Archive for the ‘Niche Articles’ Category

How to Get Started for Free?

Thursday, April 3rd, 2008

How to Get Started for Free?
By Audra Gehrke (DCW Member)

Is it really possible to start your own online business for free?

Absolutely!

When first starting out, you really should use all of the free resources that are available to you. Even if you do have money to spend, use the free stuff first.

Why?

Do you like to waste your hard earned money? I didn’t think so.

Your walking into a whole new world and you need to learn about it before you start spending your money. Remember the term, try it then buy it? Use
this term before you spend one penny. In the long run this will save you Hundreds, if not Thousands of dollars.

So how can you get started for free?

1. First, you have to think of what it is you want to do on here. What are your hobbies? What do you enjoy doing? Don’t be so quick as to come up with an answer. Give yourself a few days to really think about what you really want to do for the rest of your life. Then when you find your answer, you can begin your adventure.

2. Now that you know what you want to do, now you have to find other websites and ezines related to your topic. Go surfing around and look at other websites that are related to your content. As you get new ideas, write
them down the moment you think of them. Really focus on the content and not the design of the websites. Next you need to go to some ezine directories and subscribe to a few ezines related to your topic. Read these ezines as you receive them, take in the info they provide, go take a look at some of the links they provided for you, and keep writing down your ideas.

To search for a specific topic your looking for, go to any search engine and put in a keyword. Then a list of websites will popup and you can go surfing. Here’s a few ezine directories I use to find ezines I’m looking
for.

http://www.ezinelocater.com/
http://ezinesplus.com/
http://www.zineadz.com/
http://www.makingprofit.com/
http://www.homeincome.com/
http://www.diysearch.com/

3. Now you have your topic and some related content. Next you need to make a web-page. Even if it’s just one page, make it. Don’t worry about what it looks like at first. This is your first time trying this so just add your content, upload it, then edit as necessary.

Tip: Don’t use to many graphics, it slows down the loading process dramatically. Use text links instead of graphics where possible. And watch your colors. If you can, use the white background with black text. Don’t use a light color for text and a dark color for your background. It really puts a strain on our eyes so try and stick with traditional colors.

If you need a free host for your page, I recommend using Tripod. Includes extras other free hosts don’t offer. http://www.tripod.com  No html required.

4. Now that you have your web-page up, you need to start advertising it to get some visitors. I don’t care what anyone says, ezines are the best places for advertising. Not only can you target your market but you can get your ad seen by thousands for a very small cost. There are ezines that accept free ads so if your low on money, this will be your best bet. Participate in the contests provided for even more free advertising. Free ads do work but the paid ads work better. Once you learn the things you need to learn, then you can start buying some ads. Don’t fret, ezines offer some incredible deals
to advertisers at incredible prices.

I really do Not recommend posting to hundreds of free classified and FFA sites. Yes, they used to work but just like in the real world, things do change. Don’t waste your time on things that don’t work. Use the tools that are Proven to work and then you’ll see results. Your time is precious and you should treat it as such.

The only classified site I still use after 4 years is Adlandpro. You can submit your free ad and they also offer paid ads as low as $5. I also Highly suggest
signing up for their affiliate program. This gives you your own classifieds and now you can offer that to your visitors. You can signup for free here:
http://ecommerce-resources.org/adlandpro.html

5. I’ve seen some sites that say if you don’t have anything to sell, then signup at Clickbank and resell their products. This goes against what I believe which is try it before you resell it. If your really serious about having your own business, save yourself a lot of headaches and just buy a product or 2. Go look for something you can use yourself and buy it. There’s plenty of products out there that cost $20 or below. Give up just one night out and there’s your money for the products. That’s such a small sacrifice to pay but you would be surprised how many people Won’t do that. We all have to sacrifice something to get what we want but if we want it bad enough, then a sacrifice is a small price to pay. Especially if it’s one of your dreams. Don’t
let Nothing hold you back.

