Kreative Ramblings
Archive for June, 2010
WantTo Bump Up Your E-zine Subscriber Numbers?
Author: Karen McGreeveyBumping up your e-zine subscriber numbers is one of the dilemmas that’s often talked about by those “new” to Internet Marketing, as well as by those who’ve been around the “net” for any length of time.
Because it seems subscribers tend to come and go, it’s important to either find new ways to attract and to keep your readers, or to “dig out your old” methods and you “resurrect those” on a regular basis!
So, here are some suggestions that might help you to get and to keep your “list in order.”
1. Entice “subscriber suspects” by showing them a sample issue of your e-zine. And while you’re at it, black out some of the important information; this will make them more curious & subscribe.
2. Give away a free follow-up auto responder course. And while you’re at it, publish your e-zine ad in each lesson. The more people see it, the higher the chance they’ll subscribe. Especially since by that time they will have seen what you have to offer products-wise and service-wise.
3. Offer your potential customers a discount on a particular product you sell, if they subscribe to your free e-zine. They’ll be inclined to come back again and again.
4. Give other businesses permission to give a free subscription to your e-zine as a bonus for a product they sell. Like the “I’ll pat your back if you pat mine,” you’ll find they’ll be eager to help you increase your subscribers. Then you can help them later, in return.
5. Ask your potential subscribers questions that will make it hard for them to not subscribe, like: “Would you like to be able to retire before you’re 40?” Or, something similar that is specific to your niche market.
6. Write your e-zine’s ad to sound like it is common sense to subscribe. For example: “Everyone knows you have to…”
7. Assume people are going to instantly subscribe to your e-zine. For example: “Dear Healthy Subscriber” They will want to subscribe in order to feel healthy.
8. Allow your subscribers to collect stuff from each issue of your e-zine. It could be e-books or software. They’ll tell others and those people will subscribe.
9. Tell people what their friends or family might say as a result of them of learning what’s in your e-zine. People care about what other people think of them.
10. Make people feel like it’s their idea to subscribe, they will be less hesitant. Tell them in your ad “You are making a smart decision for subscribing”.
Jewels of Life: Dream, Internet Marketing, Tips and Tricks, Working with a VA
read comments (0)The End of the “Web Success Tips” for This Time Around
Author: Karen McGreeveyFor the last few days, in a “series” format, I’ve posted quite a few tips on how you might make some changes to your Web site so that it will be a little bit different and stand out as it helps you to get some new traffic!
So now, here are the few final thoughts…
Don’t Operate in a Cocoon.
The Internet is a mode of communication shared by millions! So when you set up your Web site, don’t operate it as if you are a self-contained island. Get out there and keep up with the program, as in “in tune” with what is happening on other Web sites similar to yours.
Participate in forums.
Post links to other Web sites and ask for a link in return. Form partnerships with other sites, if it is appropriate.
When it comes to being in touch, people like personal contact. Which means hiding behind a general email address like “sales” and “info” is OK as long as there is also a way to email (or to call) you directly.
It’s especially good if a company allows you to email management directly. For instance, just remember how much you’re not exactly thrilled when you call a company and get stuck in their automated phone system. After all, there are times you really do want to just talk to a “live” someone. So see that your visitors have that ability, too.
What’s your plan to get your traffic to come back.
How about using newsletters, out-going email, contests, forums, clubs, auctions–anything that will cause your visitors to want to return to your site. When you post links to other Web sites, don’t just send your visitors somewhere else.
They may never return! Give them an exit page, as well as maybe a “pop-up” reminder to “come back” when they try to leave your site. Or, at the very least, have your external links open in a new window.
Keep track of your visitors
This means pay attention to your site’s statistics and react to or make changes accordingly. For instance, when someone comes to your site, what do they read? How did they find you? Do they just come, “look around your home page” and then quickly leave from your home page? How long are they are on your Web site? Are they a “bouncer?” How about a “boomerang?” Do they return?
Answers to questions like these will be especially valuable as they will help you to fine-tune your site based on the needs and wants of your customers.
Remember, the really BIG mistake you can make is to have a site that is designed for what YOU want, not what your visitor, customer, reader wants or needs. And so, a successful Web site is put together with your target audience in mind, not as a way to impress you.
Jewels of Life: Believe, Internet Marketing, Tips and Tricks, Working with a VA
Ways to Have Success with your Web site
Author: Karen McGreeveyFor the last two days, I’ve posted several tips on how you mightspruce up your Web site so it stands out and helps you to generate traffic.
So, with today’s post, here are a few more tips:
Pay Attention to Form/Design.
