Posts Tagged ‘Return On Investment’

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Key Methods To Generate Free Traffic

Monday, November 16th, 2009

Internet marketing is a constantly changing environment and it is very important to stay on top of all the new developments and trends within the industry. By doing so you will greatly increase your chances of staying one up on the competition. But how do you go about doing that ?

One important factor to remember is that you do not have to invest money in order to attract people to your website. Successful internet marketers are well aware of this . The idea that pay per click advertising, such as Google Adwords, offers an opportunity to quickly drive targeted traffic to your site has proven to be ] very disappointing to most marketers who often find that the results are costly . Admittedly some people claim to generate significant revenue from pay per click. But one has to wonder what their return on investment really is. How much of that revenue was actual profit? We are always left with guessing.

Contrary to popular thinking and what many so-called ?gurus? may tell you, getting prospects and customers from free traffic is not at all difficult. In fact it is quite easy to drive ?quality? traffic to your site that in the long term produces much better conversion to sales . Despite any downturn in the economy, the basic principles of effective advertising remain true . The well proven marketing strategies of the offline world are easily adaptable to the world of internet marketing.

Following are some of the keys on how you can coordinate your marketing programs to dominate the internet when it comes to generating free targeted traffic ? an endless flow of visitors with credit card in hand and eager to buy your product or service.

Select a business that you personally like and/or know. It of course should be a financially profitable business. There is an endless supply online. It has been proven that if you like and understand your business your chances at success are greatly increased and customers will know you care about it and subsequently you will care about them;

Don?t keep your marketing plan in your head ? write it down! All successful marketers have a plan written down which they can refer to and edit as conditions warrant;

Place ?quality content? on your website . This includes not only any articles but also the graphics, navigation menus, etc. Your site needs to be relevant to visitors and it needs to be easy to navigate . Search engines love good content and although they are not the driving force behind free targeted traffic that they used to be it is still important to have them on your side and indexing your site high;

Harness the power of the ever increasing dynamics of social networks. This area is growing at a tremendous rate and you need to be on top of what they are doing and participate in this marketing opportunity . Be certain you are focused on exactly what you want to achieve before you start using social networks. If not done properly , you may lose credibility rapidly and find it a struggle to get it back;

Keep you business up to date . That means you have to make certain that there are many avenues for visitors to reach your site. You need to constantly check and improve your site. Check all the links (Google will know right away if a link is not working and it will hurt your rank ). Be tuned into the daily operations of your business. You must have a business plan and when you do you must conform to it and alter it if necessary. You cannot do either if you simply ignore your original plan;

Control your time and effort. Don?t waste time on things that don?t result in any gain for your business. Time is money. If you are doing something for a couple hours a day that produces little or no financial gain you are not only not making money, you are losing money. Time is valuable and so should be your efforts. On the other hand, don?t put things off that you need to do even if they seem frivolous and tedious.

Think ahead. Don?t assume you know it all or that your system is all set up and perfect . You need to always be thinking forward on how you can improve your business and how you can learn more about what you should be doing. Successful online marketers seek advice and counsel regularly . You should too.

These Principles are the foundation of how to build a successful business and begin driving free targeted traffic to your website. Of course there is much more than can be written in an article of this type. Research, investigate and then implement these principals and you will achieve financial rewards as an internet marketer.

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Paid Per Click Versus Link Popularity To Develop Your Online Home Business Site

Saturday, November 7th, 2009

There is a lot to be said regarding Paid Per Click Advertising and Link Popularity. I will briefly explain the two and the merit of each.

Paid Per Click Advertising, simply abbreviated as PPC Advertising, is performance based advertising where advertisers spend money for every visitors that go to their website, depending on their objectives. This is a new way of advertising pioneered by Google. With this kind of advertising, webmasters will be able to quantify their return on investment and adjust their Internet Marketing dollars accordingly.

Why do advertisers use PPC advertising? Quite simply, advertisers can get an idea on how much they spent and what they expect from it. If one click costs an advertiser $ 0.50, then he can expect certain number of visitors with certain budgets. Furthermore, PPC advertising is one of the fastest way of getting visitors to a website. Registration is simple and an ad campaign can be prepared for as little as 5 minutes. If a webmaster want to grow big and quickly and he has the means to do that, then PPC is probably the best way to go.

Link Popularity on the other hand is geared towards a long-term survival for a Home Based Business website. One of the drawback of link popularity is the time taken to receive considerable amount of links from other websites. It can take months or longer. On the other hand, link popularity is more permanent than PPC advertising. Once your budget is spent on PPC, your source of new visitors are gone. Link Popularity stays there. If you have 1000 backlinks and it draws 50 visitors per day, then the chance is you will get that much visitors for the foreseeable future.

