7 Search Engine Strategies That Work

By Michael Fleischner | Marketing Expert, Internet Marketing Secrets*

As the Internet becomes even more pervasive, the importance of search engine optimization continues to grow. You can make the most of your Internet marketing efforts by following the same steps that top ranking sites do for improvinge their rankings. You may think that top ranking sites have to spend lots of money to get there. The truth is that sites who come out on top, follow some basic search engine optimization guidelines. These guidelines are easy to follow and often cost little or nothing to put into practice.

1. Manually register your site with DMOZ, also known as the Open Directory Project. The Open Directory Project is the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web. It is constructed and maintained by a vast, global community of volunteer editors and feeds other leading web directories.

2. Manually submit your site to Google. If you'd like to wait, Google will eventually spider your site and return it in search result listings related to your site name and keywords. However, this may take some time. For faster inclusion, visit Google and submit your site manually.

3. Purchase a listing with Yahoo! Directory Submit. Yahoo! like Google provides many search products. However, Directory Submit is essential for any business on the web. For a fee of $299 Yahoo! will include your web site in their directory that fuels websites like Yahoo!, MSN and AltaVista.

4. Make sure you are using keywords with a high KEI. This measure takes into consideration both the popularity and competitiveness of your keywords. By focusing on keywords with a higher KEI, you can optimize your chance for search engines to select your site for keywords at little or no expense.

5. Engage in a link building campaign. The more links you have to your site, especially if they have a high Google Page Rank, will signal Google and other search engines that your site is important. A great way to do this is through article submission or affiliate programs.

6. Make your site easily to crawl. Search engine do not like dynamic pages. Although this is changing with the advent of Google Site Maps, it is still important to ensure that all search engines can easily traverse your website. Make sure to use HTML coding and avoid dynamically created pages.

7. Be patient. Once you follow these suggestions, allow search engines time to re-index your site. In the Internet age, we're looking for instant results. However, it does take some time for all of your search engine optimization techniques to take hold.

By implementing the suggestions we've discussed in this article, your search engine optimization efforts can generate positive returns. As the world of search engines continue to evolve, it's important to learn about the latest techniques and requirements for improving search engine results. Continue to focus on SEO. If you do, you'll find yourself at the top of the rankings!

* Michael Fleischner is a marketing expert and the president of MarketingScoop.com, the Internet’s biggest source of marketing information and free marketing resources. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and has appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit Marketingscoop.com for further details, Internet marketing secrets, or more FREE reprint articles.

Making Money Online with Google AdSense

By Michael Fleischner | Marketing Expert, Internet Marketing Secrets*

Many marketing professionals are using Google to place targeted ads in front of prospective customers. This is increasingly effective due to the highly targeted nature of Google AdWords. Google AdSense, the other side of the online advertising equation, allows website owners to make money by provided contextually targeted ads to their website traffic.

Providing targeted ads to your online visitors creates a better user experience and communicates your knowledge of the audience you serve. Google AdSense automatically delivers text and image ads that are precisely targeted to your site and your site content through the Google AdSense advertising system.

If you're involved with an affiliate program such as commission junction, you know that signing up with, and maintaining relationships with advertisers is a full-time job. With Google AdSense, Google manages the relationships with advertisers for you, making the process simple and easy to manage. Once you place the appropriate code on your website, the AdSense program requires basically no maintenance.

How You Make Money

When you display Google ads on your website, you create the potential to generate revenue. Google places relevant cost-per-click and cost per thousand impressions ads into a real-time auction and lets multiple advertisers compete against one another for displaying their ad. The auction takes place instantaneously and when it's over AdSense automatically displays the text or image ads that will generate the maximum revenue for a given page, resulting in the maximum revenue for a web site owner.

Ads Are Updated When Your Content Changes

Google AdSense technology analyses the content of your web pages and delivers ads that are relevant automatically, no matter how many pages of content your site may have. As your content changes, Google's ads change to match.

Google Ads Can be Customized in Look and Feel

AdSense allows you to customize the appearance of your ads to fully match the look and feel of your site. As of the writing of this article, Google AdSense provides more than 200 colors and 24 pre-set color palettes to choose from. Additionally, you can create and save your own custom palettes using a point-and-click color selection tool which is relatively simple to use. This ensures a consistent user experience for those browsing your web site.

Track Your Earnings Online

The key to making money with Google AdSense is to monitor your ad performance with customizable online reports. These reports are available online and offer details regarding the number of page impressions delivered, clicks, and click-through rate. You can also track the performance of specific ad formats, colors and pages, allowing you to spot trends quickly and easily. The reporting tool lets you group your web pages however you want, so you can gain insight into your earnings by viewing results by URL, domain, ad type, and category. When you spot revenue trends, develop more content for your site in the areas that produce the highest Google AdSense revenue.

If you are interested in getting started as a Google AdSense publisher, just go to your web browser and type in Google AdSense. You'll find information about the program and a link to the program registration form. Signing up is pretty easy. It only takes a few minutes to apply online for both content and search ads. Once you're approved, you simply need to log in to your account, copy and paste a block of HTML code into your existing ad server or directly into any of your web pages. Relevant ads start to appear on your web pages right away, and you start making money from the first impression or click.

Be sure to evaluate the effectiveness of your program at least once per week. Doing so allows you to determine what type of content is driving the largest percentage of your online advertising revenue. As mentioned previously, when developing new content for your site, be sure to focus on the areas that are driving the greatest ad revenue as indicated by your online Google AdSense reports.

* Michael Fleischner is a marketing expert and the president of MarketingScoop.com, the Internet’s biggest source of marketing information and free marketing resources. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and has appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit the Marketing Blog Directory on his website for access to Internet marketing secrets and more.

The 7 Most Common Marketing Mistakes

By Michael Fleischner | Marketing Expert, Internet Marketing Secrets*

When marketing your product or service, you need to have a firm understanding of your audience, the message you want to deliver, the offer you're willing to make, and the optimal timing for your marketing campaign.

