08. Marketing | Fair Affliate Programs

Entries Tagged as '08. Marketing'

Internet Marketing Techniques For The Small Business Owner

By Claire Bullerwell

A small business may not have the manpower or resources as a large corporation but with current technology and a broadband internet access, a small business owner can scale up and play with the big boys. Internet marketing for a small business can be affordable and reach the right type of prospects.

The bare minimum for any small business is internet presence via a website.A well-designed web site shows what the business can offer, easily loads and is easily navigable.The website color scheme should be easy on the eyes, and not interfere with the text on the page. The aim is to inform the internet user about the business and what it offers.The website must not only sell the business but also itself, making the interested visitor wanting to keep coming back to the web page.

A website address should also be easy to remember, as well as easy to find.There are many innovative ways to name a website, however it still should sound like the business name.Finding the web site from the start needs search engine optimization.

Depending on the services or merchandise being offered, a shopping cart may or may not be added to the site.E-commerce payments would include checks, credit cards, bank transfers or postal money orders. For these, there are third-party plug-ins from the internet.

When a buyer searches the internet for a product, he uses a search engine like Google or Yahoo! Search engine optimization is a process where the website is developed and prepared in order to have good web-site search results.

A more interactive internet marketing tool is a blog. A blog (short for “web log”) gives the blogger and small business owner a promotional venue for products and services.It can also show the small business owner’s technical know-how on the business. Or be a marketing tool describing the latest specials or promotional offers.

PPC search engine internet marketing (ppc=pay per click) is a very favorable form of advertising for small and large businesses wanting to advertise online.It is very cost-effective and you can test your marketing advertisements out for little money.

Podcasting is a relatively small niche which the small business owner can avail of. However, not all businesses are a good fit for podcasting. A travel agency, a flower shop, or a bookstore podcast would entice the listeners to availing of the services the business offers.A podcast on a specific topic would help promote technical consultancy services.

An affiliate network is a more advanced form of marketing tool for a small business.An affiliate network gives the small business a quick way of growing reach and acquiring website traffic. In it’s simplest form, affiliate network is a form of commission based selling.The affiliate will then earn by either sending internet users (also known as “traffic”) to the business website.There are several forms of commission-based schemes based on page views, clicks and actual sales.

Another advantage of this tool is that the business owner does not have to manage the affiliates, aside from writing commission checks. The affiliates sign up on their own and add the ads and banners to their websites. There are third-party sites which do the tracking for affiliate networks which cater to specific products and services.

However, there are so many affiliate programs on the Net today, affiliates are getting very choosey when deciding on the best affiliate programs to join in order to receive the best commission available.

It is then up to the affiliates to market and advertise the small business’ service/products. One popular method is affiliate article marketing which is really taking off at the moment. This is where affiliates write and distribute articles to advertise and promote the merchants’ products.

Although the methods and tools for internet marketing could have varying degrees of technical knowledge needed, these tools are available.The small business person can choose which tool is apt for his business in terms of reach, target market and internet presence. The small business owner is not limited to the immediate community and dependent on traditional methods of reaching out to the market.

Ten Top Tips On Viral Selling

When people are first getting started in trying to understand viral internet marketing they typically have a lot of questions as to what types of strategies and what methods actually work with viral marketing strategies.

Let’s take a quick little walk into the world of some of the most popular and top ways to use viral internet marketing selling to your advantage.

1. Firstly and no doubt most importantly, think beneficial…

The viral nature or aspect of the offer has to be very beneficial to the reciever. This is top priority no matter which way you want to look at things. This, as with most things, is easier said than done. Whether it’s beneficial emotionally, monetarily, a gift or otherwise, this is the foundation of any viral campaign to take off.

Mind you, if this part was so easy to pull off..we’d never get any sleep because of the bombardment of viral spread. So, when you look at it…it’s actually hard, but, when you think about it, that’s great.

2. You can practically think backwards for your email marketing and blogging. Start from the bottom up and work your way back from your blog posts and headlines.

The thing is..If it isn’t concise or easy to implement..at the start be sure to let them know of the benefits…it probably won’t work out for you virally.

3. From the saying that has been around for what seems forever…

K.I.S.S
Keep It Simple Stupid

Remember, you have to get a person’s interest fast. You can’t have your message all jumbled up with confusion and distractions to the viewer!

