No-Cost Marketing Tools For Affiliate Marketers

This entry was written on Feb 08, 2010 by our Entrepreneur Guru Carma Spence-Pothitt

Did you know that affiliate marketing is the quickest and easiest way to earn a living online? Why is it that? I think it's because of the extremely low start-up costs. Most affiliate programs don't require enrollment fees, so you have not up-front financial investment to be able to start selling other people's products. But also, you can get set up to start with pretty much no cost outlay, too.

O.K. Getting a web host, as well as a domain name, can cost a little upfront. And, if you aren't graphically inclined, getting professionally made graphics can also cost some money. Also, there might be the PPC advertising costs. But you can put off these expenses until after you've started making sales.

How? you say? By using these free tools to get you up and going as an online affiliate marketer. That's how!

Your First Affiliate Website

The easiest way to get set up on the web is to use one of the free blogging platforms. Wordpress.com and Blogger.com offer free hosted blogs. And, should you decide to eventually host your own WordPress blog later, both these platforms export and import easily into a self-hosted WordPress website.

Blogs are great marketing tools. They get indexed swiftly by the search engines, and often, they figure prominently in the search engine results pages (SERPs). The primary advantage of this approach is the convenience you'll experience when it comes to publishing content.

Of course, you could create a series of mini-websites that focus solely on the products you promote. And, if you don't have Dreamweaver or FrontPage, you can use free online services such as NVU Website Creator at nvu.com or Google Sites at sites.google.com.

Keyword Research

Did you know that 80 percent of your website's traffic will come from search engines? This is why keyword research is, well, key. They are the most important ingredient in your search engine optimization (SEO) campaign. You'll need to use them in your "H" tags, your "ALT" tags, your page titles and your content. You should also use them in articles you submit to directories to help promote your website. Therefore, you'll need to do some keyword research.

Lucky for all of us, there are several free keyword research tools available online. The one I use the most is provided by Google at adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal.

Keeping Track of Statistics

You will need to study your website's statistics. This way you'll be able to figure out what you're doing wrong, as well as what you're doing correctly. There are a couple of tools online that can help you do that. One s StatCounter at statcounter.com, the other is Google Analytics at google.com/analytics. If you're using a self-hosted WordPress site, there are a few plugins that are very good for this, as well. I use WP-Stats and have been very happy.

All of these tools can help you get started in affiliate marketing without much cash outlay, as well as improve your performance as an affiliate. Give them a try. Chances are, you'll realize that the best things in life can be free after all.

You Need a Business Plan ... Even If You Aren't Seeking Funding

You know what your business does. You have plans for the future. Why bother with a business plan? A business and marketing plan is your roadmap to success ... without a map, how will you know where you are going? Writing out your plan and objective for your business goes a long way toward making it happen. While laying it out makes it official, don’t be afraid to go back and make changes to the plan as necessary. (For help in creating one, check out http://www.planyourbusinessvision.com.)

Improve Your Blog's Traffic by Using A Statistics

This entry was written on Feb 04, 2010 by our Entrepreneur Guru Carma Spence-Pothitt

Did you know that your blog's analytics can tell you the best time to post and topics to cover so that you can increase traffic to your site?

The number one rule of driving traffic to your blog is to write posts that people want to read. But how do you know you're accomplishing this goal? You monitor your stats!

The statistics you want to pay particular attention to include:

* Which posts get more readers?

* Which days of the week get more readers?

With the information you learn from tracking these two stats, you can optimize your blog more powerfully than by any other means. Here's how:

What attracts most readers to your blog?

Take a look at which posts get more readers. Do you see any trends in which kinds of post get more traffic than others? Are there topics that are hotter than others? Maybe it is the style in which you wrote those posts. Dig in and find out what it is about those posts that attracts more readers, then repeat often.

Maximize your highest readership day or days.

Take a look at the traffic your blog gets throughout the week. If there is a day or two that get spikes of traffic, those are the days you should be publishing your best posts. This will increase the chances that your posts will be shared, and therefore increase traffic even more.

Watch for traffic spikes and capitalize on them.

When you get a particularly high traffic period, follow it up with a series of high-quality posts that show off your expertise. This will encourage visitors to come back, stick around, comment and share your posts. For best results, act on your traffic spike within 48 hours.

