Wednesday, December 31, 2008

ebudy - ebudy emessenger for marketing

(Testing to see if I've stumbled on to a new marketing technique)

Find out how you can consolidate multiple chat platforms and be accessible to more clients:

ebudy - ebudy emessenger


Monday, December 29, 2008

Email Marketing Solutions

Email Marketing Solutions

I was sitting at dinner with a friend I hadn't seen in a long time. He said to me, "Tell me what it is that you do again."

I launched in to my standard explanation of Email Marketing and how we help businesses from around the world build, manage, and profit from their own in-house lists with Email Marketing AutoResponders.

He paused a moment.... looked at me... and asked, "So you spam people or what?".

I quickly and successfully resisted the urge to smack him. I took a deep breath and began to explain the very critical distinction between spamming and responsible Email Marketing.

At the end of the conversation, he said, "I think you can help me with one of my businesses. We've got prospect lists and clients lists that we are not following up with and I bet we're losing money.".

He's right. He is losing money. He needs to start using Email Marketing to boost his profits and fast. We'll get him started next week so he can start using Email Marketing to capture those lost revenues.

But he's not alone. During that conversation, I realized that there are probably a lot of businesses that equate spamming with real Email Marketing and the two are not the same.

In a nut shell, "spamming" is the sending of ANY unsolicited commercial email. It doesn't matter if you send an unsolicited ad to a single recipient or millions. No request for your information means you are sending Unsolicited Commercial EMail (UCE).

However, when someone requests your information and they add themselves to your list, you are now practicing responsible Email Marketing.

What are some of the benefits of Email Marketing?

----
Email Marketing Reduces Expenses.
----

I was talking with another client over lunch just last week. He is an entertainer and tours the country with his band. Over the years, he has built a list of fans, booking contacts, venue contacts, etc.... And when he wants to send out a postcard or newsletter to this list, he has to spend a LOT of money.

Now that he is using Email Marketing techniques to send his newsletters via email, his market expenses have dropped from over $1,000 per mailing to less than $250 per month (with multiple mailings).

----
Email Marketing Saves Time.
----

This same client also has to plan ahead by a few weeks in order to allow for mailer design, layout, proofing, printing, and then finally adding postage and actually getting the mail piece on the street.

With Email Marketing, the turn-around time for development and delivery are dramatically reduced.

----
Email Marketing Gives Virtually Instant Feedback.
----

I recently ran a promotion to one of my lists of subscribers. The creation of the ad itself took about an hour. I set up my Email Marketing campaign to broadcast my message out to my list. Within 20 minutes of hitting "Send", I was watching new orders come in.

I've also had campaigns where I didn't see any orders coming in.

In both cases, because I was using Email Marketing solutions, I was able to tell within the same day whether or not my campaign was going to be successful. With direct mail, newspaper ads, television, or magazines, you sometimes have to wait weeks or even months just to see how the market is going to respond to your offer.

----
Email Marketing Is Flexible.
----

Email Marketing can be conducted in a number of ways.

CPA's and tax preparers can send out timely reminders to their clients.

Restaurants can send out special event notifications, coupons, and menus.

Consultants can send out weekly, monthly, or quarterly tips and advice.

Entertainers can send out performance schedules and event updates.

Planners can send out invitations.

Retailers can increase return sales and customer loyalty.

Franchises can provide training and corporate updates.

Service businesses can send out service reminders and/or warranty notifications.

Home based businesses can generate sales leads and follow up with prospects.

Summary:

Businesses need to constantly adjust to market and economic conditions to continue boosting profits and reduce expenses. Email Marketing provides powerful solutions that allow businesses and organizations to save time, reduce expenses, increase efficiencies, and boost profits. If you are not using Email Marketing already, it's time to start.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

How I Generate 200+ Leads Every Month!

How I Generate 200+ Leads Every Month!

Hi, Folks!

Leads are the life blood of any business. It doesn't matter if you conduct business online or offline, high-tech or low-tech. If you want to stay in business, you have to make sales. And if you want to make sales, you need to be generating a steady flow of leads.

This article is going to show you EXACTLY how I generate an average of more than 200 leads each and every month. 

The first step, of course, is to set up your AutoResponder. Your AutoResponder is the backbone to any lead generation and email marketing campaign.

Your AutoResponder can be as simple as setting up a single message that introduces your prospects to your company, lets them know what you have to offer, and invites them to your web site for more details (and to place an order).

Or you can set up a series of follow up messages that are scheduled to go out daily, weekly, monthly, etc... depending on your preferences and what your market is expecting.

