What You Need To Know About Ezine Advertising

By far the most effective and cost-effective way of advertising, especially for a new business is ezine advertising. It has 4 distinct advantages…

a.It's easy to reach targeted prospects
b.It gives results fast. Typically, you should see results within 72 hours after your ad is published.
c.It's easy to test your ad effectiveness
d.It's easy to calculate your Return on Investment (ROI)

Most direct mail companies charge several hundred dollars per thousand mailing, whereas ezine advertising costs anywhere from five ten dollars to fifty dollars per thousand. This is definitely much more cost-effective
compare to advertising in magazines.

Although it is generally true that response rates to ads is better with higher subscriber count, there are exceptions where smaller subscriber lists yield higher returns. Because these subscribers are 100 percent opt-ins. Also these ezines in mention are highly informative and don't have too many ads per publication. The chances of your ads being read are very high. The click through rates will be good if your ads are relevant to
the ezine content.

3 types of Ezine Ads

There are basically 3 types of Ezine ads namely, Classified ads, Sponsor ads and Solo Ads.

1.Classified ads – This is the cheapest form of ezine advertising. Some publications offer free ads in exchange for your subscription. The ads are grouped in the middle or end of the publication.

2.Sponsor Ads – The ads are placed at the top of the publication. They cost more than classified ads but more effective than classified ads.

3.Solo Ads – These are mailed out separately from the main ezine. This is the most effective of the three types of ezine ads but also commands a premium.

Quick Guide to Ezine Advertising

1.Before you placed your ads, check out the quality of the prospective publication. Select three good ezines and subscribe to them. From the publications you would know what kind of audience these ezines are targeting, the content, and the number of ads per publication, which are crucial to your advertising campaign.

Pay close attention to the ads that run in each issue. If you see the same ad on a regular basis, chances are the ad is profitable for the advertiser. It is common sense that advertisers will continue to advertise in an ezine only if it is profitable.

If someone else is already promoting a similar product like yours in a particular ezine, give it a miss. It makes no sense to have two advertisers competing in one ezine. In any case, the publisher may not permit similar products.

2.Keep your ads short. Normally, the publisher will allow 5 to 7 lines of text with a maximum of 65 characters per line. Don't sell your product or service in your ads. Generate interest and leads.

3.Write compelling headlines to draw readers.

4.Use your ads to direct prospects to your landing page, which may be a sales copy, course sign-up or ezine subscription.

5.Track response to your ads. This is crucial. Or you will have no idea if it is profitable to run the same ad again. In order to test the effectiveness of your ad, it is advisable that you run the same ad in at least 3 ezines. If you run your ad in only one ezine, and should campaign flop, you will not know whether the problem lies in your ad or ezine.

Due to recent popularity of ezine publishing, and depending on the publication, the lead-time can take anywhere from a few weeks to months. Factor in the lead-time if you have a time sensitive offer.

Test your ads with low-subscription ezine that don't have a long waiting list. You don't want to wait in line for a few months just to test out your ad, and imagine if it turned out to be a bummer. Advertise with low-cost, low subscription count ezines for a start. Until you have a proven winner, keep to low-cost, low-subscription ezines.

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What Do You Know About Web Marketing?

Have you ever considered starting your own business? Maybe you've always wanted a chain of hotels, or a chance to open your very own restaurant. Why not.

Maybe that coffee shop idea you had back in the 80s wasn't such a bad concept after all. Regardless of your hopes and aspirations, it's certainly easier to make them happen in this day and age. So many people look to start their own business; whether it be a cafe downtown or a home-based operation. With the World-Wide-Web at our fingertips, we can make these dreams a reality. That is why a number of individuals have begun their own web-stores and money-making sites. It's all about the web marketing. Are you Internet savvy?

What do you know about web marketing? This is pretty much one of the largest operations these days. With cyberspace comes infinite traffic. It's basically never ending and almost impossible to fathom. You have to remember there are around 6 billion people world-wide. Now, how many of those people do you think access the Internet on a daily basis? Let me save you the math; it's a ton. This is why home businesses are booming. That kind of customer access is incomparable. Imagine the local marketing of a particular product in comparison to web marketing. You would have to compare the global population to that of your own town. It's certainly not difficult to see why the Internet is such a money-maker. In fact, loads of web-savvy business folk are taking prime advantage of all this cyberspace traffic. All you need are your own web pages, which are rather simple to construct now days. Use basic web marketing to increase traffic on your websites, hence increasing your profit. Web traffic equals revenue. Just ask the person who started Google.com.

The great thing about web marketing is the cost efficiency compared to offline marketing. While in the tangible world we have to print flyers and create advertisements to entice customers and increase business, in cyberspace it's much simpler. Shoot an ad out to a million people at once with the click of a mouse. With advanced web marketing, you can get the job done much faster and appeal to a much larger cliental. Is your personal business getting the traffic and response that it should? If not, it may be time to delve back into cyberspace and learn more about web marketing.

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Website Resolutions

As all of us view the new year, we determine various ways to improve ourselves. Whether its eliminating bad habits, or improving quality of life, January 1st is seen as a new beginning and starting point. Your website too, can use a new look. Consider taking the website to task with these down and dirty quick improvement tips for the new year.

New Year's Resolutions for Your Website
Revamp your website. The Internet is evolving at a rapid pace, and websites need constant maintenance and occasional overhauls. As the search engines improve their algorithms, website copy and designs will need to be updated. Here are some starting points:

Remove Bad Outgoing Links
It is important that you are not linking to bad neighbors. Broken links give an unprofessional image and wastes a site visitor. Be sure that all outgoing site links are still valid, and even more importantly, go where you had initially intended. Many popular websites are sold by companies with questionable content. Remove any changed links so that you are not associated with content that is not relevant to your products, service or content.

Unique Titles
Confirm each webpage on your website contains a unique title tag. Not only do unique titles allow you to optimize different sections of your site for different keywords and phrases, but also helps search engines direct traffic to specific pages on your site when specialized keywords are used.

Optimize Graphics
Optimize website graphics to decrease the website's load time. A typical web surfer will only remain on a page for a few seconds. If you do not grab their attention, you will lose them. Shaving size off of a websites graphic elements will mean that their eyes are on your website during those critical seconds.

Update Copyright Notice
A copyright notice should reflect the year the last updates were made to the website. A current copyright notice tells visitors that the content is fresh, not stale and outdated.

Clean up HTML
HTML is a markup language and with constant maintenance it is easy to have a page with an unclosed tag. While some web browsers make allowances for poorly formed HTML, not all do. Therefore, it is important that you take a look at the HTML behind the web page and make sure that it is properly formed.

Update Meta Tags
Update and optimize meta tags to avoid excessive use of keywords. While a once popular search engine optimization technique, stuffed meta tags generally result in search engine penalties. Update meta tags to be accurate and concise without redundancy and recurring words.

Automate
If your site does not currently use templates or server-side includes, it is time to bite the bullet. Spending time now, by employing server side includes or templates will mean easier maintenance and updates later. When you change one item, it will update on all pages of your site.

Links
Increase the quality and quantity of inbound links. Links coming into your site should be from websites that contain related or relevant content. Links from related .edu and .org domains are considered of a higher value than generic links. Any outbound links, should be directed to credible websites that contain related content. The relationship and relevance of links is becoming increasingly more important in most of the search engine ranking algorithms.

Wrapped Content
Links that are embedded in a paragraph rather than a free standing, generally are viewed more favorably by search engines. Consider wrapping links in content summaries.

Size Matters
A website must contain enough relevant content to stand on its own. Obviously the more the better. However, its not just about quantity it is also about quality. While size matters, relevance is equally important. A website should be able to stand on its own, once affiliate links, and pay per click advertising is removed the site should still have value.

Aged Domains
They say with age comes wisdom. Apparently the Search Engine Gods feel the same about domains. The older the domain the better it will typically perform. Give new domains time to age.

A New Years resolution is just a fancy way of saying that you are committed to doing something. Resolve to improve your website this year.

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What if You Have Too Many Brands?

We recently got this query from a reader, T. T. "Mitch" Mitchell:

“… You mention that if a person provides more than one type of product or service they should have an additional website. However, if you're trying to brand your name or your business name, aren't you going to dilute the process by having an additional website for it?”

That’s a question I get a lot. What do you do if you have more than one brand?