How do you track your blog stats? You can use Google Analytics. Or, if you have a WordPress blog, there are several plugins that can monitor stats for you as well.

Business Card Basics Tip #1: Keep It Simple

Keep your business card design simple. Include contact information such as name, title, phone number, fax number, email address, website and mailing address. If you have a free offer, you might include that on the back, as well.

How Not Having a Marketing Funnel Hurts Your Business Without You Knowing It

This entry was written on Feb 01, 2010 by our Entrepreneur Guru Carma Spence-Pothitt

Miss Sally Jo Prospect knows she needs some help in her life, but isn't sure what it is. In her search for answers, she stops by your website and is intrigued with what you have to offer. Then she sees the price.

She doesn't know anything about you and doesn't feel comfortable spending that kind of money on someone she doesn't know, like and trust. So, she moves on to another website. This website offers her a free special report in exchange for her name and email address. The special report speaks to her needs, so she happily enters the information and downloads the report.

So, are you the business owner with the first website? Or the second?

Not having a marketing funnel in place is hurting your business in several ways -- whether you are aware of it or not:

1. First-time visitors to your business, who are not ready to plunk down the dough needed for your core services, will leave without giving you any way to contact them in the future. So you loose marketing and relationship-building opportunities.

2. First-time visitors who leave your site with a good opinion of you and the intention to come back later will forget where they found you and never come back. So you loose the sale that was probably only a few email messages away.

3. Without an array of products and services, you lack a way to court your prospects and slowly bring them into your fold. You may end up loosing customers that would spend good money with you in the future and keep tire-kickers who are just there for whatever free stuff they can get.

A marketing funnel is a tool, a technique and a business model that helps business owners build relationships with their prospects and clients over time. Your marketing funnel is like a path of breadcrumbs where the crumbs get bigger and bigger the longer you follow the path. When you develop a marketing funnel, you are building a path of breadcrumbs that your prospects can follow to become clients and your clients can follow to become raving fans. It is a gentle way to build up the "know, like and trust" factor for you and what you have to offer.

Each prospect that comes across what you have to offer will be at a different level of comfort in spending money with you. Having a marketing funnel filled with products and services that come at different price points gives you leverage to offer something to every qualified prospect that comes your way.

Without this marketing funnel in place, you most certainly are missing out -- potentially even driving away -- those who could benefit from what you have to offer and contribute to your bottom line, as well. And that's how not having a marketing funnel hurts your business without you even knowing it.

Recruit Volunteers with Options

Having choices -- options -- makes people feel in charge. When you recruit volunteers, use this knowledge and give them a choice. They can either:



* Volunteer for your cause in some way (to be on a committee, raise money, ask for donations, help with sponsorships) OR



* They can give you names of people they know who could volunteer to be on committees, donate items or services, or just give you names and contact info. for people they know who seem to know a lot of other people.



So, when someone says, "Thanks for thinking of me. I'm going to pass at this time," you can reply wth, "Oh, I definitely understand! Can you give me five names of people you know, I can talk too?"

Build Your Opt-In List With Article Marketing in 5 Steps

This entry was written on Jan 28, 2010 by our Entrepreneur Guru Carma Spence-Pothitt

Without a house opt-in list of prospects and current customers, you probably don't have a sustainable business. Article marketing can be a simple, yet powerful, technique to use to grow your list.

Although not a "build your list fast" method, article marketing can build your list and improve your expertise status over the long run. I've used it to build highly targeted lists for some of my websites and am always surprised at how well it works.

And you can get these results by following this simple 5-step plan:



Step 1: Keyword/Topic Research

What keywords and topics are potential customers using to find the type of information and services you provide? Create a list and use this as an idea generator for your articles.

Hint: If you are looking for local prospects, your geographic location will be one of those key words.

Step 2: Write Informative and Relevant Articles.

Write articles that provide good, valuable information and you'll automatically create in the reader a desire for more. Make sure these articles are relevant to your target market and what you offer. In other words, what would your ideal client want to read about? Write about that.

Step 3: Create a Compelling "Resource Box"

This is the paragraph that gets added to the end of your articles in the article directories. Many people put a short bio here ... and totally miss out on the usefulness of this resource box! You must include a call to action that drives readers to your website! Make sure that the link you give them takes them to a page that encourages them to opt in to your list.

