23 Jun 09 Tips on building links back to your web site
Here are some tips on improving your web site’s popularity.
- There are several good ways to encourage web sites to link to your site; the first tip is the basic “Make sure your site is worth a link from somewhere else.” In other words, your site should be useful, have great content and be useable.
- You can run PPC ads for your web site – eg use Google adwords to drive traffic. This can cost a lot of money and it is a very technical exercise to get appropriate keywords to match your web site content for a low cost per click.
- You can market your web site yourself in free ad sites. For instance, using USFreeAds is one good way to get targeted visitors to see your products.
- Writing articles and publishing them on article directories (you get to leave your web link in the resource box which describes you) is a very popular way of getting your web link distributed around the net. When you publish the articles, you give permission for other web sites to use this article as long as they provide an active hyperlink to your site.
- Creating blogs on blogger.com, wordpress.com and other free blogging platforms can also provide great opportunities for marketing your store. I just came across a new place to host a free blog – and, having tested it, I am quite impressed with the capabilities.
- Buy links on web directories. I use this quite often (ok, I would say that because I run my own web directory at Storexplore) but I do believe that this is a really useful way of attracting the attention of the search engines which compete with Google – I keep saying that Google’s not the only search engine in town!
People often ignore the old-fashioned ways of promoting their web sites. For instance, offline promotion of a web site can be especially effective if you are targeting local customers.
You have to work on improving your web business with the same determination and effort as you would a traditional bricks and mortar store. There is no easy way to do this and no time like the present to start marketing your business.
Tags: link building, market your web site, web links
07 Jun 09 Reviewazon – what is it and how do I use it?
ReviewAZON
I’ve been hearing a lot about a new product called Reviewazon – and I just had to check it out. It turns out it’s a great new plugin for wordpress.
“So what!”, I hear you say. Well, it starts from a great premise that people like to read reviews about the products they’re going to buy.
“And?”
OK, you got me! The answer is that Reviewazon pulls in reviews of products to your web site – more specifically, these reviews have been posted by customers on Amazon – and, as you know, Amazon is a really active marketplace for all kinds of products, not just books. It also links to the products being reviewed.
“Yawn – I’m getting a little tired of this!”
Wooooaaaaa! – What if I told you that Reviewazon includes YOUR OWN AFFILIATE LINK in the products being reviewed and that you earn commission on sales – would that wake you up again!?
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Ok, there are some amazing features in this little plugin – you can set it up quickly and let it do its own thing. That means you can concentrate on building traffic to your blog and collecting the commission. You wanna know more about the features of this little sucker?
“Wow, I’m getting really interested now – tell me more!”
OK, here’s a quick list of the features -
- Lifetime Updates – You don’t have to pay for upgrades – that’s built in to the product.
- Unlimited Domains – hey, you buy it once and run it on as many wordpress blogs as you want.
- Support Forum – blow me down, the guy has even got a support system set up so that you can get help if you need it. Don’t think you will, but, hey, I like a safety net – and that’s what you get with the support forum.
- ReviewAZON allows you to display over 25 different pieces of product content such as average customer rating, product description, customer reviews, pricing, brand, manufacturer, product details and more! – but you don’t have to use it all if you don’t want to!
- User Guide – blow me down, there’s even a great userguide for this product – so you can take your time and read it as you go through the set-up.
- Build great blogs – complete ones too – fast. Like I say, get this set up and go away and do other stuff – promote your site, go on holiday, wash the car … this plugin keeps on working while you do other things.
- Built in custom Sidebar Widgets helps you to display information such as product Brands, Price Ranges and Featured Products to your customers to better help them find the information they need on your blog.
- Use the built in Tabbed product listing interface to display product information to your users in a tab layout instead of the normal vertical layout.
- SEO friendly image and product URLs can be configured to display human readable links that not only help your readers but also boost on page SEO for your blog.
- Support for all the Amazon Affiliate programs including Canada, United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan.
Hey – there’s much more than that, but I think you really oughta check this out for yourself. Why not head on over to Reviewazon – and see what you think. I’d love you to come back here and let me know!
“Yea – I’ll do that very thing – where did you say I had to go?”
Reviewazon
- I know you’re gonna love it!
