Six Tips for Getting Your Articles Read

The majority of people in the internet marketing world dread having to write articles, even though it has become an almost vital part of a successful online business. Many think it is too much work to write an article and then have it all go to waste when nobody reads it.

To other people just reading articles seems like work as well... especially if the article is boring and very bland. Articles are written to be read, that is their purpose! You write them so you can share your expertise with the rest of the world and they will, in turn, see you as someone to do business with. If your article is not read then it is a waste of your time and effort.

But all the same, articles have to be written so people will read them. It’s just a matter of making them worth it. Making a good article doesn’t have to be strenuous and straining. There are just a few guidelines to follow, and once you get the hang of it, writing articles will be much easier as well as very profitable for you and your online business.

Of course, you need to write articles about something you know about. Chances are that if you own a website, you are probably knowledgeable about that certain niche. When you write about it, you won’t have as hard of a time because you already know at least something about it. It’s just a matter of making your articles creative and interesting.

To make sure that your articles get read and are worth your time to write them, here are six tips for writing your articles:

1) Use short paragraphs. When the paragraphs are very long, the words get jumbled in the mind of the reader just looking at it. People are scanners by nature so when they see long paragraphs it can get quite confusing and be very hard to read. The reader will probably just quickly disregard the article and move on to another similar article that is much easier to read.

Remember in the internet marketing world paragraphs can be a single sentence, sometimes even a single word!

2) Make use of numbers or bullets. As each point is stressed, numbers and bullets can quickly make the point easy to see, remember, and digest. As each point, tip, strategy, or method is started with a bullet or number the readers will know that this is where some great information is starting and getting stressed. Format your bullets and numbers with indentations so that your article won’t look like a single block of square paragraphs. Add a little bit of flair and spice to your articles shape. Again this is great for people who are scanning your article as well.

3) Use sub-headings to sub-divide your paragraphs on the page. Doing this will break each point into sections while continuing to incorporated the information into one whole article. It will also be easy for the reader to move on from one point to another; the transition should be smooth and easy. You make it much harder to lose your readers attention when you use sub-headings.

4) Provide an attention-grabbing headline. If your title entices curiosity then you have already won half the battle of getting a person to read your article. Use statements and questions that utilize keywords that people who would want to read your article are looking for.

Provide titles or headlines that describe your articles content and grab attention. But do so as quickly and concisely as possible.

It's usually a good idea to use titles like, "Tips on...", or "How to...". You could also use titles that can command people, for example, "Make... in six easy steps". These types of titles reach out to a persons emotions and makes them interested.

5) Keep them interested from the start to the finish. From your opening paragraph, use real life situations that can be adopted by the reader. Use good descriptions and metaphors to drive in your point, just don’t over do it. Driving your examples with graphic metaphors and similes would make it easy for them to imagine what you are talking about. Making the experience pleasurable and enjoyable for them.

6) Utilize actual figures when possible. Using specific facts and figures can heighten your article because it makes it authoritative. But do not make it too formal, it should be light and flow well. Nobody likes a boring technical article. Like a friendly teacher having a little chat with an eager student, make your article informative and factual without all the useless boring fluff.


Written by Trent Brownrigg, owner and webmaster of
http://www.work-at-home-jobs-iowa.com

Did you enjoy this post? Show it some love...

Tips for Multiplying Your Websites Profits

Welcome back biz tips readers!

For today's online business tip, I have a great
feature editorial for you called:

"How Adding a Single Element to Your Web Site
Can MULTIPLY Your Profits -- and Get Your
Customers Selling Your Products FOR You"

It was written by Derek Gehl and his awesome team
at the Internet Marketing Center.

Here you go, enjoy! ...

Here at IMC, we've spent the last decade teaching
our customers and subscribers how to set up online
businesses that make real profits. The list of success
stories is long -- and keeps growing!

That's how I know that the techniques we recommend here
really work -- and not just for us (of course, we
thoroughly test each strategy and technique before letting
you know what works and what doesn't)... but for anyone.

... Which brings me to the subject of this newsletter: I
want to talk to you about why your customers' successes,
triumphs, and positive results are SO important for your
business.

The fact is, even if your web site is full of great sales
copy and photos that illustrate all the fabulous features
and benefits of your product or service, your potential
customers still need to know:

What do people who have actually purchased and used
your product or service think about it?

It's simple: your readers know that YOU believe in your
product, or you wouldn't be selling it! But what do people
with the same problem or need that they have say about your
product?

Answering that question is one of the most fundamental tasks
your web site needs to accomplish -- and it's as simple to
do as it is important.

By using testimonials -- reviews and comments from your
satisfied customers, in text, audio, or video format -- on
your web site, you not only answer the question, you also
transform your sales pitch into a credible, unbiased
recommendation for your product.

-------------------------------------------------------
OVERCOME BUYER SKEPTICISM WITH
A *GLOWING* TESTIMONIAL
-------------------------------------------------------

As I said before, adding testimonials is probably one of
the easiest ways to improve your web site -- but a good one
can generate more selling power than some of the best
salescopy out there!

So why are testimonials so effective?

*Testimonials build trust: Whether your customers
are raving about what your product has done for them
or about the great service you gave, they are telling
your visitors first and foremost that they had a positive
experience with your products and company.

*Testimonials aren't "salesy": Because testimonials aren't
written in your "voice," they stand out in your copy as
candid and unbiased accounts of how well your product
works.

*Testimonials overcome skepticism: A good testimonial has
the power to convince even your "tough sell" visitors
that your product or service really made a difference in
your customer's life -- and can help them, too.

For example, let's say that you're selling a special lotion
designed for dry skin. A visitor finds your web site -- a
person with dry skin who needs some relief -- and reads all
about the amazing moisturizing ingredients in your product and
how wonderful it smells.

Those are two good selling points -- things that people would
want to know before they decided to buy.

But lots of products can make those promises -- and many of
them don't work! So why should they purchase your product ahead
of all the rest?

Then, as they look over the page, a testimonial catches their
eye from one of your customers, explaining that your lotion
quickly healed a lifelong, agonizing skin condition --
something no other product had ever managed to do!

That's the power of an effective testimonial: it can convince
your reader that your product DOES work -- and that you can
be trusted to deliver on your promises.


---------------------------------------------
HOW TO CHOOSE THE *RIGHT* KIND OF TESTIMONIAL
TO TURN YOUR VISITORS INTO CUSTOMERS
---------------------------------------------

When you're choosing testimonials, there are a few key
ingredients to look for that make the difference between
an ineffective testimonial -- and one that sells.

Here's an example of a glowing, but ultimately ineffective
testimonial:

"I love this product! I can't get
enough! I'm so glad I bought your stuff
and I'll be back to get more, for sure!"

What could be wrong with that? It sounds like you have a
happy customer on your hands!

But what does this testimonial really tell your visitors?
Does it prove that the product works, or explain exactly how your
customer benefited from using it? While the feedback is definitely
positive, the testimonial does not provide enough detail to have
any real impact on your visitors.

Here's an example of the kind of effective, benefits-driven
testimonials that we include on our own web sites:

"I used the methods you told me to use
and for three days my phone's been ringing!
I sold over $3500 in goods and services in
three days! It's the first time in 5 months
that anyone had really purchased anything..."

Now that's a great testimonial! But what makes it so powerful?

Let's break down the elements of an effective testimonial in
more detail...

- A GOOD TESTIMONIAL IS FILLED WITH BENEFITS: A comment
like, "This product is great!" is nice for you to hear,
but it doesn't tell visitors what your product can
actually do for them.

You want the benefits of what you offer to be front and
center in every testimonial: "This product doubled our
profits in a month!" or "This product made the pain in my
back disappear completely -- and did it fast!" or "We've
never seen any product that could get the rust off our
car without damaging the paint -- until now."

- A GOOD TESTIMONIAL SUBSTANTIATES YOUR CLAIMS: If you say
your product can do something, your testimonials should
back up your promises -- complete with actual facts and
figures.

