http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/writing/how-to-make-sure-that-your-book-idea-is-the-next-best-seller.html http://www.articletrader.com/writing/how-to-make-sure-that-your-book-idea-is-the-next-best-seller.html Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500 Perhaps, then, the old saying that “everyone has at least one book in them” is true. If so, how do you know whether your current idea really is book worthy or if it needs some fine-tuning to have maximum marketability?
Before you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), put your book idea to the test. Use the following questions as a way to hone your idea’s development and create a manuscript destined for the best-seller list.
• Can you state your book’s purpose in 10 words or less?
Many new authors face the challenge of wanting to give too much information at once. Instead of focusing on one specific idea, they try to wrap multiple concepts into one book. This approach not only makes it difficult to organize your book, but it also overwhelms your readers.
With any good book, you can state the book’s specific purpose in 10 words or less. Realize that your purpose is not the same as your theme or plot. The book’s purpose is what you specifically want the reader to do or think as a result of reading your book. Now, a statement such as “to live a better life” or “to run a better business” is not specific. A purpose is not a generalization. It’s a specific action that you motivate the reader to embark upon.
For example, if you’re writing a business book, your purpose should be to help your readers improve one specific business function, such as its marketing efforts, its customer service, its project management, etc. Your purpose should not be “to teach business executives how to create better marketing materials, deliver improved customer service, establish long-term customer relations, increase employee retention, and locate the best new talent.” That’s simply too much for one book to cover. Keep your purpose specific so you can deliver targeted and useful information.
• Does your book have a specific audience?
While you certainly want a large audience to market your book to, you also want an audience that’s targeted to your topic. Simply stating that your audience is “business people” or “women” or “the general public” is not a targeted audience. Why? Not all business people have the same concerns, not all women are interested in the same topics, and not everyone in the general public will be able to identify with your ideas.
When you narrow your audience to include those with a specific tie to your theme or who fit a certain demographic, you gain a marketing edge that can position your book more effectively. So instead of stating that your audience is “business people,” perhaps you can narrow it down to “company owners,” “middle management,” or “entrepreneurs.” Rather than target the broad category of “women,” you’d have better sales by focusing on “women over age 50,” “working moms,” or “single women under age 35.” All these categories consist of a large number of people, yet they are narrow enough so you can streamline your message.
• Are you saying something new?
If you want people to invest the time and money to read your book, you have to tell them something new. Too many authors attempt to reword or rehash old ideas that others have stated over and over. While you should use other people’s works to substantiate claims or add credibility to your message, make sure your central idea is fresh and unique.
How can you make sure your approach is new? Incorporate the results of a survey you personally conducted. Include case studies from your own business or life. Interview people who can contribute facts and information. Add elements of yourself to punctuate your message. This is your book, so tell your story or stance on an issue.
Many authors are afraid to state a new opinion on a topic that others have covered. They think they may turn people off or offend. Remember that people like controversy, so if your book can stir things up and make people think twice about something, you’ll have a greater chance of creating a buzz about your book.
• Are your writing skills up to par?
You could have the best idea in the world, but if your text is filled with errors, is poorly organized, or is difficult to understand, no one will want to read it. Before you write too much of your book, brush up on your writing skills by attending a writing class, studying a writing guide, or hiring a writing coach to help you correct your writing challenges. Also, educate yourself on what writing style appeals to your audience, and then strive to imitate that style. Gear your writing to your intended audience as much as possible.
If you’re unsure whether your writing skills make the grade, consult with a professional editor or ghostwriter who can rework your writing and bring it up to publishing standards. Don’t let poor writing skills ruin your best-selling idea.
Start Writing Now
Writing a book is no small undertaking. When you can answer “yes” to each of the above questions, you’ll be on your way to transforming your idea into a publishable piece of work. Take the time to nurture and develop your idea before you start writing so you can be sure to create the best book possible. A little pre-planning and foresight is all it takes to give your book the most market appeal.

Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips and hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to guides on publishing, self-publishing, e-book publishing, article writing and related information, do please browse for more information at our websites.
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Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/writing/why-is-it-necessary-to-keep-track-of-your-article-back-links.html http://www.articletrader.com/writing/why-is-it-necessary-to-keep-track-of-your-article-back-links.html Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The deal is depending on where your article gets republished your links may not be “live”. Writing articles and posting them is a great way to drive traffic to your site. Search engines love it and if done correctly it will help drive new visitors to your site and get you listed higher in the search engines. The problem comes when article writers and authors and publishers don’t all follow the same rules. The main problems are:

1. Original article not formatted correctly
2. Article copied and pasted into new webpage without links
3. New publisher doesn’t make links live

Let us start with #1 “Original article not formatted correctly”. Not all article sites are the same. On some sites you can simply put in plain text and it will format it correctly, paragraphs will be correct and it will recognize http://www.yoursite.com as a live link. Some sites you may need to format it all in html. Sometimes the easiest way to do that is type your article in a web design program such as “Dreamweaver” and then view the source and copy and paste the code. If you don’t have access to such a program then you should learn a few basic html tags:


View the source of this page to see the html tags.


This is a “break” tag, The break tag is used when you want to end a line, but don't want to start a new paragraph. The break tag forces a line break wherever you place it, a very common tag and one that is recognized by most all article sites.


Bold anything you want in bold should go between these tags


italic anything you want in italic should go between these tags


http://www.yoursite.com--some sites will recognize this as a live link. Many will not! This is where you are going to lose your links! If your article is copied and pasted into another web page or ezine your link will not be clickable. Someone who really wants to go to your webpage can copy and paste it into their browser but it is alot easier if someone can just click on it! If it is not a clickable live link search engines will not follow it not matter how many times it is republished. Imangine your article being reprinted 1000 times, a potential of 1000 back links to your site but without it being a clickable link you won’t reap the benefits of those 1000 links. Your links to your sites should always be formatted this way:

YourWebSite

If you follow the correct html formating for links your website links will always be clickable. To learn more about html tags search google for "html tags"

2. Article copied and pasted into new webpage without links. Your article may be correctly formatted on the article site you posted to but when it is copied and pasted into a new webpage or ezine it may lose some of its formatting. Some of the better sites have a choice of “ezine ready”, this will display your article in the correct html formatting which makes it easier to copy and paste.

3. New publisher doesn’t make links live. All article sites have a policy that clearly states “you are free to republish the article as long as the links and author bio stays with the article” Some don’t realize your links are no longer live or don’t know to make them live. Others leave them off all together or don’t make them live on purpose. Not much you can do except write to the website owner and request they make them live. Some will comply, some won’t. Chalk it up to the cost of doing business. For every site that doesn’t make your links live, 10 will.

Keep publishing! Writing articles and posting them across the internet is still a great way to drive traffic to your site. Content is king and website owners, and ezine publishers are hungry for fresh new original content.

Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips and hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to guides on publishing, self-publishing, e-book publishing, article writing and related information, do please browse for more information at our websites.
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Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/writing/why-self-publishing-in-e-book-format-is-better-today.html http://www.articletrader.com/writing/why-self-publishing-in-e-book-format-is-better-today.html Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500 It’s not only big name authors that are finding success in ebooks. Many of these people are first time authors and are often amazed with the success of their ebook sales. Below are some of their ebook writing tips.
Don’t underestimate the power of the Ebook
Ebooks are still looked upon as unpopular by many authors who have not yet taken the time to learn about the success within this industry. For example, while the traditional publishing industry growing at the sluggish rate of 5% a year the digital publishing industry is growing at rates between 30% -50%. This means that the opportunities within the publishing industry are growing at a fraction of the rate that opportunities within the digital publishing industry are growing.
To set up an ebook you don’t need to be a tech wizard
Setting up your ebook from the idea conceptualization stage to the selling stage can’t be completed overnight but it is definitely something that can be done by anyone regardless of your technological background. If you can use a word processor then you can create and sell an ebook online. While it is recommended you set up your own website, it is not necessary. There are outlets such as amazon.com, EBay and Lulu.com to name only a few sites that allow you to post your ebook on their servers.
Setting up an Ebook site is virtually costless and you keep 100% of the profits
With traditional publishers you’ll be lucky to see 10% of the profits from your book. With ebooks however, you keep 100% of the profits minus the fees required to set up the site which are minimal. Here is the fee breakdown for ebooks vs traditional books:
Ebook vs Book cost
Ebook = Free to create an unlimited number of copies
Book = approximately $1500 for 200 copies of a 200 page soft cover book
Rights and profit
Ebook = You keep 100% of the profits and rights to your ebooks
Book = You get 10-40% royalty (usually about $2-$5/ book)
With the above examples it is easy to see that for first time authors ebooks make a lot of sense. The risk associated with publishing an ebook is much lower than it is with distributing a soft or hard cover book. Likewise, as an ebook author you’ll keep virtually all of your own profits.
If nothing else, it is something worth consideration. Ebooks may not replace traditional paperback books, but they certainly are gaining popularity at a rate that should make all authors stop to think about how they could use ebooks to their advantage.
Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips and hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to guides on publishing, self-publishing, e-book publishing, article writing and related information, do please browse for more information at our websites.
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Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/writing/how-to-write-and-optimize-an-effective-press-release.html http://www.articletrader.com/writing/how-to-write-and-optimize-an-effective-press-release.html Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Proper keywords: Selecting key word is the most important part of press release optimization. Be very careful while deciding on a keyword phrase that is pertinent to the product or service you are offering. The best recommended tool to search keywords is wordtracker.com.

