2007/04/21

Build your own Opt-in marketing list easily


Opt-in marketing is when people willingly subscribe to have newsletters, catalogues, reports and other online services sent to their E-mail address. This is an efficient way to promote your business, and the main rule is; the more opt-in marketing mails you submit, the better are your chances to sell and increase the revenues significant.

To send many Opt-in mails, you need a lot of subscribers. Many think that building a Opt-in marketing list is time consuming and takes a lot of hard work. In fact it only requires a bit of patience and strategic planning. Setting up a mailing list system may require some skills, but several suppliers do this for a decent price. Another solution is to purchase a online mailing list service, ready to get started in seconds.

Internet provides a variety of sources and articles on how to build your Opt-in list. Sometimes these methods appear to be quite confusing because of the different solutions. Different groups of people enquire targeted approaches in building an opt-in list. Ok, its time for some strategy talk. Luckily you have already figured out one.. or haven't you - well here are a few hints to get you going:



Make your website useful and easy to navigate through. Invest in a convincing web design , make the graphics delicate, publish articles and well written sales letter without over doing it. The website should be based in the main strategy and be used as a tactical part of your business. Let a content provider help you write articles and professional text pitches if you don't have the grip of it.

Place a sign up form directly below your content. Tell your visitors to aubscribe for updates, new releases, a gift, free reports etc. When a website visitor finds something he or she likes, make it easy for them to sign up right there.

Deliver services and products as promised. Returning customers will make your business very profitable. A satisfied customer recommends your services to others and save you for expensive advertising.

Offer a money back guarantee. If a customer for some reason isn't satisfied live up to your guarantee. Return the money without hassle and welcome the customer back to do business with you later. Customer service is a crucial for your online success.

Keep the Opt in list private, do never share or sell your list and lose the customers trust. Letting others use your Opt-in list for spamming will put you out of business pretty soon. Building a good reputation takes time, tearing it down is done over night.


Still not sure you are ready to go for Opt-in marketing on your website? Allow me to recommend a visit at SEO Facility's Marketing directory. Have a look in the E-mail marketing category for further resources and online Opt in services. For the time being E-mail marketing is the most responsive way to promote and sell on the Internet. With other words, this could be the big difference for your business.

2007/04/19

Flash based web site - the good and bad



Flash-based sites have been a craze since the past few years, and as Macromedia compiles more and more great features into Flash, we can only predict there will be more and more flash sites around the Internet. However, Flash based sites have been disputed to be bloated and unnecessary. Where exactly do we draw the line? Here's a simple breakdown.

The good and useful

Flash's Actionscript opens up a vast field of possibilities. Programmers and designers have used Flash to create interactve features ranging from very lively feedback forms to attractive Flash-based games. This whole new level of interactivity will always leave visitors coming back for more.


Cross browser compatibility standard

With Flash, you do not have to worry about cross-browser compatibility. No more woes over how a certain css code displays differently in Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera. When you position your site elements in Flash, they will always appear as they are as long as the user has Flash Player installed.

Interactive communication with animation

In Flash, one can make use of its animating features to convey a message in a much more efficient and effective way. Flash is a lightweight option for animation because it is vector based (and hence smaller file sizes) as opposed to real "movie files" that are raster based and hence much larger in size.

The bad and ugly things


People have to download the Flash player in advance before they can view Flash movies, so by using Flash your visitor range will decrease considerably because not everyone will be willing to download the Flash player just to view your site. You'll also have to put in additional work in redirecting the user to the Flash download page if he or she doesn't have the player installed.


Website optimization

If your content was presented in Flash, most search engines wouldn't be able to index your content. Hence, you will not be able to rank well in search engines and there will be less traffic heading to your site.

Loading time

Users have to wait longer than usual to load Flash content compared to regular text and images, and some visitors might just lose their patience and click the Back button. The longer your Flash takes to load, the more you risk losing visitors.

The best way to go is to use Flash only when you absolutely need the interactivity and motion that comes with it. Otherwise, use a mixture of Flash and HTML or use pure text if your site is purely to present simple textual and graphical information.

Tony SEO Facility Web Design & Development

How to succeed with your Internet Marketing strategy

Getting a top ten rank with the search engines is hard because so many of the web sites are using the same keyword phrases. This doesn't mean that your web site have to be stuck under your competitors' pages. An Internet marketing strategy using search engine optimization, advertising, and niche content can boost your search engine ranking.

Search engine marketing strategy

Start by defining your target customers. Find out who they are, what they are searching for, motivation and which web sites they visit.

Test ads on the web sites your target visitors frequent. Advertising on these sites will tell you which search phrases this segment respond to, price range, purchase patterns and so on. Test results help you to estimate potential income and expenses the Internet Marketing campaign will generate.

Assuming the test advertising is positive, define your goals. Keep the goals simple and clear like return on investment, sales target, profit margin etc. With defined goals it’s actually pretty easy to work out the strategy and resources needed to achieve them. Next is to work out a budget, schedule the activities and specify who is responsible to get things done.


Search Engine Optimization

Working your way threw this process is very useful. Why? Because now it's easier to figure out what your potential customers search for. Targeting specific search phrases could mean they are less competitive, and less competition means a better chance for succeeding with your Internet Marketing. But most important, your visitors are in a buying mood when they land on your website.

Build incoming links containing your target keywords. Having external sites linking to your pages will boost your search engine ranking. Quality links states that your site's content is so important that webmasters links to your web pages.


Pay per click – PPC advertising

Organic traffic usually takes a while to build up. In the mean time advertise your products on the search engines. Pay per click (PPC) advertising is a cost effective alternative, you only pay when someone clicks on your ads. Use the selected keywords in your PPC advertising, and to write an ad copy targeting the niche. This will mainly motivate the target audience to click on your ads. Similar to organic traffic, visitors are motivated and ready to buy when they arrive at your web pages.

Niche content strategy

Keep your promises when you invite someone for a visit. Update your website with useful content for the niche you are targeting. A good Web Design and content rich web site will gain the visitors trust. Visitors become customers much easier when hey are confident with your sales representative, in this case your website.


Follow up your strategy and estimate

Follow up that both income and investments are within the calculated estimate. Make sure you operate according to scheduled time frames. Be prepared to alter parts of the strategy to balance market demands, and remember it's never too late to stop if a strategy fails.

By analyzing the test results properly you will be able to balance your Internet marketing plan realistically. The chances for a successful marketing campaign are much better when your decisions are based on true market knowledge.

Tony SEO Facility Niche directory