Hi All,
I’m taking a break from adding new posts to the MLMTalk Blog and am concentrating on my new MLM Marketing Blog right now. You can visit the new blog here:
Linda Locke
by Elizabeth McGee
Increasing website traffic is the name of the game on the internet. It’s important to note, however that there is no one thing that can bring instant traffic or ongoing sales. It’s a combination of strategies that promote contact and networking.
Not all strategies work for everyone, so it’s important to know what the options are, utilize a few that look appealing and stick with what works for you.
Here’s a few tips and strategies that have worked for me. Give them all a try or perhaps just one. Any or all can make a healthy difference:
1. Write A Press Release
A press release is not a sales pitch and sales hype is not allowed. It is, however, your chance to provide your business story which can be a powerful form of marketing. When writing your press release you’ll want to provide the who, what, where, when, how and why of your business. Create interest by detailing who you are, what you are about, why you went into business, but more importantly, how your customers have benefited.
An effective press release can create a newsworthy story that is capable of creating buzz and interest all across the web for a long time to come.
2. Create A Blog
Whether you have a website or not, a blog is an ideal tool for giving you and/or your business a favorable presence.
Think of a blog as a diary. Create your blog by posting your products and information. Then on a daily or weekly basis add additional products, information or comments. Invite comments from others and before you know it you’ll have a steady stream of visitors.
If you don’t have a website, creating a blog is a great place to start and you can create one for free. If you do have a website, a blog will help generate visitors. The beauty of blogs is that you can also add Google adsense ads for additional revenue.
3. Create Special Offers
A limited time sales offer will encourage your visitors to act. If you have customers that are interested in your products, give them an occasional boost by holding a sale. Chances are they’ve been eyeing your products for some time, and with a special offer incentive, they just might take the leap.
4. Use Pay Per Click Advertising
Every internet business owner should consider pay per click advertising. It’s fast, it’s targeted and can be cheap if done correctly. Therein lies the key, you must research how to create a cost effective pay per click campaign.
It’s not rocket science. You simply need to write a compelling ad, research relevant keywords and understand your return on investment. This means that if your product earns you $20 per sale then you must pay no more than 20 cents per keyword, preferably less. For example, on average, your ad will bring in one sale per 100 clicks on that ad. If 100 clicks brings one $20 sale then you’ve just paid $20 for that ad (100 x .20) and you broke even. Therefore, your goal should be to pay less than 20 cents per keyword but no more. Finding relevant, less popular keywords is goal.
Of course, the better the ad and the better your website’s sales copy performs, the more sales you will receive.
5. Write An Article
Don’t put this one off. The internet is designed to deliver information and what better way for you to get the word out about you, your business and your expertise than by providing relevant, useful information. If you’re selling scrapbooks, write an article on how to scrapbook. A well written article can show someone how easy scrapbooking is, boost their interest and therefore encourage a sale.
If writing an article is not something you feel you can do, have it written for you, it’s not expensive and it’s one of the best ways to bring traffic to your site.
6. Carefully Optimize Your Site For The Search Engines
Don’t build your site and forget it. Utilize the search engines to your benefit by taking the time to optimize your site. Optimization doesn’t have to be complex. Simply create a title that clearly depicts what your site is about and write a description that accurately describes to your readers what information you have to offer. Research relevant keyword phrases as opposed to single words and repeat that phrase in your title, description and throughout your page.
7. Create A Newsletter
Your goal should be to keep your viewers coming back to your site over and over again. The best way to keep in touch with viewers is through publishing a newsletter or a periodical that offers beneficial, useful information.
Post a newsletter form on your site and specifically direct your viewers to sign-up. Don’t just expect them to notice that you have a newsletter, direct them there and be specific about what your newsletter offers.
By publishing a weekly newsletter you are reminding your readers of your products, sales or upcoming events. Avoid pushy sales tactics and sales hype. Simply offer useful information, tips and advice. Make your newsletter a thing of value by keeping them interested and encouraged.