Your letters don't have to be perfect. They just need to be clear and ready to be sent out. You can (and should) make adjustments along the way.

Once your AutoResponder is set up with at least one message, then it's time to start the work of promoting to attract visitors to your offer.

So here are the exact steps I take to generate a constant steady flow of leads for my offers:

  1. I set up my TrafficWave.net AutoResponder with my follow up letters.

  2. I set up my blog (Free).
    Mine is at http://brianrooneyonline.blogspot.com

  3. I set up my AutoResponder subscription forms on:

    • Hosted Capture Pages
    • My own web sites.
    • My blog.

  4. I set up my Banner Ads in my TrafficWave.net account and point them to a site with a subscription form such as my blog, my web site, or my capture page.

  5. I set up my FFA Page Ad to send out an ad about my free report. When they click the link in that ad, they are taken to one of my capture pages.

  6. I set up social networking accounts on sites like twitter.com, myspace.com, and facebook.com (Free).

    Follow me on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/brianrooney

  7. I set up an author account at my two favorite article directories: (Free).

    I use:

  8. I make sure my Email Signature file has a link to either my web site, my hosted capture page, or my blog. (Free).

  9. I join relevant discussion forums. A quick search on Google for forums related to your market or niche should give you a considerable list to start with. (Free).

  10. I set up an AdWords account at Google.com

    http://www.google.com/intl/en/ads/

So Why Do I Set Up All These Things and How Do I Generate Leads With Them?

My AutoResponder

This is the control center for all of your lead generation and contact management. This is where you will manage your leads. This is also where you will create, manage, and edit your follow up messages, broadcasts, etc...

My Blog

Blogging isn't as scary as some people would like you to think it is. Think of your blog as your public journal where you can share your thoughts, experiences, updates, background, etc... Like social network sites, think of your blog as a place online where you are throwing a little 'get together' for your friends and associates. The attitude of your posts should be light, informative, entertaining, and relevant to what your business is about.

Personally, I use my blog to update associates and followers on what I'm doing to generate leads, how business is going, any new techniques or developments we've come up with, etc...

Notice that I've added a subscription form to my blog. As people read my posts, my hope is that they will want to know more and will fill out the form to request information.

Subscription Forms

Your AutoResponder isn't going to do you any good if people don't know how to request information. This is what your subscription forms are for and you want to make sure they are on every point of contact you have online.

Be sure you have added forms to your own web site, your blog, etc... Be sure you have created Hosted Capture Forms.

Banner Ads

Your TrafficWave.net account includes unlimited Banner Advertising. I set up a few banners and point them back to my web site with the capture forms. The Banner Ads offer a free report or benefit and invite prospects to visit and request more information. I don't really have to do anything with the banner ads once they are set up and this little auto-pilot tool typically brings me anywhere from 5 to 12 new leads each month.

FFA Page

I've been pretty clear that FFA Page leads aren't for everyone. In my case, they work out well because most of these leads are people that want to sell something and I offer tools to help them market more effectively. The best part is that I just set the silly thing up and let it run. I get anywhere from 10 to 20 new leads a month from this option. I might check on it every couple of months to see if the responses are still consistent and make any changes that I think may be helpful.

Social Networking

This is, quite honestly, a new venture for me. I'm on twitter, myspace, and facebook. Like blogging, I think of these sites as little social gatherings (online parties). They can be fun and entertaining. I keep up with friends and associates and, in general, just make sure I make regular appearances to keep everyone updated.

NOTE: There is a little bit of an "art" to working blogs and social networking sites. Don't be one of those people that shows up at the party and says, "Hey! Wanna buy my stuff?". Take some time to build rapport. Get to know other participants in your networks. Participate in some of the conversations. Let people get to know you. As your network begins to learn about you, the time will come when someone is thinking, "Hey ... I need to find someone that can ...... " and that is when they think of you.

For example: Let's say you sell pink widget gizmos. As you're getting to know people in your networks, your profile states that you are the premier supplier for pink widget gizmos. You conduct yourself in a responsible and professional manner on the various networks you are a part of. People start to like and trust you. Someone asks, "Hey... do you know where I can get some really goog pink widget gizmos?" and they or their other friends in their network will remember that YOU are the go-to person for pink widget gizmos.

Article Marketing

Going back to our pink widget gizmos story, because you know something about them, I bet it's a safe bet to say that you could probably write a few articles about them. Article marketing is a great way to:


  • Establish your credibility as an expert in your field.
  • Get free publicity.
  • Get free back links to your web site.

