Economic Gloom

I walked downstairs a few minutes ago and saw that my
wife was watching a little CNN (helping us stay
up-to-date on the latest world happenings...), and one
of the headlines that jumped out at me was the words:
"Economic Gloom".

This got me thinking...

From my point of view, I see that much of the world is
in a state of PANIC about the economy. There certainly
may be good reason for concern, but too much concern
will also certainly create the reality that you wish to
avoid through the law of attraction.

It is true that what you think about most of the time
shows up in your life. For example, if you're THINKING
about why you can't accomplish some goal of yours,
sure enough all the reasons that you *find* for why you
can't will affect your emotions and therefore the
actions that you will or won't take toward that goal.
Therefore, by thinking *why* you can't, you're making
sure that you don't.

Alternatively, if you use your mind to start finding
reasons why you CAN, you'll start to FEEL differently
and then those new feelings will motivate you to take
NEW ACTIONS and those new actions will create new
results in your results - most likely much closer to
your desired outcome.

In these times of great challenge financially around
the world, NOW MORE THAN EVER it is critical that YOU
tune your mind, feeling and actions into prosperous
frequencies. For many years, I've been reading books,
listening to audio tapes, doing meditations, watching
DVD's and surrounding myself with influences that make
me think smarter, faster, younger, happier, healthier
and wealthier. And little by little, day by day all of
these things have given me an edge in life and allowed
me to achieve more success, happiness and freedom in
my life than I would have ever been able to if I had
simply allow myself to "go with the flow" and allow
society to program me to it's own standards.

Speaking of standards, for many people here in the
United States the standard for success is to go to
college, get a good job, work hard for 40 years and
*hopefully* retire with enough money left in the bank
to pay your medical bills and assisted care living
expenses until you DIE. It's pretty sad.

That's definitely NOT my standard for this life
though. I "retired" a long time ago (without ever
graduating from college) and spend most my time these
being a passionate husband and father as well as
aggressively pursuing interests that light a fire in my
soul!

Today which is Tuesday (while many people were busy
working a job they don't enjoy), I was at my tennis
club at 8:30 am working on my serve, then went to the
ball machine at 10:00, then started my private tennis
lesson at 11:00, followed by an hour long massage at
12:15. Then I got home about 1:30 and made myself a
plate with a tuna sandwich, freshly cooked beets and a
delicious cabbage salad all bought from Whole Foods
Market where the words natural and organic truly means
something. While having lunch my car was being detail
cleaned in the driveway of my home and my gardener was
dropping off fertilizer and plants for this Fall's
planting. While my "team" was helping me keep my car
and home looking great, I jumped on the piano for 30
minutes and started practicing "Carol of the Bells"
which is a song I'll be playing during the holidays
this year for competition and for pleasure. After that,
I spent a little quality time with my wife and kids and
then my kids tutor arrived so I hopped over here to my
office to write you this email. Once I press send, I'm
going to head downstairs and eat a great dinner with
the people I love most in this world.

That's a day in the life of Stone Evans, The Home Biz
Guy, and it's pretty typical (for me right now). I
focus most of my energy on having fun doing things that
I love and working in ways that make me happy and make
feel like I'm making a positive difference in other
people's lives. These are some of MY standards. Do you
know what yours are?

You see, a standard is something that is basic to your
life. Something that simply couldn't be different. For
example, many years ago (before I was rich, *or at
least before the world agreed with me that I was
rich*), I knew that that description I shared with you
above about my day today was simply a standard of who I
was and what I was *committed* to experience in my
life. I knew that wanted to do and pursue all the
things that were important and exciting to ME, without
having to worry, or even *think* about how much money
it would cost. In fact, that's a huge part of
financial success for me - to never be limited to do
something you want to do because of money. This is my
standard. And it's because of this standard that was
set in my mind a long time ago that I've been able to
achieve some pretty extraordinary things in my life so
far, and that will continue to drive me to create and
experience the life I dream of.

I feel impassioned to write about these things right
now, not to brag, because life has far greater things
in store for each of us that chooses to embrace the
potential and power within us. Instead, I write to
inspire. If I've been able to break free of society's
"doom and gloom programming" and "standards of
mediocrity", you can too!

Turn off the "noooooooooooos" and TURN ON your own
mind by reading books that empower you, watching DVD's
that inspire you, talking to people that LIFT YOU UP
and taking new actions that move you in the *direction*
of YOUR deepest heart's desire. A couple of books that
have made a difference for me lately are: "The
Jackrabbit Factor: Why You Can" and
"Psycho-Cybernetics, A New Way to Get More Living Out
of Life". You can find them both at Amazon.com. Look
them up, buy them and devour them! Just READING these
books with an open mind will affect you in ways that
change your life and cause you to experience more
happiness and success, guaranteed!

In the world right now, the divide between the
"haves" and the "have-nots" is getting wider. Align
YOURSELF with the "have what YOU want" mindset and
YOU WILL. As I said earlier, *now more than EVER
before* if you want more out of your life, SELECT YOUR
PROGRAMMING CAREFULLY and take control of your mind,
and your future!

If your looking for a "different path" to make a
living, check out the one I selected that has given me
all the time and financial freedom I need to pursue my
dreams with passion in this life at:
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-18613
To Breaking Free!

Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-18613

Increase Holiday Sales

Increase Holiday Sales with These
7 Last-Minute Profit-Boosting Tips!

Can you believe how quickly the holidays have arrived this year?

I just checked my calendar and I can't believe there's only a matter of DAYS until the 25th!

Any shopper headed to your web site now will be in a state of gift-searching PANIC, and it's up to you to make sure they don't leave your pages until they've got exactly what they need -- AND in time for the big day!

You still have time to do a few quick things to sell to those desperation shoppers.

Because the clock is ticking, I've made a list of 7 quick and easy — but extremely powerful — ways you can increase holiday sales and profits during the final shopping days before Christmas!

And believe me, this is one list you need to check twice!

Quick Tip #1: Guarantee SUPER FAST shipping!

If there's one thing that scares people about buying online for the holidays, it's late delivery. Nothing drives customers out to the shopping mall faster than the idea that their kids' Christmas presents won't arrive until the 28th of December!

And now that we're past the "10 business days before Christmas" deadline, only expedited shipping will get there on time!

If you use a major nationwide delivery service like FedEx or UPS, you'll want to feature this information prominently on your web site and ordering pages. People will feel much more comfortable ordering from a site that uses one of these services than from one that ships through the mail.

Also, be sure to offer guaranteed overnight delivery, which both UPS and FedEx provide. This will save you the headache of disgruntled customers calling you on Christmas morning wondering why the products they ordered haven't arrived yet!

It never hurts either to give a cutoff time after which delivery for Christmas CAN'T be guaranteed, e.g., "To guarantee delivery before Christmas, we must receive your order by 2:00 p.m. EST, Wednesday, December 20."

Quick Tip #2: Offer to ship gifts directly to recipients

If you can ship your customers' orders directly to their intended recipients, TELL THEM!

By tweaking your order form so that customers can send their orders directly to their intended recipients, you'll save your customers the extra hassle of waiting to receive the package and then resending it to someone else. It's also a great way to add value to your service without any additional cost to you!

