Is Your Marketing Funnel Making You Money

Writen by Juanita Bellavance

As an entrepreneur building your own business, you need a way to bring your target audience into the "doors" of your website. Once inside, you have the opportunity to show your "stuff."

When you think about businesses that are not internet-based, you can see an example of "funneling" people in the doors when you see coupons for discounts. When people come in to use their coupons for a specific item or items, the store owner has other items, not on sale located in areas of the store where they cannot be missed.

This technique is as old as business has existed. When people come into a store and bring the discount coupon with them, it's easy and automatic for the store owner to show other tangible items just by locating them strategically. It's not so simple on the internet.

On the internet, the "funneling" process is different. It's difficult to show your products and services all at once and locate them so they cannot be missed with a website. It can be done however. One way of doing that is by offering something worth having and offering it for free or for a very low price point.

In exchange for the free information, the visitor leaves a name and email address for further contact. By doing this, the visitor is generously giving something to receive something and can be easily led back to your website "store" later. While you want to offer something that has compelling value, you do not want to be coercive in any way. It is simply an exchange based on the universal law of reciprocity.

The "funnel" process is only a terminology to help business owners understand efficient ways to display their products and services to the most appropriate audience. For example: It's silly to put information about marketing a roofing company in front of a new parent whose focus is on parenting an infant.

We often use terminology in marketing which can be construed inaccurately. Yet the only goal is to discover processes that help customers find solutions to problems they may have and for businesses to somehow let those potential customers know about the solutions available.

By offering valuable information where people can easily "opt in" for more information from your business, you are "funneling" people gradually to the place that serves them best. All along the way, the people are learning more and more about you and your quality and style. At any point where they feel you are not a match for them, they can easily opt out – as easily as they opted in.

Therefore, your marketing funnel at the top will bring masses of people to the "door" of your website. As the funnel gradually narrows into the specific areas of servitude, some will drop away and others will discover they really are in the right place at the right time with YOU.

Bringing people into your marketing funnel can be done through many techniques and all are valuable to the visitors. As you do this, they enter through something called a landing page, an opt-in page and yes, sometimes referred to as a "squeeze" page. No matter what you call the page, its purpose is the same. On the internet, without obtaining names and email addresses, people often click away intending to return and later cannot remember how they found you in the first place – even when they bookmark you, they forget what the page was called.

Your marketing funnel is essential for any business to move people through to see what you have to offer. On the internet, the technique is a slight variation of what is done in traditional businesses. Nonetheless, the purpose is the same – it's all about informing people of solutions to their problems. And that's the only purpose a business has in the first place.

Only after people have had an opportunity to learn enough about you to trust you will they spend money. At that point of your marketing funnel, you will be making money through serving people in the most tightly focused and efficient way possible.

Make your marketing funnel make you money… it's all in a days work…: )

Copyright 2006 Juanita Bellavance

Juanita Bellavance, the author of this article is CEO, Co-Founder of Audacious Enterprises™, Internet Business Entrepreneur Coach and master teacher at http://www.amasterteacher.com To register for the Audacious Marketing Mastery™ FREE teleclass, "How to Create a Marketing Funnel that Makes You Money," go here: http://www.callinnumber.com

The Importance Of Residual Income

Writen by Romel Wallace

The concept of residual income or passive income is probably one of the most important concepts you will ever learn in your lifetime.

I know. This is a pretty big statement.

Well, it's a pretty powerful concept.

Anyone that can master the concept of residual income is on their way to a pretty comfortable lifestyle. Simply put, residual income occurs by building a system one time that can produce a recurring stream of revenue once the system is set up.

This income arrives on a regular basis. It can occur on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis. The frequency depends on the business system itself.

What's so great about this is if you are willing to work hard and build a residual- based system in the initial phase, you can reap the benefits from this one-time labor for years to come. If you look around you, you will see examples of residual income all over.

