Archive for June, 2007
June 30th, 2007 | 
Author: 
By: Marige OBrien
Forum marketing has recently been touted as a type of free, organic marketing. But because many marketers go into forums purely with the intention of marketing, their actions and atittude unwittingly causes exactly the opposite to its desired effect.
Forums, after all, are not marketplaces. But when used as such, the marketers’ actions become offensive and will only inspire the wrath of fellow members and marketers, not to mention the moderators.
Before a marketer can effectively market on forums, they must first understand that this type of marketing — in order to be effective — carries a certain degree of commitment, responsibility and respect.
To successfully market on any forum, the first requirement is to take a personal interest in the main topic of the forum. Not only does that mean visiting it regularly, but also developing a good relationship with both other members and the moderators, as well as taking an active interest in helping others. And, of course, it means abiding by any and all rules that exist. By doing this, one develops a reputation and, since it is human nature to work with a trusted colleague, business will naturally develop from this.
Because this type of marketing has already suffered some abuse, many forums have recently (and rightfully) developed stringent rules designed to protect their members from abusive or overly-aggressive marketing tactics. One forum, for instance, grants .sig files only after a member has created 100 valid posts; another has disallowed ads in sig files altogether.
Marketers must respect that the purpose of a forum is to be a platform to exchange ideas on a given topic, NOT merely to advertise their wares. And, contrary to what might be thought, this is especially true in marketing forums, where EVERYONE has something to advertise. But by focusing on the topic and posting responsible questions and answers, a marketer’s reputation will grow. From this, the potential sales/sign-ups will naturally follow.
Also, there are different types of forums, beyond the obvious topical types, of “marketing” or “special interest”, etc. These are examples of one type of forum, referred to as “open forums.” But there are also business and professional forums, which do not operate under the same rules and, more often than not, disallow any and all types of advertising or self-promotion. Forums created to support the membership of a particular program are especially adamant on this topic and often request that all members check their adverts at the door. They ask this because advertising other programs — especially to newer marketers — can often compromise the very program the the forum was created to support.
With all that said, it is still possible to successfully market on forums. But in all cases, a pre-requisite for success is developing a good reputation and a good relationship and maintaining both. So, while this is a free form of advertising, it does require a certain amount of investment as far as time and energy are concerned, not to mention subtly and finesse. Below are seven practical suggestions to successfully market on forums.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK
Prior to joining any forums a certain amount of research is required.
1. Join relevant forums or forums that are in some way related to the promotion’s primary sales market. For someone involved with a health related product, for instance, many types of forums — from holistic medicine to mom’s at home — could apply. But to join a forum about punk music, for instance, would not be very productive.
2. Choose popular forums. Page ranking and the amount of active members are two good ways to check for this. This ensures that the forum will have enough members to remain active. Because forum marketing requires a certain amount of time invested, this also ensures that it will be there beyond tomorrow.
3. Choose forums that allow sig tags. If it’s possible read the rules before joining and pay close attention to them. Your time is important, too. It is better to discover if a forum does not allow posts of any kind prior to joining.
YOUR FIRST DAY
4. Read and follow the rules. Every forum is different. Some allow links only to your own website. Others only allow a certain number of links. One forum allows no more than five lines in a sig file, for instance. Beyond .sig files, respect all the rules and be a model member. Complaints will also give you a bad reputation, whether you’re aware of it or not.
5. Keep your signature tag short and update it regularly. Ideally, limit yourself to one link, preferrably to your main website. It presents a much more professional appearance and is less offensive to members and the moderators.
6. NEVER, EVER create posts that are nothing more than an advertisement. This is an all-but universal rule and only displays the marketers lack of experience. At best, the post will soon be edited, and, if left on the forum (although an author can always delete their own posts), will only serve to hurt the marketer’s reputation. At worst, it could be grounds for being banned.
Some forums have a special Advertisement Section, an area where all members can post ads, though they are usually limited to no more than one per day.
If no such section exists, after being a member for at least a few weeks, a marketer can send a Private Message (PM) to the moderator(s) and politely suggest that an advertising section be added.
Point out that this would mollify any members from putting links in their .sig files, while allowing them a place to post their link. And, too, the advertising could become a service, since it would at the members’ discretion to view them. Of course, they may refuse, but at least you made the attempt.
7. Work the (for)room. That is, be an active member on the forum. Plan to spend at least an hour each day there and take the time to get to know the issues and other members. Depending on the forum’s topic, both new and experienced marketers can introduce themselves well with intelligent questions.
As a marketer becomes a regular member, they will develop a (hopefully) good reputation and, without saying a word about their promotion, those interested in their product or promotion will approach THEM.–mo
Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com
About The Author
Marige O’Brien works as a writer, web designer and Internet Marketer. Visit her Website, Tracker Mo’s Den for her latest recommendations in i-marketing tools and biz opps. NEW– RSS Feeds to Articles and blogs, Plus A Special offer to new TCC Sign-ups.
