Ten Simple, No Cost Methods to Take Your Marketing to the Next Level

No cost marketing methods, are you crazy? To answer that question, no, I’m quite sain. Every online marketer can use ten methods to boost marketing for nothing out of pocket. With these free marketing methods you can try them, and find the ones that fit your needs, with no cost you can put them all into use and watch your sales boom.

1. Remember it is all about your visitors. Your ads are not the place to get a case of the “Me’s”. Your visitors will want to know that their needs and wants will be met. They want to hear what your product or service will do to make their life easier, and better. So remember, your ads are not the place to boast about awards won, or your genius. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and write the ad for them.

2. You can allow visitors post a free classified ad on your website. Let them post the ad and in return they must give you a valid e-mail address. If it suites you, require them to return after a agreed upon time to re submit. You can also get them to give you a reciprocal link on their site. You will get an address for you list, as well as get your link post on another site for free.

3. Are you an ezine article writer? Allow others to publish your articles on their sites. By including your website ad and link in each article published, you will then get your information out every time someone uses your material.

4. Are you one who likes to leave feedback on a product or service you have received? If so don’t let that go without getting something out of it for yourself. When you email your testimonial to the company give them permission to use your praises on their site as long as they link to your site. Simply put your name under your testimonial and your site information.

5.You can give away the soft ware as a gift to customers as a way of showing appreciation. Place an ad along with the gift for a back end product you are offering.

6. Since your subscribers are most likely to invest in upgrades and pass information onto friends, try giving them free copies or limited memberships to new products you may have. What you may offer free today, will be put back into your business plus more when upgrades are bought, or full memberships purchased.

7. People buy product when they see the ad repeatedly. Give away a follow-up email course on anything pertaining to your product. With each lesson remember to include your ad. By keeping your advertisement in your customer’s mind they will be more likely to buy from you.

8. Contest’s are always a hit with people. When they think they can win something for free, people will always sign up. You can use short polls or surveys for people to enter the contest, and it will increase your opt in list. By giving away ebooks or reports, or if you want something to send them go with t-shirts, caps, or anything with your company logo. Then notify everyone by email to announce the winner of the contest.

9. If your site does not have message boards or forums on it, you may want to change that. It will let your customers be more active on your site. When members get active on a message board or forum, they are more likely to return later.

10. How to articles or stories are a fantastic way to keep people reading your site. Everyone enjoys a good story or interesting articles. By using tall tales and humor on your page you will find more people taking time to read from start to finish.



About The Author

Jason Pearson is an online marketing expert who wants to share his secrets with the world. To find out more visit http://www.thewinningbusiness.com

"Luck" Marketing?

Does Luck have a place in marketing management?


On a scale of 1-10, with ten being the "Perfect Product and Plan" and one being let's cut our losses and file Chapter 13, Luck is at least a 5. Timing is everything, but like the saying goes "stuff happens", that even the most savvy management team could not see without a crystal ball, Luck comes into play.

How does luck, good or bad, compare to budgets, advertising plans, media blitzes, and pages of statistical figures? There is gorilla marketing, voo-doo marketing, , new age marketing, old school, hip hop marketing, even punk marketing. Taken as part of a managed effort, being in the right place at the right time is really a matter of careful and brilliant planning...or not?

What the credible manager needs is to make sure that all his "marketing ducks" are in the proper row, and get lucky! "Well, punk, do you feel lucky?"

Instrapanuer

OK, this is a "draft" article in progress with the content from the latest issue of "Wired" magazine.


From the rise in instant manufacturing to the growth of open-source business models, these trends show that innovation can bloom even in a grim economic climate.

Vote!: The Most Effective Self-Promoters of All Time Jeffrey Wegesin is a furniture maker. His most popular creation is a curvaceous side table, and even though he has sold only two copies of it, he has already turned a profit. He did it without so much as setting foot in a wood shop. And he is not alone. Wegesin is one of 5,000 merchants who have established accounts with Ponoko, a year-old on-demand manufacturing service in New Zealand. Designers upload their blueprints to Ponoko's servers; when a customer places an order, Ponoko's laser cutters automatically trim wood and plastic to create the product on the spot. Wegesin, a Web designer, sells the tables through the site for $250, not including shipping. He then pays Ponoko $124 for each table to cover the cost of materials and cutting fees. The $252 he's brought in so far may not be much, but because he incurred no up-front costs it comes as pure profit.

Welcome to the age of the instapreneur. With nothing more than a design, amateurs can manufacture jewelry, robots, T-shirts, furniture — anything. No warehouses. No minimum orders. And no money down. The digital economy isn't just digital; the same market forces that allowed midlist musicians to make a living distributing their songs online now give amateur clothiers the chance to sell their wares without having to persuade Barney's buyers to carry them.

Thousands are launching instant businesses. Zazzle, of Redwood City, California, offers a dizzying array of user-designed products from posters to tennis shoes. StyleShake, a custom-clothing site in London, received 25,000 dress designs in its first three months. Spreadshirt, founded in Leipzig, Germany, hosts 500,000 individual T-shirt shops. "These companies significantly lower the threshold for someone to bring anything to market," says Neil Gershenfeld, director of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms. "There's an industrial-age bias that you need volume to support a factory; but with this, much-more-creative low-volume businesses become viable."

