The 3 Best eZine Formats

Are you thinking of publishing your own ezine? I've read that it's another good way of building a list. However, if you're not familiar with ezines, here are some formats that you can consider using. I've been thinking of coming out with one, but I have yet to plan in details, as I prefer to have one that is well-planned. Anyway, read below about the different types of ezine formats that you can use. 

eZine publishers today use any one or more of the 3 most commonly used eZine formats which I am about to describe to you in this article.

Ultimately, you can decide which format is the best choice for you, though each winning format has its pros and cons.

The text eZine is the most commonly published. The advantage of this format is that other than writing, you do not require any special skill to use a Word or Notepad program.

While the HTML eZine format requires a certain degree of HTML skills on your part, you can add more sophisticated features to your eZine issues, making them more appealing to your subscriber thus increasing your readership value, something that text eZines do not have.

You can decorate your eZine format, change your fonts, include pictures, and more. However, the drawback often faced by HTML eZines is that they often get trapped into spam filters before they reach their subscribers’ inboxes.

The third and least used among the 3 formats is the PDF eZine. Publishing your eZine in PDF format can consume a lot of time and effort on your part but often make up in quality readership.

Due to the commitment, PDF eZines are usually published on a monthly basis. The great part, though, is that you can put in your affiliate links in your PDF eZine issue and allow your subscribers to pass the eZine issue around.

Given the choices, however, you do not have to necessarily choose strictly one eZine format, as some eZine publishers today do publish in more than one format. Ultimately, it is your choice as to which format to choose and which one works well with your eZine.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The Easiest Way to Create Articles – Public Domain!

There are many webmasters that find writing articles for their site to be a very tedious task. Many people who need to write articles also procrastinate as much as they can to delay the amount of writing they need to do. Many people dread writing articles because they find researching for the topic and writing down original materials will be too taxing on them.

You need to have your creative juices flowing and simply downloading an article would be plagiarism or tantamount to stealing, not exactly. Have you ever heard about public domain? These are articles written down by many authors that have declared their works to be public domain, which means anybody can use it for whatever purpose they want.

While most authors would prefer to copyright their work for their rights, there are also a number who don’t mind sharing their work. Public domain articles are not owned by anybody and can be used and abused by anyone. The writers have waived their rights to their works and it is out there for the public to make use of.

You can use public domain articles in helping you write your articles. With the public domain articles you can simply edit them to your own style and rewrite them as you please to make it suitable for your needs. All the ideas are there already and its just a matter of finding the write article with the topic or subject you need.

This is probably the easiest way to write articles. You don’t need to scour around the library or the internet for hours for information and start an article from scratch. For webmasters who are looking for articles to fill their site and to generate a high ranking for their website in search engine results, they can just modify the article by infusing keywords and keyword phrases related to their site.

A webmaster or website operator does not risk any chance of getting sued for copyright infringement because they are public domain, meaning that anybody can use it. Writing articles by using public domain won't require as much work as writing one from scratch would. You save a lot of time also.

One good factor in using public domain articles for your site or for any project is that you save a lot of money. You dismiss the need to hire experienced and seasoned writers that some website operators use to write their articles.  While a single five hundred worded article would only set you down 10 to 15 dollars, this cost will drastically increase when you need hundreds of articles to fill the needs of your site.

For those who needs articles to generate newsletters or an e-zine, public domain articles will be very beneficial. You do not need to count on your contributors or pay writers to write down articles for your newsletter or e-zine. You can fill all the pages without any cost or the worry of being sued and sought after by the writers. You can simply copy the articles and place them on your newsletter and e-zine.

Public domain articles are a virtual untapped resource that many people fail to realize the true value. The power of articles, keywords and keyword phrases have been deemed invaluable these past few years for many Internet based businesses and sites that want to rank high in search engine results.

The number of article and content writers have grown significantly due to the rise in the demand for articles. As newer and newer topics and subjects have arisen, there are many demands for new articles to be written. An industry has been formed and this is a worldwide demand.

Public domain articles have given a great alternative for those who are cash strapped as well as do not have the time nor the skills to do their articles for themselves.

Searching for public domain articles is as easy as 1 – 2 – 3. You can search for them in search engines and do searches in many directories for the topic or subject that you need. Read them and simpy copy paste them to a word processing program and simply edit them to suit your needs.

Increasing Sales Through Strategic Internet Marketing

The Internet has now become an important medium for product and service advertisements.  Almost every company that can afford print, radio and TV advertisements have also ventured into placing ads on the Internet.