Keyword or phrase position: Place key phrase into the headline and the title of your press release. Try to repeat it nearly 2-3 times in the content of the release.

Starting should be solid: Remember to make your title and initial lines cover that you want to express. The remaining part of your press release should depict the detailed information.

Use product name repetitively: Repeat placements of the name of your service or product to make it eminent. For example, write “Search Engine Optimization” instead of writing “SEO”, this would make your product name much popular.

Draft it for Journalists/Media agencies: The media agencies and journalists would grab your press release and publish it in their publications; they may slightly edit your press release.

Consider viewer’s interest: You should consider to whom you are targeting your press release, and what is their interest. Think, if you were a part of audience, would you like to read the press release you have written.

Make your press release appear practical: Point out real facts of your company/organization, as readers are already so scholar enough to find out ‘what’s true and what not’?

Make your story that includes real facts: Avoid untrue examples and add-ons. If you find the content using much added extras, make it natural and real. Your press release should be in active voice, not passive. Verbs in the active voice makes your press release live.

Use only sufficient and essential words: Avoid using superfluous adjectives, extravagant language, or unnecessary expressions like “The most powerful”. Tell your story with lesser words, as verbosity distracts from your content.

Avoid usage of terminology: However, a limited use of terminology would be allowed if required, if you aim to optimize news release for internet search engines. The finest technique to communicate your press release is to speak neatly, using regular language.

Keep away from too many exclamations: Too much usage of exclamation point (!) may harm your press release. But, if you have to use an exclamation point, use only one.

Get company permission: Companies are very self-protective about their recognition and credibility. So, get written permission before putting in any information or quotes about the company.

Company Information: The press release should include a short description of company, which depicts your company, products, service and a brief history of company.

Pick precise PR distribution network: Deciding on press release distribution network is also an important. There are hundreds of free press release distribution networks exist so it is critical to select on whether to go for paid services or free.

Propose RSS feeds: Assist journalist by offering RSS feeds so that they haul to your website. Through this interested parties will get known that you have relevant release on the topic for, which they are searching for.

Publish releases often: Try to publish press releases frequently to be recognized as news source for news agencies such as Yahoo news and Google news.
Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips and hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to guides on publishing, self-publishing, e-book publishing, article writing and related information, do please browse for more information at our websites.
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Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/writing/why-should-you-choose-the-correct-website.html http://www.articletrader.com/writing/why-should-you-choose-the-correct-website.html Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Rule 1. The earlier you place your order, the better essay paper you will get. Some companies promise you to complete a dissertation in three days, but will you trust such a company? Sometimes working on a tiny cause and effect essay will take a lot of time if the topic is too complicated and unclear.

Rule 2. Don’t put off. If you know the deadline of your paper, in the order form write a date 1 – 2 days earlier. There are always some unexpected and unpredictable events that are sure to happen just before the closing date. Interrupted internet connection, the phone is off, the writer suddenly falls ill and so on. All of these situations are real and in most cases it is not so difficult to solve them, if you still have a few days in store. We don’t know if certain writer will finish his work before the indicated deadline. And I am 100% sure that he won’t as he has a lot of orders to be completed, a number of force majeures and the only thing he usually lacks is time. That is why you must take care of this yourself. So, we have discussed when you must order. Now we have to determine whom can we trust our assignment with?