Too often novice marketers, even marketing veterans, make costly mistakes that result in poor performance of their marketing campaign. Common marketing mistakes can be avoided with adequate planning, attention to detail, and ongoing measurement and evaluation.

If you're considering a traditional marketing campaign, an Internet marketing campaign, or something that's never been tried before, be sure to avoid these common marketing mistakes.

1. Timing. You may have a great list, a fantastic offer, and even a well designed marketing piece, but if your timing is off, so too will be your results. As an experienced marketer, I have seen some very expensive marketing campaigns that were very compelling but failed to produce results. This is because the campaign reached consumers at a time in which they had no interest in buying the product. For example, trying to sell snow shovels in July would not be considered good timing.

2. Failure to Test Your Headline. As the first thing your prospect usually reads, the headline is essential for luring your prospective buyer into the message, your offer, and the action you want them to take. Regardless of the medium, you should continually test your headlines (or subject lines) by running split tests and evaluating response. This ensures that your marketing message attracts the largest number of prospective buyers.

3. Failure to Test Your Offer. In direct marketing, the offer is directly correlated to 40% of your response. If you have the right offer, people respond. There are other factors to consider as well, but providing a compelling offer is required in most instances. Offers can range from discounts to "hurry while supplies last", but the commonality remains. Test your offers for optimizing response.

4. Having a Good List. Having the best offer and award-winning
design is not enough. For many types of marketing campaigns, success is directly tied to having a targeted list. With today's sophisticated list generation tools, you can acquire lists that are highly segmented based on demographics, psychographics, buying behavior, and many other characteristics.
The key here is not to be penny wise and pound foolish. If you're wondering where to invest your marketing dollars, spend them on developing a good house list (names you acquire on your own) or by renting/purchasing a well segmented marketing list.

5. Relying on a Single Communication. On average, consumers are hit with over 2,000 marketing messages everyday. In fact, recent studies have indicated that consumers need to see your marketing message an average of 12 times before they take notice. If there is any truth to the claim in part or in whole, it means that you must communicate to prospects on a regular basis. Placing a single ad in the newspaper or sending a single email cannot deliver effective results. Determine the media that prospects use to gather information and develop an ongoing campaign that works within your budget.

6. Not Measuring Campaign Effectiveness. Over time, your business is going to do a lot of marketing. Even if you are a small business wondering how you're going to communicate to a prospective audience, you're going to eventually have some type of communication. Regardless of the marketing campaign size or expense, you need to track your results. This can be done with a simple spreadsheet or a multi-million dollar CRM system. The bottom line is you need to record what works and what doesn't so that you can improve your results in the future.

7. Failure to Continue the Dialogue. After consulting for a number of large companies, I'm still amazed at how many fail to communicate to customers on an ongoing basis. Often times, consumers or businesses only hear from the seller when its time to buy again. If you have an established customer base, chances are you've worked hard to acquire them. You should be spending some of your marketing budget to retain them. Be sure to open a dialogue with customers, solicit their feedback, and communicate with them regularly. This will help to build your business over the long-term.

If you're new to marketing, have experience as a marketing professional, or simply want to improve your current marketing results, be sure to learn from the mistakes of others. To be successful, continually work towards improving your marketing effectiveness. Avoid the 7 most common marketing mistakes, and you're on your way to delivering tangible results.

* Michael Fleischner is a marketing expert and the president of MarketingScoop.com, the Internet’s biggest source of marketing information and free marketing resources. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and has appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit the marketingscoop.comMarketing Blog Directory

Some very interesting Blog statistics from comScore's study

Recently, I came across a very interesting study done by comScore. Below are some statistics you might find useful or interesting to know.Quoting from the comScore study:1) Of 400 of the biggest blogs observed, segmented by seven (nonexclusive) categories, political blogs were the most popular, followed by "hipster" lifestyle blogs, tech blogs and blogs authored by women (hey.. so my blog has a

Constantcontact.com is a easy to use web based software for your e-mail marketing needs. It manages subscribers (both unsubscribe and new subscription), bounce-back, lists all wrong e-mail addresses, gives me open rate and also click thru rate for individual articles in my e-newsletter.See below for an example of the summary statistics generated by constantcontact.com:Below is an example of

Search Engine Optimization - Meta tags and title

Amongst page title, meta description, meta keywords, page title is the most important. However, the other two shouldn't be ignored also so never forget to put these in your website!Page Title:Page title tells the search engine what your page is about. Moreover, the title of your page will appear on the SERP (Search Engine Result Page). Many sites put "Welcome to ABC's company website!". This

Ok, I got the traffic, what's next?

In my opinion, in order for you to get leads from your website, you need 2 things:1) Traffic2) Compelling contentYes, you have done all you can to improve your web site's searchability, buying paid inclusion ad to generate tons of traffic to your website. If you do not have content, people will still leave your site in no time and you still have no new customer, no conversion.You need compelling

Organic ranking Vs Paid inclusion

I would say, organic ranking (result ranked by search engine itself) and paid inclusion are both very important. They compliment each other to give you the maximum traffic you can get for your website.Statistically, more than 70% of the web surfers would click on an organic search result on a SERP (Search Engine Result Page) and less than 30 % would click on a paid advertisement/ sponsored link.

Know what your competitors are doing!

To beat your competitors, you need to know who they are and what they are doing.First of all, I would go online and identify a few main competitors for my company (other than the ones I already know). I would type in some keywords (the most important for your business or the one you have bid heavily on), and see who is ranking high in different search engines and is also serving the area my

How to select your keywords for your search engine marketing campaign?

Try using the Google keyword Tool to start off your project. Personally, I would look at the "Keyword popularity" option. You can get the info of how popular a particular keyword is and its search volume.You can select the specific language and the country for your search. You can see the search volume and how competitive a keyword is.Yahoo keyword tool will be a very useful tool also:http://

We are in the third generation of the search engine marketing era!

Do you know? We are currently in the third generation of the search engine marketing era:First generation: based on text on the page, including meta-tag and meta-descriptionSecond generation: based on link analysis, e.g. reciprocal linkageThird generation: vertical and personalizeWhat does the Third generation means?Vertical search: It is a specialized search engine that mines data for one narrow

Want to learn more about e-marketing?

Have been working as an e-marketing professional for a few years now, and seriously I feel so bad about myself of not using blogs and knowing so little about blogs. (I need to keep up on all emerging technology to stay at the top!.. oh well.. at least.. trying...)That's why I decided to start my own blog. To use this technology and hopefully can exchange ideas with other e-marketing professionals

How to Write a Powerful Marketing Plan

By Michael Fleischner | Marketing Expert, Internet Marketing Secrets*

If you're thinking about developing a marketing program, you need to begin with a marketing plan. Having been in marketing for more than a decade, I have seen my share of marketing plans. Some are short and to the point, others are hundreds of pages thick and cost thousands of dollars to produce.

The irony is that many of the expensive marketing plans end up on a shelf and rarely get implemented. The simple plans, if researched and implemented effectively, have the greatest impact.

Regardless of the scope of your marketing plan, you must keep in mind that it is a fluid document. Every business needs to begin with a well structured plan that is based in thorough research, competitive positioning and attainable outcomes. Your plan should be the basis for your activities over the coming months. However, you should always be willing to enhance or redirect your plan based on what proves successful.

Marketing Plan Basics

1. Market Research. Collect, organize, and write down data about the market that is currently buying the product(s) or service(s) you will sell. Some areas to consider:

• Market dynamics, patterns including seasonality


• Customers - demographics, market segment, target markets, needs,
  buying decisions


• Product - what's out there now, what's the competition offering


• Current sales in the industry


• Benchmarks in the industry


• Suppliers - vendors that you will need to rely on

2. Target Market. Find niche or target markets for your product and describe them.

3. Product. Describe your product. How does your product relate to the market? What does your market need, what do they currently use, what do they need above and beyond current use?

4. Competition. Describe your competition. Develop your "unique selling proposition." What makes you stand apart from your competition? What is your competition doing about branding?

5. Mission Statement Write a few sentences that state:

• Key market - who you're selling to


• Contribution - what you're selling


• Distinction - your unique selling proposition

6. Market Strategies Write down the marketing and promotion strategies that you want to use or at least consider using. Strategies to consider:

• Networking - go where your market is


• Direct marketing - sales letters, brochures, flyers


• Advertising - print media, directories


• Training programs - to increase awareness


• Write articles, give advice, become known as an expert


• Direct/personal selling


• Publicity/press releases


• Trade shows


• Web site

7. Pricing, Positioning and Branding From the information you've collected, establish strategies for determining the price of your product, where your product will be positioned in the market and how you will achieve brand awareness.

8. Budget Budget your dollars. What strategies can you afford? What can you do in house, what do you need to outsource.

9. Marketing Goals Establish quantifiable marketing goals. This means goals that you can turn into numbers. For instance, your goals might be to gain at least 30 new clients or to sell 10 products per week, or to increase your income by 30% this year. Your goals might include sales, profits, or customer's satisfaction.

10. Monitor Your Results Test and analyze. Identify the strategies that are working.

• Survey customers


• Track sales, leads, visitors to your web site, percent of sales to
  impressions

By researching your markets, your competition, and determining your unique positioning, you are in a much better position to promote and sell your product or service. By establishing goals for your marketing campaign, you can better understand whether or not your efforts are generating results through ongoing review and evaluation of results.

As mentioned earlier in this article, be sure to use your plan as a living document.Successful marketers continually review the status of their campaigns against their set objectives.This ensures ongoing improvements to your marketing initiatives and helps with future planning.

* Michael Fleischner is a marketing expert and the president of MarketingScoop.com, the Internet’s biggest source of marketing information and free marketing resources. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and has appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit the Marketing Blog Directory for access to other marketing blogs.

 

Developing an Effective Marketing Campaign

By Michael Fleischner | Marketing Expert, Internet Marketing Secrets*

If you're trying to sell a product of service, you need to concern yourself with only four marketing principles. Although these marketing ideas may seem simple, they are incredibly powerful for communicating your message, motivating your prospects, and getting them to take an action.

As a marketing veteran, I can tell you that many people over complicate the process of marketing, and as a result, never see a positive return on their marketing investment. This is not to say that certain aspects of marketing are easy. Many require in-depth knowledge of a specific marketing discipline. However, the four basic principles I describe here are the building blocks of any effective marketing, Internet marketing, or search engine optimization campaign.

1. Know Your Audience. No one can effectively market, communicate, or sell without knowing their audience or what motivates them to buy. Is your potential customer male or female? Young or old? A first time buyer or frequent purchaser? Are they the final decision maker? Do they have preferences for a particular product, service, or delivery method? The more you know about your audience, the more targeted and relevant your marketing can be.

2. Timing is Everything. Even with the most convincing marketing campaign, prospects will have no interest in your product or service if you aren't communicating to them at the right time. Be sure your marketing message is in front of prospects when they're ready to buy. This could be at a particular time of year or perhaps prior to a life event.

3. Finding the Right Offer. In direct marketing, experts say that results are 40% dependant on your list, 40% on the offer, and 20% on your creative. The same is true for internet marketing, search engine marketing, and the like. Test your offers and find the one that out performs all the others. This offer should continually be tested and refined to improve your results.

4. It's all about the Messaging. If you know your audience well enough, you should be able to craft a message that addresses their needs and differentiates your product or service from the competition. Additionally, be sure to stress benefits over features. This will give your audience a reason to read, try, and buy.

The next time you are conducting a marketing campaign, use these effective marketing principles. Knowing your audience, ensuring that you reach them when they're ready to buy, experimenting to find the most productive offer, and communicating to them productively, are essential for any marketing campaign to deliver results.

* Michael Fleischner is a marketing expert and the president of MarketingScoop.com, the Internet’s biggest source of marketing information and free marketing resources. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and has appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit http://www.Marketingscoop.com for further details, Internet marketing secrets, or more FREE reprint articles.

Small Business Marketing Tips

By Michael Fleischner Marketing Expert, Internet Marketing Secrets*

If you're a small business owner, you probably don't have a lot to spend on marketing. That's okay, many small businesses aren't taking full advantage of the many opportunities they have for marketing their business in basic ways that cost little or nothing to implement.

There are a number of things you can do to leverage your existing contact points with prospects and customers that require some initial effort to produce but go a long way in promoting your business, products, or services. Some of these methods include:

1. Business Cards. For less than $20, you can have a virtual billboard that promotes your business. Surprisingly many businesses forget about this great way to promote your business, your products, or special offers. When ordering your business cards, think about how you can use the space effectively. Some of the best business cards that I've seen include specific URL's on the back for accessing free information, tools, resources, or product demo's. I've even seen some with coupons on the back that turn business cards into a customer staple - giving them an incentive to have your business card handy at all times.

2. Invoices. Do you send your customers an invoice in print or electronically?
If you do, use the invoice to promote your brand, product or service. This is also a valuable touch point to thank your customers and prompt them to learn about other things you offer. Some of the more effective messaging for your next invoice might be, "Thank you for your business. To learn more about our frequent shopper program call 1-800-555-1234". This simple message can increase awareness and get your customers to take notice.

3. Emails. Nothing in marketing performs as well as your very own list of customer emails. Customers who offer their email address want to hear from you. Do what you can to encourage customers to provide you with their email address. You can always provide a small incentive like a pen with your business's name on it, free information, or a white paper addressing an area of growing importance. Once you have this email list, communicate to your customers on a regular basis and encourage them to do more business with you. Satisfied customers are likely to forward your emails to others, growing the size of your customer base.

4. Thank You Notes. A number of small businesses are very effective at communicating with their customers. These businesses use every shipment as a vehicle to promote their products or thank their customers. You should do the same. When you make a sale and are shipping a product, insert a short thank you note that offers your gratitude and willingness to hear from the customer or perhaps your latest catalog or flyer. This goes a long way in showing your appreciation for you customer and interest in building a long term relationship with them.

5. Online Coupons or Offers. When you have a particular product to sell, you should offer information about it on your website. Additionally, offer an incentive for prospective customers (new customers). When individuals are on your website and take interest in your product or service, providing an incentive to buy can drive considerable response rates. You might be concerned about discounting your product or service to existing customers so be clear that your offer is only for new customers. Your existing customers understand that you're trying to grow your business and won't be disappointed to learn that you're giving an incentive to new customers only.

6. Free Samples. Giving away free samples is one of the most effective marketing tactics available today. Even if you have a service business, offering up a method for prospective buyers to try a derivative of your service without paying for it can lead to increased trials and conversions. Large consumer product companies like Proctor and Gamble know that once a consumer decides that he or she likes the product, they will become a customer for an extended period of time which more than pays for the cost of their promotion.

7. Encourage Referrals. Small businesses that leverage the power of referrals experience strong growth. When you have others suggesting your product or service it's like having your very own sales team. These referrals are even more powerful because, like word-of-mouth, the prospect is being encouraged to buy from an existing customer, associate, expert, or influencer. Think about how you can encourage referrals from your customers or other service providers. One way is to ask other vendors to distribute information about your business to their customer base in exchange for you doing the same.

Marketing doesn't have to cost a lot. Use your own business to communicate your marketing messages and increase lead generation. These simple methods are effective for any small business owner regardless of industry, product, or service offering. Implement some or all of them to see the power of effective small business marketing.

* Michael Fleischner is a marketing expert and the president of MarketingScoop.com, the Internet’s biggest source of marketing information and free marketing resources including the marketing blog directory. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and has appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit Internet marketing secrets and more.

Marketing Secrets for Small Business Owners

By Michael Fleischner | Marketing Expert, Internet Marketing Secrets*

If you're a small business owner, you're probably wondering where you can get the biggest bang for the buck with your marketing dollars. As a veteran marketing professional and small business owner myself, I understand the importance of making the most from a limited marketing budget.

The good news for today's small business owner is that the Internet and local advertising can provide targeted reach at a reasonable cost. In particular, email, Internet marketing, and classified advertising, can generate huge returns for your business.

* Email Marketing. Each year, nearly 20 billion emails are sent to consumers and businesses. As many as 60 percent of these emails are considered SPAM and about 20% are automatically tagged as such - making their way into the SPAM mailbox of your everyday email client.

However, what most email marketers fail to tell you is that the most productive email solicitations don't come from businesses, they come from word-of-mouth or viral marketing. Viral marketing is the practice of telling others about a positive experience with a brand, product or service.

As a small business owner, you can take advantage of email marketing by simply encouraging those who receive your emails to forward them to a friend. Also, tag your web pages with a "tell a friend" button which allows for easy emailing of a web page, URL, PDF, or related document. These features cost little or nothing to implement and can generate impressive results.

* Internet Marketing. Often the topic of Internet marketing scares off small business owners. However, Internet marketing itself can be an effective tool if leveraged appropriately. There are a variety of Internet marketing mediums. These options include "pay-for" Internet marketing options such as Google AdSense, the Yahoo! Directory and so on as well as free or cost neutral options.

In Internet marketing, there are a couple of techniques that are highly effective and cost little or nothing to implement. The first and most popular is article marketing. Are you a subject matter expert? If you are, provide articles to other well known websites that can get your company name and URL out there. This can be done for free and provides the added benefit of having other sites link to your website, increasing your site's link popularity scores.

The second Internet marketing strategy that can drive you business is an affiliate program. At its most basic level, an affiliate program allows other website or companies to sell your products and receive a commission. Explore affiliate programs that can help distribute your products or services.

* Classified Advertising. Still one of the best and most affordable ways to sell your product, classified advertising can be effective if you run your ad for multiple weeks. For as little as $30 per week or less, you can get your company name, product, website, or other unique identifier in front of a local audience.

Weekly papers are especially good if you are targeting a small area. These local papers are also well read - often cover to cover. So, if you want to advertise, forget the large display ads, magazine ads, or anything that costs more than $100. Spend your money on classified ads and measure the response.

