Welcome to Michael's Article Collection

How to Avoid the 11 Biggest Mistakes of First Time Authors

“If you want to change your life,” Harry Beckwith wrote in The Invisible Touch, “write a book.” But writing a book can also be tremendously frustrating and unrewarding.Following are the 11 biggest reasons most first-time authors fail to receive the rewards they are due.1. Unrealistic expectations. Don’t expect to get rich off your book, even if it’s a success by publishing standards. The vast m. . .

10 Killer Ways To Multiply Your Sales

Would you like to multiply your web site sales? Or course you would, who wouldn't? :) Then take a close look at the following 10 killer ways to multiply your sales...1. When you make a sale, always follow-up with the customer. First you should follow-up with a "thank you" email. Then, a few days later, you can follow-up up and as them if they are satisfied with their purchase or if they have. . .

Great Telephone Skills

Having good telephone skills is crucial as the call may be the catalyst for a prospective sale or provide vital counseling for a member of public. However, since both parties may not see each other face-to-face, a telephone conversation may not lead to favourable results; on the flip side, it may lead to unintended misunderstanding. Here are some tips: Even voice tone It is important to speak c. . .

10 Explosive Ways To Elevate Your Sales

1. Publish an ezine. Your ezine will provide you with a powerful way to continue to keep your marketing message on your visitors' minds. Get more of your visitors to subscribe to your ezine by stressing the benefits your ezine will provide to them, and by providing a bonus for subscribing to your ezine. Also get more of your "almost subscribers" to join your ezine by making a sample issue avail. . .

Wordtracker Wisdom: Common keyword questions and Answers

One of my favorite subjects to teach on at our live SEO Mastery Workshops is that of keyword research and the behavior of a specific target audience using my all time favorite research tool, Wordtracker. For those who have not heard of, Wordtracker it is a Web based service that will help you discover which keywords and phrases will be most effective for attracting the right audience to your We. . .

Book Club Sales -- Increasing the Odds

What is a book club sale? It is actually a rights sale or a licensing agreement: you are granting permission to a book club the right to “borrow” your work. You have written a book, and now you are allowing a book club to print and distribute your book to its members.You allow the book club to reprint your book in a specific language, in a specific format, for a specific period of time, in a sp. . .

50% of Yellow Page Directory Users are Looking for Just O...

Directory Users Seek Information about Location First People who open the Yellow Pages already have a desire to buy. That sets it apart from all other advertising media. For a brief time, the eager-to-buy directory user checks the competition, to see what each of them offers. They scan for solutions that satisfy their needs. Readers hope to find ads that leap out from the rest, and will simplif. . .

Expose Yourself !

That's what you need to do, if you want to maximize the traffic to your website. You need to expose yourself to as many pairs of eyes as you possibly can. Paying for advertising is one way to accomplish that, but there are many other much more subtle ways to expose yourself, that can often generate much more targeted traffic. Probably the best way to expose yourself is by writing articles and s. . .

20 Ideas for creating traffic rich, search engine friendl...

Sometimes questions will arise around the subject of gateway information pages or doorway pages. People have heard that "doorway pages" are BAD and some have stated that search engines "hate doorway pages". For clarification on these type of issues, let's start by explaining some simple ground rules looking beyond the jargon and terminology. Do Search Engines Hate Doorway/Gateway Pages? To ans. . .

PR: The Wildcard Marketing Strategy

What is the true purpose of public relations and how can it really help impact the growth of your small business? In order for the media to succeed, they need information that is both useful and entertaining for their readers. This is where you, the business owner or marketing executive, come in.When thinking of public relations, many things may come to mind, like: Sweaty palms as you pick up t. . .

Guide to a Profitable Marketing Mix

You may have heard the term Marketing Mix used in connection with marketing planning.Marketing Mix means the combination of promotions, products, places (distribution channels), and prices you chose for your business. Including both short term and long term strategies in the marketing mix can make for a more profitable business.Long term strategies build brand/company awareness and give sales r. . .

11 Steps to "Sticky" Web Site!

An attractive and user-friendly Web site is crucial to attracting prospects and holding their interest. Seems obvious, yet poor design and even more poorly written content clutter the Web. The basics of a good web site are simple. Generally, if the purpose of your web site is to convey information, the emphasis should be on clear navigation and engaging text. If however, your purpose is to . . .

