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Let a Web Professional Guide |
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Self-Starters Weekly Tips
================================ Welcome New Subscribers & Faithful Readers ~ We’ve got
some great Do-It-Yourself e-business tips for you! Feel free to
forward this issue to your friends and colleagues. As
always… Happy Monday ;-)
INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1) Monday Musings with
======================== As the stats rise and
the subscribers increase, I find myself constantly readjusting
my goals and the associated task list. Those of you that have
been reading SSWT for awhile now are undoubtedly experiencing
your own success. I’d love to hear from you! Email me –
hit reply, or send an email to Lynn@WebServiceNetwork.com –
and let me know how things are going! As I was reviewing
my site stats this weekend, I learned several interesting facts.
The first, and most exciting, is seeing that steady rise in the
line on the graph! Online marketing seems to have a residual effect…
meaning once you put certain things into place, they continue
to work for you over time. I like that! Example: Search engine
optimization. I notice that Google and Yahoo still send a fair
amount of traffic my way… which sent me off on a search
to check my ranking in the other top engines. You can get ranked,
or improve your ranking, in a matter of days with minimal effort
– set aside a few minutes and make sure you are listed! I notice that my website
tends to get more attention on the weekends, which turned my thinking
to how I might capitalize on that information. Obviously it would
be to my benefit – and to the benefit of my viewers –
to plan workshops and other online events on Saturdays. Here’s a shocker:
The freebies are extremely popular J Hmm… on that
note, here’s a couple of good ones for today: Free Web Site Templates http://www.freelayouts.com/templates/display/templates http://www.freewebtemplates.com/ SBA’s Shareware
Library – Programs for Marketing Your Business: http://www.sba.gov/shareware/markfile.html Listing of Free Web
Authoring Software: http://www.freereports.net/html_editors.html
Do you read your web
site statistics? I mean really read them? If you don’t have
a good stats program – get one (today!). If you do…
use the information on a weekly (or at least monthly) basis to
tune into your audience. Figure out who they are, where they are
coming from… and what they want. If you find that you aren’t
reaching your targeted market, then its time to implement some
serious fine-tuned marketing strategy! According to my stats,
almost 20% of my traffic comes from my involvement in online discussion
forums. Message boards, email discussion groups and safe-lists
are a great place to network and meet a wide range of people.
Find groups that focus on topics that compliment your business,
and join the conversations! My personal rule: Devote 15 minutes
a day to online communities! Another large slice
of the stats graph shows that my joint ventures with other online
entrepreneurs are really paying off! A special thanks to www.MomsCareer.com , www.MaryGoulet.net and www.WorkatHomeCentral.com for the
opportunity to work with you! If you haven’t yet partnered
up with a few complimentary businesses, I highly recommend putting
some thought into the potential of joint ventures! The Radio Interview on January
8th contributed a nice slice to the graph as well.
I look forward to continuing the “Turn Websites That Cost
Money Into Websites That MAKE Money!” topic on February
5th with host, Mary Goulet on the Entrepreneur Magazine Home Biz Show.
Feel free to call in during the show, or email me ahead of time
if you would like your question addressed on the air! 2002 went down on my
calendar as the best year yet… and I am determined to make
2003 a record year! I’m counting on you to join me. Lets
set some goals, make some plans, and fine tune our strategy! I’ll be attending
Mark LeBlanc’s
GROWING YOUR BUSINESS Teleseminar on January 30th.
I’d like to encourage you to attend if at all possible –
this is something you do not want to miss! Afterwards, I’ll
keep you posted to ongoing discussions online that will be available
to help you implement Mark’s “Small Business Success”
strategy. Wishing you a profitable week!
~ ======================================== The
Insider Secrets to Marketing Your Business on the Internet In this 1000+ page Internet marketing
bible, Corey exposes you to every single strategy and technique
that you must know if you want to start, build, and grow a successful
business on the Internet, from the ground up, including... 1. Web page promotion and design ... and this is just the tip of the
iceberg! Even if you are a complete newbie or a seasoned Internet
marketer, I guarantee you will benefit from the unconventional
tips and tricks that Corey will show you. If you are interested
in starting your very own Internet business, but want to avoid
developing your own product or service, then joining an Associate
Program may be a great option for you.
