Tips to Success for Writing Great Newsletters and Building a Profitable List

Have you been thinking about how to write your own newsletter, but find yourself stumped about choosing layouts, formats and design ideas? Many people looking to build a targeted list want to make their own newsletter, but need some direction when it comes creating business, classroom, personal or internet marketing newsletters. This article will help you with tips and examples of what to do and what not to do as a newbie newsletter or e-journal publisher eager to build subscribers.

1. Determine design and layout

The first thing you need to determine is the design and layout. If you're moving from a print-only newsletter, it's very important that you don't lose your branding, i.e., you need to keep most of the colors and font styles that your readers are already comfortable with. The key is to not lose your existing identity.

If this is a first time effort for you, then of course, you are open to many options. Don't torture yourself with design decisions. Practice the KISS principle and keep it simple. Look around at newsletter directories for subjects similar to yours and create a "swipe file" in your favorites. Copy these sites into that folder for future reference and come up with ideas for your own unique style.

2. Don't get carried away with slow loading graphics

Be considerate of your visitors with slow Internet connections and keep graphics to a minimum.

3. Choose colors carefully

Keep in mind that colors in printed materials may appear unattractive and may even distract your readers focus when viewed on screen. Be careful here; strive for a consistent appearance on all your business communications. Always use existing logos when possible.

4. Email newsletter line lengths should be kept at a minimum

Be aware of line lengths and watch for the "disappearing end of line" (this could happen in both email and web newsletters). Make sure you accommodate small screens when formatting paragraphs. It's a good idea to go to your file menu and choose "View In" and test the appearance for all resolutions.

Plain-text, email-only newsletters force you to limit your design options. However, limited layout doesn't have to mean lousy layout. Email newsletters can benefit from even the most rudimentary graphic design: use spaces or other devices to separate articles; break articles up into easy-to-absorb paragraphs.

5. Always Test

Don't be lazy. Before sending out your email newsletter, ALWAYS send yourself a copy. See what your readers see... make final adjustments to line lengths and/or line breaks.

6. Practice using these basic elements in each issue:

• title
• date and/or number
• masthead or contact information
• ISSN
• how to subscribe and unsubscribe
• table of contents
• copyright statement

7. Don't forget to write it right

When writing, editing, and proofreading you should, at the very minimum... have someone else to proofread copy for typos and clarity.

Will you have an editorial board or are you on your own? At the very minimum, understand how writing for the web/email differs from writing for print.

8. How to publicize your newsletter and get subscribers

This isn't rocket science, but it is something that involves a lot of time and effort. So what can you do to bring in subscribers? Use web resources like DIGG, UTube, Article Dashboard and GOArticles to bring relevant traffic. Write articles on your newsletter subject and submit to several of the top known directories. Use Web 2.0 sites like DIGG and StumbleUpon to post your URL. Use Blog resources like Blogster and Squidoo to get the word out.

It's not likely you can purchase a targeted relevant list of email addresses to get you started. Unfortunately there's a lot of controversy about these internet lists and you certainly don't want to be accused of SPAM.

You should advertise your newsletter in print publications in and outside your community. And one commonly overlooked tip is to see if you can get other electronic newsletter publishers (related fields) to mention your newsletter. It's wise to have you own short, ready-to-use announcement. It makes it a lot simpler to include into their publication.

9. Manage your circulation

If you don't have one already, make up your own Privacy Statement. Your readers will want to be sure their name and email are protected.

Determine if your newsletter is going to be on a membership (closed) or open basis. Do you want any and everyone to join, or do you want a more targeted group to receive your newsletter?

Keep your subscriber list clean and up-to-date. "Bouncing" email comes with the territory, so be prepared to clean up the subscriber list regularly. Some list management software will perform periodic "probes" for inactive email addresses and notify you of inactive or duplicate email addresses.

10. Include as much contact information as possible:

•  name of the editor or other contact person
•  email address, postal address, telephone number, fax number, etc.

When subscribers give you feedback: , don't take subscriber "flames" personally, but do try to acknowledge and respond to reader suggestions. It a sound practice to let your readers know if you accept reader contributions and what sorts of contributions you look for. Be specific and include a contribution statement in each newsletter issue.

This last word of advice is most probably the very thing most newsletter publishers have trouble with. It can be the deciding factor to whether a visitor subscribes and whether readers unsubscribe. No it not content, although a boring newsletter won't keep anyone's attention.

In an instant a potential member or reader can vanish into CyberSpace in a nano-second. It has more to do than just how to write a good newsletter. Basically it's how well your newsletter looks the second someone visits and subscribes. If, when they receive it, and it appears unprofessional or, they are easily distracted by the colors and the format... they're gone. Bye! Adios! When you decide to make your own newsletter, you should consider professional HTML and MS Word templates.

When shopping for a good newsletter template, it important to keep in mind that free is free and does not necessarily equate to quality. It really doesn't matter if it's your business, school classroom or even a Christmas newsletter template, for less than a Red Lobster dinner, you can keep your readers interest and focus with quality professional templates. They will make a huge difference in the way your newsletter is perceived.

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Sell on eBay Involves Honing Your Copywriting Skills

Learning how to sell on eBay involves honing your copywriting skills. You must know how to write articles and other forms of online content that aim to increase your eBay eBook sales. A good copywriter is one who can easily convert his readers into buying customers. In short, in order to make money on eBay, you need to be a good copywriter.

If you are not writing the content yourself, at least find someone who knows the tricks of copywriting. Always remember that online shoppers have specific needs. They need information to convince them that a product is helpful or valuable to them. It's your job as the copywriter to effectively present and provide to them this information.

Listed below are the most important aspects of a good sales copy. When writing sales pages, always see to it that they contain these important parts.

Headline.

A great headline can do wonders for your eBook sales. You should make use of unique and catchy titles. And never make your headlines too generic. A good sales page headline is neither too short nor too long. When somebody reads your headline, he or she should be able to identify what the copy is about and what it is offering. Give the reader a quick idea on what the eBook has in store for him. Furthermore, it's always a good idea to include a descriptive sub-headline just below the main headline. This sub-headline should build more interest in the reader.

Guarantee. 

Offering a guarantee is a must if you are trying to make money on eBay by selling eBooks. There are two main types of guarantees that you can offer on a sales page - the guarantee that the customer will truly find valuable content in your eBook and the guarantee that you will give back the customer's money if he/she finds the eBook unhelpful. It's much easier for people to buy products if there are guarantees involved. For instance, if you are selling an eBook with a full money-back guarantee, people have this feeling that they have nothing to lose in purchasing your eBook since they can receive a full refund in case they find the eBook unworthy.

Bonus. 