But with millions of websites out there being visited by millions of computer users, how can you make sure that your ad can be seen by your target customers and that your leads will be followed by these users?  Here are a few tips.

1.  Place an ad on the websites frequented by your target customers.  Before doing this, you need to define who will be your target customers.  Placing an ad on sites that they usually visit will increase the possibility that your ad will gain the attention and will be followed your target customers. 

Also, consider the website's search engine placement, traffic, external linking and the other ads placed on it.  External linking will determine if there are other sites that link to this site.  This will mean that people can get to the site where your ad is placed, even if they are browsing a different site.  Check if many of your competitors have ads on this site.

2.  Placing ads on some sites cost some money.  However, there are also sites that can place a link to your site, product or service in exchange of having their link being displayed on your site.  This is also true about the newsletters sent by site owners to its mailing list members regularly.

Also, having helpful links placed on your site and having sites link to your pages help in boosting search engine ranking.  This is similar to making a statement that your site's content is important that other sites have links to your web pages.

3.  Pay-per-click (PPC) is also a good method in Internet marketing.  You will only need to pay for the ad if the link is clicked.  If you prefer this method of advertisement, make sure that you are using services that set limits on daily expenses.  There are also services that help you determine effective keywords and monitor the PPC results.

4.  Choose your domain name wisely.  It is still being debated if domain names matter when it comes to search engine placement.  Whether it does or not, having product related domain names help consumers remember your domain, that they can go back to your site even without the links.

5.  Make sure you have useful content on your sites.  While keyword density is important in search engine placement, having useless information or annoying repetition of keywords will not increase your customer's confidence in your site.  It may even affect your sites traffic and can get your site removed from search engines.  So make sure that keywords are used strategically.

6.  When thinking of keywords, think like your target customers.  What do you think are they going to search so they can get to your site?  Also, use specific keywords or key phrases.  Submitting a single word or a very general phrase to a search engine will not get you to the top of the search results compared to submitting specific keywords that describe your product and services perfectly.

7.  Track your ads.  Always check how much you have spent on placing links on frequently visited sites and on PPC.  There are services that allow you to monitor PPC transactions and how many of these end in sales.  You always need to consider if the ads that you have placed on these websites are getting you to your target consumers and if these ads can lead to revenue.

One final tip on marketing products and services, sell the benefits.  It will help your marketing strategies a lot if you highlight the benefits of choosing your products and services instead of merely discussing the product specifications.  Product specifications may not mean much to customers, unless they know what these stand for (how these specifications affect the quality of the product or service).

Many people say getting to the top of search engine results is difficult since millions of websites exist, which can be using the same keywords.  While this is true, this doesn't mean that your website has to stack under your competitors' websites when presenting search engine results.  Strategic advertising and linking, together with useful content, can also get you to the top of the search results.

The A-Z of Internet Marketing (Part 21)

Twice a week you'll find tips and pointers on Internet marketing.. all of them are compiled in a series called 'The A-Z of Internet Marketing.' ^_^ Here's the second part this week...

106. Hοw tο Advertise without Going Brοkе

 

Whіlе іt mау nοt seem intuitive, advertising wіth Google AdWords аnd οthеr cost-per-click advertising services іѕ thе best way tο control уουr costs. Yου very clearly pay according tο quality; аnd уου hаνе direct control over thе entire process, including thе budget.

107. Hοw tο Avoid Getting Burnt Out

 

Burn out іѕ very common аmοng Internet marketers. Aftеr thе honeymoon phase οf owning уουr οwn business, thе long hours аnd thе irregular pay mау gеt overwhelming. If thіѕ іѕ thе case fοr уου, thеn уου need tο gеt іn thе habit οf taking brеаkѕ, going οn vacation, аnd doing whatever уου саn tο avoid getting burnt out.

108. Hοw tο Avoid Going Brοkе whіlе Yου Build Yουr Business

 

Whеn building уουr Internet-based business, іt іѕ іmрοrtаnt thаt уου dο nοt overspend. Otherwise, уου сουld еnd up brοkе before уου mаkе аnу headway towards a successful business. Fοr thіѕ reason, іt іѕ a gοοd іdеа tο сυt out extraneous spending οn ebooks аnd software—аnd instead seek free аnd open source alternatives.

109. Hοw tο Boost Yουr Blog Traffic іn One Week

 

Bеgіn tagging аll οf уουr blog entries аnd pinging thеm tο www.pingoat.com. Thіѕ wіll automatically add уουr entries tο social bookmarking sites аnd blog directories. Fοr a moment, уουr entry wіll bе аt thе top οf thе results, whісh wіll probably generate аt lеаѕt a few visits.