The Internet Marketing Center
pays a generous $65.00 commission for their main product, and
have several other great products to promote as well. Becoming
an Affiliate of The Internet Marketing Center,
and using the techniques in the The Insider Secrets to Marketing
Your Business on the Internet Course combined, is an excellent
way to start your own full-time career on the internet! ============================================ By Shelley Lowery The information super highway, countless intertwining
roads of information all merging into one massive freeway. That's the Internet. Just about any form of information you
could ever want, right at your fingertips. The Internet is far more than just websites. These groups are composed of individuals who either receive
information in the form of a publication or share information
with a group. Although these lists can provide you with a wealth
of information, they can be very time consuming for the owners.
With that in mind, this article will provide you with some basic
list etiquette guidelines. Ezines Ezines, also known as email magazines, online publications
and electronic newsletters, are simply newsletters available via
email and/or online. Subscribers sign up to receive a publication and may unsubscribe
at any time. This publication may be delivered to your email daily,
weekly, biweekly or monthly. Discussion
Groups Discussion groups are groups of individuals who have signed
up to participate in group discussions. This type of group delivers
messages to your email each time a member posts. When you reply
to a message, it will be delivered to the entire group. Announcement
Lists Announcement lists enable members to sign up to receive and
post announcements in regard to a specific subject. This type
of group may deliver messages as they are posted or you may receive
a certain number of the messages at one time. Forums/Message
Boards Forums or message boards are online threaded discussion groups
in which messages are displayed on web pages. Some forums require you to register in order to become a member,
while others require no registration. Moderators Most types of discussion groups, announcement lists and forums
will have one or more moderators. Moderators make sure that posts
are appropriate and try to prevent spammers from posting. Posting
Guidelines No matter what type of list or group you join, each will have
its own set of posting guidelines. Make sure you always review
the guidelines and double-check your post prior to submission.
Not only will your message get posted more quickly, but it will
also save the moderator a great deal of time. When posting or replying to posts, make sure that you stay
on topic. If you're posting to a group that focuses on "Ezines,"
you wouldn't want to post a question or information about "Gardening."
In addition, always be very tactful. Everyone is there to learn
and share information. There is absolutely no reason to hurt someone's
feeling by publicly humiliating them or being rude. Keep in mind,
there is a human being with feelings behind each post. When posting to an announcement group, make sure you follow
the posting guidelines. Not only will this save the list owner
a great deal of time, but it will also prevent you from having
to repost your message when it gets rejected. In addition to following the guidelines, make sure that you
don't post your message more than once. Announcement lists receive
many submissions and only send out a certain number of posts each
day. It may take up to a week or longer before your message is
approved. Reposting only serves to delay the process even longer. Unsubscribing In order to remove yourself or unsubscribe from an ezine, discussion
group or announcement list, you must follow the instructions for
each individual publication. Some lists will provide a link that
will instantly remove your email address. Others will require
you to send an email message to remove yourself. However, you
MUST send the unsubscribe email message from the same address
you used to subscribe. Many times, subscribers may use an email address that redirects
to their main email account. When they try to remove themselves
from a list, they can't remember which address they used to subscribe.
This causes them to become frustrated and take their anger out
on the list owner. There is no way for a list owner to determine
what email address a subscriber used to subscribe to the list.
However, there is a way you can locate the address yourself and
save yourself and the list owner a great deal of frustration. If you're using Outlook: Under the "View" menu, select "Message header" or "Source." Click on the "Bla bla" button. By viewing the message headers, you can determine what email
address the message was sent to. This is the email address you
used to subscribe to the group. Your unsubscribe message MUST
come from this address in order to locate it within the database.
SPAM Professional list owners will NEVER add your email address
to their database without your knowledge. Most of the time, if
you're receiving their publication, you subscribed and may have
forgotten. Keep in mind, the keyword is "Professional" list owners.
There are many list owners that use unethical means of obtaining
email addresses. Before making a "SPAM" complaint, it is VERY important that
you understand the consequences. NEVER make a SPAM complaint unless
you are absolutely positive that it is, in fact, SPAM. It is much
better to delete one hundred potential SPAM messages than to wrongly
accuse one innocent publisher of SPAM. What you probably don't
realize is that when you make a SPAM complaint about a publication,
your complaint also affects advertisers and article writers that
have no affiliation with the publication. One SPAM complaint can
cost an innocent publisher, advertiser and writer their entire
business. It's just not worth it. Advertising Although many ezines will allow you to purchase advertising,
discussion groups, announcement lists and forums DO NOT allow
blatant advertising. This is considered SPAM and will probably
get you immediately removed. Most groups will allow you to include
your signature. Make sure you review the guidelines prior to posting. If we all work together and follow a few simple guidelines,
we can make the Internet a better place for us all. About the Author: ========================================= By Shelley Lowery The art of writing effective sales copy is simply learning
how to write persuasive words specifically written for your targeted
customer. You must feel your customer’s needs and write
your copy with passion, excitement and benefit. If you've ever developed a new product then you know that there
is a certain time when your emotions are riding high and you're
full of excitement and anticipation. This is the best time to
your sales copy. Your excitement will flow through your words.
