• you don’t end friendships or love affairs…you “opt-out” of them
• you can’t read any text wider than about 600 pixels
• you can think of 17 different ways to describe something as free without actually using the word “free”
• the shopping list you give your spouse has all the important items squeezed into the top lefthand corner of the piece of paper
• you look for the unsubscribe link in direct mail
• you reject birthday cards that don’t have the postal address of the sender printed on the reverse of the envelope
• your signature on checks includes your job title, address, phone number, fax number and website address
• you delete people from your address book if they fail to return your phone calls three times in a row
• when people accept your dinner invitations, you send out another invitation asking if they’re sure
• the photos in your wedding album don’t have labels…they have alt tags
• you send everyone two Christmas cards…one text-only, the other with images and colors

Source: eMailMarketer.com.au

Articles have been known to be the driving force in driving traffic to a website. Articles are a factor in giving site high rankings in search result pages. The higher a site ranks the bigger slice of the traffic flow pie he gets. With a large amount of traffic, there are more profits and more potential for other income generating streams as well.

But, it is not just about stuffing your site with articles; they have certain requirements as well. These requirements must be met to obtain the maximum benefits an article will provide for your site. A well written article will catch the eyes and interest of your customers and keep them coming back for more.  They would also be able to recommend your site to others.

Here are some tips to help you and assist you in making your articles. Below you will read about four things all articles must have to make them successful and helpful in making your site a profit earning and traffic overflowing site.

Keywords and Keyword Phrases.

An article must always be centered on the keywords and keyword phrases. As each website visitor goes to a site, there are those who are not merely browsing but actually looking for a specific something. When this happens, a searcher usually goes to a search engine and types in the keywords they are looking for (e.g. Web Design, Meningitis, Tax Lawyer etc.). It could be anything they want.

The Important thing is that you have an article that has the keywords that are related to your site. For example, if you maintain an auto parts site, you must have articles about cars and their parts.  There are many tools on the internet that provide assistance in helping a webmaster out in determining what keywords and keyword phrases are mostly sought out. You can use these tools to determine what keywords to use and write about.  

Keyword Density

Now that you have your keywords and keyword phrases, you must use them fully. An article must have good keyword density for a search engine to “feel” its presence. Articles should at least have ten to fifteen percent of keyword density in their content for search engines to rank a site high in their search results. Getting a high rank is what articles do best for a site.  If your keyword is web design, then the phrase should appear in the website a few times.  The 10 to 15% rule is really only a guideline, because things such as keyword stuffing (adding too many of the same keywords) can actually cause your website to dwindle in search engine rankings.  A good search engine such as Google actually also uses keyword relevance to see if the keyword is relevant to the rests of the article’s content.  If not, you can have as many keywords as you like, but you won’t achieve much success with them.

Good Article Content

Like what is stated above, you cannot just riddle an article with keywords. They must also be regarded as good reading material. Articles must be able to entertain people as well as provide good information and help for their needs. Articles should be written well with correct spelling and good grammar. If you want people to trust you, make your work good and well thought out.

People respond well to figures, facts and statistics. Try to get great information and as many facts as you can. A good and well written article will boost your reputation as an expert in your chosen field or topic. As more people believe in you, they will be able to trust you and your products.

Linking Articles

And another important thing to remember. If you are going to submit articles to ezines and/or contribute your articles to newsletters and other sites, DON’T ever forget to include a link to your site. A little resource box with a brief description of your site and you should always be placed right after your articles that you have submitted. If people like your articles, they will most likely click on the link directing them to your site.

Author:  Rian Schoeman
Source:  Network with the Poet

What are the top three messages you come away with? Can you even narrow it down to three?

Technology companies tend to take the 'throw everything at the wall' approach to messaging. I don't mean that negatively. Well, maybe I do. It's just that technology products have so many different ways they can impact different customers, so many cool things that companies want to talk about.Tech marketers often fall into the trap of trying to tell everyone everything - and then let the audience pick what's valuable to them.

The problem? Customers can't ‘consume’, much less remember, all the messages you give them. They are not sponges. They can't absorb every aspect of your technology like you can - they don't live and breathe it every day as you do. Neither do your sales reps for that matter. Neither do your partners.

When you overload your audience with too many messages, you risk not communicating at all.

The solution? Try synthesizing everything to threes. Three is the magic marketing number. Okay, I'll admit, sometimes I stretch it to five. But never, ever, more messages than that. Anything more is noise.

Why three? Because studies have shown that that's the optimum amount of information ‘buckets’ that a person can process at any given point in time.