These are not just CaféPress-style in-jokes — T-shirts and mugs meant to appeal to a small circle of friends. According to Spreadshirt CEO Jana Eggers, her site saw a 30 percent increase last year in the number of North American shop partners that sold more than 1,000 shirts annually. Even CaféPress has become a bona fide business platform. Jim Gamble, a Bay Area entrepreneur, uses the site to sell 50,000 of his T-shirts and bumper stickers — all emblazoned with conservative political slogans — every year, giving him an income "well into the six figures," he says.

Large brands are starting to see the appeal of manufacturing-as-a-service, too. Lexus recently used Blurb, an on-demand publisher, to print 1,800 copies of a book promoting the automaker's green practices. Franchises from Dilbert to the Discovery Channel sell licensed merchandise on CaféPress. Disney has uploaded more than 3,500 of its designs to Zazzle, allowing the company to sell a wider range of products than just the blockbuster Mickey Mouse T-shirts favored by conventional retailers. The service also gives the Disney machine unprecedented agility. "Here, I can see that Hannah Montana is taking off, we can upload a design right into Zazzle's system, and in a day or two it's a product," says Patrick Haley, senior manager of customization for DisneyShopping.com.

As everyone gains the ability to create and sell anything, the long tail will apply to making things as well as to selling them. Amazon.com may be able to offer near-infinite inventory, but only as long as the products exist. On-demand manufacturing could eliminate that constraint, leading to a world where products are always available, nothing ever gets discontinued, and the virtual shelves are always stocked.

Related Topics:

http://www.wired.com/wired/

http://www.intrapreneur.com/

http://www.ponoko.com/

http://www.zazzle.com/

Green Marketing, A NW Business Ploy?

Green marketing is wearing out it's label as far as I can see here in the Pacific NW. Having been involved in the solar energy market since 1976 and a Design /Builder of solar structures and heating systems in the mid-1980's, I think its been taken to the extreme here in Portland.

I mean the sun actually shines in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. My passive solar homes build in Upstate NY are still functioning right along , after 25 years. At the time I utilized "local, natural materials", conservation, and design vs hardware.

The NW and this Liberal viewpoint of a "Lower Carbon Footprint" pervades almost every aspect of commerce. Clothing (natural fibers), retail malls(vegan stores, food markets), coffee (Starbucks?), cars ($25,000 electric and hybrid cars), small "footprint" 550 Sq ft "earth friendly" $250,000 condos, and blah, blah, blah.

This marketing ploy is aimed at the young urban hipster(YUPPIES) who have high incomes and no kids (DINKS). Who need $1500 folding bikes, kayaks parked at the Marina they take the Street car to, spend $1500+ to go camping with REI, Columbia, or Northface Equipment. Everything is green in Portland.....and expensive. I think it is a ploy.

Yes, it works!


Some web sites to review:

http://www.greenbuilding.com/

http://www.green-living.com/

http://lighterfootstep.com/

Borders Tanks, or Why I Can't Get Rehired!

Gee, this explains a lot...can you say "hiring freeze"? If i remeber correctly, this company had a 34% profit in 2005 0r 2006. Hmmmmmmmm, Barnes and Nobel sounding good!

Borders shares slide after news of strategic review

Bookseller swings to profit but cancels dividend to conserve capital

By Robert Daniel & Michelle Donley, MarketWatch
Last Update: 10:54 AM ET Mar 20, 2008

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Borders Group Inc. plunged more than 20% in early trading Thursday after the bookseller said it would review alternatives for its business, including a possible sale of part or all of the company.

Borders (BGP: news) also said Pershing Square Capital Management LP, its largest shareholder, proposed a financing plan to ease what might have become a liquidity problem.

The Ann Arbor, Mich., bookseller determined that it needed additional capital for 2008, and the difficult credit markets rendered some financing alternatives unavailable, Chief Executive George Jones said in a statement.

Absent a financing deal, "liquidity issues may otherwise have arisen in the next few months," the executive said.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs see the news as a sign that Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS: news) could step in to buy the company.

"We believe that BGP's financial distress diminishes the impact of antitrust considerations, though we presume that BKS remains averse to taking on leases that would increase store overlap," they wrote in a note Thursday morning. "A bankruptcy filing for BGP, not likely given Pershing's investment, would enable BKS to break its leases."

Borders reported early Thursday that it swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $1.10 a share from a year-earlier loss of $1.22 a share. It also said it was omitting its quarterly dividend to conserve capital. Borders retained J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch for financial advice as it reviews its options.

Jones said 2008 will be a "challenging year for retailers." By resolving its funding needs for 2008, he said, Borders believes it can meet its 2009 financial goals, albeit later than it had hoped.

Three-part financing proposal

Pershing Square Capital Management LP, the New York investment firm and Borders's largest holder, has committed to a three-part plan, which the independent directors of Borders have approved.

First is a $42.5 million secured term loan to Borders at a 12.5% annual interest rate; the loan matures Jan. 15, 2009.

