Web Site Promotion - 6 Key Press Release Facts - Short Version

6 Important Facts To Remember:

(1) Target The Correct Publications - Resist the urge to blast your press release out to thousands of publications, most of who will not be interested. Most likely this technique will annoy them. Instead, target the publications that will be most interested in your press release.

(2) Send A Personalized Letter - Send a letter directly to the correct editor of the publications you have selected. Don't be afraid to call and confirm the editor's name. Then send the press release with the cover letter and follow up with a friendly, non-pushy phone call.

(3) Create A Press Kit - Create press kit that defines all of your successes and achievements. Include a bio, press releases, and clips.

(4) Don't Limit Yourself To Online Ezines and Newsletters - Plenty of valuable newsletters still exist in print, hard copy form. Target these editors as well. Many are hungry for content.

(5) Get Yourself In Front Of An Audience - Don't forget the real world! Find opportunities to speak to your target audience. Many professional organizations are looking for free speakers. Take these opportunities and run with them.

(6) Pitch Like A Pro! - Sometimes the best approach to the media is a simple pitch. Forget the press release and all the elegant literature. Make a phone call and pitch your story. It's often the most effective approach.

Anne Marie Baugh has been helping businesses online for more than 12 years. She has been published online and in hard copy. More help from Anne on Web Site Promotion available at: http://www.write-promotion.com/

Starting Your Own Home-based Business

It is simple to start your own home-based Internet business. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people do it everyday. But, please take note that while it may be simple to start your own home-based Internet business this does not necessarily mean that it is going to be easy to make money from it. Starting an Internet home-based business is relatively simple, but making a consistent income with an online business is another story all together.

No reason to get discouraged though if you do not make any money right away with your Internet business. This is common and typical for most people. In fact, it is common to go through a period or one, or two, or even more years before realizing any consistent financial returns with an online business. It is not easy to make money with an online business because of the amount of competition that is present. This does not mean that it cannot be done, because it can be done. There are actually thousands of people doing it everyday. Like most other things in life there are certain things that need to be learned first before success can be achieved.

If you would like to get a quick glimpse of what is out there just go and do a simple search on Yahoo, or Google. Search for: home business, online business, or Internet business. You will be returned thousands of listings. The competition is indeed fierce, but there is no need to worry because there are still plenty of opportunities and ways to make a good living by with a home-based online business.

There is a big difference in picking a business that is easy to start and one that will be successful and profitable. It has frequently been said that in order to be successful in your own business it should be something that you enjoy doing. This makes perfect sense and should be the first guideline you follow when starting your own home-based business. It is not natural for someone to do something if they do not have an interest in it. Obviously, if you do not have an interest in your business you will most likely not spend very much time doing it. Your business will have a very limited chance for success in this situation.

If you are thinking about developing your own product, or providing a service, you will first want to find out if there is a demand for that product or service. Or, is the market already saturated with the product or service you are thinking about marketing? Do more research and analysis about your subject matter to determine the level of competition you will be facing and what is currently out there.

You can use the tool listed below to determine keyword popularity of specific niches in the market. This will show you the number of monthly searches done on keywords or keyword phrases and therefore help to assess the popularity of a certain item or product. This can provide very valuable information before starting into a product development phase. This tool is free to use and can be found at Overture.com at the address listed below:

http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion

This keyword search tool above will only reveal the amount of monthly searches on the keywords or keyword phrases you enter into it. It will not clearly define overall competition, but will give some an idea of what people are searching for and those related quantities.

You can also type into a search engine your business idea, or web site idea, and see how many web sites are listed. This will also give you a good idea of competition, or popularity.
A large amount of competition in certain areas should not always be considered negative. This could also mean that there is a very strong demand in that product or service area.

Product development can be difficult and challenging if you do not have a good idea of what to develop or how to go about developing something. This is the very reason that many people do not want to develop their own products. They prefer to sell products that other people have already created. This is called being a reseller if you buy the products directly from the source and then you resell them for a profit. This is just one way to make money on the Internet.

Many online marketers prefer to become an affiliate marketer. This is when someone sells another person's product or service for a commission payment, which is a pre-determined percentage of the overall sales price. An affiliate can also get paid commissions for providing leads and clicks to a merchant’s web site. Many affiliate marketers make thousands of dollars each month without ever developing their own product.

There are several advantages to being an affiliate marketer. Affiliate marketers do not have to worry about the costs involved with developing their own products, bookkeeping, or customer support issues. They also do not have to take care of web site development, hosting, and all the other problem areas associated with web site maintenance. The merchant who you are representing as an affiliate handles all of these details for you. All you need to focus on is getting people to visit the merchant’s web site in order to hopefully buy a product or service from them. When they do make a purchase from the merchants site you get paid the agreed upon commission for the sale.

