Tag Archives: internet marketing tools

Creating Simple Online Marketing Systems That Work

BWMagic’s Internet Marketing News!

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Contents:

o Creating Simple Online Marketing Systems That Work

o The Marketing Tools I Use

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o Creating Simple Online Marketing Systems That Work

When I started with my first website around 10 years ago,
I foolishly thought all I had to do was create some great content
and people would flock to my site. Sometimes that does
happen but most times it does not.

10 years later I now know the difference. I know I
really have to work the Internet if I want my sites
to be successful. These are marketing systems that I
put into place to promote my sites and gather quality
traffic in order to produce the sales.

My marketing systems take into account countless
strategies that produce the quality traffic. It’s not
just one method of getting traffic but many. I use
many marketing tactics to build up a complex, yet
very simple marketing system that works.

It all comes down to promotion.

You have to promote your site in numerous ways. Some
of my favorites are article marketing – writing simple
how-to articles on the topic of your site and distributing
them all over the web. Over the years this simple technique
has brought in the most quality traffic to my sites.

I use keyword marketing to get my chosen keyword phrases
to the top of the search engines. I concentrate most of
my efforts on Google because it brings in the most traffic.
Achieving top rankings will give you interested visitors
and buyers.

I use blogs and RSS feeds to connect my sites to all
the media sites and online bookmarking communities.
Don’t underestimate the importance of these media sites
in your marketing. I just read in WebProNews that Facebook
can drive more traffic than Google to many sites.

I use link bait like free ebooks, free reports, free
ecourses… if you give out valuable content that people
want – they will link to your site, bringing in more
visitors and customers.

I also use the PPC programs such as Google Adwords which
can produce quality traffic to your sites.

I use follow-up emails to produce repeat traffic to my
sites. This is one essential marketing tactic every online
marketer must use if they want to fully benefit from
their traffic. The concept here is not to directly sell
to potential customers but give them valuable information
that they need and want.

Weekly newsletters and/or ezines are another good way
of building relationships with your site’s visitors.
It is also an excellent way of getting repeat traffic
to your sites.

Another marketing tactic is to establish your site
or yourself as an expert on the topic of your site.
People will look and come to you for information on
your topic. Building online credibility is often
overlooked by many marketers but it is essential to
your online success. If people respect your opinion,
they will seek you out.

Participating in online communities and forums is one
obvious way to establish your expertise in a given
area. These forums are also an excellent source of
quality traffic to your sites.

As you can see from above, creating a successful
web site or business takes a lot of promotion and
work. Don’t just sit back and wait for things to
happen – instead become pro-active and make things
happen.

Write articles and distribute them. Write viral
ebooks and special reports. Do PPC advertising.
Start building your contact lists. Do a regular
ezine or newsletter. Participate in forums…

Create a simple, yet complex system, of connections
all over the web. These links/connections will draw
in quality traffic that will make your site successful.
Build up a whole combination of traffic sources for
your site and you will create a marketing system that
works.

Just get out there and do it!

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o The Marketing Tools I Use

Relax, I am not going to try to sell you anything.

I thought it would be helpful to you if I mentioned
and explained some of the major marketing tools/programs
I use in running my online sites and marketing. These
are the marketing tools I use to put my marketing systems
into place, like the ones described above. Many of these
tools are free programs and don’t cost a penny.

I sat down and made a list of all the marketing tools/programs
I use in the run of a week. I was completely surprised
by how many tools I actually use. These are the tools
that I have kept and still are using almost every day.
There must be 1000’s of tools I have tried but for one
reason or another – they have fallen by the wayside.

So here goes… these are the ones I have kept!

Aweber – I use Aweber for my list building and autoresponder
follow-ups. This is the key to online conversions and sales
if you’re trying to earn a living online. Aweber is very
professional and has many features such as click tracking,
multiple list mailings, double opt-in and good delivery rates.
They also test your emails for spam… if it’s too high you
have to change your wording to increase your chances of your
emails getting thru the spam filters. Runs around $20 a month
to start, as you get more subscribers your rates go up – $150
a month for 10k to 25k lists.

Hosting – I have numerous web hosts but at the moment
my favorite ones are SBI, BlueHost and GoDaddy. Truth
be told I have had little problems and very little
down-time with any of these hosts. However, my sites
are very simple and small – none of them goes over
2000 pages so the above hosts are perfect for my needs.
Hosting is very inexpensive, runs around 8-10 dollars
a month per site. The SBI costs a little more but it has
a whole suite of marketing tools and programs attached
to it.

3D-FTP Agent or program. This program lets you upload
your files to your websites. It’s one excellent little
tool that has saved me tremendous amounts of time over
the years. If you have multiple sites, then you really
need an FTP program to quickly get your pages on the web.
This program brings all your recently worked files to
the top of your directories so that it’s easy to find
your most updated files to upload. If you have numerous
sites – this will save you a lot of time, you don’t have
to browse through your hard-drive to find the right file and
folder to get your files. All the searching is done for you.
Costs around $40.