6. If you really don’t have a few bucks to spend then what I recommend is you learning about one specific topic. It can be anything you want, just learn it and understand it. Once you’ve learned about that one topic, then start writing about it. Open up Notepad and type away. Don’t worry about errors, just write what your feeling. Let it flow out of you as it comes. Once your finished, read it from top to bottom. Did you understand it? Did it make sense to you? Do you know of anyone that can benefit from it? Of course you do! Now you have your Special Report to either sell, or giveaway and you now also have your Own product.

7. Now that your website is up and you’ve begun your advertising, it’s time to think about how your going to start building your own opt-in list. Why do you need such a list? Well who exactly did you plan on selling your products and services to? What better way to keep your visitors updated on new products or services added? If you want this business to work for the long term for you, your going to need your own list. There’s just no other way around this if you really want to be successful.

This is where your own ezine or newsletter comes in. There’s not to much of a difference between the two other than, a newsletter is more of a way to keep visitors updated on the latest happening for that website. A ezine provides more resources and content. What do you base your ezine
around? The same thing your website is based around. It can be whatever your heart desires. Your job is to provide resourceful content to your visitors and readers. That’s why I said go subscribe to a few ezines earlier. You can
get your ideas from reading others. Don’t copycat, come up with your own. Experiment and try different things. Believe me, the more knowledgeable you become, the more changes you will make.

You can start your ezine for free using these services:

http://www.topica.com
http://www.yahoogroups.com

8. More stuff to do I hear you say. If you don’t have anything to do, then your not working. There’s Always something to do when it comes to online business. Feeling bored? Then go learn something new. There are No boundaries when it comes to the internet. The doors are wide open just waiting for you to walk through them and discover something new.

I just showed you how you can get started for free in this business. Now it’s your choice what you do with this information. Are you really ready to do this? Are you afraid it might not work? Don’t you think I was scared out of my wits when I first started? Man I was horrified! But look at me now. Now all I do is try and help others. Do you think I thought I would be here writing an article like this? I had no idea what was ahead. I just gave it a shot, stuck with it and here I am.

It’s scary because it’s something new to you. You’ve never done this before so being scared is a Normal feeling. What you must do if you want to move forward is overcome those fears. Instead of being afraid of something, look at it in a different perspective. Think of it as a new journey you really want to learn about. You are a strong person and you can do this if it’s really what you want. The only thing holding you back is You. Don’t let You stand in the way of what could be, let You walk through the doors and experience this awesome thing they call Life.

Last but not least, if you have a question then by all means, Ask it. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve come across who just gave up all because of something simple they were afraid to ask. If we never asked anything, we would  never learn anything. Believe me, there’s plenty of people  out there who would be more than willing to help you if you  just take the time to ask. Ask and you shall receive!

Wishing you the Best,
Audra

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Audra Gehrke is the owner of Ecommerce Resources:
http://www.ecommerce-resources.org  & she’s also the
publisher of Ecommerce Resources Ezine:
http://www.ecommerce-resources.org/e-zine.html  & the
Author of: http://www.ecommerce-resources.org/guide.html

*******************************************************************

Posted in Niche Articles | 2 Comments »

The ‘Game’ Is Changing, Are You?

Thursday, April 3rd, 2008

The ‘Game’ Is Changing, Are You?

By John Reese of MarketingSecrets.comIt’s happening. Again.

The Internet marketing ‘game’ is rapidly changing… again.

Email marketing is under attack like never before…

Pending legislation. Spam filters. Email overload.

Internet users’ inboxes are full. They are loaded with junk and they are tired of the hassle. Opt-in rates are on the decline — and they will continue to fall.

So the cries are coming from many Internet marketing circles…

“Email marketing is dying — it’s only a matter of time.”

That’s right. Many people see Email marketing dying completely. Many marketers are already positioning themselves to do business without it.

Why are they preparing to do without it? Because it’s just going to be too much of a hassle to get people to opt-in. And if that’s not enough, it’s going to be such a hassle to get around spam laws, filters, and other nuisances.

Well…

Do you want to know what *I’m* planning on doing?

I’M PREPARING TO MAKE MORE MONEY THAN EVER FROM EMAIL MARKETING.

