Boy, Did I Feel Dumb!

This is a true story and please don't laugh too hard because it'll hurt my feelings. But a good chuckle is OK.

A couple of nights ago I stayed up way past my bedtime to answer some subscribers' question. (Yes, I do it myself and no one but me sees your messages.)

One of the questions sent was - "What should my USP be?"

I stared at this question for several minutes - not trying to come up with a good answer. But rather, trying to figure out what the question was.

In my defense, it had been 21 hours since I'd gotten any sleep and several body parts were telling me I should lay down. But did I listen? No, I wanted to get that 1 last question answered.

So, I stared at this question wondering what the heck was a USP.

I finally gave up and replied with the question - "What's a USP?"

Boy, did I feel dumb when the sender replied with - "Unique Selling Position."

So today you get 2 tips for the price of 1.

Tip Number 1: When you're too tired to work your business properly, go to bed.

Tip Number 2: What your Unique Selling Position should be:

First let me tell you what your USP is not:

• It's not your logo
• It's not your slogan or branding phrase
• It's not you trying to please everyone everywhere
• It's not you modeling your business the way someone else did.

So if your USP is not all of the above - what is it?

Your Unique Selling Position should be what makes you different from all your competition.

And as simple as the phrase sounds, it's 1 of the hardest things most internet markets have to define.

Here are some things to help you find your USP:

1. Have those who know you best list your best qualities like: good sense of humor, explains things well or knows a lot of trivia, etc. Incorporate 1 or more of these qualities into your business.
2. Have everyone who is involved in your business write down every reason someone would want to do business with you and then remove all the reasons that are true for your competition

What's left is what makes your Unique Selling Position.

Here's an example of what I mean:

Last night I was investigating the "pixel advertising" craze and visited at least 25 or more sites that offer it. Of all those sites, only 2 stick in my mind as sites I would revisit if I was in their targeted niche, "pixel advertising" and here's why:

• Both sites had a well defined primary niche that wasn't "pixel advertising":1 site was for people who like crossword puzzles and the other was for teens.
• Both sites had incorporated this secondary niche in a unique manner that screamed - "Buy an ad." (The crossword puzzle site had made a crossword puzzle on the pixel ad grid and letters were uncovered as you clicked on the different ads. The teen site had reduced the size of the pixel grid so that it appeared next to their site's secondary headline like a picture.)
• By incorporating their secondary niche with the first in a unique way, they had a definite USP for "pixel advertising" and that's what I was searching for.

While I can't tell you how well these 2 sites defined the USP for their primary niche, I can tell you they did a fantastic job for their second and it's one that makes money. They sell a lot of pixels.

The bottom line is:

To define your USP you must know your business, know what your customers want and know yourself. After you combine all this information and remove what your competition has to offer, you'll have created your own Unique Selling Position.

To Your Success,
Susan

Oops - Lost Another One

Have you wanted to check out a site and seen

"Page Not Found" (also known as the 404 error page)?

Bet you didn't sign-up, buy anything or bookmark it for future reference.

In fact, every time a "Page Not Found" error comes up on someone's screen, the owner of those sites should say - "Oops, I lost another one ... and it's my fault"

Sure, when your page comes up not everyone will take you up on your fantastic offer. But if they see the famous "Page Not Found" error page - you don't even have a chance to present your offer.

But ...

You can fix ALL the possibilities of having a 404 error displayed on your site easily and here's how.

1. Go into the root directory for your site and see if you have a file named ".htaccess" If you don't, you need one. If you do, you need to edit it.

2. Go to http://www.htaccesstools.com/error-document/

3. Place the url of the page you would like your visitor to see instead of the 404 error page in the box under "404 - Not Found"

4. Click the "Create .httaccess file" button and copy the code.

5. If you already have a .htaccess file in your root directory you can simply edit it, paste the code into it and save. You're done
   

6. If you don't have a .htaccess file then open your favorite text editor and paste the code into it.

7. How you save the file correctly is very important.
   
   * The file name is ".htaccess" - don't include the " but
   do include the . (period) in front of the h
   
   * You have to select "all file types" from the menu of types
   allowed in the save box that came up
   
   * You do not add any extension type to the file name - in
   other words - there is not . (period) after the file name with
   any extension type like txt or doc.




8. Upload the file you just created into your root directory

The page you choose to redirect to for the "Page Not Found" error can by any page you chose. It can be a page on your site. It can be another site. It can be an affiliate link.

After you've defined where your 404 page will send your visitors you'll know they won't see any of those error pages on your site again and they only time they might get to one is if you've redirected them to a non-existing page on someone else's site.

To Your Success,
Susan

PS To see the page I created for those nasty 404 error pages go to:
http://www.friendswhocare.us/notfound.html and look at the actual url in the address bar.

I Love My Job

Have you ever seen 1 of those plaques in a tourist shop that stated something like -

" A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work."

(If you're not a fisherman you can use whatever your favorite hobby is.)

Now I always got a chuckle out of those silly plaques but never bought one. Instead, I bought a coffee cup for my coffee cup collection and it said -

"I love my job."
"I love my job."
" I love my job."
" I need the money."

Now why do you suppose people buy things that make fun of their job?

While I can't speak for everyone I know I got mine because there were days when I didn't want to go to work. I worked at a place that was casual and most everyone was nice. I had good bosses and I liked what I did. But still, there were days when I just didn't want to go to work.

But now I have an online business and according to all the "gurus" I can work my own hours, work in my pajamas and make lots of money while I'm asleep.

And it's sorta true.

I do set my own hours although there's never enough of them.

I have worked in my pajamas with the curtains closed so no one would see me.

I've even made some money while I slept.

But you know what?

There are still days when I don't want to go to work - even though I can work my own hours, dress however I want, have a great boss (me), like everyone I work with (you) and enjoy what I do.

So what's wrong with me?

The same thing that's wrong with you.

We're all human and we have "off" days (sometimes 2 or 3 of them.)

Even if you truly like your online business you will occasionally have days when you just don't want to do anything. These types of days are usually caused by:

• Stress - You need to do some non-business related work and you've been putting it off. It's hard to concentrate on a sales page when you need to balance your checkbook or file your taxes. Take the time to relieve your stress and do the task you've been putting off.
  
• Burn Out - You've been working your business every minute you could and haven't taken any time to enjoy your life. To quote from a wise fellow internet marketer, "Internet marketing is what you and I do but it is not your life." Take some time for yourself and your family.
  