Another nice feature of building link popularity is that it costs you nothing in term of money. All you have to do is writing more contents or submit your websites to free web directories widely available.

One of the biggest drawback of building link popularity is time. As you may know, time is money. You won’t get lots of backlink in a short amount of period without spamming or buying a text link. Furthermore, you may not have much content and writing contents take time. This constraint can be solved if you have money to spend. You can spend money buying copyrighted articles for your websites’ content. You can also buy some individuals who will then submit your website to hundreds of Internet Marketing directories.

It all goes back to you. If you are pressed for time, you need to spend money to speed up the process. But if i were to choose, I’d prefer spending money on building link popularity rather than PPC advertising. The reason is simple. In attracting constant new visitors, link popularity lasts longer than PPC advertising.

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The Pitfalls Of Email Marketing

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Email marketing gets a bad rap. The controversy about email marketing is a quagmire that leaves many business owners in confusion in its wake.

According to a new study by the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing delivers the highest return on investment of all media available to marketers. The study also projects that
email driven sales in the United States will show a compound annual growth rate of 14.9% between 2006 and 2011. But, statistics like that only bring about real understanding when the outcome of email marketing impacting long term customer-relationship-based revenue streams is fully known.

Patrick Valtin*, sales & marketing expert, president of M2-TEC USA, INC. and founder of one of the largest consulting company in Europe called U-MAN BELGIUM claims email marketing is highly profitable if done correctly. The main mistake is trying to convert a prospect when embarking on email marketing, he says. The direction one should take is instead is trying to attract a qualified prospect.

Attract first, don?t try to convert. It?s actually common sense if you think about it. What if some one came up to you and said BUY THIS with no enticement as to what it was and what it could do for you? Would you buy (convert)? Probably not. But say a girl scout comes to your door with a tray of cookies for you to pick one to sample. Did she entice you, attract your attention first? Yep, mostly likely. And how many boxes did you buy? And moreover, how many will you buy year after year after year on a regular basis?

Those emails that do attract your attention and entice you by putting that cookie in front of you to nibble on ? those are the successful approaches.

That begs the question if they already are opt-in prospects, do you still have to attract - aren?t they already qualified prospects if they are in your database?

Not always, according to Patrick. Patrick points out the best ROI approach to email marketing is to promote to inactive prospects and sleeping customers in your data base with the purpose to get them active - to turn them into (entice them to be) regular, loyal customers. Sleeping customers should also be treated as prospects. Old, inactive prospects were curious enough to inquire into your company to begin with. That is the crucial point as Valtin explains. ?The biggest false data out there is the saying ?they were just curious? as to the reason a prospect didn?t close. Look up curious in the dictionary ? it is interest.? So curiosity IS interest. It is up to you to entice them even further so they become ?sold?. Sold equates to being a repeat customer.

Valtin goes on to say that the ways to first attract prospects are done with classical marketing techniques before email marketing comes into the picture: pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization with your website, direct mail marketing ? the ?more traditional? forms are the channels used to attract. Then once you get a prospect or even a first-time customer you can start email marketing to them.

Once your prospects are on your opt-in list, you have to entice. Just on a different level. You have their interest ? now hook them.

Three common mistakes in email marketing are:

? Trying to sell through the marketing email. You have to cut the gradient to attract and then convert. The question is: what will motivate them to join your list?

? Making the subject line too ambiguous; using trite phrases that are actually considered SPAM. What you have to watch, Valtin also warns, is ?too hot or too juicy is looked upon as SPAM by search engine spiders.?

And

? Not being consistent with ?From? address line. From very beginning, the ?From? line should be consistent. Even here there is a need to have instant recognition.

With customers receiving an average 400 emails per week and checking their email an average of 4 times per day, it is no wonder that email marketing has taken off. But don?t fall in the trap of using it incorrectly. According to Valtin, when you screw up on email marketing lines with prospects or customers, you get cut off and most likely don?t get another chance. It?s too easy to junk your email address and be shut off from further communication.

Three Valtin tips for being successful in email marketing are:

? Make the subject line personalized. ?How would you like a free weekend in Acapulco? compared with ?Dear Jane, how would you?.? increases by 200-300% your chances it will be opened. (Note: opened not converted?but attracted.)

? Make one-time customers into repeat customers. Offer an exclusive newsletter only for customers with highly valuable content.

? Have an option for people who subscribe to your newsletter to systematically send it to a friend which acts as a referral and consequently per Valtin, makes it viral. SPAM legislation still requires those friends to opt-in before you can start emailing to them, but the referral raises your credibility and will give you more bang for your buck!