Well, I have several – Get Known Now, howmuchjoy.com, Blog Your Way to a Bestseller, and Licensing Revenue Secrets. And actually, it was only in the past few months that I could seriously see how and why I should have more than one brand. Because, like Mitch I once thought having more than one brand was a problem.

In fact, having more than one brand can be good for business.

It all boils down to life purpose. Each brand needs to be assessed in terms of how it fits into your master plan. Does it serve an integral part or is it just a gratuitous addition that is kind of fun but doesn’t seriously move the ball forward?

Ideally, your brands should intersect right at the point of your ‘Soul Purpose’. Do they all support one common goal? They may simply be different ways to support that bigger, overriding vision for your company. And cumulatively, they add up to a much bigger Web presence, which is always good.

In other words, I connect with life coaches who want tools for creative breakthroughs over at How Much Joy. But then they and their clients get to the point where they really need to get known for this dream work they’re creating. So they get directed to my Get Known Now site for this kind of marketing help. The other brands give them specific tools to use to that end.

See how it all fits together?

Are you confused about your varying brands? Here is a specific list of guidelines you can use.

If any of your brands don’t fit the following criteria, be brave and consider abandoning them. It will only strengthen your more targeted, focused work.

Do they all serve the same audience? Critical for efficiency … and serving your purpose. There’s a little give for slightly differing audiences here. For instance, Get Known Now is more likely to attract small business owners than How Much Joy. But they both serve speakers, authors and coaches.

Is there a logical sequence or relationship among the brands? With mine, people move from general dream-creating, joy work towards leading joy workshops. Then they need publicity and branding, so Get Known Now steps in to serve them.

Are the sub-brands clearly identified with the ‘big’ brand? For instance, I recently re-branded the blog associated with my Get Known Now site as …. The Get Known Now Blog! Boring? Possibly. But still far more clear. And whenever someone drops in, they are more likely to remember my brand, tell others about it, etc.. Go ahead. Be boring. Keep on restating your brand in all of your related products. I have the Get Known Now home study course, Get Known Now Blast Off group coaching, even soon a Get Known Now Unplugged podcast. (If you want to live a little, you can throw in additional qualifying words like ‘Blast Off’, for instance.)

Does the brand solve a problem that your target market has? Seems like a simple question – but it’s deceptive. Be tough with yourself and your business here. And get some outside feedback from a coach or friend if you’re not sure. Does the brand serve your purpose … honestly and truly? Think hard, because Soul Purposes tend to be broad and general. (I define them as that service or gift you’re meant to give to other people, not a specific task, like writing or coaching.) Does the brand still excite you? I’m not talking about the set of words here, but the larger job of the brand. Is it still alive for you? Sometimes we lug along a brand for years without acknowledging that its usefulness has ended. It’s really OK to abandon brands that no longer work for you; think of them as having served their purpose. Then let them go and move on. Think about your brands … even write them all down and re-evaluate them one more time. Then I invite you to take anything off of your plate that simply no longer fits the scheme of what you’re up to.

Oh yes … and did I mention you’ll probably have lots of brands in life? Go forth and conquer!

Copyright 2006 Suzanne Falter-Barns

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What is the Rich Jerk eBook and Why Should You Care?

How many schemes have you seen before that promise you millions made without a dime of investment or an hour of work?

Every time I see another internet scam or " look alike" I'm reminded of countless times fiends would invite me over to their house after work for some sort of gathering or "product party" These programs and the myriad of other "GET RICH QUICK" or "BE YOUR OWN BOSS" tactics just didn't work for me. It didn't for work any of my friends either.

What does hold promise is affiliate marketing. No phone calls, no downline, no pressure. There are some things to avoid though, and it helps to have some assistance when you are just starting out. For instance, you can buy a lot of pricey ebooks out there that attempt to cover the subject, I know I did!

All that happened was I bought too many ebooks, spent way too much money I did not have to waste and spent too much time reading them all to gather a minimum of useful information. I was led around in circles, never finding a clear path, and there was nobody available to answer my questions when I had them. It was like they were hinting at the secrets of "how to"! What's your experience been like?

The Rich Jerk has a book too, and I'll be the first to admit I was a hardened skeptic to all of this by the time I picked it up. Instead of repeating my prior experiences, here's what I found.

The Rich Jerk is NOT a bible....it's around 50 pages or so. It is a no fluff, full of powerful and proven useful tactics. I actually discovered it by accident, and almost did not give it a chance. I had been frustrated up to this point. What got me started had nothing to do with the ebook's guarantee, but the lack of sales glitz surrounding it. Sort of begged for attention. Plus it was short.

Surprisingly simple, I finished it quickly and was amazed it could be put into practical use without long hours of tedious labor. I already had a job like that! Many of the chapters held topics and hints that were new to me, not found in the gajillion pages I had stumbled through in the other ebooks. If only I'd read The Rich Jerk first ! I could have already been making lots of money!!

Naturally, I had to prove to myself that The Rich Jerk was as good as it seemed to be. I "baited" their email support, thinking I'd find their Achilles heel there! Not so. My "bait" consisted of 20 + thoughtful questions to reveal a weak customer support function. The old sell and run tactic you see everywhere in business today. It took only a couple days to receive several pages of well directed, clear answers that were very helpful!

I'm still on the learning curve of course, but that's to be expected with something worthwhile like this. The Rich Jerk contains basics like:
* Creating an affiliate website that directs meaningful traffic and really converts!
* Creative Search Engine Pay Per Click (PPC) Strategies
* Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategies
* Selling Your Own Informational Products
* Buying Wholesale and selling on Ebay

Some added pluses:
* Supplemental Information for beginners...for once there is attention and help when you need it most
* Personally Recommended Products and Services....a HUGE benefit because otherwise you have a huge amount of sifting to do alone.
* Low cost ideas and some free ones as well.....helped me get started with a small budget and limited time.

So I've just touched the tip of the iceberg. Do a deep dive, check it out yourself, because later the deep dive will be in your deep pockets! If you want to start an on line business, or improve the one you have going, I'd highly recommend The Rich Jerk.

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What Is Private Label Rights and Why Do People Use It?

Since the existence of the Internet, business had been far better than before. This is because the Internet provides more effective means of distributing information about the products and the business all at the same time to the world in a matter of seconds.

For this reason, most businesses know that the large number of the online business will definitely increase the income-generating possibility of the business.


However, most online entrepreneurs assume that for an online business to grow and generate good income in the Internet, the business must have its own product. This is because everything is a sale, even the thoughts that you have in your mind could count as a product for sale when presented in the Internet for other people's use.




But opposing to most popular beliefs, having your own product does not limit you to the many possibilities of earning more by using a "license" that is attached with an "information product" that you may purchase online. These are known as Private Label Rights.


Private Label Rights is one of the three "basic rights" that are embodied in the concept of Resale Rights marketing. Among the three, Private Label Rights are considered as the most moneymaking and rewarding.


Private Label Rights are represented in a certificate or authorization that is attached with an "information item." The basics of Private Label Rights is to permit people to transform, reorganize, change, or improve the elements of the said merchandise to go well with the buyer's personal desires and yearnings.


For example, if you own a Private Label Rights, you are allowed to separate the contents of an ebook, and convince somebody to buy the contents as sequence of pieces of writing.


One of the greatest things about Private Label Rights is that you can actually do the same thing inversely. For instance, if you were able to buy a set of information products like a collection of articles embodied with Private Label Rights, you can easily bring them together without the risk of some law-related predicaments. Hence, you can collect different articles from different owners. With a common thought, you can come up with a creative masterpiece of information.


In addition, with Private Label Rights, you can simply customize the contents on the product to make it more meaningful and creative, therefore, creating an impression of having a product of your own.


Best of all, you can even put your name as the author of the product. This is the most rewarding aspect of having Private Label Rights. In this way, you do not have to acknowledge the primary author of the work.


So for those who are not yet aware of the rewards of using Private Label Rights, here is a list of some of the advantages:


1. It is just the thing for marking your name and your business' name.


You can easily acquire informative products that you can use as your own with Private Label Rights. This creates an impression that you are making your own product and that you are a professional and a skilled person on the given field. In turn, you get the trust that you need in order to compel them to buy your product.


2. It triggers creativity.


One of the best things about Private Label Rights is that you can be creative in a thousand and one ways. This is because you can pull together the different elements and come up with a new and near-original work without having any difficulty of creating such product.