If you do offer to ship gifts directly to the recipient, I can guarantee you'll have people asking if you offer gift wrapping. This is another way to give your customers a little extra attention without much additional cost to you. If you charge a small fee for the service, it'll bring in a bit more income, too.

You can also offer your customers the option of adding a holiday card to the package that you send out. Simply ask them what they want written on the card, and then include it with the package. You can charge an additional fee for this, or offer it as a free bonus.

Of course, if you have thousands of orders and you work by yourself, the card and wrapping options may not be practical!

Quick Tip #3: Highlight INSTANT delivery!

How about telling visitors they can just forget about shipping altogether and have your product zapped straight to them right over the Internet in less than a second?

You can do that if you're selling a product you can deliver electronically! And instant delivery is a benefit that grabs visitors' attention. With an eBook, or any other electronic product, like software, tickets, or digital data, your delivery is as fast as your autoresponder software can send it!

Not only that, but the buyer can customize the gift. When you send the electronic file to your customer, they can choose to print it or pass it along to the recipient in electronic form.

This is a particular selling point for an eBook. If they print it, they can choose their own paper, and even create their own cover. Any copy center or print-on-demand outlet (like FedEx Kinko's) can have it printed and professionally bound in no time.

As a seller, you should make it easy for customers to give your electronic product as a gift, including prompting them right in your salescopy to think about who'd appreciate it as a present. Allow for hard-copy printing and at least two installs, and you should see the results in Christmas sales.

Instant delivery means that last-minute shoppers now have the option of shopping at LITERALLY the last minute... and still having seconds to spare.

Quick Tip #4: Offer the gift of choice — gift certificates!

The ultimate last-minute gift idea is a gift certificate. Let people know you offer them by placing a prominent notice on every page that gift certificates are:

• available
  
• a great gift idea
  
• delivered INSTANTLY!

Gift certificates are a huge advantage for sites that sell specialized products and services to niche markets. Often the giver doesn't know exactly what the recipient wants or needs.

For example, Anthony knows that his Aunt Heather is a serious antique camera buff. He wants to spend $50 on a gift for Aunt Heather, but has no idea what she would want or need for her camera at that price.

So, if Anthony finds your photography web site and sees that you offer online gift certificates, his problem is solved!

And the best part is that you haven't just made $50 from Anthony — you've also acquired Aunt Heather as a customer! Offer her good value on products she needs, and you can bet that she'll be back again when she needs more camera equipment.

If you are selling a service online, gift certificates are a great way to turn your service into a gift! No matter what you're selling — it could be spa packages or landscape design — I can guarantee that your service would make the perfect gift for somebody out there.

Put some creativity into figuring out who would like it and why, then use those ideas in the copy about your gift certificate.

Even if your business is restricted to a local area, you can still expand your potential market by offering online gift certificates. You'll not only reach people who live in your area, but also those who are shopping for people who do.

When people search for local products and services online, they include the location in their search terms, e.g., "cooking lessons, Portland Maine."

So optimize your pages for your local market:

• Include the name of your city or town and state in your salescopy along with the type of service or products you offer
  
  
• Put your location with zip code and phone number with area code on every sales page of your site
  
  
• Make sure you're listed in all the local directories too.

That way, local searchers will be much more likely to find you when shopping with the search engines.

And remind your customers and subscribers that since gift certificates can be delivered electronically, they're ideal last-minute gifts. I know online gift certificates have saved the day for me a few times!

Quick Tip #5: Remind your audience why your product makes a great gift!

At this time of year especially, it's important to tell people why your product would make a great gift idea. Of course, sites selling products like neckties or Christmas ornaments won't need to worry about this as much, but what if your site is selling something like office supplies?

Write some quick copy about why your product or service would make a practical or unusual gift. You might want to tell a story about how people who received your products or services as a present last year couldn't stop talking about what a great gift idea it was!

If you sell a product that people need to buy only once, you can give your customers the opportunity to purchase your product as a gift. Remind them how your product has benefited them, and then explain why it would make a wonderful gift for their friends or family.

You may also want to put together a quick "Holiday Buying Guide" for your visitors. This can be a great resource for people who visit your site to buy a gift for someone but don't know much about the products you sell.

For instance, if most of your customers are men, explain to women what to look for when buying your items, and show how your products or services will benefit the guys in their life. Vice versa if most of your customers are women.

Of course, if you sell a product that people probably wouldn't give as a gift (lawn fertilizer, for example), you'll need to take a slightly different approach. Try something like this: "We know money can be tight around the holidays, so we've decided to offer our customers a generous discount on lawn fertilizer until the beginning of the New Year!"

Quick Tip #6: Feature seasonal specials in the first "fold" of your homepage

You want to make it EASY for your visitors to find and buy your products. The best way to do this is by making sure that every single visitor to your site sees your featured specials and holiday offers.

Not only are people surfing around actively looking for products to buy, they are also very receptive to discounts and specials.

Feature your seasonal specials on the first fold of your homepage. (The first fold is the first screen of your homepage that is visible without scrolling.) Add photos or put them in a box — anything to draw attention to your discount offers.

Be sure to choose proven best-sellers. Now is NOT the time to try to unload products or services that you haven't been able to sell during the past 10 months. Feature items that have been generating solid profits for you all year long and you'll increase your holiday sales.

As well as your specials, mention your express delivery options, along with any gift-wrapping or card services you offer.

Focus on your gift certificates and why your products or services would make terrific holiday gifts. And highlight the benefits of instant electronic delivery!

Anything you can do to make people's gift buying experiences go smoothly at this point will definitely be a selling point, so put ALL that information on the first fold where people will see it.

Quick Tip #7: Make a personal connection with a festive newsletter or email promotion

You really don't have time to go out and acquire a bunch of new traffic in time for the busy holiday rush.

But the good news is that you don't need to. If you have a list of customers and/or subscribers, you've already got an incredibly powerful database of people who are just waiting to make purchases from you!

People who have already bought from you are much more likely than anyone else to buy from you again, because you've already earned their trust.

Whenever possible, you'll want to send out two different promotions — one to your existing customers and one to your subscribers. This allows you to approach each group from a slightly different angle. Here's what I mean:

Your existing customers, who have already bought from you, will want to be rewarded for their loyalty. What better way to thank them than by giving them a great deal on one of your most popular products? They'll appreciate the fact that your offer is being sent to them and them alone, because we all like to feel special.

Your subscribers should be sent a slightly different offer. Tell them that this is a special promotion being offered only to your newsletter subscribers. Again, you'll want to make sure that you're offering a special on one of your proven best-sellers.

This little touch of targeting can go a really long way. It's been proven over and over that people like to be offered a deal that they don't think other people are going to get. And if you personalize each message with the person's name and any other information that's relevant to them, they'll respond.

A recent study by Jupiter Research found that click-through rates and open rates more than doubled when emails were personalized and targeted, and sales conversion rates were an astonishing 355% higher than for bulk emails!

By making your customers and subscribers feel special this holiday season, you can dramatically increase the number of sales that your email promotions generate.

Final thoughts

Everyone gets busy as the year comes to an end, but just because you haven't found the time to set up a comprehensive holiday marketing strategy doesn't mean that you can't increase your holiday sales over the coming week.

However, you do need to take the time to implement some of these quick tips IMMEDIATELY. And I mean within the next 24 hours! Pick one or two of these tips and do whatever it takes to catch the last holiday shoppers.

