The Fastest Way to Ezine Advertising
An ezine is an online newsletter. They are used to share news, updates and promotions. They are a great way for webmasters to generate traffic to their site and keep in touch with their visitors.
Generating traffic to your site through an ezine is not that complicated. Most, if not all, ezines accept third party advertising. What that means is Joe Smith has an ezine relating to car maintenance. You are selling a new car polish that will protect the finish of your car. You place an ad in Joe Smith’s car maintenance ezine. This will also help Joe (the ezine owner) to offset the cost of operating his ezine as well as give him an additional source of income.
You can choose to place an ad for your website, product or service in the ezine. You can place different ads in different ezines. If this is done right, you will generate loads of traffic to your site.
You should place your ads in ezines that are related toward your specific niche. Be as specific as you can to narrow the possibilities. To use the above example, let’s say your car polish is used on vintage cars to restore their original color and shine. Would you then place your ad in an ezine for the new 2009 sports car or an ezine relating to car restoration? By narrowing your target audience, you will get the most for your money.
Try browsing sites in your niche to see which ones run an ezine. You can also do a search on Google. Try searching for: “your keyword + ezine” (ex: “car restoration+ ezine”). Once you have a list of possible sites, you can start to narrow it down to find the most targeted one as well as to compare prices and the number of subscribers.
There are various pricing options for these ads. Some things to take into consideration might depend on the niche or the number of subscribers. There are also different prices based on where your ad is placed.
Most ezines will have several options on where to place your ad. They may have one at the top, another in the middle and then when down at the bottom.
The best (and most expensive) is the solo ad. As the name implies, this is “one” ad. This will be the only ad the readers will see. This means great exposure for you. Because of this, you want to create an effective ad.
One way to do this is to subscribe to the ezine yourself and read through a few issues to get a feel of its style of writing. Then you can construct an ad to reflect on that style and match the tone and message it is trying to convey. The words you choose for your ad will determine the success of your ad, so plan on taking some time to construct it.
One last thing, track your ads carefully. You will want to test and keep track of which ezines are getting you the best response. Play around with your ad and see what kind of results you get. Only by testing will you see which ads are bringing in the traffic and which ads are wasting your time and money.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
How To Write Articles That Will Drive Traffic Back To Your Website
When people learn about the powerful web-wide exposure that
article marketing can bring for a website, they sometimes
mistakenly assume that they need to write the article as a
sales pitch to convince readers to go to their website.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
The way article marketing works is that your articles need
to be educational, rather than sales oriented.
The idea is to teach your reader's how to do something that
will benefit them, rather than to tell them why they should
do something to benefit you.
Keep in mind that when you submit articles, you need to
meet the needs of the publisher (who is looking for
educational articles that will serve his target readers),
and also the needs of your target market (who is looking
for helpful information).
Notice that neither of these two parties is looking for a
sales letter about your website! (The appropriate place to
talk about your website is in the author resource box that
sits below your articles.)
If you can't write about your own business, products or
website, what are you supposed to write about?
Whenever you write an article for article marketing you
want to:
a) Convey that you are an authority on your topic.
b) Convey that you're unbiased, that you simply want to
provide a useful article.
c) Always write about the topic of your website. Notice I
said "on the topic of your website" and not about your
website. Does your website sell gardening tools? Well, then
all of your articles would be about gardening.
d) Give the reader the information they need and also make
them more interested in your topic (by heightening the
reader's interest in your topic you make it more likely
that they will click through to your website when they read
your resource box).
How do you accomplish all of these objectives?
The trick is to take off your sales person hat and put on
your teacher hat. Being a teacher is a much more subtle
approach than being a sales person, and with article
marketing subtlety is key!
A good teacher creates a hunger in a student's heart for a
topic, and with a little creativity you can accomplish the
same effect with your articles.
Let's go back to the example of the person whose website
sells gardening tools. She can't write about her products
she's selling on her website--that would make her article
self-serving and a turn-off to publishers and readers.
So what should she write about? Here are some ideas for
article topics:
"How To Plant A Winter Garden"
"5 Guaranteed Ways to Produce a Bumper Crop of Veggies!"
"The Top 3 Health Benefits of Eating Vegetables You Grow In
Your Backyard"
"The Organic Advantage: Growing the Purest Food Possible"
You get the idea--all of these articles would be of
interest to this website owner's target market, make her
readers in the mood to start gardening (and then they will
need gardening tools!), and will also be welcomed by
publishers looking for educational articles.