Some sites simply over-do it on the eye-candy. Big graphics just for the sake of graphics often impress your site’s designer more than your visitor. So, do not use graphics that are large and purposeless.
Remember, some visitors may still be accessing your Web site using dial-up. So, your site needs to load up quickly for all users. A slow Web site, more often than not, will cause your users to just get frustrated and thus leave your site rather quickly.
Also, pay attention to graphic and design size. Many web designers operate on fairly large screen resolutions and sometimes forget that even though a graphic looks great to you, it will appear enormous to someone on a smaller resolution.
On the other hand, don’t go too light on graphics. A poorly designed site that uses the default font and no color is really not very aesthetically pleasing. And any web visitor, whether they admit it or not, judges your company by your Web site unless they have something else to go on.
A well-designed site communicates professionalism; one that’s poorly designed makes the site seem like an afterthought.
Promote.
When a visitor communicates with you by email, it is best to use a web form.
Not only will this keep your email address from being picked up by spammers, it will also allow you to ask your customers for their email address and then to store that address for later use.
Also, employ a “push/pull” marketing strategy. A visitor coming to your Web site is the pull, but later you want to push content back to them in the form of a newsletter or other promotional material. So start a mailing list and use it.
Invite your visitors to sign up.
Remember, how you promote your business can make it or break it, and as long as you respect the ethical considerations of your mailing list, you should use it.
Tomorrow, I’ll have the few final tips, so I look forward to you checking back tomorrow!
Jewels of Life: Believe, Internet Marketing, Tips and Tricks, Working with a VA
A Couple More Tips for Your Web Success
Author: Karen McGreeveyYesterday, I began a “few days” series about some tips you might use to help you create web site that stands out and one that helps you generate traffic.
So, get on your computer or get your paper and favorite pen, take notes, and then take a look at these tips:
Create your site for your customers, not how you think it ought to be for you. Your site needs to satisfy the needs of your customers, not your company. This means forget about posting content that is not really useful to your customers. And avoid over-flattering marketing hype about your company. Stuff like that is designed to inflate your ego more than it helps your customer.
Involve your Visitor. Keep your visitor involved and make him feel like a valuable contributor. And actively ask for his feedback and suggestions.
Ask for responses from your visitors and answer any such communication as quickly as possible. When you do hear from them, figure out a way to collect their email address. This will allow you to stay in touch with them long after they have moved on and forgotten about you.
Keep Your Site Current and Up-to-Date. The content on your Web site needs to be timely and relevant to your customer’s life. Further, posting month-old news is not all that interesting. Or posting dry product information, which never changes, holds very little interest either.
While it’s true you do need to have product information and other information on your site that won’t change much, you can also include more timely content.
For example, you can post content about how one can use your products in certain life situations. For instance, you could provide tips and techniques, things that are immediately applicable and solve a problem.
With that said, stop back tomorrow to get a few more tips. See you then!
Jewels of Life: Believe, Internet Marketing, Tips and Tricks, Working with a VA
A Tip Or Two For Web Success
Author: Karen McGreeveyFor as many Web sites and web designers and web creators as there are, there at least that many (or mostly so) ideas on how to find some success when creating your site on the Internet.
Since I’ve got quite a few ideas about this that I’d like to share, I’ll post some of these tips over the next few days.
You might consider that one of your biggest jobs as an online entrepreneur is to get traffic and keep your customers/visitors coming back.
Building your site is one thing, but simply building and posting a Web site does not guarantee traffic! In fact, your Web site could be beautiful and a “story book” example of all the latest technology, yet it will still not attract a single visitor if it’s not promoted correctly or adequately!
So, get on your computer or get your paper and favorite pen, take notes, and then begin to create your Web site using these two tips:
(1) Compared to print, the Internet is a new medium.
And your Web site is a waste of time and space if it simply re-hashes something that could just as easily be put into print. So, create your site so that it’s more than an “online brochure.”
Include features that take advantage of the Internet as a medium of communication. Filter information for your visitors. Provide a search capability. And make your site interactive. Include features like forums, quizzes and tools. Web visitors like to interact.
(2) Your time is valuable, as is that of your customer. So show your visitors that you know it!
For instance, when a person visits your Web site you have his or her attention for that moment in time. So, you either need to use it – fast – or you will lose it. Since most visitors have short attention spans, you need to design your site home page so it quickly grabs their attention and lets them find with what they are looking for right away.
It’s like walking into a restaurant. If you walk in and just stand there and nobody comes to greet you, you might wonder what is going on. But, if the hostess comes and says hello right away and walks you to a table, you will be inclined to eat and stay around a while.