There are many things to consider when deciding which products or services to represent as an affiliate marketer. Some considerations involve the quality, appeal, and price of the product or service you may want to promote. Others concerns involve the performance history of the merchant. Find out if the merchant has had a good record of timely affiliate payments, and what type of support system they have in place for their affiliates. It is important to research these things before you make a determination on what you should promote as an affiliate marketer.

Once you have a good idea of what type of products or services you think are going to be profitable to promote then you will need to sign up to those affiliate programs and start your marketing campaigns. Most good merchants supply their affiliates with tools and materials to assist them with their marketing efforts. It is also advisable for you to do some research on your own to locate some good training material on how to market successfully on the Internet. You should not need to spend very much money, if any, in this area because there are plenty of free resources available on this topic. You will need to spend some time doing research and study in this area if you are serious about building your business.

Research and a lot of reading, consistent effort and determination, and a strong desire to succeed are the primary keys for anyone wanting to build a successful and profitable online business.

Open Your Mind to Possibilities

As we go through life, we pass many opportunities by. Sometimes we see them but do not recognize them as opportunities. Other times we see excellent opportunities, but cannot take advantage of them for one reason or another. It is time to open your mind to possibilities around you and how you can utilize them.

Do you write down ideas for future investigation? Could you do small things toward an opportunity and slowly make it a reality? Often we are overwhelmed by the size of a task. We are dwarfed by the monumental complexity of reaching a goal or taking advantage of a dream.

What can you do to start moving toward the possibilities in your life? Do little things. Little things add up to huge things over time. If you were to ad 1% a day to anything, at the end of a year you would have a tremendous increase. If you only added 1% improvement each week for a year, think of the amount you could achieve.

A 1% increase in your income, a 1% increase in your productivity, a 1% increase in any activity or skill you are involved in on a regular basis would me a huge change at the end of a year.

Maybe you will not be able to speak French or Spanish overnight, but learn a word a day and at the end of this year you will have a large vocabulary. Apply this to anything you do and at the end of a year look back at the results.

Could a 1% increase in your internet marketing activity each week bring you to an online income that would help your financial situation? Open you mind to the possibilities of small actions leading to great results. How about increasing the time you spend reading by 1% a day. Think of the books you will read in a year.

An oak tree grows slowly over time. The small actions of an acorn lead to a mighty tree. An axeman may decide to cut the tree down, but a single swing of his ax barely does damage to the tree. It is the continual swing of the ax and the blade biting into the tree that produces results. It takes time for the man’s efforts to even truly damage the tree and longer still to bring it down.

So it is with life. Small changes over time lead to large results. Maybe you can find areas in your life you need to change. Open you mind to the possibilities of change. Believe change is possible and you can move mountains. Then start today to make small changes, even insignificant changes. Everything counts and they all add up.

Look into areas of your life where you need or want to change. Now, make a decision that you will improve in that area 1% a day, week or month. Small activities can lead to large results in time. Make a commitment to yourself to do one small thing every day that leads toward your desired outcome. Look back in a week or a month and see the results. If you are consistent, you will be amazed.

This is all about the question, “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer is just what I have been talking about, “One bite at a time”.

Soft Marketing - What is it?

Whether you are marketing on-line or off-line, your potential customers are scared, scarred, and skeptical. Consumers, today, are quite resistant to sales messages.

In the mid 70's, a store could run a "10% off" sale and people would flock in. Then the big stores got into the discounting mentality. Now it is common to see "70% off" sales - especially in jewelry. The consumer is not too long a fool. These promotions do not produce the wanted response anymore.

Repeated, high powered sales events create a downward spiral. Eventually you cannot offer a big enough "deal" to get the public excited. The big three car makers played this game for three years. By January 2006 they found themselves in deep financial trouble. They had borrowed customers from the future by offering a bigger, better sale every couple months. It is a deep grave from which to crawl out.

Successful businesses, now and in the future, will be practicing "soft marketing". To make sales today, marketing efforts have to come in under the consumer's sales-pitch radar.

Many of the big companies have known this for some time because of their on-going marketing analysis. You can take advantage of their research for free.

Look at Coca-Cola for example.

Coke was famous for their flashy, high-powered TV ads. Today you seldom see such ads. Have they cut back on their marketing expenditure? No. In fact, they are now spending more using soft marketing techniques. Most people do not even realize they are being advertised to. That is the beauty and power of soft marketing.

Here are two ways Coke is using a soft marketing approach to build profits and market share.