Step 4: Post the articles to article directories.

I use, primarily, EzineArticles.com, but there are others. Post as many articles as you can. The more you have on similar topics, the higher your name and business will rank in the search engines.



Step 5: Repeat.

Do this process as often as you can. Build a library of relevant articles and you'll build a solid reputation as a go-to resource in your field. Also, not every article is going to be a winner ... put more out there and eventually you will post a winner.

The beauty of this technique is that even if you only post your article to one directory, it won't stay there. The purpose of these directories is to provide online publishers with content for their websites. So, when you provide good content, the likelihood that it will be reprinted in someone else's blog or ezine is pretty high, thus increasing the reach your content has.

Support Your Expertise By Publishing Content Online

Publish articles online in your field to establish and support your expertise. You can do this through blogging, article marketing and becoming an columnist on sites such as LifeTips! ;-) People who read your articles and like what they read will visit your website. And, because they feel comfortable with you, they'll sign up to be on your list (you are collecting emails, right? And offering a compelling opt-in incentive in return, right?) Once they're on your list, they will eventually buy.

One Way to Uncover Your Passions and Build a Business You Love

This entry was written on Jan 25, 2010 by our Entrepreneur Guru Carma Spence-Pothitt

The first step in starting a business you love is to uncover what your core passions and skills are. Here is an exercise you can do to help you do that.

Do you remember what you dreamed about when you were just a kid? What did you want to be when you grew up? When I was five, I wanted to be an anthropologist. I went through many sciences - archeologist, planetologist, paleontologist, astronomer, everything-ologist - before I finally settled on science writer when I was in college. Write down your list here:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Now, remember the games you used to play when you were a kid. What did you do when it was just you and you had to entertain yourself? When I was about 7 years old, I had a bad bicycle accident and scraped the side of my face really bad. The doctor said I needed to stay indoors and rest for a few days. So what did I do? I created a board game based on "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" by Dr. Seuss. In my teens, I used to play teacher and give my sister homework - which she never did, I might add. What did you do with your time? Write down your list here:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Now take a look at these two lists. Do you see any patterns? If not, have someone whose opinion you trust take a look at them and see if they notice any patterns. From these two lists, you will see a recurring pattern of activities that draw you and skills that you exercise naturally. These will most likely be related to your core passions and interests.

Why are you doing all this, you may ask? Because a business you love HAS to be built around your core passions and strengths. Also, a business that is built around your core interests and skills has a much better chance of attaining longevity and being successful.

Customer Service Can Be a Key Differentiator

Price is not a good point to compete on. You'll only loose that battle eventually. So how do you differentiate yourself from the competition? Have you thought about customer service? Customer service can be a top factor in your business' growth. Make your customers' satisfaction your number one priority: Send birthday cards (or half-birthday cards to be different), holiday gifts, frequent emails to check in. Answer questions swiftly. Make mistakes right. Listen to your customers and respond. You'll be rewarded with multiplying sales!

"Lumpy" Mail Gets Attention

It's a busy and message-crowded world. In marketing your company, you have to come up with attention-grabbing ideas that will get your target market to notice you above the fracas. Here's an idea to get you brainstorming.

More Than Direct Mail

Everyone gets junk mail -- ahem -- direct mail every day. How often do we really read the postcard or letter from a business? Not often. But don’t give up on direct mail. What about sending a small gift to potential customers that includes a small note or letter promoting your company? If you have a targeted group of potential clients, you could send:

* Flowers

* A Gift basket

* A branded pen or notepad

* An office toy

* A branded, but fun, T-shirt

* A coupon

You’re more likely to get feedback if the mail makes the recipient stop and pay attention. These are called "lumpy" mail and due to natural human curiosity, lumpy mail tends to get opened.

Competition ahoy!

Some people will say that you need to beat your competition to succeed. And, to a point, they are correct. However, what you are really trying to do is to stand apart from the competition in the eyes of your ideal clients. This doesn't mean your ideal won't go to your "competition" for something else ... you need to focus on them coming to you for what you do. As a small business owner, this may come down to personality, but it may also include convenience, quality, method of delivery, packaging, timing, customer service and others. Avoid competing on price for that way madness lies.

