Internet Marketing Articles

When looking at ways to drive visitors to your website, you need to consider the benefits of traffic vs. targeted traffic. Targeted traffic importance cannot be overlooked, as every businessperson knows that a qualified lead is a sale looking for a place to happen. However, when it comes to Internet marketing, even traffic that is not targeted can be beneficial.

Targeted traffic consists of website visitors who are very likely to have a specific need for the product or service that you offer. If your company specializes in selling banana pudding cookbooks, and a person ends up on your website as a direct result of typing banana pudding cookbook into a search engine, that person represents highly targeted website traffic.

If someone who does a web search on banana pudding cookbooks ends up on your website that is promoting your banana pudding cookbook, it is very likely that that person will choose to purchase your product. Since you are in business to sell your product, of course you recognize the benefit of such targeted traffic.

However, Internet marketing isn’t that simple. In order for the person seeking a banana pudding cookbook to find your website via his or her favorite search engine, your website has to be indexed by the search engine. Search engines don’t immediately recognize new websites.

One of the major factors in determining whether or not your website will be indexed by search engines is the quantity of traffic the website gets. This is where general traffic becomes very important. The more traffic your website gets, targeted or not, the faster it will become recognized by search engines and move up in the results pages.

If someone who is allergic to both bananas and pudding visits your website, that person is not likely to ever buy your cookbook. However, that person can still benefit your websites sales in the long run, because their visit to your website increases the traffic count of your website.

Everyone who visits your website isn’t going to become a paying customer. However, every person who visits your website will increase the traffic statistics for your website. Even the website visitor who is allergic to everything you have to offer can contribute to increasing the ranking of your website. The higher your website is ranked, the more likely it is that you will be able to generate the targeted traffic that will result in increased revenues.

There are many different tools and techniques for generating website traffic, many of which are free. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the only traffic that is worth generating is targeted traffic. The more traffic you drive to your website, the easier it is going to be for that targeted customer who is ready to buy to find you at the right time!

Sometimes it is helpful to look at traffic vs. targeted traffic in terms of the fairy tale analogy of kissing frogs before you find the handsome prince or beautiful princess of your dreams. Don’t forget that all traffic helps your Internet marketing efforts in some way when looking at traffic vs. targeted traffic, both overall traffic and targeted traffic importance can’t be overlooked.

It’s not all about making the sale, it’s about how good you become converting that sale with traffic. Which is option suits best my market?

NOTE: The following is a guest post from one of my favorite internet marketing mentors.

Why I Love Affiliate Marketing – Part 5 By Jimmy D. Brown of “Affiliate Payraise”

The word “overhead” is not a favorite among those who run businesses of any kind. Nobody likes the expenses of operating a business. And nobody really talks about them much when it comes to promoting all of the “money-making” products and services online.

But, don’t kid yourself, there’s a lot of overhead.

That brings me to the fifth reason why I love affiliate marketing…
** You don’t need a big budget to make it work **

Do you have any idea how much money is spent running an internet business? There are monthly fees for…
* Autoresponders
* Hosting
* Management
* Advertising
* Scripts
* Much more

There are regular fees for…
* Licensing
* Outsourcing
* Support
* Customer Service
* Maintenance
* Development
* Recruting
* Much more

It’s not uncommon to spend tens of thousands (even hundreds of thousands) of dollars in operational costs — which is fine if you’ve been in business a while and are making the bucks. However, if you’re a newcomer, it can be taxing on your budget!

SIDEBAR: I paid one girl over $30,000 last year just to oversee one small part of my business. No one talks much about it, but there ARE a lot of expenses involved before you get to the “bottom line” of profit.

BUT, with affiliate marketing, you don’t need a big budget to make it work! You can simply use a variety of free and low-cost marketing methods to generate
clicks to your affiliate link.

That’s why I love affiliate marketing.

You don’t need a big budget to make it work.

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Jimmy D. Brown is the author of “Affiliate Payrise“, teaching you a whopping 27 ways to increase your affiliate commissions!