It’s important to remember that it takes an average of 7 visits for a viewer to buy; they’re not likely to visit seven times without a reminder.
8. Offer Something Free
We all love free and the internet is no exception.
- If you publish a newsletter, offer a free ebook or free e-course in exchange for an email address. In your newsletter also offer a free tips section that pertains to your site’s topic.
- If someone makes a purchase, consider offering a free bonus, this often prompts sales.
- Offer free teleseminars. This is an excellent way to let your viewers hear your voice and experience who you really are. It builds trust and they won’t soon forget who you are and what you are about.
9. Make A Donation
Create a promotion where you will be donating a percentage of your proceeds to your favorite charity. Donating money or services to your favorite charity builds trust and a positive image for your business. I’d much rather buy from someone that donates a few dollars to a worthy cause than someone who doesn’t.
10. Participate In Discussion Forums
Take the time to find online forums that are relevant to your business. By responding to questions, offering advice or posting your articles, others will see you as an expert in your field as well as someone willing to help. Posting on a weekly basis will allow readers to become familiar with you and your business as well as regarding you as a respected authority.
When registering on a forum be sure to create a signature file that includes your website address. This will post your website address each time you make a forum entry.
Your business will do well to perform each and every strategy noted above, however, performing just one of these powerful marketing strategies will improve your chances of drawing visitors to your site, but more importantly, it will help keep them coming back.
Elizabeth McGee may be contacted at http://www.homenotion.com Click here to view more of Elizabeth’s articles. Elizabeth is a seasoned internet marketer focused on helping anyone interested in building a home internet business by providing free marketing advice, marketing product reviews, free courses, motivation and a friend. Grab Elizabeth’s comprehensive free newsletter today.
The Small Business Administration has added a new resource for women in business at Mybiz for Women.
They offer lots of good articles on starting and marketing a business - you can check it out here:
Enjoy!
Linda Locke
Editor, MLTalk
http://www.mlmtalk.com
By Debra Fine
Do you dread receptions, banquets, and other business-related social events? Does attending another open house make you want to run inside your own and lock the door? You’re not alone. Many of us are apprehensive about these situations, because most of us either hate entering rooms where we don’t know anyone or hate spending time with people we don’t know well. Keeping a conversation going during such occasions is an ordeal.
Everyone learns the technical skills required for their jobs, but not everyone places importance on conversational skills. The ability to talk easily with anyone is a learned skill, not a personality trait. Acquiring it will help you develop rapport with people and leave a positive impression that lasts longer than an exchange of business cards.
Here are a few tips business professionals can use to improve their small-talk skills:
• Be the first to say hello!
• Introduce yourself. Act as if you’re the host and introduce new arrivals to your conversational partner or partners.
• Smile first and always shake hands when you meet anyone.
• Take your time during introductions! Make an extra effort to remember names, and use them frequently in the conversation.
• Maintain eye contact in any conversation. Many people in a group of three or more people look around in the hope that others will maintain eye contact on our behalf. But people don’t feel listened to if you’re not looking at them.
• Get somebody to talk about why they’re attending the event, and you are on your way to engaging them in conversation.
• Show an interest in every person. The more interest you show the wiser and attractive you become to others.
• Listen carefully for information that can keep the conversation going.
• Remember: People want to be with people who make them feel special, not people who are “special”. Take responsibility to help people you talk to feel as if they’re the only person in the room.
• Play the conversation game. When someone asks, “How’s business?” and “What’s going on?” Answer with more than “Pretty good” or “Not much”. Tell more about yourself so that others can learn more about you.
• Be careful with business acquaintances. You wouldn’t want to open a conversation with: “How’s your job at ________?” What if that person just got fired or laid off? Be careful when you’re asking about an acquaintance’s spouse or special friend; you could regret it.