Second, Pershing committed to a "backstop purchase offer." This gives Borders the option until Jan. 15, 2009, to sell its Paperchase, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore units and its 17% interest in Borders U.K. to Pershing for $125 million, "after the company has pursued a sale process to maximize the value of those assets."

In the third point of Pershing's plan, Borders would issue to Pershing 14.7 million warrants to buy shares at $7 each. That would be just under a 20% stake in Borders. The stake would be protected against dilution if Borders were to issue more equity, except in the case of shares issued for employee stock options.

The three-part proposal is binding on Pershing Square until April 4, until which, Borders has the right to seek better financing deals. If Borders finds a better deal, it can end the Pershing agreement with no break-up fee, although Pershing can request reimbursement of reasonable expenses, Borders said.

Dividend omitted, profitability up

Borders, which operates more than 1,100 stores worldwide and employs more than 30,000 people, last paid out a dividend of 11 cents a share on Feb. 10 to holders of record Jan. 2.

For the quarter ended Feb. 2, Borders reported net income of $64.7 million compared with a loss of $73.6 million in the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations were $1.44 a share compared with $1.45.

Revenue fell 2% to $1.35 billion from $1.37 billion. Sales fell 2.2% to $1.32 billion from $1.35 billion.

At the U.S. Borders Superstores division, comparable-store sales rose 2.1%, the third consecutive quarter of positive sales on this basis, which excludes the effects of acquisitions and divestitures.

At the U.S. unit, same-store book sales rose 3.2% while "music continued its steep sales decline," with comparable sales off 14%, Borders said. The company is reducing music inventories to better present merchandise and to make room for offerings with fatter profit margins.

Comparable-store sales in the international segment rose 9.3% in the quarter as Asia-Pacific stores performed strongly, Borders reported. Total international sales rose 35%; excluding the impact of currency translations, overseas sales rose 24%.

Same-store sales at Waldenbooks rose 1.2% in the quarter. Borders said it closed 75 stores in this chain in 2007 and will continue to close stores that aren't meeting financial targets.


Robert Daniel is MarketWatch's Middle East bureau chief, based in Tel Aviv.
Michelle Donley is a MarketWatch news editor based in New York.

The Coming Recession

by AaronHoos

Date Submitted: 3/14/2008

Is your small business or ebusiness ready for the coming recession? Aaron Hoos shows you how you can strengthen your business' foundation to help you weather the economic storm.

Economies fluctuate. They experience waves of growth and decline. And businesses, like boats, ride those waves. When the economy is good, businesses prosper; when the economy is bad, businesses are at risk. Recent signs suggest that we’re facing an imminent recession. Will your business be at risk? In this article, we will look at the coming recession and outline 7 ways that you can reduce the risk to your small business.

In its simplest terms, a recession is a lack of money in the economy. When people hear that there could be a recession, they spend less. And guess what happens! Demand for goods drops. As a result, demand for manufacturing drops. Then, demand drops for employees to do the job. And because of the threat of job-loss, people spend less. It’s a vicious cycle; a self-fulfilling prophecy. The secret to ending a recession is to get people to spend. That’s why the Federal Reserve (and similar central banks in each country) increase and decrease interest rates: Lower interest rates lead to more loans and more spending. Higher interest rates lead to fewer loans and less spending.

A recession is merely part of the economic cycle. We may not like it, and the central banks are effective at minimizing its severity, but a recession is bound to happen. And because it is a self-fulfilling prophecy, the more we hear about job cuts and recessions and stock exchange losses, the more likely we are to put our money under the mattress instead of spending it... which is exactly what fuels a recession!

Increasingly, news reports indicate that a recession is imminent. Even if you choose to spend your money instead of bury it in the backyard, you can be sure that there are millions of other people out there right now who are digging holes in their lawn or tucking an envelope under their mattress or reworking their budget to exclude frivolous spending. So, we can be sure that a recession is coming. Is your small business ready for the recession?

Here are 7 ways that you can prepare your small business:

1. Rework your sales material: It’s time to dust off those brochures and breathe new life into your website. Each sales piece will need to work extra hard to generate the same amount of sales. That could mean freshening up the content, sharpening the pitch, or clarifying the benefits. This is one reason to welcome a recession: if your revived sales collateral can sell in a recession, chances are that it will sell even more effectively in a period of economic growth.

2. Reposition your offering: Remember that people avoid spending their money in recessions, unless they have to. And there are some recession-proof industries which sell products that people need, no matter what the economic condition. Food and shelter are two examples. But what if your small business serves a need outside of the most basic needs that people willingly spend on during a recession? What then? One option is to align your business with one of the necessary industries. For example, you could rewrite your website content to show the importance of your product or service right now; to demonstrate why your product is, in fact, a necessary industry. For example, if you sell car tires, you could show how tires are an excellent investment because they keep families safe and ensure that people get to their jobs on time.

3. Offer additional products and services: With fewer people buying, and with consumers needing a greater reason to buy, this might be a good time to test a handful of ancillary products. One example for e-businesses might be a free bonus ebook. Create 3 or 4 bonus ebooks and allow a customer to select one as a free gift. Keep track of which ones are selected most frequently. Then, when sales pick up again, be sure to include that ebook as a sale-inducing bonus all the time.