Sure, yes, of course, but we need to be clever…but realize some people might not get it as easily as others.

Alright then, what ways do you think will help the reader to “take notice” and happily pass things on?

4. Well..this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Obviously, “Sex Sells”.

Of course it’s most likely NOT sex you will be selling. But, if you’d like to get a flow going..and curiousity should be brought on..sneaky suggestive sexual inuendos can do the trick. Some people will want to catch their buddies off guard with these types of tactics.

5. The funny bone has to be “got”! Humour works very well with viral ideas you’d like to spread. Always remember this. Think about how many commercials you’ve seen where you said to friends, “God, you have to see that commercial? It’s hilarious!”

6. Brand Or Name Leveraging- A very good way to use viral marketing is by leveraging well known figures, brands, people etc. People that are familiar with your this popular entity seem to require less information about it. Something that is well known will help you identify on a more personal level with the recipient.

Be sure to check out all of the legal litigations of doing something like this though, before moving ahead with it.

7. Don’t bend over backwards trying to get your message to take off. Just like any other type of marketing, people don’t like to be sold, they can feel if you are trying to hard. People have pride and want to think they came up with the idea all on their own. If you have done your part on creating good viral marketing aspects, this will take care of itself.

8. What’s in the new or headlines? What’s popular?

If you can utilize already popular events it can help you to get your own thing happening. People are aleady talking about it. Try and use this to your advantage!

9. Everybody loves a mystery! Creating mystery or keeping people hanging with a viral marketing concept can only help get that interest happening. In the long run though, you will have to fess up, you don’t want to upset people!

10. Think about reality. People often times loath corporate image and that type of advertizing. It’s better to come off with down home and more earthy viral message. Your messages will work better if people feel more comfort by being able to identify with the message easier.

Hype Buster: Affiliate Payload and Real Results

An evaluation of the myth and hype surrounding Affiliate Payload by a real user who tested the advocated traffic strategies over a period (a note of caution is also sounded on the product).

Affiliate Payload is a Traffic Generation information package written and released by Saj P and Alex Goad. Whether Alex Goad compiled and presented the information in the package is unclear and Myth Buster suspects that Saj P did the implementation.

The entire product consists of downloadable videos and a portable document format document. The document is well researched and written, flows logically and contains more than sufficient examples. The videos contain some show and tell examples and additional information, does ramble somewhat and seem to be added as filler information, possibly as an afterthought.

A VIP one time up sell offer is made during the sales funnel process. The VIP information consists of additional downloadable videos that add an extra twist to each of the advocated traffic options.

The Product advocates generating traffic through various traffic broking and posting options with in depth discussions of Pay per Click, Pay per View, Cost per Action (including Cost per Lead, Cost per Impression and Cost per Sale), Incentivized Traffic Options, Co-Registration, Targeted Traffic Pools, Article / Blog / Forum Marketing and general Advertising.

Myth Buster launched a total of 5 highly niche targeted Traffic Buying campaigns (utilizing 4 of the advocated options) using the methodology outlined in Affiliate Payload. The campaigns consisted of PPC; PPV and TTP traffic options and included Incentive, Advertising, Reverse Demographics, Blog, Forum and Article combinations.

To ensure decent results I tested for 5 days. Results were constantly monitored and adjustments were continuously made to improve the Click Through and Conversion Rates. A total of US $900 was spent on Traffic Generation with 12 hours of preparation and keyword research in 4 niche markets. 22 hours in total were spent on monitoring and adjustments.

The Click through Rate was high for all Media Buying campaigns due to highly researched phrases and targeted keyword groups used. The targeted PPC and TTP campaigns returned a much higher conversion rate compared to the pure and combination PPV campaigns. The Incentive and Reverse Demographic campaigns performed above expectation and are currently subject to further research.

Myth Buster feels that Affiliate Payload does not completely consist of hype, and does deliver on the promised outcome. It is not a package for new marketers or persons inexperienced in Traffic Generation techniques. A cautionary note must be sounded here that the traffic generation methods advocated by Affiliate Payload can lead to above average loss of funds if they are not properly managed / controlled and constantly adjusted.

None of the individual Media Buying strategies are new. The Business Edge is found in the unique application and implementation of these strategies. Implemented in a creative manner will ensure that any person using e-promotion will secure excellent traffic at decent pricing with the prospect of making money.

Additional Resources:

Renegade Network Marketer
The 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing