Monday, December 24, 2012

Christmas Must Be Something More...

In the many years that passed, I hardly find newer Christmas songs that I like. But here's one of the newer ones from Taylor Swift that I think has some meaning to it. It's pretty cool too that it's sung by one of the younger generation artists. I guess you could say that because of this song, I kinda like Taylor Swift more. If only more younger people would have more substance and less superficiality. Anyway, here's to wishing you and your family a Blessed and Merry Christmas! May your celebration be wonderful and be full of love! ^_^


"It’s Christmas Eve. It’s the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year we are the people that we always hoped we would be.”
— Scrooged (1988) – Frank Cross (Bill Murray)

from The 11 Best Movie Quotes About Christmas


Friday, November 23, 2012

Happy First Anniversary -- Winning Solos Text Ad Exchange!

Myspace Glitter Text - http://www.glittergraphictext.com


I'm mighty glad to be celebrating my first anniversary as Admin/Owner of Winning Solos Text Ad Exchange! Wow! A year has passed by so fast. It's timely too that America is celebrating Thanksgiving weekend.

I've so much to be thankful for, esp. since Winning Solos has grown much compared to when I first took over. I've a long way to go, that's for sure! I'm just taking things slow... one day at a time... soon I will reach my goal too! ^_^

Still giving away FREE JV Upgrades till we reach 250 members! So better hurry if you still have not joined!

Plus, log in today to claim a special promo code: happyanniversary

See you on the inside! ^_^




Tuesday, November 20, 2012

8 Ways to Earn Money with Digital Photography

Earn Money From Home

Are you a shutterbug? If you like to snap pictures at family events or just out in the neighborhood, put that camera to good use in ways that will earn you money for your efforts. This article mentions eight ways that you can make money with digital photography.

The world of photography has changed since the instant camera was developed. With a digital camera, you can take a not so good shot and make it perfect using a variety of software options. Best of all, pictures can be printed on quality paper on your printer or at a store kiosk for just a few cents per picture.

Technology has created memory cards much like the flash drive storage medium to file and save pictures for sharing on the Internet. You can easily upload pictures from the memory card to your friends, family and a blog or website if you have one.

1. Stock photography. This business is growing. For website newsletters, magazines and articles, publishers look for photos that capture the essence of their articles. It is not terribly convenient to go out and snap some pictures every time you need one. Selling stock photographs to businesses and individuals is convenient for them and lucrative for you.

2. Wedding photographer. Okay so if you are not a professional you won’t be the main photographer at first but you can be hired to take candid shots at the reception or wedding photos after the ceremony. The happy couple can order as many pictures as they want and you can create wedding CD's of the pictures you took.

3. Newspaper pics. If you are in the right place at the right time, you might capture photos that are worthy of the newspaper. When news happens, a newspaper photographer might not be on the scene. You can capture the moments and sell them to newspapers. Snapping shots at community events may also earn you some money from local newspapers.

4. Magazine photographer. Create a portfolio of photos that you have taken and submit them to magazines.  Looking at your work, they may hire you for assignments. Magazines are a tough market to break into so cut your teeth on other smaller assignments for local newspapers.

5. Local photography business. Ever gotten a mailing that shows cars for sale or houses for sale? Someone had to take those photographs. It could be you. Hire yourself out to area businesses to do the photographs for them.

6. Event photographer. Some families like to document their events like family reunions, christenings, bar mitzvahs and birthday parties. You can be the eyes in the room catching candid shots of everyone. 

7. Photography website. If you know a lot about digital cameras and photography, create a website to sell photography products. Keep visitors and customers coming back with engaging content on various aspects of photography.

8. Teach a photography class. Those cameras look easy to use but some of those symbols can mix people up. Teach others to use their digital camera and create great pictures that they, too, can market as a business.

Do you like photography? What started off as a hobby can become a new business venture.

Least to say, this is something I'm looking into as well at the moment. I've always like taking photos and sharing them on my various articles over at Squidoo. I guess it's also worth checking out if I can make additional money out of the photos that I take. ^_^



Friday, November 16, 2012

List Building Tips (Part 14)

All right, here are some more List Building Tips to help you grow your business online. This time around, let's talk about word of mouth advertising. 

I do believe I have previously mentioned about the use of social media sites to further promote your business and to grow your list of subscribers.

Here are more ways to add to that. Count on some friends to refer you or recommend you. Plus, take a look at some of the lists that you yourself have joined in the past and try to see what seems to work or not. Then try to see things from your readers' perspectives. What would you like to see more in your newsletters or emails? Read on.......

35. Add a “tell-a-friend” form to your site

As mentioned in earlier tips, word of mouth advertising very frequently forms the lifeblood of businesses. It often brings in higher quality prospects, since a close friend has told them they can trust your business. In short, it is effective method for advertisement.