3. Develop a product!


With Private Label Rights, you can simply customize or improve a product if ever it does not fit your taste or needs. In this way, you can both cut back wasteful time by looking for products that are totally worthless or save more money by avoiding to create a whole new product.


However, even if some people contend that it is totally unethical for a person to sell the Private Label Rights for his creations, one cannot simply surmise the fact that engaging into this kind of activity is also beneficial to the seller especially if the product is already nearing the closing stages of its "market life."


This goes to show that people must learn how to give way to any possible changes to any product that might have already lost its income-generating potential. By allowing other people to modify or enhance the features of certain products, the advancement of such products will continue to take place. And so, the cycle will go on.


Indeed, the basics of Private Label Rights are not just necessary for most of the Internet marketers who wish to earn more income aside from their own products but also for the whole market as well. This is because the whole system of a give and take relationship dwells in the business and that is exactly where income generates its power.

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What Timeshare is All About

With timeshare the use and costs of running the resort are shared among the owners. While the majority of Timeshare resorts are condominium vacation resorts, developers have applied the timeshare model to houseboats, yachts, campgrounds and motor homes.

History of Timeshare

The notion of a timeshare was originally created in Europe in the 1960s. A ski resort developer in the French Alps innovatively marketed his resort by encouraging guests to "stop renting a room" and instead "buy the hotel". The developer was successful in increasing occupancy and the idea spread worldwide.

Timeshare Methods of Use

Timeshare owners may elect to:

* Use their usage time
* Rent out their owned usage
* Give it as a gift
* Exchange internally within the same resort or resort group
* Exchange externally into thousands of other timeshare resorts

Timeshare owners can elect to stay at their resort during the prescribed period, which varies depending on the nature of their ownership. They can rent out their week or give it as a gift to friends and family.

Timeshare offers owners the possibility to exchange their week, either independently or through several exchange agencies, to stay at one of the thousands of other resorts worldwide. The two largest exchange agencies are Resort Condominiums International (RCI) & Interval International [II] and there are several independent exchange agencies. RCI and II both have resort affiliate programs and members can only exchange to affiliate resorts. It is rare to find a dual affiliate resort, it is more common for a resort to be affiliated with only one of the larger exchange agencies. RCI is the largest with over 3,800 resorts split between its weeks and points programs. II has more then 2000 resorts. It is important when considering timeshare ownership to consider which locations and resorts you may want to travel to before making your purchase, because the timeshare resort you purchase at will determine which of the major exchange companies you can exchange through. Both RCI and II charge membership fees and exchange fees. They also bar members from renting weeks they have exchanged for.

Timeshare owners may also arrange a direct exchange, this requires locating a timeshare owner with the location and weeks both mutually desire. This form of exchange is rare but since it can save in exchange fees it is often sought after.

Color Time

Color time refers to the travel season for any given resort. For RCI, the designations are:

* Red: high demand season
* White: intermediate season
* Blue: low demand season

For II, the designations are:

* Red: high demand season
* Yellow: intermediate season
* Green: low demand season

Types of Ownership

* Fixed, Floating and Rotating Weeks

Ownership is often sold as weeks, the use of these weeks can be fixed, floating or rotating weeks.

* Fixed Week Ownership

The most basic timeshare unit is a fixed week; the resort will have a calendar enumerating the weeks roughly starting with the first calendar week of the year. As an owner you may own a deed to use a unit for a single specified week. For example week 26 normally includes the Fourth of July Holiday. If you owned Week 26 at a resort you could use your week every year.

* Floating

Sometimes a timeshare is sold as floating weeks. The ownership will be specific on how many weeks you own and from which weeks you may select for your stay. An example of this, a timeshare may be a floating summer week where the owner may request any week during the summer season generally weeks 22 through 36. In this example there would be competition for prime holidays such as the weeks of Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. The weeks when schools may still be in session would not be so high in demand. Some floating contracts exclude major holidays so they may be sold as fixed weeks.

* Rotating

Some timeshare is sold as rotating weeks. In an attempt to give all owners a chance for the best weeks the weeks are rotated forward or backward through the calendar so one year the owner may have use of week 25, then week 26 the next year and then week 27 the year after that. This method does give each owner a fair opportunity for prime weeks but it is not flexible.

* Deeded vs. Right to Use

A major difference in types of timeshare ownership is that between deeded and right to use contracts. With deeded contracts the use of the timeshare resort is usually divided into weeklong increments and these are sold as fractional ownership and are real property. As with any other piece of real estate you may use your week, rent your week, give it away, or leave it to your heirs.

With right to use, the timeshare purchaser has the right to use the property in accordance with the contract but at some point the contract ends and all rights revert to the property owner. In other words, the right to use contract grants the right to use the resort for a specific number of years. In many countries there are severe limits on foreign property ownership so this is a common method for developing timeshare resorts in countries such as Mexico. Disney Vacation Club is also sold as a right to use.

* Vacation Clubs

Vacation clubs are organizations that may own timeshare units in multiple resorts in different locations. They are sold both as deeded or right to use and club members may reserve vacation time at any of the owned resort units based on availability.

* Points Programs

Resort based points programs are also sold as deeded and as right to use. Points programs annually give the owner an amount of points equal to the level of ownership. The timeshare owner in a points program can then use these points to make travel arrangements within the resort group. Many points programs are affiliated with large resort groups offering a large selection of options for destination. Many resort point programs provide flexibility from the traditional week stay. Resort point program members may request from the entire available inventory of the resort group.

Exchange company point programs are not a method of ownership nor are specifically associated with one resort or resort group. With the exchange company points programs the members may be limited to exchanging for weeks deposited by other members.

A points program member may often request fractional weeks as well as full or multiple weeks stays. The number of points required to stay at the resort will vary based on a points chart. The points chart will allow for factors such as:

* The popularity of the resort;
* The size of the accommodations;
* The number of nights;
* The popularity of the season;
* and the specific nights requested.

There is flexibility as well as complexity in point programs.

Important Note on Ownership

* With any of the above mentioned ownership methods, a timeshare owner is legally and contractually tied to that ownership.
* A timeshare owner has rights, responsibilities and legal obligations. Once the timeshare contract is made it is not easily ended.
* These contracts and obligations belong to the timeshare owner until the timeshare is sold or ownership is transferred through some other means.

Rescission Period

In many developer contracts (and often required by government statutes and/or regulations) there may exist a Rescission period. The Rescission period outlines how many days after a timeshare purchase, from a developer, that a buyer has an opportunity to change their mind and cancel the purchase. The Rescission period is usually only a few days long and the buyer must follow the cancellation procedure exactly or risk the request to rescind being ignored.

Types and Sizes of Timeshare Units

Timeshare properties tend to be apartment-style units ranging in size from studio units (with room for two) to three and four-bedroom units. These larger units can comfortably house large families. Timeshare units normally include fully equipped kitchens with a dining area, dishwasher, televisions, VCRs and more. It is not uncommon to have washers and dryers either in the unit or easily accessible on the resort. Kitchens are equipped to the size of the unit, so that a unit that sleeps four should have at least four glasses, plates, forks, knives, spoons, and bowls so that all four guests can sit and eat at once.

Timeshare units are usually listed by how many the unit will sleep and how many the unit will sleep privately.

* Sleeps 2/2 would normally be a one bedroom or studio
* Sleeps 6/4 would normally be a two bedroom with a sleeper sofa

Sleep privately refers to the number of guests who will not have to walk through another guests sleeping area to use a restroom. Timeshare resorts tend to be strict on the number of guests per unit. Unit size can effect demand at a given resort where a two-bedroom unit may be in higher demand than a one-bedroom unit at the same resort. The same does not hold true comparing resorts in different locations. A one bedroom with a great location may still be in higher demand than a resort with less demand. An example of this may be a one bedroom at a great beach resort compared to a two bedroom unit at a resort located inland from the same beach.

The concept of vacation timeshare has also been extended to luxury items such as planes and luxury cars.

Scope of Timeshare Industry

Today's timeshare industry includes over 5000 resorts worldwide, for a total of 11 million timeshare "intervals" that have been individually sold to nearly 7 million families around the world. There are timeshare resorts around the world. Global timeshare sales total over $9 billion annually. ARDA, American Resorts Development Association, reported that in the USA, as of January 1, 2005, there were 1668 timeshare resorts serving 3.87 million US households. Ownership has increased in the USA 16.2 percent in 2004 and 13.8 percent in 2003.