 "But I have more messages than three, more value!”

Sure you do. The trick is to create, organize and then tie your story together so that it flows in blocks of three messages at a time.

So how do you do that? I create a positioning matrix with three facets***. Starting at the highest level, I create three key messages, then drill down into stories within each facet.  For example:

• Start by synthesizing your overall message into three key areas. I usually create these messages, around three standard arenas; your company and its expertise, your solutions and their customer value, and your market and your leadership within it. 
• Under each of those aspects, create up to three evidence messages that demonstrate your success in that specific area. At this point, I'm usually still at the business level benefits, and I haven't entered the technology zone as yet. Think business evidence, based on customer success, at this point in time.
• Under each of those three areas, add three highly specialized messages with very specific proof points. And guess what? Now your messaging can dive into those technology claims you were chomping at the bit to share.
• Now go look at your target markets. For each target market, apply the top three messages that map to their specific problems. Tune them to meet the specific market needs, and add the supporting evidence you need from real world customers in that market. 

Great messaging synthesizes a crisp and compelling story that customers and prospects easily and quickly comprehend and value.

By following the rule of threes, you'll be able to create just those stories.

Author:  Rebel Brown
Source:  Phoenix Rising

As customers, do we need a corporation to satisfy our emotional needs to earn our loyalty? In response, I thought of the top 10 reasons why your customers are being difficult:

(1.) You're the only game in town or one of a few, limited options

You may feel you have a captive audience, but realize that it takes a special effort not to be arrogant in those circumstance, and your customers don't like the treatment. For example, if you're looking for a high speed Internet provider, there may be only one to choose from in your market. Mobile network with broad global coverage? Same thing, one or two.

(2.) People want to be part of something bigger/better

On the other hand, if you are the only game in town, how about considering the community and the people who look up to your company? Are you as a company excited to be part of that community? Are your people encouraged to contribute?

(3.) Customers feel you're charging too much

Especially when everyone is facing tightening economic conditions, there isn't perceived or tangible value coming out of your rates. That's why it's a good idea to communicate about context in your marketing. Your good deal will be put to the test by your customers with their peers.

(4.) You're not listening to what they have to say

There are rules to follow and incentivesto be had, and they both point in some other direction than where the customer wants to go in the conversation. If you were in court, they might say you were leading the witness. Allow customers to say what they want to say. Maybe ask clarifying questions.

(5.) You're being negative

The conversation may have started on the right foot, but you continue to talk about what can't be done, the rules and policies - in other words, you have a bad attitude. And now that is transferring onto the call. How many of you have experienced this?

(6.) You're not soliciting feedback

This could even be worse than not listening. We all know that what we like may not be what others want, even at home. Why would this be different with customers? Are you changing a product, their product, or the packaging without asking, first? Think about what Pepsi did recently with Tropicana packaging. Go by the old axiom - if it aint' broken, don't fix it.

(7.) You're asking, but not following up

One more step on the infuriating scale is when you ask, acknowledge what your customer is telling you, and then do nothing about it. If a customer takes the time to give you input, the expectation is that there will be some kind of follow up. Wouldn't you expect the same?

(8.) You make it difficult to reach the right person

Many touch points may be good in marketing parlance, but when it comes to customer service, they plain suck. Have you experienced one or two transfers when calling a company? I can count up to five and then back to the original number.

(9.) You change the rules on them

Managing expectations is one thing, but today the rules and the fine print are changing so often, that it's become difficult to figure out what is included and what isn't, with anything. There's an impact on trust here.

(10.) Some customers are always going to be difficult

It's not personal, let's face it, there may not be a way of pleasing them. Does that mean you should stop trying?

About the Author:  Valeria Maltoni helps businesses understand how customers and communities have changed marketing, public relations, and communications - and how to build value in this new environment. As a communicator with 20 years of experience, 10 of which online, she specializes in marketing communications, customer dialogue, and brand management. Valeria has come to define modern business as a long and open conversation. Conversation Agent is recognized among the world's top online marketing blogs.

Author:  Valeria Maltoni
Source:  Conversation Agent

1. What is your market and position in it?

Being clear about your market, where you are in it and where you want to be are essential foundations to creating a plan to get there. A few simple questions help to clarify this.

• What do you sell?
• Who do you sell to today?
• Who are your ideal customers?
• Who are your competition?
• What is your Unique Sales Proposition - USP?

What is a USP?

It can be identified by completing the phrase "Customers will buy from me because my business is the only/best..."