One way in which you can do this—initiate a word of mouth campaign—is to use a “tell-a-friend” script. This should be available on your website and possibly linked to infrequently in your mailings. It will give your subscribers a quick way to tell their friends about something good or interesting you did.

36. Make a list that you would join and enjoy

To keep your subscribers happy, you need to be providing good content and communicate with them on their level and keep them active. If you don’t share good quality, your list will die off and it will be hard to get other’s to share your content.

So when you start building your list and writing newsletters, ask yourself whether or not you would sign up for your own list if it was someone else's list. Try to be as honest as you can with yourself.

In general, of course, it is difficult to evaluate our own work, and to understand how others might perceive it. For this reason, it is a good idea to look at old archives, so that you can feel a sense of distance and unfamiliarity—and evaluate it from the perspective of an outsider.

Finally, consider comparing your list content with other lists in your niche. Ask yourself the following questions truthfully about both your own list and competing lists:

i. How frequently does the list advertise?
ii. How much space do advertisements take up?
iii. Are there many solo ads?
iv. Are there high-profile guest writers?
v. Are there interviews with experts in the industry/niche?
vi. How frequently does the list give away reports and ebooks?
vii. How frequently does the list give away audio content and video content?
viii. How personal does the writing feel?

If you feel you can’t answer these items objectively, consider asking a friend for help. As harsh as it may be to hear someone close to you criticize your work, it’ll be worth it in the long run when your number of subscribers rise dramatically through word of mouth.


Thursday, November 8, 2012

Eruptions of Flowing Traffic


Perhaps it's 'coz I haven't really surfed traffic exchanges much on a regular basis that I'm looking at old sites with fresh perspectives. Or perhaps having been a lensmaster on Squidoo has enabled me to acquire new lenses. LOL! ^_^

Kidding aside, I can't help but be surprised and be quite pleased with the new header of Volcano Hits. It's one of those traffic exchanges that I've belonged to for quite some time now, but I only get to surf a few sites on a regular basis. One of the reasons is that my main desktop pc has been busted for quite some time now. I'm still trying to raise enough to replace it with a pc I truly like. So mostly I'm working on a tiny notebook that my daughter owns. It's not that huge so it also tends to slow down when I try to do many things at the same time. Anyway, I digress. 

Volcano Hits is also one of the partner sites of Winning Solos Text Ad Exchange, a text ad exchange site that I own. That means you can join Winning Solos from the downline builder at Volcano Hits and get a special promo code to redeem at Winning Solos for some bonus advertising credits. That goes vice versa. ^_^

So, anyhoo (as a friend used to say), I'm going back to more online work stuff at the moment. If you still haven't joined my site Winning Solos or Volcano Hits, you may want to join both from my links here on this post. 

Happy advertising to you! ^_^


Monday, November 5, 2012

Want Insane Traffic? - Go Krazy!

Yes! I got the spelling right! It is Krazy with a K, instead of a C. That's 'coz I'm talking about Krazy Exchange, by none other than Kaye Towne. I rarely surf traffic exchanges (TEs) a lot these days, but there are a few of them that I try to drop in and check from time to time. KE is one of them. What can I say? I like the site and find it easy to use. In addition, the owner Kaye is a great person!

So I saw this awesome looking surf bar for Halloween...


Sunday, November 4, 2012

Awesome Halloween Header from AKH

I haven't done a lot of traffic exchange surfing lately. But here's one that caught my eye. I really liked the seasonal header of this traffic exchange. It's called Advertising Know-How, owned by Robert Puddy.





Thursday, November 1, 2012

Bye October.. Good Morning November.. Happy Halloween!

It's that time of the year when trick or treating is once again here... ^_^ Hope you have a good one!



zwani.com myspace graphic comments


Tuesday, October 23, 2012

List Building Tips (Part 13)

Today we continue with the series on List Building Tips. Last time, we talked about JV Partnerships. I hope that you have been able to find suitable partners for your online business. Networking with other site owners is also a good way to expand your business reach.



Let's take a look at two more tips this week...

33. Allow republishing

Many site owners and list owners see republishing as a process that has the potential to lower the value of their “unique content.” Unfortunately, in perceiving the republishing process this way, they deny themselves the opportunity to grow their influence and to gain additional subscribers.

In particular, republishing allows list owners to spread access to their content, gain influence, and encourage new people to join their list.

Furthermore, it is relatively simple to do: whenever you create an article (either in your newsletter or elsewhere), simply include a resource box below (or a header above) that contains information about you, the author and a link to your newsletter. You should explain that you allow the content to be republished, provided that it is unaltered and references you.

In addition to simply allowing republishing, you should make proactive attempts to get your articles republished. Seek out relevant sites, and try to get them to consider your content.

Of course, you can use the usual sources to self-publish your articles in a prominent place. However, a better strategy may involve seeking out high-profile Internet-based magazines and attempting to get your work featured as a feature article.

34. Add testimonials to your squeeze page

When it comes to getting subscribers, it is always a good idea to try to increase your conversion rate. Why? Because it is the quick and easy way to add more people to your list at a faster rate without changing your traffic generation strategies at all.

One way in which you can convert at a higher rate is to add testimonials to your sales letter or squeeze page. Of course, the central focus should be the opt-in form; and you should avoid distracting visitors away from it. However, dressing the margins with testimonials or including them after the opt-in form is never a bad idea. It will build rapport with your visitors and encourage them to trust you and your list.

How do you get testimonials? Simple. Just ask your current subscribers to send an email with their testimonial.

Written testimonials are fine, but if your readers are capable, it might not be a bad idea to include audio or video testimonials. These, of course, are more difficult, but having them on the site will greatly improve the image that visitors will develop of you.


Watch out for more List Building Tips next time! ^_^


Thursday, October 4, 2012

List Building Tips (Part 12)


When you work online, it is usually advisable to work closely with like-minded individuals. It is no surprise that from time to time you will see and hear of JV (Joint Venture) Partnerships. There are a number of ways by which you can go into JV partnerships. This edition talks about the three most common ways by which you can engage in the practice.


32. Setup JVs with other list owners

As mentioned previously, cross-promotional methods are some of the least expensive ways to promote your business. And while they might take a while to take full effect, they can often generate tremendous results that will massively grow your list.

One particular type of cross-promotion is a cross-list joint venture partnership. This typically involves identifying a number of list owners who might be able to provide some type of joint venture partnership value. Included below are some of the possible cross-list JV partnerships you might consider:

A. Product Partnership

Very frequently, two partners will collaborate on the creation of a single product that they will then promote to their own lists and to others. At first, you might see this as a means to sell products, not grow your list, but think again!

When your partner promotes the product to his or her list, your name and your site will now be associated with him/her. This will immediately endow you with the trust of his/her readers, which is something that could otherwise take you years to gain.

With these types of partnerships, more is almost always good. As long as you have enough time to manage each of your partnerships, adding additional products and promotional events to your calendar will only serve to expand your influence and gain you subscribers.

B. Promotional Partnership

Instead of collaborating on the creation of a product, you might consider collaborating on a joint marketing scheme. That is, rather than simply agreeing to cross-promote each other on your own lists, you could agree to promote each other in a more broad sense. This collaboration might involve referring each other to clients and to individuals in the inner circles of your respective businesses.

C. Specialized Partnerships

Instead of adopting either one of the strategies above, you might consider adopting a more specialized partnership. That is, you might focus on product creation (and, thus, back-end promotion of your own site), while your partner focuses on promotion of the product through his or her list.

This type of partnership arrangement has the potential to provide both profits in the short run; and, in the long run, back-end subscriptions. However, in general, it will be hard to maintain unless you have a JV partner whom you can trust and are able to work well with.

Look into your business at the moment and ask yourself as to what type of JV partnerships you have entered. If you haven't tried it, I encourage you to do so. 

My text ad exchange, Winning Solos T.A.E., has a number of JV Partners to promote increased membership. If you also own a text ad exchange program, feel free to contact me and talk about a possible JV partnership agreement.



Thursday, September 27, 2012

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Saturday, September 22, 2012

List-Building Tips (Part 11)

To continue on our list building series, here are three more techniques that you can employ to help build your list. 

They are all pretty simple to implement and apply. If you want people to sign up, make sure that your opt in form or lead form (where people can add their name and email address) are available and visible on your site. You can have pop ups or slide in windows to add to your site to capture the information.

Do keep it simple and easy to read, so people won't need to read too much or be confused on what you are offering. Another is to provide a free sample of your report. You can give away say 10% of the work and have them sign up to get the rest.

Here they are:

29. Add more subscription forms

In general, adding more subscription forms to your sites gives visitors more pathways through which they can find your list and join it.

So take some time to work through your sites and decide where you can add new subscription forms. To save time, you might think of adding it in the same place on each page (i.e. on the right margin).

If there is no place suitable, you could have a pop-up or slide in window with your optin form in it. If you use a WordPress blog, there are several plugins that will do this.

30. Eliminate barriers to signing up

In many cases, we can make it difficult or confusing for visitors to become subscribers. Through complicated or long forms, poorly-written instructions, or misplacement of the sign-up form, we make it harder for people to subscribe.

Remember: when it comes to list-building (or any other type of marketing), simple is best. So keep it simple and concentrate on getting all of your visitors to become list members. Once they’re on your list, let them decide whether or not they want to stay, and whether or not they want to buy.

31. Offer free examples

Before someone signs up for a list, they will want to have at least a rough idea of what they’re getting themselves into. That is, they will want to know if they’re signing up to be spammed legally; or whether they’re going to get regular, high quality, inspiring content that makes a positive contribution to their lives.

One way you can help to remove the doubt that people might have about your list is to give them free examples. For instance, you might consider creating a video that is free to view and then ask them to opt-in for the next video.

Another idea is to have an archive of all of your past newsletters or ebooks freely accessible. Visitors can then browse this archive to see how frequently you pitch products, how frequently you provide good advice, free products, and how good the quality of your content is.

So have you started building your list? What steps have you taken? It would be a good idea to reflect and assess on what you have done and achieved so far. Well, till next edition.




Saturday, September 15, 2012

List-Building Tips (Part 10)

Never underestimate the power of word of mouth advertising. We all have first hand experiences with this. How often have you actually recommended a favorite book, movie, or restaurant to friends and families? Sure we don't get paid for it, but we do it just the same! 

On the other hand, you also spread bad news if there are services or products that dissatisfy you. Remember that word of mouth advertising is a powerful tool you can take advantage of.

In this week's edition, read about word of mouth advertising, as well as two more techniques you can employ to help you build your list.

26. Word of mouth advertising

While paid advertising and formal cross-promotional methods are an excellent way to boost subscriptions, informal word of mouth advertising is often the lifeblood of both small and large businesses. And when you start building your list, you can encourage your subscribers to tell their friends about you.

How can you do this? First, make sure your content is worth sharing. Ask yourself would you want to share this with your friends?

Next, suggest that they promote your newsletter or website; and give them incentives to promote your list. i.e. a free product, cash or prizes.

If you want to improve the chances of a good outcome, you might consider sending people through a “tell-a-friend” system in order to automate it and make it easy, and also to deliver access to a product download page.

With social marketing dominating the web these days, it’s easier to share content than ever before. Put a Re-Tweet button and a Facebook like button on your web page for your readers to click and share.

27. Ask your readers to forward good emails

Every few emails, suggest and allow your readers to forward your newsletters that they like to friends. Additionally, make sure that these emails contain links people can use to subscribe to your list.

If your readers like the email, and forward it to friends as a result, then you may easily be able to pick up some extra readers without putting in much additional work.

28. Use ‘Thank You’ pages effectively

Another good way to build subscriber rapport—and this word of mouth advertisement—is to send new subscribers to a “thank you” page after subscribing to your list.

Usually, you would have the download link of the free report or info you offered on the front squeeze page, but it’s a good idea to have additional freebies to show you are ‘over-delivering’.

This page might contain free unadvertised bonuses, such as reports, audio content, and video content. Reaping this unexpected windfall of benefits for simply subscribing will encourage your new subscribers to pay you back via promotion.

And having a tell-a-friend form or Re-Tweet button or Facebook button will make it easy for them to share.


Friday, September 7, 2012

List-Building Tips (Part 9)

To continue the series on List Building Tips, let's take a look at some more ways on how you can build your list.

One is how to design you pages properly so that potential customers get to see you "opt-in" form right away. An "opt-in" form is where interested individuals can type in their name and email address to subscribe to something you are offering.

Next one is to do guest blogging or to feature some guest bloggers on your site too. There's nothing better than working collaboratively with other online marketing professionals.

Lastly, it's about joining and participating in JV Giveaways. If you have an e-book or a report that you have put together, you can start joining JV Giveaways as it is a good way to market your information product.

Read on for this week's tips.......

23. Keep your opt-in form ‘above the fold’

Getting subscriptions isn’t simply a matter of sending thousands of visitors to your site. It involves both traffic generation and conversion strategies.
One such strategy is to place your opt-in form above the “fold”—or the imaginary line that separates the content that visitors will see when the page loads from the content that they won’t see, that is further down the page.
Whenever the opt-in form (and your pitch) is placed above the fold, visitors are more likely to see it before leaving the page; and are subsequently more likely to use the form to subscribe to your list and get your free incentive.

24. Ask for and offer guest articles


Another strategy for keeping your list active, energized, and interested in spreading the word is to periodically get guest posts for your newsletter and offer to write for other marketers’ newsletters.
You can select prominent individuals from your niche or outsiders who have relevant information. Whatever you do, make it sure it’s a win-win-win situation, like all JVs should be. Good content, and a reciprocal event between you and a JV partner.
Keep the information relative, interesting and engaging; and it will make your newsletter readers want to stay and look forward to getting more. If it’s really good, they may post the article to their site (if you give permission) which can bring you more traffic and subscribers.