1. You may have seen Coke products displayed on TV shows and movies. "American Idol" is a popular TV show, with about 35 million viewers. The three judges are a big part of the success of the show. In front of each judge is a tall Coke cup. These characters, in effect, are recommending Coke to their viewers. Coke pays a lot of money for this and sells a lot of product based on this endorsement type advertising.

2. Coke brings new loyal customers in the "back door" using nostalgia products. Coke collectibles are a huge market today. And once caught up in the hobby of Coke collectibles, a person, and the whole family, become avid Coke drinkers. And Coke is being advertised to everyone who enters that home.

Coke's soft marketing techniques have made them almost bullet-proof in the soft drink market. They have built an image of being the most popular soda. Since it is human nature to want to be on the winning team, swarms of new customers are joining the group every day.

Here are three powerful soft marketing tactics you can start using today.

1. Become known as an expert. Credibility and trust are the two most important ways to succeed in any business. Write and submit articles and press releases. If you cannot write, hire someone to do it for you. There are several good writing service web sites on the internet. They are very cheap. Also, you should join a "Private Label Rights" content site. They provide already written articles that you can put your name on as your own. This is pure gold for on-line or off-line marketing.

If you have a business on Main Street, your local newspaper should be your best friend. Do whatever you can to develop a relationship with them. You may or may not be able to get your news articles and releases printed for free, but even buying the space will return big dividends.

2. Give away a free report on the topic of your product or service. Your local newspaper will probably give you some free editorial space in the beginning if the report is of interest and free to their subscribers. A real life example is a realtor in this area that offers a free report - "10 Ways To Get Top Dollar For Your Home". It reveals what is valuable, and what is not, when getting your home ready for sale. With this he becomes the expert in the consumer's mind and a person who cares about them.

You can get a book or report written for you for a few hundred dollars by the same on-line companies that ghost-write articles and press releases or from your "Private Label Rights" membership site. This realtor has been using the same report for over ten years now. It is estimated this report has generated about $1.6 million in profits.

3. Partner with related, non-competing businesses. One dry cleaning operation partnered with clothing stores in the community. The store, when selling a garment, would give a gift certificate to the customer. The gift certificate was good for a free first-time cleaning and pressing of that new garment.

The customer thought the store was paying for the dry cleaning. The fact is the dry cleaner was giving the service for free. The customer saw the store as being a "hero" and the store saw the dry cleaner as being a "hero". Both stores gained a load of new and repeat customers.

Use these soft marketing strategies or think up your own to fit your product or service. Have some brainstorming sessions with other energetic, savvy business people, like you. The resulting ideas will amaze you, and your traffic and profits will increase as if by magic.

By Janice Sharman

Search Marketing Grabs More Customers

Many businesses are missing out on a great opportunity to use an innovative method of 21st century advertising. Search marketing is out there and it's being underused for promotion.

Some companies' campaigns have used search marketing successfully, though it's often hard to quantify.

SearchInsider mentions the interactive campaign used by Sony for "The Da Vinci Code" that required players to use Google search services to complete the puzzles. (Though one might point out that if there was one thing that didn't need to be hyped, it was "The Da Vinci Code". After spending at least two consecutive years in the Top 10 New York Times Bestseller Booklist, you scarcely need hype, but the point is still valid.)

Baskin-Robbins has hooked up with Yahoo Local to urge entrants to ‘find the pink spoon" and win prizes if they do.

Currently, promotions that are integrated with search are usually "seasonal" or holiday related. More businesses are using them in connection with contests or games that have a limited shelf life.

If you search for "Coke" on Google, up comes a sponsored link called "My Coke Rewards" with the ad copy telling you that you can enter a $10,000 sweepstakes and win! That has a lot more urgency and top of mind retention than a simple ad that tells you once again "Things Go Better With Coke!"

On Yahoo, when you search for "contest", you'll see a paid ad for a luxury vacation. But if you enter the search word as "Botox", the same marketer has an ad concentrating on "wrinkle treatment". The crossover possibilities are only limited by the marketers' imaginations.

You just have to keep the "integration" concept between the product and the search word choices in mind.

These types of promotions work best when the marketer seeks to generate leads. For marketers looking to close transactions with every click, the promotion could be a distraction. Consumers looking to purchase immediately, such as those entering keyword phrases with specific product names or models, will likely want to finish their task as quickly as possible.

Using these integrated promotions also help the advertiser build valuable mailing lists.

Since it's a (comparatively) rarely used promotional method at this point in time, it's a great way to stand out from the massive clutter of advertising seen everywhere else. Chances like this don't come along too often. Try it. You might win!

Alex Bard - Staff Writer, WebProNews