SELLING INFORMATION PRODUCTS: WHAT SELLS, WHAT DOESN'T

The internet provides an ideal opportunity to provide our clients and customers with high-value products, at low cost to us. Most products can be delivered over the internet, including ebooks, audio files, and home study courses. The production and delivery cost for these items is low, which allows us to focus on developing superior content, without regard to how much to spend on packaging.

The question you may ask yourself is, “What products should I develop?” But that’s the wrong question. Your goal is to serve, not sell. If your product and information is of sufficiently high quality, and truly serves your target market, the selling will be easier. Why? You can be extraordinarily passionate about a topic, but if there’s no market for it, you’re working in a vacuum.

Why not find out what your market really wants, and then supply it to them?

A hot market is golden. Building a product blindly, with little idea of how it will be received, is unnecessary and silly. But building to your customer’s needs and wants makes sense.

So how do you find out what your target market really wants? Below are two methods to find out what is really selling out there. Rather than assume you know what’s best for your target market, be willing to research what they’re currently buying. The market is the best indicator of what people want.

MAGAZINES

Paper magazines are much more expensive to produce than ezines, and they require a steady readership and usually some advertising. You’re looking for special interest magazines that cater to a very specific crowd. You’ll have trouble finding these at your local newsstand, so search on the internet for “your target” + “magazines.” Enter different variations, and you’ll find a number of possibilities.

For example, I just found 3 Yo-Yo magazines through an internet search. Not my target market, but clearly there is a market.

The next step is to order copies of a few issues. You’re looking for ads and coupons for products. When you find a specialty magazine that’s been around for a while, and that displays similar ads consistently, you’ve narrowed down what your market is buying.

CLICKBANK

A second strategy for finding what’s popular is to search on the internet. Specifically, if you’re interested in developing information products, like ebooks or audios, a great place to look is ClickBank, which sells more ebooks than any other outlet. They identify the hottest categories of ebook sold currently from their site, further identified by title.

A category that sells well on ClickBank should be able to sell well in other markets, and specific key words in the title of popular ebooks should give you an indication of what people are looking for now.

CONCLUSION

Tailor your products to what your target market wants. People buy from those they know, like, and trust, and if you can accurately assess specifically what people want, you’ll establish that trust quickly. Don’t assume you know what’s best—do your research.

Are You Ready to Become a Real Infopreneur? Download your "Website Success Checklist" at http://www.ServiceBusinessCoaching.com

HOW TO TARGET YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMERS

While many of my clients and students are filled with trepidation when we embark on this step, all come back feeling affirmed and inspired to create a stronger “brand” identity. The process is simple:

Step One:
Create a focus group of 12-18 people who know you and your work. Include those who will give you honest feedback and respond within a short period of time. Your goal is to get 10 survey responses so that you can identify patterns, strengths and core messages. If you do not receive that number after your initial distribution, send a few more until you reach that goal.

Step Two:
Create a letter to send to your focus group explaining that you are repositioning your business or redesigning your marketing materials. Tell them that you'd appreciate their input about what you bring to the marketplace and what might be getting in your way.

If you send your letter and get responses via email, you'll streamline your efforts because you'll be able to cut and paste the answers into one document for final review. With snail mail or face-to-face interviews, you'll need to transcribe responses.

Step Three:
Determine focus group questions. Suggestions:

- What kinds of issues do you want me (or my business) to solve for you?
- How would you describe my services?
- How do you expect to feel following an interaction with me (or my organization)?
- Why might someone choose NOT to purchase my product or service?
- Who do you see as my competitors?
- How can I differentiate my services to create a stronger brand?
- What trends in the marketplace might impact my success?

Step Four:
Assemble the data you collected. Review your survey results with a friend or colleague to ensure that you are not overlooking key findings. The answers you gather from this action step will help you better understand the value you bring to prospects and clients.

Action Step:
What's the buzz on you? Survey customers and clients, listen to their responses, and create a plan to serve them even better.

Need help discovering your authentic brand? Visit http://www.boostyourbottomline.com/fast_track/1.html for a step-by-step program that eliminates the need to spend precious time and dollars trying every new marketing whim - or paying experts to do it.

© 2006 Boost Your Bottom Line

Leslie Hamp, Certified Marketing Coach & PR Whiz, shows small business owners how to blast their business to the next level of success. Find out more at www.boostyourbottomline.com

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Marketing Spitfires Holly George and Leslie Hamp publish “Marketing Blast,” a monthly ezine filled with red hot strategies to market your business and boost your bottom line. If you're ready to jump start your marketing, make more money, and stay on the fast track to business success, get your FREE tips now at www.boostyourbottomline.com

TEN KEYS TO EXPORT SUCCESS

Ten important recommendations for successful exporting should be kept in mind:
1. Obtain qualified export counseling and develop a master international marketing plan before starting an
export business. The plan should clearly define goals, objectives, and problems encountered.
2. Secure a commitment from top management to overcome the initial difficulties and financial requirements
of exporting. Although the early delays and costs involved in exporting may seem difficult to justify in
comparison with established domestic sales, the exporter should take a long-range view of thi process and
carefully monitor international marketing efforts.
3. Take sufficient care in selecting overseas distributors. The complications involved in overseas communications
and transportation require international distributors to act more independently than their
domestic counterparts.
4. Establish a basis for profitable operations and orderly growth. Although no overseas inquiry should be
ignored, the firm that acts mainly in response to unsolicited trade leads is trusting success to the element of
chance.
5. Devote continuing attention to export business when the U.S. market booms. Too many companies turn
to exporting when business falls off in the United States. When domestic business starts to boom again,
they neglect their export trade or relegate it to a secondary position.
6. Treat international distributors on an equal basis with domestic counterparts. Companies often carry out
institutional advertising campaigns, special discount offers, sales incentive programs, special credit term
programs, warranty offers, and so on in the U.S. market but fail to make similar offers to their international
distributors.
7. Do not assume that a given market technique and product will automatically be successful in all countries.
What works in Japan may fall flat in Saudi Arabia. Each market has to be treated separately to ensure
maximum success.
8. Be willing to modify products to meet regulations or cultural preferences of other countries. Local safety
and security codes as well as import restrictions cannot be ignored by foreign distributors.
9. Print service, sale, and warranty messages in locally understood languages. Although a distributor’s top
management may speak English, it is unlikely that all sales and service personnel have this capability.
10. Provide readily available servicing for the product. A product without the necessary service support can
acquire a bad reputation quickly.