If you are not comfortable writing just yet, check out a great resource I found online: http://www.allaboutwords.com/

Make a point of creating and submitting articles regularly. If you just don't think you can write at all, the IdeaMarketers web site has a number of links for ghost writing services where someone else can write your articles on your behalf.

Email Signature File

Just about every email program I'm aware of has an Email Signature option. This is where you can create a bit of text that will automatically appear at the bottom of any email you send. This should include your name, a one line pitch about your offer, and a link to your blog, web site, or capture page. Every time you send out email, reply to an email, etc... your little signature file is there helping to identify you as an expert in your field.

Discussion Forums

Every industry has its own discussion forums. They can be a great way to get information, tips, and updates on changes within your industry. I highly recommend joining a few of the more active forums for a few reasons:

  • You can learn new things.
  • You can share some of your own knowledge and experience.
  • The Signature.
    Every discussion forum I participate in allows you to create a signature. Like your Email Signature, this is a few lines of text that will always appear at the bottom of any message you post in the forum.

A few tips on making the most of your discussion forum experience:

Back to the "online party" concept. Imagine being in a room of your peers and/or people interested in your industry. Don't be the doofus that walks in to the room and yells out, "Hey! Wanna buy my stuff?". Take time to build your credibility and let people get to know you. Participate in some relevant discussions. Offer insights and your own input.

Don't just reply with things like, "Good post" or "I agree". These are just blatant attempts to get your Signature seen and will cause people to quickly begin ignoring your posts or may even cause the Administrator to block you from accessing the forums.

Take your time. Get to know the forums. Let the other members get to know you. Be patient and establish yourself as a credible and professional expert. That's when the leads start coming to you!

Google AdWords

Google AdWords could easily become an entire lesson in and of itself. But let me just say this: A Google AdWords account is well worth taking the time to learn and use. I don't bid high dollars for very popular words. Instead, I look for words that are not as popular and can be head for much less than my competitors might spend on popular words. This is called "long tail keywords" and can be very profitable.

Google has some excellent tutorials on their systems and I encourage you to become a student of the Google Adwords system. Then start with a small budget to test your results. As you begin to see solid results, you can use the money from your new sales to increase your budget over time.

Summary 

These resources combined with consistent management and running various ads here and there have consistently generate 200+ leads every single month for me. And these are highly targeted and responsive leads.

Don't be overwhelmed if you are new to any or all of these techniques. Take one at a time and learn it. When you are comfortable with that one, add the next technique. The key is to be consistent and to make sure you take some action each and every day.

Yours in success, 


Brian Rooney 
TrafficWave.net LLC

 

Monday, December 15, 2008

How I Generated Sales In MINUTES with AutoResponders

I wanted to give you an example of something I just did that demonstrates the power of the TrafficWave.net AutoResponder system and how you can use these tools in your own business.

Today, I decided that I wanted to run a promotion out to my subscriber list to see if I could bring on some new clients. I've built a list of a little more than 6,300 subscribers and this list is interested in learning how AutoResponders can help them boost sales.

Using nothing more than some of the techniques I teach in the TrafficWave.net training series, I did the following:

  1. I created an AdTracker URL because I knew I would want to track the results of the broadcast I was going to create.
  2.  I loaded a few graphics to my AutoResponder account because I knew I wanted to polish up my broadcast message a bit to make it stand out.
  3. I created my message using the WYSIWYG Editor in my AutoResponder.
  4. I linked the graphics and links in my message to the AdTracker URL I created in step 1. 
  5. I scheduled a Broadcast to go out "Now" in my AutoResponder.

That was around 1PM this afternoon. (I'm writing this on Monday, Dec 15, 2008.) I would estimate that it took me around an hour or so to create the full message.

By 3:53PM, here is what has happened, so far:

  • My broadcast has gone out.
  • 20 people have clicked the link in my Broadcast message.
  • My sales count for the day has already gone up. I actually started seeing clicks and sales happening within 20 minutes of scheduling my broadcast!
Do you get what just happened?

Using my TrafficWave.net AutoResponder, I was able to create a message, broadcast it out to my subscribers, and I started seeing sales come in within minutes!

This is why I am so focused on and passionate about building my lists and teaching our members to do the same. As your list grows, you will be able to use this same technique to bring in sales literally any time you like.

The key is to build your list of targeted subscribers. Be sure you are giving them relevant and valuable information so that they look forward to receiving your messages.

And always ... ALWAYS ... track your results. Your TrafficWave.net account makes it easy to track the open rates and click-through rates for any of your messages at any time.

