Welcome to Michael's Article Collection

Understanding the Difference Between Marketing and Promotion

Are you an online marketer? Or do you simply promote affiliate programs? Marketing is truly the most misunderstood word in use today on the Internet. Let me see if I can clarify this issue just a bit. In Marketing 101 at your local university, marketing is actually the process of Product, Place, Price and Promotion. PRODUCT No business can exist without a product or service to sell. In a nutshe. . .

Does Javascript Affect Ranking?

Almost all SEO's agree that using too much javascript can harm your rankings and might confuse the search engines. Is it true? We decided to answer this extremely simple question for the two leading search engines using a simple statistical analysis. The methodology: I gathered the results of the queries that were naturally performed last month by myself and three associates using the two leadi. . .

10 Ways To Get More Of Your Visitors To Subscribe To Your...

1. Promote your ezine on the top third of your site, and on every page of your site with a subscription box that advertises your ezine. 2. Tell your visitors the benefits of subscribing to your ezine -- what's in it for them for subscribing to your ezine. 3. Provide a bonus for subscribing to your ezine. Your bonus could be a f-ree ad, ebook, email course, software, or access to your members on. . .

Copywriting Makeover: Know Where Your Customers Are In Th...

When you begin to write copy for any product or service, there are a few things you have to take into consideration. The first is always your target audience: who you’ll be writing to. Finding out about the needs and wants of the audience members, their communication styles, their lifestyles, and a multitude of other elements are “musts” before writing one word of copy.But something most peop. . .

Copywriting Makeover: Know Where Your Customers Are In Th...

In part one of this article series, I introduced a client of mine (AEwebworks) who suffered from some copywriting traumas. The basic diagnosis was a lack of synergy within the copy, ineffective use of testimonials, a lack of focus on the target customer’s buying process, and the inability of the current copy to support the search engine goals of AEwebworks. After doing some research, I create. . .

Shorten Sales Cycles in Complex Sales Environments

Help buyers discover the answers they need to understand and align all of their decision variables.In complex sales, salespeople often find themselves negotiating their way through a web of decision influencers, conflicting initiatives, and multiple priorities. The time it takes prospects to align all of their internal stars and planets for a buying decision can create painfully long sales cyc. . .

How to Grab Attention with your Headlines

You've got just a few seconds to grab your prospects' attention, spark their interest and motivate them to keep reading whether they're looking at your web site, your letter or your brochure. Headlines are the first thing your prospects read. Four out of five people determine whether they keep reading to learn about your products and services on the basis of your headline.Do your headlines capt. . .

The Art Of Fear Free Advertising

Is fear of failure an issue when you commit valuable money in advertising?Well how about if I showed you a way to remove this fear and you know that you would be able to spend money advertising KNOWING you would get a return?Is that a valuable lesson?Course it is!So, how do you do it?The answer is testing!It's simple really.. Instead of sending out 1000 sales letters for example. Send out 500. . . .

Boost Buyer Confidence By Assuming The Sale

I saw something in town the other day that just really struck me as funny. Not only that, however, it really nailed home a strong lesson for me about how to make more money. I was driving down main street past this old building. I don't know exactly what the building had been used for, possibly a warehouse or something along that line. The thing that was funny about it, however, was the sign it. . .

Effective Marketing Isn't a Game!

Marketing strategies abound on the internet. We all know that bad advice is floating all around the net. Your marketing department must work seriously, if you have intentions of making a decent e-income. How do you decipher the junk from the gems? I am not going to present a marketing plan to you. I am going to show you what, why and how every marketer should use a checklist, for effective mark. . .

7 Search Engine Tips for Non Webmasters

With all of the changes to the search engines these days, you can drive yourself crazy trying to get your site submitted. Unless you are willing to commit yourself to doing it full time, or you are a search engine expert, you won't rank at the top of the engines. However, this doesn't mean that you should neglect this important means of getting traffic to your site. Unlike most of the methods f. . .

7 Marketing Methods for Real Estate Coaches

You shower, shampoo, dress your best, check to see if you have plenty of business cards, drive about an hour, introduce yourself by saying "Hi, I’m Mary and I’m a coach" and the other person says, "Hi, I’m Jack and I’m a coach, too!". You meet more coaches than you knew existed. How do you get business when you are surrounded by what may be perceived as your competition?Here’s a great strategy . . .

Are You Asking the Right Questions in Your Copy?