4. Explore partnering opportunities: When the economy is smoking hot, businesses don’t always have time to brainstorm ideas with other businesses. But if your small business is looking to stay afloat, there’s probably another one in a similar situation that would be willing to talk. To find that business, forget what you offer. Instead, think about who your customer is. Identify small businesses that market a different product or service to the same customer. Approach them and talk about doubling up on advertising or perhaps selling the other’s products on consignment.

5. Reach out to previous customers: Your happy customers are a resource to you. It’s easier to convince them to buy from you again and they act as evangelists for your business to their family and friends. Even if you don’t normally reach out to this group, consider changing your habit for the next few months. Create a promotional letter, ezine, or special website where you can thank them for their previous business, offer them another product at a discount, and encourage them (with an incentive) to send you more business.

6. Relax; it won’t last forever: The recessions experienced in North America in the past 50 years have all lasted, on average, about 12 months. Maybe a few months more, maybe a few months less, but generally about that amount of time. While those months can be devastating to some small businesses, it is unfortunate that many small businesses adopt the incorrect notion that the downturn will continue on indefinitely and they take drastic measures based on that line of thinking. However, economies are cyclical and they do move through recessions back into periods of growth. So businesses that tighten up moderately -- not drastically -- will weather the recession much more effectively and will be better positioned at the end of it.

7. Get ready for growth: During a recession, people buy less so companies are often more flexible and willing to make a deal. Think long-term and buy your raw materials and equipment in advance. As long as your negotiated bulk discount is more than the cost of storage, you’ll come out ahead because you’ll be able to produce finished products faster (and at an overall lower price) than your competition, once the market heats up again.

It would be great if the prediction of a recession turned out to be wrong and you didn’t need this information. It would be great if small business owners could adopt a "business-as-usual" approach without any worry that their customer-base might suddenly disappear in the coming months. But there’s a good chance that there will be a recession shortly. If you take action now, your business will be better prepared for it.

The Sky is Falling!

The sky is falling, the sky is falling!

I stood near a Shell gas station this morning while they raised the price on Diesel to $2.859 gallon! The DIA lost another 150 points today. What's next?

Here is my prediction. One I have maintained was coming since 9/11.

DIA 5,000

NASDAQ 500

Unemployment 20%+ in Europe and the USA

Home prices decreasing by 50% of current 2006 prices!

Gasoline $6.49 - $8.47 gallon; Diesel $9 gallon

Add a vicious weather pattern (Climate Change), a few major wars (invasion of Iran), terrorism, and a pandemic or two and you have the basis for the "Global Depression of 2010"

I found out on 3/11/08, that my opinions are not mine alone! Please listen to Coast to Coast AM Talk Radio
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/

Marketing opportunity or should we stick our heads in the sand for a few years?

blogvertising

Top 5 Causes of the Great Depression

Filed In:Eras of American History > Great Depression
What caused the Great Depression, the worst economic depression in US history? It was not just one factor, but instead a combination of domestic and worldwide conditions that led to the Great Depression. As such, there is no agreed upon list of all the causes of the Great Depression. Here instead is a list of the top reasons that historians and economists have cited as causing the Great Depression.

The effects of the Great Depression was huge across the world. Not only did it lead to the New Deal in America but more significantly, it was a direct cause of the rise of extremism in Germany leading to World War II.

1. Stock Market Crash of 1929
Many believe erroneously that the stock market crash that occurred on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929 is one and the same with the Great Depression. In fact, it was one of the major causes that led to the Great Depression. Two months after the original crash in October, stockholders had lost more than $40 billion dollars. Even though the stock market began to regain some of its losses, by the end of 1930, it just was not enough and America truly entered what is called the Great Depression.

2. Bank Failures
Throughout the 1930s over 9,000 banks failed. Bank deposits were uninsured and thus as banks failed people simply lost their savings. Surviving banks, unsure of the economic situation and concerned for their own survival, stopped being as willing to create new loans. This exasperated the situation leading to less and less expenditures.

3. Reduction in Purchasing Across the Board
With the stock market crash and the fears of further economic woes, individuals from all classes stopped purchasing items. This then led to a reduction in the number of items produced and thus a reduction in the workforce. As people lost their jobs, they were unable to keep up with paying for items they had bought through installment plans and their items were repossessed. More and more inventory began to accumulate. The unemployment rate rose above 25% which meant, of course, even less spending to help alleviate the economic situation.

4. American Economic Policy with Europe
As businesses began failing, the government created the Hawley-Smoot Tariff in 1930 to help protect American companies. This charged a high tax for imports thereby leading to less trade between America and foreign countries along with some economic retaliation.

5. Drought Conditions
While not a direct cause of the Great Depression, the drought that occurred in the Mississippi Valley in 1930 was of such proportions that many could not even pay their taxes or other debts and had to sell their farms for no profit to themselves. This was the topic of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.

By Martin Kelly, About.com
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/greatdepression/tp/greatdepression.htm

Tax Rebates May Find Uses Other Than Spending

(NewsUSA) - The government's efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy by sending out checks to workers could backfire, suggests a survey asking consumers what they will do with their checks.