For example, when you pay a internet service provider, web host, telephone bill, or cable TV bill; they are receiving a regular recurring income for providing their service to you. The valued members of a website provide the owner with a regular, recurring monthly income. In return, they are provided with valuable information.

Residual income is what you want. Unfortunately, there are many opportunities available that really do an injustice to this concept.

Seriously speaking. Doesn't it make sense to make a recurring sale of a product rather than a one time sale?

Of course it does.

Yet so many people just don't get it.

Master the concept of residual income and you'll master your destiny.

Copyright 2005 Romel Wallace

Romel Wallace, Jr. is the founder of http://www.makeachange.com - "Make A Change by Associating with Programs that Really Work". Subscribe to Make A Change Success Tips (MAC) at subscribe@makeachange.com to find out how. You may freely distribute this article if left intact including this notice.

How To Find Deep Discount Pro Online Marketing Tools

Writen by Robert Decker

You can't row a boat without an oar or build a house without a hammer. And, you can't build an online business without essential Internet marketing tools. Sadly, thousands try (unsuccessfully) everyday.

Those who do use online tools are generally paying far too much for them because they haven't yet looked into the alternative. I'll tell you about that in a minute, but first...

What's the most important online tool we need? A website, of course. No brainer. How else would potential online customers find out if we have what they need?

Next, we should at least have an autoresponder to help automate our marketing efforts and an ad tracker to keep track of which ads are pulling and which are a waste of time. These two are a "must have".

Hold up a minute...

Before we go any further, it's important to mention that I don't recommend using a complimentory autoresponder, ad tracker or any other no-cost marketing tool. You never really get something for nothing. We all understand that, right?

Who, in their right mind, is going to "give" you a professional marketing tool without somehow extracting something from you in return? A crazy multi-millionaire?

No-cost autoresponders, for example, usually have ads at the top of the message your responder sends out. Do you really want your potential customer to see someone else's ad on your promo message?

A good autoresponder generally costs around $20 monthly and a decent ad tracker around $20 a month. That's $40 for only two essential online tools. There's no longer a need to pay that much!

Those who sell online tools at those prices will give all kinds of reasons why theirs are worth the high prices. And, maybe they are. If the products are good and the buyer is happy, I don't have a problem with them charging what the buyer will pay.

That's capitalism at work. We once paid those prices. Now we don't. We found a better way.

So, what is the alternative to paying high prices for online tools (without having to give up professional quality)?

It's called "bundled services". This is when a company takes multiple products or services and bundles them into a neat package so that the consumer gets several services at a considerable lesser price than if they bought them separately.

You've probably noticed the major telecommunications and TV cable companies bundling services over the past year. It's very effective. The consumer gets more for less and the companies sell more products and services. Both come out ahead.

Warning...

Look for an Internet marketing tools company that offers "solid" tools and not "fluff" or hype. Those that offer fluff are only interested in taking your money and giving you as little as possible. This increases their profits, lightens your wallet and gives you little of substance in return for what you pay.

Fluff stuff can be things like: eCourse training (instead of "live" support), an eBook bonus that you can get anywhere for nothing, "insider secrets" reports, Etc. Things that are not workable tools at all.

Solid tools are things like: an autoresponder & list manager, ad tracker, website hosting, URL rotator system, online conferencing system, "live" training & support, Etc. Workable tools and solid support that actually helps in building your business.

Note: There is nothing inherently wrong with eCourse training, eBooks, special reports or other informational products (in their right place). Trying to pass them off as a substitute for solid online marketing tools is not the right place.

The hallmark of a good online tools company (or any type of company) is one that operates on the "Golden Rule Principle". They give you more in product "use value" than what you pay. It's actually good business to do that.

The products or services will actually be useful in building your business and the seller makes sure that you receive an abundance of them.

This creates a happy and loyal customer who will tell their friends. The customer and seller both win. So do the friends. That's the way to run a business!

