Online marketing » Marketing Tactics

Profitable Online Business – Learn Online Marketing Tactics to Achieve Success With Your Website

admin — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 20:22:33 +0000

You have finally published your online money making business and its up and running. Are you wondering what to do next? Are you having trouble generating more traffic to your website? Are your online marketing strategies not producing a profitable online business? Be patient. Don’t give up before the miracle happens.

When I launched my first website, I found myself in unchartered territory. I knew that I was tired of working for other people and wanted to own my own money making business. That was all it took to begin. The search was on.

In my previous job, I sold advertising and upgraded listings in “business to business” directories. Logically, my first idea was to design my own business directory- good idea, but the initial investment and operating costs were out of my budget. I realized the best option involved a profitable online business that could be started with little to no money. After reviewing and assessing the multitude of online business ideas, I settled on multilevel affiliate marketing.

With this selection, I could have multiple streams of income localized on one website while earning residual profits. This was accomplished by offering affiliate programs and services, like web hosting, which charge the buyer on a monthly basis. The beauty of this idea lies in the advantage of profiting on your buyers sales as well.

Within a week, I found a company that would design my own multilevel affiliate website for free. I needed only to pay for web hosting. They offered many choices of the highest paying residual affiliate programs. I picked the ones I found promising and the company programmed those choices into my site. That was the easy phase- now came my part; online marketing and Search Engine Optimization. This takes patience and persistent work. At times you may feel like your efforts are in vain. I implore you to shrug off this feeling and continue with the methods I have outlined below. I promise you they will pay off.

Patiently following these online marketing techniques, will garner your website more traffic via raising organic search results for your keywords, resulting in a profitable online business.

1. Launch your own blog. Just go into Blogger by Google and follow the directions for starting a blog. Then move that blog to your own domain. This way every time you post a blog it adds another page to your website. This is like putting another hook in the waters of the internet. Finally, integrate your blog design with your website design.

2. Pick a blog post that contains useful information and post that link with anchor text to a higher pagerank site than yours. Your anchor text should be a word or phrase of what your article is about; such as, the article title. I found a company that gives me 30 different sites of pagerank 6 or better with graphic instructions on how and where to place these back links for $5.00 a month! With a lot of authority sites linking back to your blog post, you will have a good chance of showing up on page one of search results for your anchor text keywords.

3. Advertise your site for free with forums. Most forums contain thousands of discussions in progress. When you post to a discussion in a forum, your response will be included as part of the discussion. At the end of your response, your sig file ad will appear so that everyone who reads that thread has the opportunity to see your ad. Search for forums that relate to your business, register, create a signature, and then take part in the discussion by posting a new thread or responding to another post. Again, this will put more hooks in the internet waters for you. This will aid in producing a profitable online business.

4. Advertise with Google AdWords. Where else can you gain access to over 100 million people in a few minutes? This is tricky if you do not know what you are doing. I suggest doing searches on “Google AdWords,” to find as much information as you can before starting.

This is a comprehensive list of marketing strategies that will enhance your website traffic and create a profitable online business for you. Remember, Keep building on these principles and your efforts will achieve success. Don’t give up before the miracle happens. Visit me at: PROFITABLE ONLINE BUSINESS

By: Justin Mullin

Online Marketing Strategies in a Down Retail Market

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:28:59 +0000

Retail sales are down significantly – as referenced in this jaw-dropping article from Bloomberg.com. This is a challenge not only for brick-and-mortar stores, but retail E-commerce sites as well. Consumers dealing with next to impossible economic times, and the startling news that US unemployment rates are at a 14-year high of 6.5%, is putting the crunch not only on how much money consumers choose to spend, but who they will be shopping with as the holiday season approaches.

Excerpt from the Bloomberg article:

“The Christmas season looks to be the worst in memory, you’d have to go back at least to the ‘81-’82 recession period,” Ken Perkins, president of research firm Retail Metrics LLC, said today in a Bloomberg Radio interview. “You’re going to have to do above and beyond to stimulate the consumer to come into your store this year.”

Not only will physical retailers have to “do above and beyond to stimulate the customer to coming to your store this year,” online retailers are facing the same challenges as well. This is now beyond “competition” for online retailers – this is approaching tactical warfare to garner consumers’ spending dollars online. In these dire conditions, let’s explore what online retailers can do to facilitate success, while keeping marketing tactics to a reasonable expense rate, open up a new channel in which to market, and most importantly, ROI:

Embrace Social Networking Communities

Research suggests that approximately one-third of large US retailers are actively participating in social networking communities, such as Facebook.com. This begs the question – why aren’t the other two-thirds using this new medium to communicate to potential consumers? Is it a lack of knowledge, a fear of the unknown, or concerns over cheapening a “brand?” Only the stores and brands can answer these questions, but I’ll give you one very strong argument as to why they should – it’s a FREE platform for tactical marketing. Where out-of-pocket funds are needed is to partner with an Interactive Marketing firm with a full grasp of the communication medium itself in conjunction with E-Commerce expertise.