FAST TRACK YOUR JOURNEY TO ONLINE SUCCESS

No one has ever logged onto the Internet for the first time and started pocketing dollars in a really short period of time. As with all things in life, there is a learning curve.

SOME PERSONAL HISTORY

Just a few short years ago, I was a working stiff just like you.

One day, I bought and read a book called "Multiple Streams of Income" by bestselling author, Robert Allen. Immediately, I began my journey.

Every night after work and after my wife and children went to sleep, I would get online and explore different ways of using the Internet to make money.

In the 2 years that followed, I spent over $10,000.00 racking up credit card debt buying eBooks, membership sites, special reports, opt-in leads, and joining every "guru" recommended business opportunity that flew into my email inbox...

I stayed up learning, working and drinking coffee until 5:00 in the morning month after month filled with the hope of making money online.

In my 3rd year of working part-time to build an home based income, I finally broke through and earned over $100,000.00 in just 12 months from the Internet.

BECOME THE MASTER OF YOUR LEARNING CURVE

Research the lives of all of the guru's. The one thing that you will learn is that my own experience is not unique. Most of the high earners on the Internet experienced a learning curve very similar to my own.

Chances are that your curve will also be similar to mine, but it is my hope that you can get to the top faster than even I did. Three years was a long time to struggle, but every ounce of struggle was worth the reward I have finally received.

In order to shorten your own learning curve, you must do a few things differently than the rest of us did. You must become the master of your learning curve.

THE SHORTEST DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO POINTS IS A STRAIGHT LINE

There is only one way to shorten the curve on the Internet, "you must plan to succeed."

Here is the deal. Most people put up a freebie website and select a few affiliate programs to add to their website. Right out of the gate, most people are running for the finish line without any real plan in mind.

After a few short weeks, people begin to see the writing on the wall that says, "This is going to be a long hard road."

People check their hit counters daily for six weeks before they realize that getting traffic to their free site is going to be tough.

At this point, they begin developing their first batch of advertising. Then they spend countless months finding places to show their advertisements for free. Some make an even more drastic mistake by blowing thousands of hard earned dollars on their new and untested ads.

These are the people who will learn the facts of life the hard way.

In time, they will learn how to make their advertising work for them. But most will earn very little money from their affiliate programs.

At this point in the learning curve, most people throw up their hands and walk away from their dreams in utter disgust. Instead of a walking away point, this should have convinced the struggling online entrepreneur that they were simply traveling the wrong road.

YOU MUST PLAN TO SUCCEED

From day one, you must begin to learn about the nuances of web promotion. Read everything you can get your hands on. Don't just read the hype, back it up with the opinions of others who have reviewed the same programs before you came along. Learn from their mistakes and successes.

As you begin to learn, you must also look to make a decision. Do you want to step into a pre-built program that is designed to help you to succeed, OR do you want to create a completely new program of which you are the sole owner?

If you decide to step into a pre-designed and complete turn-key online money making venture, then you must select the right venture to step into. If this is your decision, then please examine my program along with the others. You can review my Plug In Profit SiteT program at: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com .

If you decide to go the journey on your own, then do all of the necessary research, planning and preparation that is needed for your success.

PREPARE TO SUCCEED

Decide upon what you think you would want to do, and then figure out how your planned site will generate a real income.

Internet old-timers know about hundreds of corporation domains that existed with IPO millions, but did not have an actual money plan that could sustain their business model. Most of these companies were among the hundreds of companies that bellied up in the 2000 dot bomb experience.

Don't blindly believe in your plan. Research others on the web who have undertaken similar business models and see if they have survived. Study your competitors in depth to learn what is working for them and what did not work for them. To better understand what has or has not worked for competitor websites, check out their time lapsed progressions using the Wayback Machine: http://web.archive.org/

Once you have determined your money plan, then you should undertake the development of a business plan and a marketing plan. Utilize professional assistance if you need to do so. While creating your plans, make a determination as to which domain name you think would be best, then use the NameBoy tool to figure out if that domain name is open:

http://www.nameboy.com/

Once you have developed your business plan and marketing plan and have run them through several revisions, then it will be time to buy your domain name and to begin work with a site designer and developer. You may need to have your domain sitting on a webhost for your site developer, but this is not always necessary. While they are doing their work, enlist a copywriter to help you with your site sales copy.

When your site designer and developer have your site working, you should then undertake significant testing to make sure everything works as planned. It is much harder to fix problems on a operational site than it is to fix problems on a site that is yet to be launched.

When testing is done, then you should fill in your sales copy and then shoot for launch. Of course, you already have a marketing plan in place, so your preparation here will be simply a matter of putting the pieces of the puzzle into place.

You are finally ready to open for business. Don't be afraid to spend the money to bring your dream alive. Time can replace money in the goal of starting a profitable online business, but money invested can shave years off of your company's growth.

Stone Evans Will Personally Build A Money Making Website Just For You That's 100% Ready To Take Orders And Pull In Massive Residual Profits. Get Details And Signup Today At: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com

10 WAYS TO CREATE A POPULAR ONLINE COMMUNITY

An online community could be a chat room, e-mail discussion list, discussion forum or other technologies that allow groups of people to communicate at your web site. When you have a popular online community it will increase your traffic and sales. Below are ten ways to attract people to participate in your online community.

1. Tell your visitors that you post a new, free offer every day, week or month in your online community. The free offers should be attractive to your target audience.

2. Regularly schedule experts or famous guests to participate in your online community. You could design it to be a virtual class or a question/answer session.

3. Post testimonials on your web site from people that have participated in your online community. The testimonials could be about what people have learned or liked while participating in it.

4. Don't allow blatant ads in your online communities. If people decide to visit your online community and see a ton of ads they most likely won't be back.

5. Post all the benefits of participating in your online community on your web site. You could write it like you're writing an ad for a product you're selling.

6. Submit your chat room, e-mail discussion list or discussion board to online community directories. You can find them by typing " the community type" with the word "directory" in any search engine.

