Low Cost Business

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Three Things You Must Do Before You Submit To Article Directories

To all writers and non-writers out there, now is the time to start digging up those creative writing skills.With modern communication technology comes the popularity of information-based marketing, which is one of the oldest and most effective techniques in getting targeted prospects to sites and converting them into buyers. This is

Targeting New Customers and Encouraging Repeat Business

There are three ways to grow your business; 1. Generate new customers, 2. Encourage existing customers to become more frequent repeat customers, and 3. Increase the average amount your customers spend. In this article, I will outline a tried-and-tested strategy to generate new customers and encourage repeat business, allowing you to focus on boosting individual sale revenues through special product offers. The ideas I present have helped thousands of small businesses just like yours succeed through expanding their customer base and driving repeat sales. But before we get down to business, let's begin with a short story:

You've just arrived to your new home. Your living room is filled with boxes, and your mind is full of the excitement that comes with changing locations, changing routines, and maybe even changing jobs. You're ready to celebrate. But you don't know that much about your new location. You don't know which spots are hot, and which are not. Which clubs offer drink specials, and which have dress codes. You're ready to have funbut now if you could only decide on where.

Sound familiar? Many individuals have been in this situation after moving to a new location; they're eager to get out and explore the nightclub and bar scene in their new towns, but they don't know where to go or who to ask.

As a nightclub or bar owner, these new movers represent a perfect opportunity for you to draw new customers to your location, some of which will likely become your nightly "regulars." But how do you speak to these new movers? How can you attract them to your locale when they don't know anything about the area?

Simple. You make them an offer they can't refuse.

The best way to capture a new mover's attention is to speak to them directly. Send a letter your new mover's home, welcoming her to the neighborhood. Briefly introduce yourself and your business in the letter, and present the customer with an irresistible offer, such as a $20 gift certificate at your establishment. No-strings-attached, no "buy one get one free" offersjust a certificate inviting your new mover to have a night out on you at your establishment.

Chances are you'll see that new mover on Friday night. She'll walk into your bar, armed with your offer for a night of free entertainment, and present you with a chance to create a repeat customer.

People are creatures of habit. If they go to a bar and receive quality service in a fun, friendly, and safe atmosphere, they will most likely think of the same establishment next time they feel like cutting loose.

It's your job as a business owner to make sure that each new mover that enters your bar or nightclub has a great time and leaves excited to return. Make sure your employees provide customers that present New Mover gift certificates with the best service and products available. Explain to your bar staff that these individuals have come to your establishment with a no-strings-attached gift certificate and will most likely tip their wait staff very well. The key is to give your customers a reason to visit you in the first place, and then show them such a good time that they will be eager to return.

While building new relationships with customers is an important part of running a successful business, learning how to drive customers to your door when you need them the most is equally significant. Youve already started to attract new customers with your New Movers program, but you must also begin to start reaching out to your current customers and encourage them to visit your business again and again during times when they normally may not. And heres how to do just that.

Next time a new customer presents a New Movers gift certificate, ask that she sign the back of the offer and provide an email address. Use these email addressesas well as those you should be collecting from existing customersto build up a database of individuals that you know have visited your bar or nightclub in the past and have most likely had a good time. Next time you're expecting a slow Tuesday or Wednesday night, create a special offersay, half price on wells and tapsand email a certificate to the customers who have previously provided you with their email addresses. While they may not usually go out on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, if you impressed and entertained them the last time they visited your establishment, most will probably think about stopping by for a drink with their colleagues on their way home from work that night.

And there you have it. You've turned a slow night into one that has filled your bar or nightclub with familiar faces.

Peter Drucker, a recently deceased marketing guru, said it best when he said that "the purpose of business is not to make a sale, but to make and keep a customer." You must aggressively market your business to customers by providing them with a reason to try out your services, and must impress them enough that they will always be eager to return. In addition, smart businessmen know that the best way to foster repeat business is to target previous customers with offers and specials that they will find hard to resist. Follow these strategies, and your nightly list of "regulars" will continue to grow and grow.