The ones who are still online are running out of time fast, so show them how you can solve their problems with:

• express shipping options
• downloads for instant delivery
• gift ideas and gift certificates
• special holiday discounts

The great thing is that all of the tips I've just given you can be implemented quickly and easily. Most of these tips should only take you an hour or two to set up on your site, and the results will increase your holiday sales so much you'll wish you'd started much sooner.

Happy holidays from all of us at the Internet Marketing Center!

***NEW FEATURE***

Inside the Internet Entrepreneur Club Forum

Since we launched our new Internet Entrepreneur Club last month, we've been blown away by the great questions and discussions that our club members have been posting in the club members' forum. These are real people running real online businesses.

You might be asking some of the same questions about your own business or business idea.

So, every issue of the Marketing Tips Newsletter, we'll feature a recent forum question... along with the answer it receives from one of the IMC experts monitoring the forum.

***

This issue's question comes from club member "Socratous":

I am planning a new project in which I'll be selling software for cell phones. I'll be offering a 3-day free trial to download.

I would like to know whether it's a good idea to launch a short single opt-in (or "squeeze") page that offers a FREE trial with an attractive headline like"You're About To Discover A NEW Software...", followed by a form asking for first name and email address for the free download.

After that, the visitor will be directed to a page where the long salescopy of the software is displayed. Is that a better way to start capturing their email addresses or should I start with the long salescopy right from the beginning?

What is the best business model when selling a unique and in-demand software? Especially when you start out with no emails and no credibility on that subject?

And the answer from Jennifer, one of IMC's top marketing specialists:

Hi!

I would recommend testing both options!

I've had a lot of success with the squeeze page model you've described below, where you ask the visitor for their first name, last name, email and then push them through to a long copy salesletter which sells the free trial offer.

(Hint: you need to create enough value in your trial in this sales piece, so when the trial expires, even if they haven't USED the product yet, they'll feel comfortable with the price you've charged their credit card.)

The nice part about the squeeze page model is that you quickly build an opt-in list of people who are interested, who you can quickly follow-up with by email to close the sale. Try to make sure you follow-up within 3 days max.

All that said, I've also seen instances where the squeeze page actually damaged the sale conversion rates. It's not something I would guess at; I would definitely test it.

Cheers,

Jennifer

***

If you're looking for the hottest, most up-to-the-minute information on EVERY area of the fast-paced Internet marketing world, connect with our massive team of experts TODAY!

For everything you need to know to get started, just click here!

Increase Marketing Sales

Discover the Killer Marketing Strategy I'm Using to Help Increase My Internet Marketing Sales by more than 30%!