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By: Women About Biz
Affiliate programs have been used by some of the most well known and profitable internet businesses to make their millions. Amazon.com and ebay.com are just two examples of websites that have used affiliate programs in a BIG WAY to make money online.
Affiliate programs are programs where you pay other people to grow your business. The idea is that you pay them a fraction of the profits you make from the sales they give you so that you are always in profit.
For example, some affiliate programs offer to pay affiliates $5 for every time they sell a copy of their $10 eBook through their special affiliate tracking link. As long as the product and the management cost less than $5 per eBook to maintain then you are still in profit and are gaining customers you wouldn’t have had otherwise.
With affiliate programs the advantage is that you will always make a profit from your investment in them if you do it right. If you pay your affiliates a commission per sale then you are only ever paying someone to benefit your business and at a profit. You will never be paying anyone to benefit your business and not get your investment back with a profit.
Other affiliate programs pay affiliates per hit to their website, and the fee is obviously smaller but the boss (that’s you!) still gets the biggest profit. The only risk with this method is that, while you may be getting traffic, you have to be sure that you can convert that into sales in order to make a profit.
You would be surprised just how many people there are out there that are very good at selling products or guiding traffic but cannot create their own. They need to sell YOUR unique and original products.
Many affiliates will be webmasters with websites with original content who simply enjoy maintaining them but would like to make enough money from them so that they maintain themselves.
Many affiliates will have read every handbook on marketing and making money from programs and will be working night and day to sell your product.
The only drawback is that you have no idea of what methods they may use or where your website may end up being promoted. However, this is a fairly calculated risk you take and in my opinion little harm can come of it.
I hope you have taken something from this article. It can definitely be used to grow any sort of web business and has been used in this way for a long time now.
You may also be surprised at how well this can increase your revenue as it has done for many giant e-businesses in the past.
Setting one up is as easy as a trip to clickbank.com where you can set all of the cash reward settings and just leave it. Automatically people will begin promoting your website for you and soon it will begin to grow far quicker than it could on its own.
This article brought to you by Women About Biz. Get more marketing information at the #1 Small Business Resource for Women.
http://www.womenaboutbiz.com/biz_marketing/biz_marketing.html
Article Source: http://greatarticlesformoms.com
By: Nell Taliercio
Chances are your job search will entail much more than applying for just a couple different jobs. It will be vitally important that you have a tracking system in place. Don’t relay on memory; you’ll need to keep track of which jobs you applied for; if you received a response; and also record all follow up information.
Some people prefer to use a spreadsheet to keep track. Set up the column headings listed above and just be certain to keep it updated. One benefit of using a spreadsheet is that you can easily sort it by different columns. You may want to keep it alphabetized by company name; or by date applied.
Yet others would rather utilize folders within their email program. The only real downside is that you may have to create an email to yourself because some companies have an online form for you use. Send yourself a message that says “I applied to ABC Company today”. If you do send any correspondence via email make sure you BCC yourself so you have an electronic paper trail.
One of the simplest tracking techniques is to create a Word document. Take advantage of the strikethrough option under fonts; or color code pending jobs. Entries could look something like this:
1. ABC Company, abcco.com 6/1/06, from Telecommuting Moms, acknowledgment 6/20/06, still pending.
2. Wally’s Widgets, wallyswidgets.com, 6/1/06, thanks but no thanks 7/02/06
3. Excellent Enterprises, job@excellentent.com, from local press, 6/4/06
19. Auction Alley, aa.info, found on Craig’s list 7/16/06, follow up phone call 8/3/06
20. St. Elmo’s Society, no web, Sue told me about it, 7/17/06, follow-up email sent 8/15/06
34. XYZ Company, xyz.com, 9/26/06, from Telecommuting Moms.
The method you choose to track your job searches is not important; it’s the actual data that will be most valuable to you. To get the most benefit from your tracking, keep the following data: job name, company name, company link, where you found the job, when you applied, and when you heard back.
Even if you’re not typically an organized person, you’ll need to be for your job search. By keeping track you have something tangible to see on days when you’re feeling discouraged (it’ll verify that you’ve been busy!). You can also reference the dates in your follow-up communication, “On August 12, 2006 I applied for the position of …. I am still very much interested in this position, etc.”
Don’t give up. Job searching can be a daunting task. However you can’t win if you don’t play. Your efforts will be rewarded!
Nell Taliercio, the Telecommuting Answer Lady, owns http://www.telecommutingmoms.com where you can locate legitimate work at home jobs and practical advice to start your work at home career tomorrow!
Article Source: http://greatarticlesformoms.com
By: Candace Gill
Here are 2 great website ideas for anyone who nurtures their creative side…
Benefits of a Craft Adsense Website – Online crafts can be a great way for people to share patterns, ideas and one of a kind items. If you have a knack for being creative, then a crafts community would be a perfect match for you. Take a look at some ideas we have gathered to help get your craft website started.