Partner with Your Vendors and Suppliers

Forging partnerships with your vendors and suppliers can be a very wise business move. These partnerships can lower your costs, help you provide more valuable products and services and even garner you some extra visibility. Some ideas for creating these partnerships include offering ad space in exchange for a discount, co-creating a promotion or product, and developing mutual endorsement campaigns. Be creative and you might find your vendors are also your best clients and promoters.

Start a Business Blog

Create a blog for your business. Use a self-hosted blog rather than something like Blogger or LiveJournal so that you can better create branding and have control over your content. Blogging can increase traffic to your website, showcase your expertise and help build the "know, like and trust" factor for your business.

Set an Objective and Know WHY you're doing it

You've set your objective, but do you know why you want to reach it? The WHY is the motivating factor -- without it, you may fail to reach your goals. Your WHY will most likely be a result. For example, you want to make six figures this year in your business because of the freedom it will provide you. Focus on that outcome to stay motivated in your day-to-day tasks to reach that goal.

Create a Win-Win Affiliate Program

Creating an affiliate program that generously rewards people who market your products and services is a wise business decision. Creating a fair and equitable commission structure, adding in opportunities to receive bonuses and creating an "affiliate of the year" reward program and make your affiliate program a winner for both your business and your affiliates. Being an affiliate can feel isolating ... but if your business makes the effort to better support your affiliates, they will promote your products and services better and more often. Make them feel a part of YOUR team -- because that is what they are. Remember, their success is your success.

Constant Quest for Growth

To grow your business, have a big vision and account for big goals. Be sure to celebrate wins along the way. Keep your eyes open for new ideas and, whenever possible, ignore distractions.

Communicating Your Brand

Your brand should be reinforced in every communication opportunity with your customer, from print to media to in-person contact. Your brand is the emotional context of what you have to offer and it is suggested through things such as your business name, your slogan, your tag line, your logo, your products, your packaging, your customer service ... every point of contact your business makes with the customer. This is why Disney is so precise about how their employees look and behave ... these details communicate brand. Your business may not need to communicate brand at this level, but you must not overlook the small things. Consider your options carefully and always keep in mind: "What does this say about my brand?"

Keep Focusing on the Positive Goal You Want

O.K. Sometimes things don't always go according to plan. Get over it. Dust yourself off and carry on. As author John C. Maxwell says, fail forward. Find a positive meaning or learning from the experience. When you focus on the positive, you won't get bogged down by the negative. Think of it this way, is it really worth all your time and effort to stay stuck in anger and angst? Grab some sugar and make some lemonade, lemon meringue pie or even lemon chiffon cake!

Affirm Your Self Worth

Many in the self development field talk about the importance and effectiveness of affirmations. Basically, the idea is to change the way you think for the better through repetition of positive statements. One good affirmatio to start out with come from Brian Tracy's book, "Chage Your Life, Change Your Thinking": I am a thoroughly good person and I am going to be a big success in life." Everything that happens to me, good or bad, is simply a part of the process of achieving the great success and happiness that are inevitable for me.

Make it clear and memorable

What brands can you name without thinking about it? I'm willing to bet those brands had simple, easy-to-remember logos or jingles. Something like the "golden arches" of McDonald's or the red target of Target.

The key to making a brand memorable is to make it simple, clear and to-the-point. In a way, brands are archetypal, they speak to a basic core understanding within human nature.

Your brand should be what your business is all about boiled down to its most basic elements.

For example, Target's logo is red, so they've made all their branding communications red. You probably even recognize a commercial as being from Target before you even see the logo because of that basic element: red.

Another example is Nike. Their logo ... a simplified, softened and stylized check mark ... is so well known they don't even need to tie to their name, tag line or color anymore. And yet, that symbol still seems to communicate what Nike is all about.

What are the core elements of your business? Can you boil them down to a symbol, color or musical combination?

Journaling and the Entrepreneur

A journal can help you chart your entrepreneurial course. It can help you through choppy waters, as well as calm seas. Use the journal to gather your thoughts. Write down your wildest brain storms. Jot down notes from self-development books. Express your daily gratitude to help you keep moving forward. Use your journal as a store house for ideas you want to remember but can't work on right now. And, every once in awhile got back and find those gems and see how far you've cove on your entrepreneurial journey.