Rule 3. Your friend’s recommendation is the best solution. In this case you have a real example of the offered services. You can judge about the quality, timeliness of the order, terms of the revision and other details. If your friends keep silent, you should rely only on yourself. Choosing a site pay attention to the grammatical correctness of the texts and the terms of partnership. You may also judge about the writing company from the samples of completed works. The information presented on the site must give you more or less clear and complete picture of the company.

Rule 5. Be precise. The more details about your work you will include in the order form, the better final product you will get. If the tutor gives you an opportunity to choose a topic by yourself - leave the choice for the writer. If you have additional requirements indicate them with as much detail as possible.

Rule 6. Trust, but control. Even if you are very busy, spare a minute and give a call or write an e- mail, wondering how the order is progressing. After a few days you may ask the writer if he has any difficulties with the order, if he will manage to complete the order by the deadline.

Rule 7. What you have for your money. You have the right to demand the fulfillment of the following rules:

• Free of plagiarism work

• Complete coverage of the problem topic

• The appropriate structure and format of the work

• No grammar or spelling mistakes

• Free revision if the indicated requirements are not met

• Appropriate and thorough research ( if necessary)


Perhaps these are the main things you should keep in mind while surfing the internet in search of the nice site able to develop your confusing persuasive essay topic into an elegant piece of writing.

Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips and hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to guides on publishing, self-publishing, e-book publishing, article writing and related information, do please browse for more information at our websites.
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Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/blogging/how-to-blog-your-way-to-success.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/blogging/how-to-blog-your-way-to-success.html Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500 People online look for fresh, relevant information on a certain topic and this is where Blogs come into arena and win that battle for a visitors' attention hands-down.
They give you exactly what you need - targeted, updated information on any given topic, with an access to archive, search functions and even some sort of interactive experience as you can usually read comments of other visitors and participate in a small discussion like on a message board.
Why Blog can be just the perfect solution you have been looking for and how it can solve massive publishing problems at once. Here is why Blog can be your website and money-making system in one:
1. Blog is a simple CMS (Content Management System). It helps you solve hundreds of little hassles webmasters were forced to waste months before in order to solve each of them such as means of easy creating new pages with automatic cross-linking and archiving functions, installing visitor feedback script, managing and updating navigational menu, republishing RSS feeds and creating own feed and so on.
2. Built-in promotion. RSS feed is also a great viral marketing tool by itself. You don't have to stuff your head with "how-to-make-my-content-viral" problems any "traditional" website webmaster faces.
As a Blog publisher you use the same RSS feed as a way of syndicating your Blog content for any other websites. What they need is adding your RSS feed to their Feed rendering software. The technology is highly popular, so you will not have any problems with that.
Just add your RSS feed to a number of Blog Directories, ping (notify) Blog servers each time you make a new post (a common built-in feature for almost all Blogs) and in 90% case it will be enough to start your marketing ball rolling plus reassure fast search engine indexing.
3. Built in RSS (Atom) feeds are considered by many to be the ideal solution for all SPAM and filters problems of "traditional" email marketers.
RSS feeds are updated automatically as soon as you make a new post to your Blog. No more troubles with managing "email lists", subscribers, unsubscribers, email filters, HTML forms, SPAM complaints, follow-ups and so on and so forth. Forget about it. RSS will help you do everything, including follow-ups and even email courses publishing.
The difference, and many consider it to be the true benefit, is that RSS uses so-called "pull" method of delivering a message. Unlike "traditional" email, you don't have to send (push) anything to anybody. When you publish a new post, your RSS feed updates automatically, pings syndicating websites with a new Blog post and notifies (or not) your RSS subscribers about your new post, so they can load (pull) it and read.
That is how RSS solves SPAM emails and SPAM filters problems with one stone. Your subscribers just don't receive anything to be complained or worried about. They just personally subscribe to your RSS feed (no one can subscribe for them) with their special RSS reader program (RSS aggregator, available free everywhere on the net). Then they periodically and mostly automatically load your new Blog posts. If they don't like it, they just remove your RSS feed from their RSS feed aggregator software and that's all. Unlike email you cannot "push" your post to their RSS soft without their wish. Depending on set options, they need to manually, semi-automatically or automatically load your Blog post themselves.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not against email. Quite the contrary, at some point, when you feel that you have a lot of spare time because of advantages that RSS brings, I strongly advise you to add email marketing to your arsenal. It does help you out in some special occasions. It is just you won't rely on email as the only money-making resource and will use it professionally as a great add-on instrument, limiting its possible negative effects.
From what you can see, blogs are perfect and simple software machines to run and maintain your informational business. They proved their efficiency in small niche markets as well as multilevel blog systems generating stable income for their glad owners. You can be one of them.
Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips and hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to guides on publishing, self-publishing, e-book publishing, article writing and related information, do please browse for more information at our websites.
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Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/business/niche-and-grow-rich.html http://www.articletrader.com/business/niche-and-grow-rich.html Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Is it a new concept?

