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How to Build Your Brand

February 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Building a successful brand can solidify your business in your niche. It establishes you and your business as a name that can be trusted. Here are some tips to help you build brand success.

What Is a brand?

When you see the swoosh logo, what does it make you think of? And how about Coca-Cola? You know the tagline, don’t you? And if we say “You’re in good hands with -” you can probably finish the sentence.

All of these show how a particular brand has influenced not only society but also our idea of what these certain products should be. For instance, when it comes to photocopying, people use the term “Xeroxed.” Actually, Xerox is a brand name that has become synonymous with the act of photocopying. How is that for brand success?

Building Your Brand

Who’s to say that you won’t become as big as Xerox one day? For any business, you start in the same place – building your brand.

Here are some tips to get the ball rolling.

* Be real with your customers – Anyone can create a “smoke and mirrors” advertising campaign. You can promise the world and some will believe you. But, when you don’t deliver, your credibility is shot. One way to be real is to put a face on your business. Add your photo. Speak plainly and in simple terms with your customers.

* Make good on your promises – The problem with many companies is poor customer service. If you promise to send a confirmation email after purchase or an answer to an information request, then do so in the time promised.

* Sell your product – Inspire customers to buy by giving them a reason to use your product or service. Describe how their life will benefit from having your product in it. Help the customer make an emotional connection to your product.

* Promote your product in as many places as possible – When new products come out, do a press release. Promote it on your social networking site, your blog and your website. Create YouTube videos and also podcasts about your products to increase the talk. Don’t forget offline promotion as well.

* Be consistent with your brand – Whatever you decide that your brand will stand for, be true to that. Use people and ideas that are in line with your brand to help identify it for your audience.

* Target your customers – Now that you know your brand, you have to connect with the people who “need” what you offer. Use keywords to draw your customers to you. Create a list of potentials and then stay in contact with them.

What does your product stand for? Take some time and create your brand. Then, provide quality products that connect with your customers so they almost sell themselves.

Resources for further study:

Branding Your Business: Promote Your Business, Attract Customers and Build Your Brand Through the Power of Emotion
Branding Your Business: Promote Your Business, Attract Customers and Build Your Brand Through the Power of Emotion
Price: $15.43
James Hammond, Paperback – Revised, Series: Business Success Series, English-language edition, Pub by Kogan Page, Ltd

Branding By Blogging: Build Your Brand Identity And Online Presence To The Maximum Using This Ultimate Business Branding Strategy And The Power Of Blogs!
Branding By Blogging: Build Your Brand Identity And Online Presence To The Maximum Using This Ultimate Business Branding Strategy And The Power Of Blogs!
Price: $3.99
Blogging is one part of an advertising campaign. It is a powerful marketing tool that can give you free exposure – publicity that your business needs to develop a strong web presence and establish your brand identity.A blog is easy to maintain and flexible. Unlike a website, which is stagnant and fixed, a blog can be anything you want it to be. Depending on your creativity and mood, you can fix your blog up to target your needs. A blog is very friendly, too. It has the ability to reach out, connect, and link up to other active blogs far and wide into the blogosphere. Combined with other advertising efforts, a blog has the capability to broadcast your product and business and be a powerful money-making tool. This book will disclose full information about blogging and its significance to your business as an advertising tool. It contains detailed guidelines on setting up a blog, the benefits you can expect to derive from it, planning for relevant content, maintaining a blog, and promoting a blog through tried and tested marketing techniques. Create your blog now with the help of this blogging manual and see it build your brand identity and online presence to the maximum!

The Ultimate Marketing Plan: Target Your Audience! Get Out Your Message! Build Your Brand!
The Ultimate Marketing Plan: Target Your Audience! Get Out Your Message! Build Your Brand!
Price: $11.15
Dan S. Kennedy, Paperback, Edition: 4, English-language edition, Pub by Adams Media Corporation

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Improve Your Blog {Free} with FeedBurner – Here’s How

October 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Regardless of the type of blogging software or service you use, chances are your blog currently has an RSS feed. RSS (which stands for “Really Simple Syndication”) is a core blogging technology that lets your blog “broadcast” whenever you post something new. These broadcast messages are picked up by “RSS readers” (such as the popular Google Reader or one of the RSS readers that are available for iPhones and iPads), which many people use to keep track of new posts on all of the blogs they follow.

While the basic RSS technology certainly does its job, there are other ways to leverage RSS and greatly improve your blog. FeedBurner, which was acquired by Google in 2007, is one of the best ways to upgrade the default RSS technology – FeedBurner provides the standard RSS feeds to your blog’s followers, but it can also do much more.