7. Create an e-zine just for people who participate in your online community. Allow them to subscribe for free. When they receive each issue, it will remind them to come back and participate in your community.

8. You (the owner of the online community) should participate regularly. Post information that will benefit the other people. This will show them you care about your online community members.

9. Have plenty of people to monitor your online community. They could remove postings that turn away people like profanity, spam and other off- subject postings.

10. Your online community should contain user friendly features, like a search option for archived discussions, easy posting or chatting options, email updates or digests, etc.

Rudy Cline publishes "Home Business Tips", a fresh and informative newsletter dedicated to supporting people like YOU! If you`re looking for the *best rated* home business opportunities from an honest friend in the business, come by and grab a F-R-E-E subscription today at: http://www.homeworkforyou.org

WEBSITE GLOBALIZATION

The Internet has unlocked a wide array of markets and knocked down barriers that previously prevented merchants from marketing their products on a global scale. There are a number of ways to 'globalize' a website and broaden a businesses general appeal to an international audience.

1.) Payment Options - vary from country to country, therefore offering flexible payment options are important. While PayPal might be a good option for consumer-oriented products, this service is not widely used by businesses and is only available to customers in specific countries. In order to attract global customers, businesses must provide a variety of payment options that customers, in different countries, are familiar and comfortable with.

2.) Currency Distinction - provides added convenience to a potential customer, and shows an understanding and respect for global audiences. A currency converter is a good option, especially for large companies who may be dealing with many countries. When listing prices clearly indicate the country currency, such as between US dollars and Canadian dollars. This distinction will prevent misconceptions and prevent customer dissatisfaction.

3.) Contact Information - should be given for a country code, along with the area code, when listing phone numbers. It should not be assumed that customers know the numbers to dial foreign calls. Since the standards of address formats can differ from country to country, ensure that the mailing address listed on the website is properly formatted. In this time of rapidly expanding use of numbers, if your area code changes, don't forget to change the information on your website.

4.) Delivery Options - should make sense for all customers. Ensure that they have full knowledge of shipping information to avoid delay and error. If a shipping option is not available for a specific region be sure that is clearly stated on the website. Provide estimates as to when the product will arrive to various regions, so that customers have appropriate expectations about delivery time frames.

5.) Order Forms - when creating order forms use terminology that is universal; if possible, where relevant, refer to postal codes rather than zip codes. The terminology on the order form should support the fact that the company sells to an international audience.

6.) Payment Policy - clearly state payment policies on any order pages, if purchase orders or wire transfers are not accepted from specific countries be sure that the policy is clearly stated. Prepare an explanation as to why the policies are in place. Customers understand that foreign purchase orders are not legally binding and will not feel alienated if an explanation is offered and clearly stated.

7.) Spelling - can vary, so avoid using terminology on the website that would cause confusion or look like careless spelling mistakes. Be clear and concise as many customers may be viewing your website in their second language. A website that can be viewed in different languages is all the better for communicating with foreign customers.

Ultimately the goal is to make purchasing the product or service easy for a customer. A website that respects cultural differences, as well as the nuances of language and terminology, will go a long way in attracting an international audience.

About the Author -

Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and wireless messaging software solutions. Other sites by Sharon can be found at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com , http://www.rss-specifications.com and http://www.small-business-software.net

THE POWER OF VIRAL MARKETING

When I first heard of the term Viral Marketing I thought immediately of a virus. No, not the flu, a computer virus. I avoided viral marketing like the plaque. I’m sure many of you are doing the same thing. Every email labeled viral marketing got trashed and I immediately run an anti virus check on my computer.

It actually took me long time and the convincing words of a dear friend of mine to change my attitude towards viral marketing. Call it ignorance, but I just didn’t have the confidence in something that sounds like it wants to harm me.

Today my whole world changed and now I’m an active advocate to promote viral marketing. The concept is not new and it was created by the brightest minds in the business.

Viral marketing capitalizes in the sharing habits of the human beings. It’s quite extraordinary. We all tent to share with friends and family the bargains or freebies we were able to get. If we can copy the freebie we will do it and give it to our friends and family. Take the music industry as an example.

Ok, we established that viral marketing is giving out free stuff and that this free stuff will be passed around. So how do you capitalize on something everybody expects to get for free? You don’t. You just use the freebie as an advertising vehicle.

See, once you started giving out software or a book for free, it will snowball from there. Granted that the software is any good and the book provides some value. There is no telling on how many copies of your software or book will float through the internet. The only thing you now for sure, it takes some time to gain momentum.

Take Hotmail as an example. Hotmail build its empire solely on viral marketing. Every email you send had a little line at the end advertising free email from Hotmail. That’s it. No expensive marketing strategy, no TV ads, nothing but a little advertising line at the end of every email. It took years of building momentum, but today Hotmail is a giant pulling in billions of dollars every year.

I’m not expecting to repeat Hotmail’s success with my little viral marketing project, but I’m convinced that sooner or later the profits will come. It is simply a matter of time. All you need is a good product that you control and be able to give out for free. Make sure that you will be able to place your advertising on the front page of the product.

You can advertise your newsletter, your web site, products you’re selling, anything you will make a profit if somebody clicks through the advertising on the freebie. I spare you with the details why the same ad advertised through viral marketing is so much more effective than regular advertising.

Just one thought. Would you click on a single ad embedded in a software or book send to you by a friend you trust? Of course you would. There is nothing suspicious about this. It’s your friend who recommended this in the first place. On the other hand nobody actually clicks on advertising popping up on strange web sites you never heard of before.

Now you see why I like viral marketing so much. Quite frankly I believe in the future it is the only marketing that works. SPAM filters and popup blockers already make it almost impossible to get through to our prospects and it will not get any better.

Prepare your self for the future and implement viral marketing today. You will be glad you did.

Peter Dobler is a 20+ year veteran in the IT business. He is an active Real Estate Investor and a successful Internet business owner.
Collect more software and bonus content for your own web site at http://www.peterdobler.com or send a blank email to mailto:pdobler@getresponse.com

POWERFUL COPYWRITING SECRETS

Powerful Copywriting Secrets

The key to success in your online marketing campaign is having attention grabbing copywriting. There are a couple things that you must have in your marketing copy. You need to write a good 15-30 word headline. The purpose of this marketing copy is to drive traffic to your website. You want customers to subscribe to your list.