25. Run or participate in a JV give-away


Running a product give-away is an excellent way to generate attention, improve your relationship with JV partners, and gain new subscribers.
A JV giveaway is where many marketers contribute a free gift at one website and everyone promotes that one website and marketers share the sign ups. Running a JV giveaway is a pretty big project but the rewards can make it pay off.
First, you’ll need to get a website up where the giveaway will be held. There are several website scripts that have been developed especially to run these JV giveaway events.
Once you have your site going, you will need to find some marketers in your industry who have a product they can add to the giveaway.
The more JVs you can get on board, the better your giveaway will go. But the real success comes when everyone promotes the giveaway. Make sure there is enough incentive for all who participate to promote the event.
For starters, the easier way to benefit from JV giveaways is to just be a contributor and add your free gift. There are new JV giveaways running all the time so keep a look out for JV invites for them or find them by searching Google.
But when you think you’re ready for it, run your own giveaway as the benefits for running one are many times greater than for just the contributors.
Come back for more tips next week! Be on your way to success. Start building your own list.
If you enjoy writing, I'd like to recommend Squidoo.com as I've been actively creating lenses there lately. I hope to see you there!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Running a Test

Hey! I'm just running a test to see how my revisions at my TwitterFeed account goes. This is a break from regular topic.

So what's TwitterFeed? Well TwitterFeed enables me to auto post my latest blog post to my Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts. It really is awesome, but sometimes fails to work esp. when I don't get to post too often. So I do some tweaking to set it running again. Thus, this post. :P

Today's sponsor is Board of Directors Social Network. Hope to see you there! ^_^


Wednesday, August 29, 2012

List Building Tips (Part 8)

To continue the series on List Building Tips, here are two promotional strategies that I also employ at the moment.

I'm subscribed to an eZine that allows free advertising for its readers. So I submit an ad there on a weekly basis. There are paid eZine advertising and I'm sure they're not that difficult to find. 

The other is banner advertising, which I also currently offer at my text ad exchange, Winning Solos. Join for free and get a Free JV Upgrade till we hit 250 JV members.

21. Buy ezine solo ads

 

Ezines offer a wide variety of different advertising options, but most of them amount to taking up a small portion of the total ezine. In the case of an ezine solo ad, you actually purchase the rights to all of the content in a single mailing.

Now, you might be tempted to rush to the closest ezine solo ad broker, buy up a bunch of solo ads, and then send off the first mailer you can draft, but this is definitely not the best approach. And, in fact, most who do it ultimately end up getting almost no traffic.

So, instead of doing this, here’s what I suggest: start by finding a copywriter. Since you’ll be writing a short solo ad, it won’t cost much (in, comparison, say to 15 pages of long copy). Working with your copywriter, come up with a great deal to offer readers; and an accompanying great piece of copy. Or you can write it yourself if you're quite competent as a copywriter.

Once you have your copy in hand, begin methodically seeking out good ezine matches. Start by subscribing to relevant ezines, and taking notes on the content style. For instance, is it typically loaded with ads? And how frequently does it send solo ads? And finally, is the content typically good? A good measurement is if you join the eZine as a subscriber so you'll get an inside look.

Answering all of these questions is an important part of selecting your ezines. Once you have done this and have made your choices, either proceed with a purchase (if the option is available) or contact the list owner to see if he/she is willing to allow you to purchase a solo ad.

I personally suggest that you run only one ad at a time, wait for the results, and then decide whether to proceed with the next ezine solo ad submission. Test and track.

Again, Google has a huge list of ezines that sell advertising space and solo ads. Search for “ezine solo ads” or “ezine ads” to find them.

22. Cross-promote with banners

 

If you don’t have a lot of resources to sink into expensive forms of advertising, cross-promotion may be your best option.

Simply put, cross-promotion involves finding other webmasters or list owners; and forming an agreement to promote each other’s sites to your own visitors.

Say you agree to put banners that promote each other’s websites on your thank you pages. Then your new subscribers can join your JV’s list and vice versa.

In addition to an informal arrangement like this, there are also more formal ways to exchange ads. One way is by joining text ad exchange or banner ad exchange sites.

For instance, there are banner exchanges which give you promotion credits to go towards your banner displays whenever you promote someone else’s (via a banner they add to the system).

In general, cross-promotion provides an inexpensive alternative to other methods of list advertising.

When you're starting out, you are naturally concerned with the cost of advertising. Read, research, and ask around for the best option. You can think of more complex and expensive types of advertising when you can well afford it.

 

Friday, August 24, 2012

List Building Tips (Part 7)

In this week's edition, I'm sharing some SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) that you can incorporate in your list building strategy. These are basic but should be practiced if you want to keep growing your list. Read on...






18. Keep customer information private

 

One thing thаt visitors drеаd іѕ thаt уου wіll resell thеіr name аnd email tο a third party; οr wіll υѕе іt tο spam.

Thіѕ іѕ whу іt іѕ іmрοrtаnt thаt уου include a note below уουr opt-іn form thаt ехрlаіnѕ thаt уου wіll never sell subscriber information—аnd уου wіll never spam people whο join уουr list. Thіѕ ѕhουld hеlр tο increase уουr conversion rates аnd lower unsubscribe rates.