Jay Siff is the CEO and Founder of Moving Targets and Loyal Rewards and is a recognized expert on smart marketing strategies. Siff works closely with small business owners to help them attract new customers and build on existing customer relationships with targeted new mover marketing campaigns and customer loyalty initiatives.

Additional information about Siff, Moving Targets, and Loyal Rewards can be found online at http://www.movingtargets.com and http://www.loyalrewards.com

Viral marketing is a methods of list building

There are multiple methods of list building, and if you are just getting started, until you have gained mastery over one or two methods, it is advisable to use multiple methods of list building strategies. You’ll see every step of the process, no matter how small, in exacting detail so

Once you have your website up and running, you may be shocked if, after a few months, you aren't getting any visitors and you're still in the dungeons of the major search engines. If you have good content, lots of SEO and a great product or service, what's keeping you from being seen? It's most likely your lack of links. The importance of links to your site's placement in the most popular search engines can't be underestimated. Links tell the search engines how popular your site is with others who are on the web.

You could, of course, simply submit your site to a paid links site that promises you "thousands of links" for your site and hope that whatever they throw at the wall sticks, but that may not be your best bet. After all, search engines are increasingly savvy to how links work, and if your site has hundreds of links that aren't really relevant to your product or service, your link popularity will probably remain quite low in the rankings. On the other hand, what help is there in having highly relevant links in limited numbers? It is this balancing act between link popularity and link relevance, or pop that is so hard to maintain. Finding the right balance is essential.

Link Popularity: The Case for and Against Numbers. Every site should try to cultivate multiple links to their site. One-way links from other sites to yours indicate that lots of people are interested in what you have to offer, and search engines do recognize this link popularity and reward it in the rankings. Reciprocal links are also a good way to increase your presence in the search rankings. With reciprocal links, you can show up in searches for your own product or service and searches for the products and services of those sites you've linked to.

The down side to this type of linking is that you can also be penalized in the ranks if you have hundreds of links, one-way or reciprocal, to sites that have nothing to do with your own site's purpose. It's why submission to paid linking services can be a bad idea. If you end up linked to sites that are too diverse or questionable in their content, you'll drop quickly in the ranks. A site selling baby clothes linked to hundreds of baby product and care sites will do well. A baby clothes site linked to thousands of sites peddling porn, vitamins, diuretics and auto loans won't.

How to "Pop": Understanding the Importance of Quality. When establishing links, be industry specific. A handful of links from other sites that are focused in some way on your industry, whether it's cleaning products, income tax preparation or natural food supplements will help pop you closer to the top in the search engines. If you make natural herbal teas, look for links to natural health and living, teas and natural cures, all inter-related topics that are relevant to what you offer.

Industry directories are also a great place to submit links that are high quality. Why? Because the larger directories are set up with complex search capabilities. Their category descriptions, Meta tags and keywords all result in highly relevant, top quality links. Because they were designed expressly to make finding particular industry information easier, a lot of time and effort has gone into the links and how they are interconnected.

Links are "graded" by the search engines based on complex algorithms that detect not only how many links there are to your site, but also how relevant those links are (keep the whole diuretics and porn links problem in mind) to your own product or service. A higher relevancy score in the search engines gives you more weight based on the authority of the sites you're linked to. Will ten incoming links from little-known sites equal one link from a site featuring recognized experts in your field? One hundred? One thousand? Or will your small cache of links from big, important sites count you out because everyone else seems to have thousands of links, relevant or not, compared to your hundreds?

The fact is, the algorithms that determine which sites are the best are evolving daily. A balance of link popularity and link "pop" is essential to being recognized by search engines and moving up through the rankings. Once you've achieved that status, however, you have to maintain it. That means constantly "tweaking" the links to and from your site. Fine-tuning both number and relevance in order to maintain your spot. Finding the proper balance and adjusting your Internet presence to optimize both content and links is a never-ending process that, when done properly, can place you on the front page of the best search engines.

Vertical Measures is a search engine marketing company that specializes in providing a quality link building service.

