How To Be Clever When Marketing Your Blog on Twitter
Clever Twitter Marketing
Are you a blog writer? Although many internet users operate personal blogs, others do so to generate income. If you are one of those bloggers, it is important to have an effective internet marketing campaign. In addition to the traditional approaches, such as learning search engine optimization, think outside-of-the box. One unconventional marketing approach is to use Twitter.
If you don’t already know, Twitter is a social networking micro-blog. It is a user based program. Internet users create a free account, import contacts from their email account, and search for users based on location, name, and email address. Many also use online message boards to exchange information and develop a larger contact list. Messages, also known as updates and Tweets, are sent to all followers. Those individuals read and can respond. Messages are 140 characters or less and are sent via the Twitter website, some mobile web applications, RSS Feeds, instant messaging program, and Facebook.
At first glance, Twitter looks like any other social networking website, but it can be so much more. When properly used, Twitter can become an effective internet marketing tool. The first step is to create a free account and develop a list of followers. By following the updates of one member, they should return the favor. Remember, you can also use message boards to exchange information.
Once you have registered for a free account and developed a following on Twitter, you can start marketing your blog. Your first thought may be to make a big post introducing your blog. Yes, you can do this, but don’t let your first post be an advertisement. Instead, send a quick hello. Explain you are getting use to the Twitter website and thank your followers for joining you. This establishes a personal connection. You do not want your followers to feel right from the start that they are used solely for the purpose of advertising.
For your next Tweet, start working your blog into the mix. Since Twitter asks what you are doing, say “I am updating my blog. Check it out if you want,” and provide a link. This answers the Twitter question, but will also generate interest. Your followers will want to know your interests; therefore, they will click on your blog link. While there, they may buy a product you have available for sale or click on an advertisement. This is great, but first focusing on increase page views.
Another unique approach is to offer a contest on your blog. For example, does your blog share tips on how to save money. If so, giveaway a free eBook on the subject. People love free stuff. A contest should generate organic clicks on your blog, but it makes good content for Tweets. Send an update telling your followers that you just added a contest to your blog and that they should participate.
Aside from sending updates, also send replies. You will receive updates from those you follow. You can also search for Twitter messages on Search.Twitter.com. While there, look for questions that you can answer with a plug to your blog. @replies are nice, especially when responding to a specific question, as you are not sending an unsolicited advisement. Instead, you are sending advice.
Why Use Twitter
As for why you should cleverly market your blog on Twitter, it has to do with communication. That is what Twitter is about, encouraging short, but meaningful conversations. Users want to feel like they made a new friend, not like they are being pursued as a consumer.
Have fun with Twitter marketing, just don’t get banned
Offline Marketing Ideas
Eight Offline Marketing Ideas
…That Could Bring In Revenue To Your Online Business
Before businesses converted to online marketing, the bread and butter marketing and advertising techniques are mostly focused on traditional marketing or what is not called as offline marketing. These 8 offline marketing ideas have been around for years and have been proven time and again to bring in revenue to any business whenever they are well-placed and well-timed.
Proven Offline Marketing Gems
Classified ads
Ad placing on any local or national newspapers – if your pockets could afford that – can give your website traffic or sales a really good boost. How? Apparently, people still read newspapers and trust the things they read on print media. And with this same level of trust, people view newspaper ads as something that they can be confident about. Online businesses that have placed ads on newspapers have benefited from the great advertising rates of this medium.
Flyers and Posters
There’s a good reason why small and large companies alike still use flyers as part of their offline marketing campaigns. They work and they work really well. Place flyers somewhere with good traffic and watch as traffic get diverted to your website.
Direct Mail
The offline marketing version of opt-in email listing and email marketing, offline direct mail is a marketing method that directly contacts individual and inform them of your website’s presence. When done consistently and with good email pieces, this strategy can help with brand awareness. This may even result to instant sales.
Infomercials
While this could turn out to be quite expensive, infomercials are actually very effective means to enhance brand awareness and to increase market reach. Since most infomercials run consistently over a long period of time, these often allow for some curiosity on the part of viewers. If you don’t have enough budget for infomercials, try group advertising. This will spread the cost between you and your partners.
Business Cards
These are possibly the least expensive of all offline marketing strategies. Give your business cards to anyone you meet and leave them anywhere you go. The results may not be instantaneous, but in time, your cards could bring in revenue for your online business.
Give Free Information
If you are an expert in a field relevant to your business, you could try to be a free learning resource. You could do this by holding a free offline class. Radio and TV shows are also good mediums as these could reach a wider spectrum of audience. If you can, try to get an interview over the radio or on a TV show.
Freebies and Giveaways
Giving away promotional items is still alive and well. Next to business cards, this strategy is probably the second least expensive. The cost of this offline marketing strategy could run up to a few hundred dollars or more though if you’re giving away expensive free items.
Network with Other Local Business Owners
The chamber of commerce as well as other local business associations are powerful tools to expand your network. Connections mean better opportunities. Try to get as many connection as you can by attending local business owners meetings and conferences.
Use some of these offline marketing strategies in your online business and see how well you do!