There exists a resale industry for the resale of timeshare intervals. Many of these can be found searching the Internet as well as an active market in the online auction sites such as that on eBay.

Pros and Cons of Timeshares

The timeshare industry has been widely criticized and even sometimes likened to a travel scam. Unlike the customary renting arrangement, where the customer decides every year on the quality and price of accommodations, timeshare requires to make a major payment up front. There exist doubts as to whether timeshare buyers ever recover the money spent, but the vast majority of timeshare owners have no desire to exit the system and find the quality of their holiday accommodation makes their financial outlay a logical expenditure.

There are also some complaints that owners have to return to the same resort every year, but there exist several companies - the best known being Resort Condominiums International (RCI) & Interval International - that enable timeshare owners to exchange their weeks into literally thousands of resorts around the world. There are a growing number of independent timeshare exchange organizations available to timeshare owners.

Other complaints include issues surrounding the yearly maintenance fee. Some critics talk of ever escalating fees that mean owners cannot afford to keep their weeks due to financial pressure.

One of the major benefits of the product is the fact that vacation timeshare is real property. Resort developers purchase land in a location and develop a timeshare resort. They are actually selling consumers deeded weeks of real property at a specific location, meaning customers can do what they wish with the weeks they own. This flexibility includes the opportunity to rent out weeks that are not used or indeed to lend them to friends or family.

Like any other product, timeshare exchange is subject to the law of supply. This should make the exchange mechanism a fair and meritocratic system. For example if a timeshare owner deposits a studio apartment in low season that owner is unlikely to be able to exchange into a villa during a country's high season. In practice the major exchange companies have proprietary exchange formulas that add complexity to the system. The study of and issues revolving around exchanging are beyond the scope of this article and should be researched before making any timeshare purchase.

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What Is A Mini WebSite?

A mini website is a site which is devoted to selling one and only one product. Either software or an ebook. You have probably seen these sites all over the internet.

They consist of a one page sales letter and a thank you page.

The sales letter is packed full of information to tell your potential customer about all the benefits of the product you are offering. This page is usually quite long as it is your one opportunity to sell your product. The sales page will have all the reasons your customer needs the product you are selling. It will also tell what the product does or how it is used with examples to emphasize the fact that your customer can't do without it. Sometimes there will be some testimonials from satisfied customers and some bonuses for a prompt purchase. At the end of the page, the customer will have the opportunity to purchase the product with a command for them to order now!

Once they have made their purchase, they are sent to the thank you page which has the download link for their purchase. It is important to add the download link for the purchased product in a very prominent place near the top of the page. No one wants to search for the item they have already paid for.

This thank you page should be considered a second sales page.

The great thing about this thank-you page is that you know the people reading it will buy from you. They already have! It has been proven that once a person buys something from you, they are more likely to buy more products from you if you keep offering a good product at a good price. So while you have them there, you will offer another product that compliments the already purchased product. You can string a series of related mini sites together and get several sales from the same person all at once. Don't miss this opportunity to get another sale.

Your thank you page is a good place for you to offer a free gift or a unannounced bonus. All the visitor has to do to get your freebie is fill out a form with their name and email address. Almost everyone will take you up on the free offer and you have just collected their information to send them even more offers.

The thank-you page is also a great place to add your Google AdSense ads. After the customer has downloaded their purchased product, filled out the form for your free offer and looked at, and hopefully bought, the other offers you have available, they are still on your thank you page. Place your Google AdSense ads at the bottom of this page. The next logical choice for them is to click a Google Ad or close the window. Most people will click on an ad.

So you have your sale, their name and email address for future sales, possibly a second or third sale and a little extra cash from your Google ads.

The beauty of this whole operation is you don't have to be present to make sales or ship goods. It is all done electronically. Once you get traffic to your mini site, it will do all the work for you. It will sell the product, collect the money, 'ship' the item, make your second sales pitch, and collect the customer information. You make 100% profit from the sale.

You check your email every once in a while and find you have made more money!

Optimizing these mini sites for the search engines is a breeze. You only have one page to optimize. What could be easier?

PLUS... Nothing to join. You don't have to sign up for a bunch of affiliate programs and deal with wetting up the affiliate links. You own the products you are selling. You don't share your profits with anyone. 100% of the money from your sales goes right into your pocket!

Where do you get these mini websites?

You can create your own ebooks or software and sell them or you can buy resell rights products. When you buy a product that offers resell rights, you now have the right to sell this product and keep all the profits. Just like if you made the product yourself.
Once you have your product, you only have to write the sales page and the thank you page and you are in business.

The beauty in these Mini WebSites is that you can set them up, optimize them and then just let them work for you. It's like having a whole staff of sales people working for your 24 hours a day and you don't even have to pay them.

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Website Owner Brings Joy To Internet Marketing Beginners

New kid on the block any-biz.com is bringing hope to all those starting out in the internet marketing business. At any-biz.com you can get an amazing array of things to help the internet marketing beginner, from free tools and ebooks that every internet marketer needs to free help and advice for it's members. Membership is free, and there are products for sale for super-cheap prices that can then be sold on at full price for total profits.

Not only does the site owner, Bruce Andrews, provide free membership and free tools, software, ebooks and advice, there are also two free blogs, a forum and a chat-room!

If you didn't know, blogs are a great way to improve hits on your own sites by leaving links there which increase your own traffic, and the forum is a perfect tool for networking with other members when you want to start a Joint Venture or are looking for business partners.

But that's not where it ends, any-biz.com also welcomes and encourages the internet marketing "gurus" to join up and share their experience and knowledge in the business with al it's members. With so many scam sites out there that promise over-night success and profits by the bucket-load, it's refreshing to see one that is dedicated to helping it's members before looking for personal gain.

As I mentioned, there are products for sale in the site, but you are not forced to buy them to gain entry, and there is no "One-Time-Offer" to put you off joining either. You just sign-up and that's it. The members have instant free access to all the downloade straight away. The items mentioned on the advert page are just some of the products available at the list of free goods is growing all the time.

This truly is a goldmine for the new internet marketer. If there are products that are not available then the members are encourages to make requests in the blogs and the exclusive members forum for those items. Bruce Andrews promises to find them and make them available.

So, if you are starting out in internet marketing or you are an experienced marketer with knowledge and experience you would like to share, please go along to http://www.any-biz.com and join up.

And remember, the site is there to be used by it's members.

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Website Promotion Strategies To Boost Your Internet Marketing Business.

The success of an Internet Marketing Website depends to a great extent on the targeted traffic the website is able to generate. This is where the Website Promotion Strategies adopted by the webmasters play a very significant role in boosting their sales and popularity. The consequences of neglecting these website promotion strategies means only one thing. You loose to your internet marketing competitor.

The more number of website visitors you are able to attract by promoting your website, the more chances you have of benefiting from their visit. Promoting your website methodically and systematically over a period of time by following the 7 Website Promotion Strategies enumerated below will help you build a substantial following of loyal visitors and customers you have been longing for.

1. Grab users when they are looking out for Topics and Products:

The internet is chock-a-block of people searching for topics or products. If your website is most relevant to what they are searching for, and has very useful, valuable and unique content then they will find you. A constant review and updating your website is absolutely necessary to keep your website visitors interested in your site.

2. Emails:

Emails are considered to be the most effective way to get repeat visitors to your website and also get new customers. This can be done by having a newsletter and organizing an opt-in list.

3. Getting users and visitors to Promote your Website:

A way to get your users and website visitors to promote your site is to get them involved. This can be done in two ways. One is to provide a “tell a friend” image in your site and request them to email a friend if they liked you website or product.

The other way is to obtain referrals from your users or clients. Referrals are one of the best Website promotion strategies adapted by top marketers.

4. Getting visitors to "Bookmark".

Encourage visitors to add your website to their "Favorite" list or "Bookmark" your site, thereby creating opportunities for return visits.

5. Taking Immediate Action:

Another strategy to adopt is to encourage your website visitors to take immediate action by "clicking" or "requesting" when the information in the ad. or email is fresh in their minds.

6. Avoid Graphics and Delayed Actions:

When users appear on your website and click on something, they should know what they are in for. Vague section heads, only add confusion and desperation in the minds of the user. Always be very clear when naming section heads and other links. Also avoid having too many graphics.

7. Freebies and Special Promotions:

Giving away freebies and other special promotions whereby your website visitors could benefit financially are additional website promotion strategies you can adopt.