It's a win-win-win situation!
True, it does take more creativity to craft an article that
is educational rather than sales oriented, but trust
me--you'll reap the rewards of your extra effort, because
well-written educational articles help you accomplish all
the goals you were hoping to meet when you started article
marketing in the first place:
1) You will build more links to your website, because your
articles will be more attractive to publishers. An increase
in links can lead to higher search engine ranking for your
keywords.
2) You will bring more exposure to your website, which in
turn will bring more targeted traffic. Each time your
article is picked up for publication, your author resource
box is included with a link back to your website. When
readers find your article useful, they will natually read
your resource box and will be more likely to click through
to your website (which brings you targeted traffic).
3) You will establish yourself as an expert in your niche.
Being regarded as an expert builds customer confidence and
increases the odds that your website will be chosen when a
customer decides to make a purchase.
This is perhaps a more subtle, more gentle approach than
you might have expected with article marketing, but this is
the approach that WORKS!
The payoff from all your hard work comes when a potential
customer reads your article and says,
"Now that article was helpful to me! Let me see if she has
any more useful info back at her website..."
And that is how you drive traffic back to your website with
article marketing--by being an expert in your niche and
creatively crafting articles that encourage your reader's
interest in your topic.
About the Author:
Steve Shaw develops systems and software to help you
succeed in your online business. For example, his article
distribution service at:
http://www.submityourarticle.com
YOUR
article to hundreds of web sites with the click of a button.
When people learn about the powerful web-wide exposure that
article marketing can bring for a website, they sometimes
mistakenly assume that they need to write the article as a
sales pitch to convince readers to go to their website.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
The way article marketing works is that your articles need
to be educational, rather than sales oriented.
The idea is to teach your reader's how to do something that
will benefit them, rather than to tell them why they should
do something to benefit you.
Keep in mind that when you submit articles, you need to
meet the needs of the publisher (who is looking for
educational articles that will serve his target readers),
and also the needs of your target market (who is looking
for helpful information).
Notice that neither of these two parties is looking for a
sales letter about your website! (The appropriate place to
talk about your website is in the author resource box that
sits below your articles.)
If you can't write about your own business, products or
website, what are you supposed to write about?
Whenever you write an article for article marketing you
want to:
a) Convey that you are an authority on your topic.
b) Convey that you're unbiased, that you simply want to
provide a useful article.
c) Always write about the topic of your website. Notice I
said "on the topic of your website" and not about your
website. Does your website sell gardening tools? Well, then
all of your articles would be about gardening.
d) Give the reader the information they need and also make
them more interested in your topic (by heightening the
reader's interest in your topic you make it more likely
that they will click through to your website when they read
your resource box).
How do you accomplish all of these objectives?
The trick is to take off your sales person hat and put on
your teacher hat. Being a teacher is a much more subtle
approach than being a sales person, and with article
marketing subtlety is key!
A good teacher creates a hunger in a student's heart for a
topic, and with a little creativity you can accomplish the
same effect with your articles.
Let's go back to the example of the person whose website
sells gardening tools. She can't write about her products
she's selling on her website--that would make her article
self-serving and a turn-off to publishers and readers.
So what should she write about? Here are some ideas for
article topics:
"How To Plant A Winter Garden"
"5 Guaranteed Ways to Produce a Bumper Crop of Veggies!"
"The Top 3 Health Benefits of Eating Vegetables You Grow In
Your Backyard"
"The Organic Advantage: Growing the Purest Food Possible"
You get the idea--all of these articles would be of
interest to this website owner's target market, make her
readers in the mood to start gardening (and then they will
need gardening tools!), and will also be welcomed by
publishers looking for educational articles.
It's a win-win-win situation!
True, it does take more creativity to craft an article that
is educational rather than sales oriented, but trust
me--you'll reap the rewards of your extra effort, because
well-written educational articles help you accomplish all
the goals you were hoping to meet when you started article
marketing in the first place:
1) You will build more links to your website, because your
articles will be more attractive to publishers. An increase
in links can lead to higher search engine ranking for your
keywords.
