Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Online Business
4
There's no question that value is going to be the most important element of the buying decision for most consumers during this recession. But, it isn't just the consumer that has this in mind. Our entire society is beginning to question the mindless consumerism that has created environmental nightmares and economic bubbles that collapse, leaving many destitute overnight. Slow, and steady growth is a way to create real value in one's life and also to preserve it when a downturn occurs. And, for that, you need products and services that meet a “real” need, that last a while, and that are reasonably priced.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Are Your Commissions a Little Inconsistent?
It's highly unethical, and it gives real marketers a bad name. While you put in the hard work creating landing pages, mastering PPC campaigns, and building dedicated SEO resources, these leeches are out there coding their bots, ready to steal your hard work and turn it into their own conversions. While affiliate networks fight against this sort of behavior, there's little that they can do. After all, the traffic looks the same, and the sales are genuine. It's just the method that's horribly unethical.
Of course, there are two ways to deal with the problem. The first is to get mad about the situation and try to fight the leeches head on. You can report them, follow them, and tell other affiliates about them. While it certainly makes things more difficult for them, it's not a solution that's going to bring you any more sales. Hackers are sharp, and always looking for a new solution. When you call them out, they simply run away and build a better bot.
The second solution is to actively prevent yourself from becoming a victim. Rather than giving away your affiliate code in your links, you should cloak it, and disguise it from buyers and potential thieves. Using simple tracking software, you can keep the unethical marketers away from your personal information, and keep your commissions to yourself. No worrying about unethical conduct, no cookie theft, and no lost commissions.
Click Here To Download Your Free Cloak & Dagger Affiliate Secrets
This free report has been particularly helpful to affiliates, especially those that have been actively hit by fraudulent marketers in the past. Protecting your traffic can be a proactive battle, but when you bring automated tools into the fight it becomes much more simple. With the strategies and recommendations in this report, your affiliate links will be protected, obscured, and completely untouchable.
Click Here To Download Your Free Cloak & Dagger Affiliate Secrets
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Online Business
Time To Re-Evaluate Your Market Niche
There are offline businesses going into bankruptcy everywhere. In a time of prosperity, people rush to buy the latest electronic gadget or to get the latest bath accessories, one for each change of the season. So, your market niche may have done well when the economy was doing well, but now you've noticed a down tick in purchases. What's going on? Don't assume that this is a product of the economic recession; instead, be proactive and try to determine what factors are affecting your sales. It could be the economy, but it could also be various other factors: A shifting demographic, poor sales strategies that don't work in a downturn, or bad or no advertising campaign.
Shifting Demographics
When you set up your business, you probably had a good idea of what demographic you wanted to serve. With the recession, the demographic you serve may have had shifts in their income level or even living situations. Take a look at the boomer generation. They are experiencing an epic shift in their income as they retire, with battered retirement accounts from poor market results. Even though you could rely on this demographic to purchase certain products and services as they continued to dominate the market, this may not be true in the future. So, you need to re-evaluate the demographics that you are serving in your market niche.
Sales Strategies
Running the same promotions with worse results? That's not really surprising considering that the psychology of the market place has changed dramatically and that the consumer may not be in a buying mood for a while. Before the recession, status was a great psychological trigger to use to create a buying opportunity. The same trigger is somewhat meaningless in a downturn unless you are marketing to the very rich. The biggest strategy for the downturn is going to be value offers; you need to make sure that many of your strategies reflect a trigger for value.
Bad or No Advertising Campaigns
The immediate impulse of business owners in a downturn is to stop throwing money at advertising since there are fewer buyers. This is a mistake and can be a self-fulfilling prophecy for poor sales later on. So, if you haven't evaluated your advertising campaign, you need to do that now. Look at where you are advertising, what psychological triggers and sales strategies you are using, and whether you can provide value offers that put you ahead of the competition during this tough economy.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Online Business
Chasing The Long Tail In A Recession
Chris Anderson, author of “The Long Tail,” hypothesizes that even though classic marketing assumes that 80% of sales come from 20% of your customers, chasing “the long tail” of customers not in that 20% can be a viable online strategy. That's because online businesses are great at providing choice, something that physical brick-and-mortar stores can't stock or inventory the same way since they are not virtual enterprises. But, is chasing the long tail still a good strategy in a recession where consumer demand is dropping drastically?
Why The Long Tail Creates Demand
Yes, it is a good idea to think about chasing the long tail. The reasons for that are two-fold: Physical retailers are already reducing inventory and dropping choices and online retailers don't have to stock or inventory a selection or choice in order to offer it. So, the same reason that makes it unthinkable for physical retailers makes it a great choice for online merchants. After all, demand may be slowing for the best sellers, but the long tail is not about best sellers; it's about personal preference. When a consumer has a personal preference for a particular product or service, they will look to get that choice fulfilled regardless of the cost, even in a down economy. And, even if a retailer offers this choice in their physical stores, an online business is better suited to drop the price on it because they are not keeping their stock in physical inventory. They are doing “just-in-time” demand fulfillment.