If you focus only on Facebook (to start), you’re looking at a “captured” audience of over 36 MILLION US visitors alone. This is a site that is ranked at #5 of the most trafficked sites on the Internet according to Alexa.com. How can retailers afford NOT to look at an opportunity like this?

Facebook is not for kids. Facebook is not just for college students. In 2008, new users have flocked to Facebook in droves. CEOs, Moms, Dads, people rekindling friendships, and many more diverse demographic profiles are now using Facebook on a DAILY basis.

Ideas are being exchanged. Discussions are being facilitated. Opinions based on peer input are being formed. Chances are, your store or brand is already in the massive flow of conversations and information exchange. By not participating in social networking communities like Facebook, you are simply not doing your job as an online marketer to your full capabilities.

Steps To a Successful Social Network Presence:

1. Give Users What They Want – Not What YOU Want Them to Want.

Consumers in these economic times are basing their buying behaviors on value proposition alone. Forget the brand name, forget the cache’ of a store name – it all comes down to the value proposition. And that’s not to be interpreted as a marketing tactic – it is a harsh reality that consumers have little in the way of discretionary spending this year (and next at best). Instead of holding your hand out for revenue, extend your hand out to assist users with wise buying decisions, and ways to spread their limited spending to the fullest potential. The more you “give back” to the communities, the more you will be embraced.

2. Go Viral with Little Effort

As you give back to the community, the community responds by telling their group of peers what they like and dislike. Positioning your product sales from a value proposition point of view is not only topical, but informative. Information is viral – people want information, not marketing slogans. As information is distributed out, community users show a tendency to distribute the information further, far beyond your direct reach.

3. Reuse Existing Creative Assets

If you are an online retailer, you most likely have a great amount of creative imagery and messaging in which you can reuse to create your own profile. After your profile is established, continue to update it as frequently as you do your own web site, to give people a reason to come back and visit you more often.

4. Start a Conversation with Your Consumer Base

Social networking is not a traditional online marketing channel by any means. It is imperative that a two-way dialogue is established from day one. Again, when you “give” to the community, the more the community will give back. Ask for thoughts on your products. Ask for ways to improve customer service. Encourage a dialogue on a topic that relates to your business – but that extends beyond only your company. People love to express themselves, love it when others take their opinions and ideas into consideration, and appreciate those that take the time to facilitate such a dialogue.

5. Market Your Products with Tact

Marketing within a social networking environment is a careful balance of informing users of the value of your products, with no hard sell. Offering a private sale / discount code for community users encourages conversation as it becomes a special offer just for them, and if compelling enough, will carry enough merit so that the community spreads the promotion to their friends. And on, and on, and on.

Facebook is simply one example of many social networking sites that offers a tremendous marketing value to stores and brands. Your investment is time, not hard dollars. Social networks such as Facebook are giving retailers unprecedented and very personal reach to users. Take advantage of said opportunities, but remember – do not attempt to take advantage of the community. Those who push hard marketing tactics after establishing a following will find that the reaction from the community is negative, and the viral nature of such networks and communities are not to be underestimated when it comes to sharing exactly how they feel about doing business with you to their friends and family.

In closing, to execute a sound social networking strategy, look towards partners that truly understand online retailing AND this new marketing medium. It is imperative to your online reputation to execute your new efforts flawlessly, as there is absolutely no room for error where constant conversations take place. Skilled interactive agencies provide a way to provide your business with a seamless brand transition to online communities through communication strategies, programming in special markup languages for maximum visual impact, and ongoing strategic tactics to insure that your brand integrity is insured.

By: Matthew B. Brown

Five Online Marketing Tactics Every Business Should Use

admin — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 16:18:26 +0000

Every online business strives to make their website unique. In my experience, there are five fundamental tactics that every online business should employ. Some are intuitive, some are not. I have found that businesses find several of them ‘inconvenient’ and choose to ignore them. Review the list and see if you are guilty of avoiding a useful tactic.

1. Use Professional-looking branding

If you were to choose one item from this list not to ignore it should be branding graphics. Professional graphics can make or break your company. If you don’t have strong, well-thought out branding, you are wasting your time selling on the internet. This doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune on a high-priced designer. It means you have to decide what your business is about and make it clear to visitors the moment they hit your home page. The key here is strategy, not pretty pictures.