It’s a common approach to writing copy. You begin by asking questions. Why? To evoke thoughts in your readers' minds, to stir up emotions, and to get customers thinking in the way you want them to think. But have you ever thought about how you phrase your questions? Are you doing it in a way that will have the greatest impact on your readers or are you just throwing questions on a page?Beh. . .

My Dumbest Marketing Blunder And How You Can Avoid It

When I started submitting Ezine articles, I never realized their true power. I was just happy to see the articles being published. I expected to get some traffic and hopefully some sales. I would have laughed if you told me those early words would still be floating around the web over five years later. Well, smack me on the wrist and call me shorty, they are. You would think that's a good thing. . .

Testimonials for Business Success

It's no secret that testimonials sell. Why should you believe me when I say my super-duper, new and improved, does-everything gizmo is the best of its kind? But if a celebrity puts her reputation on the line, or a real user gets all excited about how great my gizmo works for her, you are much more likely to trust the value of my product.Here are ten ways you can use testimonials to expand you. . .

If Networking Is So Hot....

If Networking Is So Hot, Why Aren't I Rich?How to make today's NEW streamlined 'networking' work!By Linda Blew CarlsonBefore we start, please note that in this article 'MLM' and 'Networking' are interchangeable.The hottest business opportunities today use 'network marketing.' Almost everyone has been a distributor for an MLM (the former word for networking) company or has had a relative or a fr. . .

How to Use Public Speaking to Attract Clients

When Robert Middleton moved his marketing consulting practice, Action Plan Marketing, to Palo Alto, California several years ago, he started his business from scratch. He had left his well-established client base several miles away and now had to find strategies to generate new clients. Because Middleton had always spoken to promote his business, he turned to public speaking with a vengeance. H. . .

Negotiating Skills: Ask For More Than You Expect To Get

It creates some negotiating room, and you might just get what you’re asking for.Whether playing the role of buyer or seller in a sales transaction, asking for more than you expect to get is a classic opening position in negotiations.In the audio book, “Sound Advice on Negotiating Skills,” author Roger Dawson says, “Henry Kissinger called this the key to success at the bargaining table.” It’s s. . .

Marketing Strategy

With the plethora of websites online and hundreds added each day, how are you going to separate your website from the others? When I began my first online venture I was so excited to have my website up and running and I remember thinking “wow, the toughest part is behind me”, referring to finally getting the aesthetics and functionality of the website just how I wanted them. I thought that mark. . .

Market Your Site with a Smile

If you have a business, you know that the most important thing, yet the hardest, is to get your product out to your clients. It does not matter if it is a T-shirt, a baby crib or the latest toilet seat. Getting your product to you clients is called MARKETTING and it costs MONEY. Of course, it makes money too, otherwise why would the big boys spend billions of dollars to advertise and market? Ri. . .

Free Marketing = Effective Marketing

According to Google.com there are over three billion web pages online today. So what are you doing to separate yourself from the crowd? How are you targeting your customers? How much capital are you investing in marketing? Is it working?I hear many business owners complaining about the inability to successfully drive targeted customers to their website. I listen as they tell me about purchasing. . .

Customer Loyalty in the Technology Industry

For technology companies, service after the sale has emerged on equal footing with innovation as a competitive advantage.As technology-related products and services touch nearly every area of our lives and our businesses, technology has become integrated in how we communicate, learn, work, and entertain ourselves. Our appetite for technology products is growing, even in today’s economic climat. . .

Is Your Marketing Strategy Killing Your Profits?

With the wrong marketing strategy you could be killing your profits and limiting your business. Your marketing strategy is like the driver in a car, with marketing tactics being the engine. If you know where you want to go and how to get there, your marketing tactics will help you attract many more clients, if not you could crash. Every business uses one or more of the following tactics to attr. . .

How to Start A Money Making Newsletter

Writing and publishing a successful newsletter is perhaps the most competitive of all the different areas of mail order and direct marketing.Five years ago, there were 1500 different newsletters in this country. Today there are well over 10,000, with new ones being started every day. It's also interesting to note that for every new one that's started, some disappear just as quickly as they are . . .

Top 9 Strategies To Attract More Clients Now

1. Advertise in trade journals, ezines, and web sites that cater to your ideal client. One secret for gaining substantial increase in sales is to communicate where your clients who buy the most of whatever it is that you sell hang out. Focus the majority of your advertising on communicating with the people who will generate the best sales for you. 2. Write ArticlesWriting articles builds credib. . .