Look Up Affiliates, Partners, and Order Fulfillment Services
In order to capitalize on this strategy, there is a bit more upfront market research. You want to locate affiliates, partners, and order fulfillment services that can help you market the long tail without necessarily having to create products yourself or ship them. That way, they can remain in other people's physical inventory until you get an order and are ready to fulfill that order. If you line up a great team of suppliers who you can use to create a vast choice, then you will create demand where there was none because you are offering something in one place that few others are able to do offline. If you make it easy to search online, then you create the ability for the customer to service his/her own needs and to exactly specify their preferences.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Online Business
-1-
Listening: An Online Business Skill To Increase Consumer Demand
It used to be that only certain professions and businesses had to really listen closely with empathy to their client's needs. Retail businesses in more prosperous times weren't in the business of playing counselor, coach, or advocate. That's all changed as consumers around the country are struggling with a bad economy, causing them to change their previously unquestioning consumer mentality to one of careful frugality. In an environment like this, the only way to customize your marketing and business strategies is to pay close attention to your customer's needs and try to meet them.
The Big Three Components of Consumer Demand
Many of the issues that customers are going to face in this recession are the same: Reduced income, increased expenses, and solutions that don't meet their immediate needs. As we know from business theories, consumer demand is comprised of three components: Income level, personal preference, and price. There is not much a business can do about customers’ falling income levels. There are some things that can be done with pricing; however, downward pricing can create a risk to the bottom line profitability of the business, so the only other way to influence consumer demand is through preference.
Retailers Phasing Out Choices
It makes sense for big retailers who must carry inventory to phase out choices that aren't in wide demand and to cater to mass tastes. That's where online businesses can have an edge in this economy as they can offer the choice without necessarily inventorying it. If they listen to many of their customers who are having difficulty finding a particular solution that can only be bought online, they can offer this and raise the demand for their services by using this strategy.
Understand The Nature of Consumer Demand
Yes, people will have less to spend and become more frugal, but this doesn't mean that consumers will naturally gravitate to the cheapest choice. In fact, value becomes more important as the length of the recession is anyone's guess. A purchase that lasts longer is of better value than a great product that crashes, breaks, or looks worn a few months down the line. Consumers are becoming more sophisticated on buying not only things that solve their personal problems and preferences, but they are now demanding that they stand up to the test of time. If you can meet both of these needs, you will have clients for life, long after this recession is over.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Here is my most responsive list #3 - CreditAdsDepot
I've been testing this advertising resource and the
results are great! So, I want to share it with you.
It is a new program from Jane Mark and Phil Basten.
Here are the main highlights:
1 - Mail up to 5,000 people at their addresses every 5 days.
These mailings are effective because people don't
ignore them. They open them to click on credit links.
These ads are much more effective than the ones in
regular safelists because they are sent to contact
(not list) addresses and the credit link redirects
to the program's site. The latter is a great feature
for those who are afraid of catching a virus. These
links are safe to click.
2 - Hi-impact slide-in ads
To see them in action Go-Here
They are very effective. I am consistently getting
new subscribers this way.
3 - Text ads, which are shown on all members'pages.
Read all the details Here
Here is what you get free:
Free members get 2 prominent text ads and can mail
to their downline members. Free members also earn
commissions!
To grab your free text ads Sign up here
If you want to get the highly responsive mailing
list, upgrade. It is worth it.
Hope you find this useful.
Marina
To get weekly updates, please subscribe using the
form on the left (in some browsers it is at the
bottom of this page - still need to solve this
technical problem). :)
Friday, October 10, 2008
Here is my most responsive list #2 - ViralURL
I continue to be amazed with how responsive this list
is. This is an absolute must! It is the most effective
list among all list-building programs I have ever used.
So, If you want to get some good results, that's where
you go to advertise.
It's free to join but...if you keep your eyes peeled when
you sign up, you will see how you can mail to 3,000
people every month for a one time payment.
There is another level of upgrade where you can
reach 6,000 people with each mailing.
I use this list every three days with great results.
I mail to different 6,000 members every three
days at their contact addresses.
It is more responsive that ListBandit, ListJoe, or
ListDotCom (and these lists ARE responsive).
=> Other benefits - available to free members
The program also provides the following great
features:
1 - ad tracker and link cloaker
TIP: Create a username that you want to show
in your URLs. I use 'marketingfromhome' because
this is my domain name and it has good keywords
in it.
