Hi Gang,
I apologize once again for
this edition is a little late and it not being a standard
edition, normal publishing schedule will return to normal
when I return home this Saturday.
This edition like the other
2 will be published to the web site next week.
My mother has passed on
and I am still in Ohio with family.
Thanks to all of you who
sent your regards, it was most appreciated! :)
I am not going to go on
about my mother's passing, but did want to give you a
thought...
As I watched her pass, the
finality of it hit me hard. Even though I am a "seize
the day" type of person, I still can improve on maximizing
every minute. Case in point: I have drawn up 5 outlines
of videos I was going to produce but another Internet
marketer beat me to the punch with 4 of them, I got the
notice just yesterday. This doesn't bother me because
I greatly respect that marketer (will let you know who
it is next week), but I did procrastinate a little and
could have been first to market.
At any rate, I'll be promoting
his videos (on the web site) once I get a chance to view
them all and make sure they are 1st rate. (Given this
marketers reputation I am pretty sure they are top notch,
but I am obligated to check before I promote them).
The message here (which
we all need reminded of sometimes) is "if you want
to do something, plan and do it, do not wait, you won't
be here forever!"
Things to discuss
in the intro of this issue of "Starting Smart!":
1. Returns; why they happen
and how to deal with them.
2. Traffic, the importance of it and how 1 article can
do
wonders.
3. The importance of SEO and how simple it really can
be to
learn.
Once again, thanks for being
here, your membership to this e-zine is what matters most
to me as an Internet marketer.
"The Regular
Guy"
Karl Augustine
Issue: April 8, 2004
Featured article
of this issue:
"Now More Than
Ever...You Need To Optimize Your Site for Search
Engines", by Diane Hughes.
If you're reading "Starting
Smart" because a friend sent this
issue to you, get your own copy three times a month by
clicking
either of these addresses.
http://www.9mistakes-online.com
Here's the link to subscribe:
http://startingsmart.9mistakes-online.com
In this edition...
*Intro
by Karl, 3 topics
*Featured Article: "Now More
Than Ever...You Need To Optimize
Your Site for Search Engines", by Diane Hughes
*Welcome new subscribers!
*Copyright and Publisher Info
Intro:
Things to discuss in the
intro of this issue of "Starting Smart!":
1. Returns; why
they happen and how to deal with them
2. Traffic, the importance of it and how 1 article can
do wonders.
3. The importance of SEO and how simple it really can
be to learn.
1. Returns
are a fact of life while doing business online, there
is just no way around it. Returns happen for a variety
of reasons but mostly due to product quality and price,
inaccurate sales copy, source of traffic, and target market
your going after. Each reason for returns ties in with
the other and each reason should be taken seriously to
minimize returns.
If your product isn't quality
it stands to reason people will return it and they should,
after all, people who buy online deserve the same courtesy
as people who buy offline.
If your price point is too
high, people will return your product simply because they
may feel that they paid too much for it.Even if the product
is quality they may return it because they just feel like
they could have found something similar at less cost.
Choosing a price is a trial
and error + research exercise and should be taken seriously.
Inaccurate or overblown
sales copy may be a cause for some returns because skeptical
people who read strong sales copy often go back and check
to see if anything was misrepresented.It is human nature
to do this and I encourage it with my products. Some marketers
use the line, "If it isn't exactly like I said it
was, tell me and I'll refund your money immediately."
The consumer has the right
to challenge any sales message and reviewing sales copy
after the sale is a good way to do this. If you write
strong but literal sales copy, you won't have any worries.
The traffic source of any
sale can be a reason for the refund along with the type
of target market your product or service is going after.
If someone comes to your site, gets caught up in the sales
copy and buys 'just to check it out', you may get a return.
The person just may not have been in your target market
and not really wanting what you have to offer, they just
wanted a looksee rather than wanting a specific problem
of theirs solved.
So what type of return rates
seem reasonable? That depends on the volume of sales you
have, the price, target market, sales cycle, etc. I shoot
for 2-4% return rate or less which might be a little below
the standard for an Internet marketer...some people are
ok with up to a 10% return rate.
If I can sell 100 units
and only 4 get returned, I am ok with that.
You will always get returns
even if your product is quality and is priced right, your
sales copy is accurate, your target market wants what
you have to offer, etc. because the simple fact is some
people are just downright dishonest.
They see the "unconditional
no questions asked money-back guarantee" and they
know before they buy that they'll be asking for a return.
This is ok, don't take it personally and realize that
if your product and sales tactics are solid, this isn't
a reflection on you by any means. Just take it in stride
and understand that there will always be the freebie seeker...its
the risk you take when doing business online.
So what do you do when you
get a return?
If you get an email asking
for the return, process the refund but also ask them specifically
why they wanted a refund. (This wouldn't be considered
spam, they emailed you.) Don't worry about probing further
if you get a ridiculous answer or an answer that doesn't
give any viable reason.
Asking why a 'would-be'
customer asked for a refund is a great way to further
sample your market and improve your product development.
2. Traffic,
the importance of it and how 1 article can do wonders.
We all know that targeted traffic is the key component
to web success if all other pieces are done well.
You can write the best sales
copy in the world but if no one visits your site, it won't
matter.
You've heard about writing
articles and using them to promote yourself and your product...it
is true that it works. It doesn't work instantly but it
works over time and works for the long haul.
As an e-zine publisher,
I know the value of good content and what it does for
search engine rankings...and for the sales of any website.
