BLOGGING

Similar To Article Marketing, But With A Twist

Welcome to the wonderful world of frequent, chronological publications of personal thoughts and Web links. Blogs are often a mixture of what is happening in a person’s life and what is happening on the Net. The Reality TV of the Internet. There doesn’t seem to be much that isn’t tackled as a topic for a blog, so why not jump in with both feet and blog about your business/product/service. What a tremendous vehicle for product and other pictures, links and articles you’ve written.

But First Some History

Blogs have been around since early 1997, but really took off in popularity when automated publishing systems were introduced. For instance: Blogger at blogger.com. Try to stick to the term blog, rather than the other alternative which is weblog because it means a server’s log files. By 1999 there were 23 in existence, but not for long. Blogs and blogging spread like wildfire. Of course software designers came up with even more ways for people to publish their own blogs quickly and easily.

The history is important because it directly relates to what you can do with your blog. Original weblogs were link-driven. Today’s blogs are also link driven and that's your key to the success of your blog. Seek out unusual links, interesting links, teaching links, and learning links for your blog, and add your own review or commentary to them. 

Add extra facts not found in an article, show your own expertise in the area you market in or invite others to submit their observations. No matter what way you choose to do it, you will win! Get to the point fast as there isn’t lots of room to write a novel. Don't do the essay route either because people don’t have time to read lengthy articles online or anywhere else for that

matter. What you’re really doing for potential team prospects and customers is pre-screening or filtering quality sites that would be of interest. What you want to achieve is a public not an audience for your blog.

An audience is passive. A public participates, and that is what you want to

accomplish with your blog, because ultimately, you want leads. Try exploring this idea with your blog as well. The HOW you want to write it. Make it a mixture of links, commentary and personal notes, or a record of your own thoughts about something you observed or tried in your marketing business. Whatever style you choose, make it distinctive to YOU and written in your own voice, letting your personality shine through. One of the principle tenets of relationship marketing is getting to know your prospects, and in return letting them get to know YOU.

Kinds Of Blogs

Vlog – comprised of videos

Linklog – comprised of links

Sketchblog – a portfolio of sketches

Photoblog – pictures

Tumblelogs – shorter posts, mixed media

Moblog – written by a mobile phone or PDA

Blawgs – by genre (political, travel, fashion etc)

Private blogs – usually the most popular

Business blogs – for businesses

Corporate blogs – used internally for a business (marketing, branding, PR)

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO started out being fairly straight forward, but as it got more popular, it got more complicated. Things start out as a relatively easy thing to achieve, then along comes someone who makes it more complex. This seems to be the case with Pay Per Click (PPC) marketing (fast becoming the MOST popular form of Internet advertising). It’s starting to become more and more complex and expensive. Pay-perclick means a search engine that bases its search rankings on a "bid for position" basis.

You bid a price per click to be in a specific position of the search rankings for a particular keyword or keyword phrase. For instance, the #1 position for the search phrase "pay per click" needed a bid of $2.03 per click. The 15th position was a bid of $0.85. What position you want and what you’re willing to bid/pay to get the position is up to YOU! 

Budget and willingness to bid impact your site's ranking position when the search engine displays searched for keywords or keyword phrase results. You’re not charged the PPC bid until a searcher actually clicks or selects your website name or URL.

If you want to drive traffic to a site (or blog, as your blog is considered to be a site as well) fast, THIS is the way to do it almost instantaneously. There are hundreds of PPC search engines you can buy traffic from. Here’s the top ten with some tips to help you out:

Google AdWords - biggest and best for volume, traffic quality and

user interface. Most expensive.

Yahoo! Search Marketing - First GoTo.com, then Overture, high volume and quality with a few bargains still around. $50 credit on sign up. 

MIVA – One of the best, and under-rated PPC search engines. $5 credit on sign up.

Enhance - strong emerging PPC search engine, solid quality control. $25 bonus on sign up.

GoClick- Cheap traffic, fast growing, loyal following, lets you start an account with only $10 and bid from one cent.

MSN AdCentre – new player on the block, still has some glitches to work out as it’s frustrating.

7Search - smaller engine, good quality traffic and good interface.  

Search 123 - One of the first search engines. Cost effective, good support. Fund with $50, they'll give you $20 free.

SearchFeed - Strong return on investment, reasonable search volume. Geographical targeting available with 11 countries. 

ABCSearch - Solid targeting, decent traffic sources, good customer service. Will match your initial deposit up to $100.

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Marketing Online With Natural/Organic SEO

Marketing is about helping customers/ prospects find your website/business/blog because you want to grow

your business, increase sales leads, or lower customer acquisition costs. Smart marketing means you’ll use a combination of SEO AND PPC. It's online search engine advertising, and it works and generates new business.

To be even more specific: organic/natural search engine optimization is the process of tweaking/optimizing a web site or page or blog so it ranks well in the free listings of the search engines. This is the best and least expensive option for getting visitors because visitors click on free organic listings more often than paid listings.

Roughly 65% of business websites were created for customers without any search engine optimization. That means two thirds of businesses on the web are in the bottom of engine results. Since some close to 85% of online sales come from search engine traffic, that is a problem.

Organic optimization involves something called the “White Hat” approach and has to do with keyword research, key phrase placement in your Meta tags and content, and the application of special formatting such as headers, bold and bullets.

You need to do online AND offline optimization. Regularly submit to directories, write press releases, submit articles, and get other links pointing back to your site or blog. To get relevant links, just start a blog about your key phrase. Link from it to your web site or another blog, an deep the content on both fresh and original. 70% of search engine users visit organic sites, and 50% of them select the top results. You could easily get a large number of visitors to your site or blog.

