Free Marketing Tips Blog: February 2009

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

5 Keys to a Profitable Website

There are two types of websites on the Internet - those that make money and those that don't.

Obviously, if you're a "for profit" company, you'd rather be in the former category.

So what makes a website profitable?

In my opinion, there are five important keys:

1. Content - In my opinion, nothing is more important than the content on your website. This is where everything starts. Quality content is what will attract prospects to your website in the first place - and keep them coming back. Unfortunately, many websites have lousy content, very little content, or no content at all.

That is inexcusable, in this day and age. If you don't have the ability to write quality website content yourself, there are services that will do it for you affordably. articlecontentprovider.com is one of the more reliable services.

Whatever you do, don't have content on your site that confuses prospects.

If you sell pet supplies, don't have banners on your site advertising satellite television. Don't laugh. There are websites that do this. If you're going to have banners and advertising on your site, make sure they're relevant to the overall theme of your site.

For example, if you're a small business consultant, your site should have content that focuses on business tips and strategies for small businesses...period.

If you're a website designer, your site should focus on content your prospects can use to improve the design and functionality of their website. And if you're a lawyer, your site should focus on legal tips and strategies.

See my point?

Always be true to who and what you are, and don't confuse your prospects. Confused prospects don't buy!

2. Traffic - Traffic is the lifeblood of a profitable website. And nothing attracts traffic like quality, helpful, relevant content that focuses on solving the problems of your prospects. Focus on content, and the traffic will come.

3. Conversions - History tells us that on average 99% of prospects who visit your website won't purchase anything on the first visit. Again, that's an average. Your conversion ratio could be higher or lower. Obviously, the higher your conversion ratio, the greater your profits. However, the the overall design of your website and the strength of your sales content (copy) will determine your site's conversion ratio.

4. Follow-up - Because the great majority of prospects who visit your site won't purchase anything on their first visit, you must have a way to follow-up with your prospects. In my opinion, the best way to do that is with an interesting, informative newsletter. Use an opt-in form on your website to capture your prospects e-mail address. Just make sure you don't spam your prospects, and make it easy for them to opt-out of your mailing list.

There are numerous companies that provide a newsletter delivery service. Three of the best services include:

http://aweber.com/

http://constantcontact.com/

http://verticalresponse.com

5. Repeat Business - There's no two ways about it. Your business needs a repeat customer base to survive. Without it, your business will fail in the long run. Again, this is where well-written content comes into play. Follow up with your customers regularly, via an interesting, informative newsletter, like I mentioned earlier. Send out new offers regularly, and keep your customers informed about new and developing products.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

How Berry Gordy Turned An $800 Loan Into A $200 Million Fortune

Well, it's black history month so, I decided to write a short piece to honor one of my business idols, Berry Gordy.

U.S. Business hall of famer, Rock and Roll hall of famer and Motown Records founder Berry Gordy had an interesting philosophy when it came to writing hit records for new acts. He believed that a hit record should be followed up with a record that sounded almost identical to the first hit.

That formula helped him create classic hit after classic hit after classic hit, and legendary artists like Michael Jackson, The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Temptations, Gladys Knight and The Pips and many other outstanding musical acts.

Obviously, Gordy knew what he was doing when it came to business. He took a company that he started in 1959 with an $800 loan from his family, and later sold his interest in the company for $61 million - and that doesn't even include the tens of millions of dollars he made when he sold his music publishing rights. Altogether, he walked away with around $200 million - not a bad return on your investment.

By the way, I'll be launching my new website this summer. It's called Reviews-by-Customers.com. It will feature "real" customer reviews of top online hosting, website design, ISP, SEO services and more! Follow me on Twitter @CustomerReviews for further updates.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Your Business and the Recession

Despite the economy, I've noticed that people are still interested in learning about sales and marketing. Unlike other industries, my affiliate sales are actually up, as well as my subscriber list.

What about you?

How has the recession affected your business? Positively? Negatively? Not at all.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Calling all Bloggers...

I have a question for all you bloggers out there.

Are you disappointed with the number of people who comment on your blog posts, as compared to the number of pageviews your blog receives?

I admit, I used to tear my hair out worrying about how I could get more people to comment on my posts.

But after doing some research on the subject, I discovered that even with the most popular blogs, only a tiny fraction of the people who read your blog posts are going to comment on them - a very tiny fraction. That's just a fact.