Well on the Internet maybe, but if like me, you've been involved in direct response marketing in the 'Bricks and Mortar' world then it isn't - that's the way we've done things since time immemorial.

So what's this Niche Marketing thing all about?

If you have ever taken Marketing 101 then you'll have heard of the old marketing adage : "Find a need and fill it" -that's what "Niche Marketing" is all about. Finding a "focused" group of people, with a specialized interest, eager to buy (The Niche) and promoting a suitable product or service to all those interested in buying it (Marketing).

Let me give you a few examples of these Niches :

Recipes Golf Fishing Health and Fitness Travel Collectibles Dating Dog Training Satellite TV Beauty Tips Astrology Cats Bartending Alternative Health Hand-poured Candles Gourmet Foods Gambling Mortgages Credit Cards Music Jewellery

...... the list just goes on and on and these are just the main headings, there are niches within each of these niches ... Think of a subject and there's likely a niche market for it...

But the name of the game is to find a "tightly focused" niche. The reason for this that if you target a general market the competition is fierce and it's hard, if not impossible, for the little guy to get a foothold.

When you narrow down the size of the market you eradicate most of the heavy hitters with bottomless advertising budgets, because these guys aren't interested in making a few thousand bucks a year from these tiny specialized markets, they're after millions from mass markets...

... And let's face it if you're a little guy you simply can't be everything to everybody, so you must pick a specific focus (Niche) for your business. For example don't target "Fishing", instead target "Fishing Baits" or "Fishing Lures" both of which have a much more specific focus...

...Get the idea?

Once you narrow down the size of the market you have an automatic advantage over larger companies. Here's why :

* You can quickly become an expert in your niche (if you're not already)

* It's easier to keep current with a narrowly focused market niche

* You can respond faster to changes in the market

* You can build close relationships with key customers that will be hard to compete with

This is something I learned from experience - if you're interested you can read my story here : http://www.nichemarketknowhow.com/articles/andre-anthony-value-of-niche-marketing.htm.

By now you're probably wondering about the mechanics of this niche marketing stuff. In a nutshell here's how it works :

* Find and research profitable niche markets

* Locate or develop suitable products/services to market

* Set up a web site to market the products/services

* Establish a marketing system that works for you

* Repeat the process over and over again with a different niche each time.

Imagine having a niche site producing one sale a day at say $20. That's $7300 a year - how many sites could you set up and run 10, 20 ....?

But before you get too excited, I have a word of caution for you:

Niche marketing is not a magic bullet. It isn't a matter of putting up a web site and then sitting back and waiting for the money to roll in - "build it and they will come" may have worked for Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams, but it doesn't work that way on the Internet - if you do that you'll be waiting a long time.

If you want a successful niche business, you have to work at it just like any other business - if you're prepared to put in the effort though the rewards can be significant.


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Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/business/secure-fall-speaking-opportunities-now.html http://www.articletrader.com/business/secure-fall-speaking-opportunities-now.html Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Public speaking is a great way to generate new business. However, it's not a time for a sales pitch. If you're able to share your inside secrets about your expertise in an organized fashion, with a confident and vibrant tone, you'll indirectly sell yourself and your products.

WHO TO PITCH
Summer is a great time to pitch your speaking services to professional organizations that begin their new membership calendar year or "season" in September. Keep in mind most professional organizations hold fewer meetings in the summer, since members are off gallivanting in the sunshine. However, organizations also survey their members during the summer about educational topics they'd like to hear about come the fall.