Perhaps the most powerful feature of FeedBurner is that you can identify and analyze a lot of new data about your blog. For example, FeedBurner lets you see how many subscribers there are to your RSS feed (or feeds, if you offer more than one).

FeedBurner can also help you visualize where these users and subscribers are. This can be particularly useful if your business has a “bricks and mortar” presence – if you don’t have a lot of subscribers that are close to your store location, you can make a priority of trying to get more local people to follow your blog. To complement this, you might also try to provide new promotions that would appeal to followers who aren’t located close to your store.

FeedBurner also tracks the popular items in your feed, so that you can see which blog posts get clicked on the most. This can help you optimize your blog going forward because you’ll have greater insight into which blog headlines are the most appealing to your followers.

Another FeedBurner feature – and the one that gets many people excited – is the ability to monetize your RSS feed directly. FeedBurner allows Google AdSense integration with your RSS feed. This means that you can have the opportunity to earn additional income through Google’s AdSense program, without having to place additional ads directly on your blog. This can also be a great way to “test the waters” with various advertising techniques on your blog, without committing to any big changes in your blog set-up or appearance.

In order to get started, you first need to sign up for the FeedBurner service. Log into your Google account (or create a new one if necessary) at http://feedburner.google.com. Once you provide your blog’s default RSS feed address, FeedBurner will create a new feed address for use in connection with the FeedBurner service.

Next, download the appropriate plug-in for your blog service. Nearly all blogging platforms are supported, including WordPress.com, self-hosted WordPress, TypePad and Blogger. Links to these services can be found as soon as you create your FeedBurner account.

The best way to move forward it to start exploring the various features available through your FeedBurner dashboard, one by one. In virtually no time you’ll have made some great improvements to your blog!

Filed Under: Websites that sell Tagged With: ,

Should I Add a Blog to My Website?

September 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Blogging is a necessity for website owners. It is a free marketing tool that many don’t take advantage of. Using it can help you to achieve higher search engine rankings for your website.

Think of it as the difference between formal and informal meetings with clients. On your website, you are providing essential information about the business – what you can do for those who need your services. You give them what they need in a well-written format. They can find your store with products for sale, membership options and opt-in pages for newsletters and mailing lists.

With a blog, you can let your hair down. A blog allows you to post information for your readers and customers. Then, they can provide feedback to you in the form of comments on your posts. You can discover vital suggestions from customers that can enhance your business. Blogs have appeal to many and they are also followed by people who like what you have to say but who have not even visited your website – yet.

So, use that blog to its fullest potential. Here are some ways to achieve better rankings for your business website.

* Write optimized posts – More than likely, you are changing your content on your blog more often than you are on your website. While you are refreshing the website content, you don’t need to do so as often to keep interest. However, readers of blogs are more voracious and need fresh news more regularly. By sprinkling the keywords you are trying to promote throughout your entries, spiders can crawl and rank your entries high on search result pages.

* Include links to your website – Each post is ranked and given a URL. This is a new opportunity to mention a link (outright or with anchor text) that leads back to your website. For those who only follow your blog, they can now find you in another capacity on your website. This increases your traffic.

* Use an RSS feed – People can follow your blog easier and still use links in posts to find your website. Increasing blog subscribers also increases website traffic.

* Submit your RSS feed to relevant directories – This can also help to increase your search engine rankings of your blog, which is good news for your website. One that comes to mind is FeedBurner, but there are many others you can also use.

Blogs are free and quick to set up. You can start with a site that has its own templates and then further customize them for your needs. Without spending a cent, you have created another channel to divert traffic to your website though one-way links.

Increase your rankings fast with a blog.

More resources on Blogging and SEO:

Marketing Is A Contact Sport: Make Contact Through Blogs, Seo (Search Engine Optimization), Search And Social Marketing
Marketing Is A Contact Sport: Make Contact Through Blogs, Seo (Search Engine Optimization), Search And Social Marketing
Price: $9.95
Blogs & Social Marketing are key In tough Economic times like now, It’s even more important to save money with Do-it-your-self SEO, use blogging and Social networking for Internet Marketing. Blogs are at the heart of Internet Marketing, and they can help you promote your business. You will learn the secrets of Blogs, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Search Marketing, and Social Marketing to grow you business. The book brings in strategies to help win friends and influence people, a key trait in the world of Social and Business networking. It shows new paradigm of Internet marketing, and easy to use SEO, how to write blogs, and join social networks to promote your business. There are many topics on Blogs and how to write compelling content to increase your internet marketing effectiveness, so that the Search Engines find your blogs through the method of SEO. This book could quite possibly be the best investment you make in marketing your business, especially Internet Marketing.