People are always coming up to me and asking, "What can you tell me to help increase my Internet marketing sales?"
All too often, when I ask them to tell me about their business models, I discover they're selling only ONE product. So I ask them, "Have you ever considered selling backend products to your customers?"
Backend products are simply products you can offer to your existing customers, after they've made their initial purchase.
Because you know what they've already bought from you, you should have a good idea of other things your customers like to buy. And that should make it easy for you to think of new things they'd want to purchase!
Backend products can be anything you think your target market might be interested in. For example, if your site sells cameras, new products could include:
Add-ons like wide-angle or telephoto lenses for your cameras
eBooks that teach people how to take better pictures
Other complementary products, such as camera cases or tripods
The brilliance of this strategy lies in the fact that you already know what your customers like to buy! So you can easily create highly targeted offers for them -- leading to higher conversion rates and more sales... and more money in your pocket!
The truth is, if you're not following up with your customers and targeting them with highly appealing backend products, you're losing out on a TON of profit.
In fact, by adding just ONE more product to your site, you can increase your revenues by 30% to 50%!
Why you need to think "lifetime value" rather than "single sale"
The other day I got an email from Amazon.com telling me about a new Internet marketing book they just got in stock.
They knew I might be interested in it because I'd bought other Internet marketing books from them before. (Hardly surprising, right? :)
And I was interested in that new one, too! In fact, as soon as I got Amazon's email, I immediately clicked through to their site, checked out the book, and bought it!
And in doing so, I boosted my "lifetime value" to Amazon by another 20 bucks.
Lifetime value is simply the income generated by a single customer over the course of your relationship with him or her. If you sell only one product, then your customers' lifetime value will be limited to the net income that comes from a single sale of that product.
But if you sell a wide range of products, your income will grow exponentially!
And selling to existing customers is easier and cheaper than selling to strangers because you've already cultivated a relationship with them: You've put in the time and money to...
Get their attention
Establish your credibility
Build their trust in you
Overcome any resistance they may have to buying online
Close that first sale
On top of that, you now know what your customers like!
So, after that, it's much easier to sell to people a second time... and a third... and a fourth... and so on.
If you reward your customers for being loyal, they'll reward you by becoming even more loyal!
Take the book I bought from Amazon... all they had to do was send me an email about a product they thought I'd like, based on my previous purchase history. They didn't have to sell themselves as a company to me because I've already bought from them before.
In fact, I've bought maybe one book a month from Amazon over the last five years at an average of $20 each -- meaning my lifetime value to them so far is $1,200!
And it's much easier -- and way cheaper -- for Amazon to sell me 60 books at $20 each than to persuade 60 new customers to each buy one $20 book.
When to follow up with your customers for maximum returns
The best time to offer your customers backend products is when you're given a natural opportunity to follow up with them.
Here are some examples of what I mean: You can...
Follow up after a purchase: Right after someone buys from you, you can send them a "thank-you" message that includes an offer for a related product. For example, if you sell project management software, you could offer your customers an eBook that gives them advanced project management tips and techniques.Or, if you sell "how-to" guides that teach people how to build their own sundeck, you could offer customers a special package deal on the tools they'll need for the job.
Follow up on a purchase anniversary: An easy way to get a follow-up promotion in front of your customers is to send them an offer one month, six months, or even a year after they made their first purchase.Email them to ask how they're enjoying the product, and let them know you've got similar products available at a special discount price that's being offered only to previous customers.
Follow up whenever you can provide new products or information: If, for example, you sell snowboard equipment and clothing, and you've just received stock of a cool new snowboarding jacket, you could contact your customers who bought a snowboard or boots and offer them a jacket at a special discount.They're obviously snowboarders, so there's a good chance they'd be interested in a new jacket.
The important thing to remember is, the backend products you offer HAVE to be things your target market is going to be interested in.
Seven killer backend product ideas you can use to expand your profits by more than 30%
There's no doubt about it: Following up with your customers and offering them backend products is a great way to boost your profits without eating into your marketing budget.
But how do you find the killer products that make this strategy so profitable?
It's a lot easier than you think! For example, you can...
Offer products that complement your initial product: For example, if you sell golf clubs, offer your customers a golf club bag to carry them in.Or you could offer golf balls, golf tees, golf shoes, golf training videos -- the list is endless!
Sell more of the same product at a discounted price: If your product is refillable or needs to be regularly replaced, this strategy works especially well. For example, if you sell things like printer cartridges, camera film, or batteries, you've got it made!But even if your product isn't refillable, you can show your customers you appreciate them by offering them a special discount on the product they've already bought. That way, if they like the product, they can buy it as a gift for family and friends.
Use paid subscriptions as backend products: If you've established yourself as an expert in your industry, you can build on your reputation by offering a subscription to "premium" information, only available to members, as a backend product.For example, if your main product is a fly-fishing kit, you could sell a subscription to an exclusive course on advanced fly-fishing techniques as a backend product. You could deliver this paid-for content through a members-only web site, or by email.
Try splitting up your current product: For example, if you were selling a book on how to "declutter" your home, you could offer a basic version for $9.95 to generate a large volume of sales at a low price. Then, 30 days later, you could offer your customers an advanced, expanded version that includes home office management and scheduling tips for $29.95 or even $39.95 -- and increase your profits dramatically!
Try selling your customers an upgrade to their product: If they've used and liked your basic model, your customers will be open to receiving offers for the upgrade version.For example, if you sell eBooks teaching people how to use a particular piece of software, you can sell updated versions to previous buyers when the software package in question is upgraded.
Write a book or create a video: eBooks are great backend products with high profit margins! Consider writing a short book on a topic that's related to your product or service. For example, if you sell gourmet puppy food, you might consider writing a book titled, "Training Secrets That Will Have Every Puppy Housebroken and Learning Basic Obedience in Less Than One Week!"You could even offer a special video that complements your product or service. For example, if you sell barbecue equipment, you might offer a video that teaches people how to perfect their barbecuing technique.
Offer someone else's product! Probably the fastest -- and EASIEST -- way to add new products to your site is to join another business's affiliate program and recommend their products in exchange for a percentage of each resulting sale.Selling affiliate products can be a very lucrative way to increase your sales, especially since you don't have to spend any time or money developing a new product of your own!To learn more about joining affiliate programs, go to:• www.associateprograms.com• www.refer-it.com• www.affiliatesdirectory.com... or check out IMC's top-rated affiliate program at www.marketingtips.com/assoc.
Whether you create brand-new backend products that complement your existing products, or sell other people's products through an affiliate program, you need to know how to target the right products to the right customers...
Divide and conquer: Segment your list for maximum effect
"Segmentation" simply means dividing your list into smaller, more focused groups so you can send mailings out to more targeted audiences. It's one of the most effective ways to market products or services on the Internet because it allows you to send product offers ONLY to people who are extremely likely to be interested in them.
And, as backend offers obviously go only to previous customers, you can create messages that are specifically tailored to them based on what they bought, when they bought, and other pieces of personal information you've collected from them.
This allows you to create messages that are highly targeted and, importantly, highly PERSONAL.
After all, it makes sense that people respond favorably to offers that are tailored to their own personal wants and needs. (That's why I opened that email from Amazon and bought the book they offered me!)
In fact, a study by MarketingSherpa shows that email marketers who use segmentation have a 72% higher click-through rate than those who don't divide their lists!
We learned firsthand how effective this technique is a few years ago, when we decided to conduct a little marketing experiment. We took a small list of our customers and split it in half, then sent an email to each group that was exactly the same, with only ONE exception.
The subject line of the first email read:
Here's all the info you need
The subject line of the second email, which had EXACTLY the same body as the first email, had been customized to display the recipient's name. For example:
Bob, here's all the info you need
Now, we had a hunch that the personalized subject line would do better than the generic one. But what we discovered surprised even us! The email with the personalized subject line had a response rate 64% higher than the one without!
And that was the ONLY difference between the two campaigns! The body of the email was identical in both cases, and so was the offer. It was that one small change in the subject line that boosted the response by 64%!
As you can see, if you HAVEN'T been personalizing your email promotions, now is definitely a good time to start. Can you imagine what a 64% increase in sales and profits would do for YOUR bottom line?
Of course, you can personalize the body of your email as well as the subject line, and you can use ANY information you've collected about your customers and subscribers, not just their names.
For example, let's suppose you run a travel company and that you know which of your customers are single young women.
Using this information, you can create a promotion that caters specifically to them. You could start your email off like this:
Hi Susan,
I thought you might be interested in learning about the special "Girls' Weekend in Vegas!" promotion we're currently running.
For the low price of just $500 each, we're inviting you and three of your friends on an all-inclusive weekend in America's favorite party town -- including your airfare, hotels, and meals -- PLUS a chance to whoop it up at all of Vegas's hottest night spots!
By sending out such a specifically targeted promotion, you're bound to see greater results than if you offered a general promotion to a large, untargeted group of people.
And once you learn how easy it is to do, you'll be kicking yourself for not getting started sooner!
Final thoughts
The bottom line is, if you're not offering backend products to your customers you're losing out on 30% to 50% more income.
That's because if you sell only one product, your profits will always be limited by the number of new customers you take on.
It takes a LOT more time and money to acquire new customers than it does to sell new products to your existing customer base, so selling only one product can really eat into your profits.
Because you know what kind of products your customers like, it's easy to create brand-new backend products that complement your existing products, or join an affiliate program and sell other people's products.
And if you segment your customer list to target focused groups of customers with products that will appeal specifically to them, you'll show them you understand their particular needs -- and they'll thank you for it by buying more products from you, and staying loyal to your business for years to come!
So that's why, when I'm asked, "What strategy will most help increase my Internet marketing sales?" my answer is always... "Backend selling!"

Small Business

Why the Best Internet Marketing Strategies Are Flat-out Useless Without This Unsung Hero of the Business World

Even if you master each and every one of the best Internet marketing strategies out there -- sales copywriting, search engine optimization, email marketing, and the rest -- they're not worth a dime if you forget about customer service.

It's a strategy that every truly successful business knows about and pays careful attention to... because the one thing ALL successful businesses have in common is customers. Satisfied customers.

Today, I want to show you how to make every one of your customers a satisfied customer -- so happy that they'll return again and again, AND send new customers your way.

I'll look at several proven ways you can do this, including:

• Reducing the risk for your customers to get more sales

• Going that extra mile to get more repeat business and more referrals from delighted customers

• Providing great after-sales support to keep customers coming back

• Personalizing your offers to make your customers remember you

• Listening to your customers to keep them loyal to your business

So let's take a look at some great examples of customer service from across the spectrum -- online, offline, retail, service, hospitality... anywhere the customer is Number One!

Why good customer service is ESSENTIAL for online success

There's an old saying in business: A happy customer will tell one or two people, an unhappy one will tell 10!

So it pays to keep your customers happy -- and never more so than when doing business online.

In the Internet age, a seriously ticked-off customer might not only tell 10 people, they might also write a lengthy rant on their blog, post comments on other people's blogs, write a negative review of your site on a shopping web site, or criticize you on forums and message boards. Or all of the above!

In extreme cases, some unhappy customers even start web sites or blogs devoted to airing their grievances about a particular company. Microsoft, UPS, and Wal-Mart are all among the -- mostly corporate -- targets of customers with a grudge.

While small businesses are unlikely to be targeted in such a way, the viral nature of the Internet means that a negative comment about your company can spread faster than a fire in a matchbox.

And worse, once something has been written about you online, it's very difficult to get it removed. This means that any prospective customer who decides to "Google" your business name could come across it.

So, while good customer service might cost some time and money, bad customer service costs you prospective customers and their lifetime value. Think how much losing even just 10 sales would cost you, and compare it to the extra sales you'll gain from making your customers happy.

And case study after case study shows that building good customer service into a business also increases efficiency, as well as sales.