For example, The SiteProNews website receives tens of thousands of visitors daily. But if you check out the number of readers who comment on their blog posts, it's usually just a handful of readers.

Think about that for a minute: One of the most popular websites on the entire Internet receives tens of thousands of visitors daily. Yet, most of their blog posts have only a handful of comments.

I noticed the same thing with another hugely popular website, StartupNation. They also receive tens of thousands of visitors daily. Yet very few readers comment on their blog posts.

Realizing that's the nature of the beast, I'm no longer concerned about the number of readers who do or don't comment on my blog.

I'm just grateful that they take time out of their day to read my blog at all.

If you own a blog, I'd like to get your thoughts on this.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the way, check out my new website. It's called Reviews-by-Customers.com. It features reliable online services, such as anti-virus protection, copywriting, hosting, logo design, website design, SEO services and more! Also, follow me on Twitter @CustomerReviews.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Business Plans: Do You Need One?

You need to have some sort of business plan, or plan of action before you start a business.

No, it needn't be a super elaborate business plan, unless you are seeking bank financing. But you do need some sort of business plan nonetheless. Why? Because a properly constructed business plan is like a roadmap to your goals. Let me explain.

Imagine being in a strange city without a map or GPS. Sure, you can ask strangers for directions, but you know how that works. If you ask 10 different people, you'll get 10 different sets of directions, and end up even more confused and lost.

Or you can bypass asking for directions altogether, and wander around aimlessly, like a "chicken with your head cut off." And eventually, you may get to where you want to go. But with a map and a clear plan of action, you'll get to your destination that much faster.

And while you don't necessarily need a business plan to build a website, if you incorporate the purpose and/or goals of your site into your business plan, you'll have a much clearer vision of your goals, which will enable you to achieve them that much faster.

One final thing about business plans: They aren't written in stone, and more than likely you'll have to change or adjust your plan multiple times along the way.

About the author:

David Jackson is a writer and the owner of the Free-Marketing-Tips-Blog.com - providing free marketing tips for your website or blog!

http://free-marketing-tips-blog.com/

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the authors bylines are included.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

In Your Face Marketing

One of my biggest pet peeves is when I'm visiting a website for the first time, and BAM! As soon as I land on the site, I'm immediately hit with one of those "in your face" floating ads, pop-ups or drop-down subscription forms asking me subscribe to some newsletter or request a free report.

All this before I've even had a chance to explore the site. That really pisses me off, and more often than not when I encounter this, I simply click-away from the site.

Now marketers who employ these types of techniques will argue vehemently that these things significantly improve their opt-tin conversion ratio and sales.

But that's not the point. The point is if I don't like them, other people don't like them either.

Why risk offending anyone for a few extra sales?

My philosophy is just because something works doesn't mean you have to use it. Anyway, I thought this would make a good topic for discussion.

What are your feelings about "in your face" marketing techniques? Do you like them or dislike them?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the way, I'll be launching my new website this fall. It's called Reviews-by-Customers.com. It will feature "real" customer reviews of top online copywriting, hosting, website design, ISP, printing, SEO services and more! Follow me on Twitter @CustomerReviews for further updates.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

10 Reasons Why Most Businesses Fail

There are a variety of reasons why most businesses fail. Following are the ten most common reasons, in my opinion:

1. They don't have a business plan. They build a website without having any sort of business plan. That's like putting the cart before the horse. Develop a business plan first, then build a website. Why is having a business plan so important? Because if you a business plan, you'll have a much clearer vision of your goals, which will enable you to achieve them that much faster.

2. They're incompetent. You'd be surprised at how many businesses there are out there being run by principals who don't have a clue about running a business. Don't embarrass yourself. Educate yourself first, before starting a business. Don't get me wrong. No one is suggesting you have to know everything there is about running a business. I learn something new everyday. But at the very least, take a few business courses at your local community college so that you're not operating completely in the dark.

3. They're undercapitalized. Unless you're an experienced sales and marketing person with the ability to improvise and create, it's very difficult to start a business without any money. Granted, with the advent of the Internet you don't need as much money to get started as you once did. But you still need money.

4. Poor website design. First impressions are everything, and the first impression that is presented by many businesses is a poorly designed website. Internet users are an impatient lot. Instead of hanging around trying to figure things out, they simply click-away and move on to the next site.