Note Tab Light – I know there are probably a lot better
text editors out there but for some reason, this is the one
I started using and have been using to create all my webpages
for over 10 years now. It’s simple and convenient to use and
I use it every day – it is always opened on my desktop.
Cost-free.

Submityourarticle – I have used this service to submit my
articles to all the directories for several years now. I
like the service even if you can only submit 8 articles
each month and costs $37 per month.

Ezinearticles – This is still the best article directory
on the web. Get a popular, high ranked article in there
and you will get tons of traffic. When I joined Ezinearticles
I was number 1561, there are now over 158,815 writers!
The service is free but I have upgraded to a paid membership
so that my articles are fast-tracked through their system.
Costs $582.00 USD per year.

Thephantomwriters – This is another article submission service
I use on a regular basis. It is run by Bill Platt, one of the
best writers on the web and a very savvy online marketer.
I also use his video making service and the quality is very
professional. One article costs around $35 to distribute.

Isnare – Yet another article distribution service which costs
around $2 dollars an article. The main reason I have so many
article distributors is because article marketing is my main
marketing technique and these services really help to get
my content out there.

Google Analytics – This free web analysis service from
Google is invaluable, no matter which way you look at it.
Tells how much traffic you’re getting, where it’s coming
from and what it does on your site. You must have this
program running on your sites if you want to increase
your conversions/sales.

Google Alerts – Another great free program from Google
which sends you email alerts whenever your “keywords”
are mentioned anywhere on the web. Keep track of your
articles, keywords, competitors… knowledge is everything
on the web and in business.

Google Adwords – I run several campaigns through Google Adwords
in my major marketing niches. I only do search not content
advertising with them. Great way to get traffic fast.
Costs vary – some of my keywords costs from 90 to 125 cents.
The monthly budget is under $1000.

Yahoo Sponsored Search – I also run the same campaigns thru
Yahoo but the keyword costs are lower. The monthly budget is
under $1000.

Microsoft adCenter – I run fewer ads thru this system but
I also like to make my presence known in MSN. The monthly budget
is well under $1000. I watch my PPC advertising very closely
and quickly drop any keywords/campaigns that are not breaking
even. I started very slow and gradually built up my budgets,
but be very careful if you’re using PPC advertising, you can lose
a lot of money very quickly.

Seobook – For quick keyword checks I use Aaron Wall’s Seobook
site; for in-depth keyword research I use Brad Callen’s
Keyword Elite – still one of the best pieces of keyword software
on the market. Keyword Elite costs around $185.

PRWeb – I do Press Releases through PRWeb which runs around $200, but
the amount of exposure you get is well worth every penny. Get your
content out there very quickly.

Free Blogs – I use several Free blogs in my online marketing – these
include Google’s Blogspot, Live Journal, Bloglines, WordPress… I use
these to gather news releases, information on the particular
niches I am marketing in on the web. These blogs keep your sites
active in the whole media/bookmarking arena; bringing in visitors
and sales.

Viral eBooks – I use a lot of viral ebooks and reports in my
online marketing. These are great for building your lists quickly
and for getting loyal subscribers. Simple “how-to” pieces in
the niches that I am targeting. Everyone should be doing these
kinds of viral products.

Viral Software – I promote a desktop eCalendar that has links
back to my main site. This places your logo and company information
right on people’s desktops. Great way to build up direct traffic to
your site.

Keywords – Might be a bit obvious, but my most effective marketing
tool is the simple keyword. I have certain keyword phrases that
I have been targeting and optimizing for over 4 or 5 years. I have
even built sites around some keywords. These are profitable keywords
that bring in the sales. Keeping top 5 rankings for these keywords
in the search engines (mainly Google) takes persistent marketing and
ongoing keyword strategies. You can’t let up, you have to keep building
your links and your content related to these keywords. It’s a constant
battle but the rewards are well worth it.

I use a lot of other tools but I have to stop here or this
email will run 20 pages long! Looking back over all the marketing
tools I use and these are not all of them by any means – it suddenly
occured to me that I do have a very complex marketing system put
into place. Hundreds of elements that come together to give me
the quality traffic and those all-important sales.

“Oh what a tangled web we weave once we succeed online!”

Kind Regards,
Titus

https://www.bizwaremagic.com

Internet Marketing And Invisible List Building

Internet marketing and list building are two subjects I have
been exploring for over 10 years now. With each passing day
I realize how much I still have to learn about these two
inexhaustible areas of web marketing. While I have fulfilled
my main ambition of working full-time on the net, I have not
as yet achieved my goal of reaching 100,000 subscribers.

When I first started, my goal was getting 1,000 subscribers
which I quickly passed, then it was 10,000 which was much harder
to reach… getting to 100,000 will take much more time
and effort but I believe I will get there eventually.