Valtin says there are many more principles to learn about email marketing. Having studied marketing and sales trends for the last 35 years, he packs a lot of lore under his Belgian skull. Understanding the outcome of email marketing impacting long term customer-relationship-based revenue streams is his forte. He teaches email marketing at marketing boot camps organized by Joy Gendusa, CEO of PostcardMania, and Marsha Friedman, CEO of Event Management Services, Inc. to business professionals nationwide.

?Permission-based email communications can solidify existing relationships, initiate new ones and convert one-time clients into long-term customers,? Valtin advises. ?Relationship-building emails leverage the investment you are making in all other forms of marketing, allowing you to grow your business more efficiently.?

* Patrick Valtin is a renowned international consultant/trainer, specialized in human resources and business performance. He managed a consulting and training business for 18 years, directly trained 60,000 people in more than 25 countries. He is the author of The NE ERA SELLING® System: a down-to-earth, effective approach to constant sales success; and The RECRUTECH® System, a practical, result-proven recruitment procedure. Over 40,000 sales professionals have been trained by Patrick Valtin, in more than 20 countries around the world. Professionals having attended Patrick?s sales seminars include representatives of: BMW, Renault, Peugeot, Mercedes, Toyota, Ford, Century 21, Electricite de France, Gaz de France, France Telecom, Assurance Generale, Zurich Insurance, AIG, Motorola, American Hospital Supply, Travenol, Unilever, Lendl, Coffee Lavazza, etc.

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Blogs And Sales: A Natural Business Partnership?

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

As you can surmise, one of the principal reasons why businesses find blogs effective as business tools is they help generate or increase sales. While there is no quantitative amount with regards to the exact monetary significance of blogging on sales, there are evidences of some sort of return on investment. Increase in sales can be and often is one of the indirect effects of successful blogging.

Blogs ? Good for Business

Imagine sitting in front of your computer with millions of people (shareholders, business partners, competitors, employees and the media) conversing about business and the like. Now imagine if you can use all the information you learned to establish what product or service your customers want, why they want it, how they want it and how much they are willing to pay for it. This is precisely what a blog is all about and much more. Definitely, blogs are good for businesses.

A blog or a weblog is an interactive website that maintains an ongoing chronicle of information. It is a regularly updated website featuring links to other articles or other websites. Generally, a blog tends to have a main content area with articles called posts or entries listed in reverse chronological order with the latest on top. Typically, these articles are organized in categories. There is also an archive of articles based on dates. A blogroll, a list of links to other related sites is another feature of a blog.

A blog may contain one or more feeds. Most blogs publish feeds (RSS, RDF, Atom). A feed is a machine-readable content that is updated periodically. A feed reader displays the new post and a link to it. Most blogs also have a feature that allows visitors to leave comments. With a blog, you publish fresh content and your readers can add their own comments with links to their own blogs. Easy to use blogging tools are available, often for free. A basic blogging tool provides an interface where you can work in an easy and intuitive manner while it takes care of the rest of the logistics involved in making your blog presentable and available for the public.

Blogging, authoring or maintaining a blog, is one of the rapidly increasing growth areas of the Internet. According to popular search engine Technorati, there are roughly more than 40 million blogs on the Internet today and more blogs are appearing at the rate of 75,000 a day. This is mainly due to the numerous benefits of blogging for business.

A blog has a powerful marketing capability to grow your business, be it small or big. You can now have a commanding presence on the Web, not one based on size, capital, or resources but one based on quality of content, targeted audience and useful products and services. With blogs as equalizers, the blogosphere has become a truly exciting playing field for all businesses.

A blog is a constant source of valuable and up-to-date information. Setting up a blog allows you to showcase your expertise and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry. A blog can be your vehicle for product or service updates, company news and any other information you want to relay to your targeted audience. A blog must contain relevant information, not just sales pitches; otherwise readers are much less likely to return. As with any part of a business marketing plan, a blog must contain information that appeals to its targeted audience.

A blog is an effective method to communicate with clients and prospects. It allows you to openly and regularly converse with them increasing credibility, creating trust and forming relationships with them early on. A blog with its conversational style is ideal for developing good customer relationships. Readers will feel comfortable with you long before they call you to make a purchase or avail of your service.

A blog is a great tool to get feedback from readers. Your readers can leave comments or make inquiries. A blog is a great way to find out what readers are thinking and in the process provides you with ideas or how to better serve them thus improving your business. Forming business decisions based on reader feedbacks can be one of the smartest business moves you can ever make.