NOTE to TrafficWave.net members: Each of these techniques has been covered in previous training articles that you have received. If you are unclear about any of the techniques I mention above, log in to your back office and view the Training Articles that apply to that technique.

Once you have learned how to apply these techniques, your AutoResponder literally works like your own online ATM. By sending a targeted well-written offer to your subscribers, you can begin generating new sales at the click of a button.

And all of this is yours for less than sixty cents a day!

NOTE: Before saving this message, I checked my AdTracker stats again. I now have 23 clicks on that message that was sent out via the Broadcast feature!

I have no doubt that you can begin experiencing these same results in your own business as your list and your experience level grow.


Thursday, December 11, 2008

Track Your Ads To Save Money and Boost Sales

In today's economic climate, it is more important than ever to make sure you are getting the biggest possible bang for your advertising buck.

Smart advertisers track their advertising to find out exactly which ads are producing results and which ads are duds.

When money is tight, your competitors are dramatically reducing their advertising budgets. But the smart money is on continuing to advertise while tracking your results to maximize returns.

There are a number of tracking and testing methods that can be used by the wise marketer to track and improve results.

In my own online marketing and email marketing, the tool I like to use is what is known as an AdTrack URL. This is a unique URL that does two things:

1. Directs anyone clicking on that AdTrack URL to the target web site (The web site you want visitors to go to).

2. Counts the number of times someone clicks on it.

How is this helpful to you as an advertiser?

Let's say that you want to run two ads on two different web sites. You plan to advertise in an Ezine and you are looking at running a banner ad on your favorite discussion forum.

Let's assume that each ad is going to cost you $100. You're about to spend $200 on advertising and you don't really know which (if either) of these is going to produce any new leads or sales for you.

By creating two unique AdTrack URL's, you can use AdTrack URL 1 for the Ezine Ad and AdTrack URL 2 for the banner ad on your favorite discussion forum.

This allows you to track the number of times someone clicks on each of those links.

Over time, you can log in to your account and see that:

* AdTracker 1 ( the Ezine ad ) shows 15 clicks to your web site or capture page.

* AdTracker 2 ( the banner ad ) shows 35 clicks to your web site or capture page.

The Ezine Ad has cost you $6.67 per click.
The Banner Ad has cost you $2.86 per click.

So based strictly on a CTR (Click-Through-Rate), the Banner Ad is a better deal for your advertising dollar.

Note: There are other factors involved in determining whether either ad is truly profitable.

What is your actual profit per sale? If you realize a $6.00 profit on each sale, it may appear that the Ezine Ad isn't really profitable for you while the Banner Ad is.

But if you can use a back-end offer and sell more to the same customer, then your profits go up.

If you are selling a membership or subscription service, then your profits will actually be determined by the revenues generated by selling to that client over time.

A recurring sale that renews for 12 months will generate considerably more revenues than a single one-time sale.

One helpful way to approach Ad Tracking is to determine in advance how much you are willing to spend to generate a sale.

Technically, if a customer brings you $100 in profits over the life of that account, you could afford to spend up to $99 to generate that new customer.

Of course, the lower you keep your costs to acquire new customers, the less customers it takes to be profitable.

What are some of the other ways you can use Ad Tracking URL's to test your advertising?

1. Split-Run Testing: Which Subject Line gets more response?

2. AutoResponder Messages: Which of your messages are your readers responding to?

3. Banner Ads: Which banner ad design gets the most response?

4. Traffic Exchanges: By adding an Ad Track URL to your individual landing pages in Traffic Exchanges, you can see which of the TE's generate more actual visitors to your web site.

5. Long Sales Copy vs Short Copy. By using Ad Track URL's in a long sales letter and another in a short sales letter, you can see which produces more results.

6. How Long Should Your Copy Be?: Let's say you are using a Long Copy page. If you want to know where people are ordering from within the letter, create a unique Ad Track URL for the top of the letter, the middle of the letter, and the end of the letter. Your stats will show you where people are clicking on your order link.

If you start to see more clicks at the bottom of the message, it's a reasonable assumption that people are reading all the way through the copy (or possibly just scrolling down to the bottom of your copy to order). If visitors are clicking the top link more than any other, then you know you have written some very powerful opening copy! You may be able to create and run a short copy version of that sales letter and then compare those results.

There are many ways to track your advertising. And in today's economic climate, tracking your results is more important than ever. Tracking your online advertising and email marketing helps you know exactly where you are getting the biggest bang for your advertising buck and that will help you continue advertising profitably while your competitors are cutting back on an already ineffective advertising budget.

