When To Use A Hosted Email Service
By · CommentsAlmost every business can benefit from effective email marketing. One question that business owners often have is: why kind of system do I need to manage my customer and prospect email addresses?
The majority of small businesses would be well-advised to use a hosted service. Many good services exist. Two widely-used examples are Aweber and GetResponse. When we refer to a “hosted service”, we are speaking of a service that is managed by an outside company, with nothing to install in your own server. The latter type, often call self-hosted, has some advantages, but is too complicated for the average small business person to effectively operate.
What do you gain by using a hosted email marketing service? There are several.
First, most of these services have a top-notch reputation with email servers all over the world. This means that your email is more likely to be delivered than if you manage your own system.
Second, hosted email services typically have many email deliverability experts that will jump into action if any of your emails begin to be flagged as spam. This inevitably happens to the best of us; you merely get to avoid doing some of the legwork to fix it.
Third, most of the better hosted services have built-in tools for helping your emails pass as many spam filters as possible. They will typically give each email a score on the “spam” scale and show you what factors contribute to that score. You can then make changes as necessary if you choose.
The downside is that you have to pay a monthly fee versus a one-time cost. However, what you are getting for the small monthly fee will typically far outweigh the cost and time involved in managing your own email marketing software on your own server.
Write Effective Email Subject Lines
By · CommentsOne of the most important aspects to any email is the subject line. If it is not done right, you negate the whole reason for sending the email in the first place. In other words, you should spend as much time crafting a good subject line as writing the email itself, if you want the email to actually get opened, read, and acted upon.
Having a well-thought out subject line for your email is more important than ever. Here’s why.
First, people are wary of spam. Spam filters clear out most, but not all, spam. So as a legitimate email marketer, you want to avoid all appearances of a “spammy” email, and this begins, not surprisingly, at the very beginning.
Second, every good email begins with a promise… implying that the email is worth the reader’s time to invest a few minutes in reading. You may not know this, but most people scan through their email inbox and decide what looks most important. Most people never read all the emails they receive. By crafting a compelling subject line, you increase the chances your email will be read.
Third, even legitimate email marketers have resorted to “tricks” to get emails opened. While these may work in the short-term, in certain fields they have been used so often that readers tire of them. One approach that always works is to give the reader a taste of what they will get inside. There should be congruity between the email subject line and the body of the email, in the same way that a newspaper story headline should have continuity with the actual story. By avoiding “tricks”, you will stand out from all the other short-term minded marketers who use tactics without considering the long-terms effects of burning out their readers.
Email marketing can be a very effective medium for getting the word out to your prospects and customers, and the care with which you craft your email subject lines can make or break your email marketing campaigns.
Dropbox – weird way to clone your computer
By · CommentsI made a short video for you to watch:
After you’re done watching the video, check out DropBox for free:
http://www.DarrelHawes.com/DropBox
Whenever I sign up for webinars, I like to add it to my calendar so I don’t miss it.
I use Google calendar, and it takes several steps to get the info in one the correct date and time. Once I even added a webinar on the wrong day! Smart…
I’ve often wondered if there was an easier way.
In the webinar info, there is often a link to add to add the event to an Outlook calendar.
With so many people using Google calendar, you would think they would have a way to add it to Google too. But…there’s a workaround!
Here’s how to add the event in your Google calendar “automatically” and make sure you have the details right. I’m looking at a GoToWebinar email right now; other services may be similar.
1. Click on the link in the email that says “Add to your Outlook calendar”.
2. Select “Save File” and save it to your desktop. In this case, the file is webinar.ics.
3. Go to your Google calendar and find the “Add” link. On my calendar, it is on the bottom right of the “Other Calendar” section on the left side of the screen.
4. Select “Import Calendar”.
5. Select the appropriate file (the one you just downloaded) and click the Import button.
6. You’re done! The event will now appear on your calendar.
The whole process takes less than a minute, and you have all the info accurately placed on your calendar. Simple.
Of course, this procedure works for any Outlook invite.