Examples of Brands

Brand is a nebulous characteristic ... hard to explain but easy to recognize. When I say, "Golden Arches" ... what do you think of? McDonald's has carefully crafted and nurtured that aspect of their brand. It is recognizable even without words. If I were to start humming the tune to "Sweet Georgia Brown" would you think of the Harlem Globe Trotters. Very likely ... they've made that their signature tune. Target practically owns the color red ... especially when its in a circle. When there's an emergency, who brings in the medical aid? Red Cross. Their reputation is a part of their brand. I hope you can see from these examples that brand can be communicated in numerous ways ... sight, sound and symbol. Keep this in mind as you build your brand.

Setting a Goal Toward Success

Many new entrepreneurs never get past the planning stages of starting a business. Why? Is it because they lack certain skills that successful entrepreneurs do? Maybe. More than likely though, with all the planning, there was never a clear goal in mind for the entrepreneur to reach. It is easier to get to where you want to be if you know where you are going in the first place. Having clear, defined, “finish line” goals helps you move forward and put your plan into action. Imagine for a moment what your business may actually be like once it's off the ground. What are you doing? What do your products look like? What sort of income are you making? Are you a giant enterprise or a small, yet successful shop owner? Write down your thoughts in a business journal. Make it your goal. Then create action steps on how to achieve to your goals.

Successful Entrepreneurial Traits - Innovative Spirit

Innovation and creativity are siblings. Teresa M. Amabile, Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School, once explained the relationship this way: "All innovation begins with creative ideas." She defined innovation as "the successful implementation of creative ideas within an organization," and believed that creativity was a necessary but not sufficient condition for" innovation. Successful entrepreneurs are not only creative, but they are able to take their creativity and run with it, creating innovative solutions to the challenges their target market faces. This innovative spirit drives them to ever improve upon their ideas and leads to success in many of their endeavors.

Open the Box on Marketing Your Business

Have you done the same types of marketing for years? Are you still using the same marketing message you always have? Is this strategy still working for you? If yes, congratulations! You've stumbled upon something evergreen ... a rarity in marketing. If not, then its time to try something new. Maybe its time to re-vamp your niche? Maybe its time to refresh your marketing message? Experiment. Test. Expand into new markets. Think outside the box you've been marketing in.

What is a Brand?

A brand is anything that represents or becomes a symbol of a company or business. This includes the logo, tag line, slogan, catch phrase, jingle, colors and more. A brand is not just one thing; it is everything that is connected with the company. It is the images you display in your logo. It is the reputation behind the company. It is the taste or smell that is associated with your products.

For an entrepreneur, achieving a recognizable brand can be a critical goal. So, when developing your products, services and communications about them, always keep in mind the brand you want to develop. Since brand is everything a company is about, developing that brand should be first and foremost when starting a new business.

Successful Entrepreneurial Traits - Determination

Winston Churchill once said, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." This is the essence of determination and it is a key trait of successful entrepreneurs. When you have a vision, if it will come to life, you have to have the determination to make it so. You will face challenges along the way, but determination will see you through to the end. One way you can help the process is to break long-term goals down into several short-term goals. Then, as you achieve each milestone along the path, celebrate your successes. Nothing breeds success better than success!

Expanding Your Business

Imagine your company getting so much business, you run out of room in your warehouse. Your restaurant has an hour-long wait for seating every night. This may mean your company is ready to grow. But how do you expand while maintaining the level of service your clientele has grown accustomed to? The answer may be to replicate your business. Open a new warehouse, new factory or a new restaurant. So, even when you are small ... be prepared for your eventual growth and plan for it ahead of time. Ask your advisors about the possibilities of replicating or expanding your current businesses without getting ahead of yourself.

Keep Good Financial Records

Keep clear records of what you buy and what you make. Create a budget you can work with. Don't depend on money that is not there. Only work with what you have in the bank right now. Invest in a quality bookkeeper for your business. You will save yourself time and trouble by letting someone qualified handle your finances.

In Business to Succeed

Do you fear success? That may seem like a silly question, but it is possible to fear success and not be aware of it. Answer these questions:

• Do thoughts of failure go through your mind more often than dreams of success?


• Does the thought of people seeing you as a success make you nervous?