Visit TrafficWave.net for a Free 30 Day Trial of our AutoResponder and Ad Tracking system

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Email Marketing and Time Freedom

It's 4AM and I'm about to go to bed but I was just thinking about what a great weekend I just had.

As a freelance musician, I enjoy playing with a variety of groups around the Houston area. I had the privilege and pleasure of playing in the Wood's Edge Christmas concert this past weekend in The Woodlands and just had a GREAT time doing it.

Every once in a while, I'd chuckle to myself because I would remember that while I was out scratching my "musician itch", my AutoResponder was handling my Email Marketing tasks for me .... generating new leads and following up with existing prospects.

Email Marketing literally brings in sales 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Go ahead ... ask me again why I love Email Marketing with TrafficWave.net AutoResponders!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Use AutoResponder Email Marketing To Convert Visitors In To Sales

You work hard to get visitors to your web site.

And for good reason. Visitors are the lifeblood of your business. No visitors means no sales. Everyone knows that.

So we work on things like:

Writing and Submitting Articles
Press Releases
Classified Advertising
Building backlinks
Creating a blog
Emailing our friends
Social Networking Sites:
* Twitter
* Facebook
* Myspace
* Digg
Participating in Discussion Forums
Buying Banner Ads
Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising
Search Engine Optimization
And more ....

And then visitors come.

Don't get too excited. Most visitors don't buy the first time they visit a web site. They are looking for information, comparing prices, checking for credibility, looking for testimonials, etc...

So how do you get those visitors to come back?

Add an autoresponder subscription form to your web site. Some people refer to these forms as lead capture forms. The purpose is simple: To capture your visitors' information so you can follow up with them.

Why is this important?

Remember that visitors hardly ever (almost never) purchase when they first visit a web site. Research suggests that prospects need to be exposed to your offer an average of 7 times before they will make a decision to purchase from you.

This is why it is critical that you add lead capture forms to your web site so that you can gather information from your visitors.

This is where your email marketing begins. You can now follow up with those prospects over and over again, providing valuable and relevant information that helps you:

1) Build credibility.
2) Increase exposure.
3) Generate repeat visitors.
4) Close more sales.

The big question is usually:

How Do I Get Them To Fill Out The Form?

It can be as simple as adding a line above the form that says:

Join Our Mailing List and Receive Important Updates

or you could use a bribe. Yep ... free information is still something people will usually give you a name and email address for if it is information they are interested in receiving.

In my case, as I am presenting information on AutoResponders to my visitors, my lead capture form says:

Free Report: How To Boost Sales With AutoResponders.

And every day, people fill out that form.

They found my site online either on an ad somewhere, a banner they clicked on, a search engine result they liked, an article they read, etc... I do a lot of advertising (most of it absolutely free). And when people come to my site, I know they are interested in how autoresponders can help them boost their sales.

So I offer them a free report on how autoresponders can help them do just that.

When they request my information, they get informative tips and suggestions on how they can use autoresponders and email marketing. I give a few specific steps, show them how they might create their own follow-up messages, give some of my own insights, share a few testimonials, etc...

And each letter closes by presenting them with my offer: A Free 30 Day Trial of the TrafficWave.net AutoResponder system.

Does it work?

Every single day.

Every single day, I get more subscribers (people requesting my information).
And every single day, I get more customers (people that decide to try my AutoResponder system).

If you're not adding autoresponder subscription forms (lead capture forms) to your own web sites and blogs, you are missing out on a LOT of potential sales!

Brian Rooney
TrafficWave.net LLC

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Benefits of Blogging

The Benefits Of Blogging:

1) Search Engine Marketing.
Search engines love fresh content. If you make a point of updating your blog on a daily basis, many of the search engines will make a point of indexing your blog regularly. This means they'll be going through your blog and adding the content (including your links) to their database. Get others involved in your blog as followers and leaving comments, and the search engines will love you even more!

2) Build Your Credibility.
There's no better way to establish your own credibility than by contributing valuable content via your own blog. People want to deal with experts. Your own blog can help establish your status as an expert within your niche.

3) Manage Your Reputation.
Rumors abound online and there's no better way to manage your online reputation than by contributing your own valuable content and being "transparent" via your own blog.

4) Stand Out From Your Competitors.
The internet is a competitive medium; especially if you are an Affiliate Marketer. You need a way to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Having your own blog helps you rise above the wave of duplicate affiliate sites. Again... Search Engines LOVE original content. Give them what they're looking for.