WordPress for Business Bloggers: Promote and grow your WordPress blog with advanced plug-ins, analytics, advertising, and SEO
WordPress for Business Bloggers: Promote and grow your WordPress blog with advanced plug-ins, analytics, advertising, and SEO
Price: $34.0
This practical guide will show you how to make your business blog different from the crowd and attractive to your target audience by implementing the features of WordPress. This book is for current users of the WordPress platform who want to get the most out of WordPress to manage business/professional blogs; it is not an introduction to WordPress and does not cover basics such as installation or creating posts and pages, configuring blog settings, etc. Readers are expected to have a WordPress blog or to be in the advanced stages of planning one. The book is aimed at managers of business/professional blogs, which broadly fall into four categories: Professional Expert Blogs? owned by individuals who blog in their area of expertise to increase their personal exposure and standing. Corporate Blogs? owned by companies that blog to reach customers and encourage closer relationships, sales, and referrals. Online News Sources / Magazines? blogs that provide content on particular topics, funded by ads. Campaign Blogs? not-for-profit blogs run by charities or “causes”, designed to promote ideas or encourage certain behaviors. Non-business bloggers will also find the book useful if they want to take their WordPress skills beyond the basics.

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RSS Conversion Strategies

September 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

RSS feeds can be extremely powerful for internet marketers. In fact, many marketers find that their RSS feeds are as powerful, or more so, than their email marketing list. And with new technologies you can actually segment your RSS to different audiences.

For example, you can offer an RSS feed for blog posts. This is the most commonly used technology. You can also offer an RSS feed for new products, for news, for special promotions, and for newly published content.

With all of this potential it makes sense to want to increase your RSS conversion. Here are a few tips and ideas to help you do that.

#1 Include a link and promotional message in your email correspondence. This includes your email list too. You can make it part of your email signature – much like many people now include social networking links in their email signature, you can also include an RSS link.

#2 Make sure there is a subscribe button prominently placed on every single web page. You might even consider calling out the button with a motivational call to action. For example, “Stay ahead of your peers and in the loop by subscribing to our content.”

#3 Use social networking. Make sure you have a call to action leading social networking friends and followers to subscribe to your blog or website content. And include the link in some of the content you publish on your Facebook fan page, LinkedIn communications or Twitter posts.

#4 Include information marketing. Provide a link to your RSS feed in your information products. It doesn’t matter if you’re giving them away or selling them – always invite people to subscribe and stay in the loop.

#5 Make use of your content. When you publish content online, whether it is via an article directory, YouTube or some other format, consider including a call to action, and a link, inviting your audience to subscribe. In fact, with video content you can overlay your call to action and link. You can also personally invite watchers to follow you.

RSS is a great way to connect with your audience on a consistent basis. You can use the technology to offer value, sell your products or services or to promote your business. You can use it exactly like you would your email list, or you can create a new goal and purpose for your subscribers. Regardless of your ultimate goal, test and track your tactics to gain optimal results and lasting success.

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Stumbleupon Marketing Tips

September 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

With your online business, the objective is for internet users to find you via online marketing efforts. StumbleUpon is an innovative player in the online marketing game that can make it easier for your target market to find you, and also to build links to your website business.

Let’s take a look at StumbleUpon.

What Is StumbleUpon?

StumbleUpon is a social website that allows users to design an internet that caters to their needs and interests. Once it learns what types of sites you like, it customizes your choices for searches using those parameters. And, you can share your recommendation for choices with friends in your social network with a simple click of a button.

Here is how it works. Go to the StumbleUpon site. Sign up for an account. Create a strong profile by listing personal and business categories of interest. These parameters will be used to help select websites for you to view and share with your fellow social networking contacts.

Once on the site, look for your website and/or blog to see if it has already be tagged and added to the site directory. If it has not, then you have a bit of work to do.

As a member, you can begin to add it and recommend it to others when you install the StumbleUpon toolbar. Enter your website and blog addresses. Review your website and recommend it by clicking on the Stumble button. Now you will be listed in the directory. Continue to review other pages that contain information pertaining to your site, such as article directories. Further identify your site by adding tags with specific keywords.

Now, get others to review your website and include it in their type of search. To do this, network with others on the StumbleUpon site. Visit their profiles and review the sites that they have already tagged.

Ask other business associates to join this social networking site and your network of users. Recommend that they visit your website as well as visiting theirs. This is a useful way to increase your website traffic through more targeted means. People who share your similar interests can find you more easily now.

Here are a few more advantages that StumbleUpon may hold for your online business.

