Made Moon Blog

Article submission is the process in which the webmaster will submit articles to the article directories that will then publish them. This can create for the webmaster an enormous amount of back links to his or her website. That allows for individuals to get the traffic that they need without paying huge advertising dollars or trying to compete too heavily with the thousands of other website owners out there. It an easy, affordable way to generate traffic to your website.

But, what are some of the benefits for using these article submission websites? What will you gain, exactly from them? To understand what opportunities you have when you use article submission, here are some things for you to think about.

Often it has been noticed that while exhorting on the virtues of a product, the site overlooks the best selling points of the product or the service. The assets are discussed in detail while the essentials are overlooked. This is detrimental to the development of a site and selling of the service.

The most important factor to be considered is addressing the issue of “what will the product or service DO for the user?”

However, in addition to this core issue is another aspect that must be addressed when you want to catapult your sales into higher zones and want to enhance your subscriber base. This important aspect that must be brought to the notice of the prospective clients is the ‘hidden benefit’ that would accrue to the customer when he signs on for the new service or product that you offer.

This is not the only benefit that is available to the customer. He also gets additional benefits that combine to make a large whole. This too is a benefit that lurks in the background and is to be sought aggressively as it remains hidden unless unearthed. This is known as the ‘Deeper Hidden Benefit’. These are the benefits that the customer has to be made aware of so that he is lured to the service and make your sales grow exponentially.

When you address the requirements of a specific set of people, it is easier to cater to these and the designing can be suited to meet these desires. These are the times when hidden benefits are easier to uncover as compared to when you are looking to the general public for subscription.

This can be best fathomed when we consider a live example of the ever increasing weight loss market that is attracting people like bees.

PRODUCT: Weight loss product

FEATURE: The product helps you in losing weight

BENEFIT: You’ll be more attractive to the opposite sex and you’ll feel much better

HIDDEN BENEFIT: Impress everyone at your college or school reunion or functions that matter to you

DEEPER HIDDEN BENEFIT: You will feel great and will be able to get back at that loud mouth at school who thought you’d be a ‘fattie’, all your life.

It just takes a deep and dedicated thought about the whole product for you to realize the various benefits that accrue for a client and then to highlight them so as to attract them to join your service.
The bottom line is, tell the customer what he wants to know and he will get attracted to your site and sign on – just what you want him to.

This article was written by Craig Dawber of smarket-associates.com
Need advice and guidance with your online
business check out the resources found in this website.

It goes without saying that all of us would like better response
and conversion numbers from our websites. This is an ongoing
dilemma which, unfortunately for many of us, remains a dilemma.

It’s just too easy to sit on the same old tired, sour marketing
with crossed fingers, hoping for better numbers in the future.
The whole idea of rolling out a new campaign or overhauling your
web copy can be pretty daunting.

But if your numbers aren’t what you’d like (and how many of us
are really satisfied with our numbers?), then you need to get off
the hope wagon and and put a new plan into action.

In the lines that follow, I’d like to present a concrete, low-cost,
three-step plan for renewing your marketing through repositioning.

Step #1. Get Out of the Commodity Business and Into the Information
Business

One of the things that happens to many businesses, both online and
offline, is “commoditization.” When your business becomes
commoditized, you become just another face in a sea of similar
products or services.

If this is happening to you, you need to change businesses.

Even if you don’t feel “commoditized”, switching gears and putting
your Web business into information mode can only bring good things.

The first step is to make the “psychological leap” from being
a product or service provider to being an information provider.

Which means you’re going to become an educator.

You’re going to start teaching people about your niche in a MUCH
BIGGER WAY than you have been in the past…

And you’re going to compete on whole new turf from here on out.
Instead of competing with every other Joe or Jane selling their
dieting ebook or doing horoscope readings, you’re going to be
competing with those providing solid information about weight loss
or astrological services.

A much more pleasing scenario.

Sure, you can still have your root product or service. But that will
no longer be the central focus of your business.

Being in the information business offers you a flexibility that
simply being in the product or service business doesn’t. You’ll widen
your horizons and branch out into totally new sub-areas of your present
niche.

Step #2. Build A New Knowledge Base

In order to educate others, you need to know what you’re talking about.

Even if you already have a huge amount of knowledge, you’ll find that
once you start to write and teach there will be plenty more to learn.

In the teaching business there’s an old saying:

“The easiest way to learn about something is to teach it.”

The very act of passing on information to others will stimulate your
research. You’ll gain knowledge and develop fresh approaches to new
areas, and even to old areas you may have thought you knew everything
about already.