How can you know when you've found such a company? Look at the product usefulness. Are the tools solid or fluff? Are you getting your money's worth or paying for hype?

Are there any Internet marketing tool companies that operate on the Golden Rule Principle and have also bundled a useful arsenal of online tools at a really good price?

Not many. There are a few. Only one or two are extraordinary in that they give an abundance of solid tools at a really low price.

Do a Google search (or use your favorite search engine) and type in "Internet marketing tools". You now know how to find the best deal for you.

copyright © 2004 Robert Decker

About The Author

Robert and Mona Decker have been full-time home-biz networkers for nine years. Their current focus is matching online business builders with professional Internet marketing tools that fit their budget.

http://www.BestInternetMarketingToolsInfo.info

mailto:FindOnlineTools@sbcglobal.net

A Simple 8 Step Formula For Testing Your Headlines

Writen by Edward Green

I am going to let you in on a secret? The successful entrepreneurs are not successful because they know things that you don't know. They are successful because they TEST every advertising campaign they embark on first before they start spending "big" money on effective forms of newsletter and ezine ads.

Ezine Ads

Placing ezine ads is one of the most effective form of advertising on the Internet today purely because you can advertise/market exactly to your target groups.

But if you don't know which of your headlines, your benefits and your offers are the ones that will make you money, you will probably not even be able to get the money back that you have to spend on your ezine ads.

8 Easy Steps To More Effective Headlines

To be capable of determining the most effective adverts, you need a system. I will show you one system how it can be easily done. Of course, there are literally thousands of different systems that could do the task as well. But if you want to analysis without spending too much money, then my way of testing will be an invaluable help for you.

The structure Consists Of 8 Easy Steps :

1.) Write down the benefits of your product and contemplate the advantages for your target group, not yourself. A bit of brainstorming is required here to see which ones immediately come to mind.

2.) Turn them into a set of 10 different headlines. If you sell an e-book about Dog Training and one of your ebooks benefits is that even first time dog owners can understand how to do it, then tell them about it in the headline

e.g. :

"A Step-By-Step Guide Teaches You Everything You Need To Know About Training Your Dog - If You Can Read, You Can Implement A Quick and Easy Dog Training Routine ! "

3.) Write 2-3 different versions of your ad copy. Focus on one or two other essential benefits. Get the reader curious and excited about your offer. Your aim is to make the prospect click on your link !

4.) Create a few different tracking links (that lead to your sales letter) for each ezine you want to submit your ad to. You must be able to decide exactly which ads and more importantly headlines are successful, and where the responses are coming from or you will be shooting in the dark.

You can use these 2 free services for this : http://www.hyperlinktracker.com/ and http://www.linkcounter.com/ they are both outstanding free services.

5.) Use one and the same headline for all your free ezine ad sub- missions and send out your free ezine ads to at least 10 ezines.

There are plenty of free well established ezines which give you free subscriber ads if you join their mailing list. You need publications with at least 1000 subscribers for a decent test of your ad.

6.) Look for the ezines with the most number of clicks. Only choose the most successful ezines. Now send 10 different headlines to be published in the next issue and one and the same ad copy to these ezines.

7.) By now, you should be familiar with which headlines work and you can change over to paid forms of ezine advertising in the knowledge that the ad you use with give it your best shot. Order Top Sponsor Ads and Solos in ezines with high circulation 10000 + subscribers.

If you get an acceptable amount of clicks but little sales, try changing your copy in the body of the ad and maybe your price as well. Is it too cheap or too expensive. Selling cheap don't work.

You can find out if you :

8.) TEST, TEST and, you guessed it : TEST...!

