Welcome to my blog – Internet Marketing Crossroads

My goal is to bring together the different aspects of Internet marketing, talk about the latest tactics, tools, and strategies, and most importantly to provide the how to’s of setting up and running your campaigns.

Marketing used to be a dreaded word, providing success only to the “big guy’s”. But the Information Highway has changed all that. There are many strategies that are literally cost free and fairly easy to do - so that absolutely anyone can put together successful and profitable campaigns.

Your part in this is to provide comments, sharing your views and experiences. Tell me I’m right (I like that!), tell me I’m wrong (nicely, of course) and between us we’ll provide insight and help to others who may be struggling with their marketing strategies.

To your Internet marketing success!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Announcing The Launch Of Automatic Niche Profits

The private label rights arena is starting to heat up!

The market has been ripe for a high-tech, cutting edge private label rights membership site - and it looks like it has finally happened…

Announcing the launch of Automatic Niche Profits, the first private label rights membership to bring its customers first-rate quality, industry experience, real support, and cutting edge audio and video products.

Automatic Niche Profits is a limited and exclusive membership open to only 500 marketers, and it has just been officially launched.

Due to the unparalleled quality of the products available to Automatic Niche Profits members, the 500 membership spots available, will likely sell very quickly.

What will it mean to you to be a member of this exclusive site? Quite simply, it's your chance to take your business and your life to an entirely new level.

You know by now that if you want to explode your business and create cash-pulling websites you need to be marketing your own products.

But, I’m sure you also know that creating products isn’t all that easy. Creating books, sales letters, graphics, etc. can be quite daunting.

And that’s where Automatic Niche Profits comes in…

As a member you’ll receive 2 new and in demand niche products each month, complete with graphics and sales pages.

Just make a few changes, put your name on them and in just a few minutes you’ll have created your own brand NEW product.

But wait…

You need top quality products and cutting edge tools like audio and video to really stand out from the crowd.

With all the PLR sites out there today “Automatic Niche Profits” is the only one that offers the quality products you need plus the audio and video tools to make your products top-of-the-line.

This is one of the easiest, fastest and proven ways to change your life and make the lavish income you’ve been dreaming of. You owe it to yourself to click on the link below and sign up now.

Register today at:
http://tinyurl.com/2e8hnk

I know, this sounds like a blatant sales tool, and I guess it is, but I am really excited about this site – and I think you will be too…

To Your Internet Marketing Success,

Saturday, April 7, 2007

7 Sure-fire Ways To Get Your Articles Read

If your not writing articles, you should be! It’s a great way to show your expertise, build your credibility, get links to your site, and market your products.

I know, many of you simply dread writing articles. You may feel it’s just too much hard work for the result – “I’m not a writer, who’s going to read my article?”.

Come on now, if you know something (you do know something don’t you?) you can write about it effectively and passionately.

People are hungry for information on topics that interest them or that will affect their personal lives or their business’s bottom line.

If you have a website, you obviously chose a niche that is important to you and that your interested in. If you can talk about your topic, you can write about it!

Writing a good article doesn’t have to be strenuous or mind-boggling. Just get your thoughts together on how you can help someone with a particular problem and go with it.

Write as you talk. Make it personal. If your passionate, show your passion. If you’re funny, you can use that too. Just be yourself.

Here are 6 ways to get your articles read:

1. Choose your subject carefully. Do some research before choosing a topic. Make sure that your subject is of interest to your audience. Forums in your niche area is a great place to find out what people are interested in or concerned about.

A good approach is to find a problem that is of concern to your audience and write an article that resolves the problem. Not only will people want to read the article but it will cast you as a problem solver and strengthen your credibility.

2. Write attention-grabbing titles. The article title is often the most important factor in whether or not your article is read.

The title should reach out and grab the reader’s attention and make them want to read your article. It should be interesting, provocative, even humorous. Use your title to evoke curiosity, and reach out to your readers wants and needs.

I find that using the biggest benefit that your reader will receive when they read your article is a great place to start when creating a title. Write several variations. Use your Thesaurus for word variations. Tweak the titles and then choose the one that you feel suits your article and audience.

3. Make it personal. This works both ways. Reach out to your readers by personally addressing them and their concerns. Use “you” or “your” frequently. In other words make them feel you are speaking directly to them.

On the other side of the coin, use your own personal experiences. Let your readers know that you have experienced the same issues that concern them and show how you overcame the problem(s).

4. Use short sentences and paragraphs. Short sentences and paragraphs are much easier for a reader to follow. Online readers have a very short attention span and an article containing long blocks of text may simply be ignored.

So keep it short. Three to five sentences are usually enough for one paragraph. Also beware of run-on sentences (That’s one of my problems – I tend to run on, and on!). Keep your sentences short as well.

5. Use numbers or bullets to break up text or show points. The use of bold text will also help to make words and ideas stand out.

Formatting your numbered or bullet points with indentations so your article doesn’t look like one big square box of words can also be helpful – and adds a little flair and pizzazz to your articles.