2) You will bring more exposure to your website, which in
turn will bring more targeted traffic. Each time your
article is picked up for publication, your author resource
box is included with a link back to your website. When
readers find your article useful, they will natually read
your resource box and will be more likely to click through
to your website (which brings you targeted traffic).
3) You will establish yourself as an expert in your niche.
Being regarded as an expert builds customer confidence and
increases the odds that your website will be chosen when a
customer decides to make a purchase.
This is perhaps a more subtle, more gentle approach than
you might have expected with article marketing, but this is
the approach that WORKS!
The payoff from all your hard work comes when a potential
customer reads your article and says,
"Now that article was helpful to me! Let me see if she has
any more useful info back at her website..."
And that is how you drive traffic back to your website with
article marketing--by being an expert in your niche and
creatively crafting articles that encourage your reader's
interest in your topic.
About the Author:
Steve Shaw develops systems and software to help you
succeed in your online business. For example, his article
distribution service at:
http://www.submityourarticle.com
YOUR
article to hundreds of web sites with the click of a button.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Everything You Need to Know to Create an Effective Email Signature
The power of an email signature has been terribly underestimated. An email signature is that short little blurb that is attached to all your outgoing emails. This can be set up through your email provider to be attached to your emails automatically. This will serve as a reminder to your readers of who you are and what you have to offer.
There are few people that actually take advantage of this powerful marketing tool. Those that do, tend to go about it the wrong way. This article will provide some tips on creating an effective email signature.
The first thing you want to include in your signature is a link back to your site. Please remember that not all email providers will allow active links. Formatting your link and using anchor text may backfire if your link shows up as plain text to your reader. Always include a simple link that can be cut and pasted into a browser.
Try not to make the same mistake of numerous other website owners by including only your name and link in your signature. You will run the risk of being boring and you won’t grab anyone’s attention.
Your email signature is like a small ad. You have to give your readers a reason to want to visit your site. Devote some time to designing your message. Perhaps a catchy phrase or slogan might do the trick. Another great eye catcher is to offer something free. A free report or E-Zine (an online form of a newsletter) is a great way to get people to your site. Coupons and discounts are a great way to generate traffic to your site as well. Don’t be afraid to add any of these things into your signature.
Remember, don’t get carried away. Many of us have several websites and we might feel inclined to mention them all in an email signature. This is going to overwhelm the reader and back fire on you. Try to keep it simple. You can try several different variations of your signature to see which ones are working best.
Another thought is to set up a special landing page just for your email signature. This will make tracking somewhat easier and you will be able to customize this page to fit the offer you may have advertised in your signature. From this special landing page, you can then send the visitor to any site you choose.
A good, well written email signature is a valuable piece of marketing you will want to incorporate into your advertising.
Lori Gorman is the owner/webmaster of My E-Biz Place and My E-Biz Place News and Info as well as a successful work at home mom. Visit her site for up to date, legitimate work from home opportunities. You can also find her on Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and ZenZuu.
The power of an email signature has been terribly underestimated. An email signature is that short little blurb that is attached to all your outgoing emails. This can be set up through your email provider to be attached to your emails automatically. This will serve as a reminder to your readers of who you are and what you have to offer.
There are few people that actually take advantage of this powerful marketing tool. Those that do, tend to go about it the wrong way. This article will provide some tips on creating an effective email signature.
The first thing you want to include in your signature is a link back to your site. Please remember that not all email providers will allow active links. Formatting your link and using anchor text may backfire if your link shows up as plain text to your reader. Always include a simple link that can be cut and pasted into a browser.
Try not to make the same mistake of numerous other website owners by including only your name and link in your signature. You will run the risk of being boring and you won’t grab anyone’s attention.
Your email signature is like a small ad. You have to give your readers a reason to want to visit your site. Devote some time to designing your message. Perhaps a catchy phrase or slogan might do the trick. Another great eye catcher is to offer something free. A free report or E-Zine (an online form of a newsletter) is a great way to get people to your site. Coupons and discounts are a great way to generate traffic to your site as well. Don’t be afraid to add any of these things into your signature.
Remember, don’t get carried away. Many of us have several websites and we might feel inclined to mention them all in an email signature. This is going to overwhelm the reader and back fire on you. Try to keep it simple. You can try several different variations of your signature to see which ones are working best.