Consider this. If you are reading about something only because you
think you “might” need the information one day, how motivated will you
be to really get down and study?

Better to just enjoy a novel.

But if you’re reading something because it’s contributing to an article
or report or book or other info vehicle you’re in the process of writing
– one that enhances your image as an expert — then you’ll be much more
motivated to read and study.

As you read and study, use the power of your imagination to see yourself
in a new light. As a soon-to-be respected writer and teacher. As
a distinguished information publisher. As an expert consultant and coach.

Step #3. Publicize Your New Expert Status

There are four dirt-cheap vehicles (outside your basic website) you can
use for establishing your position online as an expert information provider.

The Blog

If you don’t yet have a blog, you’re missing out on a great low-cost
publishing vehicle that will get your info out there on the Web RIGHT NOW.

This blog should be an informational blog, where you teach and pass on info
about your niche. Not a “chatty” blog where you pour out your feelings and
talk about your personal life all the time.

If you want to have one of those chatty kinds of blogs, then by all means
have one. But make it separate from your marketing blog.

Of course you CAN still talk about your personal life in your marketing blog,
and you should sometimes! But don’t make your life and troubles the focus.

And post a lot. At least three times a week.

You need to build content, after all. The search engines will find you fairly
quickly if you have a lot of good content.

The Expert Article

Write an article a week, if possible. More if you have time! Submit it to the
article directories and article lists right away.

Every time you put an article “out there”, you’ll see returns in the way of
fresh traffic. Plus you’ll build credibility. More and more people will become
familiar with your name. And other publishers will start to post your articles
on their websites, in their ezines, and on their blogs.

Write articles to inform, not to sell. Web-savvy readers don’t give an ad
disguised as an article much of a look anymore.

Keep your articles between 800 and 1400 words. Anything shorter is too little
and anything longer will lose readers.

The White Paper or Specialized Report

Most of us know by now that we need to capture the contact info of people who
don’t buy from us on the first shot. The one-shot Big Cahuna sales letter can
get you some sales, sure, but the real money is in the follow-up.

What do we offer people in exchange for their contact info? Well, we need
a great freebie.

A great freebie is one that carries value AND positions you as an expert.

Somebody else’s ebook that you have reseller rights to doesn’t really fit the
bill.

The most killer freebie I know of is what some marketers call an “info widget.”
This is an authentic lead-generation document, not some thinly disguised sales
letter (although sales letters disguised as “free reports” can work too,
especially offline).

The White Paper or Specialized Report is great for this, because it shows that
you’re not just a run-of-the-mill Web marketer, but a real, bonafide authority
in your field. It carries mega-power for positioning.

The name “White Paper” is usually used by companies with a technical orientation.
So if you’re not in a technically-oriented market, you might be better served by
the name “Specialized Report.” Or you may be able to come up with another name
that works well.

The Customer Newsletter

You don’t necessarily need to publish an ezine “proper”, but you do need
to have a customer newsletter to keep in touch with past and current customers.

The real key to a successful customer newsletter is having fun with it. Go out
of your way to come up with different, even goofy things to keep your customers
informed of what’s going on with your business.

And give them some solid info each issue. Offer them tips and advice. And
occasional bonuses!

Don’t let your newsletter in their inbox be a big surprise either. Keep in touch
with them often enough that they aren’t shocked to hear from you. Nothing worse
than a customer that scratches his or her head wondering who the heck this
newsletter is from.

More than anything, though, your customer newsletter contributes to your
positioning as an expert. To your status as an authority within your niche.

In Closing…

Remember that this is only the beginning!

Once you’ve repositioned yourself effectively, you’ll be able to set up hugely
profitable ventures, such as consulting services and coaching programs. You’ll be
able to hold teleseminars with expert contributors, sell information packages…

The sky’s the limit…

But first you need to get out of the commodity business and into the information
business.

Good luck!

Copyright © 2005 by Bruce Carlson

Bruce Carlson is a freelance copywriter and marketing consultant living in Finland. Subscribe to his Dynamic Copywriter newsletter at http://www.dynamic-copywriting.com and see how easily you can improve your online copywriting and direct marketing skills.

Confirmation emails play an extremely important part in retaining your new subscriber. A new sign-up does not mean a regular loyal subscriber. In this competitive world, where all of your competitors have email newsletters, you have to continually earn your way into the subscriber’s inbox. This begins with the first email they receive from you – the Confirmation Email.

The Confirmation Email plays an important role for 3 main reasons:

1: Brand Confidence.