19. Reward subscribers unexpectedly

 

Whіlе getting more subscribers frοm external sources іѕ аn іmрοrtаnt раrt οf keeping уουr list active аnd growing, energizing уουr existing members аnd giving thеm a reason tο promote аnd share уουr website wіll hеlр уου build уουr list wіth lіttlе effort.

One way іn whісh уου саn dο internal promotion іѕ tο reward уουr subscribers unexpectedly wіth a free ebook, informative article οr special video.

Whеn thеу receive ѕοmе product οr service thаt thеу weren’t expecting tο gеt, thеу wіll bе pleasantly surprised аnd wіll bе hарру tο share іt. Yου саn аlѕο suggest thеу share уουr newsletter sign up page οr re-publish уουr article οr video.

Thіѕ саn potentially become free viral promotion fοr уουr list. It аlѕο keeps уουr list active аnd unsubscribe rates down.

20. Promote high-value products аnd services

 

In many cases, thе mοѕt іmрοrtаnt thing уου саn dο аѕ a business owner іѕ tο provide аnd promote high-value products аnd services. Thаt іѕ, whenever уου sell уουr οwn products іn уουr newsletter οr whenever уου refer people tο affiliate products (οr JV partners’ products), mаkе sure thеу аrе gοοd аnd offer value.

If уου gain a reputation fοr promoting еνеrу nеw product аbουt “hοw tο mаkе money” – nοt caring whether οr nοt іt’s even a gοοd product—уου’ll quickly lose rapport wіth уουr list; аnd, аѕ a result, уου саn expect thеm tο ѕtοр reading уουr emails аnd mаkіng additional рυrсhаѕеѕ. Ultimately, thеу wіll unsubscribe.


Note: You definitely need to follow these three tips shared for today to ensure your success in building your list. I usually get turned off with subscriptions wherein I'm offered all the new programs or items that come out. You want to limit that and it would be better if you try out the recommended programs first yourself before suggesting it to anyone on your list. After all, you wouldn't want to recommend unreliable programs as your reputation is also at stake. 


Friday, August 17, 2012

List Building Tips (Part 6)

In this edition of the List Building Tips, know more about what to offer so you can get more people to sign up for your list. Remember that you want to catch the attention of your potential customers, so you offer giveaways in the form of Free eBooks or reports. Another way to build a following is by adding more quality content to your site.




15. Give Away Free E-books

 

Oftеn, getting people tο join a list іѕ аѕ simple аѕ providing thеm wіth thе rіght incentives. If уου simply tеll people tο join thе list bесаυѕе thе email content wіll bе gοοd, thеу won’t know whether οr nοt tο trust уου аnd usually, thеу don’t want tο wait tο gеt уουr emails. Hοwеνеr, іf уου provide thеm wіth a free ebook thаt thеу gеt rіght аftеr signing-up, thеу’ll bе much more lіkеlу tο join.

Now, уου mіght thіnk “Won’t thеу јυѕt cancel thеіr subscriptions аftеr joining?” And, іn reality, ѕοmе οf thеm wіll. Yουr focus ѕhουld bе tο draw people іn, expose thеm tο уουr content, аnd thеn attempt tο convert thеm bу impressing thеm wіth уουr information. Bυt first, уου need a gοοd incentive tο gеt thеm tο join уουr list whеn thеу first come іntο contact wіth уουr web site.

16. Free reports

 

Similar tο giving away free ebooks, give away free downloadable reports. Thеѕе аrе οftеn shorter thаn ebooks аnd provide a more specific explanation οn a topic. I personally suggest targeting a specific theme οr сrеаtіng a “hοw-tο” report οn a timely topic.

Jυѕt lіkе ebooks, уου саn сrеаtе a simple report іn Microsoft Word οr Open Office аnd convert іt tο a PDF file. Upload іt tο уουr website аnd link tο іt frοm уουr download page.
Gеt thе subscriber tο opt-іn аt thе squeeze page аnd thеn re-direct thеm tο thе thank уου page аftеr thеу sign up οr confirm thеіr email address. I prefer thе latter method.

17. Add content tο уουr site

 

Whеn іt comes tο generating subscriptions, one οf thе mοѕt іmрοrtаnt things уου саn dο іѕ tο рυt уουr subscription form іn places thаt receive traffic. e.g. уουr website οr blog. Thе more content уου add tο уουr site οr blog, thе more readers wіll come аnd wіll want tο learn more (іf thе content іѕ gοοd) ѕο thеу wіll join уουr list.

Tο gеt content, уου саn write іt yourself, οr уου сουld hire a writer frοm tο produce several articles based around relevant keywords/topics fοr уουr site. Yου сουld thеn add those articles tο уουr site wіth a subscription form еіthеr іn thе margins, іn thе middle οf thе content, οr іn a popover box.