• Don’t act like you’re an FBI agent. Questions like “What do you do?”, “Are you married?”, “Do you have children?”, and “Where are you from?” lead to dead-end conversations.
• Be aware of body language. Nervous or ill-at-ease people make others uncomfortable. Act confident and comfortable, even when you’re not.
• Be prepared. Spend a few minutes before an anticipated event preparing to talk easily about three topics. They will come in handy when you find yourself in the middle of an awkward moment… or while seated at a table of eight where everyone is playing with their food.
• Show an interest in your conversational partner’s opinion, too. You’re not the only person who has opinions about funding the space program or what will happen to the stock market.
• Stop conversation monopolists in their tracks. If possible, wait for the person to take a breath or to pause, then break in with a comment about their topic. Immediately redirect the conversation in the direction you wish it to go.
• Be prepared with exit lines. You need to move around and meet others.
• Don’t melt from conversations. Make a positive impression by shaking hands and saying goodbye as you leave.
With practice, you can learn how to make the most of meetings, interviews, and networking events or of entertaining clients at conventions, trade shows, and other work-related functions. You’ll learn to appreciate, rather than dread, networking events.
About the Author
Debra Fine is a former engineer living in Denver who works nationwide as a speaker and trainer presenting “The Fine Art of Small Talk”. She is the author of The Fine Art of Small Talk (Hyperion October 2005). Visit www.DebraFine.com or call 303-721-8266 for additional information.
by Rob Sullivan
There has been a virtual explosion of social networking sites in the past couple of years. Even the big players like Google, Yahoo and MSN are getting into it.
With so much interest in how social networks work, one begins to wonder if there is marketing potential within these social networks?
I’ve been watching social networking for some time now. In fact I’m a member of various social networking sites including MySpace and LinkedIn just to name two.
I joined partly because I wanted to see what they were, but more importantly to see what impact social networking would have on SEM in the coming years.
I’ve been a member of various services for some time and the reach these sites have is incredible.
For example, from my LinkedIn network of seven people I have an expanded network of over 12,600 people.
Imagine that - I’m only a click or two away from close to 13,000 other people who share my similar interests ranging from what I like to watch on TV to work I could provide to them.
Through my connections and their connections, I’m connected to people ranging from the American Cancer Society, to Sun Microsystems to the University of Texas to Google.
But what marketing opportunities are there for Social Networking?
Well, let’s look at MySpace.
MySpace is one of the top sites on the Web today. It racked up 9.4 billion page-views in August 2005 (more than Google) and new users are signing up at a mind-boggling rate of 3.5 million a month.
MySpace is typical of where today’s 18-30 year old goes to manage their digital life. It allows users to post photos of themselves and their friends, create a blog, list their favorite bands, view and share videos, suggest things to do and lists a set of people they consider friends. It is on this “Friends List” where most of the opportunities lie.
All thirty million plus users of MySpace have a friend’s page that lists people that person considers their friend. This is a list of people that they are interested in talking to and about, as well as hearing from on a regular basis. Once you add someone as your friend they can send you emails, comment on your photos, read your blogs, as well as leave messages that you can then share with others. This is an opportunity for instant feedback about you.
The ability to add friends to your page is key for marketing to MySpace users. According to Courtney Holt, head of new media and strategic marketing at Interscope Records, “This generation is growing up without having ever watched programmed media.” “They don’t think in terms of the album, and they don’t think in terms of a TV schedule. They think in terms of TiVo, P2P, AOL, and of course MySpace.”
You can see how this could grow.
Let’s say you create a MySpace account to talk about your product or service. You blog about it and search for others that may share your interests.
You then invite them to be your friend. When they become a friend you start your “soft sell” pitching your product to them.
As they grow to appreciate it, they start blogging and sharing it. Soon hundreds or even thousand of people are talking about you and your product or service.
Don’t think this will work?
Let me give you some examples. There are many bands who have gotten their start on MySpace. Simply by hosting some of their music online and blogging about themselves they developed a following. Soon they had record deals and contracts lined up.