So you want to know how to sell on eBay? Then mastering the "bonus concept" is one thing you should do. Your eBay eBook sales can go through the roof if you offer bonuses that fully complement your eBook. Online shoppers love bonuses. They are more likely to whip out their wallets if there is a bonus attached to a product.

Testimonials. 

Testimonials from satisfied customers provide proof that your eBook really is valuable. In most cases, these testimonials should go at the bottom of the sales page. Well, you can be more creative and place these testimonials anywhere on the sales page. The more positive testimonials you get, the more you can make money on eBay.

We repeat, to fully learn how to sell on eBay, you should hone your copywriting skills. A well-written sales page containing the important parts discussed above can significantly grow your eBook sales on eBay.

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Does Your Website Grab People's Attention?

Ever visit a blog or website that draws you in? The next thing you know you're exploring the site, enjoying the photos or information you find. A great site grabs your attention and does not let you go. That's exactly how man or women entrepreneurs want people react when visiting our sites.

Embrace your message with a passion that can be read and seen the moment someone clicks onto your site.  

How can you grab people's attention?

1. Shake things up

Be fearless. Convey your message using words and images that shock people, stop them in their tracks or make them laugh. No one wants to read dull, humdrum articles or see washed out photos. You're not just attracting readers, your goal is to attract buyers. The more dramatic your site is, the more attention you will command.

2. Do the unexpected

What are people expecting to hear from someone like you? Come at your message and web design from a different direction than what is normally expected. Come up with engaging article and section titles. Play with words and their opposites. Try to find paradoxical or ironic ways of packaging your message. This is the perfect time to pull out your thesaurus!

3. Rock the boat

In nearly all topic areas there are disagreements and arguments about how best to solve a problem. Stand out by jumping into the controversy. Take a stand. Or maybe better yet, create a third way and pit your message against the traditional ways of seeing things. Identify the conflict perspectives and package your book in a way that draws all sides in. Root your hook in controversy. People might not agree with you, but it won't hurt to have your name appearing on posts all over the Internet.

4. Hurry up!

A fundamental principle in selling a product is cultivating a sense of urgency. Buy today! Don't miss out! You'll get a bonus if you act right now! Those of us in the information marketing field are at an advantage here. When people are grappling with a problem, the resulting pain and discomfort adds extra motivation to solve the problem sooner than later. You can add to their sense of urgency by how quickly they can expect results from your program or solution. Don't over sell your message, but make sure the reader knows that relief is achievable and in the very near future if they act today.

5. Know how your readers feel

You know what hooks people the most? Finding someone who seems to know exactly how they feel, and especially how they hurt. If your message convinces prospective buyers that you understand them, they'll trust you to help them and be open to hearing what you have to offer. Women tend to be very empathetic, which can be a great advantage when you're competing for customers and clients who want to find the right mentor for them. Express, not only your thoughts, but feelings and emotional insights as well. Capture your essence in words and in images on your site, so that everything comes together in communicating your message clearly, distinctly and passionately.

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All We Gonna Do With Kraftwurx Uber

The waters have certainly been tested in the 3D Printing Industry, now considered still in its infancy with an infinite number of future possibilities. Harnessing its vast potential and bringing that potential to the consumer in today's market place has yielded challenges. 

Kraftwurx, the newest player in this arena, has positioned itself to be the company that finally brings it all together. Thus far, the trend with companies like Kraftwurx has been to concentrate on in-house production of 3D Printed products to meet consumer demand, leaving only a small number of highly specialized jobs to be expedited by neighboring bureaus. This has afforded these companies some advantages. However, this business model has demonstrated some problems and inefficiencies that have negatively impacted their customers. Long lead times, material shortages and quality issues have become the norm, setting low standards and even lower consumer expectations.

Kraftwurx approach is entirely different. They establish a cooperative, dynamic web of veteran 3D Printing Bureaus across the globe, organized and structured to bring the highest quality products in the shortest time and at the lowest possible cost directly to the consumer. How are they accomplishing this? By leveraging the experience of the existing infrastructure and bringing their expertise to the table. The business model is all in the patent-pending software program licensed to Kraftwurx from sister company Digital Reality.

There is another aspect to the Kraftwurx business model. Democratized manufacturing is the name given to the maker-movement growing around the world. People everywhere with the skills to create and innovate are finding that 3D printing provides an excellent opportunity to bring their skills to market in the form of products and gadgets without the expense and difficulties of traditional manufacturing.

Kraftwurx is designed to place the customer in the driver's seat. The website makes it possible to design, manufacture and sell unique, personalized products, utilizing the wide range of bureaus available within the Kraftwurx network. These bureaus are offered the opportunity to produce the product as close to the end user as is possible, affording the consumer a competitive cost by avoiding shipping charges and possibly import/export and customs fees too. Not to mention that as a seller you don;t have to do anything but design and sell, kraftwurx handles everything else.

Finally, Kraftwurx provides the consumer with the ideal selling environment, by way of its User Accounts Stores, making the products available to online shoppers at the touch of a button. Revenue from these sales, in turn, will go directly back to the seller that created them.

It is really all about the customer from start to finish. Kraftwurx has observed the potential and is now poised to exploit it, yielding great benefits to those entrepreneurial individuals ready to capitalize on the next Industrial Revolution.

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Getting The Most Mileage

When creating info products, it's possible to take basically the same content and create multiple products from it.

Keep in mind that different people have different preferred learning modes. Some people like to read, some like to listen, some like to watch and some like to experience something live (like a seminar). There is nothing wrong with taking the same content and repurposing it into different formats (audio, video, print). This allows people to pick the format that they like best - and if they happen to buy the same content in more than one format, then the different formats can help them to retain the information better. Studies have repeatedly shown that multiple modes of learning results in greater information retention. Also, within each format, you can create different levels of depth. As the information becomes more detailed (or more "niched") the price goes up.

Another idea is to go through content you've already created, pull out one specific piece and then create a new product out of that. You can also see if some of your content would lend itself to being a series.

Gaining Leverage

When creating content from scratch, it's a good idea to do your keyword research before you start writing anything. Then, you can map out different formats and decide on the level of depth for each one.

For example, let's say you wanted to create a piece of content about managing stress. A quick look in the Google AdWords keyword research tool reveals the following monthly search numbers:

- stress management 250,000

- managing stress 42,200

- manage stress 24,500

Obviously, it would be a much better idea to use the term "stress management" as your keyword than the much less-searched term "manage stress".

Once you know your main keyword and have the basic idea for your new content, you can then write the following pieces:

- an in-depth article for your website

- a blog post containing a summary, referencing and linking to the article

- a video on that topic you can post to YouTube to drive some traffic to it

- an audio recording of the article you can upload to podcasting sites

...and so on.

