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January 26, 2008
Article Marketing for Affiliate Profits
If you have a small advertising budget, but you want a proven way to spread the word about your affiliate products or services, article marketing is the perfect solution. By offering informative, easy-to-read content that appeals to the search engines, you can drive significant traffic to your web pages for affiliate profits.
The key to effective article marketing is to offer useful and interesting content that is optimized for the search engines.
To start the article, choose a topic that pertains to your affiliate offerings and find the best keywords related to the topic. You can use a free resource such as Keyword Playground to research the popularity of certain words and use Google to research the competitiveness of the keywords.
Informative, well-written content with a keyword density of three to five percent is a good step to getting your article ranked in the search engines. Do not, however, overuse keywords or else your articles will be ranked lower due to the spam flag.
Make sure to research the topic you are writing about through Google searches, encyclopedias and/or library research so you offer meaningful content.
Choose an attention-grabbing title to raise interest, such as posing a question or a challenge to your readers. As you write the article, check your spelling and grammar so your writing has a professional appearance.
If you find the process difficult, you may choose to invest in a program such as Fat Content that guides you through SEO writing step-by-step and includes an optimized search engine browser for outstanding research.
Unique articles providing outstanding information will bring the most traffic to your affiliate pages. Once you prepare an original, well-written article, proofread your work or ask someone else to read your article so you know it makes sense.
Once the article is perfect, it's time to submit it to article directories such as Ezine Articles, Article City and Go Articles. You can also feature your article on blogs, forums and newsletters. Make sure, however, that your bio box includes the link to your affiliate website before you submit to the directories.
Although it can be time-consuming, writing great articles is an affordable way to boost your affiliate profits even if you have a small advertising budget. And if you're able to to write an over-the-top article that goes viral, you'll be amazed at the traffic it will bring you.
Posted by billenross at 03:20 PM | Comments (0)
January 16, 2008
Autoresponders Can Be Harmful To Your Wealth
It is an indisputable fact that the hard working autoresponder has been and most likely will remain an integral tool in any marketer’s toolbox. However, just as with any "power tool," this one needs to be used with caution. This is especially true in today's Spam conscious marketplace.
Autoresponders exist in a number of different forms with various levels of product options. In it's most basic form it can be found in the cPanel. Here it really only performs the basic function of responding to a received email. One can easily set it to respond, or send a return message automatically to any incoming email. Even in this most basic form this can be a very useful tool.
More complex versions can be found in what are referred to as paid third party autoresponder companies. These companies provide very complex systems that perform many more functions than just responding. They are able to store data to compile extensive mailing lists. Provide form code software to allow the placement of opt in forms on websites. Allow the choice of single or double opt in registration to various lists.
They offer the ability to send any number of delayed follow up messages to an entire list or to portions of any given list in either text or html or both. Allow a given list to be achieved or activated at will. All these and many more features are available today with any good autoresponder company.
A third version of autoresponders is in the form of various software programs that can be purchased outright and installed on a domain. With this system one can operate a fully owned and controlled autoresponder.
The last form of autoresponder is a type that is provided by some hosting companies as a part of their hosting packages. These have traditionally been full-featured autoresponders capable of performing very advanced functions.
It is in the latter two types of autoresponders where the most potential of harm to your wealth as mentioned in the article title lies. It is not necessary to go into the major problems that have arisen in the past several years because of Spam issues. You are most likely aware that a single flame or Spam complaint against you can get your ISP, (internet service provider), or your hosting account instantly cancelled. You are guilty until proven innocent and in most cases the burden of proof lies with the individual.
Hosting companies and ISPs have zero tolerance for Spam complaints. This is necessary from a business standpoint for these companies because a complaint to an individual automatically affects many others. How can this be?
The general public is not aware that at these companies these accounts are hosted on servers. Servers are the computers that "serve" up the websites that you "browse" for from your computer or laptop. There are normally many hundreds of accounts on any given server. These servers have a dedicated IP address. A single complaint from any one account can block the IP for that server thereby effectively shutting down the server and blocking all associated accounts.
When this occurs it becomes the burden of the company to have their staff contact the proper authorities and assure them that the offending account has been removed so that the server IP can then be unblocked. This can be a time consuming and expensive activity.
In addition, unknown to the general public, many ISPs will block any emails coming from companies with IP addresses suspected of sending out large amounts of email. If your autoresponder account is on one of these IP addresses you may think your emails are being delivered when in fact they are simply bouncing. This is a tremendous loss to your business.
However the third party paid autoresponder companies mentioned above exist solely to provide a consistent and trouble free environment for your email lists. Their staff is highly trained to quickly and professionally respond to complaints and get them cleared as fast as possible. Because their only purpose is providing autoresponder services they are very good at making sure that your emails are delivered on time and with the highest rate of successful delivery.