Thе more articles уου add, thе more traffic уου wіll generate, аnd thе more opportunities уου wіll hаνе tο generate subscriptions.

Note: Don't worry if you're not a good writer. Often times, you can simply purchase PLR materials and then add your own twist to them. Here are some good sites for PLRs that I recommend:

PLR Content Made Easy

Friday, August 10, 2012

List Building Tips (Part 5)


Have you been building your list? If you're waiting for the series to end before starting, you better shape up! The best way to learn is to start doing it. If you've read this far, I'm presuming that you have some working knowledge of online promotion and the terms used in describing them. If not, it would be a good idea to do additional research. Read on for this week's list building tips.



12. Split test landing pages

 

Another іmрοrtаnt раrt οf generating subscribers іѕ testing уουr existing system. If уουr existing system dοеѕ a poor job οf converting, thеn іt needs tο bе improved. Yου саn dο thіѕ bу a process call “split testing.” Thіѕ involves sending identical traffic streams tο different landing pages.

Things tο test аrе headlines, length οf page, introduction, call tο action, opt-іn button text, p.s., images (wіth аnd without) , colors, etc.

Yου саn thеn test whісh landing page generates a higher conversion rate; аnd саn adopt thаt exclusively fοr future υѕе.

Note: A landing page is where you send your potential clients to when they click on your ad. That's where they "land" so it's called a landing page.  Not all marketing promotions are created equal. Some convert higher than others. This means they got more people to click on them. These ads are then considered to be more effective. You should focus on making more of these ads.

13. Crеаtе a squeeze page

 

If уου don’t already hаνе one, іt іѕ critical thаt уου build a squeeze page, whісh іѕ specifically used tο capture email addresses fοr уουr list.

A squeeze page іѕ a short ‘pitch’ page wіth very short copy–οr, more thаn lіkеlу, a headline wіth јυѕt a few bullet points. Aftеr thе copy, include уουr signature аnd a box fοr visitors tο enter a name аnd email address. Keep distractions minimal; аnd attempt tο build thе strongest pull fοr уουr newsletter using thе fewest words.

Thе best way tο gеt a nice looking squeeze page іѕ tο υѕе a template. Thеrе аrе many available fοr a very affordable price.

Note:  A squeeze page is a page where potential clients can leave their name and email address upon visiting your ad. You would need a good autoresponder service for this. In my case, I use the autoresponder of my main site host, GVO.

14. Uѕе Google AdWords tο generate traffic

 

Aѕ mentioned earlier, one gοοd way tο generate prospects fοr уουr list іѕ tο advertise using Google AdWords. If уου’re nοt familiar wіth AdWords, іt іѕ a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising medium.

Thаt іѕ, уου сrеаtе a text ad, select relevant keywords fοr іt, аnd thеn pay οnlу whеn someone clicks οn уουr ad. In general, іt іѕ considered tο bе better targeted аnd more cost-effective thаn οthеr sources οf paid traffic generation.

Wіth thіѕ ѕаіd, using Google AdWords саn bе expensive. If уου′re a beginner, уου mіght want tο study іt very hard οr hire аn expert tο manage уουr campaigns fοr уου.

It’s effective whеn уου mаkе аn ROI (return οn investment) ѕο іt calls fοr a fаіr bit οf split testing οf ads аnd landing pages, аnd revising campaigns.

Note: Google AdWords does cost money. You may want to test your ad campaigns at more affordable places first before signing up for Google Adwords. 

Start building your list today! Till next edition.......



Friday, August 3, 2012

List Building Tips (Part 4)

To continue our series on the List Building Tips, here are three more tips to help you grow your list. One of them is running your own affiliate program. Affiliate marketing is a good way to start, esp. when you're new to online marketing. The main reason is you just need to find a really good and lasting product or service and it doesn't cost you a lot to start up. You can save up till you can afford to run your own. Read on for more tips...


9. Rυn аn affiliate program

 

Yου mау bе familiar wіth Affiliate marketing, bυt thіѕ time, instead οf уου being thе affiliate, turn thе tables аnd gеt affiliates building уουr list.

Thе best way іѕ tο υѕе a script whеrе уου саn set up a free product tο give away οn thе front еnd аnd hаνе аn upsell rіght аftеr nеw subscribers join.

Offer a commission tο уουr affiliates fοr sales οf thе upsell offer thеу generate аnd thеу wіll bе hарру tο promote уουr free offer іn hopes tο gеt a sale οf thе upsell.

If уου sell уουr ebooks via another channel (nοt οn уουr οwn site) mаkе sure уου insert links within thе pages thаt suggest thе readers sign-up fοr уουr newsletter. Affiliates саn still promote аnd sell іt fοr a nice commission. Thеу’ll mаkе money; аnd уου’ll gеt subscribers.

Note: Running your own affiliate program entails costs. You want to make sure you are prepared to make an investment and commit your time, effort and energy into building your own program. The reward, however, is that you get to be your own boss.