Clever Conversions

If you have an audio program on CD, give it to a sound engineer to combine all the tracks into one file and make an MP3 for you. If you have a DVD, have the video converted to an MP4 file. Have your audios and videos transcribed and turned into printed or electronic transcripts. Maybe pull some pieces from the transcriptions and make a downloadable special report or create an e-book.

With a little creativity and some careful planning, you can often squeeze more from an idea than you may have thought possible, while at the same time expanding your line of info products.

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Create a Legend in Google's Mind

Whether you agree or not, Google has become the most dominant marketing presence in the world. But the real question you should be asking yourself, does Google think you are a legend?

When someone goes to Google and searches for you, are they finding an overwhelming amount of information about you, including useful information that makes them want to do business with you? Or are they finding a picture of you from the first grade that your friend tagged you in?

With the slowdown in the economy and the increasing cost of traditional marketing and rising media costs, wouldn't it be better to let Google establish you as an expert in your field. It may sound difficult, but it's as easy as hiring the right writer to create a legend for you, in Google's mind.

When it comes to websites, the more traffic you can get, the more likely you are to sell something. It doesn't matter if it's a service or a product. For most business owners, the purpose of the website is to sell something. However, marketing is changing, and as a business owner, you need to change with it.

Website marketing is now becoming more about providing information and expertise to your potential customer than it is about automatically selling your customer something. The term is called pull marketing and it's changing the way businesses do business.

AN EXPERT OR JUST A SALESMAN:

Sales people have never really been thought of as experts in their respective fields. Sales people are charged with selling their company's products. Some of the best sales people though, don't actually sell. Rather, they provide information to their potential customer. Then, they let the customer decide whether they want to do business with an expert or take their chances somewhere else. In effect, they make the buying process about buying information and experience, rather than about product.

Ideally, as a small business owner, you want to be considered the expert that people go to first and then subsequently purchase from. But how do you establish your expertise?

BUILD A LEGEND:

One of the quickest and guaranteed methods of creating expertise is making sure you are found, when someone searches for you on Google. Start with a search of Google, to see if you even show up. If you aren't on the first page, then it's time to build your legend.

Legend building starts with deciding what information you have to offer your potential customers that will help them out, but will also drive them to request more information, specifically from you. To do that, you have to become findable.

THE QUICK:

The quickest way to be found is to hire a professional writer to collaborate with, to create more original and interesting content for your website, your blog, and about you. Most people find it incredibly difficult to write their own experiences and expertise. Even though they experts on the topic, they can't seem to write interesting copy. The solution, hire a professional writer to do the heavy lifting. Once these pieces are written, start putting them up on websites, put them out to the public. Remember, once something is out on the Internet, it can never be put back in. That's why you should consider a professional writer to provide the content for you. It's as easy an interview and the writer does the rest.

THE DEAD:

Of course, there are wrong ways to go about this as well. Again, consider once something is out on the Internet, there really isn't a way to get rid of it, at least not without a whole lot of work. So, before you consider just writing and publishing, consider that if it's bad, it might do more damage than good for your legend.

So, start by finding a good writer, then Google them, read their articles, check their samples and read their content. If you don't feel comfortable that this writer can tell your story compellingly, move on to someone else. Writing interesting content is an art form. Find a specialist, it will be worth it.

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The Numerous Advantages of E-Commerce Solutions

Those who have not been living in a cave over the past years should already be familiar with electronic commerce or e-commerce. Basically, this is the act of purchasing and selling products and services over the Internet.

If you are a business owner, it is important to look for an e-commerce Internet solution company which will provide you with the features and type of service that you need.

A Wide Array of Benefits from E-Commerce Internet Solution

Take retail online shopping sites like Amazon.com as an example. No matter which part of the world it is that you are from, you can buy the items that you want right from the site in the comfort of your own home.

Huge retail shopping sites like this probably have their own team running the e-commerce Internet solution system - but what about smaller businesses and micro-scale retailers?

There is no need to worry because there are hundreds of e-commerce Internet solution companies online which offer fast, affordable and efficient services for this specific purpose.

Take a look at the additional benefits of e-commerce Internet solution products:

1. 24/7 Access to online products and services from all parts of the world. With the use of the system provided by e-commerce Internet solution products, online users from all over the world can gain online access to the products and services that they need on a round-the-clock basis, no matter which part of the world it is that they are from.
2. No order processing errors. As compared to paper or retail-based selling, there are no order processing errors when using e-commerce Internet solution products. This is because human interaction is eliminated with the help of online electronic purchasing.
3. A veritable market for niche products. If you have a physical store, it is quite difficult to sell products or services to a niche market and earn profit at the same time. With e-commerce Internet solutions, it is much easier to reach your target market and increase the volume of your sales.
4. Lower operational costs, more profit for the seller and more savings for the buyer. Do you notice how some travel agencies offer a significant discount to their online customers? This is because online booking eliminates the need for personnel who will process the transaction. With e-commerce Internet solution products, there are lower operational costs involved - which equates to more profit for the seller and more savings for the buyer.
5. There is room for even the smallest-scale entrepreneurs.

Finally, no matter how small your initial market is, e-commerce Internet solution is an affordable and effective way to start out with your business.

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How to Add a Table of Contents to Your E-Books

One of the most important pieces of advice an internet marketer can get is to write an e-Book. The next important piece of advice is to make it a real e-Book not a report pretending to be an e-Book. There are a number of distinguishing differences. Not the least of which is their relative ability to convince the reader that you are an expert in your field.

One of the big differences between reports and proper e-Book is a simple little list. I'm referring, of course, to the table of contents. Reports seldom have tables of contents while e-Book inevitably are long enough to justify their use.

Unfortunately, many writers are frightened by the difficulty of creating a table of contents. Frankly, there is no reason to be frightened any longer. Virtually all word processing software including Word 2010 makes it easy to add a table of contents easily and quickly.

The basic process consists of five steps:

1. Place cursor

2. Insert Bookmark

3. Insert Table of Content

4. Add your Headings

5. Rebuild the Table of Contents

I know it sounds silly. But it really does begin by choosing where you will put your table of contents. When writing for the Kindle (or most e-Book), you'll want to start the Table of Contents on a new page. For a typical book, you're going to want to place the Table of Contents as the last pages of the pre-book. The pre-book are those pages that are found before the start of the book itself. Typically, this includes the title page, the copyright statement and the acknowledgements pages. However, this is only the normal way of doing things. There is no rule stating you have to do it this way. So start by locating your cursor at the point at which you want the Table of Contents to start.