Nearly three-quarters of those asked said they will either pay down debt or save the money that's being sent to them as part of an economic stimulus package. The goal of the program is to have the people spend the money, which only about a quarter said they would do.

The survey, conducted by the International Council of Shopping Centers, found that 46 percent of respondents said they would pay off debt, 28 percent said they would save the money and 26 percent said they would spend the money. This means only about $37.5 billion out of the proposed $150 billion stimulus package will be used for its intended purpose.

In case you are one of those who want to save your rebate, what is a good road to take?

"Overspending is the problem, not the solution," says Eric Solis, a certified financial planner and chief executive officer of SAVE252. "A sound, long-term savings program like an IRA will help you reach your financial goals sooner."

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) offer huge tax breaks. Even if you contribute to your company's 401(k), it is still possible to put additional earnings aside. If you are under 50, you can put up to $5,000 in your IRA account every year tax-free. For those over 50, there's a catch-up provision that allows you to put in an extra $1,000 tax-free.

For those who like the idea of an IRA, but would like to apply their money over time, there are programs, like SAVE252, designed to allow individuals to fund IRAs in increments throughout the year. Taking advantage of such programs can help provide some discipline into saving more money while allowing you to be in complete control of your savings.

For example, putting $19.92 away 252 times a year with the SAVE252 program will allow you to have your maximum IRA contribution in by the end of the year and save $1,600 on your taxes, depending on your tax bracket. If you are in a lower tax bracket, you can opt for a more flexible program that allows you to put as little as $1 a day into savings for your future.

For more information and more money-saving options, go to www.save252.com

New Media Advertising – An effective marketing tool

New media advertising is a powerful medium of advertising through the Internet. In today's highly competitive environment, new media advertising acts as a cost effective meduim with a wider reach, targetting a huge online audience. New media makes it possible to communicate with the audience using the benefits of technology on a interactive platform. Unlike traditional media, it is possible to track the audience usage and traffic by using new media as a marketing medium. Due to its unique features and benefits it has become popular among the users and advertisers alike.

exchange4media is an online portal that gives you access to a wide variety of information on the marketing and advertising industry with news on some of the latest happenings in the media.

Advantages of New media/ Internet advertising

Online Media advertising helps in targetting a selected audience for conveying specific information. Millions of users log on to the Internet everyday which gives greater visibility to the online advertisers. Internet advertising is also useful to track information about the number of users who visit the website everyday.

Marketing and advertising on the Internet also helps in lowering the costs incurred through traditional form of advertising. Internet advertising enables one to conduct transactions using an interactive meduim catering to a given audience based on their age, gender, background, demography,interests targetting specifc needs.

Internet advertising is done through advertising banners which is an interactive meduim to communicate with the users. Advertising banners have been used for online marketing since the 1990's and have become a popular marketing tool.Many advertisers use banner ads to give publlicity to their products or services.

Marketing and advertising companies use creative banner ads to generate curiosity among the users so that they click on the banner to see further information. This gives greater visibility to the advertiser with more audience reach and helps in branding.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

Online Media advertising helps in targetting a selected audience for conveying specific information. Millions of users log on to the Internet everyday which gives greater visibility to the online advertisers.

About the Author:
Anurag is a well known analyst who keeps a keen eye on Media advertising & Public Relations. He writes for www.exchange4media.com

Recession/Depression Marketing

marketing blogs

Believe it or not, economic hard times are here. Call it a recession, a downturn, a depression, or an economic slowdown. The results are the same...slow or declining sales, decreased productivity, layoffs, and dwindling profits.

So how does marketing work in a recession bound economy? Is it realistic to expect $3-$5 in sales or profit for every dollar spent in advertising and marketing under these extreme circumstances. Is instant "gratification" from a marketing budget reasonable. Probably not.

In many instances, marketing dollars, sales people, pressure for results with fewer bodies are the first "victims" of the decline. Is this just habit or good sense? Sales and profit are usually easy to come by when times are booming...even management idiots can make money. However when the times are tough, events willow out the dumb and dumber, the negative and the nay-sayers. Lean times call for tough decisions, creative solutions, leadership, and determination.

It is still possibe to make a profit during lean times. Creative solutions, sound judgement , and leadership make the difference.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recession

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression

Simple Blog Web Promotion Ideas!!

Getting your blog off the ground is not as tricky as people make it out to be. If you follow some really basic steps then it can be as eating a piece of pie. I have found a couple great blogs that have taught be something very unique and extremely rare. What I have learned will benefit any and every blogger out there. Read on to find out more.

If you talk to bloggers about how many readers they had from the word go most of them will say absolutely NONE. They will tell you that it takes weeks if not months to get a small, simple blog off the ground and get people reading, reviewing, and subscribing to your blog. How would you like it if I told you that you did not have to weeks promoting your blog? How would you like it if you didn't even have to spend days promoting your blog?

Well I am going to tell you how you can get hundreds if not a thousand visitors to your blog in its first week. There are a few things that you will have to do. The steps are really simple to follow and you can either do it in one big load in one day or you can spread it out spending no more than half an hour or so a day over the span of about a couple weeks for best results.