• Frustration - You've done a lot of work and it seems like it's never going to get finished or you finished but didn't get the expected results. This is a hard one because there's no one good solution. If you can find help to get finished or rework your project - get it. If you can't get any help then step back from your project, break it into small, manageable pieces and tackle one piece at a time. As you finish each piece, reward yourself with something.
  
• Depression - Everyone gets depressed for lots of different reasons so this is another hard one. If you know what's causing your depression you have a better chance of getting over it. If you don't know what's causing it and it lasts a long time you may need to see a doctor. (No, I won't define a long time because I am not a doctor.)
  
• Loneliness - You work your business alone and don't talk about it to anyone. This is one of the biggest reasons many quit their online business. You need to talk to someone. If you don't have any family or friends to talk to then join some forums or find some others with online businesses and communicate online.

Being motivated every day at your job or online business is hard. Fortunately, with your online business you have some control over what you can do to help you get motivated again.

To Your Success,
Susan

PS By the way, I am not an exercise fanatic but do recommend that you get some exercise every day. Taking some time to keep your muscles in shape and your blood circulating will help you both physically and mentally. And the great thing about exercise is that you can actually accomplish something beneficial to both you and your environment. You can:

• Take a walk outdoors and carry a liter bag.
  
• Jog or bicycle to run errands close to home or visit friends who live close by. Why pollute the air by driving 3 blocks to the mailbox when you don't have to?
  
• Mow the grass or shovel snow when necessary. (Just be careful to not overdo it.)
  
• Offer to help a neighbor who has difficulty doing their yard work or putting out the trash. (This will make them feel better too and you might find someone to talk to.)
  
• Become an adult leader for a youth group - scouts, baseball, basketball, etc. (This will take away some of your time and you can't eat as much as they do but it's very rewarding in addition to being a physical challenge.)
  
• There are many other ways to get some daily exercise so exercise your mind and find one. (And trips to the refrigerator don't count.)
  
  
  
  

Do You Know Who's On Your List?

Since many subscribers say selling to their own list is the hardest part of internet marketing let me ask you:

Do you know who is on your list?

No, I don't mean their names and email addresses.

I mean the types of people on your list.

Basically there are 4 types of people on your list:

1. Those who will never buy or join anything you offer. They don't even take your freebies.
2. Those who never buy but do take some of your free products.
3. Those who buy your primary product.
4. Those who don't buy your primary product but will purchase other things if the "right" offer is presented.

So how do you use this knowledge about your subscribers?

1. Don't worry about group 1. This group is of no value to your business because if they don't ever buy from you they probably won't buy from any of your paid advertisers either. It's because of this group that many online publishers clean their list regularly.
   
2. For group 2 to be of value you must periodically give some form of viral product away. Make sure it's something of value and it's branded with your information. Then, hopefully, some of those in this group will share your free product and help you with your viral marketing efforts.
   
3. Groups 3 and 4 are where you want to focus most of your effort. You need to send them additional offers on a regular basis.
   
   The offers you send them should primarily be for products and services related to why they joined your list. You can surprise them occasionally with offers aimed at a different target market but don't do it too often and don't expect too many sales.
   
   If sales are still slow in coming from these 2 groups you should investigate and find out what types of products they are looking for and you should start testing different ads, sales letters and product prices. While selling to these groups may not be "rocket science," it's not always as easy as everyone claims it is either.

Many beginning online marketers think they will make enough income by selling 1 product or service to their own list. While this is always possible it is highly improbable.

Instead, you've got to keep growing your list and market additional products and services. After you've mastered the art of selling to your own list you're ready to venture into the other many ways of growing your business.

To Your Success,
Susan

10 Reasons Why People Don't Buy

Last week I asked what you thought was the hardest part of having an online business and 50% stated that converting visitors and subscribers to customers was the hardest.

Let's assume you've got a quality site, a quality product, targeted traffic, a list and a good sales page. But you're not getting many sales and you want to know why - right?

So today we'll cover the 10 most common reasons people don't buy.

1. You're not getting the target market your aiming for.
2. When people visit your site or read your ezine they are looking for free info and not planning to buy anything.
3. You are trying to sell something your visitors and readers need but don't necessarily want.
4. You don't make your product offer enough times.
5. Your price is either out of their budget or so low they doubt the quality of the product.
6. Your sales page may not be as good as you think it is.
7. Your conversion rate isn't bad - you just don't get very much targeted traffic.
8. Your buying process is either obscure or too complicated.
9. You're advertising your sales page and not your ezine.
10. You're too soft sell.

Which of these apply to your business?

That's what you have to find out and here are some pointers.

1. Do some research.
   * Find out if your readers are the target market for your products.
   * Find out what your readers want - not need.
   * Find out how much traffic you're getting.
   * Find out where your traffic is coming from.
   * Find out if people actually buy what your selling online.
   
2. Do some testing.
   * Try changing your sales page.
   * Try different prices.Ask someone in your targeted market to read your sales page and ads. Then ask them if it made them do what you wanted them to do. If it didn't, find out why not.
   
3. Count how many times you've offered your product to your readers. If you offer it once, that's not enough. If you've offered it multiple times, review items 1, 2 & 3 above.
   
4. Find out if you're too nice. Examine what you give away for free and what you are trying to sell.Remember, your site visitors and ezine readers think they already have everything they need.

To sell your product you have to put it in front of them where they can see it, it's attractive, it captures their attention and it sounds like something they want. Then tell them what to do and make it easy for them to make the purchase.

Maybe they won't buy it the first time you offer ... but if you offer it a few more times and keep pointing out how they will benefit from having it, you should make some sales.

To Your Success,
Susan

Where Are You Sending Your Traffic?

One of the many things you learn when you have your online business is that you are always learning new things. And, believe it or not, even the experts read info products written by others to discover new techniques to increase their profits. (OK, some of them have others reviewing the products and they just read the summary for new ideas.)

Now I am like you, getting new things and reviewing them myself. And 1 of the things I did a few months ago was join a brand new program to learn some techniques for getting traffic through writing.

Today I want to share 1 of the first lessons given in this program. Unfortunately I can't give you the entire 13 PDF report or copy it into the newsletter ... But ... I can give you a summary of what it teaches.

1 of the first surprises in this report is the sad fact that most people who write articles and submit them to article directories and ezine publishers to get traffic to their site aren't getting very much traffic from all this effort.

Why?

Because they aren't doing it right.

No, the report isn't selling a tool to send your article to a gazillion directories or ezines. Instead, it tells you how to increase traffic with the articles you write no matter how many or how you submit them.

Within the report there are 7 steps to drive traffic to your site by using content. Today we are going to briefly cover 6 of those steps.

1. Determine your goal.
   Most people write articles to get traffic to their site but that's not the goal of the successful online marketers. They don't want more site visitors - they want more names on their mailing lists. They may need more site visitors to get more names BUT getting more "leads" is what they really want. So here's the real goal for submitting your article:
   
   Create and publish content that will get targeted prospects to join your mailing list.
   
   
2. Set up a list management system - better know as an autoresponder system.
   The report suggest you have 2 lists: 1 for subscribers and 1 for publishers who use your articles.
   
   
3. Capture email address of the readers.
   Because this is why you submitted your article you need to know the best technique for getting readers to join your list.
   
   And the technique is - Provide additional information on your site.Here are some ways to get readers to visit:
   
   * Provide references to your content or ebook in the article.
   * Only submit part of the article and have them read the rest on your site.
   * Tell them they can get additional information about the topic of the article with a link to your site in your bio that's included with your article.
   
   
4. Use curiosity.
   The link you include should not point directly to the additional information. Instead it should point to a "squeeze" or "capture" page. (You know, a page that promotes the additional free information and allows them to read it after they've entered their email information.) In addition to the free information, you may even want to add an additional incentive like a free gift if they sign up.
   
   
5. Spice up your bio that's included with the article.
   Because everybody and their brother is an expert on your topic and they all have the best whatever it is your promoting don't copy their bios for your own.Be different. Add some humor, offer a free gift relevant to the article or say something that will peak the readers curiosity. Your bio is your little ad to get targeted visitors to your site.
   
   
6. Use the same resources over and over again.Create several subscriber "squeeze" or "capture" pages and use them over and over again as you write more articles. (You can see 1 of my bios at the end of this article. By the way, if you sign up for the report you'll get 3 unadvertised bonuses on the Thank You page - even if you don't confirm your subscription! Of course you won't get the report unless you confirm and that's what you signed up to get.)

Writing content to drive traffic to your site is hard enough so if you're going to do it, do it in such a way that you get as many targeted prospects to join your list as possible.

To Your Success,
Susan

PS Today's tip comes from 1 of the resources made available at:
TrafficWriting.com where Kevin Bidwell teaches how to
"Get Read and Get Paid."

Is Your Headline Working?

To make money on the internet you have to sell something.

To sell something you have to have people read either your sales page, you ad or both.

Your sales page headline and your email subject line are responsible for getting 75%, 85% or maybe even up to 95% of you copy read.

So what makes a good headline?

You have to use some psychology and use words that will grab the attention of your reader. Words like: Discover, Secret, Reveal, Save, ...

You have to use some psychology and make a statement that offers them something they think they "need" to know.

You have to use some psychology to get them emotionally involved.

You have to be truthful because once they start reading your sales copy they won't stay around if your sales copy doesn't stand behind the headline. (The one exception to this is when use a "stupid" headline and then explain, up-front, that you were just getting their attention. This sometimes works but not always.)

Because there's a lot of information about what make a good headline, let me tell you a few of the things that make a bad headline.

1. Using the word "Buy." - No one is looking for a way to spend money so don't send them away by telling them to "Buy the Best ..."
2. "Let Me Tell You" - No one wants anyone to tell them anything. They may want you to reveal or share information - but they don't want you to "Tell" them.
3. The word "Things" is much to broad. Be more specific when your write your headline and tell us what those "things" are. Are they secrets, ways to do something, tips, tactics, etc. ?

I once wrote an example headline with no product or sales page. And even though I explained it was just an example of how to get someone's attention, I had readers write and say the headline took them to a page not found.

Here's the example I wrote:

"Shhhhhhhh .... Want To Know A Secret?"

Remember, when you write your headline write something that would make you want to read it. If you can't get your own attention then it's doubtful you'll get anyone else's.

To Your Success,
Susan

PS Need some help writing a good headline?
Check out "Advertising Headline Templates That Make You Rich" because it may be exactly what you need.

4 Easy Ways To Improve Your Response Rate

If you've been studying online marketing for awhile you're familiar with the term 'AIDA' since it's the standard formula for creating a sales or signup page.

But just in case you're not here's what it stands for:

1. Grab the reader's Attention.
2. Get the reader's Interest.
3. Create a Desire for your product or service.
4. Call for Action. (Tell your reader what to do.)

So you write a catchy headline and try to use 1 or more of the latest 'buzz' words.

Then you write something you hope will get the reader's interest and describe the 'benefits' of your offer.

And of course you've put a signup form or a payment link on your site.

But ...

Nothing's happening. No sales - No signups.

Well the first thing you have to check is to make sure you've got some traffic to your site.

Ok, you've got some decent traffic so what's the problem?

There are lots of possibilities and I am going to list 4 of the biggies.

1. Your page loads so slow people don't stick around to read it.
   
   True, a lot of people have fast connections but they've also gotten used to fast loading web pages so your landing page needs to come up quickly. Because my homepage takes too long to load, I've created several fast loading pages to promote my site and newsletter and you should consider doing the same.
   
   If you don't want to create smaller landing pages you can also divide your page into sections by using tables. Have the top portion of your page in 1 table so it will come up quickly and give the reader something to read while the rest of your page loads.
   
   
2. Your site is hard to read.
   
   When you're picking the colors and fonts for your site make sure you pick ones that are 'easy on the eyes' and show up well on the monitor.
   
   You should also write short paragraphs with empty space between them.
   
   And one of most effective things you can do is create bullet or numbered lists. Be sure to put some space between the bullet items and if the list is really long you should alternate either the color or bold style of the list items. (Changing fonts or font size is not recommended.)
   
   
3. Your page requires special software to be seen or heard.
   
   Now maybe you've got all the extra downloadable software to make all your banners, ad boxes, audio and video work but a lot of people don't. In fact, I'm one of them.
   
   Almost every day I come across sites that tell me I need to download something to see or hear a page properly. While I know how to download these things, a lot of people don't.
   
