Internet Marketing

The Book Yourself Solid article series continues with

What do Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey and Robin Williams have in common? These successful icons never present a watered down version of themselves to the world. So why then do most professionals play it safe and hide their creativity, quirkiness, spirit, spark and passion?

If you haven?t already heard the buzz, Michael Port is the guy to call when you?re tired of thinking small! Michael Port & Associates LLC is the premier marketing and sales strategy-consulting firm for professional service providers. He is the author of the best-selling Book Yourself Solid program and is thrilled to share 7 Keys to getting more clients than you can handle even if you hate marketing and selling. Over the next seven articles, he?ll share the secrets he used to turn his own self-employed business without a pulse into a healthy $112,200 income in less than 10 months.

For all those who still think internet marketing is rocket science, it isn't.

Do you want an amazingly simple trick to move far ahead of your competition and increase sales? With this free, no- software little tweak, you will be able to put customized information into a web page that is different for everyone you invite to visit. It is incredibly simple; seriously, I promise! All that you need is a very basic understanding of HTML, like how to make hyperlinks, and I will teach you everything else. Sound fair?

The following strategies are used every day to boost sales from any commercial website. Most are simply common sense whilst others may take some time to master. All will help your site to start generating the income you expect from your online ventures.

I've recently begun working with individuals one-on-one who are truly interested in earning an income from the internet in the comfort of their own home. A common complaint I hear from them is that they are constantly overwhelmed by the enormous amount of information that they are bombarded with each and every day.

For people who have decided to strike out on their own entrepreneurial careers, the currency of choice for lasting and meaningful compensation?and the primary reason they left the "rat race" is?spiritual fulfillment.

Setting up your own online business can seem extremely daunting. Whether you?ve already got a business and want to sell products and services online or want to start from scratch with a new business, there is a great deal to think about.

During a saxophone lesson the other day I realized how much regular practice can help a part time internet marketer. My teacher taught me a long time ago to just play for 15 minutes a day to progress. I was shocked when I first started doing it, but it works. And it works fast.

Banner advertising can dramatically help you increase traffic to your web site. Banner advertising can be a very cost effective marketing solution and can help you to gain access to millions of internet users. It can also prove to be a huge waste of time, even creating a net loss rather than increasing your bottom line. So we'll try to guide you onto the path to true results and a very successful Internet Marketing campaign using banner ads. First things first: What's it going to cost you? Assuming you're going to design and building your own banners, you can still loose money on the cost of advertising if you're not careful. Work out the estimated cost of each banner advertising campaign: Cost-per-Visitor: If you pay $10 per thousand impressions ($10/CPM), and you get a 2.0% click-through (20 visitors), your cost-per-visitor is $.50 ($10 per 20 visitors). Cost-per-Sale: Now you know about what you're going to pay per visitor. So what does that amount to per sale? Well, if 1 in every 20 visitors buys your product, your cost per sale is $10.00. Total Sale Amount : $9.95 USD Paypal's Fee Amount : -$0.59 USD Net Profit Amount : $9.36 USD So if each sale of your product produces a gross profit of $9.36, then your net profit per-sale will be -$.64 ($9.36 gross profit - $10 cost-per-sale). This campaign is not profitable! As you can see, something has to change in order to make a profit. That's why it's important to track and calculate every campaign. So what went wrong with this example? -Paying too much for the banner space? -Need a better click-through rate? -Need to charge more for your product? The truth is that only you have the information required to decide but at least at this point you're in a better position to make a qualified decision. Return on Investment Ratios: Your return-on-investment (ROI), before non-marketing expenses, is 0.0% ($0.00 total net profits with a $10 investment). Experiment by advertising on multiple sites or using different banners if your budget will allow it. Find the perfect campaigns that yield the highest ROI. A few terms to know: CPM - Cost Per Impressions (The "M" comes from the Roman numeral for 1,000). So $20 CPM represents $20 per 1,000 displays of a banner). An Impressions is simply each time your banner is shown. CPC - Cost Per Click. You pay an agreed amount for each click-through to your site. Click-Through (CT) - A click on an ad which takes the viewer to another site. Click-Through Rate (CTR) - This is the number of people who click on an ad (banner or text link) divided by the number of displays of the ad, represented in percentages. Example: 500 people click on an ad that has been shown 10,000 times, which works out at: 500/10,000 X 100% = 5%. Run Of Site (ROS) - This means your banner will be displayed on all or most pages of the site. Buying or Creating your own banners: You can find a graphic designer to create your banner or you can simply learn to design and build you own. We have done both on this site and our research shows almost equal results when using identical conditions. We're not going to give tutorials on banner design but we will offer a few tips to help get you started. If you decide to purchase your banners: Do your research. There are many so called ' graphic designers' that have very little training or experience with any type of graphics much less internet marketing or banner advertising. Get any promises or guarantees in writing. Keep in mind that anyone can setup shop online and many have no idea what they're doing to say the least. Do it yourself banners: There are several options when it comes to creating your own banners. Again, we're not here to teach you how to design and build your own, just to guide you in the right direction. Here are a few things to consider: Think through your design. Decide on a format. Flash or Animated. Image or HTML. The best banner size. Image load times. Image or HTML? Well, most of the banners we see are image based, whether .gif, .jpg of flash. But there is another very simple alternative. The HTML banner. You can even combine images and HTML to create incredible banners. A couple benefits of using a HTML banner are: HTML banner will normally load faster. On a HTML banner, you can promote many links. Banners sizes: 468 x 60.....Full banner 234 x 60.....Half banner 392 x 72.....Full banner with vertical navigation bar 120 x 240...Vertical banner 125 x 125...Square button 120 x 90.....Button #1 120 x 60.....Button #2 88 x 31.......Micro button A few tips: Use attractive and attention grabbing images. Keep your text short and simple. Use proven key words like "free" and "now". "Free" is a very powerful incentive for the viewer to click on the button. Even the words "Click Here" can increase your click-through rate. Use a large font size for your message text. Create different versions of the banner. Test different banners to improve your click-through rate. Animate your banner, but use as few frames as possible to keep the file size to a quick loading minimum. Test new banners with a Pay Per Click network, before you use them in Pay Per Impression campaigns. Many sites display two different banners on each page, while others display the same banner at the top "top fold" and bottom "bottom fold" of each page. When given a choice, it's usually best to choose the top fold of page because the viewer is more likely to see your banner. You can expect to pay a lot less for "bottom fold" of page banner spaces. Brian Hawkins - Entrepreneur, Internet Marketer, Online business consultant, Author. Site owner and administrator of several sites including: http://www.extremesitepromotions.com/ and http://www.csc4u.com/