Content

Many bloggers will start out with one to five post on their first day and then post once a day or week. This is the first thing that they are doing wrong to get their blog off the ground. You ask all of the bloggers that have done this and they will tell you that it took a week to a month before they started to get readers.

Having five posts when your blog is started is not enough to get people to hang around and keep reading. You have to have enough posts pre-written so by the time your blog goes live you can post them all one after another. This will allow a visitor to be able to have a look around at what your writing and the more they read the higher the chance that they will subscribe or come back for more.

To get returning visitors from the start you have to have ATLEAST 20-30 post pre-written and ready to post as soon as your blog goes live. If you have 20-30 quality posts ready to go you can be assured that your visitors will stick around and read.

Tagging

While researching blogs and blog promotion I came across something called Technorati Tagging. I had never seen this before and I didn't have a clue what they did so I looked into it further. I found out that Technorati Tags are actually able to deliver mass amounts of traffic. They way it works is as your writing your post when you come across a word that could categorize your post you add [tag] and close the word with a [/tag) (change the ) with a ]) around it. This will 'tag' that word and once your blog is pinged to Technorati your blog will be placed under the category of that word. When someone searches a word that you have tagged your blog will show up.

Social Bookmarking

You will definitely see results by social bookmarking. It is very simple and all it requires is a little time. All you simply have to do is notify them of your post :O that sounds so hard. I managed to find a great list of the best social bookmarking sites. Take your pick of these top 20. They are all great and will improve your search engine results greatly.

1. 30daytags
2. BlinkBits
3. BlogHop
4. BlogLot
5. BlogMarks
6. BlogMemes
7. BlogPulse
8. BmAccess
9. browsr
10. Fark
11. CiteULike
12. clipclip
13. clipmarks
14. Complore
15. Connectedy
16. Connotea
17. de.lirio.us
18. del.icio.us
19. digg
20. diigo

Tell Other Bloggers

If you are after highly targeted traffic then this is a MUST. Before your blog goes live search through Google and other search engines for blog that are highly ranked on the topic you are writing on.

Create some personalised emails for each of the blogs you find (I recommend around 30-40 as you should recieve 75% positive results). Do not email the bloggers until you have made your initial posts.By notifying other bloggers about your blog you will get the 'word' out and you should recieve some good traffic and links from these other blogs.

You're Done!!

If you do all this correctly then not to long after you made our first post you should be receiving some quality views. This has to be the easiest web promotion for your blog ever. You will be receiving many return readers if you have followed these steps because the traffic is so targeted.


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At www.splur.net we provide you with a great free directory to submit your links to and a complete section will soon be added with all the traffic generation tips and tricks you need!! We have added a free directory list so come check it out.

Article Source: http://www.marketingarticlelibrary.com

How is that Holdiay Marketing Coming?

Another commercialized season is upon us. The same lights, some 5 year+ old TV commercials, same or similar sales and products! Ho Hum.....boreing! And everyone wonders why sales are slumping?

Could starting Christmas decorating before Halloween be a factor, or stores such as WalMart having decorations and trees up by the end of September? Duh!

Come on the unlimited growth and surge in consumption is over...we need to move to a sustainable economy!

Let's brainstorm some new ideas, level the playing field, (do we really need 50 different companies to have competition?), see what sustainabilty vs growth and conspicuous consumption may offer. Let's get creative. Lets survive.

Three Easy But Inexpensive Business Marketing Tips

Lately businesses have suffered a slump due to the struggling regional economy and many business owners would want to promote and boost sales the cheap and inexpensive way. Business marketing would entail cost and owners and board of directors would want to keep it at the minimum to soften the influx of inbound and outbound cash flow.

There are many ways to deal with business marketing and everything lies with the premise of exposure and brand name mileage. It may be an advertisement on national television or a flyer distributed at a local pewee baseball game, this always leads to brand and business exposure.

Here are five easy and inexpensive tips that could get that mileage and give your business a sales boost.

Letterheads, Logo's and Emblem Envelops

As much as possible we would not want people scouring through our mail but having these business paraphernalia could make your business look more serious and professional. Logos on envelopes and stationeries can be noticed by third party individuals that might be looking for your services or products. It is important that you have a comprehensive paraphernalia design that can get messages across and not confuse your potential clients.

Press Releases and Infomercials

Many cable companies now offer there own channels as community billboard or an alternative to the local community channel and most of them would only be asking for just a fraction of what national television media are asking. Although having to narrowcast on the local area would mean fewer audiences but for a small local business it can be a huge impact since this is the only market that you cater to.

Local newspapers and magazines are open to press releases or an interestingly written informative article about your product. Media would need to research on interesting topics that they could fill their paper with for people to buy them and your product could be interesting enough to be featured on as an article or press release instead of advertising it. This could give a positive image to your company and product.

Sponsoring Community Based Activities

Having a business to sponsor a community activity may be one of the hardest to measure in terms of brand impact and recall. Though it may be hard to quantify and could be impossible to measure, it is one of the oldest tricks in marketing books. This business activity can promote brand loyalty among the society.

Another impact that can be enjoyed by this is the news about the sports event that carries your name, and it would be best to sponsor the team that has the highest chance of winning since everybody loves a winner.