   So if you've got something on your page that requires special software make sure the software is easily attainable, free and most visitors already have it.Don't rely on the part of your page that requires extra software to do most of your selling because a lot of visitors will never see or hear it.
   
   
4. Your page is full of extra clutter.
   
   In your attempt to build a list you've created a signup form. Then you wanted to add content so you did. Next you need to sell something so you've put up a few ads. You need traffic so you've added several banner exchange banners to your page. And lastly, you've added a popup.
   
   With all these things going for you, your visitors will surely find something to click on. Right?
   
   Wrong. You've given them too many things to click on. Now when they see your sight it looks like a flashing sign that says "I'm new at this and trying anything that will get your attention."
   
   Remember the other marketing acronym - KISS. (Keep It Simple, Smarty!)
   
   Ok, I changed the last word but you get the point.
   
   Don't clutter your page with so many things your visitor is overwhelmed with choices. Focus on 1 thing.
   
   Sure, your homepage may be a content page with a signup form and some ads. But what's it's focus?
   
   If it's the content then that's what fills most of the page and the other things are smaller and unobtrusive.
   
   If it's primarily a signup page then the content is promoting your mailings and the signup box is bigger and included in or at the end of the content. Any ads on the page are smaller and unobtrusive.
   
   Now I don't use banner exchanges but know the banners have to be shown for you to get credit. Rather than have several on you home page, use 1 at the bottom and maybe 1 at the top of your main page. To get exposure for your other banner exchange programs, try splitting your main page or creating some other page that most visitors will visit and then you can place 1 or 2 more on that page as well. (You could create a text link that promotes free traffic and points to your page full of banner exchange banners along with some words saying that by joining these programs they can get more traffic for their site.)

There are other things that can cause your response rate to be less than acceptable so you should be testing different headlines, wording, formatting, etc. while you're making sure you're not committing 1 of the above biggies.

Creating a page that performs well doesn't mean you have to use a lot of images, make it unique with unusual fonts and colors, use all the latest technical gadgets or promote everything you've joined.

If your landing pages are simple; fast loading, easy to read, readable by everyone and focused on 1 thing, you're on the right path to getting a good response rate.

To Your Success,
Susan

2 Simple Mistakes That Can Cost You Subscribers

For most publishers, getting subscribers is 1 of the most time consuming jobs they do for their online business. In fact, I've read that online business people should be spending at least 65% of their time to building their list.

Now after you've spent that much time building your list, you don't want to accidentally lose subscribers do you? I don't.

Recently I added a couple of things to my newsletter and site to make it easier for subscribers to:

1. Remain subscribers
2. Share information about the newsletter and membership site.

These 2 things should have been in place when I started more than 3 years ago and have been on my "To Do" list since then.

But, like you, getting started was of primary importance and both were things that could be added once the site and newsletter were online.

Now hopefully you're not as forgetful as I am and you'll remember to add these things if you don't already have something in place. I finally got around to adding information on how to change your email address and how to get re-subscribed when I was overwhelmed with "I made a mistake" email this last December. The "share this information" was added because of a recent blog posting by Patric Chan.

The blog posting not only jogged my memory but it also pointed out an interesting fact I want to share with you.

----------
Side Note: No matter how long you've been online, you can still learn things - in fact, it's a must that you continue learning.
----------

The blog pointed out that many ezine publishers solicit their subscribers to "forward this to a friend" and went on to say that while having your subscribers share your information is a good thing, having them forward your email was dangerous because:

The unsubscribe link would be in the forwarded message and the person receiving it could unsubscribe the subscriber who thought your ezine was good enough to share.

Can you imagine losing a subscriber who liked your ezine well enough to share because of 1 simple, mistake?

You'll notice I took heed to Patrick's advice and implemented a 2 step approach to sharing information. Yes, it does create more work for the subscriber but it also makes it easy for them to share while protecting their subscription.

So learn from my examples. If your mailing system is like mine and doesn't provide a change of address page, read the bottom of my mailings to see how you can provide change of address or re-subscribe information. If you would like your subscribers to be able to share your ezine, use a script similar to mine and protect your subscribers' unsubscribe links. You can see my example at the end of the tip in my newsletter:
http://www.friendswhocare.us/thisweekp2.htm

And if your wondering why I haven't shared Patrick's blog address to his insightful tip it's because he's removed the posting. I don't know why he removed it - maybe it was an accident or maybe he decided it was a secret he didn't mean to share.

Either way, it's too late now because we all know.

To Your Success,
Susan

PS - You can also add "Tell A Friend" scripts to share information about your site. See how I've used one in our member area at: http://www.friendswhocare.us/join.htm

PPS - There are a lot of free "Tell A Friend" scripts available online so implementing this tip doesn't have to cost you anything but some time.

Get A Free Hosting Account - Limited Time Offer

A generous member of FriendsWhoCare is giving a Free Hosting Account to all FriendsWhoCare subscribers during the month of February, 2006.

This an ad-free account where you have complete control.

Andy is also providing some free templates for your use.

Join our circle of Friends and get access to our free membership area where you can get more information about this limited time offer.

http://www.friendswhocare.us/join.htm
Where helping your internet business succeed is what it's all about.

To Your Success,
Susan

Is Your Business A Secret?

Everyday I get email from subscribers and lately I've noticed that many of them don't provide any information about the senders online business.

Since this newsletter is suppose to help you with your internet marketing I am going to tell you - Don't keep your business a secret. Tell as many people about it as you can.

Maybe you think you are telling as many people as you can about your business because you've bought advertising.

But wait!

Are you using all or at least some of the free advertising methods available?

Since getting people to your site is of primary importance you should use as many marketing methods as possible to promote your site. And because most don't have a marketing budget that allows buying TV commercials or ads in popular magazines, we must do what we can with our limited resources.

That means we must use as many free marketing methods as we can and 1 of the easiest free methods is using a signature file.

From reading my email I can tell which subscribers have either been online for awhile or have at least read some tips about using free marketing methods and which subscribers are new to this whole promotion thing. So today let's cover a traditional free method of spreading the word about your online business.

Signature Files - A signature file is what you include at the end of all your outgoing email and contains at least your name, your web site address and a short description of what your site has to offer. This file is usually 3 - 5 lines long and is called a file because those who don't use an email program that will automatically attach it to all outgoing mail can keep it handy for copying and pasting into their outgoing mail.