Your 15-30 word headline needs to grab a website visitor?s attention. You need persuasive, eye catching headline copy to achieve this task. A great way to write your headline is to include ?Power? words.

Examples of Power Words include:

Proven

Success

Free

Power

Secrets

Unleash

Power Words are effective because they prompt Internet website visitors to take action. You can also use power phrases.

Writing marketing copy can be easy. You have to believe in your product. Don?t let limitations or negative thinking complicate the process. Be truthful in your marketing copy. You need to be able to explain why Internet visitors should ?know? more about your product. You are not selling your product in your headline. You are simply garnering interest for your product. Many people will be turned off by an instant sales pitch. First, you want to entice them with an attention grabbing headline. Let the customer read about your product. Then after that you can sell your product or service.

Think about how the television news works. They have teasers during the commercial breaks before the news. The teasers are meant to capture your attention. The news doesn?t give you the full story right off the bat because they want you to watch the entire news. Therefore, they constantly send preview teasers so you will be interested in watching the entire news program.

Do not use too many power words. Too many power words will lessen the impact. Plus, too many power words may not create a sentence that reads smoothly. Avoid writing the headline in bold. Bold can wreak havoc on the eyes. It can turn away many potential subscribers.

Take the time to sit down and write your marketing copy. It doesn?t have to be perfect yet, you just have to get started. Don?t forget to use power words to increase the effectiveness of your copy.

Matt Bacak became "#1 Best Selling Author" in just a few short hours.
Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s e-Biz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets To Unleash The Powerful Promoter In You! Sign up for Matt Bacak's Promoting Tips Ezine ($100 value) just visit his website at http://www.powerfulpromoter.com or http://promotingtips.com

5 PHASES TO EMAIL MARKETING

5 Phases to Email Marketing

When using email marketing to sell a product or service you can’t just start selling to your readers in the first email. The reason is the odds of the reader knowing who you are or what you are all about are pretty low, even if they subscribed to your newsletter from a form on your website. People do not purchase from those they do not know. So the key to a successful email marketing campaign is “warming up” your readers to the sell.

The "warming up" process can be broken down into five distinct phases. It's a good idea to keep these in mind as you work to warm up your lists.

PHASE 1 -- "Cold Readers"

These are folks who have just filled out the form on your website, or whose details you have received via co-registration.

You know nothing about them, and they know nothing about you, so at this phase, your primary job is to introduce yourself, and begin to establish yourself as a source of credible and useful *free* information.

I emphasized the word *free* in that, because "cold" leads are very unlikely to buy anything from you, no matter what you do.

PHASE 2 -- "Curious Readers"

At this phase, people may have opened one or two of your emails and have at least decided to stay on your list long enough to find out what you're about, and what they can gain by reading your emails.

Another way of thinking of this group is that they are the ones who are actually opening and reading your emails, whether they open the first or the tenth that you send them.

Your job with this group remains essentially the same as was true at Phase 1 ... you are still in the process of "warming them up" to the idea that you are credible and trustworthy.

Again, not a time to be trying to sell them things, because few of them will buy, anyway.

PHASE 3 -- "Interested Readers"

These are the folks who have opened and read several of your emails, and now continue to read them. Perhaps they have "moved" themselves from your "cold" list by opting-in to one or your newsletters or free mini-courses.

By doing so, they have "told" you that they are interested in what you have to say, willing to read more of your emails, and may, in due time, buy something on the basis of your suggestion.

One way to know who your "interested" prospects are is to offer a free ebook or mini-course, and make them "register" for it by opting in to a second autoresponder.

Another is to run a survey form on your site, invite them to participate, and capture their contact information when they do so.

The point is they have taken some *action* based upon your previous emails, and have told you by that action that they are interested in what you have to say, and willing to read what you write to them.

PHASE 4 -- "Excited Readers"

These are folks who are almost ready to buy. They may have written you asking for more information, or visited your sales page several times. Maybe they are thinking about joining your business opportunity, but for some reason not quite ready to sign up and pay their money. They need some sort of "push" or "nudge" to get them to take action.

Maybe they need a "special offer" of some kind, or simply a personal follow-up email or phone call from you. Whatever it is, these are your *HOT* prospects.

PHASE 5 -- "Customer"

The final phase is, of course, obvious. These are the folks who have bought your product, joined your opportunity, or bought something that you promote as an affiliate.

In the long run, these are the folks who will make you the most money, because it will become easier and easier for them to act on your recommendations, as long as you don't betray their trust by endorsing poor quality products or programs.

You need to think of these folks as *friends*, because that is what they really are. They have now given you permission to send them follow-up offers and program endorsements.

Even though they may represent only a tiny percentage of the entire population of your list, these people are your long term gold mine group.

Treat them with respect, they have warmed up to you and what You have to offer. Maintain a high level of integrity and they will continue to follow you for years to come

Chris Stirling is the owner of Top-Work-From-Home-Directory.com His website is geared for people who are interested in finding an online work at home opportunity. If you would like to learn more visit his website at: http://www.top-work-from-home-directory.com

8 SECRETS TO A PROFITABLE TRADE SHOW

8 Secrets to a Profitable Trade Show
by Larry Baltz



You couldn’t contain your excitement and eagerly reserved exhibit space at the upcoming regional trade show. I know what you were thinking…”The traffic at this show will be fantastic and I’ll get more leads than I ever imagined.”

And when the show was over, you got nothing for all your hard work.

So what happened? Why didn’t your $600 booth space, $400 for collateral materials, and two grueling days on the show floor produce any meaningful results?

You got nothing because you had no valid method to address the two most critical trade show issues. First, is the show a reasonable marketing vehicle for you, and second, if so, how can you best use it to attract prospects. Without any thought, most business owners assume that a trade show in their industry is a smart decision and they plunk down big dollars with little consideration to other important details. There are many factors to consider though.

Trade shows can be one of the most productive and profitable means for promoting your company and your products. But you must know the secrets and follow a process or it’s a waste of your time and money.

1. Request information from Show Management

Don’t commit to any trade show without first requesting information from show management. What are the profiles of the attendees? How many attended last year? How are they marketing the show? These are important issues you must consider before making a commitment.