Brand marketing strategies require patience and perseverance in achieving good results based on your budget. Everything is about timing, a good business marketing mix that is not well thought about or planned can lead to disaster with financial as well as moral losses. So be wary before spending your budget, because there is no half-way, either you push it-giving 100% support to your business marketing or not pushing it at all.

About the Author:

James Brown writes about resellrightsgarage.com coupon code, SnapMonkey bargains

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Article published on November 28, 2007 at iSnare.com

Holidays are coming......... Shop till you drop!

OMG, they started Holiday (Christmas) decorations the first of November here in the NW. The town tree is up, and the lighting ceremony is this Friday. all the stores are decorated for the season, snow is highly unlikely. Some ads are calling for a "Pre-Thanksgiving Day Sale", and then of course Friday is "Black Friday"...won't see me in any mall or store that day, or even that weekend.

I think commercialism is an addiction, much like tobacco or drugs. Shop till you drop, or are broke, buying crap you don't need, just to buy.

A "sustainable economy" under the current economic system here in the USA and probably most of the world, is highly unlikely! For example, thanks to surpluses/poor quality control/mass production, I have a brand new $150+ "Columbia" high tech winter coat. They are given out to the homeless (me). The real funny part is everything seems to be made in Thailand, China, or Malaysia...but hey it's an "American" company! Uh Huh. Maybe there would not be 3,000,000+ homeless/unemployed in the US if things were actually manufactured here.

The Coming Economic Collapse

It's coming within the next five years. Recession, depression, economic collapse is as inevitable as the sun rising each morning.

The current level of the world economy is unsustainable, and humans are unable and unwilling to change. Change to prevent Global Collapse by moving to sustainable economies vs growth oriented requires a new paradigm. People in the USA can't even adopt the Metric System that the rest of the world uses, let alone make such a leap of mindset.

In addition the threat of nuclear terrorism and nuclear war is almost imminent the present time, let alone in the next five years, with the possible fall of Pakistan into a radical Muslim nation and a supply of nuclear weapons!

Israel or even India may take preemptive action against not only Pakistan, but also Iran. The resulting global panic will speed the economic collapse.

Blind optimists see it all as a "temporary" setback, and that things from employment to housing will surely improve. Realists, such as myself, see the ongoing loss of high paying jobs, exported jobs, a service economy, as signs of the end.

The sky is falling, just get out of the way!

Homeless Marketing

There is approximately, depending on which source you choose to believe, 3,750,000 homeless people in the USA. Several thousand in most major cities.

While homeless, many of these folks are also consumers, they buy things. mostly necessities, but also many other different products. Of course alcohol and cigarettes, pouch tobacco and rolling papers come to mind.

But they also need services...medical, social. substance abuse, counseling, etc.

At least half, by my estimation are getting, SSI, SS, or some other type of government assistance, and there for monthly income. A good portion are VETs, and may utilize VA Loans, etc.

Could this be a missed marketing opportunity? There is at least one "Homeless Newspaper" here in the city, informational posters, emails (shelters have computers and many emails...I am typing this post from a shelter), pamphlets, etc.

Marketing and advertising can be directed at not only the homeless, but also the providers of homeless services. Government grants or "goodwill" social funding may be available for funding. This may be an untapped significant niche market. A market worth investigation.

How To Choose Trade Show Equipment

I previously worked for a Exhibit Manufacturer, as well as Exposystems and Expo Communications back in the mid 1970's. It's a highly competitive world and basicly one driven by price! I did have some class A clients though, like State of NM, Coors Brewing CO, Eagle Claw Fishing Tackle, etc.


Many companies understand the importance of attending a tradeshow. However when it comes to choosing the type of equipment that is needed to make a good impression at the tradeshow, many companies are at a loss, and what is needed to be made clear is that there are essentially two choices when it comes to choosing tradeshow equipment, and that is between custom tradeshow equipment and the ready-made variety. This article will look at the two types and discuss some considerations that need to be made when choosing display equipment for a tradeshow booth.

For the booth itself, the difference between a custom-made booth and a ready-made booth is a large one, both in terms of cost and the impression that it will make. A custom-made tradeshow booth is extremely expensive, but the impression that it will make will be extremely powerful to the attending tradeshow delegates, and the booth will fit in exactly what the marketing message that you wish to convey. A ready-made booth will be much cheaper, but the impression that it will make maybe nowhere near as strong as one made by a custom-built booth, since many of the elements that are used to construct the booth may well be used by other exhibitors at the same tradeshow.

When it comes to display equipment, much of the same thinking as that which applies to choosing the booth itself applies here as well. Custom-made display equipment, such as stages, pedestals, and the product display cabinets, are extremely expensive, but yet will produce a very strong corporate image. On the other hand, ready-made display equipment will be much cheaper but with a correspondingly weaker corporate impression.

