Welcome to Michael's Article Collection

How To Get To The Top Of The Marketing Food Chain

Are you tired of living off handouts from big-name marketers, earning meager affiliate commissions? If you truly want to live and breathe the rarefied air of the super-marketers, what you need is not a change in method, but a change in attitude and mindset.You need to start thinking like a top gun and create your own identity instead of feeding off the efforts of others. Here are some ways of a. . .

WHERE TO FOCUS YOUR MARKETING

Imagine that you ran an ad, mailed a brochure, or sent an email ad to a new list of people who fit your target market profile and everyone who saw it responded right away and made a purchase. Has this ever happened to you? Of course not. The first time people hear about your products or services is the least likely time for them to buy. When you go out for a night on the town, do you go to . . .

Fern Reiss’s PublishingGame.com: Achieve Media Attention ...

Do you want to be quoted by the national press on a daily basis? (How much would that be worth to your business?)In the past six months, I’ve been quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune, Entrepreneur, The Associated Press, PBS, Voice of America, Family Circle, Glamour, Redbook, Self, Health, Prevention, Parents, Parenting, W. . .

Why Insight and Flexibility is More Important than Persev...

Marketing successfully requires not only insight into how a product or service can be successfully marketed but also flexibility into the marketing of a product or service.This is one of the marketing principles that doesn't seem to be taught successfully. Too many times, the "marketing gurus" will promote a type of marketing that has worked for them to the exclusion of all other types of marke. . .

Some Copy Tips From An Old Hand

I have been in the ad game for a long, long time. I have trained hundreds of writers, and I’ve been responsible for moving of millions £ & $ in product worldwide. Here are just a few tips that I hope will help you do a better job, and make a bigger name for yourself.One.Whatever copy job you are working on – brochure, mailer, sales letter, press ad, website – always include a headline. A pertin. . .

7 Ways to Get More Mileage from Your Free Reprint Articles

Do you have old free reprint articles gathering dust? Transform and re-submit them to give your business, product or service another boost!Here are 7 ways:1. Transform your article. You can transform your article in several ways: Give it a bullet or number format. Give it a Q and A format. Give it an anecdote format by adding your own experience. Give it a Problem-Solution format. Give it a sho. . .

The Top 10 Marketing Tools to Grow Your Business in 2004

Looking to grow your business? Make sure you have these marketing tools in place:#10 A powerful taglineIn 10 words or less, a good tagline reinforces a company’s reason for being. And smaller companies will find it to be one of the hardest working tools. To get one, first boil down to a single sentence, the benefits of doing business with your company. Then, take write up a few version of thi. . .

10 Ways To Improve Your Print Ads

1) Include a coupon in your large ads. This can increase response from 25 to 100 percent. Your coupon could offer the prospect your brochure or catalog. 2) Use a benefit headline on your coupon that affirms the prospect is getting valuable, needed information. E.g. “Yes, I want to reduce my inventory costs by 50 percent.” 3) Include a picture of your brochure or catalog in your ad. 4) Use a s. . .

How to Market Your Web Site with Ethical Linking.

Your web site's search engine rankings are determined in part by the popularity of your site. This link popularity is a function of the quality and number of other web sites that link to your site. Generally speaking the more quality inbound links to your site, the higher your site will appear in the SE results for relevant search phrases.Beware of Unethical Link Promotion Firms!However, many w. . .

The 12 Most Common Newsletter Design Mistakes

Your newsletter’s success depends on its design. An attractive, easy to read newsletter encourages readers to pay attention to your message. However, cluttered, hard to read newsletters discourage readership – no matter how good the ideas contained inside.Before they begin to read your newsletter, your clients and prospects will be judging the value of your ideas by your newsletter’s design. Ef. . .

The 10 Commandments of Guerrilla Marketing Design

Guerrilla Marketing Design is more an attitude than a system of do’s and don’ts. It’s an attitude that emphasizes the efficient and memorable delivery of information. -First Commandment: PurposefulGuerrilla Marketers view design not as a matter of subjective likes and dislikes but as a strategic tool intended to achieve specific goals. Guerrillas avoid unnecessary decoration. Every mark on the . . .

The 8 Biggest Newsletter Marketing Mistakes

Newsletter publishing has always made a lot of sense. It makes sense for firms to target their advertising dollars to clients and prospects that have expressed interest in their products and services.However, for many, newsletter marketing has been more a source of frustration than sales. This is due to eight closely inter-related newsletter-marketing mistakes. By examining what hasn’t worked i. . .