• Do you avoid talking about your business with others even when the opportunity arises?

But now that you know, you can work on getting over that fear. Read a book, research the topic online, hire a coach or therapist ... there is help available and you can be successful!

Definition of Success

Success is very personal. One person's failure can very well be another's success. Therefore, you need to set measurable goals for what you consider success. What milestone along the way do you consider important? Only then can you know if you have succeeded or faced a setback.

Successful Entrepreneurial Traits - Creativity

One key trait of successful entrepreneurs is creativity. Entrepreneurs create opportunity where others see none. They build businesses, develop products, create services that meet a need. Nurture this creativity. Keep abreast of new ways to do business. Keep an eye out for new ideas. Read widely. Watch out for needs that are not being met. Follow trends and create a vision for where you think that trend is heading. And, when inspiration is being a fickle mistress, ask you customers what they want. Often their answers will inspire you.

Successful Entrepreneurial Traits - Delegating

Yes, it can be a trite saying, but no one is an island. No successful entrepreneur has gone it alone and done it all by herself. You need a team so you can delegate those tasks that don't play to your strengths. You need to be the leader. For each task you do, ask yourself, "Does this play to my strength? Is this the best use of my time?" If your answers are no or even not really, delegate! This can be the key to the growth of your business. As someone wise once said, "Nothing is impossible if you can delegate."

First Steps Toward Branding

There are two ways to approach branding ... from the inside out and from the outside in. When you're just starting out, I recommend working from the inside out:

What are the core values of your business? How can you communicate these values through your products and services? How can you communicate these values through your customer service, product delivery and marketing?

If you are having a hard time finding the answers to these questions, ask the customers you've attracted so far. Conduct a simple survey and ask your customers what attracted them to your products, services and/or business.

Assets

An asset is anything that has value, and you can exchange for cash. An assess can also be an item that continues to make money while you own it. Re-evaluate your idea of an asset. It could be important to the success of your company. Let go of anything that isn't an asset. Is there something you are investing in that isn't paying off? Is a new product not working out as well as you thought it would? Change it or cut it out. Grow your assets while reducing your liabilities.

Focus on Your Strengths

What is your business about? Define it specifically in your business plan. If your business is about selling books, do you find yourself trying to write the books and package them as well? Let go of jobs that are not what your business is about and focus on what you are supposed to do. When you focus on your strengths and outsource the rest, your business can flourish much more easily.

Prepare to Be An Overnight Success

Sometimes an increase in sales too quickly can ruin a business just as much as no business at all. Small companies may not have the staff or capital to handle large orders too soon. Reach out for help. Take control of your business growth and make sure to plan out what you can do to handle a sudden increase of business. Contact suppliers and ask how prepared they are for an influx of orders. Being ready ahead of time will make it easier to handle rapid growth in your business.

Start Developing a Brand

Remember, your brand goes way beyond your logo and tag line. It is the ambiance that your entire business exudes. So, as you develop your brand, but sure that the core meaning of your brand is communicated all every prospect and customer touch point, from marketing to sales to customer service. Keep in mind always the perspective of your prospects and customers so that you can be sure to provide products and services that are consistent with the brand you are developing.

What Are Liabilities?

Don't confuse assets with liabilities. An asset is something that can make you money ... a liability is something that can cause you to loose money. But, when something that might be considered an asset in one case is a liability in another, people get confused. For example, if you are still making payments on your company car, computer or desk ... it is a liability. If you don't make the payments, you'll looses that "asset" without making money. So, if you find you are confusing your assets and liabilities, make yourself more aware of this and change your perspective. You could be saving yourself some trouble later by being very clear on what is making you money.

Automate Your Business

The more you can automate the tasks in your business, the more profitable your business can be. For example, if you take orders online, find out how you can simplify the process using software specifically geared toward your business. Make it easier on yourself and your customers. Can the order process be simplified? How about fulfillment? Saving time and effort saves money ... and can even increase profits beyond that.

Five Techniques for Better Sales Online

When selling online you need to know some of the best techniques that will covert visitors into buyers:

1. Give a good description of what you're selling – emphasize benefits over features, but include those, too.

2. Target the correct audience. For example, don't try to sell homeowners insurance to someone who is renting; you want to target homeowners.