However, much ready-made display equipment can be customized to a certain extent by the addition of corporate graphics and other corporate insignia. For instance, many off the available banner stands look very much alike, and will likely be used by many other exhibitors at the same tradeshow. In order to make the banner stand look original all that is needed is to add your corporate graphics and some other powerful marketing materials. This is where the services of a good graphic designer can be invaluable. More information on choosing display equipment can be found at http://www.displaystandworld.com

As can be seen, the choice is of which tradeshow equipment to use is a fairly simple one and is essentially one of choosing between custom-made or ready made display equipment or the tradeshow booth itself. Keep this simple advice in mind when you're looking at display equipment for your tradeshow booth, and remember that if you exhibit rarely it may be better to do for the cheaper option, and leave the custom-built expensive options to companies who exhibited at tradeshows regularly.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Carl Formby owns and operates http://www.displaystandworld.com, a website dedicated to information about Display Standshttp://www.displaystandworld.com">Display Stands>

Starting a Home Business Using the Internet

Starting a home business I not an easy task and to make things harder there are so many myths attached to starting a home business that it can become quite confusing. Some people get an idea in their head and just take off. Starting a business for them is easy. The majority of people, however, end up having the desire to start a home business before the actual business idea comes to them. Once they begin thinking about actually starting a home based business they are overcome with many myths that make it seem next to impossible to succeed.

One of the biggest myths about starting a home business is associated with the internet. The internet has opened many doors to home business owners, but at the same time the complexity of the internet has caused many to give up and abandon hope that they can ever get a business to be successful. Many people believe that the internet is a vast marketplace that is too he to compete in. That is simply not true. There are many small home businesses that are doing great on the internet. It is all a matter of knowing how to run a business website. A person has to understand about marketing and setting up a website. Once they've established their online presence they can make great money.

Another internet related myth about starting a home business is that there is no help available for the business owner. Anyone who has went to a search engine and typed in business will now this is not true. There are online networks of websites that are all aimed at helping people succeed in internet business. These people offer free information and plenty of support. A person can find answers to almost any question they have and even talk to others who have started their own business. The internet business environment is one of helping others.

One myth that may hold some truth is that marketing online is impossible. While it is, obviously, not impossible it can be difficult for the beginner. Starting a home business online requires plenty of research into internet marketing. The marketing tools used online are very different from those used in the traditional environment. A person has to understand how to drive traffic to their website and how to catch the attention of their target market. As mentioned above, there are plenty of resources available to help a person get their marketing plan in order.

These myths about starting a business all make it look impossible to tap into the internet marketplace. These myths are quite untrue and should be ignored. It does take hard work and dedication to start any business, but using the internet just opens up a business to a huge marketplace and offers additional opportunities that a traditional, offline business does not have. It is worth it for every business owner to look into the internet when starting a home business.

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About the Author
Dustin Cannon is owner of http://www.NicheArticleClub.com and writes on a variety of subjects related to home business. To learn more about home business Dustin recommends that you visit: http://www.home-business.com

Promotion Strategies: Save with a Marketing PodCast

I have been wanting to try this and when i get my computer back on-line, I'll see what I can do!


Just a few years ago, radio was the way to get audio announcements out about your business and a marketing PodCast was nonexistent. Today, the marketing PodCast as a promotion strategy will revolutionize getting your message out but to a wider audience and at much cheaper production costs. The marketing PodCast is derived from the Apple iPod product and is an excellent way to promote your business as part of your overall promotional and marketing efforts.

A marketing PodCast can be subscribed to via RSS

RSS stands for real simple syndication and it is what makes a marketing PodCast easy to subscribe to. What people like about RSS feeds for their marketing PodCast is that the feed viewer is somewhat like an email client. However one can only choose what feed he or she wants. The information updates constantly from the website providing the feed.

To put this in simpler terms, think of the alternatives. If you have a marketing presentation that is recorded on a traditional .mp3 file, you have to notify your subscriber base to download the new file each time it changes. With a marketing PodCast, your subscribers will automatically get a notification through a RSS feed and a software application known as a PodCast aggregator will collect the updates without any intervention on the part of the user.

A marketing PodCast is like a radio ad

Anyone can create a marketing PodCast and publish it. It is very much like a radio advertisement except that your audience is now global. Another thing different about the marketing PodCast when compared to radio is that the listeners can filter out what they want to hear and what they do not want to hear. They do this by viewing the descriptions on the RSS feeds that tell the subject. It is better to get an audience in your marketing PodCast of people who actually have some interest in your product or service as they will be listening better.

A marketing PodCast can be listened to at any time

Radio ads have to be scheduled. Your marketing PodCast can be listened to at any time and from anywhere in the world. So when you have an update in a marketing PodCast all you do is have to put it on our server and let the subscribers get it at any time they like.

You don’t need an iPod to view a marketing PodCast

If you have a personal computer and want to enjoy a marketing PodCast offered, all you have to do is download the iTunes manager from Apple. This software is a PodCast aggregator much like an RSS feed aggregator that will bring all the marketing PodCast feeds you subscribe to into one central location and keep them updated. It runs in the Windows system tray and can be set to check for a new marketing PodCast in each of your feeds daily, hourly, or at a manual interval.

Be careful with your marketing PodCast

Not everyone has top-of-the-line computers or high-speed internet connections so make sure your marketing PodCast is optimized so as not to require a lot of system resources to play. Nothing can do more damage to the message you are trying to relay with your marketing PodCast then to have a file so large that these users will not benefit from it.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Matt D Murren owns and operates http://www.promotion-strategies-advisor.com Promotion Strategies