2. Make your Products Easy to Buy

I picked “Make it Easy to Buy’ as the tagline for my online marketing company because I believe most online businesses get that wrong. Intuitively, you know it’s true, because you can’t always buy an online product you want. You have chosen your item, you have your credit card in hand, but you just can’t make it happen. Ask three people who are not associated with your company to log onto your website and attempt to buy a product while you observe. This is always eye-opening. Do this today and you’ll learn something about why your sales are stagnant.

3. Reward your Customers

It seems strange, but most companies don’t really thank their customers for buying from them. By that I mean REALLY thank them, by offering a future discount, a special newsletter or something that moves the relationship forward. No one is required to buy from you. If they are willing to purchase your product, make sure they are rewarded. People, who are rewarded, will repeat the experience, it’s as simple as that.

4. Partner with others in your Field

This tactic separates the successful from the very successful. Many businesses jealously guard their information and never look outside for inspiration. The best way to grow your business is to partner with others who market to the same customers. Not only do I recommend that you seek out those in complimentary businesses, I encourage you to look at others doing the same thing you are. Approach them and see how you can be stronger together. This may seem threatening at first, but once you realize that more resources and more ideas make you stronger, the quicker you’ll see the value. Obviously, don’t give away proprietary secrets, but find common ground and you’ll be amazed what can happen.

5. Provide Content Variety

Everyone has a favorite way to access information. The internet makes it mandatory that you read text to get where you’re going. But don’t be limited to this method. Use audio, video, flash movies and anything else you can try to diversify your message. Don’t be afraid to try teleseminars or pod casting. Use it as a test. You don’t need to commit a huge budget to these tactics, but a small test will allay your fears and might point you toward a great new way to generate revenue.

By: Stephanie Diamond

The Benefits of Using Online Marketing Tools – Online Marketing Tactics

admin — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:53:59 +0000

If you want to know about online marketing tools, then read this article. It will give you the benefits adhering to online marketing tactics. The online marketing tools would help you robotize many of the tasks you need to do in order for your website to be seen and for your product to be sold. Push button system was being developed by many smart people and they actually work in creating the online marketing tool.

The tool has an instant banner creator. It has the purpose of taking a graphic, your website link and combining these two into a graphically pleasing banner. Then you can now submit your banner to any website that you like and have them seen by millions of people twenty four hours a day. It also has capture page creators that would help you create a list of subscribers who want you product and you will be able to sell to them again and again. You will never get the subscribers on your list and there would be no sale if you will not be able to create a good capture page. Once you have captured the lead, you can now communicate to them regularly. You will need an autoresponder that can be preloaded with your selling messages. And if the subscribers are able to join the list, then they will automatically get “dripped” upon everyday.

The online marketing tactics would also help you in reaching your goals. You should write and distribute articles that are for free republication. It will provide with the sample writings and knowledge that would create an inbound link to your website. You can increase the conversation rates of your product by rewriting the sales pages. You also have to test different website configurations to improve conversation profits and the sales. To increase the exposure to your site you can add signature to your email. This would also communicate your marketing messages.

While away from their computer, the recipients can also listen to mp3 file that would allow verbal communication to your prospects. You can also share your thoughts and resources many times in a day using your blog. You can also provide discounted coupon, available only online and advertise it offline. This would invite new and repeat visitors to your website. To announce important news you can write press releases that would spread the good news about your business and make avenues of contact for those who are interested. And develop various versions of your product that would meet the needs and preferences of costumers.

These are just some of the online marketing tools that has the purpose of making your life easier and breaking your hours each day. This will cost you money bit you will see that it is really worth it.

By: BJ Min

Online Marketing Guide

admin — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 09:52:14 +0000

Businesses need to market their products and services. It’s fairly simple: no marketing, no business. A company’s product will not sell if it is not marketed to consumers through multimedia advertising and other techniques. Failure in profit generation can usually be attributed to poor marketing methods.

This is especially critical for online businesses, who rely on various marketing strategies to improve the marketability of their products and services. Without proper marketing, an online store can lose potential customers to competing websites that offer practically the same product or service.

This is why there are many tips and guides out there that cater specifically to this aspect of business. There are many people out there who have had some success in using certain marketing tactics and are willing to share their methods. Books are constantly published about how to succeed in the area of online businesses. In fact, there are entire websites devoted to this area of business alone, and some companies even specialize in providing help for people who want to start an online venture.

