Internet Marketing tips and articles

For many business owners the mere mention of the word “advertising” sends a shudder down their spine.

The truth is that advertising doesn’t have to be scary.  And once you have a little know-how it’s a whole lot easier than you may think.

Advertising generally does require some budget and the right budget coupled with the right advertising can heed great results.

However, that doesn’t mean that a small budget can’t give you results – it just means that you can start out small and work your way up.

With that in mind, here are some quick and easy tips for affordable and easy advertising.

Start in your own neighborhood – “there’s gold in them hills” – there sure is and right in your own backyard.  Tuning into your local community means you don’t have to spend a fortune to gain exposure.  Don’t ignore your local community when starting out.  This is a great place to test the advertising waters. Read the rest of this entry »

Marketing is important to every business, no matter how large or how small.  But to the self-sufficient small business owner, it’s just another part of her job.

She does her own copywriting, creates her own websites, and distributes her own press releases.  But what about graphics?

Some small business owners are blessed with artistic ability and can create their own graphics.  They are the lucky ones.

The rest of us often find ourselves in a dilemma.  We see the fancy graphics that our competition is using, but we can’t find room in the budget to have someone create nice graphics for us. Read the rest of this entry »

The use of auto responders is quickly becoming popular.  Given the digital age we have come into at full speed, it is becoming more and more time-consuming to be checking voicemails and answering machines.

The digital age is now allocating and advocating the use of these responders as a fax-on-demand-type of system.

An auto responder is an automatic messaging system, generally used in instant messaging systems and emails, to generate an automatic response to an incoming message or a scheduled outgoing message to those who have requested this information. Read the rest of this entry »

When you have decided that you need to advertise you have to start somewhere.  Some of this decision will depend on what you are advertising and the market niche you want, as well as who will be managing the advertising – you or an agency.

Another bridge to cross when deciding upon where to start for advertising is how much help you want and how much you are willing to do yourself.

Your budget will affect the kind of advertising you can do and this helps determine where you start. Your advertising decision will also be based upon the type of business you have. Read the rest of this entry »

Email marketing services, also known as autoresponder services, are a dime a dozen.  There are an abundance of providers and products available and each one is pitched as the next best thing.

Comparing products can be a time consuming process.  Here’s how to pick the right email marketing service for your internet marketing business.

Decide if you want a full service software package with a number of features or simple, straight forward email marketing?

Some products come with autoresponders, shopping cart software, to product delivery tools.

Do you want HTML templates or are you going to send your email messages in text format?  There are benefits to both. Read the rest of this entry »

Proper and efficient etiquette of customer service has its share of do’s and don’ts, or right and wrong ways of portraying service skills or lack thereof.

Don’t insult people, regardless of how ignorant or stupid they may act.  This doesn’t make them feel good – and who wants to go back to a place that made them feel bad or uncomfortable or unwanted?  I wouldn’t.

No matter what the situation is, no matter how mad it makes you, do not say anything derogatory and do not let your body show the negative way you are feeling.

Just remember, whether facing a customer in person, on the phone or via email, wait until dealing with that person before you throw any kind of fit.

Don’t ignore a problem or situation.  It doesn’t matter if you were involved or not, if you see something that just isn’t quite right, step in and help by offering alternative solutions. Read the rest of this entry »

There are so many marketing tools available to an internet marketer that it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the options. It really is enough to make your head spin.

So how do you decide which marketing tools are right for your business?  Here are a few guidelines to help you decide.

What marketing tools are you currently using?  This is important to consider because a lot of marketing tools compliment each other quite nicely.

For example, if you’re distributing a regular newsletter then an advertising exchange with a relevant business who also publishes a regular newsletter can double your exposure and increase your opt-in list. Read the rest of this entry »

Email marketing can be one of the best ways to market a business.  For starters, it’s very affordable, and the business owner knows they are contacting people who want to be contacted by them.

To begin email marketing, you will need an autoresponder.  There are many to choose from on the web.

Here is a run-down of some of the more popular services:

• iContact

This service allows for various tracking reports, including how many people are opening the mail and clicking on the links inside the mail.

The service starts at $9.95 per month and is based on how many people there are on the mailing lists. There is a 15 day free trial. Read the rest of this entry »

A media page should give at-a-glance information on your company and your product.  This information should be easy to navigate for members of the press or potential advertisers, giving them everything they need to know about your company, all in one place.

A complete media page will contain a variety of information relating to all aspects of your business.  Here are some tips on what to include.

Company Mission and History

Prepare a statement that allows readers to understand just what the purpose of your company and product are, and what you hope to achieve as a business.  A bit of background on the creation of your business and its products is also useful. Read the rest of this entry »

The Internet age is great, with video conferencing and sending emails back and forth.  However one of the most annoying things in this age is when an email is sent to someone who does not reply.

When there is no reply to a business email, it can be extremely frustrating and annoying.  Believe it or not, it doesn’t mean you’re being ignored.

Sometimes it’s just a way of saying “I’m extremely busy and I’ll get back to you when I can.”

That leaves the burning question of what to do about it?  Ignore that business contact?  Absolutely not.

If all hope is abandoned after the first few tries, how is that sale going to be made?  If you have a business proposal for them, how will they accept it if you give up?

Prospects need to be reminded, sometimes more than once.  Persistence pays off.  Always be ready to talk with them when they reply to your email. Read the rest of this entry »