Top Ten Dangers Of Marketing Alone

Writen by Suzanne Falter-Barns

Ever feel like you're pedaling fast but simply not going anywhere with your marketing? That seems to be a common theme these days, and I know why. Even thought the Net is laden with marketing programs of all kinds, few of them really rise up and truly transform most people's marketing efforts.

Why? Because even the best material in the world can't overcome some basic problems human foibles ... if you insist on implementing them alone. So that's why even I, seasoned marketing pro, turn to coaches and consultants for help with my own marketing. And it's making a huge difference in my business!

These are some of the dangers to doing your own marketing ... and some helpful tips at the end.

1. You have no perspective. You may know your service inside out, but if you're like most of us, you have no idea what the market will respond to. An SEO consultant I worked with recently suggested that my current Get Known Now bonus didn't appeal broadly enough to my market ... so I changed it. I'm already getting a better response.

2. You don't have a professional overview of the market. Good consultants really know all the markets your product could appeal to. They can suggest some you haven't even thought of, or reveal new ways to reach existing markets, based on their own research.

3. You're not up on the latest techniques -- or may lack the technical know how to get the job done. You may not even know what you don't know, or where to find the resources that will help you. And yet, better technology and resources can make your business boom!

4. You won't get out of your comfort zone alone. Once we step out of our comfort zones, real progress can begin to take place. Recently I pushed one of my group coaching clients to really hunker down, get serious, and define what she was all about. She kept insisting there was no market difference for her services ... and then, just when she'd almost given up ... we found the right place to dig to really define her brand. I know she wouldn't have gone there alone.

5. You may think you can do it, but are secretly intimidated. Along with that comfort zone comes a sense of what we think we can and cannot do. And often we don't even admit to ourselves where we stop. Future success remains a fuzzy, rosy blur. But a good consultant or action group will give you specific steps to break intimidating processes down AND the support to make sure you got the job done. It's certainly OK to be afraid -- if you can push through your resistance.

6. You don't know which expert or program to listen to. Committing to a program or consultant moves you forward, because it forces you to get out of overwhelm or confusion and take concrete action steps. (And there are a lot of good programs and coaches out there ... so just pick one!)

7. You lack accountability. The best part of coaching and group programs is that they give you a structure to stick to -- and accountability for your promises. You need to show up and say to another living human being (or several) what you've done and what fell through the cracks. That's powerful medicine for those who are inclined to break promises.

8. You may lack the discipline to measure and track everything. But when you bring in a consultant or a coaching program, suddenly everything changes. You're suddenly taking your business more seriously, in the detached, professional lens of other business professionals.

9. Frustration can lead to inertia. We all have the tendency to give up when we experience a setback or a loss. Yet, that's just when we need to hunker down and move forward, because that's when we can find great lessons ahead. (See the comfort zone comments above in point 4.) Supporters who actually care about you and your progress will see to it that you keep moving on.

10. We naturally want to stay small and hidden. It's in our wiring. And one of my biggest jobs as a coach has been to help people give themselves permission to get out there and be heard. Working with a coach or a group moves you to naturally become big.ger and more visible, in comfort.

11. We're often afraid to even begin. If you know you have a mission, but you just can't seem to get started, this could be why. A good marketing program or a coach can push you over the hump to the point where you can forge ahead on your own. Think about it -- if you're not going to do this work you're moved to do, who is?

© 2006 Suzanne Falter-Barns LLC

Download Suzanne's free list of 50 Top Publishing & Media contacts at http://www.getknownnow.com . Drop by her blog at http://www.painlessselfpromotion.com for almost daily tips on how to get known now … the easy way!

10 Tips For Running A Profitable Web Site

Writen by Rojo Sunsen

1. Address your targeted audience on your business site. Example: "Welcome Internet Marketers". If you have more than one, address them all.

2. Make sure your content and graphics are relevant to your web site's theme. You wouldn't want to use a bird graphic on a business web site.

3. Alert visitors by email when you add new content to your web site. This will remind people to revisit your web site.

4. Offer a way for visitors to contact you on each web page. List your email address, fax number and phone number.

5. Give people the option of viewing your web site offline. Offer it by autoresponder or printer friendly version.

6. Make sure a least 50% of your content is original. The other option is to offer something else original other than content, like software or an online utility.

7. Offer your visitors incentives for revisiting your web site. You could give them new content, ebooks, software, ezine, etc.

8. Publish a FAQs for your business, product and web site. They could have questions about multiple parts of your business.

9. Make sure all links on the navigational bar are clickable. If people can't get to where they want to go, they will leave.

10. Organize you web site in logical and profitable sequence. You don't want to give a freebie before they learn about the product(s) you're selling.

About the author:

Rojo Sunsen is a specialized bounty hunter who prefers to work quietly/confidentially for the benefit of her clients.

Youll Just Love The Way This 5 Step System Will Boost Up Your Website Profits

Writen by Murtuza Abbas

If you want to boost up your website profits, then this might be the most important letter you'll ever read.

If you want to grab MORE website visitors and convert them with MORE sales, then I urge you to read this article -- immediately.

If you're sick and tired of low profit pulling power of your website, then here's some good news.

Now you can own some simple tips and tricks that you can use instantly and cash-in on some of the greatest profit pulling tactics.

