Internet Marketing

If you’ve ever done any investing, you’re probably familiarwith the term “going long”. In a nutshell, going long meansinvesting for long-term profits. And it’s probably thesafest, if not surest way to make money in a sometimesvolatile arena, the stock market.

mediaimage
Today I’d like to show you how to apply this powerfulstrategy to your Internet marketing campaign.

As I’m sure you are aware by now,How To Go Long With Your Web Marketing Articles there are a multitude ofways to invest in your Internet marketing. Many of thestrategies will yield immediate results, however the resultswill be short-lived.

An example of a short-term marketing strategy is buyingadvertising. While you DO need to purchase SOME advertising,if you rely solely on this strategy you’ll see a disturbingtrend develop at your site — whenever you advertise less,your site traffic will come to a near stand-still.

Another example of a short-term Internet marketing strategyis bulk email. Here’s why…

When you use bulk email, you blast your message to thousandsof email addresses, filter the myriad of complaints, andhope for a few sales mixed in. There is absolutely nopositive long-term effect on your business. Perhaps you makea few sales but you’ve made zero long-term investment in yourbusiness.

So how does one diversify their Internet marketing portfolioand GO LONG with their promotion strategies?

Perhaps you already know the answer. Let’s test yourknowledge, shall we!

Of the following low-cost Internet marketing strategies,which TWO would have the longest positive resulton your website traffic?

1. bulletin board and newsgroup postings2. search engine ranking3. banner ad buys and exchanges4. building your own opt-in email list5. sharing your web content with others

If you guessed number one, you’re…. Wrong!

If you regularly make INTELLIGENT and HELPFUL posts totargeted bulletin boards and newsgroups, you can generatesome traffic. However most boards purge posts frequently andwith the growing number of boards out there, users rarelytake time to search archives for answers.

If you guessed number two, you’re…. Wrong Again!

Top ten search engine rankings are great, but unless you have time to maintain the listings you’ll find that they can be hard to maintain. While I definitely recommend giving search engine ranking some consideration, especially when setting up a website, this strategy should be consideredmore of a continuing effort than a long-term strategy.

If you guessed number three… you’re… Wrong Again!

As I mentioned at the top of this piece, you DO need topurchase SOME advertising, and banner advertising andexchanges can be a part of that. But if you rely solely onpaid ads, you’ll see less site traffic whenever youradvertising slows.

All in all, items one through three above are good ways topromote your website… IF you have the right components setup at your site. If not, you may be wasting your time andmoney.

The first component you MUST have at your site in order forthose (or any) efforts to pay of is…

Item number 4 from above. An opt-in email list buildingstrategy!

If no. 4 was one of your guesses, you are right on! Growingyour potential client base should always be a priority inANY business. The best way to do this on the web is to growyour own opt-in email list(s). Ask for your website visitorsname and email address and give them something of value inreturn. It is as simple as that. Then treat the growing listlike gold.

So that leaves us with the other correct answer. Numberfive, sharing your web content with others. The mosteffective way I’ve found to do this, is to write about yourarea of expertise and pre-license the content to othereditors and webmasters in your type of business. Thisstrategy is sometimes called “submitting articles”, but itdoesn’t even have to be articles that you share. You canwrite tips, lessons, hints, secrets, or anything that wouldhelp a particular group of people.

Then, not only should you pre-license the material as I’ve done at www.bizweb2000.com/articles.htm – but you should also submit the content regularly. That is as simple as emailing your fresh work to webmasters and ezine editors who publish related material. After four years online, this is still my cheapest promotion method (100% free) and by farmy longest lasting.

I can say without reserve that the two strategies above areTHE premium ways to GO LONG with your Internet marketing.How can I make such a bold statement?

Simple. Here’s proof of each:

Last week I was contacted by a subscriber that had been onmy subscriber list for, get this… four years! She hadfinally decided to start her own business and wanted helpfrom someone with a track record of getting results. As oneof my original subscribers I naturally offered her a deepdiscount on my services.

Example two: When I started using my article writing andpre-licensing strategy back in early 1997, I used an addresscalled [email protected] for new subscribers to receivemy gazette. I used that address for only a short time untilmy website was complete. Now, over three years later, I stillget new subscribe requests to that old address every week. Mycontent from three years ago is still being read. How’s thatfor going long with web marketing!

