Tag Archives: marketing tools

Videos – Should You Use Them In Your Marketing?

BWMagic’s Internet Marketing News!

If you’re looking for Marlon Sanders Top 10 Design Mistakes:

http://www.bizwaremagic.com/marlon_sanders/top10_designs.pdf


o Videos – Should You Use Them In Your Marketing?

You have probably already noticed, videos are everywhere on the web.
Online marketers and webmasters are using videos to bring in traffic,
to create buzz, to build links and to make more sales.

It should be a far-gone conclusion that you should definitely
be using videos in your marketing even if you’re not selling
anything. It’s a great way to bring in traffic and create interest
in your site or brand.

Just ask Susan Boyle!

Videos can have a tremendous impact on the web, especially viral
videos like many of those featured on YouTube and sites like it.
For promotion and word-of-mouth advertising… it can’t be beaten.

Truth be told, I am a marketer who’s set in his ways, anything
new like videos makes me cautious. For a long time, I resisted
using videos on my sites. If you have been doing something
successfully for years with your online sites – why change now?

The obvious reason – with online marketing, you have to change
with the times or go the way of the Do Do bird. If you don’t adapt,
you lose. Period, end of story.

Besides, it has been my long-term belief that all the websites on
the net will eventually turn into something akin to TV channels –
the Billion Channel Internet. God help us all!

But it’s coming, most people are generally lazy, they like to get
everything done for them with the least amount of energy wasted
on their part. Videos give you the information you need quickly and
without any fuss – you just sit there and watch and listen. Videos are
the perfect teaching tools. Videos are the perfect marketing tools.

Years ago, I started placing other people videos on my site –
I even have one from SBI on my homepage. It is an effective
way of making more sales.

Few other sites have also used my articles and turned them
into videos – mainly Site-Reference. Here’s an example:

8 SEO Techniques Every Webmaster Should Know

Basically anyone can make a simple video with a camcorder
or even a webcam. There’s also free video making software that
you can use such as from camstudio:

camstudio.org

You just capture what on your computer and the audio – as
you explain some marketing process or method. Many online
marketers use this technique for selling and/or explaining
their products.

Michael Cheney, Neil Shearing, Marlon Sanders… are all
top-level marketers who use this method. A very effective way
to get your message across.

You rarely see any major sales page or letter these
days that doesn’t have at least one video attached to it.
Many marketers also use video testimonials because they
are so much more effective than an ordinary text plug.

Recently, I have started using videos in my own online
marketing – no I am not making my own videos, I pay
someone else to make mine for me. I use the article video
service through Bill Platt’s www.thephantomwriters.com
– I was very pleased with the first video and will get
more done.

These videos are produced through www.topmarketmaker.com
and are very professional.

I have this video now on my sites and used it in a PRWeb
Press Release which brought in a lot of sales for me.
You can view it here:

I believe you can’t stand still, you must change with the times… if
the regular static HTML site is no longer as effective as using
videos, flashmovies, javascripts, rss blogs… you have to change
with the times or go the way… you guessed it, that extinct bird.

Never doubt the power of video, it can really help get your
site or product noticed on the web. It is a great way to
promote yourself or your site. One video on YouTube can virtually
change your life overnight – it can be more powerful than
TV or the web alone.

It is also an excellent way to earn more revenue and to build
your list of contacts. It’s hard to believe but one teenager
using YouTube has built up a list of over 1 Million subscribers.
So this same opportunity is open to any Tom, Dick or Fred with
a video camera and a little imagination.

Videos on the web are here to stay, so you might as well
join in on the fun and help your marketing in the process.

So what about you – are you using videos in your marketing?
Are you using videos on your site? If you’re not, you may
be missing out on an excellent source of new traffic and sales.

If you want more information on video marketing, why not try
this article I wrote a little while back:

http://www.bizwaremagic.com/video_marketing.htm

Kind Regards,
Titus

https://www.bizwaremagic.com

Creating Simple Online Marketing Systems That Work

BWMagic’s Internet Marketing News!

…….
Contents:

o Creating Simple Online Marketing Systems That Work

o The Marketing Tools I Use

…….

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!

………………………………

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