Blogging And Marketing: September 2007

Blog Rush – More Exposure Equals More Traffic!

Blog Rush is the newest way to increase your traffic. It’s from John Reese, a renowned and successful internet marketer. Creating a Blog Rush account is free. And installation of the Blog Rush widget is easy. It will take you less than five minutes to do all the simple and easy steps.

Join Blog Rush Now and find out for your self.

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Drive More Traffic - Increase Commissions

Posted by Blogging And Marketing | 4:02 AM

Traffic

Fechr.com – Broken Promises and Failed Expectations!

Every affiliate marketing program depends on the volume of visitors diverted to the affiliate program site. The more clicks, the more the chances of sales and hence more commission. The key is to attract more customers to your affiliate site.

How to enhance traffic?

There are heavy duty books written on this subject but the answer lies in a fundamental truth. Customers will only visit your site if they think they’ll find what they’re looking for. Therefore the key is to make them believe that your site and product offers them what they want.

There are several ways to boost traffic to one’s site, such as:

Funny videos: Very often humor does the trick for an affiliate program. Use humor in videos to get a customer’s attention. Then lead them on to the affiliate program site. This method usually has a high success rate.

Flashy banner ads: Banner ads have always been great at getting a customer’s attention. No matter what the topic the customer is reading about – even if it’s molecular theory – banner ads will get a person’s attention.

Blogs: There’s a reason why even the billion dollar companies aren’t missing out on blogs. Blogs are free, they’re great for diverting traffic and best of all can do what even an advertisement can’t! Try putting interesting content in the blog. Follow this up with a ‘teaser’ in the resource box to lead the customer to the affiliate program site. You can use a creative promotional catch phrase in the ‘resource box’ that’s specially provided for this purpose.

SEO: Also known as Search Engine Optimization, this is a way to improve your search engine rankings. By using strategic keywords that are commonly searched for by customers, you improve your chances at being listed in the top 10 search results. This ensures more clicks by customers and hence more commission!

Classifieds: It literally pays to have well thought out classified advertisements on the product you’re trying to sell. Customers are sure to visit the affiliate site.

Cloaking links: Many affiliate marketing wizards will tell you this is one of the best ways to divert more traffic. Cloaking links basically means disguising the hyperlink to make it look like a URL to your own website. In actuality, it’s a link to the product you’re trying to sell. This ensures more clicks, which in turn means more commission.

Unbiased product reviews: You can also write neutral, unbiased product reviews to promote your product. By not being self promotional, you gain credibility and customers are more likely to visit the affiliate website.

Press releases: Press releases have been used to market a product since time immemorial. These serve to create a buzz around your product, always keep the interest factor alive and best of all, keep reminding customers about your product.

A little bit on SEO and keywords

A lot of research has been done on keyword usage. There are certain phrases or words that are more commonly searched for when compared to others. This is what determines a website’s popularity on search engine rankings. Having well-spaced, strategic keywords helps list your affiliate website within the top 10 search results. This means better visibility for your product, more clicks and more commission.

Nowadays there are several tools and resources to help you research on keywords. Try and go for moderately searched keywords. Using too many common keywords risks your website being lost in the crowd of competitors and using less popular keywords means your site may never be listed in the top 10 or 20 results.

Most organizations are spending top dollar to increase their SEO rankings. They’re even hiring agencies to help them in this effort. There are several third party agencies who help optimize a website for better search engine rankings. Especially in today’s fierce competition, being within the top 10 can really make a world of difference.

About The Author

Nye Morgan is a successful work at home entrepreneur who has made money from several internet businesses. His latest project is the Online Entrepreneurs Toolbar, a 'must have' free download for people wanting to make money online. Get your copy at http://download.OnlineEntrepreneursToolbar.com/r/003

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A Business Case For Accessible Website Design

Posted by Blogging And Marketing | 8:20 PM

website design

Create Your Free Three Column or Two Column Template

More enlightened businesses recognise that accessibility is a huge commercial ROI opportunity rather than a regulatory straightjacket. Disability comes in all kinds of shapes and forms. The market in the UK alone is worth billions of pounds per year.