Creating a Winning Logo

Creating a logo to get you noticed.When you’re branding a company with a name, a colour scheme and a logo the logo is often not given enough care and attention. It should follow the chosen colour scheme and reflect the business that your company is in. Too often, particularly on the WWW logos are seen as a way to show off the design talents of the author. To create a free logo I have created th. . .

10 Sure Fire Ways To Get More Ezine Subscribers

1. Place testimonials for your ezine on your site.Your testimonials will help you to increase your circulation by showing your visitors how your ezine has helped your subscribers.2. Give your visitors the chance to see what your ezine is all about before subscribing.For instance, you could provide an archive of your past issues on your site or you could make a sample issue available by autoresp. . .

Networked Markets Are Democratic, Structured Markets Are ...

Today I was checking out Michelle's A Small Victory. There are threads on self-publishing that mutated into a dispute about trolls, who was a troll, and whether linking to Little Green Footballs was as "un-nuanced" as linking to "Democratic Underground."At one point a troll popped up and I had to blogroll him! The Troll Patrol. It's protected troll habitat, and of course I had to say that, dari. . .

Reciprocal Linking Overload-Any old link back will do?

Are you attempting to become a Google junior by adding thousands of links on your site? Don’t bother, listen to these facts first.So you want to get a Google top page rank and get your site listed on the first page when an internet surfer types in your keywords, right?!? Of course you do. At one time it was extremely important to get as many sites linking to you as possible, so the Google bots . . .

Evangelicals Frustrated by Bush

From an article by Ralph Z. HallowTHE WASHINGTON TIMES"I'm not blaming the president, but religious conservatives have been doing politics for 25 years and, on every front, are worse off on things they care about," said Gary Bauer, president of American Values. "The gay rights movement is more powerful, the culture is more decadent, the life of not one baby has been saved, porn is in the living. . .

Demystifying The Radically Different Keyword Results Prov...

...because your online success depends on getting accurate keyword counts! Part 3 (Continued from Part 2. Contact Robin@SearchEngineWorkshops.com for the complete article.)Finally: Making sense of the numbers (here comes the shock). Ok, now that you understand the artificial skew and the alternatives that can correct for it, let's move on to analyze the numbers given by Overture's STST and Word. . .

Where's Your Focus, Money or Customer?

Is your website Really useful?I had a 'rep' in yesterday who was telling me he had a website, not realising I'm a man of many talents he was telling me about all the new companies he was working with and the great products he could offer and reminded me to go to his website. When he'd finished, I asked him:- "what is the purpose of your website?" a question which he couldn't answer. "does your . . .

What A Newsletter Can Do For Your Business

Newsletters are often thought of as easy, do-it-yourself communications projects. The reality is different…and that can be discouraging. Developing a good newsletter concept can be difficult and time-consuming. It takes market intelligence -- and maybe research -- to find out what people will read. Then it takes careful planning, discipline and skill to crank out something worthwhile on a . . .

Planting Bare Root Roses

The following article was written by David G. Hallstrom for and originally published by National Realtors Directory.com. Planting Bare Root RosesBefore planting, the plants must be prepared. The following suggestions will help insure that your roses grow into healthy bushes, trees, etc.:1. Your new roses have probably dried out during shipping or storage, therefore before planting, either bury . . .

Does Your Message Pass the Test?

Develop an effective benefit message and you’re well on your way to building your company’s entire marketing program. After all, you need focus to create success. Without it you can wind up expending effort without getting the reward (income, that is) you’re looking for.Start with these three ingredients: Understanding of what the customer needs and wants Knowledge of the competition’s strengt. . .

The Mystery of the Magical Keyword Density Formula

Keyword density. When it comes to SEO copywriting, this has to be one of the most talked about subjects. Why? Because keywords are the very foundation of search engine copywriting. Without keywords we wouldn’t even have SEO copywriting. Because keywords (or more accurately, keyphrases) play such an important role in search engine copywriting, it might make sense that there are certain rule. . .

Are Your Emails Gettting Through?

If sending email to a mailing list is part of your markëting or business building strategy, you want to make sure your messages are reaching your audience. Are your readers getting your emails? Due to the proliferation of sp@m, ISPs (your web access and email provider) have added content checkers to try to reduce the flow of unwanted mail. In principle this is a good idea. In practice, lots of . . .

Get In Touch With Your Competition © 2004

We all know that competition is an ugly word but competitors are a fact of life in business. If your business can't compete with other businesses, don't start it. You have to have some type of an edge.You may have an excellent product or service, but if everyone else is selling a product or service similar to yours, just how much of the market can you expect to capture?You will have to learn ev. . .