Tired of “tiny” commission checks? Grab your copy today at… Affiliate Payrise

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.. continue from Why I Love Affiliate Marketing – Part 4

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If you are interested how you can make money with list building, you will be interested in Jimmy D. Brown’s List PROFIT System, a Step-By-Step List Building Guide on How To Build And Profit From Your Own Opt-In List

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NOTE: The following is a guest post from one of my favorite internet marketing mentors.

Why I Love Affiliate Marketing – Part 4 By Jimmy D. Brown of “Affiliate Payraise”

I’m sure by now you are well aware that there are those who have reported HUGE amounts of money being made with their online businesses. What you may not be aware of is the amount of work involved in generating those “sales” (not always net profit, mind you … this isn’t “spendable” income in a lot of cases.)

That brings me to the fourth reason why I love affiliate marketing…
** You don’t need to manage an entire business **

While it can be quite lucrative, running an entire business with employees, inventory, partners, vendors, and other associates can be a time-sucking, frustrating ordeal.

Imagine…
* Processing refunds
* Putting out fires when partners SPAM
* Managing day-to-day operations
* Overseeing projects you’ve outsourced
* Recruting new affiliates
* Training everyone to help you
* Paying taxes
* Taking care of the paper trail
* Doing all of the “stuff” that business owners do.

Didn’t you want to start an internet business to make more time for important things in life?

Why not make a lot of money WITHOUT making a lot of extra work for yourself?!

It can be a lot of extra work and stress. BUT, with affiliate marketing, you don’t need to manage an entire business! You are simply responsible for promoting your
affiliate link… someone else handles all the rest.

That’s why I love affiliate marketing.

You don’t need to manage an entire business.

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Jimmy D. Brown is the author of “Affiliate Payrise“, teaching you a whopping 27 ways to increase your affiliate commissions!

Tired of “tiny” commission checks? Grab your copy today at… Affiliate Payrise

…………………….

.. continue from Why I Love Affiliate Marketing – Part 3

…………………….

If you are interested how you can make money with list building, you will be interested in Jimmy D. Brown’s List PROFIT System, a Step-By-Step List Building Guide on How To Build And Profit From Your Own Opt-In List

…………………….

NOTE: The following is a guest post from one of my favorite internet marketing mentors.

Why I Love Affiliate Marketing – Part 3 By Jimmy D. Brown of “Affiliate Payraise”

Some people have the ability to persuade others and talk them into just about anything. Especially when it comes to influencing their buying decisions. They know how to push the right hot buttons, say things the right way and generally get consumers into an emotional frenzy to the point they are ready to click an order button.

There are two key words in that paragraph that really need to stand out in your mind: “some people“.

Not everyone has this ability. In fact, only a few do.

That brings me to the third reason why I love affiliate marketing…

** You don’t need to write a world class salesletter **

Have you ever tried to write a salesletter? There’s a reason why professional copywriters charge up to $10,000 (and sometimes even more) for a SINGLE salesletter. It
takes a lot of experience and skill to write a top-gun salesletter, which is why most people have a hard time convincing people to buy if they do create their own
products and website.

They simply don’t have the right salesletter in place to make it all work. Without good copy, it really doesn’t matter how spectacular the offer is, you’re simply not
going to get many sales.

SIDEBAR: The average conversion rate of site visitors who become buyers is reportedly less than 2%. That means 98 out of every 100 do NOT buy. That’s why sales are so incredibly bad for a poor site … you *might* get 2 sales out of every 300-400 visitors.

BUT, with affiliate marketing, you don’t need to write a salesletter! You simply direct people to someone else’s high-octane salesletter for THEM to convert your leads
into commissionable sales.

That’s why I love affiliate marketing.

You don’t need to write a world class salesletter.

…………………….

Jimmy D. Brown is the author of “Affiliate Payrise“, teaching you a whopping 27 ways to increase your affiliate commissions!

Tired of “tiny” commission checks? Grab your copy today at… Affiliate Payrise

…………………….

.. continue from Why I Love Affiliate Marketing – Part 2

…………………….