110. Hοw tο Bυу Competing Sites

 

If уου’re struggling tο expand уουr current business, consider buying a closely related business using thе marketplace аt http://www.sitepoint.com. Yου wіll nοt οnlу gain thе customer base, business template, аnd credibility οf thе existing business, bυt уου wіll аlѕο learn hοw іt operates, ѕο уου саn import thаt knowledge іntο уουr current model.

(to be continued...)

Learn all the tricks of the trade so to speak. It's important to focus on your goals and stick to your budget. You will be surprised at the vast amount of resources you can gain access to for FREE if you take time out to do your research. Clearly, even for me, there's so much more that need to be learned. One step at a time.. one new learning each day, every day.. all can add up to a lot at the end of the week, months, and years. And the best advice for this batch is.. how to avoid getting burnt out. LOL! If you think working for a boss is stressful, try working for yourself. But the good thing is you know that at the end of the day, you are going to benefit from your hard work and perseverance.

The A-Z of Internet Marketing (Part 20)

The A-Z of Internet marketing series is featured twice a week on this blog. Feel free to come back to read the rest. Here's the next part...

101. Half οf thе Challenge іѕ Following Through

 

Coming up wіth аn іdеа аnd a рlаn isn’t enough. Following through іѕ јυѕt аѕ difficult аnd іmрοrtаnt. Thіѕ іѕ whу іt іѕ іmрοrtаnt tο practice being consistent; аnd tο practice forcing yourself tο mονе forward, even whеn уου don’t feel comfortable doing ѕο.

102. Half οf Yουr Traffic Wіll Come frοm 10% οf Yουr Work

 

Much οf уουr traffic wіll come frοm 1-2 marketing campaigns thаt work very well. Thіѕ іѕ whу іt іѕ іmрοrtаnt tο test аnd track уουr marketing campaigns—ѕο уου саn keep thе ones thаt work аnd drop thе ones thаt don’t.

103. Half-Fіnіѕhеd Projects Don’t Bring іn Half аѕ Much Revenue

 

Half-fіnіѕhеd projects don’t sell. Sο, instead οf сrеаtіng 3 different half-fіnіѕhеd projects, complete аnd market 1 product.

104. Haste Doesn’t Always Translate іntο Waste

 

Haste doesn’t always translate іntο waste. In particular, whеn іt comes tο сrеаtіng products, іt іѕ better tο dο іt fаѕt, gеt іt wrοng, аnd mаkе corrections thаn іt іѕ tο spend weeks trying tο сrеаtе thе “perfect” product.

105. Hаνе A Back-Up Plаn Ready

 

Back-up plans аrе crucial. Thеу give уου something tο dο аѕ soon аѕ thе original рlаn doesn’t pan out. Keep 1 οr 2 plans οn thе back burner, ѕο thаt уου саn refer tο thеm іf things don’t gο well.

(to be continued...)

Once again the series provides a lot of helpful advice. Following through is indeed important. I keep tabs of my list of things to do by having a notebook and pen nearby at all times. I make it a point to update my 'to-do' list and remove those items that I've already accomplished. It not only helps keep me organized, but in a way, it helps me feel good when I see minor accomplishments.

Promoting Your Blog

Blogging can be a great deal of fun for some bloggers but for others it is a source of income. Whether this income is earned through an AdSense campaign, paid advertisements, affiliate marketing or some other type of revenue generating source one of the key elements to maximizing this profit is by driving greater traffic to the blog. This is because the more visitors the blog receives the more opportunities there are for the blogger to have visitors click through the advertisements in the blog. There are a few basic techniques which bloggers can rely on to promote their blog and increase traffic to their blog. This article will cover a few of these key concepts including participating in relevant message boards, optimizing the blog for search engines and keeping the blog interesting to visitors.

Active Participation in Message Boards

Participation in message boards which relate to the blog topic is actually one very simple way for blog owners to drive traffic to their blog. However, one caveat to using this type of promotion for the blog is to avoid violating the rules of the message board. This is important because some message boards have strict regulations regarding the inclusion of links to other websites on the message board. Failure to follow these guidelines may result in the blogger being banned from the message board and may also cause other message board users to not think highly of the blog owner.

Another careful consideration for the blog owner is to avoid posting the web address to his blog in a way which will be considered spam by other message board users. This is important because other message board users are likely to not visit the blog if they believe the blog owner is simply spamming the message board. This can be avoided by including the link to the blog in the signature and ensuring the posts made on the message board are informative and of interest to the other message board users. Building a reputation as a useful contributor to the message board will be beneficial to enticing other users of the message board to visit the blog.