Why Most Marketing Videos Don’t Work

Every now and then I will meet someone who has commissioned a marketing video that did not work for their company. It is a sad state of affairs and it is avoidable.Over the years, I have been given many failed corporate communications videos to watch and have found that they all suffer from one or more of the following problems.1. A poorly written scriptThis would have to be one of the most com. . .

Get Over Your Resistance to Sales

I have found that there are two best ways to eliminate your fear or resistance to sales. First, become so familiar with your product/service and any objections that might surface, that you simply can’t be flustered during a sales call. Second, you need to truly believe that your product or service will be of value to your customers – that you’re really helping them by sharing your product wit. . .

7 Super Ways To Drum Up More Sales

1. Use subheads throughout your ad copy. Subheads are great to use to break up your long ad copy. Your subheads will keep your visitor's interest in your marketing copy and help you to break up your information into short manageable chunks. Your subheads should act like your headlines. Use your subheads to increase your visitor's interest in what you're talking about, draw your visitor into you. . .

Avoid The Big Advertising Mistakes

Is your advertising copy getting the results you want? If not, look at your current marketing to see if you're making one of the major copywriting mistakes:Selling features instead of benefits. Telling your customer that your "fabulous new ALF-400 comes complete with AeroScan and BandControl technologies!" doesn't actually tell them anything. Will your services save your customers money or help. . .

Segmenting Your Target Audience Through Your Copywriting

Ask any copywriter what the first commandment of copywriting is and they’ll quickly tell you “Know Thy Target Audience.” In order to write effectively you have to know this one group of people and know them well. I guess that’s why many people get so frustrated when it seems they have more than one preferred customer base. One of the most frequent questions I get asked is, “What if I have mo. . .

Find Your Niche & Follow It - Part 1

In this series of articles I'm going to show you how to find out if there's a hungry crowd for your information product BEFORE you write a single word. Mark Twain once said: “Find out where the people are going and get there first”. With the advent of the internet you can certainly find out what folks are wanting. Being the first at the front of the line to bill them might not be quite so easy. . .

7 Ways To Get More Repeat Traffic To Your Site

1. Make all or part of your site into a valuable directory. Set up different sections of your site for people to submit their ezines, articles, ebooks or affiliate programs to such as marketing, writing, publishing, etc. Your directory will not only increase your repeat traffic but will also help you to attract very targeted visitors to your site that are interested in your products or the prod. . .

Internet Advertising Schemes to Avoid

For those of you who have Home Businesses on the Internet, you know by now that you have to develop a steady stream of traffic to your website in order to produce enough sales to grow and substantiate your business. Bottom line…no traffic = no sales. No sales = failed business.During my two years on the Internet, I have tried many forms of advertising that have been less than successful. I a. . .

5 Ways to Mine Gold From Your Testimonials

One often-overlooked asset of your business is the testimonials you receive from happy, satisfied customers. Most businesses receive favorable customer comments and testimonials, but few translate these powerful marketing weapons into additional sales.Testimonials work because customer comments are more credible than your words. When you say something about your business, your words are viewed . . .

5 Ways to Educate Your Prospects for More Sales

5 Ways to Educate Your Prospects for More SalesIt’s impossible to sell a product or service without demand – no matter how low the price or how big the discount.Education-Based Marketing creates demand by showing the prospects why they need your products and services, how to make intelligent buying decisions, and how to best use it after they buy.Education-Based Marketing creates a ‘halo’ surro. . .

Free Marketing Tips

Dumb Excuse #1"I'm not sure I want to invest any money in my internet business right now."Yes, it's sad to say but I hear this one from time to time. Let me be very frank with you. If you've already checked out my own top search rankings and still don't quite understand just what a top search engine ranking would mean for your business, then you have some more learning to do! Please come back a. . .

You Can't Direct the Wind but You Can Adjust the Sails

Dear Friend, Today I would like to provide you with a new perspective and new insights to help you define effective marketing strategies and tactics that will insure the growth of your online business. First of all, let's take a look at the meaning of the word "metamorphosis" and how it can possibly be of interest to marketing. Metamorphosis: Noun (plural metamorphoses - say metuh´mawfuhseez) …. . .

Why do many people fail in Affiliate Marketing!

Affiliate marketing has been around on the Web for quite sometime now, but there are still a lot of people who doesn't know much or even nothing about it. Most of the people that don't know about affiliate marketing and has just discovered it normally thinks that they can make a quick buck or two. Well that's not the case.To do well in affiliate marketing is not just a one-day task. Affiliate m. . .