Sponsorship: A Key to Powerful Marketing

Sponsorship is the fastest growing form of marketing in the U.S. It is still very much in its infancy, especially in the trade show arena. With this in mind, you can find unlimited opportunities to broaden your competitive advantage by increasing your credibility, image and prestige in sponsoring events attracting your target market.Some trade show promotional opportunities include sponsorship . . .

7 Strategies for Handling Last Minute Meetings

Have you ever found yourself having to scramble to organize a meeting at the last minute? Wouldn’t it be nice that if and when this daunting situation arose, you were well prepared with all necessary information ready at your fingertips? That’s why I’ve developed the following seven survival strategies to help you plan for the inevitable, because you know as well as I, it’s going to happen ‘so. . .

Focus on Your Target Audience!

Search engine optimizers often forget who our true audience really is. We get so wrapped up in trying to please the search engines that we forget to focus on our target audience: our users. What we've got to do is forget about the search engines and concentrate totally on our customers. I call it . . . Optimization without optimization . . . focus on your target audience and forget the search. . .

Satisfied Employees, A Powerful Marketing Strategy

Even in today’s still uncertain economic times, there are companies who are doing extraordinarily well. Why is it that some companies are thriving while others are barely making it? You can always blame the economy, but is that the only reason? The answer could be as simple as how respected and appreciated your staff feels. Recently I visited a store to buy pet supplies. I was given a pleasant . . .

Top 3 Rules for Writing Effective Copy

One thing all successful Internet marketers have in common is that they're good copywriters. If you want to have a profitable online business, you need to know how to write a copy that motivates people to buy your product... a copy that sells!In this article, I'm going to reveal 3 important rules that you should follow to write persuasive copy. Put these tips into practice, and watch your sales. . .

Guest Articles: Good for Some, Bad for Others

A recent debate started me thinking about how some marketing strategies can be right for one Web site, but wrong for another depending on the site’s purpose and the underlying reasoning behind the action. If an action doesn’t directly and logically plug into site goals, then there are likely more profitable ways to spend that time and effort. Publishing third-party articles on a Web site is one. . .

10 Ways To Make Your Sales Soaring

1. Maximize the effectiveness of your banner ads. Don't just use the same ad on every banner, use a variety to attract the greatest number of clickers. Use a banner system, which changes the banners at you website.See: http://www.domainregistry.de2. Make your web site load much faster by cutting down on banner ads and start using more buttons. Button ads are also smaller and take up less space.. . .

The Ultimate PR Edge: Getting Reporters To Open Your E-Mails

You know that getting publicity is vital to the health of your business. You probably also know that e-mail is the way most publicity seekers get in touch with reporters to score that precious coverage. Here’s what you don’t know: The vast majority of e-mails sent to journalists never get read. Bottom line: if your e-mails don’t get read, you have no shot at getting the publicity you so des. . .

Where to Find a Cash Windfall of $10,000 to $1,000,000--Y...

There is a rather famous true story called “Acres of Diamonds”. It is about a successful farmer who risks everything searching the African continent for diamonds. Ultimately he dies sick and penniless, while the new owner of his farm uncovers on his property the largest single diamond ever known to man. Point of fact: After helping hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs and business owne. . .

Some of The Best Ways To Get Visitors To Your Site

Before building a site there are many things that you need to take in mind. For example, how are you going to design your site, what is it going to cost you, how long will it take you to build, etc. All of these things mentioned a both are important aspects to consider when designing a site, but there is no point in doing all of this if you can’t even get visitors to your site afterwards.So you. . .

What Is The Secret To Motivating Your Downline?

I just snapped.I couldn't take it any more.I starting sobbing, and I gripped the steering wheel with both hands in a choke hold. My vision blurred from the tears as I drove the 2 hours back...another freaking no-show. I was in my $800 rusty van with no heat and a hole in the roof.It was March 1995. I had been married less than 30 days. Nearly my entire downline of 86 had quit, leaving me wi. . .

Increase SEO Sales by Teaching Clients about SEO Truths

In private consultations with some Search Engine Optimizers I am always amazed at how many people feel it's necessary to hype things up in order to sell their search engine placement services. Selling hype or setting unrealistic expectations is one of the LEAST intelligent things you can do to build long term client relationships. Instead of scrambling to outdo the next self proclaimed SEO guy'. . .

Everybody Loves Raymond....You Should Too!

Popular TV Series Provides a Powerful Marketing LessonSmall Business owners spend a great deal of mental effort and time trying to dream up the next big marketing idea for their business. I’m all for that. It’s a good time investment for any small business owner to think about ways to promote their business. While you’re thinking, keep in mind that some of the most successful ideas aren’t new a. . .