Most successful internet marketing webmasters adopt these website promotion strategies. They are of course done in a very subtle manner. Why not adopt these same website promotion strategies for your websites too and reap the benefits.

Copyright © 2006 Kanaga Siva

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What is YOUR Definition of Marketing?

What I have discovered through my experience of marketing is, it’s all in how we define it. We can think of marketing the way most of us do which puts us in the box of making cold calls, knocking on doors, going to numerous networking groups, sending out mail, speaking, the list goes on and on of what we have known. The simple definition of marketing is: letting your audience know what you do. From this simple idea, it’s up to you how you want to market. You have complete freedom in “how”.

Here’s the bottom line!

No Marketing = No Clients = No Money = No Business!

HOWEVER…

You do get to Market YOUR WAY! You get to have FUN! and be extremely creative. In fact, give yourself permission to market YOUR WAY and change the formula above to:

Market YOUR Way = More Confidence = Attract more clients = A THRIVING BUSINESS!

Now, let’s change your definition and Guess What…your definition will be different from each businessperson you meet. We are all unique. We choose different business paths; wear different clothes; drive different cars; have different viewpoints—our marketing approach should be just as unique?

Here are 3 examples of “marketing” provided from entrepreneurs.

1. I didn’t like networking groups but thought I would try some out. My definition of a networking group is this: It had to fit with my values, it had to be fun, and the group had to come from a unique perspective. Most of them were about collecting as many cards as you can. I tried 4 groups and one fit perfectly. EwomenNetwork comes from “giving first” and they have a wonderful format that gave me permission to ask for what I wanted. It was very safe, very professional and very genuine. I’ve been a member for 3 years – it’s the only one I attend consistently.

2. I have a Web Design company and one of my passions is voyager canoeing. I began to utilize outdoor-related themes in our marketing messages and promotions. Most important, I decided that canoeing was also a great way to network. As a professional woman business owner and an experienced canoe guide, I developed a Ladies Voyageur Day. I hosted a group of entrepreneurial women on a guided canoe trip. The event was so successful it has become an annual sponsored event.

3. I had always found marketing to be a distasteful chore. I was diligent and had managed to stay busy as a consultant by networking and following up on leads, but it was an unpleasant duty, and I avoided it whenever possible. I think one of the best-kept secrets to becoming successful at marketing is first choosing to be of service to a group of people you truly care about. With my new mission in mind, all of a sudden, marketing became effortless.

The clients I wanted to serve were people I really cared about, I wanted to spend time with them. Instead of dreading networking events. I began looking forward to them as a place to meet new people I could help. Before, I had avoided business lunches finding them boring and awkward, but now I enjoy listening about new opportunities to be of service.

To summarize our 3 marketing definitions:

- Giving first, asking, “How can I help you forward your business, ”rather than saying, “What do you do.”

- Creating a marketing approach that doesn’t feel like marketing because I’m doing what I love…Voyager Canoeing

- Being a service to a group of people

OK, do you have a new perspective on the definition of marketing? What are your thoughts with the questions below?

1. What was your original definition of marketing and is it different now?

2. Did you give yourself permission before this class to think of marketing ideas outside of the box? If not, what permission will you give yourself now?

There is a marketer inside of all of us – it’s just a matter of identifying the true, authentic marketing person inside of YOU.

Copyright 2006 Marketing On The Playground (TM)

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Where Do All These Internet Marketing Experts Come From?

As I scan my inbox, on a daily basis I have offers to improve the quality of my site, create new catchy logos, and increase traffic through every conceivable method -- but who makes these guys the experts?

Visit their web sites if you dare! When I'm feeling bored, this is what I'll do...

Check their Google Page Rank. To do this, you need to install the Google Toolbar -- you can get it at http://toolbar.google.com

Although Google Page Rank does little more than tell you how many people link to a site, if the result is less than 2 or 3, they have a problem. (Internet 'experts' should know how to build their own page rank -- shouldn't they?)

Next, check their Alexa ranking. For this, you may either install the Alexa Toolbar or visit http://www.alexa.com/# and enter the URL of the site.

An alexa ranking of over a million means the site receives very little traffic. Would you buy a service to improve YOUR traffic from someone who can't even get people to visit THEIR site?

Look at the pages on the site -- do they look like a dog's breakfast gone bad and come back up warm? Are there banners and ads for everything from hair implants to vacations in Tahiti?

Next, open the site in your browser and view the source. In Internet Explorer, simply select the View menu, and Source option.

Do a quick search for the Meta Keywords tag. You'll often see tags crammed full of dozens of keywords, mis-spelled variants and variations that look like they raided a thesaurus.

In reality, if you find more than a couple of keywords and keyword phrases, the author is simply unaware of how the meta keywords tag is treated by the search engine spiders today.

To get any kind of ranking at all, the page and everything on it should have a clear and strong focus. This isn't always possible on the home page -- where a person may offer 4 or 5 different (but related) services, but certainly on each of the inside pages, the theme of the page should ring loud and clear.

While you're in the source code view, have a look for JavaScript, Flash inclusions and other non-HTML features. If you see Script tags without matching NoScript tags -- the author is using features that users without script support cannot use. Search engine spiders are also unable (or unwilling) to emulate scripted features.

Guess what happens to a site that requires users to have JavaScript to navigate beyond the first page? Neither users with JavaScript disabled nor search engine spiders will ever get beyond the first page!

Oh yes, and link requests... These have become so annoying they almost always end up straight in the trash. I can count on one hand the number of genuine link requests that came from webmasters of sites complimentary to my own.

Many of these I have recriprocated with -- but the thousands of others to totally unrelated, bogus sites just gotta make you wonder what these people are thinking.

Also, in Google's latest update -- it is said that recriprocal links are being severely discredited in terms of increasing Page Rank. Better to work on one-way links, such as the one you would give me by publishing this article on your site. :)

Just for fun, run the site through an HTML Validator service such as: http://validator.w3.org/ -- although a certain amount of non-standard HTML may be acceptable, one would hope that these so-called experts can write HTML well enough so that their home page will at least pass in most respects.

Last but not least, check the domain registration. Try http://www.whois.sc/beer-store.com (replace beer-store.com with the domain of the site you want to check -- without http://www or any extra characters)

If the site has been registered for less than a couple of years, what gives these so-called 'experts' the experience to give advice to anyone?

(Would you let a doctor with less than 2 years education and experience open you up like a sausage to practice his first open-heart surgery?)

Unfortunately, the Internet is a place where time seems to pass like dog years. Can it be true that everyone who has read one or two eBooks on Internet Marketing and Search Engine Optimization now consider themselves to be an expert?

As for samples and references -- check them out carefully! One vendor of custom toolbar products similar to my http://www.custom-toolbars.com product gives references to 7 or 8 'customers' -- but when you trace them through -- you'll find that these 'customers' are all the same guy!

One thing that is just as true as ever before -- buyer beware!

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Why Becoming An Affiliate Marketer?

Affiliate marketing is one of the most effective ways to market online. It is also one of the easiest ways for anyone with a website to make a profit online. Affiliate Marketing is an agreement between a merchant and a website owner. The website owner, or the affiliate, allows the use of their site for the promotion of the merchant's products by linking to the merchant's website. In exchange, the merchant pays a commission to the affiliate on all sales generated by the affiliate. Every time someone clicks on the link on the affiliate website and proceeds to make a purchase, the affiliate gets a commission. The merchant will pay the affiliate only when a customer clicks on the product link and makes a purchase.

Affiliate marketing programs are described as a win-win situation for both the merchant and the affiliate because of the pay-for-performance scheme. Both the merchant and the affiliate enjoy some benefits in affiliate marketing. There are many benefits on the merchant's side. It gives the merchant a wider market in which to advertise a product or service. Affiliate marketing will give the product or service the maximum exposure that it may not get with other traditional advertising techniques. The more affiliate sites a merchant has, the higher the traffic, which can convert to sales. Affiliate marketing is the equivalent of having an army of sales people who will do the advertising and will only get a commission if a customer purchases.



Meanwhile, since an affiliate marketing relationship is a win-win situation, the affiliate also enjoys many benefits. Foremost among these is the easy way to make a profit. The affiliate can earn by having an ad or link to the merchant's website, which prospective customers will hopefully click and proceed to make a purchase. As soon as the customer clicks on the ad on the affiliate's site, is redirected to the merchant's website and goes on to buy that particular product, the affiliate earns a commission. The more referrals there are the more profit for the affiliate.