Topics
Holiday, Kids Crafts, Dolls, Wreathes, Bears, Jewelry & Seasonal.
Content
How to create an Easter wreath.
Collecting one of kind collections.
Interactive Areas
Downloadable craft instructions.
Message forums.
Chat rooms.
Contests.
Newsletter.
DIY showcase directory.
Keywords to Use
Holiday, Kids, Crafts, Dolls, Wreathes, Bears, Jewelry & Seasonal.
Freebies to Give Away
Do it yourself instructions guides.
Free bear patterns for download.
Creative Marketing Tip
Create a directory of craft websites to create a reciprocal link exchange.
Another great website idea is a recipe site.
Benefits of a Recipe Adsense Website – Recipes are a popular search each and everyday, I know I have searched for quick dinner recipes, yummy fudge recipes and whatever recipes I may find myself having a craving for. If you have a large recipe collection and you are willing to share your love of cooking with other people, what better way than creating a fun and interactive recipe community?
The following is just a few tips to get your recipe website idea started.
Topics
Dinner, Deserts, Lunches, Brunches, Breakfast, Fudge, Appetizers, Candies
Content
Large database of searchable recipes.
Reviews of each recipe.
Interactive Areas
Post your recipe.
Forums.
Chat rooms.
Newsletter.
Printable weekly meal lists.
Keywords to Use
Recipes, Dinner, Deserts, Lunches, Breakfast, Fudge, Appetizers, Candies
Freebies to Give Away
Printable recipes.
Printable weekly meal lists.
Healthy meals.
30 minute meals.
Creative Marketing Tip
Allow other websites to offer your recipes on their websites, with a discrete link back to your website.
I hope these two website ideas will get you closer to starting your dream website!
Candace Gill is a wahm who owns and runs two successful websites to help anyone create income from home.
http://www.onestopwebshop.biz-Turnkey websites, graphics, ebooks & software all with resell rights!
http://www.firststopdigitalshop.com-Complete ecommerce stores to sell your digital products!
Article Source: http://greatarticlesformoms.com
By: Stephen Wright
The methods by which we use to contact each other, especially in internet marketing activities continue to undergo dramatic transformation. In the not to distant past (only a couple of years ago!) we kept in touch with customers – existing or potential new ones, using the telephone, fax machines, direct mail marketing and even in-person meetings. Today, people expect more frequent updates, new information, and the latest of everything. So much so that it is literally impossible to keep up with this dizzying pace and certainly not on a continuing or ongoing basis with any consistency. Thankfully, blogging has come to the rescue. Setting up a blog on your web site – and having an associated RSS feed – means you can keep in constant touch with your clients and potential customers. Plus you don’t have to email them and they can get your latest news without having to visit your web site.
So how does this all work? A blog is really a fancy name for a web page that gets updated regularly. It’s nothing special. There are several methods of writing ‘blogs’, but they are nothing more than computer programs which allow you to easily update a web page. Far and away the easiest way to start a blog is with a popular blog website. One example is called blogger.com.
However, for keeping in touch with your customers, RSS is the key. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. What this means is that your blog can be automatically delivered to people who want to read it – you don’t have to send it to them and neither do they have to come and collect it. All they need is the address of your RSS Feed and their RSS Newsreader can do the job for them. There are several RSS readers available and new web browsers incorporate the ability to read RSS feeds and keep them updated.
Whenever you add new content to your blog, the RSS Feed automatically gets updated in everyone’s Reader program or web browser. That means you are guaranteed to be able to keep in touch with clients and prospects. You don’t have to do anything other than produce the content. Equally, you don’t face the problems of email filters and anti-spam programs blocking your email. Furthermore, people tend to read RSS Feeds because they have subscribed to them whereas they tend to ignore non urgent emails.
After a small amount of basic research and reading, you will quickly see, there are numerous advantages to Blogs and RSS Feeds. One of the biggest reasons is that search engines love them. This is because blogs provide fresh and new content – precisely the thing that searchers are looking for. Hence the search engines are actively pushing blogs higher up the search engine ranking. What this means to internet marketers is that if you don’t have a blog for your business, you are potentially reducing your chances of a high search engine ranking. You need a blog nowadays to get noticed by the search engines.
For all the reasons mentioned above (and many, many more), blogging is essential. Not only does it improve your web presence, it also means you can keep in touch with clients and prospects more easily. All the marketing research you can find will tell you that regular contact with your customers is a vital component in retaining existing clients, as well as gaining new business. Don’t put it off any longer; it is time to get your blog going—today!
Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com
Stephen Wright is President & CEO of InternetMarketingUSA.com Looking for Internet Marketing Ideas, Tips, and Solutions? Get everything you need to make money online in “Dotcomology: The Science of Making Money Online”. Absolutely Free at:
