Everyone has received an email. Everyone has also received unsolicited emails. That makes it all the more important to build a list of subscribers who won't mind you communicating with them this way.
One of the most common ways that online business owners connect with their potential customers is through email. You can reach people easier that way than you can by ringing them up on the phone. Email can be accessed from laptops in Wi-Fi hotspots, cellular phones and WebTV to name a few. So, you could say that it is pretty important to manage this marketing tool just right. Email Lists
Here's how it usually works, you include an opt-in page on your website. It could be for free stuff, discounted merchandise, or additional information on something they read on your site. Readers are asked to become subscribers in some way to your website by providing their name and email address.
Along with that address you also include a disclaimer to put them at ease. Anyone who signs up knows that you won't sell their information to a third party or send them unwanted spamming emails.
Your initial list will be mixed with those who are in your target market and people who are interested in more general information. If you are trying to reach people who are into dog accessories, you may reach those who are seeking information on pet accessories in general. They will soon be weeded out and hopefully they won't make up the bulk of your list.
Autoresponders
Now, it's time to contact those people. You have the list and something has to be done with it. Your subscribers are waiting.
You can use a series of emails that highlight your product offerings as a way to transition subscribers into the realm of customers. The goal of these emails is to provide additional information on the topic of your website business and not to necessarily sell a product directly.
The emails can be set up automatically to go out on a pre-set schedule using autoresponder programs and services. These services give you a way to distribute those emails. You can even add the personal touch of addressing your list by name instead of a blanket greeting with certain autoresponder services.
But, we are getting ahead of ourselves here. You need something to load into the autoresponder program. Create a series of emails that speak directly to each list member as if they were the only one on your list. You can even outsource the autoresponder emails if you need to.
Now that you have a list of subscribers, your next step is keeping them your number one priority. Use autoresponder emails to contact them on a regular basis with the purpose of building a solid relationship for future business.
You may have a strong business idea and a great product, but are you doing everything you can to be seen by the right people? Increasing your visibility can change the way that potential customers see your business.
Visibility is the glue that holds all other strategies together when it comes to achieving expert status as a business owner. Each strategy gets your name out among other business owners, movers and shakers and potential clients. Being seen goes a long way with the word-of-mouth crowd.
Here are a few ways that you can increase your visibility:
- Take advantage of all opportunities that come your way - Attend business seminars - Public speaking - Write press releases - Start a blog - Publish a newsletter
If you are comfortable doing what you are doing and it works for you, still try at least one or two of these ideas. No one ever made a fortune playing it safe or being comfortable. That comes later on when you are the Big Cheese. Trying new things to elevate yourself within your business is a part of the process. And, it can be fun to learn just how good you are.
Some business owners are too picky. They want to do certain things to achieve expert status. This goes back to the issue of comfort level. When you are on Facebook and a fellow business owner is looking for speakers for his online conference or a local event in your area, throw your hat in the ring.
Someone in one of your associations needs advice or a speaker for the next meeting? Take that spot for yourself. Every opportunity places another feather in your cap. It is a point that you can add to your bio and also your press releases for new products or events.
And, you can create newsletters for your customers. Sending a monthly or quarterly newsletter about your business gives you the chance to add information about accomplishments that have occurred since the last newsletter. Each solidifies your expert status in the eyes of current and potential customers. Newsletters can be printed and passed around to others.
Once you put all of this in place, keep a monthly check on your ventures to be sure that they are still bringing about the desired effect. Some of it won't require much tweaking just checking in with the movers and shakers to be sure they still know your name.
Achieving expert status inspires confidence on the part of customers and fellow business owners. Increasing your visibility is the first step and the information in this article can help you do just that.
There are dozens of them on the Internet. We read them every day but are they effective? Do they make you want to actually do the thing they are asking you to do - which is normally to sign up for an email list? What are we talking about? Why, squeeze pages, of course.
What is a Squeeze Page?
It sounds like it has something to do with fruit. What you are squeezing is not produce but people. You want their information for your list. Whether you are looking for sales leads or subscribers, a squeeze page is an effective way to get what you seek.
A squeeze page is essentially a landing page. It can be your home page on your site, but if you are running more than one marketing campaign, it can be a separate page, the purpose of which is to get people to opt-in to your list in exchange for something.
What can they opt-in for? It can be newsletters, free reports, free analysis, catalogs and the like. You choose who you are looking for and what media will get the names and email addresses for you.
These pages are important because their sole purpose is to get the reader to perform an act that has been predetermined by you. The "act" does not involve sales directly. You want to gain the trust of your potential customer before you ask them to consider buying something from you.
One benefit you will gain here is a list of subscribers that are within your target market. Someone who is not interested will not sign up. Using a squeeze page as a sales page can draw people who are not within your target market. If you post a page that offers "get rich quick" scenarios, you are guaranteed to get lots of takers but not the ones you want.