Affiliate marketing is an excellent way to earn money while at home. There are virtually no production costs. The product is already developed and proven by the merchant, and all you have to do to find, as many prospects as you can that will bring in the profit for both the merchant and the affiliate. Affiliate programs are usually free to join, so affiliates do not have to worry about start-up costs. There are thousands of products and services you can choose from. You can find affiliate programs for every product under the sun. Surely, there is a product or service out there that is relevant to your website.


In addition, there is absolutely no sales experience necessary. Most affiliate programs offer excellent support when it comes to providing marketing material. The simplicity of affiliate marketing allows you to be an affiliate marketer at the least cost and the most comfort. You can even build a successful affiliate marketing business right in the convenience of your own home. In affiliate marketing, your responsibility is simply to find prospects for the merchant; you do not have to worry about inventory, order processing, and product shipping. These, along with customer service support are the duties of the merchant.


Because of the global reach of the internet, you can easily find thousands of prospects. You can intensify your advertising campaign by exploiting more aggressive and productive strategies such as viral marketing. By attracting more prospects, you also maximize your potential to earn. Another benefit of an affiliate marketer is the minimal risk involved. If the product you are advertising is not making money then you can dump it and choose another. There are no long-term binding contracts tying you to products that are not making enough money.


All the same, the best benefit of being an affiliate marketer is the opportunity to increase your income; and you can make a profit even if affiliate marketing is only a sideline business. With your own affiliate business, you can earn easily earn extra income, although you do have to exert effort and use your imagination to maximize your earning potential. Indeed, affiliate marketing is one of the simplest and most effective business opportunities on the web today.

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What's A Niche and Can I Find One Too?

When I came upon that little word -- Niche -- I wondered, "what is this thing called a Niche -- and most importantly, can I find my own niche too?

What is A Niche

Well, A niche, is a service or product , that fills an unmet customer's need -- that is more of a speciality. You are not competing with the masses for a sale on an ebook or an affiliate tool. Instead, you carve out a small corner of the market for yourself on the Internet.

Well, the definition was simple, however, finding a niche that I felt comfortable with was going to be a chore, because I wanted to avoid the affiliate programs -- and if possible find a company that privately carried their own affiliate program -- without the quota's and the many rules.

How to Find A Niche

When I started looking for a niche market, I started to make a list of my hobbies, what I liked to do, what I was interested in and what I was familiar with -- to help me brainstorm. If this little task does nothing else, it will definitely give you an eye-opener to who you are.

Anyway, when the dust finally settled I realized that I wanted a niche where it would assist others -- perform a service of some sort, and would compliment my current website. Not very decisive, but I had a direction.

Then it happened, just by chance, or maybe it was divine intercession -- anyway, I received a personal email from one of the assistant manager's from DentalPlans -- stating that she liked my website and wondered if I would be interested in becoming an affiliate.

I looked at their website and the affiliate plan -- and I knew that this affiliate program was for me.

Here's What DentalPlan Offers

1. High conversion rate -- 1-5% percent conversion ratio from click thrus.

2. Commission -- $40 to $50.

3. Extremely high EPC.

4. Partner through DentalPlans private network -- Your affiliate manager will answer any questions you may have --- one on one assistance.

5. You can promote on-line or off-line or both.

6. Full 365-day cookie. (If you go through DentalPlans program)

7. Paid monthly.

8. They work with affiliates more closely -- will create custom creatives such as: landing pages, banners, pop-unders, emails, editable templates to fit on your website.

9. Free Web templates (standard and editable), banners, affiliate links

10. On-line tracking of stats

11. Multi-tier possibilities (Need to ask about it)

This is what I or any affiliate is looking for in a program! If you would like to join, you can go to my website at http://www.myaffiliateplace.biz/Affiliate_More_Affiliate_Opp.htm or if you
would like to look at one of their editable website's go to
http://www.myaffiliateplace.biz/Affiliate_mydentalwebsite.htm and look around.

Anyway, I found my niche -- it compliments my affiliate website.So yes, you can find your small corner of the Internet and find a niche product. But always remember -- even though this may have seemed difficult -- your chore is not over -- you must market, market and market.

To you success.

Vickie J. Scanlon

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Where's the Value of Timeshare Is?

As he walked into our little land office in Placerville, California (about sixty miles west of South Lake Tahoe), he said, "I've got the keys to the bank" and proceeded to tell me about this new concept called timesharing. I responded with "Forget it, Jack. It won't work." Jack was persistent, persuasive and before long we were the developers of one of the first timeshare projects in the country (RCI #0078). And so I began what would become a lifetime journey.

Fast forward to several years later after Jack's retirement. Along came Larry who became another close friend and sales associate. During this time the two of us were selling it. I would tell Larry that this was no scam and really had substance. His response was, "Yeah, yeah, sure", but he kept going until it was done.

Now it was time for the first general Owner's Association meeting. I coerced Larry into attending. After the very upbeat meeting, one of the Owners' wives approached us. Larry kind of slunk over behind me thinking I would absorb most of the blows. She took my hands and with tears in her eyes said, "Thank you, thank you so much! You have really improved our lives!" One of the funniest things I have ever seen was the look on Larry's face. His jaw had dropped and he was absolutely stunned. It would be a few more years before he would completely accept that this concept was so sound, but he eventually became an active owner of several timeshares himself.

As we were selling that property in the early 1970s I would tell people, "You better buy one of these now, because if you don't, you will be paying a hundred dollars a night for a hotel room." They would say, "Nah, that will never happen." Today it is hard to find a Holiday Inn room for under a hundred dollars a night.

Guess what the rack rate of the Mark Hopkins hotel in San Francisco (Top of the Mark) was in 1942. It was $5 single and $7 double. For servicemen it was $3 single and $5 double. By 1974 it was $45 single and $55 double. Now it is $210 to $270 single or double depending on the location. Projecting this ahead another fifty years and you will be paying $9,058 a night for a hotel room there! And I can just hear most people saying, "Nah, that will never happen."

The reason for owning a timeshare is the same as the reason for owning your own home. It will cost you much less in the long run and you will end up with something of value. Just think of the value to your children who stand to benefit the most from your foresight. It is a shame that more of them don't realize how important this is and only focus on the upkeep. The smart ones will be enjoying vacations that are way beyond their means for the rest of their lives.

After thirty years, my take is this: You will save about half of what you are currently spending on vacation lodging. But the real kicker is that you will be staying in facilities that are more luxurious than anything you would even consider. How many of you will spend $350 to $500 a night for a place to sleep? Not me! Ever! But I do enjoy that level of vacationing through my timeshare ownership.

So much for the financial side. Now how about the real value? What do you remember the most about your childhood? Isn't it the family holidays? The times you spent together and felt so close to your family? An observant doctor once said, "I never saw anybody who, on his or her death bed said "I wish I had spent more time at the office." In today's crazy world no one has time for even the most basic activities. The family is under the greatest stress ever. The sad fact is that in the time of the greatest need most families don't even get that so important vacation together.

One of my greatest satisfactions in life is selling a timeshare to a family that really needs it! They can be in a family business and prone to never taking a vacation. Or they can simply be stressed from having to pay for meals and lodging for themselves and three or four children and blowing the family budget for the next three years. That situation with the woman who thanked me so much at the first Homeowner's meeting has repeated itself many times. Whatever the situation, I know that I have improved their lives in terms of real value. Whether I end up rich or poor, I will always be rich for the good I have done for people in terms of helping them to achieve the real values of life.

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Why Aren't You Using Linkbait?

You've heard of the olden days when people would hunt for potential link partners. Well, those days are long gone and smart web masters are moving on to greater things, while decreasing their reciprocal link building effort.

If you are wondering what this new technique could be, it's actually quite simple... in theory. It is known as linkbaiting. This is a strategy that brings links to a website simply because of the unique and popular content on a website.

With the rise of the blogosphere and social bookmarking sites, all it takes is one person to notice an interesting page and link to a site. Once a link is passed around once, it becomes easier for it to spread further.

Bloggers around the net constanly use linkbait to encourage other bloggers to mention them or to get their content passed around the blogosphere. However, many traditional web masters have not quite latched on to this powerful technique.