2. Create a plan – don’t just show up with a booth

Consider your goal of the show and then establish a plan. You have much more at your disposal than a table and booth: show theme, décor, signage, giveaways, literature, staffing, lead retrieval, and more. Each of these can be critical to your success.

3. Consider pre-marketing

Data is available that clearly indicates that pre-show marketing significantly increases booth attendance. A mailer or two in advance might be an appropriate component.

4. Give attendees a compelling reason to visit your booth

I have walked many trade show floors and time after time have seen booth personnel standing out front like rigid toy soldiers, with the standard stack of company brochures and business cards lined up on the table. Is there any wonder no one was interested in any of them? You don’t have to hire a clown, but do something to attract attention and let the attendees know the value you offer them.

5. Educate and train booth personnel

Your people are your greatest asset. Professionalism, knowledge, attentiveness and a big smile are always appreciated.

6. Use a system to record individual lead information

If a card-scanning lead retrieval system is not available, then create lead sheets for collecting information, or if nothing else, write on the backs of business cards. Nothing is more frustrating than to create a lot of show leads and not know what your prospects’ needs are when you follow-up with them.

7. Follow-up promptly with prospects

You’ve invested your time and money, why not maximize your results? Leads left unattended will quickly grow cold. Set a specific date and be certain all leads are contacted before then.

8. Evaluate your show ROI

Track your leads and sales for each show so you know whether or not to consider that individual one again in future years.

Profitable trade shows require much more than managing a booth space. Create an organized and systematic marketing plan and you’ll have the tools and processes you need to achieve your goals.

Larry Baltz runs a company called More Sales – More Profits. He works with small business owners who want to get more clients and sell more products and services. Larry is a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach and small business marketing expert. For his free report, “Knock-Their-Socks-Off” Promotion and Marketing, go to http://www.moresales-moreprofits.com for your copy.

BENEFITS OF BRANDING

Business branding adds trust, creates pride, positions you away from your competition, makes your marketing more effective and cost efficient, and adds value to your company.

The biggest benefit to branding is that it builds trust in the minds of your customers, employees and vendors. Having a branding package shows a commitment to your business and that you take it seriously. Branding can make businesses look professional, established and bigger than it actually is!

A brand can create a sense of pride becoming a rallying point when needed. Often people look for something bigger than themselves to know they are making a difference with their lives. A strong brand can achieve this as in the case of patriotism: the brand is the country flag, colors and beliefs!

Branding is a cornerstone of a great marketing strategy. Branding helps with positioning; separating your business from your competition. A brand shows your customers who you work with, that you are “one of them”. It elicits an emotional response. Dark colors with large scribbled fonts appeals to the youth market. Clean lines in blue hits the corporate technical market. Through the use of your style you can show what segment of the market you are targeting. For example, bright colors often mean a "quick fix" in the mind of your customers where more subdued tones means lasting quality.

Branding makes your marketing more effective. Think of the mom-and-pop shops you have worked with over the years. Often they have a plain business card, a glossy brochure and a web site that doesn’t reflect the personality of the people that work for the company… and none of them match in style. These mixed signals often confuse customers creating inaction. Good branding clears up your message to the customer. By repeating your branding across all your collateral you create multiple touches of the same message which promotes top of mind awareness.

Branding is inexpensive to create. Most branding packages cost much less to set up than you would expect. Sometimes there is a bit of "sticker shock" at the price of printing all new business cards, brochures, fliers, advertisements, and whatever other print collateral you have. Also factor in recreating any digital collateral you have like CD presentations and web sites and it can add up! While launching everything at once is most effective there is nothing wrong with phasing your branding in over time and spreading the cost. Keep in mind branding will often save you money in print and development costs over time. To save on print you can order your inks and paper in bulk and “gang run” your order reducing production costs. Once you have a style guide in place your designer has a starting point and boundaries to work in making their job much easier and faster, saving money on development.

You can add value to your company with branding. If you are a corporation selling shares or you think you may sell your business one day a solid brand adds value and becomes part of the price. You can also legally protect your brand with trademarks gaining an additional asset and protecting your business from copycat competitors.

INTERNET MARKETING STRATEGY

Bringing customers to your website is not enough. You need to convert visitors into loyal, repeat customers.

Whether your intention is for visitors to make an online purchase, download your brochure or pick up the telephone and call you, your website and online marketing strategy must be designed to achieve these goals.

Brand awareness and generating traffic is often viewed as the first step in any online marketing approach.

However, achieving your online business objectives can only be achieved by gaining a clear understanding of your target market and developing your website with your customers and key objectives in mind. E-Strategy works with clients to ensure that site visitors complete specified critical tasks.

At E-Strategy, we have the right blend of people with traditional and online marketing backgrounds, analysing your business problems and identifying best practice solutions that meet your online objectives.

AN EFFECTIVE AND FREE INTERNET MARKETING METHOD

by Jo Han Mok

Statistics shows that websites with keyword-rich articles get more traffic. Yes, the magic word is articles.

Content is king. That is why writing articles is one of the most utilized Internet marketing media today. Internet surfers have an insatisfiable hunger for information. Providing information through these articles is a surefire way to drive hot serious traffic to your web site.

Why is this so? Here are the benefits that writing articles can give your Internet business.

1. It's absolutely free.

Sounds almost too good to be true? Not. Well, you have to pay for your Internet Service Provider. All you need is your thoughts, your computer, and your hands. If you have those, nothing will stop you from typing words that will make you complete that article for your website. On which aspect of that process did you really shell out any cent? Maybe later when your electric bills come.

2. Your website will be noticed in a short period of time.

Submit that your articles to article directories that get the most web traffic and in no time your web site will be crawled. That is if you don't forget including your resource box or byline.

3. Obtain back links automatically.

When you submit your articles to directories,other websites will make use of your article too. With the copyright terms of your articles, the URL of your website will still be in tact and will subsequently direct more traffic to your website.

4. Improve your reputation.

An Internet marketer plainly displaying your products on your website will not gain much conversion rate. Conversion is when your traffic converts to sales. You have to show that you are knowledgeable on your field. And what better way to show that than by writing articles that will allow you some bragging rights, right?

Just make your creative juices flow and jot down or key in those ideas quickly to jumpstart your article writing momentum. With those benefits listed above, a writer's block is the last problem you will ever be able to surmount.

