other people about your website? Then don’t stop reading here! #1. CommunityEveryone is looking for ways to draw unique visitors to there website, fact is many people spent a vast amount of there profits advertising. Many webmasters don’t understand th. . .

The Right Tools for Your Marketing Job

Time is money; undoubtedly one of the oldest clichés in existence. Have you ever thought about what it really means though? Is bending over to pick up a penny worth your time? Maybe, but would it still be worth it to cross the street for the same penny. Maybe not. Your time has value. You can choose to use every minute of every day in any way you wish. It goes without saying that most of us wou. . .

Marketing Wine on the Internet

The Australian Wine industry is experiencing a tough time as oversupply of product is creating downward pressure on prices. Large producers have had their well publicised problems, leading to merger and takeover activity. Small and medium producers are feeling the pinch.Over the past twelve months I have discussed internet marketing with quite a number of smaller winery operators. The overwh. . .

Proofreading for Profits

How to avoid mistakes that undermine your credibility You’re probably already familiar with the spell checker built into your software. Some work automatically as you type, others only run when you activate them. Spell checking is just the start of your proofreading tasks. Don’t let simple grammatical errors, or text omissions, sabotage your message. Here are some things to check for that go be. . .

The 3 C’s of Getting Your Foot in the Door of a Prospect

Are you frustrated with cold calling because of all the rejection, phones slammed in your ear and being told to never call again? Wondering how some sales professionals seem to always be at the right place, at the right time? Feeling like you just can’t seem to get your foot in the door of any new prospects? You’re not alone. These seem to be universal concerns for many sales professionals. Get. . .

An Often Overlooked Strategy for Getting Your Foot in the...

Most companies are constantly seeking efficient and cost effective marketing and promotions strategies. It’s likely they are also seeking strategies to increase sales through obtaining key information. Regardless of the industry, almost everyone has heard or read arguments saying sales and marketing are separate, while at other times hearing and reading they are interconnected. The fact is that. . .

Does Your Brochure Pass the Test ? - Part 1

Your prospects will decided if they want to read your brochure in the first 5 seconds they look at it. What kind of message are you communicating in that five seconds? Will you make a favorable impression with your prospect? Will you move your prospect closer to the sale? There are really only two key elements that will determine how well your brochure is received by prospects. These two elemen. . .

Does Your Brochure Pass the Test ? - Part 2

In part one of this article we discussed the importance of the look or appearance of your brochure. The look or image that your brochure conveys is vastly important. In fact, the appearance will determine how most people form their initial impression of your company. But, the message on your brochure is just as important. Ultimately you need to say something of value in your brochure if you wan. . .

3 Ways to Gain and Keep Customers Using Postcards

In today’s competitive (sometimes cutthroat) marketplace, savvy business owners need to constantly look for ways to get and, more importantly, keep their customers. When used properly postcards offer a great opportunity to do both.1. Mail systematically to a targeted database of prospects. Most people who use postcard mailings as a way to acquire new customers mail to a list once and then stop.. . .

6 Must-Have Element of an Effective Brochure

Most brochures that businesses put out today end up doing little to impact the sales of that business. By applying the 6 must-have elements listed below you will transform you brochure from trash can lining into a powerful sales tool.1. A Benefit-Filled Headline. On the cover of most brochures you’ll usually find nothing more than the company name, logo, and maybe a quick slogan like “committed. . .

Brochures: The Ultimate Sales Weapon

"How brochures can help you stand out from the competition, close the deal, and even build repeat business." Most brochures are nothing more than a collection of a few pictures and a few details about a business. However, brochures can be used as powerful tools that distinguish your company from your competition, further sell prospects on your product or service, and even build repeat business.. . .

The Psychology of Urgency: Make Them Want It Now!

“I’ll think it over and get back to you.” “Sure, we’ll do that someday.” “I need to check with my colleagues.” “Give me a call next month, then we can set a date.” Tired of excuses? Looking for a more successful way to get others to take immediate action? For the last century, psychologists have been studying simple persuasion tactics that will allow you to motivate people and get the res. . .

Our Accidental Top Page Rank in Google And How Little Dif...

Case study into keywords reveals how a firm of Amsterdam-based copywriters achieved PR-3 listing in GoogleThis a shameless marketing article but we're hard faced enough to take on the odds you're going to read it A-Z. It is the story of how we ended up in the top echelons of major search engines, a goal everybody wishes to achieve, so we're surely forgiven for sharing it with you AND in whateve. . .

A Simple Strategy to Increase Profits

In today’s competitive business environment it is essential to find ways to reduce costs and increase revenues while keeping productivity and quality high. One of the best ways to achieve this is through hiring and retention of outstanding employees. Far too often hiring managers rush through the hiring process due to being reactive rather than proactive when filling positions. With some prepla. . .

Permission Marketing With Tip Sheets

Use tip sheets to encourage clients and prospects to sign up for your e-mail Newsletter. Permission Marketing, a marketing concept popularized by Seth Godin, is based on obtaining your client’s, prospect’s, and web site visitor’s permission to communicate with them via e-mail.Often, the hardest part of a Permission Marketing program is developing an incentive to persuade clients, prospects, and. . .

A Different Perspective On The No-Call List

The other day I received an e-mail from an internet marketer who was bemoaning the fact that calling people on the no-call list is now illegal and that puts such limits on marketing. He is far and away not the only one with that viewpoint; I find it almost everywhere I look. In fact, it is almost universal among marketers. You know what? I frankly don’t understand why they feel that way.If . . .

Building Brand Awareness Through Tradeshows

Branding is a basic marketing concept that is designed to set your products/services apart from the competition. By using a particular name, phrase, design, symbol or a combination of these, you can create a unique identity. When choosing a brand name, consider the following five criteria: It should suggest product/service benefits. It should be simple, memorable, and unique. It should fit the . . .

Five Marketing Nightmares and How to Prevent Them

The success or failure of your trade show rests heavily on how well you market your event. Marketing, when done right, can project a positive image of your event, entice exhibitors to sign the dotted line, and attract loyal customers. However, critical mistakes in your marketing campaign can have the opposite effect. Here are five costly errors that are common in our business, along with some s. . .