3. Give them a reason to visit your website by offering them something for free, with no obligation to buy. This should be a "free taste" of your products or services, giving them a good example of what they can get when they purchase.

4. Use power words in your headlines – free, guarantee, save, act now, success, etc.

5. Offer your potential customers a free newsletter that includes content related to your products or services. This gives you the opportunity to continue to sell to them moving forward.

Brand Loyalty

The best way to build brand loyalty is to consistently develop high quality products and services. But beyond that you should develop a brand personality ... think Apple. Mac fans are very loyal and it is the combination of distinctive personality and high quality and innovative products that keeps them coming back. How can you give your brand its own personality? Create a brand profile and describe it as if it were a person. Then when you think about creating a new product or service, ask yourself would this "brand person" do that?

Simple Brand Development

Once you've developed your brand logo and tag line, use it with every communication your business puts out: letterhead, envelopes, business cards, emails, brochures, website ... all outgoing communications that represents your company to prospective and current clients. Your products should always carry your company logo. Your customer service reps should always repeat your slogan or catch phrase. Every communication piece should reinforce what your company is all about. You don't want customers to simply know you are there; you want them to think of you whenever they need something similar to your product. Something as simple as your logo on every advertisement or product can help reinforce your product or service in your customer's mind.

Great Business Plan = Winning Over Investors

How much time did you invest in your business plan? Your idea may be wonderful but how you say it may not come across as well as you think. Find a business plan writer to edit your plan, so your ideas come across clear and strong.

Think your business plan will result in a return on your investment in a few short years? Your three to five year financial projections should include your idea of how soon a return can be expected by investors.

Also, don't forget to include a fair evaluation of the competition. Knowing your competition proves you know your business.

Take Your Business Seriously ... Write a Business and Marketing Plan

Are you struggling to be profitable in your business? Maybe it's because you ... on some unconscious level ... are not taking your business seriously. Writing out a business and marketing plan can help you set that right ... and put you on track for a successful business. (For tips on how to write a business and marketing plan you can use, check out the free e-course at http://www.planyourbusinessvision.com.)

A Business Plan Helps You Make Wise Purchasing Decisions

When your business and marketing plan is written out, you can make smarter decisions about buying assets. You may have bought equipment and long-term assets on an as-needed basis before. But a business plan lets you make arrangements in advance so that you’re not taken by surprise. For example, if your lease is up on retail space in a year, include considering buying commercial property in your plan now. (For tips on creating a business and marketing plan, check out the free e-course at http://www.planyourbusinessvision.com.)

A Business Plan Gets Everyone on Board the Success Train

When you have a written business plan, you can share it with others on your team: employees, management, virtual assistants. This not only gets everyone on the same page ... it can also inspire them to contribute in ways you never thought of. By sharing your business plan with them, they have an understanding of where the business is going, and can gauge their place in it. (For help in creating a business plan, check out the free e-course at http://www.planyourbusinessvision.com.)

Business Card Basics Tip #4: Printing Options

Yes, you can go to the office supply store, buy some business card stock and print your business cards from your own printer. But this does not make professional impression. Especially since you can get a set of good quality business cards printed for less than $30 from vendors like VistaPrint.com. So invest in your business card and make a good first impression. If you won't invest in your business, why should a prospect?

Business Card Basics Tip #3: The Back Side

There is much debate about what should go on the back side of your business card. Some say keep it blank so people you hand it to can write notes. While others say put more information here. I say do both! Use some of the space to present your compelling free offer, but also allow some space for note-taking.

Business Card Basics Tip #2: Your Logo

If you've got a well designed logo, let it subtly dominate your business card. It is a visual representation of your brand and will catch the eye of members of your target market.

Increase the popularity of popular blog posts with link clusters.

According to ProBlogger.com, a link cluster "is a group of links that you can point at a post or page to improve its search engine ranking." When you know which posts are more popular (look at your stats), you can increase their search engine ranking and popularity by linking to them from other posts on your blog. Choose popular posts that use key words you're trying to rank high for and this technique could be golden for your blog's traffic.

Use Pictures on Your Blog

Images give your blog visual apeal and they help break up the text so it looks more readable. And, some images, can actually enhance the understanding of the text.