Here are a couple of good examples from subscribers' email:

Nita Nita Helping Hand? www.NitaHelpingHand.com For High Quality Proofreading, CopyEditing and Other Administrative Needs

Tash Hughes Word Constructions Ph: 0428 376 110 Fax: (03) 9445 9154 E-mail: tash@wordconstructions.com Web: www.wordconstructions.com For all your business writing needs

While the examples contain different information and are
different lengths, both promote their site very well.

Whenever these 2 subscribers send email, they are promoting their site to the receiver. And while they may not get a huge response from this marketing method they will get some. And remember, a little targeted traffic is better than no targeted traffic.

Now for those who are thinking, I don't have a web site, I am promoting an affiliate site so I can't use this marketing method, I say - Yes you can.

Many affiliate programs even provide you with signature files and if you're in one that doesn't, write your own and use your affiliate link as the web site address.

Here's an example of 1 of my own signature files - I use this 1 when writing to subscribers since they already know about my site:

-- I'm using a system to add thousands of opt-in leads to my list for virtually zero effort - and it's all 100% free. Find out more: http://www.friendswhocare.us/listinferno.htm

If you click the link in this file that is set up more like a PS than a signature, you're taken to an affiliate page. By the way, PS items in email get read a lot so having a good PS that promotes something is another good free marketing method.

Using signature files and a PS note are both very good marketing methods and both are free. Heck, if you have more than 1 thing to promote you could even use both. So take a few minutes and create your own signature file and start using it. I'll expect to see more signature files from you starting today.

To Your Success,
Susan

PS - You can even use signature files to promote your site offline by using it as part of your return address on envelopes and contact info on your checks and business cards. (If you read this then you've just proven that PS notes do get read.)

Viral Marketing 202

Before we get to Viral Marketing 202 I'll give you the basics for Viral Marketing 101.

1. Get a free product or website where you can insert your links.
2. Give away or sell the product or website with your links.
3. Let others give away or sell the product or website with your links.

Now that we all know the basics of viral marketing we can begin.

I recently asked my subscribers if they were doing some form of viral marketing and the results were dismal. There were so few votes that I immediately thought no one was doing it and they were afraid to admit it.

Then I offered a fantastic sale and offered a viral product as the bonus just for checking out the sales page. Imagine my surprise when the offered branding option for this viral product outsold the sale product.

The results of this sale told me that my subscribers are doing viral marketing but ...not as effectively as they could.

Since you didn't get the product from my last sale, EZ Download Page Generator, or maybe you have it but haven't had time to read the manual yet let me tell you that there's a lot more to viral marketing than just branding an eBook or a site and giving it away. Inserting your links into something and then giving it away is the simplest form of viral marketing.

Without going into all the gory details that are included in the manual purchased by my lucky subscribers, I will tell you that to use viral marketing to it's full extent, you have to combine it with up-sales, bonuses, eCourses and everything else related to internet marketing.

Example:

When I offered my last sale I also offered a bonus just for visiting the sales site. The bonus was my branded copy of a viral product that site visitors could give away. Of course I offered an up-sell to those who wanted the bonus - the chance to brand it themselves. By offering a bonus for visiting the sales page I was able to get my branded copy to many and start my viral marketing. By using an up-sell I was able make a few sales from those who wanted to give it away with their links included. (Viral marketing and money - great combination!)

I also included a bonus to those who purchased the product. Again, this bonus was a branded viral product with give away rights. The branding rights for this product are also available but they don't have to be purchased. Instead, the branding rights come as an free affiliate tool. If the receiver doesn't join the affiliate program and just gives away the eBook I again have some viral marketing in place.

If the receiver joins the affiliate program they get free branding rights to the bonus. Why would I want someone to sign up for a affiliate program and have the same viral tool I have? Simple, this is a member's only affiliate program. That means they have to become a paid member to become an affiliate and I get part of their monthly membership dues.

The product bonus has the potential for viral marketing and residual income - another good combination.

This example from my last sale is still a simple form of viral marketing but it is much more effective that just offering a free e-book or promoting a free viral marketing site.

To get a complete description of how to use viral marketing to it's full extent you need to read the manual included with EZ Download Page Generator. The manual alone is worth the price and the tool works great.

Now here's a question for you.

Do you know what very important element was left out of my sales example? I'll give you a clue.

It's something you should be doing in all your marketing.

Now your wondering, if it's so important why didn't I do it?

I didn't tell my readers in this article. I made them wait a week for the answer but you can get the answer here: http://www.friendswhocare.us/join.htm

To Your Success,
Susan

How DEEP Is Your Foundation?

Today's tip comes from the first lesson in a 7 day ecourse written by Steve Yakim - one of my subscribers. In this lesson Steve gives some extremely valuable information about list building.

They say, "The money is in the list." But what they don't say is ...

Read today's tip to find out.
----------
Day 1 of a 7-Day eCourse

In Today's Lesson...

"4 Simple Principles To Building A Solid Foundation
That Will Insure Both Immediate and Long-Term
Profits That ANYONE Can Follow!"

FOREWORDBefore we launch into today's lesson and officially begin this 7-day eCourse, there are a couple things that I want to point out to you.

***This eCourse was developed specifically for the EZ - Marketing Kit owners.

While the information contained in this course is written with EZ-MK owners in mind, it can be applied by ANYONE. That means YOU.

***Today's lesson is a foundation that we will build on throughout the week and a general overview of what you need to succeed online.

Having said that, let's get started.

Whether you already have an Internet Business...

...or you are just starting out, your online business must be built on a solid foundation.

Let me paint a picture in your mind...

Think of your ebusiness as a tall building, a skyscraper. Picture this skyscraper as having many offices on each floor. Each of these offices represents the different parts of your Internet business.

One office could be for your autoresponder. Another office would be where your newsletter is published. Other offices could be for your tracking software, joint ventures, resell rights products, and your own products. This is just to name a few.

Now, it is very important that this skyscraper (your ebusiness) have a solid foundation on which to stand. Can you imagine a skyscraper not built on a solid foundation?

It would topple over because of the wind, rain and other elements. When constructing a building there is a principle that has to be followed...

The taller the building, the deeper the foundation has to be.

The height of a building is directly proportionate to the depth of the foundation.

So, if you want your business to grow big and tall (become successful), It has to be built on a D E E P foundation. The D E E P foundation of any successful online business is email marketing.

It is darn near impossible to be successful online without some form of email marketing.