Lower bounce rate – This means that people who click on your site won’t immediately leave because it is not what they were looking for. The detailed profile that you fill out plus the types of sites that you bookmark using the toolbar help to tailor results to your needs.

New traffic with each new Stumble – Every time someone “likes” your site or blog they are recommending it to more people, which drives traffic your way. Of course, when you have a wider network within the social site, you can have higher page views and unique visitors.

StumbleUpon can be the tool you are looking for to increase your traffic. Give it a try today.

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How to Give a Great Print Media Interview: Five Tips You Don’t Want to Miss

August 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Post by Marsha Friedman, author of Celebritize Yourself.

Sometimes I cringe when I hear people talk about “the media.” It sounds as if everyone in TV, radio, print and online press is a member of one fraternity that thinks and acts the same. There is a vast gulf between the daily life of a print journalist and the daily life of a radio show host. And there are many differences between radio hosts and TV producers.

They really shouldn’t be treated the same. That’s why I’ve written a booklet called 50 Tips to Make You A Great Radio Guest and a similar piece for TV. Now I am compiling interview tips for working with print and online journalists (which in many cases can be the same thing). This will be the first of three articles, so stay tuned for the others over the next two weeks.

Here are the first five tips:

  • Be Responsive – In TV and radio, interview times are pre-arranged. However, print and online journalists typically have daily and weekly deadlines. When they call you, they need you right then! In many cases, journalists will reach out to several experts on a news item and then choose the one who is the better interview or whoever responded quickest (or a combination of the two). The more reliably you respond, the more likely they will call on you again.
  • It’s Not About You – Most journalists are not interested in you, but rather the expert commentary you can provide. The more you use the words “I” and “my” the less likely they will use you as a source. When speaking to a reporter, keep in mind you are speaking to their audience, so keep your remarks centered on what their audience cares about and you’ll be quoted early and often.
  • Read Before You Talk – If you get a call from a publication, take five minutes to go online and read a few of their stories. Look for their tone and approach, so your tone and approach will match. Also look for articles they wrote on your topic, so you can avoid duplicating what someone else said. Finally, read articles written by the journalist you’ll be speaking with. There is no better way to prepare for a print or online interview than to read the writings of the reporter interviewing you. You can discover his or her focus, audience and philosophy. The reporter can tell if you’ve read his or her articles through your comments and will respect you for having made the effort to prepare for them.
  • Don’t Empty Your Notebook – Beat reporters – journalists who cover a particular topic or industry – tend to be experts in that field from their time covering it for their respective publications. They don’t need, nor do they want, your soup-to-nuts take on that topic. They need only a few quotes and opinions to round out their stories. Answer direct questions with direct answers, and get to the point quickly. There’s no need to tell the reporter everything you know, emptying your notebook of all your collected knowledge, in order to have a good interview. Allowing an interview to devolve into you talking about your total philosophy on a particular topic or business will result in your interview landing in the discard pile, and the reporter will likely seek a comment from your competitor instead.
  • Be Professional – Reporters don’t call you to talk about the weather, last night’s TV, your kids, etc. You’d be surprised how many times I’ve come across people who think a little friendly chit chat can “grease the wheels.” If they engage you, that’s one thing. It’s entirely another if you waste their time with unwanted “schmoozing.” Most have deadlines to meet and their time is valuable. Many outlets are working with significantly smaller writing staff than a year ago. Respect their time and they’ll respect you.

There’s more to a good print interview and in the next two weeks I will share more tips. If you follow this advice, you’ll discover your interviewers will respond better to you, use more of the interview in their actual articles and maybe even call you back for more quotes when they work on other stories. At the end of the day, these tips will help you be prepared so that when your name is mentioned in the media, readers will know they are getting advice from someone who truly knows what he or she is talking about.

About Marsha Friedman
Marsha Friedman is a 21-year veteran of the public relations industry and a sought after national public speaker on the power of publicity. She is the founder and CEO of EMSI Public Relations (www.GuaranteedNationalPR.com), a national firm that provides PR strategy, promotion and publicity services to corporations, entertainers, authors and professional firms. Marsha is also the author of the book, Celebritize Yourself: The 3-Step Method to Increase Your Visibility and Explode Your Business. When she is not running her business, she has Cherish the Children, a non-profit foundation that helps under-privileged local foster children.

Read our review of Celebritize Yourself .