The benefits of creating quality, unique, or even controversial content go way beyond what one might first imagine. When a web site offers true value to the visitor, they can create hundreds and even thousands of backlinks without even asking.

Unfortunately, simply having good, quality content on your site doesn't always work. To gain the full potential of linkbaiting, you need a good hook. Some of the most popular ones include:

News
Controversy
Resources and...
Humor

News Hook: Everyone loves to read about industry news. However, the key to attracting some real traffic is to add a twist to the latest news. Find out exactly how it affects your web site visitors. If you just give a rehashing of what everyone else has already said, no one will care.

However, if you inject your own twist or personality into your news story, then you are prepared to catch someone's eye.

Look at CNN.com as an example. What do they offer? They provide the latest news every day of the week. In the world of information that we live in, news is a commodity. Because CNN offers such appealing content, thousands of sites are linking to them. Do you think CNN sent these sites a little email asking if
they would be interested in a reciprocal link? Of course not.

Instead, they employ linkbaiting. Their fresh and interesting content automatically encourages other people to link to it. Luckily for us, we can use this same technique on our own web sites.

News is one of the best ways to attract incoming links, especially if the news is controversial.

Controversy Hook: Before we move on, I must warn you that this hook can be very powerful and also very dangerous. It involves contradicting what someone says, preferably someone very prominent in the industry.

When used correctly, controversy can be very effective in bringing traffic to your site, but always be careful.

To begin, look for articles and stories in your industry. Some of the best places to find this type of content is on blogs, news sites, and social bookmarking sites. Once you have found a good story, take an opposing viewpoint or give it some sort of twist. This will make your content stand out from the hum drum of what everyone else is publishing.

The next hook is actually one of my favorites. It is known as the resource hook.

Resource Hook: Information is powerful online. If you have information that is not available anywhere else, you become an authoritative resource. Many of these resources come in the form of a list.

You would be surprised at the power of a list. You can organize:

- a list of helpful tools that would be beneficial to your readers
- a list of the best blogs in your niche
- a list of popular news stories within your industry (When you are doing this kind of list, be sure to sprinkle in some of your own commentary)

One of my favorite lists is located at http://www.seocompany.ca/tool/seo-tools.html, where they offer over 150 SEO tools. Simply by linking out to their favorite SEO tools they get tons of traffic each and every day.

Robin Good of MasterNewMedia is a webmaster who uses lists especially well. One of his most popular resource pages is a list of RSS and blog directories that webmasters can submit to. You can see it at: http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/ .

However, not only does he show you over a hundred places where you can submit your blog and RSS feed, he also gives you an overview of each service, some commentary on which of these directories are the most influential, and exactly how to submit to each one.

This one page alone has thousands of incoming links to it because it is an invaluable resource.

Another popular resource hook is to create a useful online tool that your visitors can download for free. Once they have downloaded your free tool, let them rebrand it and give it away on their own sites.

Humor Hook: Have you ever received a joke or some other sort of humor in your inbox? If you are like most people, then you probably have. Jokes, funny stories, and wierd pictures are some of the most viral hooks on the Internet.

Within your own web site, you can add your own touch of humor. However, you must make sure that it fits with your personality. People on the internet want to see your true self.

Many companies have made their web sites an impersonal void. This is not the way the web works. The Web is an engaging and interactive community of people. When you start giving your web site some personality, people will start taking notice. The ordinary is simply too easy to pass over.

Another key to remember when employing linkbaiting is that your article or news story should almost always link out to leading industry web sites or influential bloggers. There are so many web sites who are afraid to link out to other sites. However, by mentioning other web sites and bloggers, you
would be surprised at the number of people who start linking to you.

Bloggers are a group of web masters who realize the power of linking to others. Within the blogoshpere, links are spread willingly to those who provide great content. As a result, they all receive more traffic than they would alone.

Final Verdict

The term linkbaiting itself may sound a little fishy, but it's not. If you are a good web master, you should always strive for your content to be linkbait. This simply means that your content is of such quality that others simply can't help but link to it.

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When Internet Marketing Gurus Sell Their Souls

If you're just getting started in Internet Marketing, you may be awed by the amount of "Internet Gurus" out there, all making millions of dollars (or so they claim) and for some reason seem more than willing, for a fee, to teach you their biggest, most intimate secrets.

I believe in one thing - If it sounds too good to be true, it most probably is!

While I have no doubt on the specialized skills and techniques used by these gurus, it can get way too frustrating simply getting into all their hype, and find almost no value at the end of the day. Hype - that's one thing I agree these guru's are really good at. For some of them, unfortunately, hype is the only thing they're good at.

So the question, for those who are trying to master Internet Marketing, might be:

1) Can I learn anything from these gurus without paying money?
2) Who is real and who is not?
3) Whose methods should I follow?


Can You Learn Something for Free?

Most guru's have opt-in newsletters on specialized subjects like website marketing, Pay-Per-Click, search engine optimization or whatever specialized skill they have "mastered". Almost all of them ask you to subscribe to their newsltetter in return for some kind of "breakthrough" report, and promise to deliver "valuable information" weekly or monthly to your email address. Sound great.

Here's what happens 2 weeks later - You realize that the "breakthrough report" is the same old regurgitated information which you can find almost anywhere. You might also relize that the "valuable information" never comes in full, without any hidden agenda. The "valuable information" is actually a soft-selling (sometimes even blatant advertisements) ad for the guru's products, or even worse, some other Internet marketer's products.

I'm not trying to shoot down any marketer here, but the irony is in their teaching. Almost all internet gurus would advice you to offer valuable, free information that benefits other people. Profits, as they say, is secondary to actually helping people and making a difference in their lives. What a load of BS. How come they don't practise what they preach? Of is that how the Internet Marketing Game is played?

Fortunately, not all guru's are the same. There are still some jewels to be found, and they offer some great information in their newsletters, such as:

1) Vishal Rao: http://www.home-based-business-opportunities.com talks about home based businesses.
2) Mike Cheney: http://www.magnet4web.com talks about building an effective and efficient business web site.
3) Jill Whalen: http://www.highrankings.com talks about Search Engine Optimization.

Of course there are more out there, but it is not necessary to subscribe to every Internet Marketing newsletter just to hope for nuggets of gold that may never come. Instead, give the guru a "trial" month, and if you don't find anything of value from them, just unsubscribe. It will only be a loss to them, not you.

Who's Real and Who's Not?

To answer this question, you really have to "get around" the Internet a lot. Go to forums where you will definately find topics on info-products offered by these gurus, and see what others are saying about them. Forget about all those blaring testimonials that the guru's compile on their site. Forums are where the real testimonials are. You may also want to consider this site:

GuruDaq : http://www.gurudaq.com

Taking on a Nasdaq-like approach, this site lists all gurus according to ratings and 'stock price'. Although I would advice to take it more as an entertainment that actual recommendations, perhaps this site will allow you to get a glimpse of "who's who" in Internet Marketing.

Whose methods should I follow?

Honestly, nobody's. At least not word-for-word of what is thought in their newsletters or ebooks. The important thing to realize is that you need to develop your own technique to be really successful. The guru's don't teach you everything, anyway. They almost always feed you the crop but keep the cream for themselves. In other words, no one really tells you the "hot money-making secrets", especially those guru's that have sold their soul a long time ago.

Its really up to you to learn some tips and tricks of the trade from them, but set out on your own course. In order to be successful in anything, you need to do your own thing. Be original in you approach, whether it's writing sales letters, doing email marketing, pay-per-click or search engine optimization.

Don't look to someone who has sold their soul to lead you to the path of success. That's wishful thinking.

Copyright © 2006 Gobala Krishnan

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Which Internet Marketing Strategy Will You Choose.

To talk on Search Engine and its Optimization the first thing that will come to mind as the thoughts. There is a lot of talk as to whether or not certain of the search engine optimization techniques and methods are ethical. There's been much fuss lately as to the need for Search Engine Optimization of the right kind; some will tell you that to be effective Search Engine Optimization has to be "organic"; others will swear by the power of using the right software, coincidentally, their software. Then there are those who say that if you find the right "niche market", the world will beat a path to your door and leave their money when they get there. Arguments against their usage do not stand up in the face of good, old-fashioned common sense. It doesn't mean that the techniques cannot be used in unethical and unscrupulous ways; it simply means that they are not intrinsically unethical, they are not spam and it is not wrong to use them.