Jo Han Mok is a frequent guest and featured speaker at Internet Marketing bootcamps and conferences on subjects such as copywriting and Joint Venture Marketing. Visit his website to find out how he can help you turn mere words into cash!
==> http://www.MasterWordsmith.com

HOW TO REACH MORE CUSTOMERS ONLINE

by Biana Babinsky

Many coaches, consultants, virtual assistants, solopreneurs and online business owners only offer two different items to their clients. One is a free subscription to their newsletter where they share tips, articles and business news with their subscribers. The other item is one-on-one coaching or consulting service offered at the regular hourly rates.

If you only offer a free newsletter and a one-on-one service to your clients, you are losing customers. Some people simply can't afford your one-on-one services at this time, while others may want to get exposed to your expertise at a cheaper rate, before trying your more expensive services.

So, how can you reach the people who are not ready for the one-on-one service, but are still interested in your expertise? You do that by creating products that you can sell in addition to the services that you already offer. Here are several different products you can create for your business:

- Digital products. As a professional who works with customers, you already know what your customers are interested in. You know what problems they want to solve, and since you are the expert, you know how to solve these problems.

Turn this information into a marketable digital product by publishing and selling it. Depending on the topic and the information, you can create digital products of various lengths.

- Audio products can be delivered through two different channels. They can be instantly downloaded from your web site in a popular audio format (MP3, Wave, etc.), or you can burn them onto a CD and physically ship the product to the customer.

- Teleclasses and Teleseminars. Teaching classes over the phone is an excellent way to demonstrate your expertise to many people at once and to offer your coaching or consulting sessions at a lower price point.

Teleclasses are a great example of repackaging your knowledge and selling it over and over again. Material taught and discussed during teleclasses can be reused to create special reports, e-books and audio products.

- Workshops. Workshops (teaching classes in person) can be used to teach to many people at once, instead of doing one-on-one sessions.

Start a list of products that you can create for your business. These products will help you reach a wider audience, increase your revenue and promote your expertise. Your products are also a vehicle for landing speaking engagements, cross-promotional opportunities and press spotlights, which in turn results in additional promotion to your business.

Reach More Customers Now! Biana Babinsky is the online business coach, expert and author who teaches business owners how to make money with their products. Get her Complete Step By Step Information Products Guide at http://www.avocadoconsulting.com/rlinks/zinfo to learn how to create your own products and use them to reach more customers online.

THE BRAND STORY - A TALE WORTH TELLING

By: Jerry Bader

Every Business Has A Story To Tell

Everybody likes a good story and why not? Stories are entertaining, instructive, engaging and above all human; they connect people to people, and businesses to customers. Stories are about communication and communication is the essence of marketing.

We have at our disposal the greatest communication tool the world has ever known, the Internet, and we are wasting it. Websites are used as if they were corporate brochures. The techno-experts would even have us remove its visual and kinetic elements, and turn it into an academic-style journal to please the SEO gurus. We've been there and done that. Search engine optimization is great, but who is going to go to your website if it's boring to view, and tedious to operate. It's time to move on.

A Communication Venue For The Rest of Us

The Web is a multimedia communication venue, and with increased bandwidth and high-speed connections we can use it effectively to deliver our marketing messages. But communication is a funny thing, just because we talk, write and present information, doesn't mean we are communicating.

Since I am advocating storytelling as a means of delivering your marketing messages, I will illustrate my point - you guessed it - with a story. In his book 'Information Anxiety,' Richard Saul Wurman relates the following story attributed to U.S. Representative Pat Swindall, of Georgia.

"A woman seeking a divorce went to visit her attorney. The first question he asked her was, 'Do you have grounds?'

She replied, 'Yes, about two acres.'

'Perhaps I'm not making myself clear,' he said, 'Do you have a grudge?'

'No, but we have a carport,' she responded.

'Let me try again. Does your husband beat you up?' he said impatiently.

'No, generally I get up before he does,' she said.

At this point the attorney decided to try a different tack. 'Ma'am, are you sure you really want a divorce?'

'I don't want one at all, but my husband does. He claims we have difficulty communicating.'"

It's a great story; it delivers everything a good story should communicate: a appoint-of-view, information, emotion, and truth about the human condition. The only thing that would make this story more effective is if it was delivered by a human voice that could add character, emphasis, and personality.

Marketing is nothing more than telling your story in an effective way that embeds your identity into the minds of your audience, connecting and communicating who you are, what you do, and why your audience should be doing it with you. Branding and positioning are the results, not the process.

So Tell Me A Story - It's All In the Delivery

One of the great storytellers of the last forty years is radio broadcaster and commentator, Paul Harvey. In his hay-day he had everything a great storyteller needed to make a memorable impression: the voice, the cadence, the attitude, the writing, and the 'schtick.'

He presented his commentaries as if he was reading the newspaper, even, reading off the page numbers when he came back from commercial, "Page Two." He would craft his stories by introducing the listener to a character in the most casual way, perhaps by referring to him or her by a diminutive first name. By the end of the story, he would tell you who this person really was and invariably it was someone famous, and the story he told revealed something unusual or hidden in this person's background. Each story had a strong point-of-view, and each commentary was ended with the tag line, "… and now you know the rest of the story." Paul Harvey's little radio commentaries are a quintessential example of Sonic Personality©

"Content is Not Communication"

Web experts are always talking about 'content' and how 'content is king' on the Web, but as Curt Cloninger wrote in his article 'A Case for Web Storytelling' "content is not communication."

Content just lies there until it is delivered in some proactive manner, and plain text content on your website is as far from proactive as you can get. Stories must be communicated effectively if you want to deliver your intended message. Left alone, your audience will scan, skip, misinterpret and generally overlook the point you are trying to convey. The only effective way to make sure your audience doesn't misconstrue the message of your story is to deliver it in a human voice: one with character, cadence, accent, language, and an attitude that represents who you are. A story well told creates expectations and relevance; it creates image and identity, and it focuses on the business promise you must fulfill.