The stronger your guarantee, the more sales you'll generate -- guaranteed!

The guarantee offered by mail-order retailer Lands' End, simply says, "Guaranteed. Period." Shoppers can return their items anytime and for any reason.

It's a customer service strategy that serves them well. In fact, they market their company on the back of it, calling it, "The most watertight guarantee in the business."

And just in case you think Lands' End is a big corporation whose strategies don't apply to you, I should mention this has been one of the foundations of their business since they were a three-man operation doing mail order out of their store basement.

Most importantly, Lands' End stands by that guarantee... to the extent that one of their catalogs featured the story of a man who returned an antique car he'd purchased... several years after he bought it!

First of all, the company sells clothes, not cars -- he'd bought the car through a special promotion. And second, he'd been driving around in it for a while. But, by honoring the guarantee in such a way, they turned the story of a returned car into a marketing vehicle for their excellent customer service.

And it worked. Here you are reading about it!

You can be sure that the goodwill and word-of-mouth publicity generated by accepting such an "unusual" return more than offset the cost of refunding the car buyer.

That's the lesson here: A strong, well-written guarantee -- one you stand by unconditionally -- is not only good customer service, but it is proven to actually increase sales by...

• Removing any risk on the part of the buyer and giving them the confidence to buy from you.

• Boosting your credibility as a trustworthy seller who believes in your product, and who's willing to back up your belief in it.

Now, some people worry about being ripped off by unscrupulous buyers who purchase an item, get everything they want from it, and then return it to take advantage of the guarantee. It happens, but not often -- as long as you offer an excellent product!

At IMC, we've been offering a one-year refund on our Insider Secrets course for years -- and only very rarely does anyone take us up on the guarantee.

Our tests show that you'll receive fewer returns with a one year guarantee than with a six-month guarantee, and a six-month guarantee will bring in fewer returns than a 30-day guarantee.

Bottom line... the stronger your guarantee, the more sales you'll generate -- and the fewer returns you'll actually get.

Keep your customers coming back by providing MORE services than they expect

Why not go that extra mile and provide EXTRA services that add value to your offer? These are often known as "loss leaders" because, while they may cost you a little extra up front, the payoff comes in the form of more referrals and more repeat business.

Or you can even use your excellent customer service as part of your offer and charge a little more, knowing that your customers will be willing to pay the extra for all the services you provide. (This is something well worth testing.)

Take the example of a dry cleaner I read about recently who offers the best customer service possible to keep people coming back to him... and it turns out that his customers are more than willing to pay a little more for the many extra services he offers.

Instead of just taking dirty clothes from customers and returning them spick-and-span, this dry cleaner decided to offer his customers much more, including:

• Free pick-up and delivery

• Folding or hanging cleaned clothes according to preference

• Wrapping shirts in plastic with a piece of cardboard to help maintain their shape

• Providing a sturdy laundry bag (with his logo on it, of course!)

This guy understands that his customers are busy, and anything he can do to make their lives easier will be appreciated -- and be worth paying more for.

So he not only cleans clothes, he provides convenience and turns a tedious chore into a pleasant and painless experience.

And does providing great, value-added customer service like this work in terms of retaining customers and attracting new ones? You bet... I found this story through a happy customer's blog!

The other interesting thing about this story is that the dry cleaner advertises some of his extra services, but not others, meaning that his new customers are often very pleasantly surprised by the extra services they receive.

And ALL customers love to be surprised with a little extra bonus they didn't expect!

An example from the online business world is a recent IMC Secrets To Their Success story -- David Kern of ApplePoly.com. He sells a nutritional supplement derived from apple peel, and gives away a free mini-sample of his product with every order.

Is it worth it?

Definitely, according to David, who says, "Our cost is a few dollars. One new client is worth hundreds or thousands in lifetime value. I like the math!"

Provide killer after-sales support to get more repeat business

Another way to over-deliver is to provide excellent AFTER-SALES support.

One mistake many business owners make is that they think their job is done after that first sale. Nothing could be further from the truth.

A quick after-sales email or phone call to check that everything is OK with a purchase can be really appreciated by customers. It can also relieve any feelings of "buyer's remorse" they might have, reinforcing the positive feelings about your business they had when they originally bought from you.

And, by checking in with your customers, you can find out a lot about how they use your product -- and what they like and dislike about it -- so you can refine your product and marketing. You can also head off any problems BEFORE they become complaints.

Or why not just say, "Thank you" to your customers? Don't try to sell to them. Just send them a letter or email thanking them for their business and telling them that you value them as customers.

The fact is, you spend so much time and money promoting your products to get that first sale that it's worth spending just a little extra to make sure your new customers come back, and tell their friends.

Make it personal: Keep track of your customers' likes and dislikes and they'll be back

What's the one word that is guaranteed to turn your head when you hear it?

Your name.

Think how nice it is when a bank teller greets you by name or a hotel receptionist remembers you from a previous visit.

The fact is, personalizing your communications with customers is another proven marketing AND customer service strategy.

But personalization doesn't just mean addressing your customers by name. It also means providing -- or at least appearing to provide -- personalized service.

Like the garage that makes a note of when your next car service is due -- and sends you a letter or calls you with a reminder.

Or the corner store owner who remembers that you like a particular flavor of canned soup and orders more in for you.

Or the coffee shop barista who remembers your favorite drink!

Personalization is one of the oldest customer service strategies in the book... because it works!

Later on, I'll tell you exactly how you can use this strategy to build a more personal relationship with your online customers.

Listen to customer concerns and ACT ON THEM... or else!

If there are two things that define BAD customer service, it's these:

1. Not listening to your customers
2. Not acting on any complaints or concerns

Ignoring customers when they complain or raise a concern, and then not doing anything to remedy the situation is a surefire way to destroy your reputation.

Most of your customers are reasonable. They know that things go wrong, that people make mistakes, and that sometimes things happen that are simply unavoidable.

But, they still like you to acknowledge that you've made a mistake, and to know that you'll do your best to keep it from happening.

That's why good restaurants will give you a free bottle of wine if your meal is late in arriving, or provide a free desert if they get your order wrong, or replace a poorly prepared dish -- no questions asked.

Because if they DON'T do those things... well, would you go back? Of course not. And you'd probably tell your friends and co-workers not to go their either. Whammo. Lost business.

So, if and when a customer complains, here's what you need to do to avoid potentially losing not only their future business, but that of anyone else they tell about the situation:

• Don't hide -- make it easy for someone to contact you with a concern

• Remember, the customer IS always right

• Be quick to acknowledge and apologize for any mistakes

• Tell customers what you have done to remedy the situation and to make sure it won't happen again

• Don't offer empty apologies -- use your judgment to decide whether you should offer a refund or other compensation

The blog software provider Six Apart famously offered their Typepad blog customers up to 45 days worth of free blog hosting as compensation for a period of serious disruption to their service.

They did lose customers, but they also retained many who appreciated the gesture.

Sometimes, just acknowledging your mistake and apologizing IS enough. On the flip side, the cost of NOT listening to your customers can be severe.

Making your customers happy makes your job easier -- and more profitable!

Now that you've seen how important customer service is to your business, here are some simple strategies to get you started:

Step #1: Automate your sales process to keep customers in the loop.