Buy the book now from Amazon:

Celebritize Yourself - 1st Edition: The Three Step Method to Increase Your Visibility and Explode Your Business
Celebritize Yourself – 1st Edition: The Three Step Method to Increase Your Visibility and Explode Your Business
Price: $15.95
Acclaim for Marsha Friedman’s Celebritize Yourself: The Three Step Method to Increase Your Visibility and Explode Your Business
“We live in a celebrity world. To take full advantage of what that world has to offer, read Marsha Friedman’s astute analysis of how to turn yourself into a celebrity. It’s a sure-fire formula for success. ”
AL RIES, co-author, War in the Boardroom
“Personal Branding is one of the hottest ideas out there. But most so-called experts don’t tell you enough. In her must read book, Marsha Friedman shows you how to transform your personal brand to celebrity status and how to reap the resulting rewards. Fame and fortune anyone?” DAVID MEERMAN SCOTT, bestselling author of The New Rules of Marketing & PR and the hit new book World Wide Rave.

Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: PR Tagged With: ,

Building Customer Loyalty in Your Small Business

August 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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When your customers are loyal and devoted, they respond to your promotions and new product announcements. With high customer loyalty, you have more fun as a business owner.

Oh, and you will probably make loads more money, as well.

So what’s the secret to building customer loyalty in your home business?

Here are a few ideas to make your customers amp up the love:

Freebies

One of the keys to building customer loyalty is to give your customers – and your prospective customers –  something for free, as often as possible.

That doesn’t mean you have to break the bank including free samples and free products with each order (though you certainly can experiment with this strategy.)

The key is simply to provide your customers with regular value, which costs them nothing. Over time, they’ll start to feel appreciated and they’ll start to appreciate you, too.

Freebies can come in the form of promotional offers, such as a BOGO (buy one, get one free), a free shipping offer, or a coupon code.

But it can be as simple as sharing free information. Just sharing a couple of tweets each day with a good tip (that relates to your business) or a link to something useful. Use your website or blog to offer free downloads: reports, videos, checklists, comparison charts, workbooks, and lists.

The more frequently you can help your customer by providing something of value for free, the more likely that customer will think of you and your products when it’s time to buy.

Offer Ridiculously Amazing Customer Service

When it comes to customer service, always over deliver. Provide each customer with an exceptional customer service experience and make sure the experience is consistent. Each time you interact with a customer – whether it is on a social networking site, via telephone or email or face to face – make sure they know how much you appreciate them.

How? Create systems that support a great experience. Autoresponders can ensure each customer email is acknowledged in a timely manner. Clear, well-stated Policies & Procedures and your site’s FAQ page can help ensure customers can easily find answers to their questions. And a friendly, polite, and welcoming communication can reinforce your customer service vision.

Quality Everywhere.

Make sure everything you do is done to the best of your ability. Always put forth quality information, products and services. Quality matters. It not only helps you earn customer loyalty and love; it also helps build credibility and authority in your industry. People will share the good news about you and your business. You’ll receive referrals and recommendations. It’s one of the best ways to build a business.

Create high expectations for yourself and your business. Then rise up to the challenge to meet them. Provide an exceptional customer service experience. Give your customers a steady supply of no cost value, and take steps to ensure each and every product or service you deliver or represent is top notch.

Treat your customers like you want to be treated and you’ll be well on your way to building a loyal and loving customer list. They’ll buy from you more often. They’ll refer you to others and they’re the best people to work with. Loving customers make being a business owner worthwhile.

More Resources on Building Customer Loyalty

Building Customer Loyalty from the Inside Out
Building Customer Loyalty from the Inside Out
Price: $19.95
Customer loyalty is the responsibility of every employee within an organization. Customer loyalty is earned by developing positive relationships, one customer and co-worker at a time. Full of interesting tips, quizzes and compelling true stories of good, bad and ugly customer service, Building Customer Loyalty from the Inside Out illustrates why exceptional service must start within an organization in order to build loyalty with external customers. From building a loyalty-focused culture to dealing with angry customers, to boosting the bottom line, expert Debra Schmidt gives you powerful guidelines for retaining your valuable, existing customers.

The Power of Loyalty: 10 Essential Steps to Build a Successful Customer Loyalty Strategy
The Power of Loyalty: 10 Essential Steps to Build a Successful Customer Loyalty Strategy
Price: $14.96
The average household in the United States is enrolled in 14 loyalty programs, ranging from grocery stores and gas stations to airlines and hotels* ? is your company getting their business? A marketing and business development strategy behind some of today s most popular companies, customer loyalty is increasingly becoming top of mind for cost-conscious consumers. Loyalty strategist Roger L. Brooks invites you to take part in the growing loyalty movement and shows you how to build a successful loyalty strategy following 10 essential steps.

Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless: How to Make Them Love You, Keep You Coming Back, and Tell Everyone They Know
Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless: How to Make Them Love You, Keep You Coming Back, and Tell Everyone They Know
Price: $16.48
Nationally syndicated columnist and sales trainer, Jeffrey Gitomer shows you how to convert satisfied customers into loyal customers.