Marketing doesn't have to break the bank for the small business owner. In fact, it should be seen as an important way to drive revenue for your business. If you have little or no money to spend on marketing, be sure to take advantage of email marketing, Internet marketing, and classified ads to drive the success of your business. Also, make sure that everything you distribute (letters, invoices, business cards, and even your voicemail) mentions your company name and website.

* Michael Fleischner is a marketing expert and the president of MarketingScoop.com, the Internet’s biggest source of marketing information, free marketing resources, and marketing blog directory. Mr. Fleischner has more than 12 years of marketing experience and has appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit Marketingscoop.com for further details.

7 Steps for Improving Your Email Marketing

By Michael Fleischner | Marketing Expert, InternetMarketing Secrets*

The success of your email marketing campaign is often based on a set of complex factors. However, a number of these issues can be proactively managed to ensure an optimized response. When developing your next email campaign, consider the following guidelines.

1. Your list. Certainly one of the most important aspects of any email marketing campaign, your list is directly correlated to your success. Are your names recent? Have they agreed to be marketed to? Have they shown an interest in products or services similar to your own? Make sure that you are using a house list (names you collected on your own) or have been purchases from a reputable broker.

2. Your subject line. Getting a user to open your message is paramount any email marketing campaign. The best way to determine the subject line that works best is to break your emails into three random yet equal groups. Measure the response to each email and use the highest producing one as your control. In follow up emails, try to beat the response rate of your control email.

3. Your sender information. What information appears on the sender line of your email? Will your prospects recognize it? Do they want to hear from you? Often times, emails are deleted without ever being opened due to an indiscernible sender name. Your sender name should be brief and easily understood.

4. Track your results. Tracking allows you to determine who opened your message and clicked on a link or multiple links within your email. By determining what worked and what didn't, you can replicate success on your next email. As described above, tracking is particularly important when testing subject lines, imbedded links, and other direct response vehicles.

5. Make sure your unsubscribe method is in place and working.
The CAN-SPAM act of 2003 requires that all email messages contain clear directions on how to opt-out from subsequent mailings. Provide an unsubscribe mechanism that allows those receiving your email to send you and email and indicate their desire to opt-out from receiving further emails from you or your business. If recipients no longer want to hear from you, it's in your best interest to remove them from your list.

6. Your images are correctly referenced and you've used alt tags in each image. Improperly referencing your images can cause them to appear broken when you send your message - the dreaded red x. To insure the image is referenced correctly it must appear as, img src="http://www.yourdomain.com...."
rather than, img src="/images/picture.jpg". Alt tags are another important part of your images. The new security features on almost every email client these days disables images automatically. Having alt tags in place allow your reader to identify the image and determine if it is safe to enable.

7. Test, Test, Test! No matter what your involvement with email marketing happens to be, it is essential that you follow the guidelines above for successful results. In addition, the key is to test, test, test! After each email campaign, measure your opens, click-throughs, and purchases. Document the specific date, time, list, subject line, and content used to produce your results. Refer back to your documentation prior to your next campaign.

Email doesn't have to be a complex form of marketing. There are many best practices you can follow and some simple rules that ensure effectively delivery, open and conversion. By following the simple rules presented in this article, you'll not only deliver and effective email campaign, you'll discover a consistent method for generation revenue for your business.

* Michael Fleischner is the President of MarketingScoop.com, the Internet’s biggest source of marketing information and free marketing resources including the marketing blog directory. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and has appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit MarketingScoop.com for further details.

The 7 Secrets of Internet Marketing

By Michael Fleischner | Marketing Expert, Internet Marketing Secrets*

Many marketers have been shifting their marketing budgets to the web over the past few years. Marketing online allows you to target specific audiences and easily track return on investment, commonly referred to as ROI. Unlike traditional marketing methods, results of Internet marketing campaigns are almost immediate. This allows you to better evaluate what elements of your campaign are producing results and which are not. When buying online media, you must be willing to shift your marketing dollars to the online methods that produce a positive return.

To be successful at Internet marketing, you must understand the essential secrets of Internet marketing. These secrets can allow you to achieve success by finding the right audience, communicating your message properly, and leading consumers down the path to purchase. These secrets include:

1. Website Directory Listings. Before you begin any marketing campaign, make sure that the website you're promoting has been listed in the common directories such as DMOZ, Yahoo!, and Google. Even if you're using a marketing page off of the root directory of your website, be sure that the primary site is listed. This ensures that prospects can continue to find your marketing pages long after you've launched your campaign.

2. Generating Traffic. In order to realize a return on your investment, you need to generate traffic to your marketing pages. There are a number of ways to do so online. Some of the most popular include Google AdSense, Overture, and Looksmart. Other methods include affiliate programs and targeted website advertising. Research other websites that have the audience you're looking for and negotiate favorable ad rates for your online marketing campaign.

3. Marketing Pages. Don't lead prospective purchasers to a generic website. If you do, potential buyers won't know what to do next. The easier you make if for prospects to take advantage of your offer, the better. Whenever creating a marketing campaign online, provide a specific page for leading purchasers to your product or service or a billboard that showcases the offer. Take the guess work out of making a purchase and more consumers will buy.

4. Testimonials. Customer testimonials are the most powerful way to sell your product or service. When consumers hear from those who have purchased and used your product or service, they gain a certain level of trust and comfort in what you have to offer. Solicit testimonials after each purchase and use those that are the most convincing to prospective purchasers.

5. Create a Compelling Offer. Be sure to offer something that no one else is currently offering. If your offer is similar to your competitors or is not very interesting, consumers have no reason to learn more. Of course providing something for FREE is often a great way to entice potential customers. Maybe it's a 3-day free trial or a free evaluation of some kind. Be creative, try something new, and measure the response.

6. Developing Trust. Before anyone will buy from you, your website or company needs to be seen as reputable. This means that consumers can purchase from you and not worry about the safety of their credit card information, personal information, or anything else being exchanged. A good method for developing trust is to purchase and display safety and reliability icons such as BBB Online, Trust-e, and VeriSign.

7. Provide a Guarantee. Nothing makes a consumer more comfortable with a purchase than offering a guarantee. Perhaps you can offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee or a money back guarantee. A guarantee is a great way ease the risk of making a purchase. If your competitors are offering a guarantee, you want yours to be equal or better.