5) Low Cost.
Setting up your own blog on a site like blogger.com is free. That's a hard price to beat; especially when you consider the benefits you can realize via search engine marketing, relationship management, and brand building.

6) Direct Communications.
As people follow your blog, they can get your updates very quickly by simply checking in to see your latest updates.

7) Building Your Lists.
If you are planning to use your blog as part of your sales and marketing channel, you'll want to be sure you have an autoresponder subscription form on the blog so that you can convert some of those visitors in to targeted prospects.

When you think about it, the real question regarding blogging isn't so much "should I?" but more about "What are you waiting for?"

Blogging can be fun. It doesn't take much time to update your content and the benefits to your reputation, brand recognition, visibility, and sales are hard to beat!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Email Marketing

3 Keys To Effective Email Marketing

Email marketing is becoming a popular tool for many small and home based businesses around the world.

Email marketing allows businesses to eliminate expenses for things like paper, ink/toner, envelopes, postage, etc., and these savings make it a very attractive method of promotion.

Done properly, email marketing can be very effective. Unfortunately, too many businesses let the excitement of a low-cost marketing campaign overshadow their business sense.

Done improperly, your email marketing campaign becomes nothing more than a mess of sending the wrong message to the wrong market.

There are just a few key elements to launching and managing a successful email marketing campaign. They are . . .
The list (your database).
The offer.
The follow-up.
Start With the Right Email Marketing List

The temptation is to rush out and purchase a list from brokers or leads suppliers. The harsh reality is that most of these lists are simply harvested email addresses from search engines. The so-called "savings" of purchasing a list of email addresses can be effectively wiped out when email addresses begin bouncing and recipients begin complaining to your Email Service Provider for sending Unsolicited Commercial Email (or "spam").

The best (and only truly safe) way to build your database is to market effectively. This can be done both online and offline. Traditional methods such as collecting business cards in a drawing and offering free information in exchange for contact information still work very well.

Additionally, Search Engine Optimization strategies can be very effective. The key is to get prospects to visit a "capture page" that is designed to entice them to give their contact information in exchange for something you are offering, such as a free report or free download.

As your list begins to grow, if you have targeted your market effectively, you will find yourself with a considerable database of motivated and targeted prospects.

The Offer

Email marketing is about getting your offer out in front of your database. Yes, they have joined your list voluntarily but keep in mind that you are competing with hundreds of other email messages they may be receiving that day.

Your job is to make sure your email marketing message is opened and read by your prospects.

The key is to create a compelling subject line. Where possible, use the prospect's name in the subject line. Most recipients are much more likely to open an email addressed to them by name.

Once your message is opened, the copy must create a compelling interest so that the reader will want to learn more.

The key here is to think like your prospects. They all have the same question on their mind when they open their email:

What's in it for me?"

Answer that question in your copy and your email marketing campaign could be a huge success. Focus on telling prospects about the benefits of your offer. What will it do for them? What can they expect if they order from you? How will it help them save time, increase revenues, lose weight, feel more attractive, etc.?

The Follow-up

The next step is to follow up with your prospects. Studies have proven that prospects need to see your message over and over again before they make a decision to purchase. Using an AutoResponder to follow up with prospects can dramatically increase the response rate of any email marketing campaign.

The ability to follow up with prospects over time is critical to your success.

Your follow-up letters should essentially repeat your original message. Maybe each follow-up message can stress a particular feature and continue to reinforce the benefits to your prospects.

The idea behind an effective email marketing campaign is to ...

... Tell them.
... Tell them again.
... Tell them what you just told them.

Attention spans are short. Competition is high.

Keep your messages to the point and focus on benefits, benefits, benefits.

Make your prospects WANT to buy from you by consistently keeping your email marketing message in front of them.

The reward for a job well done will be increased revenues and customer loyalty.


Saturday, November 1, 2008

How To Add An AutoResponder Subscription Form To Your Blog

Hi, Folks.

Here's a quick way to add a subscrption form for your TrafficWave.net AutoResponder to your blogger blog.

1) Log in to your back office at http://www.trafficwave.net/login.html

2) Go to the AutoResponder you want to work with.

3) Click "Capture Pages".

4) Click "Generate Capture Page Form Data (HTML)".

5) Click "Select All" and copy the form code in the window.

6) In a new browser window, log in to your blog.

7) Under "Settings" click the "Layout" Tab.

8) Click "Add A Gadget".

9) Click the "HTML/Javascript" Gadget.

10) Enter a Title (This will appear on your blog)

11) Paste the subscription form code in to the big text field.

12) Click "Save".