That’s right. I’m planning to make more money than I already do with Email marketing.

(And I have some single lists that are generating 6-figures a year in profit — automatically. And that’s just their affiliate income; it has nothing do with my product sales.)

As more and more marketers RUN AND HIDE from Email marketing, I am positioning myself to CASH IN like never before…

And I’m suggesting you do the same.

But first, where are many marketers running “TO”?

As an alternative to Email marketing, many of them are running to start BLOGS.

If you haven’t heard of it yet, “blogging” is basically like keeping an interactive diary on a web site. It’s another way to publish information on the Internet.

Blogs ARE a good marketing vehicle. In fact, there are many people that are profiting quite nicely by running a blog.

My friend, Jason Cain, is one of these people. Jason is a diehard “blogger” and he has a fantastic marketing-related blog at:

www.goldblogger.com

You should check it out. He writes a lot of great stuff and it’s fun to read the “comments” that some of the readers post on the blog’s site.

Jason also has a great course that teaches people how to profit from running a blog, and you can check that out at:

www.goldblogging.com

But let’s get something straight! Blogs are *NOT* going to replace Email marketing. It’s not gonna happen.

I do think blogs ARE a great publishing tool for increased exposure and can improve someone’s marketing, but Email marketing still has many major advantages.

Without going into a long tirade about why Email marketing is the ultimate marketing tool, I’ll just put it like this…

If your marketing message can be delivered to the same place that a personal note from Grandma is, it’s more effective than any alternative. I’ll just leave it at that.

So again, blogs aren’t going to replace Email marketing, but they are a great *additional* marketing tool to use. Heck, I’ll probably end up with a little blog for MarketingSecrets.com sometime soon. Anything that brings you more exposure (i.e. more prospects) is a “good” thing.

But back to Email marketing…

As it becomes harder and harder to use Email marketing it represents a fantastic opportunity for marketers willing to put in the extra WORK.

Gee, what a novel approach. The more WORK you do, the more money you make.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, the people making the big bucks online are some of the hardest working folks around.

That “work” usually translates into DIFFERENTIATION. Being different from other marketers and competitors to separate themselves from all the “noise” online.

But most people aren’t willing to do the extra work, and so those that are end up making more money as a result.

Email marketing is going to be the exact same way.

Aside from having to comply with legislation (i.e. most likely using double opt-in methods and keeping detailed records of all subscriptions) and getting around spam filters, the biggest challenge will be getting the opt-in.

Opt-in rates have been on a steady decline and it’s no surprise as to why. People are just overloaded with email. In order to get someone to opt-in to YOUR list, it’s going to come down to the OFFER — the backbone of selling.

The Opt-in itself has evolved a lot in the past 14 years that I’ve been marketing online. You used to be able to put up a simple form that just said, “Get my newsletter” with no other description and people would opt-in by the truckload.

It’s not that easy anymore — and it’s only going to get worse.

So how do you adapt? It’s easy…

SELL THE OPT-IN.

Now I don’t mean “sell” as in charge money for it. I mean “sell” in relation to salesmanship and marketing. You need to make your opt-in a compelling OFFER.

It’s going to become so hard to get people to freely opt-in to your list or autoresponder course that you will really have to WORK to get them to do it.

But before I go any further, I will say this. THE WORK WILL REALLY PAY OFF. Mark my words. Marketers that ARE able to successfully continue using Email marketing will CLEAN UP in the near future and beyond.

(Because most marketers will stop using Email marketing because of all the work involved.)

So What’s The Best Way To Get An Opt-In?

It’s simple. It’s called a SALES LETTER.

And, YES, I’m being serious.

Now, this sales letter doesn’t have to be very long, but all the powerful elements of a typical sales letter need to be there:

1. A compelling benefit-driven headline. 2. Some descriptive text. 3. Intriguing bullets. 4. Testimonials. 5. An implied value. 6. A “bribe” or gift for taking the call to action. (Opting in.)

Now all of this seems like a lot of work. And it is, initially. But once you create this page it will work by itself.

Again and again and again.