How much money did your customers save by using your
product? How much time did they save by using your service?
How did it solve their problems or improve their lives?

- A GOOD TESTIMONIAL IS FROM SOMEONE YOUR AUDIENCE CAN
RELATE TO: You want your visitors to see that your product
helped someone just like them, seeking the solution to
the same problem your visitors have.

Make sure your testimonials come from someone with whom
your target market can identify.

If you sell primarily to seniors, for example, ask your
customers if you can include their age along with the
testimonial. If you are selling to moms with children, ask
if you can mention how many kids they have -- or include a
photo of their family!

- A GOOD TESTIMONIAL IS CREDIBLE: Accompany each testimonial
with the first name, last name, and hometown of each
testimonial-giver to show that your endorsements come from
real people. Always try to include a photo as well.

And if you can, take it to the next level by including
audio or video testimonials for maximum effect! Do anything
you can to help your visitors connect with your testimonial-
givers on a personal level.

- A GOOD TESTIMONIAL ENDORSES THE KEY BENEFITS OF YOUR
PRODUCT: Your testimonials should emphasize the key
benefits of your product.

It's fun to hear that your super-duper floor cleaner
smells nice or that the bottle doesn't drip -- both
things that matter to people who would consider using
your product in their homes -- but have you established
that it cleans their floors well?

- A GOOD TESTIMONIAL IS COMPARATIVE: Did your customers
try another product that didn't work before they found
yours? You want your visitors to know what your product
can do that other products can't. Choose testimonials that
set your product apart from your competition!

Now that you know what you're looking for in a testimonial,
how do you actually gather the reviews you need from your
customers?

-------------------------------------------
THE SECRETS TO GETTING GREAT TESTIMONIALS
-- EVEN IF YOU HAVEN'T SOLD A THING YET!
-------------------------------------------

If your customers have given you positive feedback on your
product already, then you may already have some great
testimonials to add to your site.

However, if your customer response is a little scarce -- or if
you're just starting out -- getting testimonials from your
buyers might take a little more effort.

So how do you collect the testimonials you need -- and keep
them coming as you grow your business?

One easy way to collect testimonials is to include a link on
your site with a form that allows your customers to give you
their vote of confidence: "Tell us how this product changed
your life!" or "Click here to let us know what you think!"

Put this link next to some testimonials that you've already
gathered to give customers an example of the kind of feedback
you're looking for.

A more effective method is to create an autoresponder that
contacts your buyers after they've purchased your product
-- even a month later -- to ask how they're enjoying
the product, as well as giving them a chance to offer
feedback on their experience with your business.

And, of course, any time you receive a great letter or e-mail
from a customer, ask them if you can use their comments on your
web site to recommend your product to others. If they were
happy enough to let you know, they're bound to want to spread
the word.

If you haven't yet begun selling your product and have no
feedback yet, offer your product or service for free to a
select group of customers in exchange for their thoughts on the
product or some details on their experience with your site.

The impact that testimonial will have on your bottom line will
be well worth the initial expense!

As soon as your online business is up and running, make a point
of giving every one of your customers a chance to share their
experiences with your product or service.

Ask for feedback -- good and bad -- in your autoresponders, your
newsletters, and other spots on your web site.

-------------------------------------------------------
STRATEGIES FOR USING YOUR TESTIMONIALS AS EFFECTIVELY
AS POSSIBLE
-------------------------------------------------------

Once you've got some testimonials to share with your visitors,
you need to make sure that you're putting them to the best
possible use on your site.

Always make sure that you...

- Include your best testimonials front and center on your
homepage, like in your sidebars, or even above your
headline.

- Place some testimonials right in the middle of your
homepage salescopy to keep your readers focused on your
credibility as you outline the features and benefits of
your product.

- Set up a whole page dedicated to your glowing testimonials,
as well as including snippets of their comments throughout
your site. Be sure to put a link to your testimonial page
next to each of those snippets!