For example, my own USP at Cognitive is a combination of:

• Award-winning sales track record
• Psychologist
• Can coach, mentor, train, or even do the job for you.
• I'm happy to 'put my money where my mouth is' with performance related rewards.

As well as a USP, it is useful to develop a Strap Line, which summarises what you are about in one short phrase. Examples of some are:

• Cognitive: The fast track to improving sales results.
• Audi: Vorsprung durch Technik.
• Microsoft: Where do you want to go today?
• Heinz Baked Beans: Beanz Meanz Heinz
• KitKat: Have a break, have a KitKat
• What is yours ? Does it really sum up what you do, or reinforce your brand?

2. What does your offering do for your customer?

I often find that, in particular for clients with a technical product or service, their promotional materials such as the website or brochures talk lots about the technology and little or nothing about the benefits of using them.

This leaves the prospective customer to work out the benefits for himself, which is a risk you need not take. The answer here is to sell the benefits, not the features.

Look at features through the eyes of the person you are selling to. The more you know about your customers' needs, the easier this will be. Ask 'So what?' to each feature: the answers that you come up with are your potential benefits.

Ask your customers about the benefits that they see as well. You'll sometimes be surprised. For example, I've had clients who use me to help persuade the bank manager to lend their business money or to persuade venture capitalists that they are a good investment, by adding credibility to their management teams.

For your own products and services, for each feature, make a list of all the possible benefits that you can think of, then match the needs of each customer to what your product or service can offer. Don't forget the softer issues, often personal and emotional, which despite our best efforts often govern the buying decisions that we make (whether we realise it or not).

For example, for Cognitive, here are some features and the potential benefits to my clients:

3. Getting the right message out

There are potentially many tens, or even hundreds, of ways of getting your message out to your potential customers, but I often find that businesses get stuck in a rut of only using one or two and that there are often better approaches that can be taken (or even worse, try one, see no immediate success so stop all promotional activities).

All promotion should focus on getting the right message out to:

• the right people
• in the right way
• at the right time
• at the right cost.

Measure the return on investment (ROI)

The secret here is to try several different approaches on a small scale and the measure the return on investment from each, working out how much each sales lead costs. Do more of the ones that work best and modify or drop the ones that don't work as well.

It's also a good idea to do 'split testing' where you run two versions of the same promotion and see which works best. This is very easy to do with tools such as Google Adwords. In general, you ought to have a range of promotional activities in progress at any time, so that if one dries up you have other channels delivering leads and a basis for comparison.

This approach really does work. I have one client who was putting almost all their budget into one approach (an annual trade show) but found that an alternative much less expensive approach (on-line pay-per-click advertising) produced much better results and on a regular basis.

Simple changes to wording of advertisements can make a dramatic difference to response rates. The effects are often not what you might predict, so experimentation is vital to get the best results.

How many different ways do you promote your business? You should experiment with at least six and see what works best for you. What PR do you do? This can be a free way of getting your message out and often works much better than advertising.

Are you making best use of social and business networking facilities such as Ecademy and Linked-in?

4. Sales tools

Would you try and work as a car mechanic without some basic tools? If you did, at best, it would take you much longer to get the job done, at worst you simply could not complete the work.

Apply this principle to marketing and selling and you'll soon discover that having the right tools makes the job a whole lot easier, more fun and more profitable.

Examples of some suitable tools are:

• Happy client testimonials
• Demonstrations
• Samples
• Case studies
• Templates for everything.

Testimonials are probably the most powerful tools available as they are an independent indicator of your ability to do a good job. Assuming that you do deliver a good product or service, most clients are happy to give a testimonial if approached in the right way at the right time.

Here is an example testimonial for Cognitive:

"Cognitive Sales Consulting helped us create an environment that

supports accelerated contract wins and their expert analysis of our

sales and marketing processes has helped put us firmly on the path of

continual improvement"

Alex Fidgen, Sales Director of MWR InfoSecurity.

How much more credibility does this carry than if I were to say it?

5. Qualification

In sales there is always more work that could be done and it is not unusual to have more potential activity on the go than you can handle. So you have to choose between trying to give everything equal priority (the shotgun approach) or carefully select the best opportunities (the guided missile approach). Guess which would work best? You can blast away at anything that moves with your shotgun in the hope that you will hit something every now and then, or you can carefully pick out the best targets with your guided missiles one at time.

If you are not choosing which opportunities to go for and which to pass over, in a repeatable, measurable way then you are wasting money on wild goose chases and missing business that could be yours.

A common issue is chasing every opportunity with equal vigour, as this dilutes the resources that you could be applying to the 'best few' where you have a much better chance of winning and also of gaining happier customers as well.