This page only has to be a couple scrollable pages in length. You can create a very short version of this that will be very effective.

So you will have a benefit-drive headline that is related to WHAT THE HECK THEY WILL GET OUT OF joining your list.

Then you will briefly describe why they should get it and also use several bullets to illustrate this.

You should use a few testimonials from other happy subscribers.

You need to give it an implied value. You can do this by saying, “This course is a $97 value.”

Then the most important part of all — A BRIBE. Offer a free bonus gift if they opt-in right now.

You might be reading this thinking I’m off my rocker. I can assure you, I’m not. In fact, I’ve been using this exact opt-in model with several of my projects (non-marketing related) for nearly two years now. This *IS* the future of the opt-in. Mark my words.

And here’s some else…

You’ll also find, like I have, that the more ‘effort’ it takes your prospect to opt-in (such as reading a little sales letter) the more RESPONSIVE they will be to offers from you. It’s a FACT and I have several years of data to back it up. But the reason for this is simple — they are more qualified by the time they join your list.

Here’s How You Should Be Positioning Your Marketing…

Right now you are probably using pop-up or pop-over boxes to capture opt-ins — whether on entry or on exit. You might also be using a little opt-in form mixed in with content on some of your web pages. CONTINUE to use them to collect opt-ins. Keep using them until the opt-in rate drops so badly that it isn’t worth wasting that precious online real estate on your site.

But while you continue using these methods, and looking into the future, you NEED to also setup a SEPARATE PAGE for each opt-in list you’re building using the “mini sales letter” model I have described above.

On all your opt-in boxes that you are currently using you can have links such as “Click here to learn more…” or “Click here to learn how to get a $197 gift today…” etc. etc. And those links will go to this new sales letter opt-in page — because that page WILL “close” (i.e.get them to opt-in) some people that would not have joined from the small opt-in form you are currently using.

Here’s another tip. Register a domain name specifically for your list. When you send messages to your list, your “From” address, unsub URLs, and everything else mentioned in those emails will promote this domain name. If a subscriber ever wonders what list they are on or why, they can always go to that domain name. And what will they find when they get there? The mini sales letter that sold them the opt-in. This will reinforce their decision to KEEP their subscription.

So don’t run and hide from all the Email marketing challenges that are appearing. EMBRACE THEM AND PROFIT.

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John Reese is an Internet Marketing pioneer that has been actively marketing online since 1990. John has sold millions of dollars worth of products and services online and his network of Web Sites have received over 1.4 BILLION Web Site visitors since their inception. You can learn more about John, his home study courses, and subscribe to his free ezine by visiting:

www.marketingsecrets.com

(c)2003 MarketingSecrets.com. All rights reserved.

Posted in Niche Articles | 2 Comments »

Google + Content = Money

Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008

If there’s one thing that Google loves, it’s content. Done right, a content rich website is almost guaranteed to rank highly. But how to get that content? You can write it yourself, but that takes a lot of time. You can pay an SEO copywriter to write it for you, but that takes a lot of money. If only there was another option.

What if you could get your content for free? And not just a little bit of content, a lot! What if you could get an almost unlimited supply of keyword rich, expertly written content, specific to your subject matter, absolutely free of charge? Would you snap it up and upload to your site in an instant? Of course you would! Well here’s the good news: you can! Read on to find out how you can get a top ten ranking in the search engines without paying a single cent…

Yes, content gives you a great ranking

Content is king. This is widely acknowledged as fact, but if you need further convincing, consider the following two points:

Point 1 - In Google’s own words, one of the keys to a high ranking is to ‘create a useful, information-rich site’ (from Google Information for Webmasters - http://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html).

Point 2 - Google insider, codenamed ‘Google Guy’, advocates a list 26 steps to building a high ranking site. Step 5 of the list says, ‘build one page of content and put online per day at 200-500 words” (from Brett Tabke’s ‘26 steps to 15k a Day’ - http://www.searchengineworld.com/misc/guide.htm, advocated by Google Guy in a WebMasterWorld QA session - http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum30/29727-6-10.htm).

But why does content give you a great ranking?