So in closing, I’d like you to consider the Internetmarketing strategies you are using right now. How many ofthem could be considered “going long”. After all, if youplan to retire or even work less some day, you’ll have toinvest in the future of your website now. And believe me,it’s nice to see the website traffic continue to come in ona regular basis, even when you don’t!

Get the most from your mailings to potential customers using tips from a direct-marketing pro.) What does it take to get someone to buy a car? A perso…

mediaimage
Get the most from your mailings to potential customers using tips from a direct-marketing pro.)
What does it take to get someone to buy a car? A personalized letter promising a $1,000 discount can go a long way. That’s what I discovered years ago in Canada when I worked on a direct mail campaign for Ford,Eight smart ways to find new customers now! Articles promoting Lincoln’s Town Car, Continental and Mark VIII. We told recipients that all they had to do was visit a dealership, negotiate their best price and then produce the letter to save another $1,000. Sales took off.

Consumers are bombarded these days with advertising messages. Direct marketers like me are part of the reason. For 12 years in New York and now in Hollywood, Fla., I have run Lois Geller Marketing Group, a marketing advertising firm with big clients such as J.P. Morgan Chase, as well as other large companies.

Sending an offer by mail can cost anywhere from $1.00 to $150 for each prospect, depending on the different components of the campaign.

For the most part, direct mail is more expensive than advertising, or e-mail or social media, and it can also be much more effective in the long run.

How do you get the most out of the money you invest in your direct mailings, whether you handle them in-house or hire an outside firm? Here are eight of the approaches I recommend to clients.

1. Save the postcards for vacation. The classic letter in an envelope has a much better chance of generating a significant response, in my experience. To most consumers, serious mail comes in a letter, which is private. The act of opening an envelope and unfolding the letter is engaging.

A few years ago my company created a two-page letter for a firm that was selling a $2,000 annual subscription service to advertisers and ad agencies. Our client had done fairly well with a post-card campaign. It was generating paid orders at a rate of about 0.75%. We thought we could do better. We created a letter to the ad agencies that said, “If you can send me an e-mail with the 4 letter code above, I’ll send you a secret that will help you land new business you didn’t even know was loose.” Each recipient had a private code, available only in the letter. Paid response increased to 11%.

2. Impose a deadline. Give recipients a valuable freebie that they can’t get any other way than by responding now. It should fit what you are selling. For instance, if you were a tax preparer trying to attract new clients for next year, you might send a mailing in January of 2013 offering the first 100 new customers a free leather binder to store their 2012 taxes – and tell them that the offer would expire on March 15. Potential customers who can’t procrastinate will act immediately. We call this a “call to action”.

3. Emphasize your product’s benefits, not just its features. Say you are selling a teapot with a spill-proof spout. Rather than simply mention the spout’s spill-proof shape, focus on the problems it will prevent: burned hands, ruined suits, embarrassment.

How do find out what your prospects will value most about your product? Ask them. For instance, if you were selling the spill-proof teapot, you might want to chat with tea buyers at your local supermarket to find out what teapots they use and how these pots could be improved.

4. Outdo the competition. If you are a dry cleaner, and ABC Cleaners down the street is offering 20% off to new customers, give your regular customers 25% off as an incentive to stay loyal.

5. Use real people. I have found that when we include photos of actual customers or employees, rather than models, in our mailings, the response rates go up. Your direct marketing agency or art director can help you arrange an inexpensive photo shoot and get the permission you need to incorporate the pictures into your ad.

6. Rent the right list. List brokers will offer to sell you all kinds of lists. Ask for those with recent high responses to offers to products similar to yours. I suggest using a list broker who’s a member of the Direct Marketing Association, a reputable trade group.

7. Get personal. If it looks like your letter and envelope might have been in the hands of a real human being at some point, customers will be more likely to open it. Sign your letter in blue ink. Use the same ink to highlight a paragraph or to add a margin note. (The art director on your campaign can help you add your black ink “handwriting” on the layout and change it to blue.) Try a real stamp (or stamps) on the envelope. The more unusual the stamps, the better. Use a blue signature line above the return address.

8. Repeat your offer in the P.S. People often read that one first.

When we mail our own newsletter, I usually write personal notes on about 100 of them. I might mention someone’s family or a catalog their company had done. Typically, about 50% of that group will respond. In an e-mail driven world, a human touch can have a dramatic impact. So, try it.