- Include testimonials on each and every page of your web
site. No matter where your visitors click, you want them to
find a positive customer review of your product or service.

Now let's look at a few mistakes to avoid when using
testimonials on your web site...

- Don't edit your testimonials to exclude a comment or add
information you want to hear!

If you can't post a comment "as is" and feel comfortable
with it, it shouldn't go up. If your testimonials are in
your voice and all sound the same, no one is going to trust
that they are legitimate.

- Never use a customer testimonial without permission.

- Never, ever invent testimonials! This is fraud, plain and
simple, and lying never results in a positive impact on
your business.

---------------
FINAL THOUGHTS
---------------

If you're not using testimonials on your web site, you are
missing out on one of the most powerful, easy-to-use, and cheap
marketing tools available to you.

Most of us would rather act on a referral from a friend than
make a purchase based on a sales pitch alone.

We want to know that the product actually works before we take
the leap to buy, and we're bound to put more trust in someone
who has already used the product successfully than the person
trying to convince us to buy it!

And just like that recommendation from a friend, testimonials
offer unbiased, results-based evidence that your product does
exactly what you say it will do.

Time and time again, we've seen our clients experience a HUGE
boost in sales when they've put positive comments from their
customers front and center on their web sites. Few things can
put a skeptical visitor's mind at ease faster than a rave review
from a satisfied user!

No matter what stage you're at in building your business,
you want to focus on establishing credibility with your
potential clients. Once you've won their trust, you've won
a loyal customer for life!

Using glowing, fact-filled testimonials on your web site is
one of the most high-impact -- yet simple -- ways to let your
readers know that you are worthy of their trust.

Again, this was written by the internet marketing geniuses
over at the Internet Marketing Center. I suggest you go there
to check out all the great information products they have created!

Did you enjoy this post? Show it some love...

Driving Laser Targeted Traffic to Your Website Using Google Adwords

The most well known method for generating wealth from an online home business is website traffic. Everybody knows it, every site wants it, and every site needs it. The major points of any website is to be visited, to keep vistors coming back, and typically to make money. Many elaborate designs, money and countless hours of developing a site to make them beautiful and attractive can be used. But without traffic, it is all for nothing.

With traffic comes potential customers, which basically means sales and in turn means profit for you. While many giant sites have crashed in the past with the downturn of many online businesses, many smaller sites have generated good money by concentrating on certain niches or sub-niches.

This is a reason why online business websites target certain groups of people and drive them to their sites... precision marketing is essential so that you can count on all the traffic to your site as potential customers.

Using Money to Make Money

It’s a common business notion that if you want to make money, you have to spend money. One good way of spending money for your online business is through marketing. Marketing brings in the visitors because through your marketing and advertising efforts, they know that your business exists. With the right type of advertising, you will see the rise of traffic growth to your site. With a high volume of traffic, even if only a small portion or percentage turns out to be buying customers, it is still a good average of profit generation.

At the time of writing this, there are few (if any) advertising methods that are as effective and worth every penny as using Google’s Adwords. The surge in popularity of Google’s Adwords is a testiment to the effectiveness of it. It seems just about everyone uses Adwords at some point in their marketing efforts.

So, why Google Adwords?

When using Google's Adwords, you pay a certain fee depending on the number of keywords your ad targeting and how much you want to spend per visitor. Each time a person does a search in Google, the keyword or keywords used generate ads on the side of Google search results, which are generated by the keywords they have assigned for their ads.

This method laser targets the traffic a site wants for their site. This also ensures that you are readily visible in the first page of a search result. Paying Google for this advertising method ensures that your target group of people see your ads. You drive your laser targeted traffic to your site which then should provide for their needs.

Aside from Google, you can also be featured in their other search networks, these include sites like; AskJeeves, AOL Search, and Netscape. These sites also show Adwords ads that react to searches done by visitors.

There are also content networks, non-search engine sites that feature Google Adwords, which will also carry your ads. But this is subjected to the niche the site features. Your chosen keywords will determine which content network shall feature your ad.