In general, unless you are 'qualifying-out' of some opportunities then there is scope for improvement here.

A simple tool to help with qualification is called 'B A N T', which looks at the four key ingredients that must come together to make a deal

• Budget
• Authority
• Need
• Timescale.

Budget

Have they got any money to spend on this? Have they got enough? Are we on the same page on costs? What about payment terms and deposits?

Authority

Am I talking to the REAL decision maker? Ask them if any one else would need to rubberstamp their decision... if the answer is yes then you are not speaking to the real decision maker (yet!).

Need

How much do they need this? How much pain are they in with the problem

that you could solve? What happens if they do nothing?

Time-frame

Does this fit my schedule? Is their time-frame realistic? You want it when?

There is also a more sophisticated system called SCOTSMAN, which stands for:

• Solution
• Competition
• Originality
• Time-scales
• Money
• Authority
• Need. 

This can be useful where you have complex or very time-consuming sales cycles and your cost of (attempted) sales is high.

In my experience, one of the main differences between the most productive salespeople and average salespeople is that the most successful are better at qualification, so spend their time where it is likely to produce the best results. They may well work less than some poorer performing sales people, but they work much smarter.

6. How much to charge?

Setting the right price can easily make the difference between a business succeeding or not, as a relatively small increase in price can make a dramatic difference to profitability.

Pricing and profitability is influenced by many factors such as supply and demand and competitive activity, but it is mainly 'perceived relative value' that counts. In other words, in the mind of the customer, does your offering represent better value than the alternatives that he is considering.

Often the best approach to maximise profitability is to look for niche markets, where your offering is of particularly high value to a specific group of customers.

Your ability to negotiate well will also make a big difference to the prices that you can command. The alternative is to compete all the time on just price, in which case you are selling a commodity.

Unless you are working with high-volume sales and can invest in technology to automate as much as possible, then commodity sales are unlikely to make you rich.

Author:  Bryan McCrae
Source:  The Marketing Donut

Considerations such as cost, bandwidth, and storage space are the primary factors most consider, but there are other components that are often overlooked.  Making a decision about hosting, although complicated, should be done thoughtfully as it is easy to choose an unfit host without realizing the detrimental impact it can have on your online marketing efforts.

Website Builders and Templates

Often a key consideration when choosing a host is the option of a website builder application.  While a website builder may seem like a perk to many organizations due to the cost of designing a website, it can often be damaging to SEO efforts.  Website builders that output poor URL structure, create non W3C compliant code, that don’t provide options for meta tag adjustments, or that do not implement other SEO best practices on the site can set your search engine visibility efforts in the wrong direction.   If you do choose to pick a host with site building included, make sure your site will be able to be optimized for the major search engines.

Ecommerce

Depending on what type of service you offer, ecommerce solutions can be an important factor when choosing a host.   For example, my firm, NeboWeb, would typically look for a provider that supports the technology of the ecommerce solution we design or customize.  If you are using ecommerce software before you join a hosting company, it is imperative that your host supports that software.  For example, Magento and PrestaShop, two of the most popular ecommerce suites available, require an Apache server, PHP 5 or greater (note – it’s actually version 5.2 for Magento), as well as additional PHP modules not regularly installed on an Apache server.  Some hosts include ecommerce software in their packaging and this can be a good option if you are not currently using an ecommerce solution, as long as the host’s software fits your needs. 

Security

Security is vital when choosing a host.  Hosting companies that don’t protect your information can lead to infiltration of your website with corrupted code or data.  Hackers can add links or inappropriate content as well as take sensitive information that’s stored with on your server(s).  Encompassed in this security concern is protection from spammers.  Many firms rely on their hosting company for email delivery, and if hosts are acting as launching pads for spammers to run campaigns they will quickly be blocked by ISP services.  This can prevent emails from your company that contain important information from being sent.  When choosing a host, an easy way to check if a hosting company has secure email servers is by checking sites such as http://www.spamhaus.org or http://www.dnsstuff.com to make sure they are not blacklisted.
 
Server Uptime and SLAs

Perhaps the most important consideration is server uptime.  With the rise of social networking, viral content can drive thousands of unexpected hits to your site over a brief period of time.  If your server is not adequately prepared for this influx, your site could crash and all of the potential sales & leads from this traffic increase could be lost.  Although many servers are occasionally down for minutes or hours, a serious outage could result in days of missed opportunity.  Temporary outages are an inconvenience, but days of server downtime can have more serious consequences.  Having your server crash for extended periods can categorize your site as unreliable to your customers and result in loss of brand confidence as well as possibly lowering your search engine rankings.