When you create ad trackers, you have an option
to select a keyword that will show at the end of
the URL. I chose 'MostResponsiveList' in this case.
http://viralurl.com/marketingfromhome/MostResponsiveList
This way your URL will look professional. People will
be more likely to pay attention and click on it. It will
even help with your Google ranking!
2 - Viral advertising
Use a top or a bottom bar when creating your ad
trackers. You will receive automatic credits by
showing it. This way your own text ads will be shown
on other people's pages.
2 - Amazing commissions
This program is very easy to promote. Promote it
as a free ad tracker and link cloaker, or as a
responsive list, or as an income stream.
I get at least a couple of new downline members
daily from safelists alone. Safelists are an
excellent indicator of how effective the promotion
is.
The upgrade rate is high because the benefits are
great. Even free members get great commissions.
As a free member, you will receive $59 from each
one-time offer purchase.
The program often offers $1 for each free signup!
To sign up Go-Here
Hope you find this useful.
Marina
To get weekly updates, please subscribe using the
form on the left (in some browsers it is at the
bottom of this page - still need to solve this
technical problem). :)
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The most responsive list by far has been my own list
of subscribers that I have been building using an
autoresponder.
No purchased list could be as effective. And here are
some of the main reasons why it is so important to
have your own list:
1 - people on your list opt-in to request information
from you. This makes your list the most targeted
and interested audience.
2 - people usually use their contact e-mail address
to subscribe to your newsletter/e-zine. This means
they are more likely to read it.
3 - people on your list will start recognizing your
name after they have received a couple of messages
from you. If they find your letters useful, they are
more likely to continue listening to you.
4 - you can build a relationship with people on your
list. If you provide your name and your contact
information, it increases your credibility and gives
your subscribers a chance to contact you if they
have questions.
5 - you can send mulitiple letters promoting the
same product to the same people. You've heard
that it takes people about 7 times on average to
see the offer before they decide to join or purchase.
So, how do you go about creating such a list?
Here are the important steps:
1 - you create an autoresponder campaign.
What is an autoresponder campaign? It is a series
of letters, which are loaded into your autoresponder.
You assign specific intervals at which you want your
letters to go out to your subscribers. You can always
edit your letters and the intervals.
2 - you create a title for your campaign
This title is what attracts new subscribers. The
title has to be interesting but it also has to be
relevant to what you are going to write in your
letters.
3 - you link a lead-capture page to this campaign
All this might sound complicated but the
autoresponder system will walk you through
all these steps.
TrafficWave (TW), which I use as one of my
autoresponders, provides you with ready-to-use
lead-capture pages. You don't need to design
them or host them. Simply enter your title (or
subject line), any other text you want to appear
on the page, and it is ready! You don't even need
to worry about adding the HTML for the
subscription form. The page is going to be
automatically assigned to your campaign of choice.
For an example of a lead-capture page, created
with TW Click-Here
If you don't like this particular template, there
are many others to choose from.
4 - promote your lead-capture page
It is much more effective to promote your
lead-capture page instead of trying to market
your business directly. If you use traffic
exchanges or safelists, you have a much better
chance of getting subscribers than selling anything
right away.
People who are interested in your subject line are
going to enter their name, e-mail address, and any
other details you have specified in the subscription
form. This makes them single opt-in.
5 - your potential subscribers verify their request
People who submitted their information using
your subscription form are going to receive an e-mail
message asking them to confirm their request to
subscribe by clicking on a confirmation (or verification)
link. Once they do this, they become your double
opt-in subscribers.
You can already see the difference between purchased
leads and your own double opt-in list, don't you!
6 - your new subcribers receive your first letter
Your autoresponder is set up to send your new
subscribers the first welcome letter. This is done
automatically on your behalf.
It's a 'set-and-forget' system!
You should only worry about having quality letters
promoting your main business. You can ask your
program, your sponsor, or write them yourself.
Load these letters into the autoresponder and have
them automatically sent to your subscribers.
This is the best way to promote your business.
If you decide to promote anything else later, you
have the list! You can always add more letters, edit
your old letters, or send broadcast messages.
If you are a beginner, I recommend TW.
This is the most affordable and newbie-friendly
quality autoresponder. You can have an unlimited
number of campaigns, an unlimited number of
subscribers. You can load as many letters as your
want.
Best of all, you get lead-capture page templates,
which are very easy to use.
If you still don't know what to promote, the
system will help you with this too. You can
copy the letters promoting TW. TW has a great
compensation plan, so use this tool and earn
by sharing it with others.
TW offers a 30-day free trial. To try it now Go-Here
Hope you find this useful.
Marina
To get weekly updates, please subscribe using the
form on the left (in some browsers it is at the
bottom of this page - still need to solve this
technical problem). :)
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