Image: healingdream / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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5 Free Twitter Tools for Better Twitter Marketing

August 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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You know that Twitter can be super-useful to promote yourself and your business. From tracking your influence to market research, from mobile phones to alternate interfaces – it’s all there.

Here are five free tools you can use to help build your online business.

Free Twitter Tool #1: Twitscoop – An Alternative Twitter Interface, with a Unique Cloud

Twitscoop allows you to send tweets, receive tweets and manage friend requests without ever having to leave the page. Unlike Twitter, where you’re constantly loading and reloading, Twitscoop saves you time by never needing to reload.

In other words, it’s a faster, free, alternative Twitter interface.

In addition, Twitscoop also features a unique Twitter cloud that can help you keep track of all the most talked-about topics in the twittersphere.

Free Twitter Tool #2:TwitterMail – Use Email to Post Tweets

TwitterMail is especially useful for people who have phones that can send email, but don’t have an app for Twitter.

Basically, TwitterMail allows you to send an email to post to your Twitter account. You can specify when it’ll be posted (e.g. four hours from now).

This can also be a very useful tool for posting to Twitter from an HTML form, a PHP script or any other email generated on your server. It’s much simpler than learning the Twitter API.

Free Twitter Tool #3: Retweet Rank – How Many Retweets Are You Getting?

When you send out a tweet, how many people in turn tweet that out to their friends? How does your “retweet-power” measure against other Twitter users?

Retweet Rank can tell you. You don’t need an account; all you need to do is go to their site and type in your username.

Free Twitter Tool #4: Twitter Grader – How Influential Are You?

Want to know how you stack up against other Twitter users overall? Twitter Grader can show you. In addition to stacking you up against other Twitter users, it’ll also offer brief suggestions for improving your Twitter account.

Free Twitter Tool #5: Know Who Unfollowed You with Qwitter

Ever wondered who clicked the Unfollow button? Ever wonder how many unfollows you’re actually getting? Just because your follower count is going up doesn’t mean people aren’t unfollowing – you could just be getting more new followers.

Qwitter will send you a daily email, showing you exactly who unfollowed you. This can be enormously useful both from a personal perspective (i.e. knowing if someone influential is losing interest), as well as from a statistical perspective (i.e. finding out your average follower retention rate).

These are a few free yet useful tools available to online entrepreneurs. Why not give them a try today? It won’t cost you anything and can save you hours in the future.

One More Twitter Tool (Not Quite Free)

If it’s more Twitter followers you want, check out TweetAdder. It’s not free (at the time of this writing, it’s $55 for one profile), but you can check it out with a free trial.

In a nutshell, TweetAdder is software that helps you get more (targeted) followers.

Learn more about Tweet Adder here.

Filed Under: Websites that sell Tagged With: , , ,

How to Increase Ecommerce Sales

August 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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You have your ecommerce business all set up, but you could sure use some more sales and higher profits.

Competition on the web is higher than ever. And there’s no magic bullet: successful ecommerce businesses take time and lots and lots of effort. Still, when it comes to increasing your ecommerce sales in the short term, a few small changes can make a big difference.

Here are six simple, back-to-bascis suggestions to help you sell more from your ecommerce site.

#1 Update (often) and Add Photos

People buy based on emotional reasons and photos appeal to their senses. Take a look at the photos you have on your site. Do they present the products in the best possible way? Are there enough photos to give potential buyers a good idea about the product? Evaluate where you can add photos and which photos can be improved.

#2 Add Testimonials

Whenever possible, add testimonials. As mentioned earlier, people buy based on emotional reasons. When they read an endorsement from a peer for a product, it helps reinforce their buying decision. Often, a testimonial can single-handedly sell a product. Ask satisfied customers for testimonials. Create a system to collect them and publish them on your ecommerce site.

#3 Simplify Your Checkout Process

Make your checkout process as simple and painless as possible. This is particularly important if you have a lot of abandoned shopping carts. Evaluate your checkout process from a customer’s point of view. Could it be any easier? Are answers to all questions easy to find on your website? Can you take any steps to simplify the checkout process or to make your customers feel more secure?

Does your shopping cart make it easy to move backwards and forwards in the process? Can your customer see what’s in their shopping cart at any time during their shopping process?

One easy way to gain insight into this process: invite a friend (or two) over and ask her to make a purchase on your site while you watch over her shoulder. Are there any parts of the process that could be made smoother?