Viral marketing is a methods of list building

There are multiple methods of list building, and if you are just getting started, until you have gained mastery over one or two methods, it is advisable to use multiple methods of list building strategies. You’ll see every step of the process, no matter how small, in exacting detail so

Article marketing is a great way for an internet marketer to succeed. How can you do it? Easy. Just sign up for any article hosting website, they're all free, I suggest ezinearticles.com, and start writing articles. Not just 1-3 articles, I mean as many articles as you can. This is the best way to dominate a keyword and beat out your competition.

Whenever you have a subject that you want to talk about, break that subject up into 30 sub topics. Then do it again, then again, until you can't do it anymore. And when you think you can't do it anymore, do it again! Every sub topic is an article marketing gold mine! Every sub topic can lead you to the greatest traffic creating marketing asset that you'll ever encounter. Sub topics are the key to article marketing.

Once you have found your sub topic's, start writing, and writing and writing. Write about your sub topics like your a professional. Write non-stop. Don't stop, keep writing. Don't think, just write. Write write write. That is the article marketing secret. To write an endless amount of articles without stopping to think if what you just said would work or not. Just keep writing.

Why do you keep writing? That's the best way to dominate your keyword, to flood the market with your articles. Mind you, no spamming. Don't just cut and paste, this is a bad way to write an article, and your article hosting server will delete your account. So write unique and different content! But don't sit down and start writing rough drafts! Article marketing isn't about quality, it's about quantity! The more information you have to provide to the market, the more Google will think you're a valuable resource, and increase your page ranking.

This is the marketing secret of every successful internet marketer. Use this tactic and other internet marketing strategies and I will

SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

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Three Things You Must Do Before You Submit To Article Directories

To all writers and non-writers out there, now is the time to start digging up those creative writing skills.With modern communication technology comes the popularity of information-based marketing, which is one of the oldest and most effective techniques in getting targeted prospects to sites and converting them into buyers. This is

A web directory in it's simplest form can be thought of as a human indexed search engine. Humans can visit a directory website and make resource suggestions through an online form. A human editor will review the suggestion and add it to the directory provided it meets the submission guidelines for the directory.

General vs Niche Directories

There are two major types of web directories on the internet, general and niche. A general web directory will have it's resources sorted into a large number of categories covering a wide range of topics. Niche web directories tend to focus on one subject with resources sorted into a smaller number of highly related categories.

Purpose of Web Directories

The major purpose of a web directory is to provide directory users with a categorized list of high quality websites from a chosen field or industry. With the advent of search engines as the preferred method for finding internet resources the importance of directories as information provider's has diminished. But, as search engine technology and the field of search engine optimization have evolved, a new use for web directories has materialized.

Directories and Link Popularity

Current search engine ranking algorithms place a huge importance on back links to a website as an indicator of it's importance on the internet (known as link popularity). Search engine's value links to websites from web directories because these directories have human editors. Having your website listed in a respected web directory is an indicator to the search engines that your website has met a certain standard for quality and is a site worth linking to.

Search engine's also tend to serve up category pages from trusted web directories near the top of their search results so having your website listed in as many high quality web directories as you can should be part of any website marketing plan, especially when your website is new.

Getting your website listed in a web directory is also an excellent way to build high quality, search engine friendly back links to your website and gain targeted web traffic from both directory users and the boost to your search engine rankings from the increased link popularity of your website.

Please note, it is worth taking the time to carefully review a directory prior to making a submission. Not all directories are search engine friendly or provide traffic to their listings so it is up to the submitter to gather as much information about the web directory submission guidelines, linking structure and reputation prior to submitting a resource for inclusion.

About the Author:

Michael Lawrence is the webmaster for the Cobrasurf Directory of Website Promotion and Search Engine Optimization Resources.

Article Marketing on the Internet is a whole different story

Article Marketing on the Internet is a whole different story because of the way your articles reach humans who have an interest in them. Article Marketing will help you increase your link popularity, search engine positioning for your keywords and phrases, and it helps you reach more potential customers for your products or services.

Article marketing has emerged as the easiest, fastest and least expensive way to build traffic to any website, and build name recognition for yourself as an authority in your field.

In a nutshell, it works like this. You (or someone you hire to ghostwrite for you) write a number of short articles that typically range from 300 to 900 words in length. You keep the articles informative, without an overt sales message. The tone of your articles must be helpful and useful to readers who have an interest in your topic.