If you write one solid article and get it posted to several
high traffic websites, it can do wonders for your website's
development.
Don't write articles just
for the sake of doing so, make the article worthwhile,
spend some time on it and make it focused and useful to
the reader. I've been fortunate enough to get a good portion
of traffic from web sites that have my articles posted
and I make time weekly to plan, write and distribute my
next article.
I keep a select group of
e-zine publishers that I regularly send my articles to
and have created a first name basis relationship with
them so the 'article submission' is seen and responded
to immediately.
3. The importance
of SEO and how simple it really can be to learn.
I cannot stress enough how
important it is to learn SEO techniques before you put
up a single web page. If you learn the basics of SEO (which
isn't hard) you'll be able to save time and money in generating
the right types of traffic to your website.
Learn how to optimize for
the search engines now if you haven't done so already...you
don't need to be an expert but at least know the minimum
tactics that are essential to generating the types of
web pages and web sites that will send you qualified and
interested visitors to your web site via the search
engines.
NOTE:
If you haven't looked at the main sales page of this site
lately, you haven't seen the 2 exclusive reports that
are offered as bonuses. These reports will give you the
basic knowledge that you need for maximizing your web
pages...and you'll be rewarded handsomely by getting targeted
traffic to those optimized web pages.
Get the search engine optimization
reports at the URL below:
http://www.9mistakes-online.com
Yes, content is king but
optimized web pages are a MUST! These
reports are worth 100 times the cost of the 9 Mistakes
book and are yours at no cost for ordering.
You could easily pay a search
engine expert $500 to $1000 or more to optimize your site,
and once you read how simple it is, you'll be glad you
learned on your own. :)
Honestly, I still need to
do some optimizing on my site and am kicking myself for
not learning SEO tactics before I 'went for it' online.
My 2nd site is optimized, this one will take a little
more work. If I had done it right out of the gate, I'd
have saved time and made more money...don't make the same
mistake.
For those of you who have
ordered my eBook and want these reports sent to you, please
send me an email with your Clickbank receipt # and I'll
send them to you within 24 hours.
For those of you who haven't
gotten my "9 Deadly
Mistakes To Avoid When Starting An Online Business"
eBook and search engine reports just yet, you can get
them by visiting this URL:
http://www.9mistakes-online.com
Enjoy Diane's article and
thanks again for reading.
Karl Augustine
"The Regular Guy"
(c) Karl Augustine
**Featured
Article:
"Now
More Than Ever...You Need To Optimize Your Site for Search
Engines", Copyright 2004 - Diane Hughes
As the economy begins to
recover in certain parts of the world, more and more online
marketers are looking for affordable ways to drive qualified
traffic to their sites.
That’s why, now more than
ever, you need to optimize your site for the search engines.
Have you heard the saying,
"Short-term sacrifice for long-term gain"? It
applies here. For just a little effort, you can ensure
a practically endless supply of visitors to your site
for years to come. And the benefits are unbeatable.
Free Exposure
There is absolutely no cost
for submitting to most of the major search engines like
Google. That means you get exceptional exposure in front
of people who are looking for what you have to offer.
Anybody can afford free.
Targeted Traffic
If you develop your site
to focus on specific keyphrases that your customers would
use when searching, you can drive extremely targeted traffic
to your site. Use tools like Wordtracker (http://www.wordtracker.com)
to find out which phrases are most often used to locate
sites like yours.
Easy To Learn
Search engine optimization
(despite what many so-called "gurus" will tell
you) is relatively easy to learn. Simply hang out in a
few search engine optimization (SEO) forums (http://www.highrankings.com/forum
is one of the best) and ask questions.
Consistent Delivery
of Visitors
People use search engines
to find what they are looking for all the time, all day
long. In fact, 85% of people online use a search engine
when trying to locate a product, service, or information.
That means your SEO’d site receives a constant stream
of visitors 24/7.
Exposure On Other
Sites
Many search engines now
offer to provide their search results on other Web sites.
If a site that subscribes to Google or MSN’s search result
service has a similar theme to your site, you could find
your URL popping up all over the ‘Net.
Overall, for the little
bit of time it takes to optimize your site, search engine
listings simply can’t be ignored. Why continue to pay
hundreds or thousands of dollars a month for paid advertising
when you can have a horde of visitors delivered to your
site free? Before you spend another dime on paid ads,
take a good, hard look at search engine optimization.
--------------------------------
Diane C. Hughes * ProBizTips.com
FREE Report:
Amazingly Simple (Yet Super Powerful)
Ways To Skyrocket Your Sales And Build Your Business
Into A Tower of Profits! ==>> http://madmarketer.com/diane
*Welcome New Subscribers!
For those of you just joining,
welcome!
Your time is valuable and
I'll do my level best to make this "read" time
well spent. I am just a regular guy, just like many of
you out there...I stuck with it, and now am having a blast
doing what I love to do. Keep a positive attitude and
you can do just about anything....seems like old news,
but it works and we all can use a little reminding now
and then.
Please forward this e-zine
in its entirety to any friends or colleagues who you think
may find it useful. Or, refer someone by using the button
at the bottom of the page.
Thanks for helping us grow!
Here's the link to subscribe
to the "Starting Smart!"
newsletter
http://www.9mistakes-online.com/startingsmartnewsletter.htm
And, once again,
thanks to everyone who sent their regards to
me and my family, you will be remembered :)