As suggested above, you are being judged. Just as your website is continually being evaluated by future customers for ‘ease of use’, helpful support, product information and (hopefully), giveaways or specials…so is your email newsletter.

If somebody has taken the time to enter their details it is wise to respond immediately with a comprehensive confirmation email that provides them with the assurance and confidence that you reliable organization.
And follow the old saying: “Start as you mean to continue”.

2: Deliverability.

This is an ideal time to ask them to add you to their contacts, thereby “whitelisting” you. “Wait”, I hear you say – you’ve already asked them to whitelist you on the “Thank you for Subscribing Page”. That’s fine…in fact, that’s great. The more times you ask them, the more likely they will do it. Make a point of asking them in every newsletter as well. If they “whitelist” you here and now, after receiving the Confirmation Email, then it increases the likelihood that they will receive every newsletter – many factors contribute to e-mails not getting through to your members (see next months article for tips on how to ensure the highest deliverability rate)

3: Soft Sell.

Yes, soft sell. Why not? Email Marketing is a great relationship builder tool. Why do you want to build a relationship with your client? So, you can sell/up sell to them.

Obviously, this doesn’t apply to every business, but it does apply to most.
Don’t take your subscriber for granted. If they are reading your email newsletter, then make the most of this. However, this is a fine line, as you also don’t want to abuse the relationship. A soft sell is just that. Ask them if they would like to download a whitepaper. Offer them a special, a coupon or a discount. Try and keep the communications going. Email is a two way communication tool – so make the most of it.

Include:

I believe you need to include the following factors in your Confirmation Email:

• Ask the subscriber to “whitelist” you by adding you to their contacts. To make it easy for them you could give them instructions. For spam filter reasons, I would advise linking to these instructions rather than explicitly detailing them within the actual confirmation email.
• Use the same “From” address as your newsletter. No use sending the confirmation from admin@yoursite.com when the newsletter is sent from “newsletter@yoursite.com”. If you have no choice but to do this, then you need to ask the subscriber to “whitelist” the domain rather than the email address.
• Full contact details – including physical/postal address, phone number etc
• Instructions on how to unsubscribe. Whilst you don’t want them to unsubscribe, you need to assure the subscriber that they are able to unsubscribe easily, whenever they feel the need to.
• A link to your Privacy Policy. It is best practice to have a link to this at the point of subscription, but by doing this in addition, you again are assuring them that you have no hidden underlying intentions.
• A description of what they have signed up for and how often they will receive it.
• If relevant, a ‘taster’ of what is to come.
• If relevant, some type of soft sell such as a link to download a whitepaper etc

Most ESP’s (Email Solution Provider) provide a text confirmation email, however, you want to be able to customize this Confirmation Email. Don’t settle for an ESP who only allows you send the standard “Thank you for your subscription”
email. If you send an HTML newsletter, you may want to send an HTML auto responder Confirmation Email to your subscriber instead of the standard text email, thereby giving the subscriber a taste of what is yet to come…

Remember – Start as you mean to go on – provide timely and relevant information, starting with the Confirmation Email.

Kath Pay is Marketing Director of Ezemail, an innovative company that provides comprehensive email marketing solutions. For more information on how easily email marketing can be implemented, please contact Kath at kath@ezemail.com or go to http://www.ezemail.com

If you are not a full-fledged geek, AKA, programmer this is new tool is not for you!

A Silicon Valley startup launched a search engine in March that will allow developers to search for code and source code. Sorry Martha, (Steward that is) I’m afraid your wonderful “Docorating the Drive with Pink Lillies” will not appear in the search engine result on this site.

The name of the engine is Krugle, and it will provide simple search for retrieving information related to source code – as well as other techy info – all from an easy to use, un-cluttered GUI.

It is surely possible to use Google for programmers to find source code, but this can be a tricky task.

The new engine functions by crawling, indexing, and parsing its information from open source directories and archives. It also pulls its results from Email lists, blogs and websites. Kruggle says the site will run using open source and private technology. For open source, Apache Software called “Nutch and Lucine” is used. The parsing is done using a generator called “Another Tool for Language Recognition.”

It is similar to two other search tools called Koders and another Codefetch. What should be different with Kruggle is it will permit programmers and developers to notate the results they find, make bookmarks, and save their results in their own space (incidently, in early May, Google announced a similar feature that allowed users to save results in their own workspace).

Using the workspace gives coders exact URLs in order to share their results with others. Users will also be able to separate coding pieces to see the differences between various languages. For example, it may be that an ASP programmer could search for “ASP content management system”.

Written by Erika Alexia, web administrator for www.search-engine-optimize.us. She also wrote a beginner’s guide to Search Engine Marketing.