Moving Beyond Marketing Rituals to Increase Profits

You're at a networking meeting and someone asks for your business card. You hand them a fairly typical card with your company's name, your name and title, and contact information on it. What happens next? Do they get in touch with you? Do they become a client? Nine times out of ten, the conversation ends when you hand someone you've just met your business card, and you never hear from them agai. . .

Why Can't You Have High Rankings?

Online Advertisingxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx( or little note..about things that are right before your eyes)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxYou only go round onceThat is part of a once popular slogan. Do you know who's slogan it was? Sample example profile:first namelast nameUSA(444) 345-1446http://www.dnnbth.orgAlways looking for something new. Why surf the same old st. . .

Five Keys To Leaner and Meaner Copywriting

Grab 'em and don't lose 'em. Every marketer knows that one. Human beings have very short attention spans, so you can't afford to waste your prospect's time - give them the good stuff and then let them go as soon as you can. Writing effective marketing material is all about writing crisply with just a handful of words.Clean writing isn't an accident, but is instead the result of the careful appl. . .

Why Your Ad Failed

So you spent good money on an ad, put it in a magazine or newspaper, and waited patiently for phone calls that didn't materialize. You're upset: you feel that you've wasted money and time, and now you're convinced that advertising doesn't work.Advertising does work. Every day. So before you kick away advertising (or websites, or brochures, or any other marketing medium), first consider which of. . .

Combine Your Yellow Page Ad and Web Site for Maximum Profits

A Yellow Page Ad isn't Enough Any More An unquestioned "must" for any small business has been to run an ad in the Yellow Page Directory. Since most customers were local, that was enough to establish itself as "open for business." The annual Yellow Page ad represents the largest promotional expense for many enterprises. Yet, Yellow Page directory use is declining, while expanding segments of the. . .

Why Most People Fail at Marketing Anything on the Internet

Dear Friend,Do you know why most people fail at marketing anything on the Internet? Even though the products or services they are trying to sell are awesome?Pause a minute, regardless of your present level of success, and try to find out the #1 reason for failure so you can avoid making the same marketing mistake most people make over and over. It is fairly simple: once they have caught someone. . .

Internet Affiliate Marketing 101 - It's All About Relatio...

So you've found the perfect affiliate program, you've signed up and they gave you a website....now what? "They" say that "all you have to do" is drive traffic to your site...but you don'thave a clue where to begin...Never fear, Affiliate 101 is here...here's a list of a few simple,free or inexpensive tasks you can accomplish today. Detailsfollow, first just the list: Send emails to friends and. . .

Double the Effectiveness of Your Company Brochure

Let's face it - most brochures go straight into the bin. But if you know the big mistake to avoid, as well as the secret to make people keep your brochure - and read it, over and over again - you're laughing.The big mistake I'm talking about is that brochures too often focus on the company itself. They describe, in great detail, the company's commitment to excellence, how pro-active the company. . .

Copywriting and Your Five Senses

In its most basic form, copywriting is, among other things, the art of conveying a message in writing for the purpose of persuading someone to do something. This is especially true when writing descriptive copy. Why? Because your customer’s five senses don’t work on paper… they only work in person. That’s why we, as copywriters, have to create a sensory experience for our customers through . . .

MLM Cyanide Pills: Top 5 Sure-fire Ways to Kill Your Netw...

If I walk down the street today, telling people about my network marketing opportunity, and someone asks me "Isn't that a pyramid scheme?", then that guy is bound to get a hard knock on the head. Network marketing, since many years ago, have come out of the closet and it's somewhat 'shady' and 'unorganized' practices. Today, network marketing, or multi-level-marketing, represents a legit. . .

11 FREE Ways How To Explode Your Website Traffic Hit Counter

Every website needs traffic because without traffic it's impossible to sell anything. Here are 11 simple ways how you can get your website hit counter explode.1) Start an affiliate program. It's the #1 way how to get high quality traffic to your website. Almost every successful online business has an affiliate program.2) Build an opt in list. This is the most important factor of any internet bu. . .

Good Logos Make Great Sales Tools

Every day, the average person is exposed to millions of visual stimuli including hundreds of company logos.A logo is a unique visual image that represents a company or its products. It aims to create a positive and memorable impression in the minds of the people who see it. In addition, a good logo can make a sale by saying something about the company to customers when there is no sales person . . .