Feel free to make any edits by going back to your new Gadget. It will be labeled as the title you typed in when you set it up.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Franchises and Email Marketing

Franchise businesses can utilize Email Marketing to drive revenues, generate repeat business, and boost the corporate brand.

From fast food to florists, fitness centers to automotive services, cleaners to postal centers, Franchise businesses can use email marketing to:
  • Promote Brand Identity
  • Communicate a consistent message
  • Drive repeat sales
  • Increase ROI 
  • Reduce overall costs for marketing and communications
An automotive services franchise might use email marketing to inform customers of upcoming special offers.

A postal center franchise might use email marketing to send billing reminders or holiday and special event announcements.

A fitness center franchise might use email marketing to send out exercise tips or reminders about upcoming classes.

A nutritional franchise might use email marketing to send out nutritional tips, meal plans, updates, etc...

Each franchise business can easily implement email marketing strategies to build their list of local customers and increase customer loyalty through incentive programs and/or consistent quality communication.

Franchises can easily create a communications calendar, set up email marketing templates complete with branding, logos, and seasonal backgrounds. 

With the TrafficWave.net AutoResponder system, follow up messages can be stored and scheduled for future release or scheduled to go out automatically over time. Typically, monthly reminders work best for this type of communication with an increase in frequency during seasonal peaks.

By implementing open rate and click-through tracking, the franchise operator can easily get a feel for how well their email marketing campaigns are converting and helping support the growth of their business.


Thursday, October 30, 2008

How To Build Your Email Marketing List

How To Build Your Email Marketing Lists

Ok... so here's the thing: There are a LOT of ways to start building email marketing lists. I'd like to see how many we can come up with together. I'll start with a few and then you jump in and share yours. Sound like fun?

  1. Get a free blog (like this one) and add a subscription form. I just copied and pasted the form code from my TrafficWave.net back office and added it to my blog here in the "Dashboard" section. (over on the right)
  2. Get involved in some of the relevant online forums such as WarriorForum. The key is to participate in the discussions in a professional and relevant manner and add links to your profile. This helps create "backlinks" to your sites.
Ok... who's next?

Build Your MLM With Email Marketing

This is an article recently published to TrafficWave.net in our Articles section.

The article focuses on some tips for Network Marketers and how they can use Email Marketing to build their MLM business.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Eighty Percent Of Success

Eighty Percent of Success

You may have heard of the quote from Woody Allen that goes like this:

"Eighty Percent Of Success Is Showing Up"

I couldn't agree more.

Most of the time when I talk to people that are complaining about the lack of results they are experiencing, a quick look in to their situation reveals that they really aren't doing anything to cause positive results.

Anyone that has known me for any length of time will probably recognize that a big part of my "success formula" is just showing up, getting to work, and sticking with it.

The details of "getting to work" will vary with time. You'll learn new technique and strategies, use new tools, and so on. But the basic idea of just getting after it and sticking with it will always be major contributors to your success.

So how do we "show up" when it comes to list building and email marketing with the TrafficWave.net AutoResponder system?

1) Make sure you have actually set up your AutoResponder with your follow-up messages.

A lot of people that have complained to me about not seeing any results haven't even set up their AutoResponder yet. That's like saying "I want to build a house!" and then sitting around wondering why it's not been built yet. We have to get and start using our tools so we can begin building.

2) Make a point (at least initially) of learning something new about your TrafficWave.net tools and account on a daily basis. Learning the AutoResponder features alone could really keep you busy.

Your AutoResponder features include:

  • Personalization options.
  • Custom fields for your subscriber forms.
  • Import capabilities.
  • Ability to send HTML and text messages.
  • The option to upload and use your own images in your AutoResponders.
  • Broadcast scheduling.
  • Unlimited follow-up letters.
  • Open rate tracking.
  • Click-through tracking.
  • The ability to use our hosted lead capture pages.
  • The ability to add subscription forms to your own web pages or blogs.
These are powerful features and professional online marketers are putting these tools together for publishing health related newsletters, internet marketing tutorials, training information, business coaching, sales letters, and more.

3) Make a point of doing SOMETHING on a daily basis that is designed to promote your web site and/or capture page. This could be as simple as

  • creating and running a free classified ad,
  • submitting your web site or capture page to the search engines,
  • writing and submitting an article to article directories,
  • writing on your blog,
  • adding a note to twitter,
  • broadcasting out a special offer to your list as it grows,
  • running an ezine ad, etc...,
  • making sure your email signature includes a link to your capture page,
  • participating in relevant discussion forums (using your signature line),
  • adding videos to youtube (or commenting on relevant videos in youtube),
  • emailing your existing contacts and associates,
  • participating in safe lists,
  • participating in traffic exchanges,
  • participating in the member discussion forum (remember: signature links)
The point is to do SOMETHING every single day. By making a point of doing one or two of these items each day, you will be "showing up" and your success is just that much closer.