The Kindle and most other eReaders are able to jump to different pages. One of those standard pages is the Table of Contents. So start by placing a bookmark just prior to where you want your table. To do this go to the "Insert" tab and select the "Bookmark" icon. You'll be presented with a window. Type "TOC" into the entry line and then select the "ADD" button. The window will close and you will have created a bookmark.

Now it's time to create the actual Table of Contents. Go to the "References" tab. Select the "Table of Contents" icon. You will be presented with a menu. The menu consists of a series of table format choices, a "more tables" choice and an "insert table" choice. It's time to decide how you will format your table.

If one of the existing tables is perfect for you, the process is very easy. Simply click on the choice and you'll insert the appropriate "Table of Contents".

If you would like to select another type of table, you can choose the choices entry. Place your cursor over the entry. Your choices will appear or a "No Online Content Available" message will appear.

Your final choice is to create the table manually. This is done by selecting the "Insert Table of Contents" choice. This will display a window displaying a preview of the table and a series of choices. The main choices to be aware of is the "Formats" and the "Options" and "Modify" buttons. The "Formats" drop down allows you to select a pre-formatted Table of Contents. The "Options" button displays another window. This allows you to identify which header styles to include in the table. The "Modify" button displays yet another window. This allows you to modify the format of each line in the table.

At this point, you actually have the table created. All you need to do is populate it. To do that you begin by inserting a page break. Type your headings and details. Whenever you use the "Heading 1", "Heading 2" or "Heading 3" styles, you will automatically add that line to your Table of Contents. Unless you've used the "Options" button to change the styles, of course.

When you've finished writing your eBook you will have a complete Table of Contents at the appropriate point in your eBook. All that remains is to be sure that it is up to date. You do this by right clicking on the first line of the table. You'll be presented with a menu of choices. Select the "Update Fields" choice. You will be presented with a window giving you a choice of updating the page numbers or the whole table.

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The 10 Commandments For a Successful Online Business Entrepreneurs

Too many people join and start an online home based business and fail because they lack the knowledge needed to make money online. Valuable time is wasted trying to figure what works and what doesn't work. Here are 10 items, commandments if you will, that have been proven to work and that all successful online home based business entrepreneurs have followed to generate true residual income.

1.) Shall not lie

No one likes a liar, nor will people follow a liar. Liars are always exposed and once that happens, their credibility is shot. Good luck building a successful business with zero credibility. Be honest, truthful, and upfront with the people you interact with. Integrity is a must.

2.) Shall be confident

What do all leaders have in common? They are confident in their actions. Confidence attracts people and a leader has many followers. But confidence doesn't always mean you have the answer; a person can be very confident in answering a question, "I don't know".

3.) Shall provide solutions to peoples problems

Are you giving someone a hammer when they need a screwdriver? Or are you giving a person the tools he or she needs to solve his or her problem? The second part to that is do they know it? Provide solutions and do not beat around the bush - make sure the customer knows that you are providing a solution to their problem.

4.) Shall be informed

You can never position yourself as an expert if you are not educated in what you are doing. The key to this commandment is to develop a habit of learning..., something you practice every day. Read books, take training courses, listen to CDs but do something to further your knowledge. You will never have the answer to everything but if you don't have the answer to anything, it will be easy to see why you are failing.

5.) Shall adapt to new technology

Web 2.0 is here. Are you utilizing it or are you still walking around the mall for hours on end trying to generate leads? There is so much new technology out there you can use to further your business; Google Adwords, Squidoo, YouTube, and many many more. Have you even scratched the surface yet? Even better, there are people out there who are very capable of taking a totally new person and making them 'fluent' in these cutting edge methods.

6.) Shall set realistic and attainable goals

Every successful person has set goals; it is how one determines if they are progressing in their business. Make sure they are attainable and once they have been reached, set new goals. A successful person never stops setting goals.

7.) Shall learn the art of duplication

Time is money, right? We have heard it before and we all know that the huge benefit of online based businesses is the ability to generate money outside of time. True residual income comes from duplication. Understand that and you are well on your way to being successful.

8.) Shall implement effective marketing techniques

This is similar to Commandment #5 as these techniques usually use new technology, but the fact is the majority of people do not know how to effectively market their idea. You can use Google Adwords, YouTube, Facebook, etc, or the multitude of other marketing techniques out there, but you need to know how to do it effectively; otherwise you are just wasting your time and continuing down the path of failure.

9.) Shall be consistent in their actions

We hear it all the time; be consistent in what you do to build your business. Set up a routine to make it easier. Failing to be consistent - not doing so will result in just that, failure.

10.) Shall be a student and expert in copywriting

Copywriting is by far the most important concept you will need to master. Ask yourself this, "Why did you start reading this article I wrote?" Once you answer that, you have become a student of copywriting - now it is time to become an expert.

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How to Select the Best Article Writing Services Provider

When it comes to promotion of products and services online, there are many methods that you can make use of. Any business that is looking to market its business will definitely prefer to use a method that will enable them spend less but make a lot from it. Article writing services offers businesses this option since article writing is not very expensive when compared to other marketing methods. Furthermore, these articles are likely to be used for a long time to come as they are more like books that someone can keep referring to. As much as this is the case, companies place orders for more articles so as to revive their sites with fresh content. This is where writing services come in. When selecting a writer to do the work for you, you need to keep in a mind a number of issues.

Look for a company that is experienced as article writing is not an easy task as many may think. A marketer needs an article writing services provider who understands how things are done in this industry. With experienced company you do not to worry about the quality of the work you will receive because such writers know the importance of delivering high quality. If you get a company that has been in the writing business for a period of 5 years or more, consider hiring them.

Consider looking at the reliability of a company before hiring their article writing services. You need a company that you can trust and know that no matter what, they have your back. There a number of companies out there that promises to offer timely services only to take ages or fail to deliver at all. The writer has to be credible and you can check their credibility by reading reviews and comments of clients who have used their writing services. You need article writing services from a company that you can develop a long working relationship with.

The other important issue that you should keep in mind when selecting is the quality of services. You need a company that will provide you with article writing services of impeccable quality and not articles that you will start editing to rectify mistakes that could have been avoided if the writer were to pay more attention. At times, a client may be forced to cancel articles because they did not meet the requirements set by the client and these leads to huge losses.

If you get writing services provider who will finish your assignments within the shortest time possible, you should consider selecting them. With such a writer you will not have to worry about losing money because work was delivered late.

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15 Tips Effective Website Proofreading for Web Content

In newly written work, mistakes often lurk that can alter the meaning of a phrase, sentence or paragraph. Therefore website proofreading should be a conscientious habit for all web content writers.

That said, proofreading is far from being a simple matter. The brain has a tendency to fool us at times into seeing what we intended to write, rather than what we really wrote.

So, here are fifteen proofreading tips to help you when writing your web content:

1. Set your completed work aside.

Once you have completed your work, set it aside for at least a few hours, a day if you can before returning to proofread it. This will allow you to look more objectively into what you have really written. Taking time out from your work will also allow you to be more alert when checking for mistakes.

2. Check for different types of grammatical errors each time you proofread.

First, determine whether your sentence structure hangs together correctly. Then consider whether your word choice is correct for each passage of your work. Then check the spelling of each word. Finally, check your punctuation.

3. Check facts and data for accuracy.

Because you are going to present your written work to the world, your credibility as a writer and topic expert is at stake. Therefore your task in website proofreading goes further than just correcting sentence structure, word choice, spelling and punctuation. Accurate information is vital too.

For example: Where research is involved, are your facts and figures up to date? You don't want to be quoting facts that are perhaps two or three years or more out of date. Check numbers carefully. For instance did you mean to write 100,000 or 10,000? You have written 0.01 but should it have been 0.1. Numerical errors can impact on your message significantly.

4. Print your work, then proofread it.

Because we may read in different ways on the computer screen versus on paper, website proofreading using both media can often identify errors that proofreading in just one will not.

5. Read your work out loud.

This time we use two senses instead of just one. This will make you notice mistakes that you may have missed when just reading. Because we are so used to reading with our eyes, hearing something at the same time will often assist us in detecting errors.

6. Take care when using the spellchecker for website proofreading.

I touched on spelling in tip 2. Spell checkers are really useful, however it is important not to fall into the trap of relying on your spell checker. It's very helpful when fishing out repeated words and mistyped words. However, not for example when you should have written the word their but instead used the word there or no instead of know. Your hard copy dictionary is the best spell checker bar none.

7. Use the grammar checking feature in your word processor.

Your grammar checker can be very useful for detecting misplaced punctuation marks and incorrect grammar. Here again do not totally rely on it, as it may miss some of the more subtle nuances of the English language found in your grammar book.

8. Consider your language.

So you are writing in English but is it for example British English or American English. Do one or the other; never mix the two! In British English we write cheque, centre, colour, programme and biscuit. In American English we write check, center, color, program and cookie.

9. Use a thesaurus to increase word variety.

If you notice that you keep repeating words, a thesaurus can be a really useful aid in finding synonyms (and antonyms) to give you more variety in your word choices. You will also expand your vocabulary in the process.

10. Starting from the end read backwards.

This will help you to spot misspelled words by helping you to look at the words in isolation instead of whole sentences.

11. List down mistakes you frequently make, and refer to them often.

Little by little, this will help you improve not only your proofreading skills, but also your writing skills. Repetition will make you learn.

12. Get someone else to proofread your work.

Maybe you are brimming with confidence in your website proofreading skills. However, by using someone who is completely detached to run their eye over your work, they may identify things you have missed.

13. Ensure the logical order of your sentences and paragraphs.

Does a point in one sentence follow another or does the story jump back and forth? An illogical order will stand out like a sore thumb to your readers.

14. Proofread more than once.

It's amazing how much you can miss on the first or even second proofread. Just like you should leave time between writing and proofreading(tip 1), you should also leave time between each proofread.

15. Be a frequent reader.

Make sure you are a regular reader of other people's work. However, be careful what you read. Just because an article or report is published online, it doesn't mean that it is accurate with regards to grammar, spelling, sentence structure and other factors I have discussed here. Whereas a physical book published by a respected publishing house, whilst not guaranteed to be completely error free, will in the main be accurate.

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Increase Your Credibility and Visibility

Blogging to build your business has been a hot topic of discussion for several years now. If you want to increase your credibility and visibility online, starting a blog is the best way to do this. Blogging allows you to get your information out to others, while also giving your readers a way to connect with you and to be part of the conversation.

When you first start to blog it may seem like you are writing to yourself. Everyone goes through this for a month or so at the very beginning. But if you define your target audience and use your keywords in your blog post titles and blog domain name, readers will begin to find you and you will see the results very quickly after that.

Make sure that you have a form on your blog where readers can leave their name and email address. This will help you to build your list and give you the opportunity to contact them away from your blog. Depending on your type of business, you will want to promote other products and services that will be of interest to your readers.

Post to your blog regularly. 

I recommend posting every day for the first one to two months. This will give your blog lots of good content and be a great resource for anyone who finds you through a search of any kind. The more content you have on your blog, the higher it will rank in the search engines. Every time you make a new post you have created a new page. The search engines will crawl your blog and make it appear more relevant for your keyword phrases.

Choose your categories wisely. 

Think about your business and the topics that you will want to cover to share your information with others. Make a list of these topics and add them to your category list. A new visitor to your blog will be able to click on the category link and see all of the posts you have written in that category. That is convenient for you and for your readers. If you are writing an eBook, categories will help you to organize your chapters.

Ask others to write guest posts for you. This gives you a break from blogging and makes your blog more interesting and informative to others. Many people will be glad to have the opportunity to write on your established blog to gain more exposure for themselves.

Blogging will enhance your current business or help you to build a new business online. I encourage you to get started right away so that you can reap the rewards of regular business blogging.

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7 Questions To Ask Yourself BEFORE Starting A Business Blog

Blogging is the latest buzzword in online marketing and PR. But with so many marketers jumping on the blogging bandwagon, few people are giving a thought to whether blogs are really up their alley, or taking the time to consider the best ways of going about it. If you are planning to start a business blog, ask yourself these questions before you take the final plunge.

1. Do you really need a blog?

Writing and maintaining a blog takes a certain degree of commitment, as well as a passion (or at least a liking) for stringing words into a decent sentence. If you don't enjoy writing that much, you could always create an audio or video blog. But would your business objectives really be served by starting a blog? Or could other methods of online marketing, like SEO, or newsletter publishing work just as well, if not better?

2. Whom do you want to reach with your blog?

The first step to reaching your audience is understanding where they go to find information about your products. If your audience largely consists of people who live in your town or use products that they search for in the newspapers, offline advertising might be more suited to your purpose.

If however, your target audience belongs to one or more of these segments, a blog might be just the thing to boost your business.

- Internet users

Does your target audience really use the internet? If not, then starting a blog (or any online activity, for that matter) will just be a huge waste of time and effort.

- Blog readers

Does your target audience read blogs? Or do they prefer to get their information in their inbox? If the latter is true, then an email newsletter might be a better option than a blog.

- Search engine users

A blog is an excellent way to boost your search engine rankings and get listed for a lot of your target keywords. If you know that your audience uses search engines to find information, a blog will increase your chances of getting their attention.