6. Utilize figures and examples to make points more authoritative. Don’t be afraid to use specific information from another source to drive a point home. Just make sure you show the source where your figures or information came from.

Having third-party back up to what you are saying proves that you’ve done your homework and that you really do know what your talking about.

7. Provide resource information where your readers can obtain more information on the article topic. These can be your own websites or other resources.

Don’t worry about losing customers, good outgoing links are helpful to page ranking and positioning in search engines – and again you are being sooo helpful and knowledgeable that your readers will remember this and come back to read more of your articles.

Writing your own articles is really not that daunting! If you follow the tips I’ve outlined here I know you can put out some really great articles that demand reading. “Practice makes perfect” and the more you write the better you will become.

If you’re still unsure about writing your own articles from scratch, using PLR articles will give you a good starting place. You can find sites that provide PLR articles here:
http://www.ebookcrossroads.com/private-label-rights.html

By all means take my free eCourse on how to use PLR products. You will find it here:
http://www.ebookcrossroads.com/using-private-label-rights.html
Remember content is king! If you own a website you need good articles for your newsletter, promotional campaigns of your products or services and informational website content. These articles could become the key to success in your Internet endeavors. So take the plunge and get writing!

Monday, March 19, 2007

How To Build A Highly-targeted Opt-in List

If you haven’t achieved the success level you imagined at this point in your Internet business experience perhaps you simply haven’t figured out the right way to succeed in Internet Marketing.

Having a website isn’t enough. Having a great website isn’t enough! If your using SEO techniques good for you! But that still won’t be enough. You’ve got some good traffic to your site by now, but it’s a slow process. No, I’m not going to tell you about some great product that will have you re-mortgaging your home…

I’m going to tell you about a not very well kept secret – The money is in the list! Sound familiar? Any expert Internet marketer will tell you that building a highly targeted opt-in list is the most effective and important tool in Internet marketing. And they are right on the money!

If you have an ezine or newsletter keep up the good work. If you haven’t started one yet, please do so. This article will show you how to build a highly targeted subscriber list that will love buying your products and services!

So what is an “opt-in” list? Simply put, it’s a list of email addresses of people who have agreed to receive your newsletters, brochures or promotions. In other words, a group of people who are ready and willing to receive your recommendations, products and information.

By creating an opt-in list, you can maintain solid contact with your target market and develop a trusting relationship with your subscribers – which is worth its weight in gold!

The key to using your opt-in list is to develop a large subscriber base. Without a massive list you are losing hundreds (or thousands) of dollars each week.

If you’re building your list with only subscription boxes on your website, it will take years to build a massive list. There is so much competition today that you really need to give potential subscribers a reason to subscribe.

No, don’t take down your website subscription boxes. But consider adding some of these ideas to speed up your list building process:

Co-Registration

Co-Registrations are one of the best and fastest ways to build large opt-in email lists in a very short time. It's a fast, easy, and Free "secret weapon" used by the famous Internet marketers to rapidly grow their large opt-in (permission based) email lists!

Co-registration refers to the practice of referring leads, subscriptions, or memberships concurrent with another registration process.

This might happen when visitors signing up for a free subscription or other service are offered the chance to opt-in to other offers on the "thank-you page" that appears after the initial registration.

In other words you would partner with one or more sites similar to your own, but not necessarily competitive.

You can get an idea of how the joint venture works by taking a look at this page. http://www.advertisingknowhow.com/jv/index.php

Incentives

Providing an incentive is a highly effective method of obtaining new subscribers. Of course, your incentive must be worthy of your target audience.

Here are some examples:

- eBooks that provide valuable information or solve a problem relative to your target audience.

- Reports providing exclusive and detailed information regarding a specific topic.

If you create these products yourself, along with obtaining subscribers you’ll have a viral tool that will bring in extra cash and build your credibility as an expert. By all means put a link to your sign-up page in these books and reports as well.

If your not comfortable developing these products yourself, you can find free ebooks all over the web. If you can obtain brandable ebooks to giveaway you’ll be able to earn some money as well.

- eCourses are another excellent choice and they provide a unique opportunity to show your expertise and gain credibility with your subscribers over a period of days.

Joint Venture Giveaway’s

Becoming a JV partner in a Giveaway is another highly effective way to get a massive number of subscribers. If you have a product of your own for inclusion your all set. Simply make sure that your product reflects the target audience your looking for.

If you don’t have your own product create one! Put together a package of other people’s products (that are licensed to be given away). You can’t claim ownership of the individual products, but you can claim ownership to the package you put together. Simply make sure that you understand the rights given with each product in your package.

Just remember when you set up your product to include an opt-in email. In cases such as a giveaway it’s easy to forget that you signed up for a newsletter as well as a product, so you’ll want to protect yourself from those lapses of memory.

Popup Windows

Popup windows, although annoying to many, are a very effective method of obtaining new subscribers. When combined with an incentive you can literally double your subscriptions instantly.