I've been a professional marketing speaker for sometime and have acquired a lot of marketing clients after presenting. Recently my speaking success compounded when I launched a second business two years ago called, http://www.VisitingGeeks.com In addition to describing marketing client campaign successes, I started sharing my Visiting Geeks success stories during my presentations. After every presentation I consistently receive new marketing consulting and Visiting Geeks business.

Amazingly I'm able to drive interest to both of my businesses, simply by talking in front of people about what I know! Public speaking works particularly well for any relationship-based business, or consultant-type businesses, such as:

- Financial
- Legal
- Health
- Technology

All four of the above specializations involve the customer sharing very personal information with the consultant, increasing the need for people to trust the expert they're seeking to hire. Public speaking is a great way to build trust -- prospects feel like they know you because they've "seen" you.

HOW TO PITCH
I like to pitch using email. I first scope out organizations whose members match my target audience demographics, and then I'll send a brief email introduction (3 or 4 sentences) about myself and my area of speaking expertise. You can usually find the appropriate contact of the person responsible for organizing speaker’s right at the association's Web site, or you can use the generic "contact" email and ask who the appropriate person is to contact. Either way, expect a delayed response, since the member responsible for checking the association's email is probably a volunteer, and therefore, only checks email once, maybe twice a week. On average, I've found most organizations respond within two days, three at the most.

Once you've found the right contact, ask her if she'd like to receive your bio. Don't just send your bio without permission, instead, be invited to do so. Why? By withholding your bio, it gives you another excuse to "touch" your contact. At minimum, you'll usually have four to five opportunities to contact the speaker coordinator, including:

- Initial introduction Email
- Would you like to review my bio? Email
- Follow up Email One
- Follow up Email Two
- Follow up Email Three

Remember every step of the way they're evaluating your professionalism. Stretch out your touch points, so to deepen the relationship. In other words, don't show your cards all at once. Hold on to them for a bit to build a relationship.

PREPARE SPEAKER RESOURCES BEFOREHAND
It's imperative you have a professional speaker bio before you pitch your speaking services. Feel free to check out my format at http://www.SharronSenter.com/s.htm A standard bio is usually one, 8.5 X 11 page.

Your bio should include the following:

- Professional Headshot
- Credentials - education, certifications, awards
- Experience - past speaking gigs
- Testimonials
- Sample Presentation/Workshop
- Contact Information - phone, Web site and email

Sharron Senter is a New England-based marketing consultant, speaker, writer and founder of Senter & Associates, a marketing communications firm that helps small businesses deploy low-cost online and offline marketing tactics.


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Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/business/reach-thousands-of-your-prospects-absolutely-free.html http://www.articletrader.com/business/reach-thousands-of-your-prospects-absolutely-free.html Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500 Recently I was able to get free marketing exposure for my business to 100,000 people. It was something that took an hour or two of my time and the payoff were huge. And you can do it for your business, too.

It's called Public Relations

And it's simpler than you might think. If you follow a few basic rules, you can get great exposure for your business, product or service without having to pay for it. Here's all I did. See if this might apply to your business.

I sent out a press release announcing the launch of my 10stepmarketing System to two local business publications. While it did not take a lot of time to write and send the release, there were a few key steps I took that you also must take to be successful with your PR efforts.

A few key steps

First, I found several publications that were targeted to the same type of people I am targeting with 10stepmarketing: small business owners. Once I had identified these publications, I did some research to find out the names of the staff writers who cover marketing.

I identified a "hook" to make the story relevant to the publications and I made sure the content of my release provided clear benefits to their readers.

I emailed the release with a note saying I would follow up in a day or two to answer any questions. I followed up with a phone call, speaking directly to one writer and leaving a voice message for the other.

A few days later, I received a phone call from the writer I had left the message for, and spent 20 minutes on the phone answering her questions and helping her understand more clearly how my system could help her readers. I even arranged for her to receive a copy of my product for review.

About a week later, both stories hit. One publication ran my press release verbatim and the other covered all the content in my release and added quotes and information from her phone interview with me.