Another thought is to set up a special landing page just for your email signature. This will make tracking somewhat easier and you will be able to customize this page to fit the offer you may have advertised in your signature. From this special landing page, you can then send the visitor to any site you choose.
A good, well written email signature is a valuable piece of marketing you will want to incorporate into your advertising.
Lori Gorman is the owner/webmaster of My E-Biz Place and My E-Biz Place News and Info as well as a successful work at home mom. Visit her site for up to date, legitimate work from home opportunities. You can also find her on Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and ZenZuu.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
HOW TO GENERATE TRAFFIC WITH E-COURSES
A great way to generate traffic to your site is through offering e-course. An e-course is a series of emails set up to go out automatically over a period of time. They will usually consist of a series of lessons or specific “how-to’s” to cover any topic you choose. For example, if your topic is working at home, you can create an e-course titled “10 Steps on How to Start a Home Business”. Then, you would set up your emails so the subscribers would get one a day, for 10 days. You would then write the emails, or lessons as follow, Step #1 Finding the Right Home Business, Step #2 Writing a Business Plan, Step #3 etc., etc., just for example.
Your subscribers will remain on your mailing list even after the 10 days (or whatever it is that you set up the e-course for), so you can continue to send out follow-ups and updates. Of course the subscriber will have the option to unsubscribe, but most often they do not, as long as you don’t abuse the follow-ups. Every email you send out is another opportunity to bring your subscriber back to your site. You already know they are interested in the information or service you provide because they signed up for your e-course.
The great thing about an e-course is that once you set up the email series, it runs by itself. Of course you can always go in and make any necessary changes. As long as you keep your e-course up to date, it will continue to bring you traffic for years to come.
Creating an e-course is easy. All you need is a topic and an auto-responder. Two of the more popular auto-responders are Get Response (which is what I use) and Aweber. You will definitely want to choose a well known and respected auto-responder. Your e-course is no good without a reliable auto-responder. Keep in mind that you want to use an auto-responder that uses a double opt-in subscription method. This will protect you from SPAM complaints because the subscriber will have to confirm they want to subscribe to your e-course before any emails are sent to them.
Once you get your email series in order and set up, you will want to “capture subscribers”. Your auto-responder company will provide you a code to place on your site. This will then put a box on your site for subscribers to put their names and emails to be added to your mailing list.
That’s all there is to it. Your e-course is set up, running on autopilot and you are free to work on other things. A professionally written, up to date, e-course can continue to bring you traffic for an indefinite period of time.
A great way to generate traffic to your site is through offering e-course. An e-course is a series of emails set up to go out automatically over a period of time. They will usually consist of a series of lessons or specific “how-to’s” to cover any topic you choose. For example, if your topic is working at home, you can create an e-course titled “10 Steps on How to Start a Home Business”. Then, you would set up your emails so the subscribers would get one a day, for 10 days. You would then write the emails, or lessons as follow, Step #1 Finding the Right Home Business, Step #2 Writing a Business Plan, Step #3 etc., etc., just for example.
Your subscribers will remain on your mailing list even after the 10 days (or whatever it is that you set up the e-course for), so you can continue to send out follow-ups and updates. Of course the subscriber will have the option to unsubscribe, but most often they do not, as long as you don’t abuse the follow-ups. Every email you send out is another opportunity to bring your subscriber back to your site. You already know they are interested in the information or service you provide because they signed up for your e-course.
The great thing about an e-course is that once you set up the email series, it runs by itself. Of course you can always go in and make any necessary changes. As long as you keep your e-course up to date, it will continue to bring you traffic for years to come.
Creating an e-course is easy. All you need is a topic and an auto-responder. Two of the more popular auto-responders are Get Response (which is what I use) and Aweber. You will definitely want to choose a well known and respected auto-responder. Your e-course is no good without a reliable auto-responder. Keep in mind that you want to use an auto-responder that uses a double opt-in subscription method. This will protect you from SPAM complaints because the subscriber will have to confirm they want to subscribe to your e-course before any emails are sent to them.
Once you get your email series in order and set up, you will want to “capture subscribers”. Your auto-responder company will provide you a code to place on your site. This will then put a box on your site for subscribers to put their names and emails to be added to your mailing list.
That’s all there is to it. Your e-course is set up, running on autopilot and you are free to work on other things. A professionally written, up to date, e-course can continue to bring you traffic for an indefinite period of time.
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