The frequency of your ad is also determined by your allowed budget. The more you can spend the more visitors you will get. Just be sure that your ROI is good enugh to cover it or your money will be wasted. I suggest setting your daily budget low at first until you can test the effectiveness of your ads and your ROI.

Laser Targeting your Traffic

To get a good number or estimate of the traffic to buying customer ratio it is good to laser target your traffic. Knowing that your traffic are all potential customers and are interested in your products and services provides you with a more accurate statistics. This will show you how effectively you are utilizing your Google Adwords campaigns.

Drive laser targeted traffic to your site by using keywords or keyphrases for your Goggle Adwords that pertain directly to your company and to your products. There are many online tools that can help you in choosing keywords and keyphrases that are currently in demand that could help drive laser targeted traffic to your site. One great and free one is the overture suggestion tool at http://www.inventory.overture.com

With your Google Adwords ads, you are almost guaranteed that every click to your ad is an interested customer that is precisely looking for what you have to offer. Make sure that your Google Adwords ads have the right keywords so that you can drive laser targeted traffic to your website.

Using Google Adwords to help increase the laser targeted traffic to your website should prove to be very beneficial. The benefits are very high, the cost is relatively low and is certainly justifiable.

Dedicated to your online home business success,
Trent Brownrigg

Did you enjoy this post? Show it some love...

Happy Valentine's Day

I just wanted to tell all you wonderful biz tips
readers to have a Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope it's fun and full of love!

Be safe!

And if you don't have a Valentine... just
remember, that could be a good thing ;-)

Talk to you all soon.

Trent

Did you enjoy this post? Show it some love...

What Kind of Content Do You Need?

Today's post is sort of a continuation from the previous post. You can find it below if you haven't already read it.

It is titled: "Why is Content So Important to Your Online Business?"
Or, here is the direct link to it if you don't feel like scrolling:
Importance of Content

Ok, now for today's free home business tips...

Going back to some of the SEO methods used in the past, some website owners were happy to fill pages with keywords that attracted search engines, but turned visitors off. Now even the search engines are learning to ‘read’ like a human. If the content has too many keywords and unlikely sentence structures, it may consider the site to be manipulated and not list it.

If you want a site that attracts search engines AND keeps people on your website, you need to have information that is relevant, informative and well written. However, when using methods that are designed to attract search engines, the content still needs to be keyword-rich. What does that mean?

Keyword-Rich Content

Keywords are very important to search engines. The words you think that people looking for your information or product might use in the search engines are called "keywords". The search engine acts like a Yellow Pages phone book. People look up a topic by word or phrase and find the related entries listed.

Your traffic will depend largely on if you choose the right words. If you use words that no one is searching for – or words that are highly competitive – your chances of being found through the search engines goes down dramatically.

One way to find the right keywords is to find out what words are most popular for searches. Using a word harvester like the Keyword Selector Tool (found at www.inventory.overture.com) you can find out approximately how many searches have been made for your selected keywords. You may find some similar words or phrases that have even higher amounts of searches than your first selection.

The key to finding the best words for your content is to use the most general term first and then find more specific words or phrases that relate to your website. For example; if you are looking for words for a children’s education site, you might first look up the words "children" or "education" to discover the most searched term related to your topic. Perhaps you’ll see "child education" or "teaching children" are more commonly searched terms than "children’s education".

When you’ve found words or phrases that are commonly searched for you can find details on the competition for these words in the PPC area by using the View Bids Tool, also in the Overture Resource Center. If the word has high bids or many bidders you can consider that the competition will also be high in the natural search engine results. Check it out for yourself. If the natural search is bringing up sites that lack appropriate content you may be able to top them with your own keyword-rich content.

Unique Content

The algorithms are constantly changing, but currently it has been stated that the search engines don’t like duplicate content. That is why many affiliate businesses that set up new websites for each member are often unable to make a top showing in the search engine results. Too many of the same thing.