PR isn't hard when you follow these 6 basic rules:

(1) Identify news outlets that reach YOUR target audience

(2) Send news that is important to, and includes a clear BENEFIT for the publication's audience

(3) Send your release to the APPROPRIATE writer or editor

(4) Include a "HOOK" or something that makes it more interesting or relevant to the publication and their audience (in my case, since the writers covered the local advertising community, I led with the fact that I am a local ad agency veteran)

(5) Follow up with a phone call

(6) Make yourself available to do an interview, answer questions or provide additional information

While I didn't expect a whole lot to happen as a result of this release being published (my objective was simply to announce the launch of my business and to pave the way for future news. I know it usually takes multiple message exposures to generate significant results), the short-term results were amazing.

Not only did it generate sales, I also received an invitation to speak as a result of the stories.

What news could you share about your business? What news outlets reach your prospects? Consider newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations, websites, and any other form of media you can think of.

What "hook" could you use? I challenge you to consider how you could use PR to market your business. It really is easier than you think and the results can be amazing!



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For More Free Resources visit www.freeearningtips.com

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/business/postcards-a-quick-way-to-more-sales.html http://www.articletrader.com/business/postcards-a-quick-way-to-more-sales.html Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500 …5 reasons to look at this marketing strategy.

Need To Give Your Business a Quick Lift?

Need a quick way to get more sales? Want a simple way of keeping in contact with your customers? Need a new lead generation tool? Take another look at postcard marketing.

A few years back, people predicted the internet and e-mailing would rule the marketing world. They forgot to factor spam and e-mail filters into the mix.
After a dip in direct mailing volume, postcard marketing is once again increasing in numbers.

This article invites you to see how postcard marketing can improve your bottom line. I will give you five reasons why this proven low-tech tool can make a difference in your business results. Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of post card marketing!

1. Postcards work.

Why does postcard marketing work? It is direct response advertising. You can create a postcard by making an offer. You send it out. You will know immediately whether it is working if people come in and present the postcard to you.

A postcard has all the ingredients of good marketing. It’s concise and easy to read. It allows you to create incentives. It invites people to take action now.

In addition to these qualities, it is delivered every day. It’s reliable. The post office is a branch of the US government. It’s not going away anytime soon.

2. Postcards are fast

It can take years to establish your business brand or image. A newspaper ad may take as many as 6-10 views before it sticks in the reader’s mind. Postcard marketing is the simplest form of direct mailing.

When you create a post card promotion, put a deadline on your offer. Send it out and see the response. If it doesn’t work, try a different offering. You get an almost immediate response, especially if you ask the customer to use the postcard when they call or visit your business.

3. Postcards are low cost

Obviously, the cost of a 1st class postcard stamp -- 23 cents -- is cheaper than a first class stamped envelope. But it is low cost for other reasons.

You have no envelopes to stuff.

You can do postcards yourself. You can buy postcard stock at your local office supply store. Most computers have software programs for creating the postcard format. You can do this yourself without a great deal of time and effort. Follow the basics ingredients of a good ad and you’re set to go. You have no expense with a printing company.

4. Postcards are versatile and flexible

Your yellow page ad can be a great ad. But you have one time a year to make changes. If you make a mistake, you pay for it the whole year. Postcards are much more flexible. If one doesn’t work, you can do another.

You can use postcards for many purposes. To get a boost in sales, you can use postcards to make special offers to your customers. You can use postcards to keep in contact with your current customers so competitors don’t steal them away. You can use postcards as a lead generator for new prospects. You can use postcards in conjunction with other forms of marketing in a follow up process.

5. Postcards get attention

The biggest challenge you have with marketing today is getting people’s attention. With over 3000 advertising impressions hitting each of us every day, you need something that gets people’s attention.

Unlike a letter, there is no envelope to open. No time consuming effort. You pick up a postcard and turn it over. You can read it in a matter of seconds.

That’s exactly what other people do. Unlike many letters that immediately end up in the circular file, postcards get read. People are curious and they know it will only take a few seconds to read the postcard. Study your own behavior next time you get a postcard in the mail. Ask yourself, would you like customers and prospects to give the same attention to your postcards?

Conclusion

I hope this article has given you enough reasons to look again at postcard marketing as a powerful tool in your efforts to make more profits. Don’t let the simplicity of postcard marketing fool you. Many companies have used postcards as their only means of marketing to build very successful businesses. Take another look at how postcards can be used effectively in your business.


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For More Free Resources visit http://www.freeearningtips.com

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>