5. Poor presentation of product or service. You've probably heard the saying, "Presentation is everything." Truer words have never been spoken. How well you present your product or service will ultimately determine its success or failure.

6. They don't advertise. You can have the greatest product in the world, but if no one knows about it, you won't make any sales. You have to effectively advertise in some way, shape or form.

7. They don't follow up. Studies show that a prospect must see your marketing message at least seven times before you can convert them into a customer. That's why it's important to have the ability to follow up. Collect your prospects name and e-mail address and follow up with an interesting, informative newsletter. Then after you convert your prospect to a customer, continue to follow up with your newsletter and by introducing new products into the equation.

8. They're in it strictly for the money. Businesses that exist to serve their customers approach business entirely different than businesses that exist to serve themselves. Don't kid yourself. Customers can sense the difference, and if you're the latter, customers will avoid your business like the plague.

9. They don't learn from their mistakes. Some businesses continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. Albert Einstein once said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results."

10. They don't take advantage of trends. Things change rapidly on the Internet. However, many businesses don't recognize and take advantage of that change. For example, Twitter is red hot right now. Therefore, I give readers of my blog the ability to receive my updates via Twitter when they subscribe to my blog. That's taking advantage of a trend.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

New Subscribers Should Be Priority One

When you design your website, it should be designed with certain goals in mind, as to what you want your visitors to do. For example, I have three main goals for my visitors.

1. I want them to subscribe to receive my blog updates.

2. I want them to purchase the affiliate products I sell.

3. I want them to tell others about my blog.

Now here's the great thing about all of the goals that I've established for my visitors. If I do my job correctly, I can achieve each and every one of my goals.

Let's take each goal, and break it down so that you can see what I'm talking about.

The number one thing I want my visitors to do is subscribe to receive my blog updates. So, I placed the subscription form at the top right hand side of my blog, so that it's easy to find.

Does it work?

You bet it does! A whopping 30 percent of my visitors subscribe to receive my blog updates! That's an outstanding subscription ratio. From what I'm hearing, most marketers are only realizing a 10 percent subscription ratio or less. Always make it easy for your visitors to subscribe to receive your content.

Next, I want my visitors to purchase the affiliate products that I sell. So I placed my affiliate links directly underneath my subscription form. Now you're probably wondering why my first priority is getting new subscribers, as opposed to making sales.

The answer is simple. Your subscribers are the key to your success. They are the lifeblood of your business. If you cultivate them properly, they will generate a tens of thousands of dollars in sales for you in the future. That's guaranteed income you can't afford to ignore or take for granted. Getting new subscribers should always be your number one priority.

And last but certainly not least, I want my visitors to tell other people about my blog.

So how do I achieve that goal?

With my content. If I write quality content that has value, is interesting and actually helps people, they will tell others about my blog. It's obviously working, as evidenced by my 30 percent subscription ratio.

In closing, if you're not making getting new subscribers priority one, you're throwing away a ton of future income!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the way, check out my new website. It's called Reviews-by-Customers.com. It's an exclusive business directory that features reliable online services, such as Adsense alternatives, copywriting, hosting, logo design, website design, SEO services and more! Also, follow me on Twitter @CustomerReviews.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Warning: Don't Open E-mail Attachments!

Dangerous computer viruses and other malicious software are often spread through e-mail attachments, that are sent along with an e-mail message. These viruses can not only infect and damage your computer, but can infect your outgoing e-mail messages and damage someone else's computer as well.

You can prevent and avoid many of these viruses by following the following five steps:

1. NEVER open any e-mail, unless you know the sender. Unsolicited e-mail is called spam, and legitimate businesses don't send spam. Delete it immediately!

2. NEVER open any e-mail attachment unless you know the sender, and you were expecting it. Otherwise, delete it immediately!

3. If you need to send an e-mail attachment to someone, ALWAYS alert the recipient in advance, so they don't automatically assume it's a virus and delete it.

4. Use an e-mail program with built-in spam filters, such as Microsoft's Outlook Express or Mozilla's Thunderbird. In addition, free e-mail programs such as Yahoo Mail, Gmail and Hotmail all have effective spam filters.

5. Use superior anti-virus protection (AVG, Kapersky), and be sure to keep it updated.