Use autoresponders to thank your customers for their order, welcome them to your opt-in email list, and send them order confirmations and other transactional emails like, "Your item has shipped" notices.

Customers have come to expect these courtesies, but not everyone online bothers.

And you can even add a surprise element to these customer service emails by including a coupon for money off their next purchase, or some extra information they'll find relevant to the product they've bought.

Autoresponders also let you send follow-up after a customer has bought from you to ask if everything is all right and if there's anything further you can do.

Even though you can create these autoresponders in no time, they make customers feel that you're paying attention to them.

Step #2: Create a comprehensive FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

An FAQ answers most of the questions people might have about your products or services. You should put it on a page on your web site, and create an FAQ autoresponder (an automatic email sent to any customer who emails a particular email address, such as info@[mysite].com).

To make your FAQ most effective, don't just make up the questions and answers -- keep track of the questions that customers or site visitors actually ask, and answer them.

With those common questions taken care of, you'll be freed up to spend time giving personal attention to the 10% or so that require it.

The people who find what they need in the FAQ are satisfied immediately, and those who need something extra get it without having to wait a long time for you to get around to them.

The more quickly you handle their concerns the more impressed they'll be.

And you'll also stand out in the crowd -- a recent Pelorus Group study found that a shocking 42% of retail web sites take five days or longer to respond to customers!

It's often the times when you respond to a customer's concerns promptly and personally that generate a huge amount of goodwill for your business... and more referrals.

Step #3: Make it easy for people to contact you

There will always be times when a customer needs to talk to or email someone directly, so don't hide your contact details away in a dark corner of your web site, and always provide contact information on every message or newsletter you send out.

It's also a good idea to put your phone number at the end of your FAQ so people can contact you with any questions not covered in your FAQ.

You can even create a Customer Service page on your site that includes your FAQ, the names and email addresses/phone numbers of people who can help, and other relevant information.

Step #4: Personalize and segment your email messages

I can't say this often enough: Use your customers' names in your email subject lines and in your messages.

Only 4% of marketers personalize their messages, according to Jupiter Research, and yet personalized messages have almost TWICE the click-through rate of non-personalized messages.

As an online business owner, you can personalize your communications with customers in many ways, including:

• Personalizing emails with names and other pieces of information you collect

• Sending customers personalized birthday offers

• Sending customers details of new products you know they'll be interested in. (In its Consumer Email Study, DoubleClick reported that 43% of the respondents would respond to "purchasing recommendations based on past purchase behavior.")

Step #5: Ask your customers how you can serve them better

People love doing short surveys, and it's been shown that customer satisfaction is higher among people who have been asked what they want, even if their answers haven't been acted upon. Just asking what your customers want and how you can make your service better makes them feel listened to.

Actually acting on their suggestions and improving your service is gravy!

Final thoughts

Good customer service doesn't cost much. You don't have to spend a fortune giving away free products or large discounts.

Even a small gesture like thanking customers for their business can help maintain a positive vibe around your business.

Because, no matter the cost of going the extra mile for your customers, it's worth it to avoid them spreading negativity about your service... or just never coming back to buy from you again.

Good customer service forms an impenetrable force field around your company, protecting you from the crippling damage poor customer service can cause.

And automating your everyday customer service tasks frees you up to respond to real concerns or complaints -- making your overall customer service even faster and better.

Remember, if you treat customer service as one of the best Internet marketing strategies available to you, and really work at it, your customers will pay you back by returning again and again... and by telling their friends about you.

Automate Internet Business

Learn the Two *Little Secrets* of BIG Growth and Profits for Your Business!

Have you ever switched off your computer at the end of a day's work, but found that the "to do" list you started with that morning is still as long as your arm?

Okay, you've answered tons of e-mails containing questions from customers, you've fulfilled some orders, and you've updated your newsletter subscriber list by deleting recent unsubscribes and bounce backs, and adding some new subscribers.

But what have you really achieved in that time? Have you generated more sales? Have you developed improvements to your products or services? Have you come up with some ideas for your next really profitable campaign?

The fact is, many small business owners get so caught up with running their business, that they have no time to grow it. Answering e-mails, fulfilling orders, and updating your subscriber list are all essential tasks -- but they will NOT increase your profits.

The only way to grow a business is to market it. And the secret to being able to grow your business and still run it at the same time is automation.

Automating key tasks -- so they happen without you lifting a finger -- doesn't just free you from doing some of the daily chores involved in running a business… it actually grows your business, too.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that automation is ESSENTIAL to your web site's growth.

Here's a few examples of what I mean...

• An automated ordering system allows you to sell your products or services day and night... meaning more sales, and more profits.

• Automated follow-up emails let you upsell related backend products to your customers... which can boost your revenue.

• Instantly confirming orders and fulfilling your customers' orders for electronic products like software and eBooks lead to happier customers who are more likely to buy from you again.

• Answering questions instantly creates satisfied customers who appreciate your fast, professional service.

And the earlier you automate your business, the better -- so you can concentrate on building your business. Once you're automated, you can handle thousands more customers without being bogged down by thousands more administrative tasks.

THE best way to automate all your daily chores is to use "autoresponders." Autoresponders are pre-written e-mails that are automatically sent on your behalf -- for example, in response to an e-mail sent to a particular e-mail address that you set up, or when an order goes through.

They take care of the tasks that would take you hours to do yourself and leave you free to concentrate on building your business. All you have to do is write the e-mail messages in advance and set them up to be sent out when you want.

Unfortunately, some autoresponder services charge for every one you send, which can get really expensive. The good news is that there is a cheaper, more efficient alternative, which I'll talk about later in this newsletter. First, though, I'd like to run through the two areas of your business that are essential to automate... and tell you how autoresponders can help you do it.

Secret #1: Automate your ordering and fulfillment process

Your sales and ordering process is crucial to the success of your business, and it's critical that you automate it from the beginning. When you start your business, you might find that you WANT to handle the orders yourself. After all, it's satisfying to see those first few sales come in and to deal with your first customers personally... it means all your hard work is paying off!

However, after that initial honeymoon period is over and you're handling hundreds and thousands of orders -- you won't find the hands-on approach so much fun. Just think how long it takes you to handle ONE order manually, and multiply that by 100 or 1,000!

Put simply, your business won't grow... unless you automate your whole ordering process. So this is where autoresponders come in -- they can manage all your most time-consuming tasks, including:

• Confirming orders. Many people are nervous about buying online, and they like to be reassured that their order has gone through without any problems. You can set up an autoresponder to send an e-mail confirming that you have their order, and reassuring them that everything is on track.
  
  Receiving an instant confirmation leaves your customer with the impression that you're running a highly professional business, and it stops them calling or e-mailing you to check up on their order.

• Notifying customers that their order has shipped. People also like to know that their purchase is on its way. So you can set up an autoresponder to tell them -- saving you trouble and preventing more phone calls and e-mails from customers asking if their item has been shipped.

• Fulfilling orders. If you sell downloadable software, access to a password-protected area of your site, or an information product like an eBook, you can also use autoresponders to fulfill your orders and automatically e-mail your customer a link to where they can download their purchase or e-mail them a password to let them into a members-only area of your site.
  
  This "instant gratification" factor is very important for good customer service.