There are 8.6 million registered disabled people in the UK which amounts to 14% of the population. (Disability Rights Commission)

There are 1.6 million registered blind users. (Employers' Forum on Disability)

Two million UK residents have a sight problem. (RNIB)

One in 12 men and one in 200 women have some form of colour blindness - 9% of the UK population (IEE)

3.4 million people have disabilities preventing them from using the standard keyboard, screen and mouse set-up with ease. (Employers' Forum on Disability)

There are 12 million people aged 60 or over. (UK government)

UK population is also becoming older which means businesses will increasingly need to tap into an older - and often affluent - demographic.

Online businesses are potentially losing out on some £50-£60bn per year buying power. (Employers' Forum on Disability)

Accessible websites are search engine friendly meaning better search engine rankings.

Accessible websites are smaller in file size which means that pages are served faster. Users/customers can find what they want more quickly.

Accessible websites are more readily adaptable for handheld and other devices.

About The Author

Faheem Razak is the CEO of 1075 Web Design Agency (www.ten75.com) based in London specialising in accessible standards compliant website design.

Have your website tested for usability issues, register for a free at http://www.ten75.com/offers/website-usability-review.htm.

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A Quick Guide To Web Directories

Posted by Blogging And Marketing | 9:26 AM

web directories

1 comments

If you are a seasoned Internet marketer, then it is common knowledge that submitting to web directories can dramatically increase your page rank. If you are a newbie webmaster, then you might be quite in doubt as to how web directories can do for you. This article would relay to you what exactly is a web directory, how they work, and how you can use them in promoting your site. By the end of the article, I want you to go add your link to one of the web directories on the Internet and see how it would work for you.

What are web directories?

Simply put, a Web Directory is a collection of web sites presented in a categorized format. I suppose that you know how Yellow Pages looks like, a web directory is pretty much the same thing, only this time websites are categorized in such a way that internet users can easily navigate through them and find the website that they need.

How do web directories work?

A web directory submission is one type of marketing strategy you can employ. By simply adding your website in web directories it can dramatically increase your site’s exposure and your pagerank. Why so? Of course aside for submitting your website name, you would naturally add your website link or URL to the site. This constitute for one back link. What do you need outbound links for? Increasing the number of your outbound links would relatively increase your pagerank.

A pagerank simply refers to your position in search engines results. For instance, if an online user searches for "car parts", along with your SEO-content and bunch of good back links, you would likely hit the first few pages of the search results, thus increasing the exposure of your website. If back links are what you are after, then submitting your site to web directories is one effective way to get some.

Web directories are also one way of acquiring permanent links. Permanent links are very valuable since you would have your live link posted on web directories for good or at least during the lifetime of the web directory where you posted your link. It is important to take note though, that offering permanent links are still in the discretion of web directories owner.

Aside from improving your page rank, web directories are also a form of web advertising. In addition to using search engines, online users also rely on web directories to direct them to certain websites they are searching for. Since websites in web directories are categorized accordingly, navigating through them is easy and convenient. If for example one online user is about to buy bathroom tiles, he would probably go to the category under 'home improvement' and if your related site is under that, you are most likely to have an instant visitor, thus increasing your traffic. In the online world, traffic is everything. If you get more visitors drop by your site, then that means you have a number of potential clients, thus increasing your sales.

Choosing a web directory

There are three types of web directories – free, paid and niche directories. Free web directories are, of course, the natural choice for webmasters with a tight budget. Some free web directories requires a reciprocal link and some don’t. Reciprocal links are simply links of the web directory's URL that you are required to post in your own site. It's a give and take concept. When you post your website to a web directory, you need to return the favor by posting their URL to your site as well.

The only drawback with some free directories is that they may not be properly maintained. Spam sites may find their way into these free directories because they may lack appropriate monitoring. Then again, there are free web directories that can offer as much quality links than paid directories.