Writing your own content or hiring a ghost writer to write it for you will work better. Using free to reprint articles may work, depending on the amount of times that work has been reprinted. In every case, do not duplicate the webpage of another site – both for ethical reasons and the fact that it will not bode well for your search engine status.

If you are using a template site you will need to change a significant amount of the information in order to create a site that the search engines will consider as unique. You can do this by changing your web page title, meta tags, introducing paragraph and by inserting links or editorial blocks within the article body.

Unique content is also important to visitors who may be viewing other related websites and are looking for fresh information on the topic. By providing unique content you will stand out from the crowd.

Informative Content

As mentioned before, getting traffic is not valuable to you if people leave your site right away. Providing informative content is not only more beneficial to your visitors it is important to "smarter" search engines which also pick up on the content.

If the content is made up of keywords and phrases strung together the search engine may discount it. There are grammatical rules that some search engines may use as a basis for weeding out optimized sites from the truly informative.

Obviously the search engines won’t really know if the content is of any value to your visitors – only you can know that – but if you have to sit and write proper information you’d do well to make it of value to the reader.

Relevant Content

Keeping to a theme will help your website both with the search engines and visitors. Keyword-rich articles will likely be relevant or you wouldn’t choose them. If you are posting information on various topics, you just won’t have the opportunity to optimize your site to its greatest potential.

Amount of Content

The more pages you can say something on the better. Keep information pages short (400-800 words) or the search engines may not "read" all the way through. Creating many web pages and optimizing the content and the web page will allow you to target more keywords then if you try to cram them all onto one page.

Be careful when using systems which create hundreds or thousands of web pages automatically. Creating content for each page is important and many of these programs create cookie-cutter sites that are simply keyword-rich without any real content. In fact, not only may it not help you with your position in the search engines – it may even hurt you. With many individuals using the same programs the search engines can read the "finger print" and may consider the web pages to be invalid for inclusion in the search engine.

Content is useful for creating traffic, pleasing the search engines, and offering valuable information to your visitors. So, offer valuable content on your site and your website will be well on it's way to top search engine rankings and making lots of money for you!

Did you enjoy this post? Show it some love...

Why is Content So Important to Your Online Business?

Are you new to online marketing? Or are you one of the millions of frustrated website owners watching helplessly as your site fluctuates up and down (even on and off) the search engines?

Is your traffic suffering as you try to stay on top of the most current methods of finding traffic, only to find that they are ineffective for bringing targeted traffic or stop working soon after the search engines catch on?

There is a reason that staying in the search engines is vitally important. The amount of people who are searching for information online is increasing rapidly.

Content is KING!

Before you start to think that this is another SEO technique that may or may not work depending on the current algorithms of the search engines, think about it…

EVERYTHING on the internet is CONTENT.

The internet is a veritable treasure trove of information. Good, bad, valuable or not, the internet is all about providing information to people. That is why smart internet marketers know that people want information from their websites – not just SEO enriched pages of advertising.

The loopholes that search engine optimizers have been trying to use for high ranking in the search engine has created a plethora of sites that boast high keyword ratios, thousands of irrelevant hyperlinks and sometimes even redirection. These redirected websites try to create an optimized web page that the search engines will rank high but actually redirect the viewer to a less search engine friendly site.

Well, the search engines caught on. The websites that were getting the highest placements weren’t always providing quality information or useful content. In fact, they not only lowered the ranking of these sites – they even removed them from the listings completely.

This sent a shock wave through the internet community and smart marketers realized that there is only one sure way to convince the search engines that they were meant to be at the top: Quality Content.

Not only do the search engines love content, but visitors do too. By providing visitors with useful information and relevant links to other sites, they come back again and again! And that’s not the only benefit.

Because website owners are now hungry for content, there is a huge market for informative articles that other website owners can use on their sites. By offering information to these sites in exchange for a hyperlink to your website, you get even more exposure, both to search engines AND customers.

Don't know where to find unique private label content that you can claim as your own work, change and rewrite it as you wish, and add to your websites to increase your rankings? My top recommendation is Info Go Round

Did you enjoy this post? Show it some love...