Server performance is vital to every website.    Browsers quickly become impatient while waiting for content to load and will navigate away from your page.  This is of particular importance for sites with a lot of data, such as sites with multiple products or rich media.  Having a long lag time between clicking on a link and having the page appear can result in lost customers and decreased ROI in advertising. 
Reputable hosting firms provide SLAs that provide a benchmark for server uptime and outages as well as a remedy for poor performance.  This is primarily in the dedicated hosting industry; with firms such as VIA Networks leading the way in the Windows and SharePoint managed hosting space and Rackspace in the Linux arena.  Firms like Media Temple and DreamHost have built solid reputations in the shared and virtual hosting categories as well. 

In Summary

In conclusion, there are multiple issues to consider when choosing a hosting company.  By evaluating the factors listed above, you will have a better chance of finding a host that can meet your requirements.  Considering metrics beyond storage space and cost is crucial to finding the right solution for your organization.  By using host review websites, and making sure you compare pertinent information about each company that you are considering, you can choose the right host for your needs.

About the Author:  Brian Easter is the CEO of NeboWeb (www.NeboWeb.com). As CEO, Easter has led NeboWeb to explosive growth, attracting Fortune 500 clients and driving strategic partnerships which have fueled NeboWeb’s expansion.  He is well-known in the interactive marketing industry and frequently speaks about capturing the power and potential of online marketing.

Author:  Brian Easter
Source:  PromotionWorld.com

PLEASE don't expect that your website will immediately bring in traffic and revenue just by setting it up and publishing it. Your website needs to be worked on continuously to grow and gain steam on the Internet.

I've gone through the trials and tribulations of website building over the years. Areas that I personally see that need to be focused on over and over again are:

Content. Content. Content. 

• If you missed that, I said CONTENT. Good content on your website will be read by search engines. Pictures are great and will break up your text on the page but using only pictures will not benefit your website.  Good content utilizes your keywords in the text.
• Don't focus on the "pretty" look of your site. Make your site visually appealing but focus on what drives people there using the keywords and content.

Keyword research.

• What are the keywords that you want the search engines to pick up on? What are you competitors using for keywords? Are the terms you want generic or do they need fine tuning? A research tool I have used and recommend is Keyword Spy for researching what your competitors are using.

Title tags and meta tags.

• While I do not rely as heavy an importance on these as I do content with keywords, they are necessary. Use your keywords in your page titles and descriptions. If your business name utilizes keywords, GREAT! If not, save your business name for the end of the page title. Focus the keywords at the beginning of the page title so search engines see this information first.
• The descriptions are used in search engine results and may be the first thing a search engine user has to see about your site and what you have to offer. Be descriptive of the page! Use your keywords and focus on the information that individual pages has to offer.
• DO NOT duplicate your title tags, descriptions and keywords. It does not benefit you to use the same information over and over. Mix it up so it is unique to each and every page.

Advertising Do's and Don'ts

• Keep advertising for other companies to a minimum on your website unless that is your purpose. Advertising other companies and what they have to offer, especially if they are a competitor, will drive visitors AWAY from your website. You want visitors to stay and buy your product or service, not someone elses.

Marking your website doesn't have to break the bank. I am here to tell you that you do NOT need money to make your website work for you. There are times where funds will be involved of course but you don't have to break the bank. Utilize some of the following options to build traffic to your website:

• XML Sitemap (FREE) - A way for you to give search engines information about your website.
• Google Base (FREE) - Simply describe your items on Base to make them as easy as possible for people to find when they search.
• Newsletter/Mailing List (FREE/$$) - Start a newsletter with a service such as Mail Chimp or Constant Contact. Bring your visitors back on a regular basis to view your product or service. Draw them back to want to buy. Most companies offer a FREE option to get you started and the ability to move up to a Pay For service once needed.
• Blogging (FREE) - Utilize a blogging service such as WordPress or Blogger to write about your website and keep followers up to date with what your company is doing. A free service is an inexpensive way to get your feet wet and works!
• Twitter (FREE) - A free social messaging utility for staying connected with others in real time. Great for networking with like businesses but also attracting potential customers and clients.
• MySpace/Facebook (FREE) - Be sure to read the terms of service, but utilize options available to market your business on otherwise personal avenues.

Having a website is about trial and error and discovering what works for you. These are NOT the know all/end all solutions to a successful website. I've utilized these various options with success and hope they will help you build a successful website.