If you have the budget for it, you can also opt to submit your site to paid directories. These types of websites may charge as low as $10 per year. Some popular directories, like Yahoo, can charge as high as $299 as annual fees. The rate that paid web directories charge is relative to the website's pagerank. If the web directory site you are submitting to have PR9, then prepare to shell out a big chunk of your advertising budget. A web directory with a PR3 or PR4 would normally charge low.

The third type of web directory is a niche web directory. These are web directory sites that cater to a particular group of websites. For instance, a web directory with the niche under "business" would only allow submission from business websites. Posting your websites into niche web directories would give you better hits since you have a bigger exposure to your target market.

How to submit your website

First, you need to find a good web directory site. Check the web directory and be sure it does not contain several spam sites. One way to find out if spam sites are listed is by doing a search for terms like “Viagra”, “Sex” etc… If you notice a large number of search results, then that directory is not a good one. Because in worst-case scenario, your own website may even be penalized by some search engines.

The second thing you need to do is to choose the appropriate category where you should add your website to. You would get to your target audience better if you place your website in the right category. If not, you would not get much traffic from your possible visitors.

The next thing is to write a good description of your website. These are snippets that would describe what your website has to offer. Description should be short and catchy. It is also a good idea to make sure to write a good meaningful description as many directories do not approve websites with bad descriptions.

The last thing to do, which is very important and the part that is often take for granted, is to check if your link is working! You don't want to get your website URL misspelled or anything like that, hence the whole process would be to no avail.

About The Author

Karl Turnbull is the owner Business Directory Northeast, a free website directory that offers quality back links to webmasters around the globe. Submit your websites today! http://www.business-directory-northeast.co.uk

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Always Choose the Best Mobile Phone by First Viewing the Latest Mobile Phone Reviews

Posted by Blogging And Marketing | 7:37 AM

cellphones, mobile phone, review, reviews

Mobile market is flooded with mobile phones with latest styles, shapes, and designs. With so many new models in the market, mobile users have got a variety of options to choose from the crowd. They look for the new styles and latest 3G features in their mobile phone apart from the brand name.

Of late, mobile handsets from Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and LG, etc., have launched a variety of models with all new and the latest 3G features. Latest 3G features include video calling, video recording, digital camera, MP3, etc. Manufacturing companies are trying to launch the latest models and features to compete with the market demands. Motorola V3i, Nokia 6680, Nokia 'N' series, Samsung X660, Sony Ericsson W550i, LG chocolate phones, etc., are among the latest handsets that are very much in demand in the UK market.

The latest 3G features include video calling facility wherein the caller will be able to view the person on the other side during their talk. Other 3G features include high mega-pixel digital camera phone to capture special moments, video recordings, and the Internet service to connect you all over the world anytime, anywhere. MP3 facility enables you to listen to your favorite songs and also download songs of your choice. Mobile network providers are also competing with each other. Though all are in the same fray, customers are getting benefits from these services. Mobile Network Companies like Three, T-mobile, Vodafone, Virgin, O2, and Orange are available in the UK with their quality services.

To Choose and see latest handsets having all 3G features and get connected with the network as well as with Mobile Phone Reviews

About The Author

Carly Charu is the webmaster http://www.mobilerainbow.org/ and specializing in the different genres of mobile phone reviews and mobile phone networks.

Exchange Blog Reviews - An Open Invitation

Why Don't My Subscribers Listen to Me?

Posted by Blogging And Marketing | 9:35 AM

Blogging, listening, subscribers, writing

I received a very good question from a subscriber and I wanted to share it with you:

"I have almost 500 people sigend up to receive my newsletter but each time I send it 8-9 open it and 1 =3 click onto the website. Now what do I do?"

Honestly, there could a lot of factors involved in the low open rate. If 8 or 9 actually open it and then you get 1-3 click...that's pretty good. But the problem here, seems to be with getting people to open the darned email.

Here's a couple things to think about:

1. How much of your email is getting through? Could your email or the service you're using be blacklisted by certain ISPs? I would check and see if you can see how many of your emails are actually going through.

2. How about a compelling subject line? Test out different subject lines to see what grabs your subscribers interest. If you're still writing:

"MyDomain.com Newsletter Issue 1 Vol 14"

Then cut it out!:) That's not going to get people to open it. Try to give them a quick glimpse of what's inside and make it interesting. You'll probably find certain things grab your subscriber's attention than others.