Turning Challenge Into Opportunity

There is a common saying that whenever you are presented with a problem or a challenge, you should turn it into an opportunity. Some of the people who have mastered this concept are; the United States Government, Large Corporations, Self Made Millionaires. Was Y2K really a threat? Loot at all the companies that made a fortune helping you to become Y2K compliant. When it came right down to the w. . .

10 Steps to Getting Paid for Your Marketing Materials

How many times have you heard the same sound bites come out of your mouth to your clients, prospects, and audiences, almost boring yourself to tears in the process? Imagine generating money directly from those sound bites, from those pearls of wisdom that effortlessly trip off your tongue. Yes, it is completely possible, and here’s how to do it.1. Capture those tidbits of information as soon as. . .

The Wonders of Wordtracker:. . . It's More than a Hunt fo...

For me personally, Wordtracker.com is not just a tool for looking up keywords. Sure, that's one good use for it, but what I want to distinguish is another influential and exciting use for Wordtracker as an SEO resource. "Keywords" for use in your Meta tags are probably the least influential element in search engine optimization these days. However, hunting for keywords still seems the most popu. . .

Copywriting Makeover: Making An Emotional Connection - Pa...

One statistic shows that over 80% of all buying decisions are emotional. That means your copywriting should be, too. This is something I firmly believe in and have preached for most of my copywriting career. However, all too often, I find people skipping the vital step of making an emotional connection with their customers. That can be a tragic, and costly, mistake. Thats why I was excited when. . .

Targeted Traffic is More Important than Ever!

In the early days of web development, business owners had learned the very expensive lesson that a Web site with no visitors is of little value. Once the business owner learned that methods could be utilized to increase their visibility through search engine optimization, it then became apparent that the traffic that really benefited them, was "targeted traffic." It only made sense that if you . . .

Mobile Marketing a New Age Strategy

More and more companies seem to be looking for new and innovative ways to market their products. Overlooking most of the traditional marketing techniques, more companies are pioneering the relatively new mobile marketing campaign. Mobile event trailers and vehicle graphic wraps are bringing the products directly to the consumers. With an array of games, giveaways, contests and twenty-five foot . . .

How to Effectively Design Your Business Image

In many industries, image is one of the last things business owner looks at. If business is not booming, they assume there is something wrong with the sales method, as opposed to the image. "If we just sent out a few thousand more fliers" they say, "we will get some more clients". When in reality, they should be looking at how the message they're sending to their target market is perceived in t. . .

3 Steps to Successfully Build a Team in any Program

Any x by y matrix plan has one big risk... but also one big advantage. The biggest risk: People in your downline might think they don't have to promote and just wait for your spillover. The biggest advantage: Still, it's a great way to build a deep team quick... if you and the people in your team understand that they shouldn't just sit and wait for it to happen. The following 3 steps you need. . .

Service Marketers; How’s Your Packaging?

When a shopper picks up a product in a store, what’s the first thing they notice? The packaging, right? The same holds true for someone buying a service. Yet instead of a folded carton with colorful graphics, you are the packaging for your service business. Intangible points of contact, including your clothes, your briefcase, maybe even your breath, all burn a lasting image in your buyer’s mind. . .

What's Your Marketing Attitude?

Entrepreneurs pay a lot of attention to the mechanics of marketing. They take workshops, read books, and hire consultants to find out how to do the best job they possibly can. With my own clients, I often discover that their knowledge of marketing techniques is quite good already. What they might lack is the right kind of marketing attitude. Do any of the attitudes described below sound familia. . .

Copywriting Makeover: Making An Emotional Connection - Pa...

In part one of this article series we began looking at the Cruise Vacation Center site: a travel site whose copy was sorely lacking in emotional appeal and visual imagry. (You can see the previous version of the copy here: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/CruiseVacationCenter-Original.pdf.) In the conclusion, youll see how all the rewrite turned out and how exciting the end results have been. T. . .

Seven Easy Steps to Boost Your Professional Image With Adobe

Often-overlooked commands can boost sales and project a more professional image. Adobe Acrobat Distiller is one of today’s most effective tools. Using Acrobat, you can distribute attractive and easy-to-read formatted documents for free.Unfortunately, however, few take full advantage of Acrobat’s capabilities. As a result, their documents are not as effective as they could be. Here are seven eas. . .

Discover Which Sales Triggers Are Most Effective When Mix...