The same goes for your Web site. So don’t over-complicate your Web site home page. Your best results will be obtained if you make it clear to your visitor right from the start where to click to find what he or she needs.
Tomorrow, I’ll have a few more tips. See you then!
Jewels of Life: Believe, Internet Marketing, Tips and Tricks, Working with a VA
To Video Blog Or Not: With These Pros and Cons, You Decide
Author: Karen McGreeveyIf you’ve been on the Internet for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed that more and video blogging seems to be taking the World Wide Web” by storm.
To be sure, it does have a lot of advantages over text-based blogging, so it is little wonder this new technology outlet is catching on all over the world!
Video blogs very effectively grab the attention of web surfers. In fact, people are much more likely to become excited about the dynamic content of a video blog than they are likely to find a written post thrill inducing.
And it seems that the more enthusiastic viewers are about a site, the quicker the word of mouth spreads, and the more traffic the site will get!
Of course, there are plenty of disadvantages to video blogging as well.
Hosting a v-blog requires quite a bit of server space, which can, in turn, make it somewhat difficult to get started. Particularly as it takes more time to process and upload a video file than it does to dash off a quick bit of text.
Which means that running and updating a video blog can be quite a bit of work.
Not only that, web surfers sometimes grow frustrated with the slow loading times of the files on many video blogs. (Actually this “slow load” thing can also happen with photos on a site, as well.)
So, whether or not you opt for a video blog will depend upon what the subject matter you want to cover, and how much time you can devote to the upkeep of your video blogging.
So before you decide to pursue creating and maintaining a video blog, think about whether there is an easier way for you to get your message across.
Jewels of Life: Believe, Internet Marketing, Resources, Tips and Tricks, Working with a VA
Looking for Traffic to Your Site?
Author: Karen McGreeveyOkay, so you’ve got your Web site, your blog, or your sales page up and public.
Yet, no one is stopping by to take a look. Or at least you haven’t seen sign that your “numbers” have gone up! So, what do you do?
Try “forums!”
Find one or more of the forums in your niche or one that interests you, and sign up/register to participate, “introduce yourself,” and then follow along with the various threads/topics.
After you “get the lay of the land,” you can begin to respond to some of the posts. This way, you’ll show you know your stuff about the various topics.
Of course, you’ll do best by keeping your posts on a “helping others” track as opposed to looking for a way to sell your wares to anyone there who reads your posts.
Also, one of the really neat things about the “forum” is that usually you can put information about your Web site or your blog into your signature line. And that link is but a click away to taking anyone reading your post to your Web site where the reader can learn more about you.
This helps you to “kill two birds with one stone;” you get traffic, and your traffic can see you really know what you’re talking about.
Jewels of Life: Believe, Dream, Internet Marketing, Tips and Tricks, Working with a VA
Using an Audio Interview for an Information Product
Author: Karen McGreeveyIf you’re like some people, you might think of information products and immediately think eBook. But there are other forms of information products such as video and audio. (Actually, an information product, is one that “provides information,” and an easy way to provide that information is through an audio interview or teleseminar.)
You would do it like this:
Say you want to create a product to help dog owners train their dogs. You can start by finding someone who will interview you, preferably someone who has experience conducting teleseminars or interviews.
During the interview you will be asked questions about training dogs, how to train them, what to feed them, exercise tips, etc. You simply answer these questions and provide other useful information to dog owners during the interview.
Once you’re finished with the interview, you can have it transcribed. And now you have an audio interview with a transcript, which you can package and sell as a product!
Not bad for just sitting and talking!
Now, if you want, you can go a step further and throw in a few bonuses like a special “dog training exercise” report or “how to keep your dog fit and healthy” report. The idea here is to add a few other high value items to increase bulk and then also the value of your product.
Even better, another great way to use audio for your information product is to conduct a teleseminar. It’s quite similar to the interview, except there will be other attendees present, and then you usually allow time for a Question and Answer session (Q&A) at the end of the call.
During the course of the call you answer questions and provide tips and information. You’re the expert and will be sharing your valuable expert knowledge with your audience. And once your teleseminar is finished, you can also transcribe and package the call, along with your audio, as an information product.
You’ll quickly find that it’s pretty easy to incorporate audio either in the form of an interview or a teleseminar, into your Internet Marketing habits. It’s also a very effective way to produce and to quickly get information products out to your audience within a fairly short period of time.
Jewels of Life: Believe, Internet Marketing, Tips and Tricks, Working with a VA