Natalia Nazarova Stars In Movie Postmark Paradise

Title: Postmark ParadiseFeaturing: Natalia Nazarova and Tantoo CardinalFormat: DVDGenre: Human InterestRelease Date: June 29, 2004Film Maker: Entertainment Paradise Group /A Thompson Clay Film/Distributed by Vanguard CinemaWebsites: http://www.natalianazarova.com/index2.htm / http://www.postmarkparadise.comhttp://www.vanguardcinema.comActress Natalia Nazarova plays a charming and heart warming . . .

Why Should I Believe You?

Why should I believe you?? A question that everyone that visits your web page will be asking themselves about you. The internet is a very big place and as we all know there are millions of sites out there. So it’s vital YOU give YOUR potential customer a good "reason to believe" YOUR product will deliver EXACTLY what it says it’s going to. This reason to believe could be that you’re already an . . .

Public Relations Strategies: Announcing News on a Press Tour

Gaining news coverage on a successful press tour requires planning, preparation, and follow up.Under the right circumstances, physically traveling to the media on a press tour is a great way to contact multiple media outlets. Press tours work especially well when having something physical to show a writer – a new, easily demonstrated product, for example. If the writer can interact with the p. . .

How To Ethically Sell To Your Prospect, Even If They Say No.

What you are about to read... is a closing technique I learnt many years ago whilst working as a sales rep. Too many marketers let go on the first no. If you really believe in the value and benefit of your product or service to your prospect, then you need to learn about "Pre-emptive Marketing." Tip #1 - Learn To Differentiate Prospects There are three groups of prospect 1) Those to whom you w. . .

It's Better When They Tell Them

You know that word of mouth can grow your business. You hear your customers say nice things about your company all the time. So why don't they tell people? And, why don't they write it down? Because you don't ask. Your customers are busy people. They don't think about your business day in and day out like you do. Testimonials don't have to be written in a formal letter. You'll often get more us. . .

How to Create Killer Keywords to Get FREE Traffic to your...

When exploring good keyword choices there are several steps one must consider. The most important step is putting your self in the shoes of the type of customer you want to target. Just make a list of the keywords or phrases you think that customer would enter into a search engine or directory when searching for your company or site. A good tool is WordTracker.com which will help you brainstorm. . .

Modern Marketing With Postcards

Postcards may be one of the best kept secrets of modern marketing. They produce even better results now than in the past. That's probably because postcards deliver information the way people want to get it today ...fast and with little or no effort. Use Postcards to Generate Website Traffic and Sales Leads A brief captivating message on a postcard with an enticing offer sent to the right p. . .

How To Write Direct Mail That Really, Really Works!

So, you have something you want to sell. It may be a product, a service, or a cause. It could be a membership, a subscription, or a motor car. It might be paper, health products or the idea that the humane society or the Alzheimer’s association is worth giving money to. It could be computer equipment, hand-sewn dolls clothes or garden gnomes. Whatever it is you are selling, you need to let the . . .

Sales As A Positive Experience

No matter what your age or stage in life, some words come with preconceived meaning. "Sales" is one of them. For most people, it means being put in a position to have to buy something you don't want at a price you can't afford. Therefore, how do you conduct a critical element of the small business marketing process without incurring the negative impact of the word "sales"? It starts with you. . .

Woo the Buyer's Limbic Mind or All Your Sales Efforts are...

If you've driven yourself crazy trying to figure out why so many customers get away, relax. You can't figure it out because... It's not logical. The impulse that makes people buy from one business instead of another is no more logical than the baying of an elk's mating call. In fact, it works exactly the same way, through the limbic system. The limbic system is instinctive--older than language,. . .

How SPAM Sells Sex, Greed and Survival

The unsolicited email people react to most is what yells for money through our base needs involving sex, greed and survival.Selfish SPAMMER messages are more clear to understand than all the subtle appearances of simple unsolicited email such as misdirected messages with incorrect email addresses. The top 10 abusers generate most of the unsolicited email worldwide. The top in this group are loc. . .

What's Love Got To Do With It?

Customer Loyalty, we all want it. Don’t we?Some people say it’s dead - they say that customers are fickle, that they don’t want loyalty, that they just want the lowest price and the fastest way to get it. Some say that customers have changed and that the pursuit of loyalty is foolish, since it’s the customers that are not interested in it. I don’t agree. Loyalty is not DEAD, it’s just sleeping.. . .

The Top 10 Powerful Tools for Growing Sales Through Creat...