Maybe that number is a bit foolish, mainly because I learned
long ago it is not the size of your list that counts,
but how responsive it is. Still, it helps to have a goal
set for yourself… and a 100k subscriber list is not
an unreachable number especially when you’re talking
about the Internet. There are probably more than a few
pimply-faced teenagers out there who have gotten triple
that number of subscribers just by placing some silly videos
on YouTube.

When I first started online marketing I kept hearing the
so-called gurus shouting “The Money Is In Your List!” Up
until that time the only list that meant anything to me
was probably my grocery list. However, as I quickly
became familiar with web marketing, list building became
one of my key goals.

Mainly because list building is one of the vital elements to
your Internet marketing success. It can play an important role
in increasing your sales, getting repeat targeted traffic to
your sites and a perfect vehicle for branding your product
or company. Moreover, your list can be a primary source of
business relationships which will help you build your online
business since these contacts can be the cornerstones
of your online marketing.

Many marketers make the mistake that list building is all
about sales and forget that your list is much more than just
for monetary gain. It can be the basis for a whole wealth
of ideas and interaction that goes well beyond how many sales
you can squeeze out of your list. The really savvy marketers
use their lists for market research, product development
and treat their lists as a knowledge resource they can tap into,
time and time again.

Your list building can also be the foundation of your own
vibrant online community. A community that’s interactive
and a great source of both ideas and business contacts.
Probably the best example of this type of community building
would be those communities that spring up through social networking media sites… Twitter would be a
good example of this type of list building.

Invisible List Building

In studying and using lists over the years, some things have
really surprised me. As an affiliate marketer, I quickly
realized most of my list building was invisible! This happened
when I was fairly new at the marketing game, I had trouble
with one of my site’s WebHost and I had to move the whole
site to a different server and my site was down for several
days… but the strange thing was my online sales from
this site still kept coming even though my site was down.

I was totally puzzled (I can be rather slow sometimes!) until
I realized or rather learned the marketing power of cookies.
Almost all of the affiliate programs I was promoting on my site
were using cookies to mark the traffic or clicks coming from
my site as my referrals. If anyone of these referrals made
a purchase in the next 30, 60, 90 or more days – I would get
credit for the sale.

My site was down, but because I had a whole list of cookied
buyers lined up to purchase these affiliate products, my
sales still kept coming. I was fairly new at this web stuff
then and this was a real eye-opener for me. I started joining
those affiliate programs that gave me the longest time-frame
with their cookies. Most are around 30 days but there are quite
a few that will give 365 days. Some affiliate programs such
as Ken Evoy’s Site Build It and Marlon Sanders’s products
even give you a life-time cookie.

In affiliate marketing using these “cookies” to build up hundreds
of lists of “invisible customers” can be a very effective marketing
strategy. You might not see these lists, but they’re quietly working
for you in the background, bringing in sales even if your site is
down or even when you have stopped a particular campaign.

Of course, the key here again, is how targeted is your marketing.
You could have a million cookied customers lined up but if they
have no real interest in your product – they won’t turn into buying
customers. You must get the potential customer who has shown
an interest in your product, onto your invisible cookie list.
That’s why ranking high in organic search results for your chosen
keywords plays a vital role in how much you earn online, especially
if you’re into affiliate marketing. Going the PPC (Pay Per Click)
route can also work but the profit margins are much closer.

Nor should you ignore building an actual opt-in list of
customers to your autoresponder system in this whole process.
Many marketers also try to “cookie” their actual opt-in lists
as soon as possible in order to boost their sales. Your invisible
cookie lists can work in conjunction with your so-called real lists.

Along those same lines, one of my most effective marketing
strategies is to use “micro” list building which is building
hundreds of small lists of customers for each affiliate
product that I promote. In the process of building these
lists of potential customers, my first goal is to get
these customers “cookied” with my affiliate ID. Then
no matter if they buy directly from you or from some
other link on the web; you still get credit for the
sale.

Another effective marketing technique to use with your
lists is to promote a whole group of related brand name
products and MAKE SURE you cookie your list with ALL these
different products so that no matter which one they eventually
choose to purchase, you will still get credit for the sale.
This way as a marketer you can come across as a neutral
third party pointing out the benefits and disadvantages
of each product rather than a pushy salesperson pushing
one product at your list. Nobody likes a pushy salesperson,
so be a sneaky friend instead.

Don’t ignore the effectiveness of these cookies or invisible
lists in your online marketing. Used properly they can
increase your sales dramatically. You can have hundreds
of these invisible cookied lists working for you on the
web. When you get down to the actual numbers, a list
of 100,000 subscribers can pale in comparison. So next time
anyone mentions list building to you, just remember you
can always go incognito!

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The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous
niche sites. If you want to learn how to make your online
marketing much more effective by building your lists try here:
list building
Or you can try our popular: list building ecourse
Copyright 2006 Titus Hoskins.