Some of these strategies and guides cost money, which is an added expense for the user. But these costs can be argued as beneficial to the business in the long run. The cost spent in acquiring these marketing guides could quickly be offset by the increased site traffic generated through proper marketing strategies, which would lead to more customers and ultimately, more profits.

Fortunately, most of these online marketing guides are readily available for public use over the Internet, though some are limited to short tips and hints. All a user has to do is search. Also, one has to be careful to differentiate actual marketing guides from scams that rely on the user’s need to acquire information on this subject. Some scams are obvious at first glance, but some actually manage to pass themselves off as legitimate websites that offer marketing advice and solutions. Users must be wary not to trust the information found on these sites.

By: Juan Manuel Mejorada

Online Marketing: Five Principles That Help You Succeed NOW

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:58:15 +0000

I have been working for Internet companies since 1994. First at America Online and now in my own marketing and design business. The only online marketing rule I adhere to is that things are constantly changing. That could make marketing difficult. To keep moving forward, I use the following five principles:

1. Ask the right questions

Unless you ask the right marketing questions, you will waste a lot of your valuable time on things that don’t matter. Abraham Lincoln was quoted as saying, “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six hours sharpening my ax.” Gather the people you trust to work on business problems and ask them to make a list of the three main problems your customers have identified for you. Then analyze those problems to see what marketing questions you should be asking. Instead of asking how to increase revenue, perhaps you should be asking how to make it easier for your customers to check out using your shopping cart. Continue to drill down and simplify until you have a list of very specific questions and set about to answer those.

2. ‘Think Big; Act Small’

This principle captures what I think is imperative for anyone marketing online today. Jason Jennings’ book ‘Think Big Act Small’ details how companies succeed by maintaining a small business attitude. Embrace the qualities that ‘smallness’ provides- quick improvements, employees that are close to the problem and the ability to connect with your customers. I’ve worked with companies that assume their competitors are better because they have deeper pockets. The notion that more marketing dollars ensure success is misguided at best. Look at your product or service and continue to improve it. Online buyers want quality and service. That part never changes.

3. Search for what’s different and strive to understand it

The popularity of online marketing tactics go up and down like the stock market. Pop-ups, podcasts, ezines and blogs are all effective if applied to the right audience at the right time. The key is to continually ask yourself, “what’s different today?” Are customers suddenly responding to something you don’t highlight? Are they bored with your current promotion? Read everything you can about new ideas and cultural trends. You don’t have to try to apply every one of them, but you do need to know what your customer knows. Keying into changes on a weekly basis ensures that you won’t suddenly find yourself with an outdated marketing strategy and no customers.

4. If you’re not the customer, ask her!

Don’t spend your time debating with other staffers about what you ‘think’ your customer wants. Unless you ARE the target customer, you don’t really know. I have listened to endless debates about customer needs based on no actual customer data. Ask your customers. They will be happy to tell you what they think. If you don’t want to hear what they think, you’ve got a different problem.

5. Do what’s difficult

I find that this principle separates the wannabes from the real innovators. If you know what tactics need to be applied to make a difference, but you are too lazy or disinterested to try them then stop reading now. Nothing you do will make a difference until you tackle the hard work necessary to grow. If you need a better designed website, a new database or an easier shopping cart, you need to do that, NOW.

By: Stephanie Diamond

Online Marketing Tactics For Launching Successful Businesses

admin — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:37:45 +0000

If you have already been using several online marketing tactics to promote your site, but you are still getting the same dismal results, it only means that you have missed out on key ways of how to do it properly. To get the results that you want, you need to assess what actions you have already taken and where wrong turns have been made. Here are some fresh new tips that can help you redirect and create a fresh start when launching online marketing businesses.

1. Search engine optimization, or SEO, should be done properly in order to gain a higher ranking in search engines. In order to do this, hire SEO experts who can fill you in on the right keywords or key phrases that you can add to your content. Also, study your competition and identify the strengths of their ventures so you may apply such learning to optimize your site and generate more traffic.

2. Utilize a PPC (or pay per click) function as a means of advertising. You will need to shell out some money at first, but it is guaranteed to bring in more traffic. A lot of the more popular and highly visited websites avail of this service, so it’s high time that you should, too.

3. Use your great writing skills and come up with well-written informative articles that you can submit to article directories. Doing so will create links to your page and direct traffic towards your website. The more readers get attracted to your style of writing, the more they will be curious about you and their curiosity will lead them to discover your website and all its products and services.

4. Finally, know all the tools that are available to you and utilize each one. Banner ads, social networking sites, link building, forum advertising – these are all ways to generate traffic and promote your website.

By: Melvin Perry