Next you submit your articles to any of the hundreds of online article submission sites, also known as "article banks," and agree that anyone can reprint your articles for their websites under certain conditions. These conditions include the fact that you maintain your copyright over your own materials, that the article be reprinted exactly as you published it, without any changes, and that your name and website also be kept intact.

Finally, and most importantly, the person reprinting your article must agree to also publish your "resource box" along with the article.

The resource box is where the magic of article marketing takes place. This is where you can put your sales and marketing message. It is also where you tell readers about yourself and about the services you offer. And finally, the resource box is where you place a link pointing to your website.

When people read your articles, whether they find it on the article bank you submitted the article to, or on another website that reprinted your article, they will naturally read your resource box as well. They may then click on the link to your website and get more information about what you can do for them.

But the key word here is "may." If your resource box does not motivate readers to click on your link and visit your website, the whole effort involved in writing the article will go to waste. Many people spend a lot of time writing very high quality articles only to let down when it comes to crafting the ideal resource box.

Don't make this mistake, make sure your resource box gives readers a reason to click on that link. Don't just offer a benefit, for visiting your site, offer benefits they can have right now. Use phrases like, "find out how," or "learn more about," or "don't lose another minute." Appeal to your readers' need for immediate gratification, and you get more clicks and more visitors for every article you write.

Charles Brown is a copywriter and internet marketer who teaches entrepreneurs how to create superior marketing campaigns, write compelling web content, capture more leads, build huge email lists and use autoresponders to turn casual website visitors into buyers. His popular newsletter, Tightwad Marketing Ideas is a must for any entrepreneur wanting to successfully market any business without spending a fortune.

Viral marketing is a methods of list building

There are multiple methods of list building, and if you are just getting started, until you have gained mastery over one or two methods, it is advisable to use multiple methods of list building strategies. You’ll see every step of the process, no matter how small, in exacting detail so

If you haven't heard of article marketing, welcome to the Internet. Not only will you be hearing more about it, you will probably be interested in developing this skill. Let's start by saying that the name, *information highway* is appropriately descriptive for the Internet. Information as we understand it is recorded in words. Certain groups of words are often used in correlation with each other representing the vernacular of a topic or subject.

Lucky for me, I figured this out in college. Being obsessed with getting A's and not having a lot of background in biology, I knew if I could master 1000 vocabulary words out of the text book, my chances of getting an A were greatly increased. This works by the way.

A few years later, the world is trying to learn a new way to research information on the Internet by guessing a word or two that might help them narrow down the amount of data one might have to go through to find information they are looking for. The hope was that you might be able to guess a word or two that was topic or subject specific enough that it would only retrieve data that you wanted to find.

Now if you are new to the Internet and article marketing you might feel a little confused about how all of this ties into article marketing. Actually, this information is the key to understanding SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and understanding SEO is the key to effective article marketing. More confused? Let me see if I can help clear this up.

Article marketing has two goals. One main goal and the other is a subset of that main goal. The main goal is to drive more targeted traffic to your site. In other words, you don't just want big bunches of people to come look at your site, you want people that have in some way prequalified themselves as interested visitors to come to your site in mass quantities. To be honest with you this probably doesn't sound easy, and before the internet it was even harder than it is now, getting targeted traffic that is.

By the way, those words that people are using to sort information or said another way, that are used to reduce the amount of information that a person should have to go through before finding relevant information to them, are called *Key words.* And when there are at least two or more words put together, they are called *Key Word Phrases.*

What if Dan Iverson could show you how to write about any topic on earth and make money? He'll teach you how to better understand human nature as it relates to e-commerce; how people, from their perspective, come to make a purchase on the Internet. I am talking about learning how you can pick a topic of interest, write about it, and with the right tools and a little research find connections between your readers and real products and services, of which you can become an affiliate and make money. Here is the best part. I will teach you all of this absolutely free. That's right, click on this link and you'll get the full Affiliate Masters Course Free. This is no joke, I promise once you start to read this course, you will see and learn the logical system of affiliate and information marketing. It will open your eyes to the greatest and most versatile opportunity in known history: the Internet. Even if you have a website, you can use these techniques. http://aggressiveinternetmarketing.net/free-tool.html

Online marketing starts with your website

Internet marketing allows you to reach a global audience. Internet marketing is marketing your business online. Online marketing starts with your website; make sure its attractive and easy to use. When they need information, modern-day consumers turn first to the Internet. All of your online marketing will make sure they will find

Gift giving is prevalent in any culture. So what makes Cash Gifting different and what are some considerations that you should know?