Nevertheless, to be effective, a blog has to be updated frequently. Readers do not visit blogs that do not feature fresh content regularly. Keeping readers in the know with periodic posts about your business creates buzz and publicity. There is work involved in creating a blog. It takes time and commitment to write interesting and informative blog posts. But it may prove to be well-spent especially if it helps generate sales.

Blogs and Sales ? In Tandem

Sales require personal interaction. A blog is one such place where communication thru conversations thrives and relationships are fostered. When you give your readers significant information they can use through your blog consistently, they will be satisfied. They will then return for more fresh content on a regular basis. Overtime, you will be able to build a loyal following. Readers will see you as an expert in your particular niche. Your readers will come to trust you and a relationship is developed. Your readers will perceive that it is less of a risk to buy from you or avail of your service. If you can blog efficiently about your subject, they tend to believe that your product or service will be worth it.

By blogging, you are sending the message that there is someone listening, someone you can approach as can be gleamed from answered comments and fresh updates. This will make your readers feel more secure and will take this into consideration as they form a purchasing decision. Blogging is inherently an ongoing conversation that in the long run builds trust and loyalty and breeds familiarity. When they become satisfied customers, they will come to you for more information and if given the choice will want to buy from you. This strengthens the relationship between you and your customers and they may also send other sales lead your way. The cycle goes on. Moreover, a blog is a remarkably effective way to get high search engine ranking. In other words, blogs can bring in more readers ? more prospective buyers.

A much publicized example that highlights the natural relationship between blogs and sales is the Stormhoek case. Blogging doubled South African wine producer Stormhoeks?s sales in less than twelve months. Aware of the vast numbers of people who blog and read posts, Stormhoek decided to capitalize on this by offering bloggers free bottles of the Stormhoek Shiraz 2004 and Sauvignon Blanc 2005 to try and comment on. Sales went up from 50,000 cases to 100,000 cases. The wine became popular and earned it listings in prestigious wine connoisseur clubs. What is more, Stormhoek gets feedbacks and suggestions ranging from bottle color to label design.

Blogging is marketing to people in a less obtrusive and offensive manner, more like a freewheeling conversation compared to an irritating sales pitch. It truly is a good way to increase sales, albeit indirectly.

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Is Banner Advertising Better Than PPC?

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

Banner advertising was around long before Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, and it?s no big news that PPC is the new dominant advertising tool for many businesses. After all, PPC is laser focused and very direct in working to draw a very specific customer type to your site.

Banner advertising has been described by some as being akin to the dodo bird. In essence the feeling among some is that this kind of advertising is nearing a point of extinction and may be remembered with warm fuzzies, but may not be missed.

However, a quick trip into the depths of cyber space and you will find all kinds of banner ads, and major corporations develop and use them.

Do they know something you don?t?

I think what some of these corporations do know is that banner advertising can move beyond simple static graphics. In essence many banner ads today are being developed to include bold interaction that may appear as a game or perhaps as a mini movie.

These banner ads serve a unique niche for the visually oriented consumer.

The use of banner advertising may be used when the advertising business has a fairly clear understanding of the benefit of advertising on a specific site or sites. For instance if a site draws thousands of visitors a day and your product or service fits the demographic of the site then using banner ads that can help the visitor visualize something more then PPC text has the ability to facilitate a better Return on Investment (ROI).

If PPC is the ?everyman? advertising method then the new generation of banner ads is for the expert advertiser. Banner ads can help you motivate potential customers to visit your site from the confines of a site they trust and a site you value for their ability to generate traffic to your site.

Banner advertising is also good for an industry specific website. If there is a site that is in concert with your business goals and directives it might make sense to look into using banner advertising on their site.

While banner advertising is not as laser focused as PPC it can be a significant help if you are willing to do your own research to see what sites may best benefit your business.

There are still banner exchange programs, but they are often meaningless in that they may send some customers to your site, but they aren?t targeted and the individuals may not be especially motivated beyond initial curiosity. Besides you may be required to place banner advertising on your site that doesn?t really fit with your demographic (or potentially objectionable) just to participate in the banner link exchange.

There is also the question of banner ad development. Unless you are especially skilled in graphic design you may need to outsource the banner ad development from a third party.

You may be able to access a low-cost or no-cost banner ad through a site like www.logobogo.com, but a banner ad will need to be created in either a visually static display or a flash designed banner with very specific dimensions.

So, to recap ? the banner advertising of today requires a greater sense of business research to find the best fit for your advertising dollar and banner development is something you will need to develop as you begin to look into what possibilities exist in this refreshed advertising medium.

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