I won’t go into any further detail about IF Google loves content. I will, however, briefly explain WHY. Google’s love affair with content is based on two key attractions:

1) Google loves sites with a lot of content because it assumes they provide a lot of useful information. And remember, that’s the whole reason Google exists - to help people find useful information. The more helpful Google’s results, the more traffic (and revenue) it gets.

2) Google loves sites that have a lot of links pointing to them because this means other webmasters hold your site in high regard, and Google assumes this means the content is useful. And naturally, if you create a useful site, other webmasters will link to it because this makes them useful to their visitors (thereby developing site loyalty), and they gain credibility and authority because they’re associated with you.

So how can you get free content for your website?

Three words: ‘free reprint articles’. There are hundreds of thousands of people out there writing high quality, helpful, informative articles on virtually every topic imaginable, then giving these article away to any webmaster who wants to publish them on a website. In exchange for the article, the author asks only that you retain the author bio at the end, complete with all links (e.g. ‘Glenn Murray is an SEO Copywriter and Article Submission Specialist…).

To find free content for your website, simply visit any one of hundreds of ‘article banks’ on the Internet. Browse or search for the subject you’re interested in, then take the article(s) for free. There is absolutely no charge. Some of these sites will even send a regular stream of articles direct to your website (using RSS).

Alternatively, you can sign up to any number of article distribution lists and get articles delivered direct to your email inbox. Again, it’s absolutely free!

TIP: The article banks and distribution lists mentioned above are just the tip of the iceberg. There are hundreds more - just do a search for ‘free reprint articles’, ‘article submission’, ‘article submission site’, ’submit article’, ‘article submit site’, ‘free articles’, or ‘free content’. You may even find a site or list which only deals in articles relating to your particular subject matter.

Why is it free?
Why are these authors giving their articles away? Because it helps the author’s own search engine ranking. It’s a promotional activity known as ‘article PR’. As explained above, Google loves sites with lots of links pointing to them. Every time their article submission is published, the author gets another link to their website. In fact, if the article is really good, it may be published hundreds of times. And each time, it’s another link to the author’s website. Put simply, article submission is a writer’s free pass to the top of the search engines. (In this sense, the ‘PR’ in article PR stands for PageRank.)

Furthermore, like traditional public relations, article PR also conveys a sense of authority because your articles are widely published. And because you’re proving your expertise and freely dispensing knowledge, your readers will trust you and will be more likely to remain loyal to you. (In this sense, the “PR” in article PR stands for Public Relations.)

How do I know if the quality is good?
It’s a process of natural selection. The better the article submission, the more often it will be published, so it’s in the author’s interest to write and submit articles of the highest quality. Of course, this doesn’t always happen, but in most cases, you’ll be reviewing the articles before you post them anyway, so if you discover one that’s not up to scratch, don’t use it.

In time, you’ll become familiar with the authors who consistently put out good quality content - you may even find enough of them that you don’t need to go looking for content from anyone else…

Where do I put the free content?
Most people put the articles in an ‘Articles’ or ‘Resources’ section on their website, but you can put them anywhere you like.

How much free content should I use?
As much as you want or as little as you want. It all depends on your needs and the needs of your audience. If your audience expects that at least some of your site is original content, then give it to them.

But what about the duplicate content issue?
It’s not an issue!
There’s a lot of a talk about how Google penalizes duplicate content. The theory is that when the majority of the content on two separate webpages (on different sites) is the same, the one with the higher PR will be shown and the other one will not.

Whether or not this theory is true is still a hot topic in search engine circles, but regardless, it doesn’t affect people publishing free-reprint articles. When you publish the article, just make sure you have unique content around it. Generally, it’s enough to have your own unique introduction to the page (which may be common to all pages), and your own navigation elements, headers, footers, sidebars, logos, images, etc.

Conclusion
Free reprint articles are a great way for you to achieve a high ranking. And you don’t have to pay a cent! So what are you waiting for?
===============================================================
Get A Top 10 Ranking Without Paying A Cent
By: John Pawlett

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http://www.nicheclass.com

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