Tags: Affiliate Programs, Amazon Affiliate Program, home based business, Make Money online, Reviewazon, Wordpress, Wordpress Plugin
26 Apr 09 Cold calls from advertising agencies
Since my poor experience recently (see posts about coolessential, I decided that it would be a good idea to make myself (and anyone else who might be interested) a check list of ways to avoid being scammed.
First of all – remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That was what I forgot.
My second experience with an advertising agency calling me was much better than the first – it was a company who are authorised by google.co.uk to manage sponsored advertising links on the google search engine. When they called at first, they mentioned their own web site and then proved to me that they had the correct authorisation from google to carry out the work on my behalf. They provided phone numbers and email addresses – but, most of all, they sent paper contracts and had physical return addresses for that.
So, here’s a quick list of things to look out for when someone phones you:-
- Ask for contact details.
- Do not agree to anything straight away.
- Ask for proof that the company is authorised to carry out the work.
- Do not pay for the work on first contact.
- Ask for a proper invoice to be sent to you, even if you subsequently pay by credit card over the phone.
- If the company is in the UK, check that the invoice has a VAT number if they have added a VAT amount on to your bill.
- Check on the search engines – search for “the company name + problems” (obviously replace the company name with the real company name) That should reveal any disgruntled clients.
- Ask for references – ask for a phone number from two existing clients.
That way, you will be doing much more than I did – and, while it might not save your bacon (… er, hard earned cash) – it might save you from some of the grief I have experienced over the coolessential issue.
21 Apr 09 Do you get Twitter?
My head’s swimming from information overload – apparently the next hot thing is twitter; actually, it seems to me that it’s currently really hot because Oprah’s just joined the Twitter crowd.
I have been a twitter user for some time and built up a small band of followers – and I’m following some cool people too. I tweet occasionally – and also add my aweber mailing list to my twitter account so that when I update my mailing list or make a broadcast, then it’s on twitter too.
Today I decided to try an experiment with a new bit of software from Peter Drew – which supposedly increases your twitter follower count dramatically. I’ve done the download and installed the software – it’s working away in the background as I write this.
There’s a five day trial of the software before it becomes a recurring billing situation – so I’m hoping to see some benefits of this before the full membership features kick in.
I’ll make a full report here of how I get on. I have to say that there is a bit of me that is scared of losing what I have already achieved, so I might end up baling out before it gets going properly. We’ll see!
Anyway, in case you want to see the full offer from Pete – you can find it at Brute Force Social Media
I’m looking forward to seeing your comments too!
M
Tags: social media, twitter, twitter friends
20 Apr 09 Overstocked? How do you deal with the excess?
When I got home from our shop this evening, I switched on my pc and checked my email. So far so good!
Among my emails was a mail shot from Rick Segel entitled “What Could Your Best Vendor Do?”
Rick proceeded to outline a dilemma being faced by one of the members of The Retailers Advantage. The store owners had built up a good business with one particular supplier over the years. Then customers started to approach the store owners about the same product line being deeply discounted at a bargain outlets. It turned out that the prices for the goods were well below trade price. The store owner had not been offered any of the discounted merchandise prior to the manufacturer dumping their product.
I recently had a conversation with one of our own suppliers more or less on the same vein; they said that there was an overstock of some of their goods and were wondering how best to dispose of the overstock items. Having read Rick’s email tonight, I decided to forward the message to them because a supplier’s reputation is very fragile and, in these testing economic times, it is important to maintain a good relationship with your bread and butter income.
There is a survey at The Retailers Advantage – and I’m going to add my thoughts to the conversation there in just a minute or two. I’ll let you know how I voted after I’ve seen the survey questions.
M
Tags: Rick Segel, Shopping, The Retailers Advantage
16 Apr 09 A cached copy of an old advertisement for coolessential.com
Now that coolessential.com has got my attention, I have been trawling the search engines for further mention of this company. I have also been wondering about the telephone answering service that this company is running – and how they recruit their staff. A little digging around revealed this old advertisement showing how the company recruited their staff in the past (it’s difficult to specify the exact date of this entry – I certainly hope it isn’t current).
I’d love thear from some of coolessential.com employees …..