- Social media users

A blog is an excellent way to provide a focal point for your community. Regular content updates through social media networks will help you offer something of value to your community users.

3. What do you want to achieve with your blog?

There are a lot of things that a blog can do for your business. Blogs can help you -

- Increase your visibility and search engine rankings

- Brand yourself, your products, your services, your company

- Build a community and network with people who have similar interests

- Expand your reach to those outside your current sphere of influence - Establish your credibility as an expert or thought-leader in your field

- Put a human face on your business

- Reach out to potential customers and stakeholders

Deciding exactly what you want to achieve with your blog can help you get focused, so that you can spend your time and effort in activities that help, not hinder your business objectives.

4. How much time can you spend on your blog?

Serious business bloggers not only spend time writing their own blogs, but also spend a great deal of time reading up on current events and browsing other blogs in their field for information. If you are prepared to put in the time and effort required to do that sort of research, your blog will serve as a good branding tool for your business. If not, you should either hire someone to do the research or seriously rethink your decision to start a blog.

5. What blogging platform will serve your needs best?

Deciding your blogging platform is an important step that you should take only after becoming familiar with the features and benefits of each option. The reason it is so crucial is because it can be extremely difficult to migrate an established blog to a new platform once you have started it.

Moving your blog can result in you losing your data, search engine listings and readers, so don't take this decision lightly. Decide which platform will best meet your marketing objectives, time constraints and personal preferences before you make your first post.

If you are short on time, and want to spend more time writing, then a hosted solution like Blogger, Blogware, Squarespace or Typepad might serve your purpose better. This might also prove a better option if you want to get started as soon as possible, are new to the internet, or are unfamiliar with scripts or code.

If, on the other hand, you're a control freak (like me) and don't mind spending some time and effort to customize your blog, then a server-installed software, like Wordpress, b2Evolution or Movable Type might be just right for you. If you don't want to install the scripts yourself, choose a hosting solution with Fantastico, which comes with a one-click install of a number of blogging software.

6. How do you plan to promote your blog?

Why is it good to know this before you start your blog? Because it will help you decide where best to invest your time and effort when you need to build traffic to your blog. You'll learn more about the methods to promote your blog when you subscribe to the email course below.

Some of these tasks can be outsourced, while others you would have to do yourself. Decide what you want to take on and look out for service providers to handle the other functions so you can start building traffic to your blog as soon as possible.

7. How will you assess the success of your blog?

To determine how successful your blog is in boosting your profile or profits you will have to measure your blog traffic and track sales or leads that have come through it. Planning this in advance will help you take more informed decisions about your blogging metrics, choice of blogging platform and degree of customization you require on your blog.

Understand that blogging is not for everyone. It's just another form of communication. Don't get so hung up on the technology that you end up ignoring more appropriate ways of communicating your message. Some things may be easier to communicate face to face, in a conference room, or even through the good old telephone.

But if you asked yourself all the questions above and decided that blogging meets all your objectives, then a blog may be just what the doctor ordered for your business.

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7 Methods Introduced Here Offer The Opportunity

There is plenty of advice available for people who want to legally make money online. However most of it, unfortunately, is offered by people selling ridiculous get rich quick schemes, so called instant money makers or, even worse, scams. If anybody tells you that making money online is "effortless" or "quick" then alarm bells should be sounding for you. If you seriously want to legally make money online then you need to be prepared to put in the necessary work.

Nonetheless the rewards for getting it right are massive. Not just in terms of your income but, perhaps more importantly, in terms of the improvement in lifestyle that comes if you can work from home. Initially you may have to work harder to start your business but, once it has, you could work as little as 4 hours a day in return for a fantastic improvement in your quality of life.

So what are the 7 best ways to legally make money online. Each of the 7 steps outlined offer a basic introduction to the most effective ways generate an income for yourself and your family working with your PC from your own home. Each has the potential to provide anything from a little extra cash to a very healthy full time income. They are not presented in any order of preference and it should be noted that most successful internetpreneurs use most, if not all of these, techniques to legally make money online.

1. Affiliate Programs:

Fundamentally, if you act as an affiliate it means that you advertise others products in return for a commissions on any sales made by a customer who has arrived at the product via a link from your advertisement. This way to legally make money online is best achieved by a placing advertisements in the form of banners or contextual links on your website or blog. You will need to learn a little about web design or blogging. Once your site or blog is designed you can place your affiliate links on them and, if done correctly, will soon start earning some commission. You don't even need a website as you can use "landing pages" such as Hubpages or Squidoo lenses to advertise your affiliate products. Furthermore some products don't even require that you make a sale. They 'convert' (meaning pay commission) for you sending them possible customers which they can then promote to (often known as 'leads'). However the best commissions are invariably earned for referrals that result in direct sales.

You can find affiliate programs for products in many ways. Search engines, directories, forums and social networks are but a few of the places you could find affiliate programs but perhaps the best places to start are the affiliate networks such as ClickBank, Commission Junction or Linkshare. Affiliate payouts can be extremely high and it is not unusual for successful internetpreneurs to earn substantial incomes this way.

Sounds easy to legally make money online with affiliate programs then? But of course it is not that simple. It's totally useless having a great site or blog with high quality affiliate links if no one is looking for or visiting your links. No traffic equals no sales and wasted effort.

In order to succeed with affiliate programs you have to understand the marketing process. From 'keyword analysis' through 'product selection' to 'link building' a clear affective and powerful marketing strategy is essential if you are really going to legally make money online. It will take some time and effort to master marketing techniques but, with the help of some of the excellent affiliate training products that exist, there is no reason why you can't earn a fantastic online income with affiliate programs.

2. Information Products:

Information products are digital and therefore have minimal storage and delivery costs. Once designed and produced you overheads thereafter are extremely low and sales prices represent high percentage profits. Information products can be Ebooks, software, training videos or anything else you can download. There are many ways to sell and to market digital products from placing them on your own sites or blogs to marketing them on via your own affiliate program via affiliate networks such as ClickBank.

Many people think it's impossible for them to produce a product that anyone else would be interested in let alone want to buy. However everybody possesses knowledge that others want. For example I don't know how wire my house and am terrified to even try because I lack the knowledge required to do so. So whats my solution? I need to have the right information in order to learn how to wire my house. Needless to say I would be willing to pay to have that information. So if you are an electrician I would be willing to buy that information from you. If you then consider the massive scope of the Internet market place you can start to see how you can legally make money online selling information products based upon the knowledge you already have. No matter if your an electrician, a cook, a successful mum or even a bus driver you know something other would pay to find out.