We all know the importance of gaining top visibility to a specific target audience on the major search engines. After all, you really need qualified traffic or those who are actually searching for goods and services that you are offering. While most of the time, we teach folks about the importance of doing good keyword research and/or behavioral research to ensure they are attracting an "ideal". . .

How To Choose Keywords Before they Skyrocket in Popularity

Long before the days of researching phrases with the helpful online resources of today, the art of keyword/phrase selection was often left just to guesswork. However, guesswork by today's highly competitive standards is just not good enough. So how is it possible to select a powerful traffic-pulling phrase in this fashion without researching it in real time? Better yet, is it possible to choose. . .

Exploring Beyond Keywords Into Behavioral Research

If you have ever studied search engine optimization, then you'll know that most educators place tremendous importance on performing good keyword research. After all, it's true that we need to optimize our pages for the best phrases, or we will never realize our true traffic potential. It's all about trying to attract the ideal audience of searchers to our Web site, right? Is that not what most . . .

How to Print Your Marketing Postcards For A Penny, Addres...

This article will show you how to cut your printing costs to a penny and have your postcards addressed for free without doing it all yourself, reducing the time you invest in your mailing to almost nothing.So, you have a list of hot prospects in hand; you need a way to get your marketing message in front of them with the hope that a reasonable percentage will call you. You decide that you want . . .

4 Marketing Myths Threaten Your Sales

These 4 marketing myths can cause you to lose sales if you base your marketing decisions on them. But the related marketing tips I included with each myth will boost your sales if you act on them instead. Myth 1: People Always Buy Where They Get the Cheapest Price If this was true, only businesses that charge cheap prices would exist. Some people buy where they get the cheapest price. But. . .

Psychological Tricks in Selling

In this article, I'm revealing six powerful secret psychological tricks that you can use to increase the effectiveness of your advertising and marketing. What if you don't sell anything? Should you ignore this information? You ARE selling something. Whether you are a Real Estate agent selling multi-million dollar homes, or a worker trying to sell your boss on the idea that you are a valuable em. . .

How to Be Appropriately Pushy

One of the things that's often hard to know is how and when to be pushy appropriately. In these hardscrabble times, perfectly polite people don't stand much of a chance of getting what they want. However, not enough can be said for making yourself known in a decent and unobnoxious manner. The key is to use your intuition and your brain, both at the same time, and pray for a little luck.When Laz. . .

8 Quick, Hot Reasons You Should Offer an E-mail Course Today

1. E-mail courses are generally quick and easy to create. Contents for your e-mail courses are everywhere -- old articles, interviews, information from doing research. You only need to know how to organize them and make the content easy to understand and follow.2. You can append your sales letters at the end of your e-mail courses. People who take your e-mail courses can learn something valuabl. . .

How to use Emotional Content to Increase Visitor Response

Did you know that many folks make "buying decisions" when they are moved emotionally? Other traditional medias have made the most of these principles and taken advantage of them for many years, whether it be a TV commercial or an ad in a magazine. People are emotional beings and people make decisions (either good or bad) when they are emotional. If something causes a customer to become upset, t. . .

11 Creative Ways You Can Use Autoresponders

1. Pick 4 or more articles you've written that have a common theme and put them in an autoresponder series. Announce it on your site as an e-mail course on the go.2. If you have a page for related links, create a related links file and put it on autoresponder. This can be a one-page e-mail containing 15-50 links that are of interest to your visitors. Put your own promotional texts or blurbs at . . .

11 Powerful Marketing Tips

Each of these 11 marketing tips is based on a marketing strategy or tactic proven to boost sales. How many are you using? Tip 1: Your customers buy your product or service to feel a certain way after their purchase. Keep this in mind as you develop your ads, web pages and other sales tools. Use vivid word pictures to dramatize the pleasant feelings your customers experience when they use. . .

Understanding the Different Methods of Offline Promotion

No business can survive the long run without some form of consistent advertising. As a result, most business owners will eventually consider using advertising to promote their business. The toughest part of the advertising equation is in determining where and how to spend your advertising dollars. If you do it wrong, you could plunk down your entire advertising budget and receive absolutely no . . .

Understanding the Different Methods of Online Promotion

Did you realize there are only three types of online promotion?... This statement may seem odd and even untrue in your mind, but I am speaking in more general terms than you might be thinking. Let me explain. The three types of promotion are Junk, Active and Passive promotions. JUNK PROMOTIONS ARE MONEY PITS Junk promotions are those that seem to produce results, but by their very nature are re. . .