Everything you do in your online business is going to be tied in some way to your D E E P foundation. I do not care what you are doing online, email marketing is your foundation.

There is NOTHING that can compare to a good list. I hope you will keep this image of your business as a skyscraper in your mind. It should help you remember that your ebusiness foundation has to be D E E P.

Now let's talk about your foundation, which is email marketing.Everything that you do online must in some way build your list.

I want to pound this into your head.

D E E P is really an acronym I use to represent 4 different parts of your ebusiness foundation. That brings you to the "D" part of the D E E P foundation.

"D" stands for diverse. By this I mean you have to have more than just a newsletter list. An ezine or newsletter is just one small corner of the big picture when it comes to email marketing. That is just one small part to your overall plan.

You need more than just one list. You need many lists and sublists. These lists need to be what I call tightly targeted lists. You need to use these tightly targeted lists to automatically build your skyscraper for you.

That's right!

For the most part, these tightly targeted lists can be built automatically. Personally I have over 30 different lists and that is what I call diversity.

If you want to be diverse in your email marketing, you have to have many lists.

Your email marketing can't be tied to just one list. Now you know the "D" part of the D E E P Foundation.

The first "E" in the D E E P foundation stands for effective. It's one thing to have 30 differents lists, you could have 300 different lists, but it is another thing to know how to use these different list and to use them effectively.

Email marketing as you should know is not just about building your lists. That alone will not earn your income and will not pay your bills. You need to know how to work your lists and turn your subscribers into buying customers.

Here is a point you need to remember. Subscriber is another way of saying future customer. This is a very important point that I am going to emphasize through out these lessons...

Subscriber = Future Customer

That is it for now about the first "E" in the D E E P foundation.

The second "E" in the D E E P foundation stands for educational.Now this part of the D E E P foundation is the biggest key to the success of your email marketing. That is to educate your subscribers.

One thing you have to realize is that you can't just hit your lists with offer after offer expecting your subscribers to part with their hard earned cash just because you asked them to.

You may get one or two give up this hard earned cash, but for the most part, your subscribers aren't stupid.

Instead you have to educate your subscribers. You have to give them quality content. Not just theories. Give your subscribers something they can easily put into practice.

By supplying quality content, you are insuring your subscribers that you know what you are talking about and will encourage them to purchase some of your paid materials.

So if you want your list members to buy from you, you have to supply consistent quality content that your subscribers can use and apply.

Let me explain what I mean when I say quality content...

Quality is much more than being valuable. Just because something is valuable doesn't mean it is of high quality.

To help demonstrate my point...

Suppose you are stranded on a deserted island and didn't have a way off the island. Let's say you find an old pirate's chest filled with gold.

Now you know that gold is very valuable, but that is not any good to you because you need a boat to get off the island.

So just because something is valuable does not mean that it is useful. To me...

Quality = useful

Quality is something useful that the subscriber can use in their ebusiness.

People join your lists and stay on your lists because you supply plenty of quality content. Something they can use right away in their ebusiness.

Now you know the second "E" in the D E E P foundation means you need to educate your subscribers by giving them high quality content.

Now that brings you to the "P", the last part of the D E E P foundation. The "P" in the D E E P foundation stands for proactive.

Email marketing needs to be proactive. You must aggressively build your lists. You should spend a lot of time doing just the little things that will help build your lists.

Most of the list building strategies don't take much time and are easy to implement. They just need you to apply the strategies and start putting them into practice.

So you need to spend a lot of time building lists. The most important thing you can do to make your business grow and I mean grow fast, is to focus on building lists.

Again, Everything you do online must in some way build your lists. As you change your mind set about different parts of your ebusiness, you will find that list building will become second nature.

Now you know the basics of the D E E P foundation.

To get detailed quality information about using and applying the D E E P foundation in your ebusiness, be sure to visit "Email Traffic Tactics"

This is a high quality resource that will really improve your ebusiness when applied.

Today's lesson was just to get you warmed up.

Tomorrow, we'll cover...

"The Absolute Best Way To Start Building Your Lists." I will tell you where to find the best subscribers and how to get these people begging to join your lists.

Until then,

Steve A. Yakim
webmaster@EZasMagic.com
http://www.friendswhocare.us/ez/ecourse.htm

To Your Success,
Susan
FriendsWhoCare

What's In The Box?

A few years ago when I was still working a "real" job, the corporation I worked for adopted a phrase and had it posted all over the building...

"Think out of the box."

Being in R&D I never quite understood why they started telling us that since we were always looking for new solutions to both old and new problems.

However, since I've been online I've downloaded several products with "in a Box" as part of the title. Things like "Ezine in a Box" or "eBook Business in a Box."

But I've never used any of them - at least not the way they were packaged.

Why?

Because the only time you can possibly get a "good," ready to use digital product out of a box is when you get a toolbox.

When it comes to your internet business there is no "in a box" package that can provide you with a ready made business. Heck, if it was that easy then everyone who started an online business would just get a package and start making money.

The truth is it's not that easy. You can't just open a package, change a couple of links and start making money.

A few years ago "in a Box" products may have worked for some but not any more. Today there are so many sites and marketers offering the same thing thinking you can just open a package and make money is a big mistake.

To be successful, you must do some "out of the box" thinking and be creative. Sure, you may take some of the ideas or content from the "box" as a start but you have to add your unique touch. Maybe you add or change the bonuses. Maybe you change the price. Maybe you make your own sales copy. It may be a large or a small change, but it must be something that will set you apart from the thousands of others offering the same thing.

Remember those Jack-in-a-box toys? Put Jack in, turn the crank and wait for him to pop out and surprise you.

That's how you should use most "in a Box" digital products. Put their information in your mind, mix that information with other things you know and surprise everyone with your unique offer.

Whether you're doing affiliate marketing, a reseller or you have your own product, you've got a lot of competition. And to use another old phrase: "You don't have to reinvent the wheel." - You just have to make it look different.

"What's in your box?" I don't know and to get me to find out you'll have to "Think out of the box."

To Your Success,
Susan

It's All About Discipline

Having your own internet marketing business means being able to enforce some self discipline.

While many people think that time management is the only form of discipline you must enforce on yourself when you have your own home business, it isn't. There are at least 7 aspects in your life you must learn to adjust and today we're going to look at them.

1. Time Management - Learn to use your time effectively.
   
   You must identify "weak spots" - the things in your business that suck a lot of your time and energy but produce very small results. For most, email and the amount of time spent reading and responding eats up their most valuable time. For others, proof reading their site and making sure they catch every typo is their downfall.
   
   If you are spending some of your most creative and productive time on "weak spots", you need to redo your schedule and give your most creative and productive time to the areas of your business that earn you the most.
   

   
   

2. Eating - Having a healthy diet will give you more energy to work your business. It's easy to fall victim to caffeine, sugar and "junk food" while spending hours at your computer but all of these things are actually draining your energy in addition to the damage they're doing to your overall health.
   
   To maintain your health and boost your energy level, adopt some healthy eating habits. Just because the refrigerator is only a few steps away doesn't mean you should visit it frequently. Likewise, just because the computer is close to your dinner table, you shouldn't be eating your meals staring at your monitor.
   
   Maintaining a proper diet and separating food from work is an important part of having a successful life and business.
   

   
   

3. Exercise - A good exercise program can boost your energy and improve your attitude. It's a well known fact that exercise improves muscle tone and it also helps reduce stress.
   
   Exercising your mind is a good thing but don't forget about your body. No matter what your physical limitations, you need to exercise on a regular basis and typing on your keyboard doesn't count.
   
   Walk, jog, play tennis or whatever it is you do, do it on a regular basis to keep your mind and body at their peak performance level.
   




4. Remember Your Family - When working from home it's easy to devote all your time to your business but this is a big mistake if you have a family and they're not involved in your business.
   
   Your doing your business to make your family life better, right? Well don't neglect your family or you might not have one when your business starts doing well.
   
   Having your family involved in your internet marketing business is a great benefit that most don't enjoy. And if you happen to be one of those with a wonderful family who's not involved in your business, remember to spend quality time with them - frequently!
   

   
   

5. Take Time For Yourself - You are not your business. You are a person who enjoys doing some things that may not relate to your business and these things are important.
   
   Although you may have built your business around the one thing you enjoy the most, you have other interests that you need to spend time on to maintain your mental health. Maybe you enjoy reading or watching certain TV shows. Maybe you enjoy playing games or participating in some sports. No matter what your other interests, you need to devote some of your quality time to them.
   
   Don't put your other interests on hold or in a time slot where you can't enjoy them. These interests make you who you are and allow you to relieve tension. Do them when you can enjoy them and get the full benefit of their usefulness.
   

   
   

6. Grow Your Business - You should be spending at least 50% of your time either developing new products or expanding your business in some way.
   
   Think of your business like a garden. You plant the seeds and nurture the seedlings until they become grown and produce results. Then you must maintain your garden by weeding, feeding and watering it.
   
   But no matter how well you maintain that garden, you will still lose some plants over time and the results of your labor will decrease. To keep the results high and to get an increase, you must keep planting.
   
   This is how your business is. You work hard to get a customer base and you must maintain it. But if you don't constantly work to get new products and to grow your customer base, the results of your labor will go down.
   

   
   

7. Have Fun - What's the point of anything if you can't enjoy it?
   
   Sure, you want to make money with your business but if you don't enjoy doing it then it's the same as having a "job" and you aren't getting one of the biggest advantages of being your own boss.
   
   Having fun with your own business means different things to different people. Maybe you want to set up a "fun" site that doesn't make money but allows you to share your creative side. Maybe you want to spend some of your earnings on something for yourself, your family or you business even though you don't really need it. Maybe you want to take some time off and be with your family or friends. It's your business, you're in charge and you can do any of these things when you want.
   
   Don't abuse this wonderful privilege but do take advantage of it. Allot a set amount of time or money to do those things that make having your business fun.

To be a healthy, successful internet marketer you must take control of your life and be able to impose and enforce some discipline to these 7 areas.

To Your Success,

Susan

Is Santa Claus Real?

In January, 2005 we ran a poll to see how many believed
in Santa Claus and 80% of the votes were "Yes" they did believe.

I was reminded of this poll earlier this week while reading

a newspaper column where they quoted a newspaper editor,

Frank Church. Mr. Church had stated, "Yes, Virginia, there

is a Santa Claus... The most real things in the world are those

which neither children nor men can see."

The column also gave a very good definition of Santa Claus

and I quote, "Santa Claus is more than a human being. Santa

Claus is the living symbol of selfless giving, handed down

from one generation to the next." (Kansas City Star,

December 13, 2005)

So what has believing in Santa Claus got to do with internet

marketing.

Giving.

Like Santa Claus, the selfless giver to all, a good internet

marketer must be willing to give:

• Some of their time and money to make their business.

• Quality products and services.

• Good support to their customers, readers, members, downline, etc.

• Honesty.

• Trustworthiness.

• More Value than what they ask for in return.

And 4 of these things; Quality, Honesty, Trustworthiness

and Value are things neither "children or men" can see.

To be a good internet marketer you don't have to believe

in Santa Claus. You don't have to believe he visits everyone's

house for Christmas or that he leaves presents.

To be a good internet marketer you don't have to believe in

Santa Claus but you do need to have his "selfless giving"

within you.

Is there a Santa Claus?

Yes, he's alive and well in all successful internet marketers.

To Your Success,

Susan

Christmas Give-A-Ways and Our Sale

Happy Hollidays,

The giveaways have started and you can get some
quality products just for signing up to try some ezines.

Here are 3 you'll want to check out:

1. 30 Days of Christmas
   
2. Affiliate Marketers Roadmap
   
3. EZasMagic Cheers

Also, the 2nd annual T'was The Night Before Christmas Sale
has started at FriendsWhoCare. There are 20 products being
sold for 50% or more off of their normal price. And this year
we are offering a bonus to qualified buyers - a free lifetime
membership to BigResaleRights.com - valued at $97.00.

So while you're getting presents for everyone else on your
list this year, be sure to check out the giveaways and the
sale so you can get yourself something that will help you
with your business.

To Your Success,
Susan

10 Facts About Search Engines

As you well know, getting a good listing on the search engines can really help get some good, quality traffic to your site.

But how do you get a good listing? That's the million dollar question.

Rather than explain how search engines select the top sites or how to trick them into listing your site in the top 10, let's learn some of the facts about search engines.

Now in case you're wondering why I don't just give you the 'magic' formula or algorithm for getting a good search engine placement I'll give you:

Fact Number 1: Search engines change their formula frequently in an attempt to keep quality sites at the top of the listing. They do this because of all the attempts to 'trick' or 'fool' them and, to stay popular with their users, they need to list the most relevant sites first.

Fact Number 2: Every search engine has it's own formula for determining the sites and the ordering of the sites it will list. And even though they all use many of the same factors in their formulas, there is no 1 formula that will work for all of them.

As for giving you some of the tricks that others have tried to use to get good search engine placement, I'll just say that the tricks that have worked in the past like using misleading meta tag keywords and embedding hidden keywords don't work today and the new tricks like creating lots of 'spam' sites using automatic search engine page creators won't be working much longer.

Fact Number 3: Search engine owners know the tricks being used and develop ways to filter them out.

Now that you know that there is no 1 'magic' formula and using a 'trick' won't work for long, you should also know:

Fact Number 4: Search engines do 'black list' sites they consider 'spam' and block them from being listed.

Because of all the articles and products about Google, you may think that Google has become the search engine of choice. And while Google is gaining in popularity,

Fact Number 5: Google still hasn't captured Yahoo's number 1 position.

Even though Google isn't number 1,

Fact Number 6: Using 'good advice' on how to improve your Google position will also help you with your placement on Yahoo and many other search engines.

Some of 'good advice' for getting a good position is to have a site with good content and to use your keywords within your content. But the web has become so big that there are now thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of pages competing for the same keywords.

Because of this explosion in the number of pages available for generic keyword searches,

Fact Number 7: Search engine users are now adding more descriptive terms in their searches.

Another fact that most people don't realize about search engines is that:

Fact Number 8: Search engines don't rank or list web sites, they rank and list web pages. That means every page of your site has the potential to be listed if you set it up properly.

Since we're getting into the realm of less known search engine facts, let's talk about how

Fact Number 9: Search engines use their own traffic tracking information to help determine which sites to list. If they see that they have a top site that continually gets visited for a brief amount of time and the searchers usually come back and continue looking, the search engine may determine the site is of little value and either move it down on the list or remove it.

The last fact isn't really about search engines but has been included to help you measure your progress as you work to improve your search engine positions.

A couple of terms you've probably seen many times are "Google Page Rank (PR)" and "Alexa Traffic Ranking". While both measure different things,

Fact Number 10: Google PR and Alexa Traffic Ranking are 2 of the best indicators on how well your search engine optimization work is going. Improving your Google PR and your Alexa Traffic Ranking can help you get a better search engine position.

To Your Success,
Susan

A Warning About Fake PayPal Email

Those phisher are working hard during December.

This morning I received 2 emails to update my
information on PayPal and both were bogus.

One message said they needed me to update my
credit card info and the other said I needed
to update my personal info or my account would
be terminated. *Both* included a link to
click so I could update my information.

Please remember - PayPal *never* includes a
link in their email when they request you to update
or provide personal information. They
always tell you to go to their site and login.

Never, I repeat, Never click on a link that
looks like it came from PayPal asking you
for personal or credit information.

To Your Success,
Susan

PS - We've started our 2nd Annual
T'was The Night Before Christmas Sale
where you can get things to help you with
your online business. You owe it to yourself
to take a look.

How To Add Links To Your Blog

Yesterday I received an email from Harry. Seems someone told him he should create a blog for his business and he had 3 very good questions:

1. What do I need to know to create this Blog?
2. How much does it cost?
3. Do I need to have a hosting site?

Because the answers to these questions were contained in a tip I wrote last year I posted another old tip to our article archive and sent Harry the link.

And while all of Harry's questions were answered in that tip, there's a lot more to blogging than just creating the blog. (Remember last month when I wrote about getting traffic to your blog?)

Now if you have a blog you're using in place of a website or as a method to drive traffic to your website, you also need to know how to add links to your blog. I don't mean the links contained in your articles or signature but the links you want displayed in the right sidebar.

To show you what I mean please look at the following 2 blogs.

Example 1:

Example 2:




Notice how the blog in Example 1 contains only 1 link in the right sidebar and it's for "Google News." That's the link provided by the blogger template.

Now look at the links contained in the second example. There are links pointing to other sites and products but no "Google News."

There are 2 good reasons to put your website, affiliate and product links in the right sidebar:

1. The link can help your Google page rank.
2. Blog readers now have the opportunity to visit another site of your choice.

Because I use Blogger.com I am going to tell you how to change the links for their templates but changing the links for other blogging services like WordPress is allowed and should be very similar.

To put your links on your Blogger templage:

1. Login to your blogger account and click "Change Settings."
2. Click on the "Template" tab.
3. Copy all the code that is displayed in the box holding the template code and save it in a text file. (This is your backup in case you mess up and need to start over so don't change anything in this file until you have everything you change working.)
4. In the box that displays the code for the template, scroll down until you find the following code. There won't be colored code in what your searching so you'll have to scan the code to locate it.
   
   <h2 class="sidebar-title">Links</h2>
   <ul>
   <li><a href="http://news.google.com/">Google News></a</li>
   <li><a href="http://EDITME">Edit-Me></a></li>
   <li><a href="http://EDITME">Edit-Me></a></li>
   </ul>
   
   
5. "This is the HTML code for the sidebar links. The purple code is the URL for the link. The green code is what the person sees when visiting your blog." (Taken from "The Complete Blog and Ping Turorial.")
6. Each of the lines that starts with <li> and ends with </li> displays a different link. Change the purple code to the link you want your visitor to visit and change the green code to words you want your blog visitors to see. (You can also make the same changes to the line for Google News.)
7. After you've made your changes, save your changes and republish your blog.
8. View your blog to see your new links to make sure everything looks and works OK.

The Blogger template gives you 3 links however you may not need them all or you may want more.

If you don't need all 3 links you can remove the lines
<li><a href="http://EDITME">Edit-Me></a></li>
that you're not going to change. Just be sure not to remove the </ul>
at the end.

If you need more links that the 3 provided, add more by inserting more
<li><a href="<<li><a href="http://EDITME">Edit-Me></a></li>
lines before the </ul>.

Once your finished you will have added value to your blog for both your readers and yourself.

To Your Success,
Susan

PS Read the Blog and Ping Tutorial to discover how to set up a free blog on Blogger.com, how to design it for marketing and how to get it spidered by Google and Yahoo quickly. Available at: http://www.friendswhocare.us/blogs