What Is It?

The information age has brought on the idea of Cash Gifting online. It is literally what it sounds like. One person sends a "cash gift" to another person, and so on and so forth.

Rather than having a legitimate product to sell and distribute, Cash Gifting programs eliminate the product entirely and just exchange the money. They claim that this is the whole reason that someone gets involved with internet marketing in the first place. They are looking to make a substantial online income and aren't as interested in the products that they are promoting. What they are really after is the money. That is a rather broad assumption I believe.

Is It Legal?

The Cash Gifting programs claim that they follow the stringent laws designed by the IRS to protect consumers. However, when you are exchanging money with people, what if something goes wrong? The likelihood of running into problems with litigation is increased dramatically when you do not have a tangible product.

One thing that is very concerning is the fact that whenever you go to a Cash Gifter's website, you will never see anyone's faces. This is concerning for the fact that with a typical website, you want to brand yourself. You accomplish this goal by including pictures of yourself with audio or video messages welcoming people to your site. The fact that you do not show your face on a Cash Gifting site, leads me and most anyone to believe that there is something to hide. Possibly that there is even something illegal about the process.

What Should You Know?

Cash Gifting is just like any other online business. The way that marketers become successful is by driving large amounts of traffic to their websites. This can be done online or offline, with advertising dollars or without. The highly successful Cash Gifters will be those that are proficient at marketing.

In conclusion, whether or not Cash Gifting is a scam or legal is up to you. There are definitely some red flags that go up in my mind, but it is up to you to make your decision for yourself. There are some people who have done very well with this business model. However, it seems rather risky to me.

If you're interested in earning a Substantial Online Income, visit Brian's Big Ticket To Wealth website.

About the Author: Brian McCoy is a six figure earner and one of the top income earners in the home business industry. Brian works with entrepreneurs around the world. He devotes the time, energy, and effort into his team and works with them to ensure their success.

Just what are the Benefits of Submitting Articles to E-Zines

E-zine advertising is perhaps one of the most underused forms of promotion. It is a good idea to do your homework, before launching your viral marketing campaign. Article writing and publishing has become the latest buzz in the internet website marketing world. The name of the game as far as Internet marketing

The process of writing and publishing articles online is currently the most profitable way to make money over the World Wide Web. This effective promotional tool, which is commonly referred to as article marketing, is proven to easily augment website's traffic and help marketers earn the trust of their potential customers as they can showcase their expertise through their article content.

Here are the 4 amazing secrets to breakthrough with article marketing:

1. Use effective titles. Your titles can either make or break your article marketing campaign. If they are well-written and attention-grabbing, your articles will surely get the exposure they need as they will be more likely to be opened, read, and widely republished.

2. Your articles must be informative. Make your readers happy by filling up your articles with valuable information that are targeted to their needs and demands. Never leave any stone unturned and strive to dig deeper so you can give your potential clients more in-depth side of your stories.

3. Lay down your objectives. When you know your goals in writing and distributing your articles online, adjusting your marketing efforts and techniques will become a lot easier. For instance, if you would like to drive more traffic to your website you must be willing to multiply the number of your articles to increase your inbound links.

4. Make your resource box compelling. I can't still believe that there are marketers who are not taking their time in creating their resource box. Some of them are just leaving their websites' URL. If you aim to improve your conversation rate, this is not the way to go. You must make your resource box enticing and interesting to compel more people to check on your website.

To learn more, download my free guide, "How to Generate $15,000 Per Month Online" here: "How to Generate $15,000 Per Month Online"

Sean Mize is an internet marketing mentor who teaches people to generate over $15,000 per month online via automated systems and product funnels.