Internet marketing is an incredibly powerful medium for segmenting your prospects and delivering targeted advertising. Online, you can easily measure you return on investment and refine your marketing campaign over time to improve results.

If you are a local business you can benefit from Internet marketing as well. Look for local directories to list your business or service. Or, you can supplement your local advertising with product marketing pages on your website. Internet marketing is more than just placing ads online, it's using the web to communicate the value of your products and services.

* Michael Fleischner is a marketing expert and the president of MarketingScoop.com, the Internet’s biggest source of marketing information and free marketing resources. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and has appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit his blog and marketing blog directory for the latest one marketing.

Marketing Techniques that Cut Through Clutter

By Michael Fleischner Marketing Expert, Internet Marketing Secrets*

With the proliferation of websites, blogs, RSS feeds, podcasts, and other communication tools, consumers are bombarded with marketing messages, new products, unbeatable offers, and other opportunities on a daily basis. Marketing professionals are challenged with finding new ways to reach consumers despite ever increasing promotional noise and clutter.

So many of today's marketing executives and product development professionals still believe that building a good product, is all you need - consumers will seek them out on their own. However, nothing could be further from the truth. In today's marketplace, having a good product or service is simply the cost of entry. And unfortunately, because of clutter, may never get noticed even if a prospect is looking for it.

Marketing made simple.

Although one could argue that the traditional pillars of marketing (product, place, price, and promotion) are still required for the effective marketing and selling of products or services, they alone are not enough to cut through clutter. The only true weapon against clutter is relevancy. When a product or service is seen as being relevant to the specific needs of a prospect, then you've successfully overcome the clutter that prevents consumers from taking notice of your product or service.

How to make your marketing relevant.

To be relevant, you must first have a firm understanding of your audience. Ask yourself, "Who is my prospect? What does he or she need? Want? How does he or she like to be communicated to?" It's only after you have a deep understanding of your audience that you can begin to shape promotional marketing messages that can consistently differentiate your offering and be seen as unique in a sea of noise and sameness.

Once you've gotten a grasp on your audience, you need to apply an ongoing approach of refining your marketing message, offer(s), and campaign timing. If you apply just a little discipline towards testing and measuring the effectiveness of these marketing components, you can quickly determine the best formula for reaching your prospective audience regardless of competing noise. After you become relevant, deliver an experience.

Now let's assume that you've been paying attention and you have accomplished the need to be relevant, what then? In order to take a prospect that final few inches, to where they try or purchase your product, you must be capable of describing or delivering the experience you can provide. In an increasingly commoditized world, prospects differentiate the products or services they chose by the experiences they can or do create.

Keep in mind that giving a consumer a positive experience goes beyond the obvious. Be sure to take a customer centric approach and work towards an incredibly positive user experience. This will set you apart from your competition and help you build your brand.

* Michael Fleischner is a marketing expert and the president of MarketingScoop.com, the Internet’s biggest source of marketing information and free marketing resources. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and had appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. He can be contacted at mfleischner@marketingscoop.com. Visit Marketingscoop.com for further details, Internet marketing secrets, or more FREE reprint articles.

Add Internet Marketing To Your Marketing Mix

The importance of Internet marketing is continuing to expand. Surveys of all kinds show a major shift in traditional marketing budgets to dollars being spent online to market all types of products and services.

Internet Marketing Defined. Internet marketing is the use of the Internet to advertise and sell products and services. Within the definition of Internet Marketing you will find mention of pay per click advertising, banner ads, e-mail marketing, search engine marketing (including search engine optimization), blog marketing, and article marketing. Each of these subject areas is important to consider prior to planning your internet marketing strategy.

Internet Marketing Provides Many Benefits. There are many advantages to having a fully executable internet marketing strategy. These benefits include measurability, flexibility, and affordability. Many online marketing tactics provide marketing professionals with the ability to customer acquisition costs. Moreover, marketing professionals are better able to track what marketing campaigns are working and quickly allocate their spending towards higher producing media placements.

Internet Marketing Tactics. As the Internet has expanded, so have the opportunities for marketing online. Here we will take a brief look at each type of Internet marketing and explain the benefits of each.

1. Pay-per-click Advertising. Sites like Google offer pay-per-click advertising for anyone interested in getting their message in front of the right segment or prospective buyer. This method is highly targeted and offers one of the best and most popular forms of internet marketing. Marketers using pay-per-click advertising only pay a fee, based on the competitiveness of a keyword or ad title, when a link is clicked on.

2. Banner Ads. Once the king of Internet marketing, online banner ads have evolved to include animated and flash banners, but the premise remains largely the same. Marketers purchase a specified number of impressions to run on a single site or network of sites and are generally not guaranteed a specific number of clicks.

3. Email Marketing. Effective among current clients and prospects who have requested information form your company, email marketing is a well established means to communicate and marketing your products. However, be aware of CAN-SPAM requirements and contact preferences of those you plan to reach.

4. Search Engine Marketing. If you want web browsers to visit your site, than focusing on search engine optimization and search engine marketing is a must. No Internet marketing plan is complete without ensuring that your site is submitted and included on major directories like Google, Yahoo!, and DMOZ. The dollars spent on Search Engine Marketing of any type will pay huge dividends.

5. Blog Marketing. Getting mention of your site or information related to your products can quickly scale if you are able to effectively tap into the countless blogs that are being created everyday. It is essential that you focus your efforts on blogs covering topics relevant to your product or service offering.

6. Article Marketing. One of the most important aspects of Internet Marketing, is to improve the link popularity to your site and improve the awareness of your product or service offering. To do so, many companies are focusing on publishing valuable content and making available for other to post to their website's.

Regardless of the Internet marketing tactics you choose, be sure to consider an integrated marketing strategy. Be sure that your internet marketing has a specific goal and is supported with a definitive plan and budget. Lastly, be sure to pick up a book, conduct some research, or work with professionals to enhance your Internet marketing know-how.