You don't even need to be a writer, you can commission a ghost writer, or you can develop your own software or even produce your own instructional video. Do your research, read product reviews and look at other top selling products. Get this way to legally make money online right and the rewards can be very high.

3. Google Advertisement:

In the same way that you can place banners or contextual links for affiliate programs on your site, blog or landing page (well some of them anyway) you can also place 'Google AdWords' advertisements. Signing up for AdWords is very simple and is entirely free. Once you have set up your site or blog etc, and it has been accepted by Google, you can go ahead and design your AdWords ads. The advantage of these ads is that they will be automatically targeted to your sites content by Google. Each ad will offer a link to related products offered by people who use Pay Per Click advertising (PPC) on Google. In the same way that affiliate programs will pay out for successful conversions, Google will also split it's commission with you for the same. Whilst this is unlikely to be as lucrative a way to legally make money online as pure affiliate programs it is a valuable addition to any internetpreneurs income.

4. Online Store:

Ask most people what they think will be a good way to legally make money online and they invariably suggest some sort of shop or Internet trading site. Whilst selling physical products can earn you a fantastic income initial set up costs can be high and the chances are that you will be competing against some well established competitors. There are a number of automated store building solutions and "turn key" websites that mean you need to know little about web design or hosting etc in order to set your store up (though you will probably be far more likely to succeed if you do). Furthermore there are some excellent free order processing and inventory solutions such as PayPal that you can use for processing orders on your site once it is set up.

Unlike selling digital products you have to consider how you are going to store your stock, deliver to your customers etc. If you are intending to sell a broad range of products you need to secure a supplier. Buying wholesale may improve your profit margins but you need to be aware that the percentage markup is usually quite low on most products. Therefore you need a considerable volume of sales in order to make a good return on your investment.

Perhaps a better approach is to identify a 'niche market' and sell exclusively to that. Commercially speaking a niche can be said to be any smaller segment of a broader market. For example if the broader market is 'Car Products' then a niche market could be 'classic car parts'. However, you may find that this is too broad a market to compete in and so may consider an even more specific niche such as 'classic car tires' or 'classic car electrical components'. By identifying 'niche' markets in this way you will reduce the competition but your market will be smaller. The trick is to find a niche that is small enough to compete in but has sufficient demand for you to legally make money online.

There are plenty of wholesale directories on the Internet that offer access to products at cheap wholesale prices. Unfortunately this is a sector of the market that attracts some real scam artists so you need to be very careful about "paying for information" as many so called wholesale directories are simply lists of links to wholesalers (many of which turn out to be dead). Nonetheless, if you are careful, read plenty of reviews and ask others who they've found to be effective suppliers in your chosen "niche", you can find some excellent wholesale directories, find some good suppliers and legally make money online by reselling the products to the customer via your online shop.

However, it's little use finding a great niche product line and building your website store unless you can attract customers. In order to do so you will need to successfully market your store and products just as you would with affiliate or digital products. Once again an effective marketing strategy is central to your success.

5. Auction Sites:

Chances are that most of us have either sold or bought something off an auction site, such as eBay, at some time or another. If you do want to legally make money online then selling your own product or reselling for others through an auction site can be highly rewarding. Many of the top eBay traders (the 'powersellers') are full time and , if you want to know how to make money this way, then simply check out some of their eBay stores and products in order to get an idea of what is achievable.

However selling through an auction site introduces further set up costs which need to be carefully considered as part of your business plan. It's important to carefully read their fee structure and listing policies before attempting to sell your products through them. Remember your profit margin per item may be reduced but the volume of sales you can expect could be greatly increased due to the customer base and brand loyalty that sites like eBay already have.

Many of the more successful sellers combine their Auction site stores and trade with their other online stores. By combining you efforts in this way you gain an increased exposure for your products by 'cross promoting'. Again it will be important to to identify a niche market for your goods on the auction sites and the same marketing methods need to be used in order to gain custom.

6. Membership Sites:

As we've already discussed if you have specialist knowledge or expertise, or if you offer a unique niche product or service then you can probably legally make money online selling that information or expertise. A membership site charges a recurring 'subscription fee' to those members who wish to join. The successful ones offer their members access to specialist niche products and information that is difficult to find elsewhere and has continued value.

For example let's assume that you are an expert (or know someone who is) on dog training and breeding. You could create a subscription site that offers member access to all the latest dog training products and breeder lists. You could create an exclusive community with access to forums; offer dog training videos; breeding lists and instructional products. For those people who are avid dog trainers and breeders such a site would have great value and the chances are that they would be happy to pay a modest monthly subscription to be a member.

Marketed correctly (there we go again) membership sites can be an extremely profitable way to legally make money online. Of course whilst you are building you list of members you are also developing a valuable list of people who are interested in your chosen niche market. These people may well be interested in other niche related products you have to offer.

7. Newsletters: 

If you seriously want to legally make money online then there is an idiom of marketing you should always bear in mind. The saying the 'money is in the list' is central to marketing. If you build a large list of subscribers, that you can regularly send offers and promotions to, your business will soon grow. The people on the list represent your best and most valued customers because they have already shown a predisposition towards what you have to offer by opting in to your list in the first place . Once they have given you their email detail you can begin to circulate your newsletter. However, providing that you do, you will also be able to market your own products and affiliate products to your list members.

Conclusion: 

Each of the 7 methods introduced here offer the opportunity for you to legally make money online and each has the potential to provide you a substantial income. These approaches are by no means intended to represent an exhaustive list of methods. The Internet is a dynamic and rapidly developing market place and the best online businesses are able to rapidly adapt to these changes.

Inevitable all of us are better at some things than others and most successful internetpreneurs specialise in certain aspects of online business. For example some are practically full time affiliate marketers whilst others predominantly operate online stores and auction trade. Generally speaking most are successful because they combine many, if not all the, the methods outlined here as part of their business plan.

However all have one thing in common, they understand how to market. Building stores and excellent web sites with valuable content is part of the way to earn online but without customers (traffic) you can not succeed. Therefore it's essential that you spend some time researching Internet marketing techniques and strategies. The best plan is to find someone that's successful and learn as much from them as possible. Keep learning until you feel confident that you understand the basic marketing principles. Test your theories and look for profitable markets and niche products that offer you high profit potential.

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7 Low Cost Traffic Generation Strategies

There are many low cost traffic generation strategies that could help make money online for you and don't have to cost an arm and a leg. Even if you only get a small percentage of your visitors to convert successfully, it hasn't cost you any money just your time.

Generating high quantities of traffic to your website does not have to cost you high quantities of money. But there are two hard facts of any internet business that you cannot escape. To make money online, you need first to generate traffic to your website and second, you need to convert that traffic into leads and your most wanted response (opt-into your list, buy a product, join your opportunity etc.)