Fakers Need Not Apply

As good as your storyteller is, he or she cannot overcome a fake. You must be honest to who you are, and what you really do. Every business has a character, and an operational ethos. Trying to communicate a message that conflicts with that corporate character is a prescription for failure. Apple and Dell are both good companies, but Apple Computer is cutting-edge; Dell is not. Walmart and The Gap are both successful companies, but The Gap is cool and Walmart is Walmart. No matter how hard a company tries, they can't be something they are not, and trying can only create false expectations, confusion and failure.

A Blueprint for Creating Your Brand Story

Whether you write the story yourself, or you hire someone to write it for you, you must first gather the necessary material. The easiest way to collect material is to create a series of questions that when answered reveal the Brand Story. Think of the process as an interview.

The Brand Story Interview

1. What was the original vision of the company?
2. Who were the company's founding fathers?
3. How was the company started?
4. What was the guiding entrepreneurial philosophy?
5. Is there a creative genius or technical wizard behind your vision?
6. What is the big idea behind your product or service?
7. What does your product or service do for your target audience?
8. Does your vision rely on quality, cost, or uniqueness of your
a. Products,
b. Services,
c. Knowledge, or
d. Delivery system?
9. Has your focus changed since the company was founded?
10. What is your vision for the future?

Once the material is collected it must then be put into story form. You are not writing a research paper, nor are you creating ad copy. You are telling a story, and as such, it should be written as a story. If as suggested you're delivering the story using audio, you should write it for the spoken word and not for print. There are a variety of multimedia styles that can be used ranging from the radio commentary style of Paul Harvey to the PBS documentary style of Ken Burns featuring accompanying graphics and photography.

It's Not Just The Story, It's How You Tell It

If you've ever tried to tell a joke you heard from a professional comedian and messed it up, you know how important the telling of a story is. It's not just the words; it's the rhythm, cadence, accent, intonation, point-of-view, and attitude that makes the story funny, memorable, interesting or instructive.

The Medium Is the Message

It is hard to believe that there are any companies of any size or sophistication that don't have a website, but it is even harder to understand how so many companies with websites, have no idea what the Web is.

The Web is typically described in technical terms, but in fact the Web is merely a venue designed for communication, a place where conversations take place, where information is exchanged, and where transactions are conducted. If you can accept the idea that the Web exists to further your communication efforts, then it stands to reason that delivering your story is your website's 'raison d'etre.' And without the sound of the human voice, the delivery of emotional connective content, and the conveyance of clever, interesting, useful, entertaining, and compelling stories, the Web is a wasteland, an uncommunitive environment of random confusion.


Jerry Bader, is a partner in MRPwebmedia, a website design firm that specializes in creating multimedia websites with audio, video, Flash, and interactive elements. MRPwebmedia developed the Sonic Personalities© concept using custom-crafted voice-overs. Phone (905) 764-1246 and visit www.sonicpersonality.com and www.mrpwebmedia.com.

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

4 SECRETS TO BUILDING AN ENGAGING BRAND EXPERIENCE

By: Kristie Tamsevicius

When you think of creating a new brand, it’s easy to think about advertising managers sitting around a conference room tossing around ideas with caffeine fueled creativity. However, often times, the most powerful branding comes from adding a little “fun” to your brand experience.

Driven by the Burger King mentality, today’s customers want to do business their way on their time. They want to make their own choices. As business people, it’s our job to make sure then when customers are ready to make their choice, our product or service is their top choice.

Below are five secrets to put some spark and imagination into your brand and create an unforgettable brand experience.

Secret #1: Tell Your Company’s Unique Brand Story

Television shows have long been a part of our culture. When viewers watch television shows, they see stories about characters that we relate to. Remember the Brady Bunch theme song? It tells the story of a lovely lady... well, you know how it goes.

Now imagine harnessing the power of storytelling for your business! By sharing your brand story, you create a powerful connection to your customers. They feel as though they know you. This brand story paints a colorful vignette of who you are, what vision you hold, and what experiences made you the company you are today. While your brand story might not be as catchy as the Brady Bunch tune, raving fans love to share stories of their favorite brands with others.

PartyLite is a direct sales company that has done a phenomenal job of weaving their brand story into their marketing message. Listen to the story of how this company got started.

“Mabel K. Baker, a young housewife, provided holiday candles for her friends. She hand-dipped candles from the wax of bayberry plants, which were plentiful on Cape Cod. From these humble beginnings, Colonial Candle of Cape Cod was established. In 1973, PartyLite was established to satisfy the desire people have for home beautification, along with the ever-increasing need for additional family income.”

Now can't you just imagine Mabel sitting outside and turning her gaze over to the bayberry plants in her backyard! Surely a light bulb went off in her head as she picked berries off the bush and harvested the wax to make gift candles for her dearest friends. A story like this makes you feel like when you get a PartyLite candle, that you are getting more than a factory made product. Rather, you are getting a lovely crafted handmade candle. Great story and great marketing!

What's your brand story? Do you have a wonderful story to tell about how your business was started? Was there a turning point in your company that shaped you into the organization you are today?

Secret #2: Make Your Brand a Household Name by Coining the Term

Why define your brand experience in terms we already use? Kleenex, Xerox, and Fed X are companies whose brand names have set the standards for their industry by becoming the coined terms to describe a tissue, making a copy, and overnight deliveries.

So how do you go about making your brand a household name?

Marla Cilley, aka “The FLY Lady” is an organizing super hero for moms across the county. She has turned her passion for tidiness into a nationally known brand.

How did she do it? By adding an ounce of fun with her own unique terms and philosophies. For example, The FLY Lady stands for Finally Loving Yourself.

Fans of the FLY Lady know that she lives by three rules.

1) Don’t sweat the small stuff
2) Laugh everyday. Even if it is at yourself.
3) Love like there is no tomorrow.

If you visit her website at FlyLady.net, you’ll notice that her brand is even reflected in some of the names of the navigation links: Why FLY, FLYing Lessons, FLY Zone, Time FLYs when, FLY FAQ, FLY Library, Join FlyLady Now, Ask FlyLady, and The FlyShop.

Secret #3: Add Your Unique Brand of Humor

Humor has the power to transform an ordinary product into a fun experience for the whole audience. Recently I saw a commercial for Red Stripe “The Great Jamaican Beer” that delivers an unforgettable quirky message.

The Jamaican spokesperson is dressed in a black tuxedo and says, “Red Stripe - the beer in the short stubby ugly bottle. If ugly people stand next to a Red Stripe they look beautiful.”