3. What are the contents of your newsletter like? Is there a reason for people to open it if they don't have their wallet ready to buy something? I know that many people who sell products only place information about product specials, etc....but if your subscriber is not in a buying mood, they may not open your email.

Go the extra mile and provide them with VALUE in your newsletter. Give them special tips and advice related to your product that will help them solve problems.

For example, if you sell corporate gift baskets - give tips on developing client relationships or anything related to the goal of corporate gift giving.

4. If you reach a broad audience, customize your mailing lists. I happen to know the lady who submitted this question does sell gift baskets...but she sells all kinds of gift baskets. What kind of value can you deliver to your customers / prospects if some of them:

buy new baby gift baskets
buy corporate gifts
buy Valentine's gifts

It's tough. I'd look to Amazon as the ultimate model to emulate -- they customize information for you based on your interests. They know what you looked at when you visited their website and they also keep track of what you buy. Then they deliver relevant products and content to you.You can apply the same plan to your mailing lists.

You can give opt-in subscribers tell you what topics they are interested in or if you are putting your customers on your follow up list -- make sure that follow up list is related to what they bought.

Keep working at it and learning what your subscribers WANT and deliver it to them. Don't give up...just get better. Also, do yourself a favor to help you in this process. Sign up for Alexandria K. Brown's (The Ezine Queen) Free Report:

"3 Simple Secrets to Publishing an Ezine That Makes You Money"
===> http://www.aliceseba.com/ezinequeen.html

About The Author

Alice Seba is a full-time online business owner that thrives on helping others say good-bye to their J-O-Bs forever. Sign up for her "Internet Marketing Prescriptions" to cure what ails your online business:
http://www.AliceSeba.com

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Writing Contests: Building Writing Credentials

Posted by Blogging And Marketing | 12:35 AM

contest, writing

One of the ways many writers can successfully add credentials to their portfolio if to participate in a variety of literary contests. This type of contest encourages writers to put their best foot forward in both creativity and attention to detail.

It is true that there are some contests that provide a cash award for their top finishers, but there are also publishing scams that will accept your work regardless of quality. When you receive notice that your work has been accepted for publication it can be a real boost, however, a quick look at many writer’s websites can help you define the contests that are essentially vanity publishers willing to print just about anything if they believe you will purchase copies of the book for friends and family.

Many cash award writing contests cover the cost of prize awards by charging an entry fee. This factor often discourages many writers who may not feel confident enough in their writing to pay a fee to submit. This allows those who do enter a better chance at placing.

There are also writing contests that present the opportunity to have their work published online, in a magazine or in an anthology. As a rule this type of contest does not require a purchase of the publication the work will appear in nor will they assume full rights of your work. The best writing contests only require a one time non-exclusive print right. This is important because it allows you the opportunity to sell or place the work in other venues.

Beware of forfeiting full (exclusive) rights in any writing contest. When this right is given the ownership of the work is no longer yours. You will have no right to use the material in any form without permission from the publisher. It is possible to pay to enter a contest, forfeit the rights to your work and allow a publisher to gain long-term financial benefit from your work.

Quality writing contests have the bonus feature of allowing you to fine tune your skills by reading the work of others. Reading can make a good writer even better. If you pay attention you can learn what works and what doesn’t while using writing contests as a means of gaining valuable insight into unique styles and structure.

On a positive note, there have been numerous incidents in which individuals who entered a submission for a writing contest were able to use that same work for publishing in other book anthologies and magazines. The key is making sure to participate in writing contests that preserve your right to control the reuse of the piece.

About The Author

Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of FaithWriters (http://www.faithwriters.com) and many other web projects. FaithWriters has grown to become one of the largest online destinations for Christian writers. Please visit the website at: http://www.faithwriters.com.

Blog Contest, Blogging Contest - Win Prizes

Have You Identified the Enemy?

Posted by Blogging And Marketing | 12:41 PM

Blogging