#4 Publish Reviews and Comparison Charts

Reviews are exceptional selling tools. They provide customers and prospects with the kind of information they need to make a buying decision. Make sure any review comes across as objective and unbiased. If it sounds or reads like a sales message then prospects won’t take it seriously.

Comparison charts are simply a presentation of like products with the technical details displayed side by side. Note: you can create video and/or print reviews for your products. When using print for review or comparison charts, try to include photos. Always include a link to the product being compared or reviewed.

#5 Articles and/or Blog Posts

Consider also publishing content on your website. Quality, original content that is optimized for particular, relevant keywords will drive traffic to your site. Plus, it can help establish your business as a leader in your niche.

In addition to publishing content on your website, consider publishing an email newsletter. Email marketing is a proven money maker. It provides you with an opportunity to sell and inform qualified prospects.
#6 Read as Much as You Can on Emerging Technologies

The ecommerce landscape is ever changing. To stay on top, continue to stay on top of blogs like one. (Subscribe to our RSS feed here, so you never miss a tip).

Additionally, here are some guidebooks to help you learn more about how to increase your ecommerce sales.

Three Clicks Away: Advice from the Trenches of eCommerce
Three Clicks Away: Advice from the Trenches of eCommerce
Price: $44.95
On the Web, you should never be more than 3 clicks away from the information you need 3 Clicks Away delivers the collective experience of three distinguished Internet strategists who have led e-commerce initiatives for such notable firms as Gateway, Dow Jones, iVillage, Nickelodeon, and Casio. This book is a tactical guide that demonstrates how to develop e-commerce strategy, revamp the organization so that it can support e-commerce initiatives, and manage complex multidisciplinary projects.

Streetwise eCommerce: Establish Your Online Business, Expand Your Reach, and Watch Your Profits Soar! (Adams Streetwise Series)
Streetwise eCommerce: Establish Your Online Business, Expand Your Reach, and Watch Your Profits Soar! (Adams Streetwise Series)
Price: $7.98
In Streetwise eCommerce, Web guru Aliza Risdahl shows you how to maximize your digital presence. With the strategies, tools, and knowledge packed into this ultimate guide, your company will be Internet ready in no time. Risdahl walks you through the ins and outs of becoming an effective Web force and teaches you how to:
Tailor an Internet program to your overall business plan
Create and manage an e-mail list Design a Web site
Build an online community
Market and sell online
And much more Streetwise eCommerce is your guide to selling and marketing on the Internet. Tap into the ultimate online resource to make your presence known-and your profits soar! Aliza Risdahl was voted as one of Newsweek’s “Top 50 People Who Matter Most on the Internet” and is a leader in Internet marketing and entrepreneurship. Ms. Risdahl founded the first woman-owned, full-service Internet company, Cybergrrl, Inc. She is the author of four books and is a regular contributor to Entrepreneur, Home Business, and Professional Woman.

Big Ticket Ecommerce: How To Sell High-Priced Products And Services Using The Internet
Big Ticket Ecommerce: How To Sell High-Priced Products And Services Using The Internet
Price: $12.32
Click Here. Add to Shopping Cart. Check Out. This traditional approach to eCommerce works well for low-priced, impulse-oriented, and easy-to-understand products and services. However, it doesn’t work for companies selling complicated big-ticket products and services. For big-ticket sales ranging from $2,000 to $2.5 million, the add-to-shopping cart, click-here-to-check-out approach just doesn’t make sense. If you’ve been frustrated trying to force a square peg into a round hole, you’re about to discover a better way. The Big Ticket eCommerce System is an approach to eCommerce designed exclusively to help you sell high-priced products and services using the Internet.

Design and Launch an eCommerce Business in a Week (Entrepreneur Magazine's Click Starts)
Design and Launch an eCommerce Business in a Week (Entrepreneur Magazine’s Click Starts)
Price: $12.2
WWW.(Your Online Store).COM Have you fantasized about your own retail store-selling your own specialty items, showcasing unique products or better promoting existing products? Or have you dreamed of working from home, setting your own hours and still making great money? Today’s technology makes it easier than ever to take your retail dreams to the world’s largest marketplace-the Internet. In just days, you can build your own eCommerce website, reach potential customers by the millions, process orders 24/7 and accept payments from all over the world-with no technical background or graphic design skills.

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: Websites that sell Tagged With: ,

Tips for Content Writing

August 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Content writing is part science and part art. If you aren’t entirely confident in your writing skills, here are a few tips for better content writing.

#1 Create a Structure

Before you sit down to string sentences together, create a structure for your article. Think of it as a very informal outline. For example, the outline for this particular article might look like this.