Many people who have tried to make money on the internet in the last couple of years have done quite well using Google Adsense, myself included. About this time last year I was making about $5,000 a month.

I was using several different software programs that are readily available such as Traffic Equalizer, Ranking Power, and Traffic Dynamo.

A few other programs were very promising, including one that I had high hopes for that used random text generation. Invariably I would create a new web site, put it up on a server, blog and ping it and away it would go.

The spiders would come and I would get good listings in Yahoo and Google which delivered a goodly amount of traffic, which in turn created above average Google Adsense incomes.

Alas, it was too good to be true. What always happened was that these types of machine generated sites would slowly begin to erode in ranking in the search engines therefore causing my Google Adsense income to slowly dissipate to almost nothing.

However, I finally chanced upon a Google Adsense substitute which allows me to generate a replacement for my lost income much easier than I did before with a lot less hassle.

Google Adsense is still a viable and great way to go if you have web sites that generate large amounts of traffic. However, my life is much simplier now that I’m doing it a different way and to me simpler is better.

About The Author

Steve McArthur

Who else wants to earn $5 to $10 a day per domain?

I found an Adsense substitute http://www.exiee4.info/goldkey/

Acquiring printing quotes are just as important as the initial stages of conceptualizing just what marketing tool you are going to use. Let’s face it our marketing endeavors are bind by the amount of budget allotted. And so whether we want glamorous campaign ads still the budget will decide if you can go for it or kiss the idea goodbye.

Printing quotes are easily acquired online since there are so many printing companies that provide this type of service. But of course there is always the old way of doing things like calling each and every print shop there is in your area or if you want you may also go and visit these local print shops personally. The only problem with this method is that it’s very time consuming and tiring. Better if you don’t have anything else to do but if you are one busy buddy this method just won’t work. So the better alternative is to simply search on the internet.

The advantage of getting printing quotes online is that you can make multiple canvassing which is good since you will be able to compare prices. This way you will be guided on which printing company to send your projects to. Plus you get to save a lot in terms of effort, money and time since everything you need is simply a click away in the internet. Furthermore, there won’t be any extra charges to be paid since printing quotes are given in their exact amounts so you will not have any surprises when the time comes for you to pay.

Lastly, it is sensible to canvass for printing quotes since they tend to provide you with a sort of guideline on the type of marketing endeavor to undertake. It provides you a way to optimize your resources in order to come up with the best possible result that is within the bound of your budget. No resources are wasted and every littlest details are considered.

Jinky C. Mesias is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Major in Management. She is at present an Associate Manager of a Life Insurance Corporation and a freelance writer.

For suggestions and comments about the article kindly visit California Printing Quotes

“Virtual Real Estate Investing” is a relatively new concept. There are many variations on what this term means, encompassing everything from using the internet to aid in real estate investing efforts to participating in online games such as SecondLife.

To separate fact from fiction, I asked Bryan Ellis of BryanEllis.com for comments. He’s the man many consider to be the father of this new form of investing.

“I began using the term ‘virtual real estate investing’ in the late 1990’s when I realized the clear similiarities in profit strategies, regardless of whether the “real estate” is “virtual” or “physical” said Ellis.

One example of the parallels between virtual and physical real estate Bryan Ellis cites is the similarity between the monetization of domain names versus physical property. “There’s a huge difference between a website and a piece of real estate, but the ways you can profit from them are similar: ‘flipping’, rental/leasing, advertising sales, etc…all of these apply to both markets” he states.

I must admit: Its easy to see the parallels. Consider this: If you own a piece of real estate in a desirable neighborhood, your real estate has value because other people are interested in that location. Similarly, ownership of a desirable domain name is valuable for the same reasons. So it doesn’t matter if you own physical real estate or virtual real estate – you’ll likely use similar strategies to turn them into money in your pocket.

In our next installment of this series on virtual real estate investing, Bryan Ellis will share the internet analogies to the physical concept of real estate development.

Wouldn’t it be great if every prospective customer you had came right out and said, ‘Here’s what is most important to my company; and here’s what I need your product to do for me?’ That would definitely increase your closing ratio.

Usually, however, discovering a customer’s hot buttons is not quite that simple. You have to create an enticement before you can get through it and push that button.

One way to do this is through the use of banners. Banners are flag-like pieces of cloth bearing an emblem, badge, catchphrase, or other types of message. These banners are commonly geared into catching the audience’s attention.

Banners come in different sizes and form. Some of the types of banners are heraldic, church, advertising, protest, and trade show banners.