Tags: Cool Essential, coolessential shopping portal, working for coolessential.com
09 Apr 09 Bring back the bank manager
Retail banking in the UK for small businesses has never been the same since the Bank Manager disappeared from the High Street Bank.
For many years, when it came time to renew our bank overdraft facilities, our local bank manager (I use the term loosely, our bank is 65 miles from our place of business) would call in to see us along with our accountant to see for himself the way the business looked, discuss the figures, ask what our plans for the year were – and generally do a discreet “health check”. He never made a journey just to see us – we were quite happy to see him on his way to a meeting at head office – or returning home from other business trips.
The business banking section of our bank is now automated – with very little human intervention (or so I am led to believe). When I do have to speak to a business banking team member, I am told that charges happen automatically – and there is no feeling for the quality of our business or the honesty and reliability of us as people and customers of the banking service.
“Bring back bank managers, please,” is my request to the banking industry. Allow for some discretion in your banking rules – and we can all get back to running our businesses.
Tags: bank manager, bank overdraft, banking problems, British banks, business banking, problems with business account
30 Dec 08 A quick review of my affiliate success in 2008
I thought it was time I had a look at the types of affiliate programs which are working well for me. I have to admit to having limited success with some – and some much more positive results with others.
- I have had best success by promoting physical products. As I run a store in Helensburgh, I guess I understand more about this than anything else. This is definitely my comfort zone. There are some great affiliate networks out there and some fabulous tools to take advantage of the earning opportunities.
- I have had limited success with ebook marketing – BUT until recently, I didn’t have a product of my own. Now that I have my own ebook, I am working at setting it up so that I can build my own affiliate network. This is a complete change in emphasis and so I am going through all the hesitation and indecision which no doubt affects us all from time to time.
- Promoting high ticket items?? I should do more of this. I keep putting obstacles in my own way, because I always feel easier about marketing something which I own myself. This is more or less what I was describing in relation to ebook marketing.
Which affiliate networks have got my attention?
Well, one program which has done quite well for me (despite frustrations of one kind or another) is the eBay Affiliate Program – details of the affiliate program are at the foot of the page. I use eBay to sell some of our own products – and so I understand how powerful this marketplace can be.
The frustrations of the eBay program are to do with tracking issues (ok, this probably occurs in other affiliate commission networks). I also get frustrated that I can drive traffic to auctions using various strategies only to have my commission redirected to some other site (eg auctiva or onecause – although there are other services which do the same).
I have had some good success with the shareasale network – physical products to promote, some great merchants – and some very useful tools provided which make promotions fairly easy. Also, Shareasale will direct deposit into my bank account with no fuss. (In the electronic era, it can be frustrating to have to bank cheques when a machine can do it for you.)
Among the tools offered by shareasale is their “make a page” section which pulls product information already formatted with your affiliate link – and you can safely copy and paste this information into a web page. I also like (and use) the datafeed section – although I have to learn a few more bits and pieces to take full advantage of this one.
In the months to come, I am considering building an affiliate program for my Scottish Gift Shop and Shareasale is in the running for this.
I also like Commission Junction – for banners and text links – but I long for the day when they provide a similar datafeed service to Shareasale 
– although using Popshops is also a possibility.
My google adsense earning fluctuates widely. Because of this, I am now putting less adsense code into my sites and am finding other ways to market and monetise them.
All in all, I have had quite good experiences with the networks I promote. I am looking forward to next year as I know that people will still be shopping online and will still be looking for coupon codes, bargains and special offers.
Margaret
08 Jun 08 U.S. President Teaches You Marketing!
Dear Friend:
Crazy as it sounds, the next U.S. President, whether it’s McCain or Obama, is gonna help you sell more of your stuff.
“Oh, yeah. Right Marlon. Let’s see you ’splain this one to me…”
No seriously. Read this email for the complete scoop. It ain’t gonna cost you a cent, pound or peso. So wadda you got to lose?
Well, it’s election time again in the U.S. You guys and gals in UK, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Canada and so forth are probably even hearing about it.
The candidates are making their final whistle stops. It’s a good time to talk the marketing of a President.
There’s a lot YOU can learn from this year’s election that can show you the path to selling more of your stuff.