Of course to use services like MySpace you need to have something this target market needs. If you don’t then you probably shouldn’t put too much effort into MySpace.
But that doesn’t mean other social networking opportunities should be overlooked. As I mentioned above, LinkedIn is more of a professional introduction service. If your product or service fits here then by all means explore it further.
And there are others as well. Services such as Yahoo!s MyWeb, Flickr, del.icio.us and more.
So if you’ve ever wondered what other online opportunities could be out there, consider social networking. It could be the next great online marketing channel.
About The Author
Rob Sullivan is a SEO Consultant and Writer for Textlinkbrokers.com. Textlinkbrokers is the trusted leader in building long term rankings through safe and effective link building. Please provide a link directly to Textlinkbrokers when syndicating this article.
By Wendy Weiss
1. Use power language: “The solution is…” rather than, “I believe the solution is…”
2. Never use the word “appointment” when trying to set one. Instead, use the word “meeting.” “Meeting” sounds more professional and more important. “I would like to meet with you…”
3. Use directed words to reach your prospect. When you ask to speak with your prospect, say, “Jane Jones, please,” and not, “May I speak with Jane Jones?” The first sentence conveys authority; the second asks permission.
4. Use directed words (and open-ended questions) to gather information. Ask, “Whom should I speak with?” and not, “Do you know who I should speak with?” The first conveys authority, and whomever you are questioning, if they know, must answer with a name. In the second sentence, the response could simply be “yes” or “no.”
5. Whether trying to ascertain a good time to call your prospect back or trying to schedule a meeting, it is a good idea to give alternate choices. “Is this afternoon good, or would tomorrow morning be better?” It is much easier for your prospect to decide “when” rather than “whether.”
6. “I’m just calling…” Eliminate the word “just” from your vocabulary. That little word “just” is an apology. It says that your call is not important and that what you have to say is not important. Simply tell your prospects and customers why you are calling. That is enough.
7. “…we ill hopefully achieve…” Hopefully? No one pays you to “hopefully” do something. They pay you to actually do it! Tell your prospects or customers what they will achieve or should expect to achieve.
8. Be clear and to the point. You are telling your story to a stranger who has never heard it.
Wendy Weiss, “The Queen of Cold Calling,” is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Her recently released program, Cold Calling College, and/or her book, Cold Calling for Women, can be ordered by visiting wendyweiss.com. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com. Get Wendy’s free e-zine at
wendyweiss.com.
© 2006 Wendy Weiss
by Suzanne Falter-Barns
www.getknownnow.com.com
Ever notice how some websites feel great, energetic, fun — you just want to linger to soak up more? And yet other sites are truly repellant. These tips will help you create a truly happening site….
1. Don’t use a dark background.
Think about the websites you’ve seen that are fun, refreshing, and really draw you in. Ever notice they usually have a white or light background? Dark or heavily patterned background are emotionally draining to look at, and they’re hard to read. Since the Web is a written medium, color counts!
2. Don’t pick hard-to-load graphics.
You’ve heard it before. Don’t use little graphics that sing and dance not only because they take longer to load (not everywhere has a high speed connection.) Search engines get confused by them, and could potentially downgrade or even ban you in their rankings. Even cascading style sheets, often used in templates, can slow down SE responsiveness. Ultimately, tricky stuff like this does little to enhance your site. What counts … is content!
3. Don’t confuse the reader.
Pick one focus and stick with it. Resist the temptation to cram all of your many skills into one small website. Chances are they speak to different audiences, so serve up only focused fare for a singular audience. For example, if you’re a coach who works with the chronically disorganized, plus those who need relationship help, you’ve got the making of two powerful websites, not one. After all, you can always have more than one website to speak to your different readers. (I do!)
