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?

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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).

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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.

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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.

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Email Marketing Is Flexible.
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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!