* Michael Fleischner is a marketing expert and the president of MarketingScoop.com, the Internet’s biggest source of marketing information and free marketing resources. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and had appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. He can be contacted at mfleischner@marketingscoop.com. Visit http://www.Marketingscoop.com for further details, Internet marketing secrets, or more FREE reprint articles.

Discover the Secrets of Successful Marketing

The discipline of marketing can often be complex and confusing. As a
marketing veteran, I have seen countless marketing professionals get hung up on various aspects of marketing that have little impact on actual marketing results.

Based on my experience, there are four critical elements to an effective marketing campaign. Whether you're looking to improve your search engine marketing results, internet marketing, or marketing in general, be sure to follow these simple guidelines which I refer to as the A.T.O.M approach.

A.T.O.M - Audience, Timing, Offer, Message

1. Know Your Audience

No one can effectively market, communicate, or sell without knowing their audience or what motivates them to buy. Is your potential customer male or female? Young or old? A first time buyer or frequent purchaser? Are they the final decision maker? Do they have preferences for a particular product, service, or delivery method? The more you know about your audience, the
more targeted and relevant your marketing can be.

2. Timing is Everything

Even with the most convincing marketing campaign, prospects will have no interest in your product or service if you aren't communicating to them at the right time. Be sure your marketing message is in front of prospects when they're ready to buy. This could be at a particular time of year or perhaps prior to a life event.

3. Finding the Right Offer

In direct marketing, experts say that results are 40% dependant on your list, 40% on the offer, and 20% on your creative. The same is true for internet marketing, search engine marketing, and the like. Test your offers and find the one that out performs all the others. This offer should continually be tested and refined to improve your results.

4. Everying is Messaging

If you know your audience well enough, you should be able to craft a message that addresses their needs and differentiates your product or service from the competition. Additionally, be sure to stress benefits over features. This will give your audience a reason to read, try, and buy.

The next time you are conducting a marketing campaign, use the A.T.O.M. approach. Knowing your audience, ensuring that you reach them when they're ready to buy, experimenting to find the most productive offer, and communicating to them productively, are essential for any marketing campaign to deliver results.

* Michael Fleischner is a marketing expert and the president of MarketingScoop.com, the Internet’s biggest source of marketing information and free marketing resources. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and had appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. He can be contacted at mfleischner@marketingscoop.com. Visit http://www.marketingscoop.com or for further details, Internet marketing secrets, or more FREE reprint articles.

Internet Marketing Secrets

If you’re developing a new website, or just want to improve the natural search results of an existing website, there are a few Internet marketing secrets you need to be aware of - especially those that can provide a significant boost to your rankings.

Marketing Experts Start with Google

I have seen various statistics, but one thing is clear, Google is the dominant player of search - commanding approximately 60% of all search engine traffic. Ask any marketing expert where he or she would spend their search engine optimization efforts and they will undoubtedly say “Google”. Do what you can to rank well on Google. As a result, you will see results on other search engines as well.

One of the simplest Internet marketing secrets you can put into effect immediately is to register your domain name for 3 years. Many individuals who begin a web-based business register for one year only. You must realize however that Google is in the business of generating quality results from legitimate businesses. If you’re an established business, chances are that your web site has been up for more than a year. Google likes to see longevity and commitment. If you plan to be around for some time,register your domain for three years and show Google that you’re in business to stay.

Optimize Your Home Page for a Keyword Phrase

You have to use the right keywords if you want your website to appear at the top of any search result list. This can be tricky because most single key words are very competitive. What to do? Another internet marketing secret is to use a keyword phrase, not just a single keyword. Additionally, you want to find a keyword phrase that isn’t very competitive but generates a decent level of traffic on a daily and monthly basis. To do so, follow these simple steps:

1. Visit the overture search tool at http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/.

This tool shows you how many individuals typed in a particular search term for the previous month.

2. Type in your keyword and notice other keyword suggestions. Select

a number of keyword phrases to evaluate. The higher number of people searching on a keyword phrase generally means that it will be harder for you to get top placement for that term. A good number to shoot for, in terms of monthly keyword phrase searches, is about 1000 – 2000 per month.

3. Go to http://www.google.com and type in the keyword phrase(s) you’ve selected one at a time. After entering each, notice the total number of results listed in the upper right hand corner after your search. This is the number of web pages that are also associated with this keyword phrase. You want to find the keyword phrase that commands the highest number of monthly searches (step 2 above) and the least number of competitors.

On Page Optimization

If you are going to rank well for any keyword phrase, you need to effectively manage your on page optimization. Specifically, your use of H1 and H2 tags, page title, alt images, bolded text, italicized text, underlined text, and keyword proximity. The Internet marketing secret here is to copy your competition and do things slightly better. To do so, type in your keyword phrase in Google and visit the top 5 sites listed individually. Select “view source” in the Internet browser window you’re using for each site and see what your toughest competition has done.

• Have they included the keyword phrase in their page title?
• Does the keyword appear in bolded text only once?
• Italicized text one? Underlined text only once?
• Does the keyword phrase appear in the first 25 words on the page? The last 25 words?

You will need to copy what the best websites for that keyword phrase have done and improve upon it. You don’t need a marketing expert to show you how to do what I’ve just described, simply copy the best and evaluate each point noted. Shape your site to appeal to Google and other key search engines.

Off - Page Optimization

The final Internet Marketing Secret you must learn is the importance of off-page optimization. This refers to the number of links pointing to your site, the PR rank (stands for Google Page Rank) of the sites linking to you, and the Anchor text of the link.

There are some simple things you can do to begin developing an aggressive link campaign for those sites that link to your competitors – for the keyword phrase you’ve selected. The best advice I can give you however is to research SEO and link building software on the Internet. This will allow you to make the most of your time and target the best sites to improve your link popularity.

Building your link popularity is an arduous task and in my opinion difficult. I’ve certainly learned over the last few years that your effectiveness in this area is ultimately determined by the tools you use and effort you exert. Take my word for it, you don’t want to build your links manually, you’ll never get ahead – so research options on the Internet.