What Is Emotional Response Writing?

It's an e-mail, newsletter or sales letter written to persuade the reader to place an order, request more information, or to show support for the product or service. It nudges the reader to take a specific action by making an offer to the reader, NOT an announcement. The letter needs to go to the right target audience, appeal to their wants /needs and be useful and informative. To sell also means you'll need supportive documentation, other flyers, pamphlets or what not, since the sales letter often doesn't do the entire job of selling for you. Mention that in your letter.

Getting Started

It's easy to get started, you just need to know your products and services inside out, and of course you do, or you would not be in affiliate marketing. Nothing takes the place of your knowledge and how you present yourself. You'll need to have resources on hand in addition to what you know, things like – online resources, ads, articles, newsletters books etc.

Next sort out the benefits from the features of your products / business / service. What does the product do for the prospect who needs it? What do they get or gain from buying it? What is the unique selling point of your product/business/service (and this applies to prospective customers and to prospective recruits.) A benefit is the specific outcome of a feature. A feature is something the product already has. The benefits are what motivate people.

Before you start writing, you need to ask yourself some questions. For instance, how am I going to market this product/service? (Actually make a list of all the methods you want to use from the Internet to print advertising and read them frequently.)

Will you need other information to go along with your letter?

What do you need?

Who is your competition?

How are they marketing their product?

How much money do you want to spend on advertising?

Are you marketing goals/hopes realistic?

Who is actually your buyer?

Why would they want to buy what you have to offer? The most common

why is fear of missing out on something. Does your offer appeal to their

emotional needs?

Ready To Write?

Start pulling your e-mail together. You have up to 50 characters for the headline/subject line. It needs to tell your reader what the letter is about, and make a promise about what the item you are marketing will do for your reader. You have about 7 to 10 seconds to hook your reader, so use your main selling point first and add the benefit with it.

EXAMPLE: Imagine an inexpensive proven hair loss product without side effects. 100% money back guarantee.

Use power words and those are: free, proven, imagine, how to, fast, cheap, enjoy, now, learn, introducing etc. Use them, but don't abuse them. The body of the message expands your theme, gives details and shows how you will make good on the subject line/headline promise. Your close, or call to action urges your reader to take the next step you want them to take.

If you cannot put two words together and have them make any sense, talk to a copywriter. This is one letter you do NOT want to mess up, as your business success rides on it.

In a conversational tone of voice, tell a story your reader can identify with. Almost like a testimonial. Make an announcement about a new product/service/business, maybe a one-of-a-kind event, or important news about your unique selling point. For instance, your new business offers free market evaluations on your antique jewellery.

Treat the reader as your equal – in other words, if you are selling hair loss products and services, then address your letter with Dear Fellow Hair Loss Customer. Look for a provocative quote for your hair loss product: "Product XXX grow now has a topical all natural proven hair loss product that will promote new growth."

You could open with putting your finger on a problem the reader has, one your product will solve. For example: tired of trying numerous hair loss products that don't work and cost too much? We've got a cheap solution –XXX grow. If you use this approach, you could also think about telling your eader a secret, or some piece of information not many people know. This is

where your product research comes in really handy.

You could add more to your email, but you are best off keeping it short and to the point. The actual body of your message should be written in the same spirit as your headline/subject line. Quickly give the details of your unique selling point. Point out the benefits right away, don't keep them guessing and leave it until the end, or you will lose them. Prove your benefits claim,

and this is where the extra information you squirreled away may come in handy. Be creative, provocative, descriptive, moving, emotional, and build to the call to action.

The Closing

This is where you ask the reader to do something, like order your product/service or join your business etc. You must make it easy for the reader to contact you. Provide a form, a toll free phone number, an email link, your URL or even your blog site, and make sure they actually work. Test them first before sending the letter.

Close with thanks for their time and consideration. Many Internet marketers say save the best for last and put it in a PS. For instance, if you order before XXXX date, you'll get a free web banner. Actually, this kind of information is likely best put in the beginning of your letter, right after the unique selling point/benefits area. It provides more incentive for the reader to keep

reading. 

More initiative to keep reading to find out the benefits. Leaving the cost savings or free goodies until last is darn close to being a bribe. Not to mention the fact that if you don't grab them with the first 7 to 10 seconds, and that means putting your heavy artillery in the opening, you could lose them. Before you send your letter, find test readers. Ask them to tell you what they feel is missing, how you could improve on your offer, and if they would buy from you.

Word Of Mouth Marketing

How many people a day do you talk to about various things, including a product, service or business? Answer likely is, quite a few. What you might not know is, major brand name companies are now hiring word of mouth marketers to talk their products up to friends and family. Proctor and Gamble enlisted 225,000 teenagers to rave to friends about things like

Herbal Essences and Old Spice. And, they signed up 500,000 volunteer Moms for something called Vocal point. Moms talk about pet food, paper towels, hair color, etc. The Moms get coupons and marketing materials free.

Moms are free to say anything they want about the product, but they don't bad mouth it, nor do they take advantage of the offers. It's because these word of mouth marketers feel like they're a member of an inner circle and that the companies recruiting them actually give a darn about them and their opinions. This is yet another way for you to promote your unique selling points and products and services, and it doesn't cost you very much to do it, other than some time. You get the idea.

 

An affiliate can promote his or her products via various free and paid methods. There is software available that can automate multiple promotion processes which saves both time and money. I’m familiar with one software that specifically promotes Clickbank and Amazon products. This is not a new promotion method, but automation of the process maximizes the effectiveness of the method. Used properly to promote a sell-able product this  powerful traffic generator would drive 10s of thousands targeted visitors to your promotion and bring consistent profitable results. There's a 60 day money.back guarantee!