Your mission as a business owner is to develop a marketing strategy which offers your potential clients/customers a way to improve their situation in a certain way, solve a problem, provide more value, or open new opportunities for them which will motivate them to pick up the phone and buy from you. This requires that the focus of your marketing plan be placed on your customer…NOT ON YOU! Taken. . .

Nine Things To Know Before Selecting The Web Host For You...

It may seem simple yet it is often times overlooked. When it comes to choosing the right Internet hosting provider for their websites, the majority of business owners or companies know very little about making the best Internet/web hosting decisions. What makes a good Internet/web hoster for a business website? What makes a bad one? How can the wrong Internet/web hoster help/harm your business. . .

Where Can I Get Clients From?

The following tips have come from a wide variety of sources; some from other successful businesses we know, some from our Home-Based and Small Business Support Group meetings and some we've developed by trial and error.Some of the ways to get clients are: contact previous employers; mailing lists; cold call your target market; attend group meetings and seminars for your target market (conventio. . .

Your 30 Second Commercial

This tip is so simple, that many people we've talked with never bother using it, but it is highly effective. Prepare a 30 second verbal commercial about what your business offers. This should be 50 words or less, and practice saying it until it becomes second nature. End it with phrases such as "I'd love to have you as a client" or "I'd like to do business with you".For example, my 30 second co. . .

How Can I Get Name Recognition?

Some of the ways in which to get your "name out there" are to call your local television and radio stations, and ascertain whether there is a medium you can get your name in. A very good source are public stations that hold auctions, at which you can donate your services. Talk shows, both radio and television. Do something to get yourself noticed and send it to them. For example, we sent a fax . . .

Don't Work with Jerks: How to Recognize a Difficult Clie...

Five minutes into the call I knew this client was going to make my life miserable. The problem was, I already said "Yes."Into every professional practice falls a little rain, or better said...walks in a nightmare client. You start losing sleep by a couple of hours every night, you keep thinking about her project during your lunch time, and you feel like your life has been taken over by this c. . .

Marketing Tips- Who Are You Competing With?

Before you can market, you need to know who you are marketing to. Who is your customer? How will you market? Will you cold call, mail, set appointments or employ a walk in approach? Be careful with the walk in approach as many businesses do not permit soliciting. You might just want to drop off information and follow up with a telephone call.In order to determine who your market is look at your. . .

Internet Marketing for Dummies!

There are many people every day jumping into the online world. With more and more people using the internet the floodgates of internet users are opening wider everyday. But how, as a home business owner, can you expect to compete with the “big dogs” of the internet and dip your cup into the profits as well?There are a ton of tips and tricks that people will tell you are the “best” way to adve. . .

Success Guaranteed With Your Opt In List

Some time ago I was thinking about the best and most foolproof way to earn great income on internet. I came to conclusion that success in internet marketing can be reached with my own opt in list. That is why I wrote this article.In my search for ways to build my own successful opt in list I came to several conclusions how to build an opt in list that buys. In this article I will reveal you fou. . .

Product Review- Quick and Easy Ways to Instantly Mine Pur...

The other day I was surfing the net looking for resources relating to WordTracker. WordTracker is, in my opinion, one of the top two market research tools on the net. The problem is that very few people understand how to harness the real power this service provides. Heck, I’m been stuck in their ‘Keyword Universe’ section for hours… until now. The only resource I could find on harnessing the po. . .

Marketing Tips - Advertising

Typical methods of advertising-newspapers, radio and television are effective if used properly, but there are other, less expensive ways to get your company's name out.Local or cable television is an inexpensive alternative to the traditional forms of advertising. Even if you have no experience advertising in this medium, there are companies who specialize in lending a helping hand. Even if fin. . .

Frodo's Journey: What It Can Teach You About Marketing Y...

Just recently, I took a break and caught "The Return of the King" at the movie theater. At the same time, I was pondering a topic for this article. As often happens, the themes and timing converged. Here are 10 things you can learn about marketing your small business from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. 1) The task is primarily yours. In the Lord of the Rings, Frodo must complete the task that i. . .

Don’t Let Legitimate Email Marketing Campaigns Suffer A J...

Volume-based filtering may be pre-sorting your marketing messages to the bulk folder or worse.You’ve got a great product, fantastic customer service, and a loyal base of customers that opt-in to your email list. They’re interested in staying abreast of new products, special offers, and other news and relevant information you send them. Unfortunately, customers don’t seem to be getting the mes. . .