10. Pay fοr leads

 

Rаthеr thаn indirectly using affiliate sales οr blogging tο generate subscriptions, уου сουld аlѕο consider paying directly fοr referrals. Yου саn dο thіѕ bу еіthеr purchasing leads formally; οr bу seeking out webmasters whο аrе willing tο divert traffic tο уουr site. I.E. solo ads.

Of course, іf уου wish tο dο thе latter, уου wіll hаνе tο setup a transparent system, ѕο thаt уουr offer appears believable. In particular, уου wіll hаνе tο setup аn easy-tο-check traffic counter thаt allows уουr referrers tο check hοw much traffic уου received frοm thеm. Yου wіll аlѕο usually need tο pay аn attractive price fοr thе referrals уου receive.

Note: I won't really suggest paying for leads. But you can join mailers, safelists and text ad exchanges wherein you can send a solo ad to all its members.  Make sure you come up with really good offers so that you can receive more sign-ups for your program.

11. Add a picture tο уουr landing page

 

One way іn whісh уου саn increase thе number οf subscriptions уου gеt іѕ tο increase уουr conversion rate. And аn οld trick fοr doing thіѕ іѕ tο mаkе уουr landing page more personal. Fοr starters, add аn image οf уουr signature.

And furthermore, уου wіll want tο consider including a picture οf yourself οn thе page somewhere. Jυѕt lіttlе things tο improve thе conversion rate саn see уου receiving twice аѕ many subscribers wіth thе same traffic.

Note: The reason you want to use your photo is to be able to BRAND YOURSELF.  You want more people to know that you are a serious marketer and you want them to remember you too. Oftentimes, people follow people. If you've built a good reputation, it will be easy to increase your membership base. ^_^

Till next time for more list building tips!



Friday, July 27, 2012

List Building Tips (Part 3)

I have done most of the tips that I've been sharing about list building tips, except one. I feel that I have yet to muster enough courage and develop more online skills before I could eventually run my own webinars. But do read on as these tips are truly invaluable...






7. Bе a guest οn teleseminars/webinars

 

Online live seminars аrе уеt another promising way іn whісh уου саn generate list subscribers.

Aррrοасh a few marketers whο already dο teleseminars аnd offer tο bе a guest speaker. Thеn pick a date fοr thе conference call wіth уουr JV partner (ideally, іn thе evening, whеn people wіll bе free) tο discuss уουr area οf expertise. Yου mіght find thіѕ intimidating аt first, bυt аftеr уου dο іt fοr a whіlе, іt wіll become easier аnd more natural.

Of course, before уου dο thе call, уου ѕhουld spend ѕοmе time tο рlаn out thе content. Mаkе sure thаt уου know whаt уου’re going tο ѕау аnd hοw уου’re going tο ѕау іt. During thе call аnd аt thе еnd οf thе call, mаkе explicit pitches fοr people tο join уουr mailing list (аnd ехрlаіn hοw іt іѕ even free tο ѕtаrt wіth).

Whіlе уου mіght thіnk thаt hosting teleseminars іѕ thе ѕlοw path tο gaining subscribers, keep іn mind thаt thеѕе nеw subscribers аrе much more lіkеlу tο bе active thаn уουr others. Thеу wіll feel a personal connection wіth уου—having talked tο уου (οr аt lеаѕt heard уουr voice) over thе phone. Thіѕ саn easily translate іntο much more sales per person thаt уουr average prospect.

Thеn whеn уου hаνе grown уουr list, hаνе thе JV bе a guest speaker οn уουr οwn teleseminar ѕο уου саn hеlр hіm іn return.

8. Set up joint ventures (JVs)

 

A powerful way іn whісh уου саn generate list subscribers іѕ tο setup joint ventures (JVs). A JV involves teaming up wіth οthеr marketer(s) аnd working together tο produce a business deal.

In уουr case, уου’ll bе mаkіng ѕοmе sort οf exchange related tο list building. Fοr instance, уου mіght consider сrеаtіng a product οr writing a sales letter fοr whісh уου wіll share thе revenues; аnd уουr partner mау іn turn agree tο dο аll οf thе relevant list-building activities аnd promote one οf уουr websites.

Thе method above іn #7 аbουt being a teleseminar guest іѕ a form οf a joint venture.

(to be continued...)

As you know I run my own text ad exchange called Winning Solos Text Ad Exchange. If you're running a webinar and need someone to talk more about text ad exchange, I believe I can talk about the topic in relation to my site. I'd be more than happy to guest in your webinar. Naturally, I will need sufficient time to prepare for it. Also, if you happen to also own a text ad exchange and would like to have Winning Solos as JV Partner, I'm open to the idea. Contact me via support at Winning Solos Text Ad Exchange, or leave me a post at Winning Solos Facebook page or on Twitter.