If you can use more new customers... and I mean TONS of new sales, profits and leads, I've got great news for you. Now there are powerful, inexpensive ways to bring in all the traffic you'll ever need. The kind traffic that will rocket your sales counter right off the charts!

Here's how to do it...

STEP 1 - Banner Advertising.

Advertise your web site with banner ads that are animated and include a call to action. You must grab people's attention and make them to click.

Nowadays banner ads do not produce much response. But if you use banners that appear as text links with benefit laden action verbs, it will produce great results.

STEP 2 - Popup Advertising.

Use pop up windows or advertisements on your web site. They grab your visitors attention because they jump right out at them.

STEP 3 - Keep Yourself Updated on the Latest Tactics.

Buy internet business books, ebooks, private site memberships, etc. Study and learn all the new web site promotional ideas you can.

STEP 4 - Track Everything.

Analyze all your promotional efforts. Concentrate on the ones that work and drop the ones that don't work. Don't waste your valuable time.

STEP 5 - Make Your Website Visitors Active.

Get the most from each one of your visitors. Ask them to subscribe to your e-zine, participate on your message board, bookmark your site, etc.

Everything you may have heard about getting traffic to your site might be true. But this article has shown you some amazing ways to get some MORE traffic and convert them to sales.

These tricks when used on a consistent basis can pull in consistent traffic to your site and if you track them to the 'T' you can easily figure out the profit pulling source of your website.

One of the most difficult and time consuming tasks in this internet marketing world is having to continually get traffic and convert them to sales.

If you want MORE traffic, sales, leads and non-stop profits, then I urge you to take ACTION and apply the steps laid down in this article.

There's never been a better time for you to pull in MORE profits and sales, than it is today!

Grab FREE $147 'Profit Pulling Minisites' Vault.

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How To Write Ads That Work Online

Writen by Robert Borhi

If you are writing ads for posting online, there are many factors to consider. What type of site are you posting on - classified, FFA, email mail out? Will the viewer only see the ad headline first, or the whole ad? Who is your audience? Are you trying to make a sale, or get a lead from your ad? Can you hyperlink to your website in the ad?

First and foremost, create a good headline! The headline is the first thing people usually see, and what will make them look further. If it's an email ad you're sending out, then the subject line must be attention grabbing. You are competing with other people's email, and you want yours to be opened. One of the best things you can do is check out other people's ad headlines and see which ones grab your attention. What makes you open an email from someone you don't know? Do a search on Google or Yahoo in your subject area, and look at the paid ads to the right. Which ones grab your attention?

Ad content. Describe how your offer can benefit someone. Don't try to sell your product too much in your ad, create enough interest to get people to visit your website. Your site should do the selling, you just want people to get there. If your site offers a free ebook or download, mention it in the ad. Tell people how they can benefit from visiting your site!

If you are posting to FFA sites or free email safelists, remember to set up a 'dummy' email account just for these postings. These sites will send you hundreds of confirmation emails, and you don't want them going to your real email account because it will just cost you time emptying your mailbox continually. Set up a free email account just for this. Remember to delete the emails once in a while to prevent your mailbox from being full and bouncing emails, as this might get your membership cancelled for email safelists.

Although I believe free advertising has it's benefits, from my experience it's good to also pay for some programs that help you advertise, or that advertise for you. Or if you can find a good business or related ezine, try placing an ad and see how it works. Look for where your competitors are advertising. Do you see the same ad repeated in the same place? Chances are they are getting results. Ad writing is part science, and part art. The best thing to do is keep trying new methods, stick with the ones that work and keep improving them.

Robert Borhi is an online marketer who lives in Nelson, BC, Canada. His website is http://www.HugeGrowth.com. For more tips on advertising and home business online marketing, visit his website at http://www.HugeGrowth.com.

Search Engines And Small Markets

Writen by Halstatt Pires

If your business is focused on a very particular, small market, you are going to love search engines. The more focused you are, the easier it is to win on the engines.

Search Engines and Small Markets

Once you have identified a small market and built a site, you need to start thinking about Internet marketing. Search engines present the best marketing platform on a dollar for dollar basis. There are two specific ways to go about the process.

Pay-per-click advertising on search engines is a great way to immediately reach your target audience. Google Adwords and Overture represent the two best ppc platforms. Place ads using these two platforms and the ads will appear on the search results for Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL and a host of other search engines.

The second platform for getting in front of your market on the search engines is search engine optimization, better known as seo. The goal in seo is to identify the keyword phrases your prospects are using to find things. You then try to get your site ranked in the top three or four positions when the relevant search engines return results for any of the searches. The upside of seo is you don't pay for advertising and rankings tend to stay high once you achieve them. The downside is it can take a couple of months before you appear high in MSN rankings and up to a year or longer on Google.

Regardless of the approach you take on the search engines, your focus on a small market gives you a huge advantage. By focusing on a lucrative, defined area of the Internet, you have limited the number of competitors you must take on. It is far easier and cheaper to market to "San Diego Mortgage Loans" than going after "Mortgage Loans." The first phrase has a limited number of competitors while the second phrase is contested by huge sites with lots of advertising dollars. To this end, make sure you stick to your area when pursuing your marketing. If you offer services in a location, only advertise for keywords incorporating that location. Having a person three states over call you is just a waste of time.

Adverting for small, defined markets on the search engines is inexpensive compared to general markets. It is also easier and quicker to get seo listings.

Halstatt Pires is with MarketingTitan.com - providing internet marketing services.