Isn’t it kind of strange that the most prestigious job in the U.S. comes down to one thing –
M-A-R-K-E-T-I-N-G!
See, marketing is about selecting MARKETS for a product or service and designing an APPEAL to that MARKET that will get a response.
That’s what marketing is. The study of and appeal to markets. I bet a lot of people teaching marketing don’t even understand that.
Yeah, you have the traditional marketing mix of product, price, promotion and distribution (or place).
But at heart, it’s just about markets. Who is in the market for MY product (or service).
Think of it like this: The President IS a product that is sold to markets. Who are those markets?
Gays, lesbians, religious groups, right wing, left wing, investors, educators, labor unions, moms ‘n dads,
corporations, small businesses, and so forth.
You will hear each of the candidates specifically pick out certain of those groups and make an appeal or promise to them.
The appeal or promise is essentially a HEADLINE. It’s the articulation of a promise or a benefit.
A candidate is in the JOB of picking out groups or markets and making a PROMISE to them of a BENEFIT.
If you WATCH TV, you’ll see them speaking to different groups, making appearances at schools, labor union rallies, army groups, educators and so forth.
All in an effort to GET PUBLICITY for a marketing message delivered to a specific group or audience.
They don’t give a speech ’cause they wanna get their message to the local PTA. They do it because they’ll get national media coverage and gratus media coverage.
So instead of paying for radio ads or TV spots, they get advertising without forking over any green stuff.
You’ll notice they use all the media: TV, radio, billboards, publicity, direct mail, telephones, and more
I’m not thinking of right now.
Heck, they even have the equivalent of a commissioned affiliate program — you help ME get elected, and you’ll get pork barrell legislation back in return, or you’ll get a cushy cabinet position…or somethin’ along those lines.
What can YOU learn from this?
What GROUPS are you aiming specific promises or messages at for your product or service?
Even the President lives and dies by marketing. And if he or she needs to know it, don’t you think YOU better know it too?
Best wishes,
Marlon Sanders
P.S. If’n you want a crash course in marketing (both
online and offline), you can get it here:
http://getyourprofits.com/z/264/CD27304/
(By the way, if you problems on your PayPal limit, we have
an alternative payment method. Just live chat us
at amazingformula.com/support)
You may not make it to running for President. But I bet
you can get a better job, start a more successful
business, promote your group or organization with more
success — or help your kids be more successful in life.
08 Jun 08 Internet Marketing Center Product Review
|
“Learn The Strategies A 23-Year-Old Inner City Kid Is Using To Make $66,000+ Each Month On The Internet… …And Discover How YOU Can Duplicate His Success!“ Product Review: “The Insider Secrets to Marketing Your Business on the Internet — VERSION 2008 By Derek Gehl and The Internet Marketing Center I’ve just finished reading the step-by-step guide considered by many to be the Internet marketing BIBLE — “The Insider Secrets to Marketing Your Business on the Internet VERSION 2008″… … And I have to tell you I’m completely blown away by the sheer volume of money-making information Derek Gehl has managed to pack in! “Insider Secrets” reveals the *exact* step-by-step formula the Internet Marketing Center (of which Derek is the CEO) has used to grow a $25 investment to over $60,000,000 in online sales. And it’s hot off the presses after being updated for 2008 with the very latest cutting-edge strategies for profiting online! In TWO 8″ x 11″ full color binders containing 800+ pages, broken down into 64 lessons, this system is packed FULL of:
I’m really impressed by the combination of basic AND advanced website profit strategies Derek has poured into “Insider Secrets”… … So if you’re a total Internet newbie, you’ll learn how to transform your hobbies and passions into a lucrative online business you can grow from scratch! And if you already have an Internet business, the advanced sections of this system will show you how you can send your online profits through the ceiling! After testing out a handful of the strategies myself, I was left speechless by how effective — and profitable — each one was… In
He also throws in FIVE super bonuses — including 4 resource CDs and one DVD — with additional lessons, examples, interviews, and website reviews! I give Insider Secrets VERSION 2008 a perfect 10 out of 10 without hesitation.
To find out more, CLICK HERE NOW |
Tags: affiliate marketing, Derek Gehl, Internet Marketing Center