Affiliate Marketers Need These Legal Documents
Legal Documents and Affiliate Marketing
Every affiliate marketer is required to use some legal documents to run his business. Without these documents you may lose everything. Just a single complaint from your customer can shutdown your business.
Here is the list of legal documents that you should have to protect your business and yourself.
1. Privacy Policy
This is the document that describes how you are collecting and using your visitors information. It should clearly indicate that you will not use the information of your visitors for any other purposes and you will not share their personal information. This is one of the most important of the legal documents as without it you may face problems from your visitors and other agencies like the Federal Trade Commission.
2. Terms of Use & Disclaimer
This document limits your responsibility to your website users. It really protects you. This document usually contains Use of Site, licenses, limitation of liability, miscellaneous items, etc. For example, if you have a website where people are allowed to post their views about some products, then you may want to mention that these views are just the opinions of the visitors and are not the thoughts of the site owner.
3. Affiliate Agreement
This form is needed if you are running an affiliate program. It is used to set the terms and conditions that must be followed by your affiliates. Affiliates are then required to observe these rules while they advertise your products. Affiliates will be required to agree to this agreement before starting the business with you. You can freeze their commissions or cancel their membership if they are not following this agreement.
4. No-Spam Agreement
Spamming is an activity where you send email messages to a person who has not allowed you to do so. Also posting your ads in the newsgroups and forums where such activity is not allowed is also called spamming. You should only post your advertisements in the forums and newsgroups that allow you to do so or if they are on the same topic. Similarly, posting your ads in the chat rooms and message boards is not permitted and is called spam.
In a no-spam agreement, it is stated that you have an anti-spam policy. It is also stated that you will not send any unsolicited emails to advertise your programs, services or products without the permission of user.
5. Copyright Notice
Copyright notice is to protect your website content and graphics. It tells the visitors how they can use this content. If you don’t want to share your website content, you should indicate it in copyright notices. Without this notice, people may steal your website content and graphics. If someone wants to use your content or graphics then he is required to get the prior permission from you. Otherwise, he is breaking the copyright laws and he may suffer from that. If you want to allow people to use you website information, then you should mention it clearly in the copyright notice which content, graphics or product is free to use by anyone.
6. Earnings Disclaimer
If you are selling any information package or running an affiliate program then this has to be included in your legal documents. Without this document your business may be shut down by FTC.
If you want to read a report that details some of the very good reasons for having legal documents on your website you can download Len Thurmond’s take on the latest ftc_guidelines
Before starting your online business, make sure that your business is safe by using the above mentioned legal documents. Without these documents your business is in the danger.
For more information on legal documents visit this site
3 Things All Affiliate Marketers Need To Survive Online
Affiliate Marketer Survival
Every affiliate marketer is always looking for the successful market that gives the biggest paycheck. Sometimes they think it is a magic formula that is readily available for them. Actually, it is more complicated than that. It is just good marketing practices that have been proven over years of hard work and dedication.
There are tactics that have worked before with online marketing and is continuing to work in the world of the online affiliate marketer today. With these top three marketing tips, you will be able to able to increase your sales and survive in the jungle that the affiliate marketer works in.
What are these three affiliate marketer tactics?
1. Using unique web pages to promote each separate product you are marketing. Do not lump all of it together just to save some money on web hosting. It is best to have a site focusing on each and every product and nothing more.
Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial understanding on what the product can do to those who buys them. Also include testimonials from users who have already tried the product. Be sure that these customers are more than willing to allow you to use their names and photos on the site of the specific product you are marketing.
You can also write articles highlighting the uses of the product and include them on the website as an additional page. Make the pages attractive compelling and include calls to act on the information. Each headline should attract the readers to try and read more, even contact you. Highlight your special points. This will help your readers to learn what the page is about and will want to find out more.
2. Offer free reports to your readers. If possible position them at the very top side of your page so it they simply cannot be missed. Try to create autoresponder messages that will be mailed to those who input their personal information into your sign up box. According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospect.
Only two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: closed sale or the prospect leaving the page and never return again. By placing useful information into their inboxes at certain specified period, you will remind them of the product they thought they want later and will find out that the sale is closed. Be sure that the content is directed toward specific reasons to buy the product. Do not make it sound like a sales pitch.
Focus on important points like how your product can make life and things easier and more enjoyable. Include compelling subject lines in the email. As much as possible, avoid using the word “free” because there are still older spam filters that dumps those kind of contents into the junk before even anyone reading them first. Convince those who signed up for your free reports that they will be missing something big if they do not avail of your products and services.
3. Get the kind of traffic that is targeted to your product. Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are offering, they will be among those who move on and never come back. Write articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. This way you can locate publications that is focusing on your target customers and what you have put up might just grab their interest.
The clever affiliate marketer will try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day.
Always remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or get your services. If you can generate as much as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, that means you can made 10 sales based on the average statistic.
The tactics given above does not really sound very difficult to do, if you think about it. It just requires a little time and an action plan on your part.
Try to use these tips for several of your affiliate marketer programs. You will end up maintaining a good source of income and surviving in this business which is something that not all marketers manage to do.
Besides, think of the huge paychecks you will be receiving…
Be a happy affiliate marketer!