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter on your web site as long as the byline is included and the article is included in it's entirety. I also ask that you activate any html links found in the article and in the byline. Please send a courtesy link or email where you publish to: support@lucygreen.com

Edward Green is the owner and operator of a successful online business. Ed has over 15 years in corporate business operations which include guerrilla marketing skills, customer service and Professional networking capabilities. http://www.lucygreen.com

Breakin It Down

Writen by Cathy Bryant

I've recently begun working with individuals one-on-one who are truly interested in earning an income from the internet in the comfort of their own home. A common complaint I hear from them is that they are constantly overwhelmed by the enormous amount of information that they are bombarded with each and every day.

This is understandable; everyone has faced it.

Those who have been successful online, however, have done so because of a simple process - narrowing their focus.

In any business, this is necessary. But online, it is critical for success.

There are a lot of people who are working from home, and not all of them are earning their income solely from the internet. Some have businesses that are run completely offline, and many have both online and offline components.

For purposes of this article, however, I'd like to address those whose goal it is to work completely online, since that seems to be ideally what most people wish to do.

So what works best?

Many things, but I believe that the vast majority of truly successful online businesses fall into one of three groups:

Network Marketing

Information Products

Affiliate Program Promotion

Some successful entrepreneurs have incoroporated two and sometimes all three into their businesses.

Why did I single these three out?

Simple. The great majority of home-based online entrepreneurs I've ever read about, heard of or communicated with has achieved their success through at least one of these three methods.

Let's break it down further -

Network Marketing - with all its bad press, network marketing is indeed a viable business model. The power of the internet to disperse information quickly and efficiently is ideal for those who enjoy working with others one-on-one. But that is key, for network marketing is still a person to person business, any way you look at it. The internet simply makes it easier and more cost efficient.

The key to network marketing success is to choose wisely. Rather than join the latest and greatest matrix program being touted as the fastest way to internet riches, look for a company whose products truly fill a need and who has been in business for at least five years. There are a lot of companies who have been in business for many years and who are now offering an internet presence for their distributors and customers.

Information Products - The internet is all about information. We all know that some individuals over the years have amassed small fortunes selling information to highly targeted groups. It is only natural that this type of business would move seamlessly to the online world. Even more significant for those in the information business is the fact that they can operate online at significantly reduced operating costs, thereby increasing their profits.

To be successful in the information business, one doesn't have to have a college degree in English or be a published writer. Everyone has specialized knowledge; if you can put it together in a way that is easily understood by others, you will have a ready-made market for those who want and need your information. No matter how obscure you may think your information is, you can be sure that there are people out there looking for it!

Affiliate Program Promotion - Although I see many of the so-called "gurus" telling everyone that the only real way to make money online is to have your own product, I have to respectfully disagree. There are a whole lot of people quietly working at home, out of the spotlight, who are earning significant incomes promoting the affiliate programs of others.

The key to success in profiting from affiliate programs is by building a theme-based website targeting a very specific market and promoting only those programs whose products meet the needs of its visitors. Critical to this type of business is ongoing communication with customers and visitors, usually through newsletters and updates on new products and information that is available on the site.

Joining affiliate programs helter-skelter and trying to promote them individually via inefficient means such as classified ads, safelists, and other forms of ineffective advertising is an exercise in futility. It is this method of promotion that is often used by the newcomer online and results in their frustration and belief that earning an income with these programs is impossible.

You may be a beginner to the world of online marketing. Or perhaps you're a victim of information overload that has hampered your forward progress. In either case, your best chance for success in your own business is to first choose from one of these three business models.

When you have done that, then you can move forward. Decide which resources you need to get your own business up and running. This will make it much easier to hit the "delete" key when your email is filled with those products and opportunities that you simply don't need.

Stay focused on what YOU want to accomplish, and avoid the confusion of going in too many different directions. You'll be amazed at how easy it will be to accomplish your goals once you've eliminated so many distractions!

About The Author

Cathy Bryant has been marketing online since the last century! Let her show you that an old dog CAN learn new tricks - subscribe to her long-running newsletter, the HomeBizJunction Herald, and learn how you too can become successful from home.

http://www.homebizjunction.com