Characteristics of a Squeeze Page
People pay a lot of money to have squeeze pages constructed for them. With this page, you want to pull out all of the stops to get noticed by your niche. So, let's start at the top, the top of the page that is.
1. Headline. People glance over pages when they read on the Internet. Your headline may be the only chance to gain their attention. Sum that up in a few words and use it as your headline: "Researchers Say it takes Two Weeks to Make or Break a Habit." Don't forget to use the same keywords you researched for your website.
2. Get personal. Share a story that is relevant to your subject matter. Maybe you had a habit you wanted to create. Give the reader insight into your issue and how you solved it.
3. Get user-friendly. Use bullet points and numbered passages to gain the reader's attention. Emboldened wording stands out and lets the reader glance to see if you have to say anything that they want to hear.
4. The action. Don't forget to include what you want them to do. If it is signing up for something, tell them how to do it and what they will gain. Have your opt-in form clearly labeled with a link to your site.
Squeeze pages are one way of creating a targeted list of interested people who will hopefully become customers. They are a great way to not only grow your list, but potentially your profits too.
It sounds like some place you go after dark that you shouldn't go. But, backlinks are actually a good thing as far as getting noticed on the Internet goes. Keep reading and you'll find out all about them and how they can be useful to you.
Backlink Basics
To put it in the simplest terms, backlinks are links from other websites and blogs back to your website. They increase your visibility on the web and also make the search engines really happy with you. It sounds easy, but getting links can take some time and effort.
Also, did we mention the spiders and bots? They work on behalf of the search engines. These technological marvels crawl not just content but also inbound links (backlinks) to your website. So, you'd probably figure that you can go to every website you can and post a link back to your site, wouldn't you? In the grand scheme of things, this is not always a good idea.
Here's why. Those bots are smarter than you think. They even evaluate the types of backlinks you get. For instance, let's say that you are just beginning and are trying to establish yourself. You go to other sites and ask to exchange links with them for free. Some are readily eager so you do it. As it turns out, these sites are offensive, plagiarize content and don't know the first thing about keyword optimization.
Now, all of these things won't be true at the same time but it goes to prove a point. A poorly kept website or even a troublemaking one can lower the quality of your backlinks and thus your favor with the search engines. What you want is backlinks that are of the same or preferably better quality as your site.
Quality Backlinks
How do you determine quality? One way is to look at their following. Do they have a lot of readers? Are their articles rated on the first page of search engine results? Does everyone know their name (just like "Cheers")?
Keep your links within your chosen niche. While there may be some gardening websites with a high search engine ranking, linking here won't do you any good if your website sells crafting supplies. The bots look at that too.
So, what criteria do you need to consider when approaching the subject of backlinks?
- Choose similar or better quality websites to use for your backlinks - Choose websites and blogs with similar topics of interest as yours - Ask friends and family members with websites (of good rep, of course) to exchange links with you
Get the word out about your website. Use any resources you have available to you first and then go searching for other high-quality sites to bring you more traffic.
Article marketing is one of the best ways to gain traffic for free. Using your expertise in the niche market, you can attract the kind of readership that would be interested in the product or service that you are marketing. Use it to build a money-making list.
The goal of business is to make money. If you aren't successful, then you won't be in business for long. The goal of list building is to create a network of people who will play into that success over and over again. The money will come if you cultivate the relationship first.
Article Marketing
Most people choose niches that appeal to them because they already know something about it. Use this to your advantage with article marketing.
Article marketing involves writing stirring content that can be highlighted on your website as well as other places. If you aren't great in the writing department you can hire a ghostwriter or a ghostwriting service to handle the hard work for you. All you need to do is provide them with the information you want included in the articles.
Don't forget to include keywords. They are still important. The fabulous things that you write won't get read if no one can find it. Using keywords relevant to your niche can assure you a place on the first page of search results (or close to it once you get the hang of it). Then, others will learn that you have something important to say.
You can market your articles in several places. In fact there are quite a few directories that are in search of good articles. Quality is still the name of the game. Once you submit your work to these sites, they are reviewed by their experts before they are accepted. Appearing on popular sites like EzineArticles.com and Buzzle can increase your visibility and credibility.
Growing Your List
What you want to build your list are subscribers - people who will opt-in for newsletters, reports, email marketing campaigns and the like. If you are bent on selling them something at every turn, then your list will remain puny and ineffective. Concentrate on giving the readers what they want before you think about making the sale.
Provide information that is relevant to the target market. For example, for someone who wants to sell fishing equipment, write content that touts the benefits of fishing (relaxation, family activities, etc.) to them. After that, you can build up to how-to articles on different types of equipment or fishing tips.
When you give your readers what they want, they will come back for more. As they become comfortable with you, you can ask for their information and they will give it freely. These readers are now ready to hear more about you and your products.
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