Take this time to sit down and write an outline for your sales
message. Creating
A Headline The first part of your outline will be your headline. This
is the most important part of your entire sales copy. You must
write a headline that demands attention and forces your visitor
to read on. Most of your visitors will only read your headline.
If it doesn't instantly grab their attention, they'll move on
and never return. Writing
an Introduction Once you've captured your visitor's attention, you'll now need
to direct their attention to your introduction. Keep your introduction
brief and to the point. Let them know exactly what you have to
offer them. Use
Plenty of Subheadings Your next step in creating your outline is to add subheadings.
Subheadings are basically just smaller headlines used to break
up your text blocks. They also provide your readers with important
highlights of your paragraphs. Use plenty of subheadings throughout
your copy, as not all of your visitors will read your copy word
for word. They'll simply scan it and only read what catches their
attention. Remove
the Risk You must provide a solid, no risk, money back guarantee. Provide
a limited time free trial or download that will completely remove
the risk. This will build your potential customers confidence
and put their mind at ease. Display your guarantee in bold text
and even mention it in your sales message and on your order page. Call
for Action Ask for the order and provide an easy ordering process. Continue
to reassure your potential customer and lead them to your order
page. Use
a P.S. When your visitor scans your sales message, chances are they'll
read your headline, subheadlines and your PostScript message.
Place your most important benefits within your P.S. message. It
will get read. Writing
Your Copy Now, you're ready to begin filling in the spaces. When you
begin writing your paragraphs, get straight to the point, avoid
negativity and hype, and write in small sections. Vary the paragraph
sizes and limit each paragraph to four or five lines max. If you
feel that your paragraph will be longer than four or five lines,
try to use bullets to display important points. Write in an everyday
language that everyone can understand. Make sure you use plenty of white space. White space is the
empty space between your paragraphs and around your text. You
don't want to overwhelm your visitors with a solid page of black
text. Nothing will make them click away any faster. Pack your sales copy with benefits from your headline straight
through to your order form. Make sure you don't confuse features
with benefits. Features don't sell... Benefits sell. Your visitor
wants to know exactly what your product or service can do for
them. Provide
Testimonials Testimonials provide another great way to reassure your visitors.
Blend your testimonials in with your sales message. Avoid making
your visitors have to click to another page to view your testimonials;
chances are, they won't. By blending your testimonials in with
your sales message you can ensure they will be read. Selecting
Fonts Avoid using fancy fonts. Fancy fonts make text difficult to
read. In addition, your visitor may not have that font on their
computer. Select a font that is easy to read and use black text
on a light background. Long
Copy Vs. Short Copy It is a proven fact that long sales copy out-sells short sales
copy, but some visitors do prefer a short sales letter. You can
give your visitors both. For those who prefer a short sales letter
you can provide opportunities to click through to your order page
prior to ending your sales letter. Try to keep your sales letter all on one page. Your visitor
would much rather have to scroll through your letter than click
through and load another page. With each additional click, you'll
lose a percentage of your potential customers. Your words should seamlessly flow together from your headline
through to your order page. Keep it simple, to the point and pack
it with all of the benefits your product has to offer. The simple,
well-designed web sites with killer sales copy make the sales. About the Author: ****************** IN
CLOSING… It is my personal mission to bring you an assortment of resources for your
internet business each week in an easy-to-use format. Most of
the resources found in each issue are a result of years of research
that I have done for my own internet business and others, and
are shared with you with my positive recommendation. You can view
tips from past issues online at http://www.selfstartersweeklytips.com.
As always, feel free to share this issue with your friends or
colleagues! ~ HAPPY MONDAY ~ Lynn Terry, Editor
& Owner http://www.WebServiceNetwork.com
Live Interview
on the Entrepreneur Magazine Home Biz Show Click Here to Listen: www.MaryGoulet.net/archives_wsn.html
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