• Sending follow-up e-mails. One of the most effective after-sales techniques is a simple "thank-you." Of course, it would take you far too long to send an e-mail to every customer a few days after their order thanking them for buying from you and inviting them to come back again some time. So you can set up autoresponders to do this for you!
  
  In the same autoresponder, you can tell your customers about other related products that they might want. For example, if you sold a customer a camera, you might ask if they'd be interested in an extra lens.
  
  This type of product -- sold on the back of a previous sale -- is known as a "backend" product, and automating this process can potentially generate thousands of dollars in extra revenue for you, with no extra work on your part.
  
  In fact, this technique can easily boost your sales by 30% -- overnight!

Now, you could do these things yourself. You could write order confirmations... send thank-you messages... fulfill orders... and so on. However, online customers are a very demanding bunch! They want to be able to browse for, order, and receive the items they buy online as quickly and easily as possible.

It's in your interest to make it easy for your customers to order and receive your products, as well as making the whole process hands-free so you can concentrate on growing your business.

Secret #2: Automate your customer service

As I've just mentioned, online customers EXPECT quick service. The fact is, if you leave it a day or two to respond to a question about your products or services, you could lose that customer to your competition. So good customer service is a vital component of a successful online business.

And once again, autoresponders are crucial. They allow you to...

• Answer your customers' questions automatically. You can set up an automated FAQ using autoresponders. Just create an e-mail address like faq@MyWebsite.com and invite visitors to e-mail you with any questions.
  
  They then receive an automatic response containing answers to all the most common questions you're likely to receive from your visitors about your products or services, ordering process, and so on.
  
  This way, you save yourself the hours you'd spend answering the same questions again and again. And your visitors will be impressed by your instant response to them -- increasing the chances of them buying from your site.

• Send more information on your products instantly. Another way to provide an extra service to visitors to your site is to send them free information. You could write a useful article -- for example, "10 Hot Tips for a Stress-Free Holiday" could go with a web site selling travel accessories -- and promote it on your web site.
  
  Just invite customers to send an e-mail to freearticle@MyWebsite.com for their copy -- an autoresponder e-mail then sends them the free information.
  
  The result is that you've established contact with a potential customer, sent them information about your product, and impressed them with your professionalism -- all done instantly and automatically.

The secret to great online customer service lies in providing a stress-free buying experience and giving potential customers all the information they need to make a quick buying decision.

So I have to emphasize again the importance of automation. If you can make your customers' buying experience as quick and easy as possible, and make your fulfillment and follow-up efficient and instantaneous, you can significantly boost your sales.

But how do you go about automating your business without having a lot of down-time or spending a lot of your hard-earned profits?

How you can automate YOUR business

Many Internet entrepreneurs get into the habit of doing everything themselves when it comes to running their business. It's partly because that's in our nature! We're very hands-on and like to be in control of everything!

But then more and more orders start coming in, you get more and more questions from customers, and before you know it, you’re spending nearly ALL of your time performing these "administrative" tasks.

And when you actually break down what you're spending your time on, you can find you're really just standing still instead of growing your business. Meanwhile, your competitors who HAVE automated their business are snagging YOUR customers, who've become frustrated by your slow response to an e-mailed question, the time it takes to get an order confirmation, or slow fulfillment of their order.

Automation is the perfect solution to providing great customer service and freeing up your time to develop your business. And autoresponders, in particular, are amazing tools for handling all the mundane e-mail chores that can take up so much of your time. They allow you to...

• Build your credibility by impressing your customers with the speed of your response to their requests for information.

• Increase your chances of making more sales by answering customers' questions immediately.

• Make sure more customers buy from you again by providing great customer service through the instant confirmation of orders.

• Provide your customers with instant gratification through the quick fulfillment of digital products.

• Increase your sales by automatically upselling backend products to your customers.

So how do you automate your business? Well, there are a number of companies out there that will set up and send out autoresponders for you. However, some of them charge you for EVERY autoresponder. And as there are tons of ways to use autoresponders, that cost really adds up.

A better solution is to use custom-built software like Mailloop. This is the software I use at The Internet Marketing Center, which I developed because of my own frustration with the limited and expensive solutions out there on the market. It's built with Internet business owners like you in mind -- both newbies and more experienced netrepreneurs -- and it allows you to set up UNLIMITED autoresponders.

That means that you can set up autoresponders to handle all aspects of your ordering and fulfillment process, answer questions from visitors to your site, and upsell backend products to your customers -- automatically.

The automated e-mails that you write will still sound personal and can contain any information you want -- but you only have to write them once! Then Mailloop takes over, allowing you to get on with the important job of building your business.

Check out the full range of benefits Mailloop can offer your business, such as unlimited autoresponders for handling all your ordering, fulfillment, and customer service e-mail tasks; an easy-to-use interface for creating and sending autoresponders; and complete control over the appearance, content, and management of your e-mails.

You can get full details at www.marketingtips.com/mailloop.

Remember, the HUGE benefit of automation is that it allows you to spend more time coming up with new ways to grow your business and increase your profits.

It's not impossible to make money and grow your business without automation, but it's very difficult if you spend hours every day answering e-mails, fulfilling orders, and taking care of all the other daily chores yourself. You'll basically become a secretary in your own business -- which I'm guessing is not what you set out to do!

So the question is not can you afford to automate your business… it's can you afford NOT to?

http://www.lbt-business.com

Web Site Article

How Writing A SINGLE Article Can Create a 100% -- OR MORE -- Increase in Your Web Site Traffic!

Today I'm going to tell you how to increase the kind of web site traffic your business really needs...

• AND build your crediblity...
• AND improve your ranking in the search engines...
• AND get your customers talking to others about you...

... all with a simple four-step process that won't cost you a single dime.

Sound too good to be true? It's not!

Let me give you a quick rundown of the plan before we dive in:

1. You're going to find a handful of keywords that the ideal visitor to your site would use to search for your product

2. You're going to plug those keywords into your web site

3. Then you're going to write a SHORT article that contains those same keywords

4. And finally, you'll distribute your content all over the web and get people passing your information on to other people who will be interested in what you have to offer

You'll be surprised how quickly and easily you can get this strategy going -- AND how fast you'll see an impact on your traffic numbers when you put yourself on the radar of people who are looking for what you provide.

Let's check out the first step in a little more detail...

Step One: Set up your web site for maximum "searchability"!

If you haven't taken the time to...

• figure out the keywords your potential customers might be using to search for your product
  
  and

• place them throughout the copy on your site

... your traffic is going to be sluggish right off the bat. How are the people who really want your information supposed to find you?

When I tell people that they've missed an important step in their traffic-building strategy, they always ask me: how are you supposed to figure out the right keywords for your web site? Here are the two tools I recommend to help them with the job:

• Yahoo Search Marketing's Keyword Selector Tool is a good place to start your investigation. You just type in a word or term you think people in your market might search for, and the Keyword Selector Tool will tell you how many people searched for that particular term in Yahoo Search Marketing over the last month.
  
  It will also show you a list of related words and phrases, and tell you how many times people typed those terms into the free search engines over the last month.

This is a great way to find out how many people may be searching for information to solve a particular problem, and give you a picture of the demand for your product on the Web. But best of all, it gives you tons of ideas for keywords that you might never have thought of.

Once you’ve generated a list of useful keyword ideas, you’re ready to dig in and do some serious research with Wordtracker.