He speaks to a man who is sitting next to him, “You sir, would you say that you are ugly?
(Pause) You are VERY ugly!”

The man who is sitting down replies a little confused, “Well I don't know...”

The spokesperson hands him a beer and says, “Here hold this Red Stripe.”

The man says, “Okay.”

The spokesperson says, “Look, you are beautiful!” (Obviously implying that just by holding this beer this formerly “ugly” man is transformed into being beautiful.)

Spokesperson says enthusiastically, “Red Stripe, it's beer. Hooraaaayy Beer!”

The man cheers, "Hooray Beer."

The spokesperson adds at the end, "…says the beautiful man."

The point is, that although you may have never heard of Red Stripe beer before, this funny commercial really sticks in your mind. Even though we are not beer drinkers, this commercial is surely creating living room conversations in homes across the country.

That’s how a funny campaign can instantly turn a new or unknown product into a national phenomenon.

You should check out this very funny commercial online at their website here:
http://us.redstripebeer.com/media

Secret #4: Create your own Catch Phrases and Own Quotes

If you type the words “inspirational quotes” into Google, you will see that there are 1,130,000 listings. Quotes are hot! So why not tap into the power of quotes and catch phrases for your business?

Go back in your mind to the “Where’s the Beef” commercials from Wendy’s. That was a fun series of engaging commercials that had the whole country asking themselves, “Where’s the Beef?”.

And think about Donald Trump’s “Your Fired!” I’m sure that he had no idea that his show, “The Apprentice” would take off the way it did and become the “in thing.”

When you create a hot catch phrase or quote, you’ll find your words popping up on websites, in blogs, talked about in elevators, written on bathroom walls, and in the most unexpected placed.

Take a moment to step back and really look at your company’s brand. With a little imagination, you can transform buying your product or service into a fun, one-of-a-kind brand experience that your customers will never forget.


Kristie Tamsevicius - Learn how branding helps you to attract customers, build income, & gain visibility while successfully promoting your business online with our FREE report "Web Branding Secrets" by visiting www.brandingonthenet.com/branding1.htm

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

HOW TO FIND A PROFITABLE TARGETED NICHE

by Gerald Hardie

If you know how there is Money to be made in writing Ebooks and publishing them Online. Browse our articles and decide how you will go about it. Will You have a go at Self Publishing, or look for a Book Publishing Company!

If You are looking at writing a ebook and publishing it online but don't know what to write then here is an idea to get you started:

Go to your local bookstore or Amazon.com and look at the magazine rack. Find out what people are buying. Look at a targeted niche. Look at what people are subscibing to. What are the big advertisements. Companies don't spend money on advertising unless there is a return. Look at the letters to the editor and look for a problem. It is also good to get Back Issue's so you get a good overview of the market.

Here is an example so you get a better idea:

You choose your niche topic "Fishing" for example. You get five different fishing magazines and go to the secondhand bookstore and dig up some back issues, Doesn't have to cost a fortune.

Upon reading through them you find that the big advertisers are selling "Kite fishing gear" now with this in mind You also find that there are lots of letters to the editor asking "How best to set up the rigging for the Kite and how to tell the best times to go out."

Now have a look online at "Google Search" and type in "Kite Fishing" See what there is to offer. Is there any books or manuals solving these peoples problems if not you may have a winner. Now go to Overture.com and look up Keywords for kite fishing and see how many searches are being made for that topic. If there are 4 searches a month then you do not have a demand.

Do some research on Kite Fishing and if you are able "Interview Experts" on the topic. Record your Conversation with their permission of course and then get it transcriped. There are many transcription places to go online and it doesn't cost to much. Now you have some content for your ebook without writing a thing and you are now the expert author.

Look for people who are passionate about that particular Topic, that have Disposable Income and a Credit Card. Write something that will solve a problem and then market that product to them. Find the market first then create the product to suit. This way you are able to quickly create a product with pre-determined demand, get a ebook, video or audio, your own digital product and sell it online without huge overheads. So you see, you can become you very own publishing expert without years of experience in any targeted Niche.

Gerald Hardie is a Sales And Marketing Consultant. He has many websites http://www.nichereseller.com and http://www.onlinepublishingbook.com/ARB/

7 STRATEGIC FOR SALES SUCCESS

1. Listen to the experts. Granted many will claim they are when they aren't! But, people with solid sales experience and a track record to show you in your area of sales are worth listening to. As an enthusiastic rookie salesman, it's all to easy to start making rational assumptions that may be misleading, based upon intuition and relatively little life experience. A history of sales success is likely to be a far more accurate source of effective strategy.

2. Agree a sales process, who to see, what to say, how many people to see and where, and stick to it rigidly to enable you to establish cause and effect. The foundation for your sales process should lie in number 1. For any thinking person it's all too easier to adapt the approach after each call, making progressively small changes to your approach. Ultimately, this will conceal what is working and what is not. Stick to your sales process until agree review date, then make changes in a uniform way to allow you to clearly monitor the effects of these changes.

3. Don't let individual events change your approach, a call that's gone wrong or an example of a colleagues excellent result. Remember, changes in your approach should be considered over time and based upon a number of rational factors, such as the results of 'many' calls, or someone else's results over sustained period. One off events are likely to be misleading, even though the emotions they can conjure are often very powerful. Stick to your sales plan until your agreed review date, note events and thoughts along the way for collective judgement.

4. Look around you for clues to succeed, in most cases the answers are out there If you are one of many, analyse the most successful people, speak to them, ask for their opinions and examples of their success. There should be strong clues and patterns indicating why there are successful which you can learn from and adapt.

5. Expect setbacks and failures on the route to success. All the most successful people in sales jobs, and indeed life generally will be able to site failure along the way to success. Many site it as necessary stages on route to glory. Stick to your plan through set backs, be resolute, success will come with persistence and determination.

6. Review your progress regularly. Set regular review points where you can assess you progress against you criteria for success. These are the points at which you can consider measured changes to your process based on the collective information from your experience and the others around you.

7. Don't change too much at once. Two or three things at most. Remember, if you are to build success over time you need to be able to monitor cause and effect. Too many changes all at once can prevent the isolation of which are successful and unsuccessful strategies.