Once you begin developing links, you’ll need to monitor them on an ongoing basis. Keep in mind that you will often have to provide a link on your website to the third party site. Be sure to create a links page where you maintain your link exchanges and monitor it regularly to insure that third party links to your domain still exist. If removed, you should remove your link as well.

The Internet marketing secrets shared in this article are essential for improving your search engine results. Take your time and implement each one in a controlled and disciplined manner and you will see your rankings improve.

* Michael Fleischner is a marketing expert and the president of MarketingScoop.com, the Internet’s biggest source of marketing information and free marketing resources. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and had appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit MarketingScoop.com for further details, Internet
marketing secrets, or more FREE reprint articles.

Interview with Dale King of GuruKnowledge.com

Dale King: Today, I'm interviewing Internet Marketing expert, Michael Fleischner. Hello Michael, how are you?

Michael Fleischner: Doing well Dale, thank you. I'm very excited about having this opportunity to talk to you about Internet Marketing - certainly one of my favorite subjects.

Dale King: Michael, tell our readers how and when you got started marketing on the Internet.

Michael Fleischner: I actually began my Internet Marketing career in 2000 when I was working for a publisher that was migrating towards an online business model. My first entry into online marketing was a media purchase from AOL of $1.2 million. This was back in the day when banner ads actually produced a positive ROI and there was an ability to own a particular vertical within the large search engine directories. I continued to market on the Internet through establishing additional partnerships with Yahoo! and HotJobs while adding specific Internet marketing campaigns for our products and services.

In 2004, I decided to launch MarketingScoop.com based on my frustration when attempting to find a complete online marketing resource that could provide my marketing staff (novice as well as seasoned veterans) with the latest tools and information across all marketing disciplines, access to marketing experts, internet marketing secrets and the latest resources.

Dale King: Some Internet Marketing experts advise newbies to steer clear of certains areas of Internet marketing, like selling e-books on how to make money, advertising services, SEO services, etc., because their too competitive. Do you agree with thatassessment?

Michael Fleischner: Competitive or not, marketing experts who focus their resources on fundamental areas such as SEO services, advertising, etc. are still exploring opportunities - especially for those businesses that focus on a particular segment or niche with a unique offering. Being a "Me-too" in this competitive environment won't get you far unless you offer a highly differentiated service and tailor your marketing to the needs of that segment.

Dale King: How is Internet Marketing different now, as opposed to when you first got started online?

Michael Fleischner: When I first started in the area of Internet marketing, it was all about generating traffic. Over time, as the tracking has improved and the understanding of our consumer's online behavior has expanded, we are much more focused on ROI. If a particular online marketing campaign is not producing a favorable ROI, compared to other online marketing opportunities, the expense is quickly reallocated.

A good example of this is with a recent online Google Adword campaign. We saw a significant change in conversion rates, for specific keywords, drop from 4.3% to 0.73%. One can speculate on the reasons why, but the numbers don't lie. We quickly moved our Google spend to other vertical oriented site in our market niche to make up the realized shortfall in revenue.

Dale King: How important has goal-setting been to your overall success?

Michael Fleischner: Very important. I have found that having goals, short-term and long-term targets are essential for making progress in the right direction. On a regular basis, you need to evaluate your progress against your goals and at least once a year, make sure your goals are the right ones to have. Its also helpful to evaluate that your strategy, the process you've implemented towards achieving your goals, is still valid.

I have found the true key to goal setting is working with your team to get buy in as goals are being established. Success is made more possible when all of your associates are focused on the same goals and these goals will better serve your customers.

Dale King: How important has reading been to your overall success?

Michael Fleischner: I'm sure that anyone you speak to, realizes the importance of reading - particularly in your chosen vocation. I do my best to read articles online daily but also take time to sort through trade papers to identify relevant information. Often times, I'll flip through a trade pub when it hits my desk, rip out those articles that I see as being important and make time later in the evening to review them.

Dale King: If you could recommend one book that all marketers should read, what would it be?

Michael Fleischner: Actually there are two. The first is "Built to Last" co-authored by James Collins and Jerry Porras. This book combines everything I learned in my 12 plus years of business into one publication. The second book, written by the co-author of Built to Last, Jim Collins has been my roadmap for the past few years, "Good to Great". It profiles those companies that went from mediocre to being an industry leader and explains precisely how they got there (based on extensive research). No marketer, or business person, should be working on a business without having read these publications.

Dale King: In your opinion, what technology has changed Internet Marketing the most over the last 5 years?

Michael Fleischner: Bandwidth. Bandwidth. Bandwidth. An increase in bandwidth and consumer adoption of the high speed connection has had the greatest impact on how we market via the Internet today. It has created a richer more dynamic environment for the end user and has increased the ability to deliver your marketing message in a more compelling fashion. In my opinion, this is the one thing that has changed internet marketing the most.

Dale King: What new technology do you see changing Internet Marketing over the next 5 years?

Michael Fleischner: Its hard to say - no one really knows. However, one thing is certain. Internet marketing experts will continue to see significant change based on tracking software, new technologies (bloggs, rss feeds, podcasts), and emerging technologies yet to come. Marketers will have to determine which technologies they can use to create a more compelling message about their product or service and continue to improve the segmentation of their customers.

Dale King: What person has influenced you the most in your lifetime, and how?

Michael Fleischner: I have had a number of mentors in my professional career. I believe the individual who influenced me the most was a former publishing executive who taught me the importance of negotiating and putting together win-win deals, not being afraid to take a risk. By taking risks, you soon discover new possibilities, new opportunities, that never existing before. This is good for all parties involved and ultimately benefits the consumer you're attempting to serve.

Dale King: If you could give my readers one piece of advice, what would it be?

Michael Fleischner: Marketing is everything and everything is marketing! I had lunch with the former Chairman of a major ad agency and this was his mantra. I couldn't agree more. The key to a successful marketing campaign, business, or even career, is knowing that you are always communicating. This is not to say that you have to be overly cautious but rather think about the implication of your messaging.

Dale King: Thank you very much . I appreciate you taking the time to do this interview.

Michael Fleischner: Thank you Dale. Hope to speak with you again soon.