SEO is the process of choosing targeted keyword phrases related to a site, and ensuring that the site places well when those keyword phrases are part of a Web search.

In the modern business world Organic search is very essential to ensure the smooth running of the online business. If the website is expected to rank on the top with the organized manner, the organized key words are the unique criteria as per the Search Engine Marketing or SEO Services. Through the key words search the Internet crawlers will find your site rather your products and services. The URL key words search plays an import role. Paid listing also can be purchased. If your URL shows up for keywords and paid listing on the same page, it may help push a visitor to your site. The problem is you don't have control over what sites your ads are placed on. It could hurt your brand if your link was found on an inappropriate site. Some search engines like Yahoo have become smart enough to associate a person to a website or a company.


Give your business a human presence. The Internet for the most part is just words and images. Letting people associate a name and a face with your company will let then know that there is a person in charge and that he is accessible, whether it is through email, telephone or instant messenger. Letting them know you are there if they need you can be a big selling point.


Podcasting is a new way to get the word out about your company. Podcasting is basically audio to go. People can download the audio files to their computer or iPod. You can provide news about your industry, tips, ideas etc. This powerful marketing tool is growing by leaps and bounds. If your industry doesn't already have a few podcasts, start one. Be the pioneer in your field, or do something that separates you from the others. If it's informative as well as entertaining, you can grow a steady fan base. The fans are a very important resource to you. You can ask them for feedback, concerns or problems they have in your area of business.


Sometimes free advice can go a long way. Also, If your make it entertaining and informative enough, people will tell others and these are the basic things of some website marketing firm and they do follow it cordially.

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Who says you have to say everything?

Just finished a really nice job for a new client. I loved it! He was lukewarm. Yet it was a billion times better than his own attempt at copywriting (not conceit, just plain fact).

So I asked him, what was" wrong" with it? His answer? It isn't long enough! We're talking about 3000 words here. That's 10 solid pages of tightly packed copy, at single line spacing.

He wanted more. A lot more - say 12,000 words. Now that's about 60 pages at 1.5 line spacing! That isn't a direct mail letter! It's a book!

Just who was it who said that length is everything in direct response? Sure, the more you say, the more you sell, but you can't bore anybody into buying anything - ever! And I've seen short copy pull a better response than long copy in split tests.

One size never fits all!

As they say, there's a time and a place and in copy, one size never fits all!

Your job, as a writer, is to tell the story. You have to know where to pitch the story and which knobs to twitch and what levers to pull. You also have to know when "it's over".

And you have to know how and when to make the "silences" work. Often what you don't say but simply infer works as hard as what you have said. Remember, your audiences are not idiots! So work with them.

You write from the heart, or you should. That means you understand your reader, empathize, sympathize and rub shoulders with them. Your copy covers all the bases and that's all the features, functions, applications, benefits and bonuses that the product, service, application or opportunity has to offer.

But you also know, as any good writer should, when you've said enough. And enough is enough, whether it's 250 words, 2500 or 25,000. The point is - did it get through? Did it make a connection with the reader that made them want to do something?

Dancing on the moon!

25,000 unique visitors (not hits - a different thing altogether) and not one buyer is a poor return, it's true. But 250 unique visitors and 25 buyers would be great. Not wonderful, maybe, but good enough to tell you you're doing a solid job for your client. Any more success and you'd be dancing on the moon!

The point is that there is no rule over copy length. It takes the right number of words to make your pitch - and that's all there is to it. You can't weight it like groceries - finance is 12,000 words, fitness is 18,000 words and so on.

You write till you've said it all and just because a competitor or rival produces 4 or 5 times more words than you does not mean they are likely to be 4 or 5 times more successful. Far from it.

All you can ever do is test, test and test again. Then you'll know. Know what? Know that on that particular test, at that particular time in the product cycle, on that particular day of the week, for that particular offering, using that particular writer or style of writing that Copy A outpulled Copy B, C, D and E! And that's all you'll ever know.

No right and wrong

It could all change next week. The market suddenly wants short copy, different style and tone, better offers and so on. So you have to go with instinct, experience, intuition and expertise to guide you to find the right answers that will give your client the very best results. And your test program will guide you to find the most reliable answers because there is no right and wrong … just copy that works.

There is no hard and fast rule over copy length. It is finished, when it's finished. You don't look at a great work of art and say the artist could have done with a few more metres of canvas, now do you?

And great copy should be a work of art - beautiful, precise, evocative and moving. It has the power to hold, enchant, absorb, engage and deliver.

Evidence proves it

It tells a story that is relevant and real. It answers a need. It signposts a direction. It builds its momentum, delivers its promise and tells it exactly how it is. No more, no less.

And that is the art of great copy. It's not measured by the metre, but by the magic it creates in as few, or as many, words as it takes. Don't blindly follow the lead of others and do it because "someone, somewhere, said". Do it because it's right - and gather the evidence to prove it, in your results!

Copyright 2006 John Beavis

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Why Are Your Visitors Not Turning Into Clients?

It is a dry hot day while Bill lackadaisically watches the traffic go by on the main road. He came here to break free from the daily chores of a job, and this seemed a good investment. According to those in the know he should quite comfortably make a easy living.

What was not mentioned, nor thought of by him, was how many others are there doing the same thing. So every day now he faces Sam on the other side of the main road, doing exactly what he is doing.

Bill and Sam are both selling the same coolers, and if you are around here everyone needs one.

Every now and again a car pulls in at Bill's place having a look around, but being the shy person that he is, he just leaves them to their own devices hoping silently that they would buy. They look and they leave. Maybe one day he will see them again, and then again, maybe not.

One morning, as Bill opens up for business he notices a truck that had just pulled off the road at Sam's entrance. After watching the commotion of the people getting out of the truck he suddenly realizes what is happening, Sam is putting up a huge signboard announcing his presence.

As the days go by Bill sees his drizzle of traffic becoming less and less, all heading off to Sam. On the other side of the road.

Quietly staring across to Sam's, Bill thinks by himself whatever made him decide on this, should he call it quits. But with the amount he had already invested it would be a bitter pill to swallow.

In a last ditch effort Bill decides to follow suit. Put up a bigger board than Sam.

Geared up with his new plan he heads off to the powers that be and after looking at all the figures he comes to the cold realization that a board like Sam's will cost a small fortune, and that just to get more people who may not even buy.

He will have to sell a lot to just cover expenses, let alone make a profit.

After looking at all the alternatives he decides on a smaller board.. At the price it better work or he will be in the big city looking for a job soon, back from whence he came. 'Has my dream become my nightmare', he thinks to himself as he heads back. There is such a lot of traffic, if he could just get a little.

The board is up but the traffic only trickles in. Those that do stop stay only for a brief period and they drive off again. On the odd occasion one would buy, but the cost of that board far exceeds the profits.

One morning upon awakening it happens, in a flash of brilliance!

Scraping his last money together he buys a cheap fridge, fills it up with coke, changes the signboard to read “Free Ice Cold Coke”.

Very soon his dusty entrance road has more traffic than what it can handle.

An ice cold coke is always welcome in these parts, especially with the heat as it is. So more and more turn off to visit, and they stay for a while enjoying the refreshing drink before continuing on their journey. Many of them then also buy a cooler.

Bill decided to put his shyness into his pocket, and spoke to the visitors and before they left he asked them for their business cards and if he could call on them. To his surprise there were many more yes answers than no.

From now on Bill is remembered as the guy who gave them a cold coke on a hot day, just what they needed at that moment in time. He gave his visitors a reason to remember him, a reason to stay for a while and sold his product in the process. A few weeks later Sam's board was taken down, and Sam left, back to the city.

So how does Bill's story relate to you as an internet marketer?

Give your visitors a reason to stay for a while.

Your bonus or giveaway should relate to your product and to your advertisement.

Your offer must make a lasting impression, they must remember you. Give them exactly what they need in that moment in time, find the flash of brilliance, even if it costs a small investment.

If you give something away as a gift ask for their email in exchange, if you don't you will never see them again.

You must build up a relation with your visitors so that you are able to contact them at a later stage, or even follow up with a new offer.

You are the only one who will know what your visitors want, make it worth their while receiving it and they wont mind further communication from you.

Create a trust relationship and they will actually open and read your emails.

If your board is up and you are paying for it you must give your visitors what they are expecting, and you will receive what you are expecting.

So what is your offer?

Copyright 2006 Karl Stadler

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