4. Make sure your brand — your site name, URL and ezine/blog names — reflects your focus.
If your site helps disorganized, menopausal women get a grip, choose a URL that reflects that. Go with ‘getagripover50.com’ for instance, instead of a generic life coaching term like ’strategicliving.com’. Again and again I encounter coaches who think they must put all of their myriad products under one generic name that means nothing. No one says you can’t have several websites that reach several different audiences and sell different products and services. (Remember, however, you’ll have to promote all those sites, so don’t go too crazy.)
5. Make sure your ezine and blog scream ‘BENEFIT.
Nothing worse than a soft, mushy ezine/blog that doesn’t really DO anything for the reader. Using the example above, why not an ezine or blog called ‘Hot Flashes Over 50′? Your ezine must be more than your collected thoughts, unlike your blog which can be more conversational. A good ezine delivers useful info to exactly who needs it. And the title reflects that.
6. Don’t hard-sell the reader.
Websites that come at the reader with all the offers up front, and then some, dash our interest quickly. Don’t put all of your offers right out there on the home page. Rather, entice us in to spend a little quality time with your free articles, your ezine, your insights. Give me some of what you know for free, in a dignified manner, and I’ll probably be willing to pay for the rest.
7. Don’t use look-alike templates.
Tempting as that site-in-a-box price point is, avoid it studiously. We seen them A LOT, and they do nothing for your site or your image. Instead, hire a designer who can tweak your template to become truly your own — it’s not as hard as you might think. Add your own personalized images, and feel free to have them strip away some of the bells and whistles.
8. Don’t blow off the keywords.
When it comes to search engines like Google and Yahoo, keywords are your best friend. Something like 85% of your web traffic will come from these words, so you’ll want to handle them carefully. Various tools like www.wordtracker.com and Overture’s keyword tool can help you see what’s out there, and pick and choose intelligently.
©2006 Suzanne Falter-Barns LLC.
Download Suzanne’s free list of 50 Top Publishing & Media contacts at www.getknownnow.com. Drop by her blog at http://www.painlessselfpromotion.com for almost daily tips on how to get known now … the easy way!
Copyright 2004 Bob Leduc
Here’s a simple way you can generate lots of sales leads or traffic to your web site. Use postcards. They’re highly effective and very low-cost. Plus, postcards provide the following 6 unique advantages over most other types of advertising.
1. Maximum Exposure for Your Sales Message
Postcards are delivered “ready to read”. Even people who usually ignore other advertising will find it hard to avoid looking at your message when it’s on a postcard, especially if you keep it brief.
With other types of advertising you often lose prospects who would have been interested in your offer, but they never saw it.
2. Simple and Low-Cost
Postcards are simple to produce - and very low-cost. You can print 4 x 6 inch postcards on your own computer for less than 2 cents each. Or you can reduce the cost down to about 1 cent each if you print 4 at a time on 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of card stock and cut the sheets into quarters.
Even postcards printed by a commercial printer are not expensive — usually about 4 cents to 8 cents each.
The postage for mailing postcards is low too. In the US you can send postcards by First Class Mail for only 23 cents. This reduced postage rate applies to postcards that are at least 3 1/2 x 5 inches but not over 4 1/4 x 6 inches.
3. Get Immediate Results
Because postcards are simple and easy to use - they produce results quickly. Often your postcards can be mailed within a week from the time you decide to use them. You will start getting replies 2 or 3 days later.
4. Gain Control of Your Sales Activity
Postcards put you in control your sales activity. You can avoid getting too many or too few responses during any time period by regulating how many postcards you mail and how often you mail them.
That means you can quickly boost your sales activity any time it slows down. And you can avoid losing customers you can’t handle immediately because you got flooded with too much activity at one time.
5. No Wasted Advertising Expense
Postcards enable you to spend your entire advertising budget on your best prospects. You don’t have to pay for advertising to a large audience in order to reach a few good prospects.
With a little advance planning you can make sure your postcards only go to prospects likely to be interested in what you offer and who also have a prior history of acting on offers that interest them.