Among them, the trade show banners are the type that is more dominant nowadays, aside from the advertising banners which is also one of the main advertising materials.

Trade show banners are gradually increasing its function because a lot of businesses had found out that it has an awe-inspiring effect to their audience. Trade show banners create such visual phenomenon in the event that people can’t help but notice.

Usually, a trade show banner, as its name implies, are used in trade shows. These trade shows are presentations coordinated by a company or group of companies in a particular trade. Normally, the event is focused on showing off and exhibiting their services. It is also used when launching the new products of the company.

In order to have marvellous visual aid of the event, companies utilize trade show banners. Creatively made, these one type of display serve as an emblem for their products.

Moreover, in order to fully maximize its function, there are accessories that should tag along with trade show banners. These things are “must-haves’ for every trade show so as to ensure the protection of trade show banner. These are:

1. Trade show banner stands.

Stands are utilized for ease in assembling the trade show banners. It can be displayed in any place with a snap. And because trade show banner stands are manageable, they can be easily tagged along. It is also convertible. It can adapt in many instances whenever the trade show calls for it. It can be displayed as a “tabletop display” or placed alongside two banners so as to reflect a larger agnostic trade show exhibit.

With a perfect combination of trade show banners and stands creatively made with lively graphic images, these items can display your products in such an extraordinary way. Trade show banners and stand can alone speak for itself.

2. Trade show banner graphic cases.

Because trade show banners are usually carried along and are not permanent displays, it has to be protected from wear and tear by using graphic cases. These graphic cases are specifically designed to safeguard the trade show banners from any cuts and scratches.

With these excellent graphic cases, you are guaranteed that your trade show banners will always be on top condition, before and after the show.

However, before you start with your trade show, you should decide whether you would display your trade show banner as a table-top, or panel display.

For trade shows that have limited space, you may utilize the table-top trade show banners. It can be displayed on top of a table or in any place where it can stand. Table-top type of banners is very convenient to use because they are manageable and easy to travel with.

For quick assemblies and set-ups, you can also use the pop-up trade show banner display. These pop-up displays are effective when you want to quickly but precisely exhibit your trade show banners.

Or, if you want to have a more customized look, you may use the panel displays. Because it is made up of “unfolding panels” it can be easily converted from table-top to a full height trade show banner. It is ideal for bigger displays and exhibits.

Indeed, these different ways in exhibiting trade show banners are a must for every company who wish to conduct a trade show. These items are great in adding more zest to the event.

With all of these things incorporated in your company’s trade show, you are right on target.

For more great trade show info and advice check out: http://www.tradeshow-direct.com and
http://www.tradeshowstop.com

In the Good Old Days of direct mail, which is to say, before 1997 and the advent of the Internet, I and other direct mail marketers agonized over what to put “above the fold.”

Maybe you did as well.

That tiny top panel on a sales letter or self-mailer had to grab attention and stimulate interest or the whole package was likely to end up in the file that is emptied daily.

Your landing page faces a similar challenge today. In an age where the landing page has replaced the business reply card as the reply mechanism of choice among folks who market by mail, what you say “above the fold” is vital.

The fold is the bottom of your website visitor’s monitor. Everything they can read without scrolling is above the fold. Which means you have around 140 square inches of real estate upon which to make your pitch. Use it wisely.

Above the fold is where you put your selling promise or offer. Here is the place to remind visitors why they are herebecause you invited them here with a compelling offer in your direct mail package.

Above the fold is where you put a beauty shot of your product. A shot that matches the one from your sales letter or print catalog.

Above the fold on your landing page is where you remove navigation bars, links to privacy statements, links to your homepage and every other hotlink likely to lure visitors away from the purpose at handconversion.

Think of your landing page as your retail store. Think of your above-the-fold navigation bar as someone standing at the door of your store, inviting your brand new visitor to immediately leave your store and browse elsewhere in the mall. Now you see the value of removing all links on your landing page that lead your visitor away from your intended purpose.

All that your visitor should see and read above the fold should motivate the visitor to stay on the page, continue reading, and take the action you desire (buy, order a free trial, subscribe for your newsletter, download a report, watch your online demo).

If you’re reading this on a computer monitor, and if you’ve had to scroll a few times to get this far, you’ve proved my point. You should now be converted.

© 2006 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the “About the Author” message).

About the author
Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter and lead generation specialist who helps business owners and marketing managers generate leads, close sales and retain customers using business-to-business direct mail marketing. Learn more about his creative direct mail writing services and sign up for free weekly tips like this at http://www.sharpecopy.com.

©2006 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the “About the author” message).