I know what your thinking, "what the heck does starting a garden and planting seeds have to do with building an online business?"

In this article I will discuss how important is it to build community websites rather than straight forward sales pitches. Selling online is about bringing people together, not about stuffing products down your visitors throwts and expecting them to buy from you.

Many small online business owners have yet to understand the sheer power that comes from building consumer confidence. They struggle with sales month after month, but still, when someone tells them their site design needs help, they get offended. "I spent a lot of time building my own site!" is the reply.

This year, 2005, will see the demise of some well known Network Marketing businesses. Spam laws, spam-traps, filtering and useless leads, will all be a contributing factor. The age of mailing prospects is all but dead and buried.

If you?ve been utilizing the Internet for any length of time it?s likely you have been bombarded with junk mail claiming you can make money ?while you sleep.? Most sensible people are bound to ignore such claims of easy money. But is it true? Can you really make money while you sleep?

What is one of the main keys to a successful internet business? Marketing. What do we all strive to perfect? Marketing. What is this article going to address to help you improve in? You got it, Marketing.

A landing page is used to capture people?s details when they come to your website.

There are many ways to make money on the internet. All methods however, come with a price-tag. For starters, you will probably need to purchase basic business software and relevant learning materials. Planning and developing your ideas will definitely require dedication and perseverance all along the way.

Yes, it has been ten successful years of online marketing in the E-world. Many small companies have made it real big in this online world, by applying different marketing strategies and techniques.

Do you remember how, in days gone by, salesmen would go door to door selling their wares? These entrepreneurs would "go the extra mile" just to have the chance to demonstrate their products to people in their own home.

As well you should. New business is what makes the world go round. Your business relies on new business to survive. To get new business you must constantly change your marketing efforts. But what about old business? Have you made a business crippling mistake? Have you forgotten your previous customers while looking for new ones?

A successful online business takes more than a website?a lot more! When I ask people if they have an online business, many people tell me they are creating their website. That?s good news except I get the feeling they think that is all they have to do to have a successful online business. Nothing could be farther from the truth!

Objectives, strategies, and tactics (i.e. programs or action plans) - these are the parts of a solid strategic marketing plan. Your site objective defines the big picture, strategies provide the framework, and tactics fill in the details. Tactics are where the action takes place - these are the things you will do to bring your plans to life and "work" your marketing mix.

Do classified ads really work? Should you include an email address or fax number in them? How about a call to action?