These tips apply if you are using our system to build your own business and if you are working to build an Affiliate income with TrafficWave.net's Affiliate plan.

Email Marketing focuses on two primary activities:

1) Building your subscriber list

2) Communicating with that list effectively.

If you will commit to showing up each day by tending to at least 1 or 2 itmes from each list above, you will begin to experience success.

One of the wonderful benefits of the Internet is that action steps you take today can bring you activity many many months from now.

Just today, I got an email from someone trying to fill out a subscription form on a web site. The form was giving them an error and telling them to contact us.

When I looked in to it, the web site had one of our old subscription forms. I was able to look at the code and identify the account. This user had let their account go more than a year ago.

And TODAY ... someone was at their web site trying to request more information by filling out their subscription form.

The good news: Their web site had attracted a visitor that was TRYING to become an interested prospect and subscribe to their list.

The bad news: This user had stopped showing up well over a year ago and has no real idea how much business they've been missing as a result.

I think Woody Allen had it right: "Eighty Percent Of Success Is Showing Up".

Yours in success,

Brian Rooney
TrafficWave.net LLC

Monday, October 27, 2008

Reasons To Use Email Marketing

Reasons To Use Email Marketing

Brian Rooney, TrafficWave.net LLC

More and more businesses are turning to Email Marketing. In today's economy, it is more important than ever to make sure that any advertising money spent results in good return. Email Marketing has been proven to be tremendously cost-effective and efficient.

Recent figures from the DMA (Direct Marketing Association) indicate that email marketing is now overtaking direct mail in terms of volume.

Regardless of the size of your business, you should consider using email marketing to begin reaching more prospects, attracting more business, and improving customer retention.

Here are a few of the top reasons your business should be using email marketing:
  1. The Personal Touch: Email messages can be personalized to include the recipient's name. When someone gets an email addressed directly to them, they are much more likely to open it.

  2. The Fast Track: Direct mail campaigns can be very time consuming and quite complicated. Typically, a direct mail campaign can take weeks or months to execute. Then there is the added waiting for delivery via postal mail.

  3. The Bottom Line: Postage makes up a significant portion of the overall cost of Direct mail. Then there is the added cost of printing the mailers and/or inserts. With email marketing, you don't have postage costs and you don't have the added paper and printing costs. The end result is that an email marketing campaign can be launched for pennies on the dollar as compared to a direct mail campaign.

  4. The Results: Email marketing campaigns are easily tracked. When you can see exactly how many email messages were opened and how many email messages were clicked on, you are able to quickly gather test results and make changes to improve your response rate.

  5. The Value Of Relationships: Email marketing is a great way to stay in touch with existing customers. This enables you to build stronger relationships and increase up-sell opportunities.
In today's economic and business climate, it is important for businesses to be able to adapt quickly. The ability to quickly plan and execute email marketing campaigns allows businesses to track and improve ROI quickly and efficiently.


When will search engines pick this blog link up?

I'm curious as  to how long it will take Google and/or other SE's and directories to index my new blog.

I used a service today called PingMyBlog to let other blog services know about this new blog.

I've seen some of my discussion posts take over 2 years to get indexed by Google.

I've seen some articles get indexed within mere hours by Google.

So let's see what happens with this blog, shall we?



Brian Rooney Online

This is my first official blog post. I know I'm a little late to the blogging game but ... better late than never, right?

I've got a few of goals in mind for this blogging venture:
  • Share some marketing tips I've learned over the years
  • Update and inform friends and associates
  • Meet some new friends along the way
Many of you may know me as the guy that started TrafficWave.net LLC. TrafficWave.net is an Email Marketing AutoResponder company. We're proud to say that we have thousands of clients from more than 60 different countries. I launched this company back in 2000 with my good friend and fellow musician, Stephen Hambright. 

Stephen handles all of our IT, programming and development, while I focus on sales, marketing, and administration. 

Stephen and I both freelance as musicians in and around the Houston area. He's an outstanding drummer and I am an electric bassist and vocalist. 

Thanks for visiting. Be sure to check back often as I will be leaving a lot of great tips and sharing all my insights as I pick up new tips.

(Yes... I learn new stuff all the time, too! This blog is a good example.)