When using these services, if the worse case scenario were to occur and you were to receive a complaint of a nature where your account would be suspended, then you would only lose your autoresponder account and not your more valuable ISP or hosting account.
The moral here is to give consideration to the loss of revenue caused to your business by using the wrong tools. In most cases if you will do the math you will come to the conclusion that the peace of mind, low monthly cost and increased delivery of your email will cause you to investigate the available paid autoresponder services.
Posted by billenross at 10:18 PM | Comments (0)
January 05, 2008
GPS [Growth Plan for Success]
GPS usually stands for "Global Positioning System." But it could stand for "Growth Plan for Success." You need a plan to reach any stage of success, and success usually is a result of personal growth. Here are a few things to consider for your plan.
Thinking and acting positively is part of training yourself to feel and believe you are going to be successful. It is your self-fulfilling prophecy! But it will only work if you make it work. You need to create your own GPS, not one someone else has created. Others can give you suggestions, but only you can decide what will work for you and your circumstances.
Success is no accident, you do need to make a plan. First, you need to plan our your long-term goals. Decide where you want to be, and then you need to decide on your strategy and have an action plan for things you want to achieve and target dates for reaching those goals.
Set your short-term goals after you determine your long-term goals. Review them on a regular basis. Each successive goal should be just a little harder than you think you can manage. Always make sure you are aiming higher than you think you can reasonably reach at each stage. Even if you don't quite make that higher goal, most likely you will have accomplished more than if you had set your goal lower. Dream dreams, dream big dreams!
Your GPS needs to be a highly visible part of your life every day. It should be a written plan and be somewhere you can see it every morning. You need to review your goals, and review the steps you will take to achieve them. Every day you should pick at least one thing to achieve that takes you nearer to your long-term goal. Take one step at a time, one turn in a new direction at a time, but never stop moving forward, never lose your momentum. It is much harder to start over than it is to keep following your GPS. If you fail to keep sight of your goals, you will never achieve them.
If possible, create a dream board with the things you want to do or have when you reach your "destination." Be as specific as possible. The things you put on your board should be things you get emotional about when you think about them. Don't put a picture of money up there, put a picture of what you want to buy with that money. Think about why it is you want that "thing" you can buy with that money. Then, make a chart of the steps you need to take to reach your goals so that you can cross each item off as you complete them. This will give you a great sense of accomplishment and a realization that you are in control of your success every day by taking at least one step forward.
One way to help you believe in yourself and in your ability to reach your goals is to see yourself in the future one year, two years, or five years from where you are right now. Imagine yourself doubling your current income. How would that make you feel? What would you do with the extra money? What if you tripled your income? What would you do with all of that money? Chances are you may find it difficult to spend all of that money. But now you don't have to worry about paying bills anymore. The more "real" your vision, the deeper the desire becomes and the closer to your "reality" it will become. The universe will already be in motion to give you what you request if you just keep moving forward with your plan.
Make the best use of your time as possible. If you let fear hold you back, you will put off starting on your "trip", whether it be fear of failure or fear of success. Yes, you could actually be afraid to succeed, afraid of what your friends and family will think of you. Procrastination sets in and you may find yourself looking for any excuse to not get started. Maybe you need just one more cup of coffee or you have to read your email first. This is not the way to get to the "road to success." Get focused and get started. It just needs to be progress, it does not need to be perfect.
It's OK to be fearful, that is natural. Take on a task in stages and work out short periods of time to do at least a part of a task. Think of it as stepping stones on a path that you can only see a short distance in front of you. As you step on the next stone, the path in front of you opens up a little more. You don't have to see all the way to the end of the path, you just need to see the next stepping stone and keep moving along the path. Stay focused and don't allow distractions. Allow yourself peace and quiet. Put a sign on the door if necessary to let family members know you are hard at work on your "GPS."
Learn to work the plan, live with the plan, and see the plan as your roadmap to success. Don't treat it as an enemy--actually it is your best friend. Review your progress and goals frequently. Learn from your mistakes and grow with each step of the process. You will never be the same person in the end that you were in the beginning, whether or not you reach your ultimate "destination." Every successful step you take makes you a different person, with more knowledge and skills. Each unsuccessful step you take also makes you a different person, with a different kind of knowledge that will steer you in a different direction.
Make sure your plan allows time for you to enjoy the journey, to think about where you want to go, and why. Enjoy the personal growth you have made along the way. It is the journey that is the most fun, don't miss it while you look into the future.
Plan your future with a success plan, your own "GPS" that becomes your daily routine. Keep challenging yourself to improve your knowledge and skills to succeed, not just in business, but in life as well. Keep moving forward. You will find that success you are looking for.
Posted by billenross at 02:31 PM | Comments (0)