Rather than using a standard window that opens on page load, consider a first visit popup window to keep visitor annoyance at a minimum. This type of popup window only loads on the first visit and won’t pop up each time they visit.

Get a script here: http://www.web-source.net/javascript_codes.htm

Your window should contain information about your publication and incentive.

Make sure your auto-responder is set up to request verification of new subscribers.

In conclusion, no matter how many new subscribers you acquire, the key to a successful list is keeping them. The relationship you build with your subscribers will ultimately determine your success.

To keep those hard won subscribers from un-subscribing make sure you provide quality content, products and services. From the time you begin your publication, be yourself, be truthful, and develop a trusting relationship with your readers.

Whatever you offer or recommend should only be products and services that you truly believe in. Your reputation depends on it – and so does your list!

To Your Internet Marketing Success!

Sunday, March 18, 2007

JV Giveaways

Just a short note today to let you know about the Saint Patrick’s Day Give-A-Way that began yesterday.

You’ll find private label ebooks, free advertising, list building products, source codes, traffic ideas, product packages, video tutorials, free memberships and a lot more…

If you’re interested in receiving some valuable products for no cost then go now because the event ends on March 27, 2007.

Click here to get your gifts NOW



An invitation for you…

To join with me and many of the top Internet marketers in a JV partnership offering a ton of PLR ebooks and software.

If you’re interested in building your opt-in list with a massive amount of subscribers then join me in the PLR Vault Giveaway. It begins on March 27th so you’ll want to sign up and get your product set up.

About 200,000 visitors are expected so exposure will be great – you don’t want to miss this so go now and Sign Up Here http://tinyurl.com/ywxso3


To Your Internet Marketing Success

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Building An Affiliate Marketing Website - The Easy Way

There are many myths about affiliate marketing that attract people to give it a try, and when they don’t become a millionaire overnight they give up.

I’m here to tell you there is no overnight miracle to affiliate marketing or any other business you may attempt. But there are simple things that you can do to build a successful business using affiliate products in a fairly short period of time.

There is work involved, so if that turns you off, you’re definitely reading the wrong article and looking into the wrong business! I’m sorry if that sounds harsh, but better you find out now than after you have sunk thousands of hours and dollars into a business that isn’t what you expected or wanted.

For those of you who are serious about starting an online business, affiliate marketing is certainly the easiest way to begin. Affiliate programs are easy to join, free and if selected carefully will provide you with many tools to promote your products.

The simplest and fastest way to get started is with a Site Build It! website. http://tinyurl.com/crv2t By using Site Build It! you will have brainstorming help to choose a niche, and a domain name. Your hosting and domain name are included in the package so you’re immediately good to go.

The first thing you’ll need to do is read the “Action Guide” (or watch the video) which details exactly what you need to do day-by-day for the first ten days. It will detail how to choose your niche, how to choose the perfect domain name and will lead you clearly through the entire process of building your website and your new business.

If you don’t know anything about programming or html that’s ok. Site Build It! will take care of that too. You can choose from the many templates and color schemes available. You should have a text editor to write your copy though. I use TextPad (http://www.textpad.com/) but there are several free ones such as, Note Tab (www.notetab.com/) or NotePad, which may already be installed on your computer.

By day 6 you’ll have brainstormed your ideas to find your niche, chosen your domain name, have a list of keywords for your pages, and have all your ducks in a row to begin building your web pages. By day 10 you’ll have a website, be submitted to Google, Yahoo, MSN and other search engines. You’ll be set up with RSS, have a blog and be ready to roll!

Site Build It! has so many tools to make it easy to build your website and understand what and why you are doing things. The program shows you what to do to monetize your site, set up site maps and RSS feeds on Google and Yahoo, publish your newsletter and offers one of the best forums on the Internet. The process is just so logical… Content - Traffic - PREsell – MONETIZE. Check out these case studies http://tinyurl.com/3xbmem to get the idea.

Unlike other hosting programs that have website templates and allow you to set up your website without using html, Site Build It! is a community, and all members are courteous and extremely helpful. SBI is driven by Ken Evoy who has built a website/business building program that is unsurpassed. To give you an idea of what I’m talking about check out this comparison chart: http://tinyurl.com/2n64ar

I came across Site Build It! by accident when I was considering starting an Internet business. Because of my total stupidity of all things computer/Internet (now they would call me a swell word like Newbie) I was at a loss. Of course, I could turn on the computer and knew how to surf the Web – and that’s how I found the Site Build It! program.

I doubt that I would have gone on at that time if I hadn’t made that purchase. But here I am today with my own successful business – and I even learned how to write html so I could do things my own way! I’m smarter today, but still stubborn!

Yes, of course, you can build an affiliate marketing website without SBI, but you’ll do it so much better and faster using Site Build It, it’s rather foolish not to. Why spend all that time trying to figure out what has already been figured out for you – and more importantly why spend all that money for the tools, services and assistance when you can have it all handed to you?

To your Internet success!