If you are interested how you can make money with list building, you will be interested in Jimmy D. Brown’s List PROFIT System, a Step-By-Step List Building Guide on How To Build And Profit From Your Own Opt-In List

Affiliate Payrise – How To Create Content That Leads To Sales
By Jimmy D. Brown of “Affiliate Payrise”

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If you look at the average site for any given affiliate, you’ll likely find a boring, tasteless smorgasbord of prefab content that was created more for search engines to read than it was for real people to read.

While that make aid in rankings, is it really going to do any good once someone sees the site listed and makes a visit?

Probably not.

What every affiliate needs to learn is simple -

** CONTENT IS KING ***

It’s content that leads to sales, not a strategically designed website that search engines temporarily find meets their ranking criteria.

So, let’s talk about that.

There must be a reason why some content is very good and some content is very bad; why some information is so enthralling that you can’t stop reading while other
information is the cure for a sleepless night; why some words cause you to frantically take notes and some words cause you to take a break.

There must be a reason.

There is.

And that reason is this – Quality writers approach content creation as a craft.

To be sure, some writers are just naturally gifted. They swing words like Tiger Woods swings a 5-iron. They can spot a good paragraph like Warren Buffet spots good
investments. They write like Tom Hanks acts. Even though they practice their art form, it comes easy to them.

Then, there are those that swing words like Jimmy D. Brown swings a 5-iron. Paragraphs are like Black Tuesday. Their writing is the equivalent of the acting in a kindergarten cantata … and they aren’t nearly as cute and lovable as those 5 year olds. Content creation is a struggle.

The good news is this: by focusing on two key components all writers can create the kind of content that generates interest and demand.

Whether you’re writing ezine articles or paid products or anything in between, there are two components that you need to develop in writing your content.

Before I explain how to weave both of these components into your content, let me first explain the reality of why these components are necessary in the first place.

People read for two basic reasons -

1. They want to be ENTERTAINED. Many people read because they enjoy a good story. They settle into their favorite chair and John Grisham whisks them off to the courtroom for a legal adventure or Sue Grafton captivates their mind in a “whodunit” or Nicholas Sparks unlocks the emotions with a love story. Or, maybe they head to the bathroom with a copy of National Enquirer to read about a three-headed alien who’s been dating Lindsay Lohan, whatever, they read to be entertained.

2. They want to be EDUCATED. There are other times when people read because they want to learn something. That drain beneath the kitchen sink is leaking again; a dormant website needs traffic; mom is coming to her house for Thanksgiving. Whether it’s a do-it-yourselfer looking to improve his home or an internet marketing looking to drive visitors to her site or a young wife looking to impress her mom with a mouth-watering turkey, people read to be educated.

So, those are the two basic reasons why people read.

There will now be a test. Close your books. Put away your notes. No talking or looking at anyone else’s paper.

What are the two reasons why people read? (No peeking!)

If you said “to be entertained” and “to be educated” then you get to continue. If you said anything else, it’s time for an XBox 360 break or a stiff cup of java or whatever it is you do to get your mind in gear.

People read to be entertained and/or educated. And when it comes to the art of sharing information as a part of your business, including BOTH parts are important.

Listen to me carefully. This is the “ultimate” mastery of your craft -

To teach readers something desirable to them in a way that they find enjoyable.

That’s the goal. Put a great big bull’s eye right there. And fire away.

So, let’s talk about some specific practices for each of these two components. How can you make your content entertaining? How can you make it educational?

Content Component #1: Entertain. There are many, many ways to make your writing a form of entertainment. Briefly, let me point you towards 6 methods of engaging your reader and making the consumption of your content an enjoyable experience for her…

* Analogies. A great way to keep your content flowing is to use a few analogies. That is, you compare one item to another item. Sure, I could have said earlier “writing is easier for some than others”. But, with just a few extra words I instead said, “They swing words like Tiger Woods swings a 5-iron. They can spot a good paragraph like Warren Buffet spots good investments. They write like Tom Hanks acts. Even though they practice their art form, it comes easy to them.” Honestly, which is a better read?

* Humor. A little chuckle goes a long way when it comes to the enjoyment factor of reading. Most everyone likes to laugh. (My apologies to those of you who don’t enjoy laughing. You may skip this and go immediately to the section marked “Don’t Have A Sense Of Humor”). Earlier, I built upon the analogy of Tiger Woods by comedically adding, “They swing words like Jimmy D. Brown swings a 5-iron.” By affording them the opportunity, you naturally make the reading experience more enjoyable. Does this mean you should make every attempt to be Jay Leno? Of course not. It just means when you have a chance to say something in a funny way do it. Don’t use too much humor and stay away from offensive humor, but by all means insert light-hearted fun when applicable.

* Acronyms. Another idea is to organize your content by using an “acronym”. I’ve used many in the past: “How To Keep Affiliates A.C.T.I.V.E. In Your Program”, “How To S.E.T.U.P. A Web Site” and “How To I.M.P.R.O.V.E. Your Writing” are just a few. In these instances, the words “Active”, “Setup” and “Improve” were used to reveal the various parts of the content. Not only do people love them (I’ve always gotten great feedback), but it also allows you to have something original that is uniquely yours.

* Storytelling. In a recent paid report I wrote, I opened with a story about me selling Grit newspaper back in the early 1980’s and I tied it into the fact that this was an early form of the modern affiliate program model. A good story always engages the reader. Especially when it is relevant to the point being made. Keep them short (don’t launch into the great American novel – this isn’t Hemingway for crying out loud!) and lively and they’ll only enhance your writing.

* Editorials. Opinions are like noses … everyone has one. So, why not share yours? To be sure, you may want to steer clear of any controversies that might damage your reputation and business, but don’t be afraid to get personal when you write. Many times I’ve mentioned my faith in Jesus Christ in my content. I’ve jumped up on my soapbox and preached about using integrity in your business dealings. I’ve gave my thoughts on a variety of issues that were relevant to what I was writing. And, you know what, it always gets the reader more involved in the process of consuming information. Either they agree or disagree (sometimes strongly) with what I’m saying, but they continue reading because editorials are interesting. Share your thoughts.

* Revelations. A simple way to get someone reading deeper into your content is to make a statement of something you’ll be sharing later int he content. It’s so easy to do. If you read back to something I wrote earlier in this article, you’d find this statement: “Before I explain how to weave both of these components into your content, let me first explain the reality of why these components are necessary in the first place.” Do you see how that works? I set the table for what I’d be revealing shortly. I whet your appetite. Consciously or (more likely) subconsciously, you got the point that something desirable was coming later in the article. This isn’t a new concept. Think about every newscast you’ve ever watched: “Coming up later in the hour, we’ll show you how…” and “Up next we’ll share…” Building interest breeds enjoyment — especially when you deliver the goods later in the content. So, those are just a few ways you can “entertain” your readers
and make the consumption of your content an enjoyable experience.

But, what about the other component? How do you “educate” them?
Let’s take a look.

Content Component #2: Educate. Certainly writers of all shapes and sizes know that the essence of “educating” a reader is to explain the subject matter in a way that can be clearly understood. That’s a given, right?

And certainly there are many ways to do this effectively. There isn’t a standardized formula that all content must adhere to in order to get it right. However, I do believe that there are three basic parts that should be included in virtually every piece of content written as far as those involved in selling information.

* Action Steps . If someone is intent on learning a process, they want to know the necessary steps involved in completing it. For example: If I want to learn how bake a cake, I don’t want a list of ingredients with the instructions “Mix these together”. I want a detailed, chronological list of what to do, step-by-step. Certainly, not all content is a “tutorial” (The very lesson you’re reading isn’t in step-by-step format) but, when applicable, always explain things in chronological,
reasonable steps. Preferably, in 9 steps or less to avoid the appearance that the process is too difficult to be accomplished.

* Brainstorming. Two of your favorite words as a writer should be, “For example”. The missing element of most information products and associated content that I’ve read is the use of “examples” and “ideas”. Most people present some information and then leave it to the reader to figure out how to apply that information for their own use. That’s usually not a good thing. Instead, it’s important to provide as many different examples, case studies, ideas, etc. as possible to give the reader a good idea of how to accomplish what you’re suggesting.

For example (Hmmm, bet ya didn’t see that coming, huh?): I could have simply said, “You need to entertain your readers” and “You need to educate your readers” and left it at that. Instead, I’ve been giving examples and ideas for doing each of these things. More than just information, readers crave application. They want to see the content in action; they want to see how they can use it themselves.

* Tips. Everything you write should have tips included. Everything. Tips come in many shapes and sizes: keys, tactics, techniques, ways, methods, options. As many of these as you can include in your writing, the better. All it takes is for one good idea that you’ve shared to satisfy the reader. If you share 10 ways to do XYZ and number 7 clicks with the reader, they’ll love you. It doesn’t matter what else you write in the content, they are happy because they learned something useful. Tips are the information publisher’s best friend. A veteran might read your material and already know 99% of what you’ve written, but that one tip on page 47 just floored them and they are esctatic. Share as many different tips as you can. Your readers will thank you later. Well, the grateful ones will.

So, there you have it, the two key components of your content. Don’t forget the goal with these:
To teach readers something desirable to them in a way that they find enjoyable.

When you begin to build THAT kind of content into your websites and blogs, you’ll have a site that will do more than impress the search engines, it will impress those who arrive at your site and take a look around.

Never forget this truth: search engines don’t buy what you’re selling. People do.

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Jimmy D. Brown is the author of “Affiliate Payrise“, teaching you a whopping 27 ways to increase your affiliate commissions!
Tired of “tiny” commission checks? Grab your copy today at… Affiliate Payrise

…………………….

If you are interested how you can make money with list building, you will be interested in Jimmy D. Brown’s List PROFIT System, a Step-By-Step List Building Guide on How To Build And Profit From Your Own Opt-In List

How to Promote Any Affiliate Program In 5 Easy Steps
By Jimmy D. Brown of “Affiliate Payrise”

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Using ezine articles is a great way to promote your favor affiliate program. What I’d like to do in this article is provide you with a simple system for effectively writing an ezine article that strategically promotes your offer.

There are five steps…

1. CHOOSE THE OFFER YOU WISH TO PROMOTE

This one is kind of a no-brainer. It all begins with deciding what you want to promote. What offer would you like to send traffic to.

HINT: You can promote your affiliate link directly, but what works better is to promote a list at YOUR site which you then use to promote your affiliate link over and over again after the visitor becomes a subscribers.

2. DETERMINE YOUR “USEFUL, BUT INCOMPLETE” APPROACH.

I love to use what I have coined as the “useful, but incomplete” approach when using freebies of any kind. (Ezine articles, free eBooks, reports, eCourses, etc.)

What I mean by that is simply this: You provide your reader with “useful” information (something they find of value and are able to actually apply) but make certain that it is “incomplete” in that they can better use the information by making a purchase.

That’s “useful, but incomplete.” And it works like a charm.

The idea is to use your content to build up to your desired response. You provide the reader with content, and then you make an offer that allows them to fully utilize the content, gain extra insight from the content or maximize the content in some additional way.

Let me give you an example -

If I wanted to promote an autoresponder service in an ezine article, how could I do it? I’d write an article that explains how to benefit from using autoresponders.
My article would exlain different uses of autoresponders and how the reader could profit from implementing the ideas.

** I.E. 7 Ways To Create Revenue Streams With Autoresponders

Naturally, they will need an autoresponder service in order to use the information, right? And I just happen to know of a great service they can use. More on that later.

OK, so that’s an example of how to promote a SERVICE offer with your ezine article. What about a software product or an eBook?

Want some examples?

Good, because I’ve got two…

TO PROMOTE A SOFTWARE PRODUCT. Let’s suppose you want to promote a software program that creates “ecovers”. How can you do it?

– Write an article outlining how important presentation of your offer is, and how creating a cover graphic can increase response rates by up to 1300%

– Write a step-by-step tutorial article for “do-it-yourselfers”, explaining how to design your own graphics from scratch. Then promote the software as a super-simplified way of doing it.

TO PROMOTE AN EBOOK. Let’s suppose you want to promote an ebook that teaches advanced list-building strategies. How can you do it?

– Write an article that covers the “basics” of building lists, and then promote the eBook as the “advanced” tactics.

– Write an article on how to profit from a list, and then promote the eBook as the “how to build the list.”

See how easy this is?

That’s how it works. Determine what your “useful, but incomplete” approach will be, and then…

3. TURN YOUR APPROACH INTO A TIPS OR TUTORIAL ARTICLE.

Let’s use my example again. I decided that I would describe various uses of autoresponders and how the reader can actually profit from them. What kind of tips list or tutorial could I create?

* How to Generate More Subscribers, Sales and Profits With Automated Follow-Up Messages”

* 7 Powerful And Profitable Ways To Use Autoresponders To Skyrocket Your Sales and Subscribers!

* Want to Increase Your Online Profits And Leads? Here are 7 Ways to Do It…

I actually went with the middle title. I wrote my list of the 7 ideas that I wanted to share. And I had the makings of a perfect article to promote an offer.

That’s all you need to do. Determine your end result. Decide how to get there with your “useful, but incomplete” approach. And then develop a list, or even a step-by-step tutorial for your article that leads the reader along.

With each new “idea” or “way” or “tip” or “step” or “strategy” that you share, you can further direct the reader towards realizing their need of your upcoming offer, and lay the foundation for them to accept the offer.

4. EXPAND ON EACH POINT TO BUILD YOUR CONTENT.

Here’s more of the easy part. Just “fill-in-the-blanks” to complete your article. Write 1-2 short paragraphs for each of your points. Make them good. Provide quality content. The offer you will soon make will see poor results if your information isn’t useful.

Remember, you are trying to presell the reader on the idea that they are going to need your offer. If you don’t provide them with quality information that they WANT to begin using immediately, then why will they want to buy what you are promoting?

Light a fire in them. Motivate them. Challenge them. Give them such nuggets of gold that they want to keep mining until they hit the mother lode!

5. PUT ON THE FINISHING TOUCHES WITH THE “FIVE PILLARS”

There are five things that you should always do to finish up your ezine article. Don’t skip any of them. They are all critical…

* POLISH. Re-read your article. Does it provide information that really is “useful” to the reader? And yet leaves them wanting even more? That’s what you want. Polish it. Put on the wax and make it shine. It has a very specific purpose — make certain it has the means to achieve it.

* PROMOTE. Use your resource box to promote your offer. This is why we’ve written the article, right? Remember step one? It’s time to put it into play. Give the reader what they (hopefully) are wanting…a way to maximize the information you gave them.

* PROOF. Don’t do this yourself. Have a trusted friend, relative or co-worker check your article for grammatical and typographical errors. The last thing you want to do is present a poor image after sharing some high quality information.

* PUBLISH. Zip your new article out to your favorite list of publishers. Submit it to the announcement lists and the ezine directories. Don’t forget to publish it yourself in your own newsletter!

* PROFIT. If you’ve covered all the bases that I’ve mentioned, then profits are almost certain to start coming in when your ezine article is published. You deserve it. Be proud of your accomplishments.

And then start it all over again!

That’s how you promote your favorite affiliate program in 5 easy steps using ezine articles.

Obviously, there are many other ways to promote your affiliate program, as well as a considerable more “details” in the strategy we’ve looked at today. If you’d like 52 great ways to promote your affiliate link AND complete step-by-step details for each of them, be sure to read the important details below…

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Jimmy D. Brown is the author of “Affiliate Payrise“, teaching you a whopping 27 ways to increase your affiliate commissions!
Tired of “tiny” commission checks? Grab your copy today at… Affiliate Payrise

…………………….

If you are interested how you can make money with list building, you will be interested in Jimmy D. Brown’s List PROFIT System, a Step-By-Step List Building Guide on How To Build And Profit From Your Own Opt-In List