Optimizing Your Blog

Search engine optimization is another factor which blog owners should also carefully consider. Optimizing the blog for search engines can be beneficial because improved search engine rankings often lead to increased blog traffic. Depending on the amount of competition on the blog subject rising to the top of the search engine rankings may not always be easy. Blog owners who have a blog with a very popular subject may face stiff competition for search engine rankings from other blogs and websites which may have the means to hire professionals in the search engine optimization industry to assist them in achieving high rankings. However, there are some steps the blogger can take to attempt to boost rankings. Some of these steps include researching and using relevant keywords naturally throughout the blog postings, incorporating these keywords into the title, META and image tags and avoiding black hat optimizing techniques which could result in the blog being penalized by search engines.

Keeping Your Blog Interesting

Finally, one of the simplest ways a blog owner can help to drive traffic to his blog is by regularly updating the blog and keeping it interesting. This is important because a blog which is interesting is much more likely to not only maintain blog traffic but also generate new traffic. This is because readers who are interested in the posts on the blog are not only likely to keep coming back to the blog but are also likely to recommend the blog to other members of the target audience. This type of word of mouth advertising can be very beneficial because those who have an interest in the content of a particular blog also typically have friends who would also be interested in the blog. Once one blog owner recommends a blog to one or more friends, these new blog visitors are also likely to recommend the blog to others if they find it to be interesting, useful or otherwise worthwhile.

Advertising on the Internet

Ever since the advent of Internet, advertising on the World Wide Web has been very popular. Many corporations, companies and business have taken advantage of this and you can see ads on any web pages you visit. Consumers can go to any search engine and type the keyword relating to what they are looking for and hit search and they will be provided with a huge list from which they can select. This is a very cost effective and time saving method of advertising.

It has become really easy for any business to have a personalized website by which they can advertise, directly interact with the customer; provide details about their product and services. Regular newsletters, offers, discounts can be pasted on site to increase the interest of the website visitors.

Since it’s easy to reach any kind of audience concerning any kind of business, the possibility of misuse is always there. Based on this Internet advertising is classified into two kinds of advertisement, legal online advertising and illegal online advertising. Legal online advertising includes online advertising directories, search engine advertising, e-mail advertising, and desktop advertising. Illegal advertising is more commonly know as spamming. This is usually done by altering some system settings with the help of external applications after which pop-ups are sent to a particular network or computer. The external applications are known as adware or spyware. Some of these are really harmful, the most famous being Trojans, which are very hard to uninstall and remove from the system.     

With the increase in technology, special effects are being used to make advertisement more interesting. Vivid colors, good page layout and lots of imagination is involved. Typically Adobe Flash is used to design advertisements these days. Depending on the technology being used to design advertisements can be classified into various categories.

Banner ads are animations displayed on the website usually created in HTML or Eudora. There is a range of type and sizes of the ads. Trick banner ads are banner ads that have an extra functionality of dialog boxes and buttons and are displayed as an alert or error message.

A pop-up is an advertisement displayed in a new window that covers up the active web page. A pop-under advertisement opens in another window that is under the active web page and can be seen after the present window is either closed or minimized.

Interstitial ads are those that are displayed before directing over to the desired page.

Wallpaper ads form the background of the web page.

The ads that float on the screen are known as a floating ad.

Polite ads download on a low pace without interrupting the normal functioning of the website.

An ad that enlarges and changes the contents of the page being displayed is known as expanding ad.

Advertisements which are displayed in a video form on a website is known as a video ad.

There are many ways by which advertising slots can be purchased on Internet like CPM, CPV, CPC, CPA, CPL and CPO. CPM or cost per mil means that the advertiser is meant to pay for a particular number of people to whom the advertisement will be exposed.  CPV or cost per visitor means that the advertiser is meant to pay for the people to whom the advertisement was delivered. CPC or cost per click means paying for the number of clicks made on the advertisement by the visitors. Although the advertisement is put up on the website, the amount is paid only after the visitor clicks on the URL of the advertisement. CPA or cost per action means that the advertisement publisher bares all the charges of advertisement, but he gets paid only if the visitor clicks on the advertisement and purchases a product or signs-up for a service. CPL or cost per lead is similar to CPA, only that the visitor doesn’t have to necessarily buy anything; he or she can simply apply to get regular newsletters and special offers. CPO or cost per order is where the advertiser pays each time an order is placed.

Online advertisements cannot only be used to promote a product or service but in fact they can be used for purposes like promoting charity and spreading information.