When Blogging, Aways Consider Your Audience

Even if your blog is generally personal, you should always consider the interests of your readers. You want it to be read, so write about what your target market wants to read about.

Personalized Email Gets Opened More Often

It's a busy and message-crowded world. In marketing your company, you have to come up with attention-grabbing ideas that will get your target market to notice you above the fracas. Here's an idea to get you brainstorming.

Personalized Email

Just like our mailboxes, our email inboxes can get flooded with advertisements. So as a business owner, how do you get your email to be read?

If you research a small group of people that may need your services, you can send a targeted message that won’t end up in their junk boxes. It will take longer than your typical mass email, but your results are guaranteed to be much better.

Open with an introduction of you and your company, as well as what benefit you can provide that particular person. If you know something about the reader, let it show.

Article Marketing Tip #7: Use Facts & Figures to Support Your Statements

Using specific facts and figures can heighten the reading experience of your article because it makes it authoritative. But don't make it too formal. It should be light and easy in theme and flow. Like a friendly teacher having a little chat with an eager student.

Article Marketing Tip #6: Keep Them Interested from Start to Finish

From your opening paragraph, use real life situations that can be adopted by the reader. Stories are very good -- people love stories. Use good descriptions and metaphors to drive home your point -- just don't over do it. Using metaphors and similes can make it easy for readers to imagine what you are talking about. Making the experience of reading your article pleasurable and enjoyable.

Article Marketing Tip #5: Use An Attention-Getting Title

If your title can entice a person's curiosity you're already halfway to getting a person to read your article. Use statements and questions that use keywords people are looking for. Provide titles or headers that describe your articles content but also are short and concise.

Use titles like, "5 Tips for _____", or "How to ______." You could also use titles that command people, for example, "Make Clients Open Their Wallets in Six Easy Steps." These types of titles reach out to a person's emotions and makes them interested.

Article Marketing Tip #4: Use Subheads to Break Up the Page

Using subheads creates white space and breaks each point into sections. It also makes it easy for the reader to move on from one point to another; the transition is smooth and easy. You are less likely to lose your readers attention (unless the sub-heads are not of interest), as well as the point and direction of where the article is going.

Article Marketing Tip #3: Use Numbers and Bullets

As each point is stressed, numbers and bullets can quickly make the point easy to digest. As each point, tip, guide or method is started with a bullet point, readers will know that this is where the tips start. It also provides white space, which can increase reading comprehension. Format your bullets and numbers with indentations so that your article won't look like a single block of square paragraphs.

Article Marketing Tip #2: Use Short Paragraphs

When paragraphs are very long, the words get jumbled in the mind of the reader. Just looking at a large chunk of text -- especially on the web -- can get confusing and be too much work to read. The reader will quickly disregard the paragraph and move on to articles that are easy to look at, as well as read.

Paragraphs can be a single sentence, sometimes even a single word!

Article Marketing Tip #1: Know Your Stuff

In an ideal world, you should write articles about topics you know something about. When you write about it, you won't have a hard time because you already know your stuff! It's just a matter of making your articles creative, interesting and easy to read.

Affirmations and Letting Go

I know this may sound odd, but in order for your affirmations to come true, you need to relax and let them go. Trying to make them happen can actually slow down the process by introducing stress and strife. Say your affirmation, then relax into trust that it will happen.

How to Write an Affirmation

Affirmations work best when written in the present tense, as if you already live the desire you seek. This is to "trick" your subconscious mind into believing it is true, so it will work with the universe to make it so. An affirmation needs to be short, easy to remember and positive -- the subconscious mind will drop any "not" or "never" it comes across.

Using Affirmations

Do you use affirmations to help you change the way you think for the better? Although you can't depend on affirmations alone, they are a key component for success. To use them effectively you need to interact with them, fell the emotion they represent. One way to do this is to place your current affirmation in a wide variety of places so you will be reminded of your goal throughout the day. Here are some suggested locations: your journal's cover, wardrobe doors, refrigerator door, bathroom mirror, sun visor in your car (for when you are parked, of course!), your wallet and the side of your computer screen.

Document What You Do and Sell That

You should document all the systems you use. When you've created one that works very well for you, create an information product that shows other how to gain the same benefits your got. Now you have a new product to add to your marketing funnel!