• Wordtracker goes into more depth to show you not only what people are searching for online, but also how many other web sites are competing for the same audience. Basically, it keeps a record of how many times a particular keyword or phrase was searched during the past 90 days across the Web.

When you enter the keyword phrases your market is searching for, you search the Wordtracker database of over 330 million searches (or “queries”). You're looking for search terms that are popular, but don't have too many sites competing for them.

You can also pop all of this detailed information into useful reports that help you determine which keywords and phrases will bring you the most traffic.

To check out Wordtracker and get a step-by-step guide to the process, just head to:

www.marketingtips.com/wordtracker

and click "Tour" on the navigation bar.

Wordtracker is a paid service, but you can sign up for a day for under $8.00 and a week for under $27.00. It's a great investment.

Step Two: Plug your keywords into your site

Now that you have some great keywords for your market, find as many places as you can to plug them into your web site!

Use them in your title tags, in your source code, in the copy on your pages, and in your opt-in offers.

If you find your domain name isn't telling people what your web site is about or showing up in the right search results, consider purchasing a new one.

A keyword-rich domain name is a small investment that really pays off by making your site easy for your potential customers to find and remember.

(One quick note: remember to use only keywords relevant to your product -- search engines will penalize you if they find keywords sprinkled through your code that have nothing to do with the content of your site.)

Now to move on to the next step -- your foolproof way to snag people searching for your product on the Web and bring them back to your site!

Step Three: Create a keyword-rich article to distribute on the Web

When you're ready, get your keywords, sit down, and write a keyword-rich article that relates to what you sell.

Then give it away to other sites -- for FREE!

Believe it or not, this is one of the best ways you can drive a steady stream of eager customers to your site.

Why does it work? Well, people basically come online for one of two reasons: To check their email or to look for information. Sure, some of them end up making purchases, but this is not generally the reason they log on. They want...

• the answer to a question
• the solution to a problem

That's why it's your job to give them that information, as it relates to your product. You already do that with the copy on your web site, but why stop there?

Writing a short, informative article to distribute on the Web is a great way to gain recognition as a valuable resource in your industry.

Of course, you'll want to write about something that relates to your products or services, since the ultimate goal of the article is to drive visitors to your site who are interested in what you're selling. But the article should be informative, not "sales-y".

Make sure that each article you write contains rare, valuable, or hard-to-find information. Not only will this increase the chances that other site owners or managers will post your article, it will also increase the number of visitors who click through to your site after reading it.

For example, if you have a web site that sells used golf equipment, you could write an article about three things to look for in a good, pre-owned putter. Or if you sell an eBook about setting up your own home computer network, why not write an article about common problems people have in setting up a wireless router?

Look for article ideas in the questions that people ask you all the time, or in the things you often see people doing wrong. Share hot new tips on how to use the products you sell, or talk about trends that you've spotted in your industry.

I'm not talking about a major essay here, though.

Did I just hear a big sigh of relief? :-)

Nope -- you don't need to be a professional writer to turn out a solid, traffic-boosting article! Your quick piece should...

• be no longer than 400 words (not even a whole page!)

• contain a keyword related to your product in first 90 characters

• contain the keyword in the first and last paragraphs

• have a short, credibility-building "bio" with link to your site at the end. Here's an example: "ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joe Smith is a recognized authority on the subject of widgets. His web site, www.JoesWidgets.com, provides a wealth of informative articles and resources on everything you'll ever need to know about widgets."

Now for the fourth step in this traffic-driving strategy.

Step Four: Get your content headed EVERYWHERE on the Web

Once you've taken a few hours to write one or two quick articles, head to one of these top online content distribution sites. Upload your keyword-rich content to:

• www.contentdesk.com
• www.ezinearticles.com
• www.freesticky.com
• www.goarticles.com
• www.ideamarketers.com
• www.findsticky.com

It only takes a couple of minutes, but the rewards for your site will be huge.

These sites carry hundred or thousands of articles on a range of topics. If someone is looking for content for their web site, they can download or copy an article from the distribution site without paying a dime to use it! They can't change the text of the article, and they must publish it with the author's name and information intact.

Now people who are plugging your keywords into search engines will be directed to your content at these highly-ranked sites, and web site owners who are looking for fresh, search engine-attracting content will download your article -- along with your bio and link! -- and put it up on their pages.

And once visitors see that you know what you're talking about, they'll click on the link in your bio, and head straight to your web site!

The best thing about this strategy is that these visitors are QUALITY, TARGETED traffic -- they actually WANT what you're selling, because you are meeting a need or giving them help with the problem they came online to solve!

Some content distribution sites also offer "send to a friend" links next to articles posted on their sites -- so make sure you're uploading your articles to sites with this kind of capability!

Every time someone enjoys your article enough to pass it on, your audience grows. And since people don't forward BAD content on to their friends, they are basically recommending you as a credible source just by passing it on.

You can also create a "send to a friend" link on your own web pages with the help of a simple script added to your code. Here are some examples of what this kind of link might say:

• "Did you enjoy this article? To recommend it to a friend, click here..."
• "To pass this important info along to a friend or family member, click here..."
• "Share this with a friend -- just click here..."
• "Can't wait to tell a friend about this? Here's how..."

To find scripts to make links like these ones fully functional, check out the resources at:

• www.freewebtemplates.com
• www.javascript.com
• www.scriptsearch.com
• www.hotscripts.com

The visitors who come to your site through articles or forwarded material are highly targeted... and likely to take action when they actually arrive at your web site seeking your specific information.

Final thoughts

See how much you can do with one little article?

It's amazing how effective a small piece of content can be when you...

1. know your keywords, and...
2. know all the places to position that content so it's viewed again and again

Once you've done your keyword research, you might feel a bit intimidated by the idea of writing something yourself for the 'Net. Or maybe you don't feel like you have the time to do it justice.

Remember -- any free content you create shouldn't be too long, and it definitely shouldn't be too complicated, since the people reading it won't know your product or your subject as well as you do.

If you're still concerned, you can always hire a writer from a freelance web site like Elance to do a couple of short articles or an eBook (with a bit of basic information from you, of course.) Expect to pay anywhere from $25 to $35 an hour for their time.

But I recommend that you try to write something yourself first. You definitely don't need to be a professional writer to create something readable and interesting... (I sure don't have a degree in creative writing myself!)

Just try to think like your audience -- what do they want to know, and how much do they know already? Then tell them simply and clearly. We're not talking Shakespeare here.

Here's one more quick peek at my easy four-step plan to increase web traffic:

• Find the keywords people are using to search for your product

• Make sure all the content on your web site contains these keywords!

• Write short, keyword-rich articles with links directing people back to your site -- nothing too long or complicated; just enough content to establish you as someone "in the know" about your industry

• And finally, send your article to content distribution sites and -- with just a simple suggestion or a script-based link -- encourage people to pass your material on to their friends (and direct them back to your site!)

These simple steps are things that practically anyone can do to drive traffic. They'll help you get the kind of targeted, quality traffic that can make all the difference to the success of a business, especially when you're just starting out!

In other words, these are the types of visitors who are most likely to take action on your site, whether they make a purchase, or simply opt in with their personal information.

And I don't know about you, but I'll take more of those visitors any day of the week!