For example, analyze your customers and make a list of the characteristics they share. Then call several national mailing list brokers and tell them what you are looking for. You’ll be surprised at how specific some mailing lists are today.
6. Can Evaluate Results Quickly
Postcards normally generate 90 percent or more of their total number of replies within 7 to 10 days. This enables you to quickly and accurately evaluate the results of postcard advertising. You’ll know in about a week if you can confidently send more of the same postcards - or if you need to make some changes.
Don’t overlook postcards when you want to generate sales leads - or web site traffic. They’re highly effective, very low-cost …and they provide these 6 unique advantages you cannot get with most other types of advertising.
About the Author
Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards and launched BizTips from Bob, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You’ll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV
By Wendy Weiss
I spent my formative years in ballet class. While other kids went out to play, I went to ballet class. In high school while others attended after-school activities or hung out together, I went to ballet class. By my mid-teens I was taking class five or six times a week or maybe even more. This was a habit that continued till injuries sidelined my professional dancing career.
This habit of taking a ballet class every day was not mine alone. Every dancer, professional or those seeking to become professional, takes class every day. It’s a habit, it’s a reality, it goes with the job. It is impossible to dance professionally without taking class. Even the stars, Barishnykov, for example, take class every day.
In my late teens I had some personal crises that stopped me from going to class everyday. At one of my rare appearances in class, my teacher asked where I had been. I told her what was going on in my life. She said to me, “That’s no reason not to take class. You have to take class everyday, no matter what.”
Sounds harsh doesn’t it? But she was right. Not taking class only gave me something else to feel bad about.
When I started my sales training business, I used that same “no matter what” approach to prospecting. I prospected every day. I started out with absolutely no corporate connections. I was a ballet dancer, I only knew other ballet dancers. I did, however, know how to prospect. On and off for years my “day job” had been telemarketing. I began to prospect the same way I learned to take class, every day, no matter what. Five years later I have a thriving business. Even today I continue to prospect every day, while perhaps not for as many hours. Every day brings some prospecting activity, no matter what.
So how does the busy entrepreneur, busy owner or sales professional find the time to prospect every day no matter what? The answer is simple, put it in your calendar. Schedule time in your calendar every day for prospecting activity. At the scheduled time put aside what you are doing and prospect.
Do not take other calls, do not work on other projects, do not allow interruptions. Simply prospect. When the time you have scheduled is over, stop prospecting and go on with your other tasks.
Schedule appointments with yourself to prospect and keep those appointments. We get angry and upset when prospects miss appointments. Ask yourself: Why is it all right to miss an appointment with yourself?
Prospecting success (just like learning to dance) comes over time. In order to keep your sales funnel full you must constantly be on the lookout for leads and prospects. By keeping your funnel full you avoid the boom and bust cycles that so many entrepreneurs and sales professionals experience.
To be successful you must engage in some prospecting activity everyday, no matter what. It’s a habit, it’s a reality, it goes with the job.
Wendy Weiss, “The Queen of Cold Calling & Selling Success,” is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Her recently released program, Cold Calling College, and/or her book, Cold Calling for Women, can be ordered by visiting http://www.wendyweiss.com. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com. Get Wendy’s free e-zine at
http://www.wendyweiss.com.
© 2005 Wendy Weiss
Here’s some good advice from Kara Kelso & Anita DeFrank of
Direct Sales Industry News.
Stop Losing Sales - Build Your Own Website
If you are in Direct Sales, you may not realize how many sales you are missing by not having a website of your own. Rep websites aren’t usually indexed in the search engines, and most can’t be personalized completely.
Let me give you an example of why it’s so important to have your own website. I searched for “Watkins Vanilla” on Yahoo, Google, and MSN.
- On Yahoo, Watkin’s company page was #7 in the listings. Ranked before them were reps with their own website.
- On Google, the company page was #5. Again, reps with their own websites ranked above them. more
Linda Locke
http://www.mlmtalk.com
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