Tips for Improving Your Content Writing:
* Create a structure
* Write conversationally
* Add keywords later

When you take just a few minutes to create a basic structure for your content piece, the writing process will be much faster – and the resulting blog post or article will be better, too. That’s because your article will stay on topic and maintain a logical flow. Creating an outline before you write will also help you make sure you cover all the points you want to cover. It’s a quick brainstorming session before you write.

#2 Write Conversationally

You’ve heard the advice before: Write like you speak. And it’s especially true for web copy. Unless you’re writing for a magazine or newspaper, most articles are better received if they’re written conversationally. Conversational writing is informal. It uses contractions. It uses the word “you” occasionally. And it can break a few grammar rules when necessary.

Conversational writing helps your readers feel like you’re writing directly to them. Next time you’re writing an article, pretend you’re writing a letter to a friend – or even that you’re talking to a friend over a cup of coffee. You might even try using voice to text software.. It records and automatically transcribes your spoken content and can help you write conversationally.

#3 Add Keywords Once Your Article is Finished

Your article will have better flow if you write your article first – without worrying about keyword placement. If you write with keywords in mind there’s a great chance that your article will feel forced. Write, first, for your readers – and then write for the search engines. Complete your article using the words that come naturally to you at the time.

Then go back and look for places where your keywords will sound natural. Look to include them in your subheadings along with your first and last paragraph. Don’t force the issue. Search engines and readers are savvy now. They can recognize a good article when they see it and will respond positively.

The best thing you can do to improve your content writing is this: Write a lot. The more articles and blog posts you write, the more comfortable you’ll become with the process. Write often, write conversationally, plan your content and focus on keywords after the fact.

For more tips on quality content writing, check out these books from amazon:

Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works (Interactive Technologies)
Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works (Interactive Technologies)
Price: $29.21
“Redish has done her homework and created a thorough overview of the issues in writing for the Web. Ironically, I must recommend that you read her every word so that you can find out why your customers won’t read very many words on your website – and what to do about it.” – Jakob Nielsen, Principal, Nielsen Norman Group
On the web, whether on the job or at home, we usually want to grab information and use it quickly. We go to the web to get answers to questions or to complete tasks – to gather information, reading only what we need. We are all too busy to read much on the web. This book helps you write successfully for web users. It offers strategy, process, and tactics for creating or revising content for the web. It helps you plan, organize, write, design, and test web content that will make web users come back again and again to your site. Learn how to create usable and useful content for the web from the master? Ginny Redish. Ginny has taught and mentored hundreds of writers, information designers, and content owners in the principles and secrets of creating web information that is easy to scan, easy to read, and easy to use. This practical, informative book will help anyone creating web content do it better.

Create Web Content that Sells! Wow your market with writing strategies, search engine hints, and graphic tips that work
Create Web Content that Sells! Wow your market with writing strategies, search engine hints, and graphic tips that work
Price: $19.95
Are you ready to build an effective Web site that sells? One that brings in serious prospects? Then Create Web Content That Sells! is for you. It’s a tutorial about writing effectively for Web visitors, creating a useable site structure, getting a marketing mind-set, and choosing practical graphics for your Web site. Whether your site sells wrenches to left-handed mechanics, offers landscaping services, or strives to cultivate loyalty in the hearts of your existing customers, the basic tenet of great Web content is universal: speak to your audience. And Create Web Content That Sells! shows you how to get down and dirty, one-to-one, with your audience, through writing, structure, and graphics. Small business people need every edge they can get, so we designed our marketing section to fit this need. Plus, anyone involved in content development will find the writing section extremely valuable.

Content Rich: Writing Your Way to Wealth on the Web
Content Rich: Writing Your Way to Wealth on the Web
Price: $14.21
Content Rich: Writing Your Way to Wealth on the Web is the first definitive search engine optimization (SEO) copywriting guide. It introduces new ways of looking at online content and provides key illustrations that show how copy influences search engine rankings and sales conversion in unique ways. If you are a small to medium-sized business looking for a way to maximize online marketing activities, Content Rich will show you how it can be performed for a fraction of the traditional cost and in ways most companies never consider. Content Rich also discusses the future of online content and examines ways to leverage the combined power of all types of web copy-including site, landing page, blog, article, email, newsletter, PPC ad, and press releases-to give your business a clear competitive advantage. Overwhelmingly acclaimed by business leaders, Internet gurus, best selling marketing authors, top copywriters and the search marketing industry, Content Rich redefines the importance and use of copywriting for the web in a time of shrinking corporate budgets. Using simple examples, case studies and documented research, it gives you all the tools you need to start improving your online marketing efforts-today.

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: Websites that sell Tagged With: , , ,
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