You might try to do this directly by sending them to a sales page or you may do it indirectly by sending them to an opt-in page to capture their details (so you can market to them again and again via email or post depending on what details you collect) or perhaps to your information site or personal blog.

The diamonds you need to mine for is not the traffic per se. It's actually first all about identifying your killer keywords - the ones that attract the right kind of people into you business. If you can get your keywords right you can increase the conversion of your traffic in a major *major* way.

With a good match between what people are searching for and what you are offering, the actual traffic you generate will be more highly targeted and predisposed to your offer and so more likely to convert into buyers.

Sometimes you first have to generate a steady flow of website traffic to test out what's converting. This is part of your marketing research - and business experts will advise you to do this even before you have a product or offer in place!

Nonetheless, if no one goes to your site, it hardly bares a chance of generating an income.

But, it doesn't take thousands to generate website traffic to your site.

While there are ways to jumpstart your traffic flows, many sites don't have the resources that others have to generate more traffic for your site. Well, you don't have to spend a cent; all you need is the proper mindset and a lot of eagerness. You also must have the drive and perseverance to do hard work and research to generate more traffic for your site.

There are many ways to generate low cost website traffic without having to run up a huge daily advertising bill. Here I present 7 strategies to generate low cost website traffic that could help make money online for you. These work especially if you research your keywords first and test and track your methods against conversions to refine your marketing funnel.

1. Link Exchanges

This is a well known and proven strategy. It's rare these days to see a website without a link to another site. Many business owners are willing to exchange links with one another so that they could produce more visibility for their sites. The more you create back links to your website from other pages, the more the traffic you'll see coming as you'll start to rank higher.

If you're exchanging links with other sites, it's important that the link is relevant. This usually means it is in the same niche or a relate niche as your own site. This is more likely to please your human visitors as it provides additional information or services related directly to what interests your target traffic.

Exchanging links with authority sites or sites with high page ranks will also increase your traffic even more significantly, as it will boost your rankings in search engine listings. It is common knowledge that search engines ranks high sites that have inbound and outbound theme-related links.

With a good ranking position in the search engines, you will generate more traffic in your website without the high costs. This is known as SEO or Search Engine Optimisation.

2. Article Marketing

There are many electronic magazines and online newsletters around on the internet which provides free space for you to submit articles. If you want to keep your costs low, you can write the articles yourself. But you can save time, by using the many freelance writers who are willing to create articles on your best converting keywords or keyword phrases. The fees are much smaller than you might think.

However, if you're in the early stages of your internet business and developing your own unique personal style and brand is important, it's best to not only save money and produce those articles yourself.

Write articles that complement your website, product, business or other offer. Write on topics that you have expertise on so you develop your knowledge researching around the subject and can come across as an authority.

Write articles that produce tips and guidance on the subject or your niche. Checking what has already been written means you can identify topics and solutions that are less competitive so your article will rank higher on your chosen keywords.

At the end of the article submission process, you can insert a "resource box". It's here that can say something about yourself or your business and provide your visitors with a link to your site if they want to find out more. (If they do go there, they are already impressed and predisposed to your offer, wouldn't you say?)

3. Video Marketing

Video marketing can send literally thousands Of visitors to your primary business. It really is the social medium of the moment. Just look at the popularity of YouTube! 5-10 minutes is all you need to get your point across.

You can either use a camcorder to video your own talking head or create a footage around your product or offer and add the audio later. You can also create a series of photos and powerpoint slides and record an audio commentary around that.

Don't forget to add your website URL as a running title along the top.

Once you have a few videos made, you then need to drive traffic to them. The best way is to submit them to video sites. The most popular are youtube.com, metacafe.com and dailymotion.com.

Once you're registered on the main video sites, this submitter tool will automatically submit your video to a whole host of video sites for you, resulting in tonnes of free traffic to your website.

4. Forum Marketing

This is completely free - it only requires an input of your time. Do some initial sculking around to find out what forums your target prospects are most likely to be visiting. Lurk and observe to identify the kinds of problems people have in this niche.

Once you feel you understand the community, you can start to feedback a comment, start a post, here and there, using your knowledge and expertise.

You can get free advertising when you go to forums that have the same subject or niche with your site. With every post, you can add a link to your site. But remember first to give value, not just blatantly advertise your site.

As you build your reputation, you also build the reputation of your site that could be frequented and trusted by many people.

5. Twitter Marketing

Twitter and blogging go hand in hand. They help you build your authority and social networks within your niche. Twitter has totally transformed the way that people communicate online and since it's free, it really should be an indispensable part of your overall marketing strategy and link to your blog.

Twitter is free to join and you can get set up with an account in a matter of just a few minutes. You can twitter from your own home, at your own pace, according to your own schedule and sometimes even without startup costs. Twitter has proven itself to be incredibly addictive and, for business owners, very valuable too.

Technology such as Twitter has the potential to give us more than just an opportunity to tell others what happened in our day. If we understand and appreciate what Twitter is capable of, we can use it to instantly share our lives with others, and we can use it to reach more people in a meaningful way. Imagine if you could share the magic moments in the days of your kids or family that otherwise you would have missed. Imagine if you had cost-efficient and fast marketing tools that met existing customers where they are and that also helped you acquire new customers. Imagine if you had the power to build a network of like-minded peers, a community of shared ideas and creativity.

6. Blog Marketing

You blog should therefore be one of the main hubs for your business. It's all about YOU Inc. As your name gets passed around, you can widen your public awareness and build an opt-in list and RSS subscribe feed for people who regularly visit your site.

People buy from people they know, like and trust. A blog is like dating - you wouldn't propose on the first date so why shove your sales pitch down a new visitors throat.

You can point your articles, videos, forum posts and social media activities all through your blog.

This may sound like hard work because of all the articles you may need to use to build a blog but on the contrary, this is not so. There are many many sources of ideas and inspiration for your blog, which come from your day to day activities and your own personal development.

7. Facebook Marketing

Social networking has always been a main part of many internet marketers strategy. But most don't use it effectively at all. They flood the likes of Facebook and MySpace with offers and promotions. This won't work.

If you want to use social tools like Facebook to generate traffic to your website, you first have to identify the right groups and then invest something of yourself. You need to be prepared to make a personal connection with other folks in the community. It's all about relationships and connecting with people on a personal level.

Posting up useful content on social networks will get you some awesome rankings on Google. The search engines seem to put a premium on sites like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Squidoo and HubPages.

In all these free or low cost traffic generation methods, it's all about giving value to your niche community.

Give your prospects valuable information first, so they can see how you can help them and they will be far more valuable as leads back to you - interested, highly targeted, committed and profitable.

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