How To Select A Domain Name: A Copywriter’s View
By · CommentsA domain name is essential to marketing online. But how to you select a good name?
First, in almost all cases, you will want to choose the .com name. There are three reasons for this. A) some browsers will automatically put in the .com if the person types a domain without the extension. B) many people put in the .com unconsciously, so if you choose a different extension, you will be sending traffic to someone else’s site. C) Some experts argue that the .com has a slight search engine benefit.
There are some exceptions, the main one being if you are doing business in another country and you primarily sell to people in that country, then you will likely want to choose that country’s extension. For example, in the United Kingdom, the extension is .co.uk. In Australia, it’s com.au, and so forth.
Now why are people sometimes tempted to use something other than the .com? Well the reason is that many of the good .com names are taken, and so people look at the .net, .org, or other extension. While that might be acceptable for an informational type site or if you’re not a commercial enterprise, for your company’s main web site you should go with the .com.
The second factor in choosing a domain name is you want it to be easy to spell. In other words, you will want to avoid words which have multiple ways of spelling, or are easily confused with other words. Examples of these words would include the word, “to”. Is the word “t-o”, “t-o-o”, or “t-w-o”? If someone types in your domain name but gets even one character wrong, the traffic will not go to your site and may even end up at another person’s site. So you can see that selecting a name with easy to spell words is a must.
The third factor in choosing a domain name is you want it to be easy to say over the phone. If you’re talking with someone on the phone, or you have a radio ad, or a recorded interview and you mention your domain name, the person will have to write it down or remember it later if they are going to visit your site. Therefore, easy to spell words are important, as I just mentioned, but also consider things like having words that end in the same letter that the next word begins with, like SamsSports.com. This can be confusing for the end user, is there one “s” after “Sam” or two? Also avoid the use of dashes for the same reason. It’s difficult to convey to someone unless in print.
The fourth factor, and this is a little harder to get a handle on, is the domain should be memorable. If you can include some alliteration, anything to make is stand out, it will be to your advantage. A great example is Ralph Wilson’s site WilsonWeb.com.
And that is also why domain names that are too long can be a mistake; they are simply too hard to remember…. particularly those with several words.
There you have it: four rules for selecting a good domain name.
I should add that there are some exceptions to these rules… basically applicable if you get all of your traffic from search engine traffic or pay-per-click.
On the other hand, if you are trying to brand your website at all, the four rules listed above will help you narrow down the possibilities when selecting a domain name.
After all, you want your domain to give you credibility and make it as easy as possible for people to find your website and not reach your competitor’s website by mistake.
Internet Marketing Mastermind – July 10-11, 2009
By · CommentsI’ll be attending the Internet Marketing Mastermind (IMM) event in Las Vegas on July 10 and 11, 2009.
This event will be hosted and taught by Ray Edwards and Kirt Christensen.
Ray and Kirt
You can find out more about IMM at:
http://www.internetmarketingmastermind.com
What Do You Want?
By · CommentsImpactful quote from the book: Napoleon Hill’s Positive Action Plan.
Here is the reading for today, April 10:
THE SUCCESSFUL MAN KEEPS HIS MIND FIXED ON WHAT HE WANTS IN LIFE — NOT ON WHAT HE DOES NOT WANT.
It is virtually impossible not to become what you think about most. If you concentrate on something long enough, it becomes part of your psyche. Use this knowledge to your advantage. If you think about problems, you will find problems. If you think about solutions, you will find solutions. It’s normal to have doubts, fears, and insecurities. The successful person understands this and learns to overcome them by focusing on the desirable objective, not on undesirable distractions.
Four Essential Elements in (Almost) Any Sales Copy
By · CommentsFour Essential Elements in (Almost) Any Sales Copy
Much has been written on the structure of a sales letter, and copywriters everywhere all have their own opinions about what must be included in a sales letter or promotion.
In this article, I will explain what I believe are the four essential elements of sales copy. Others may argue that other elements are essential too; however I believe these to be the most important.
1. The headline.
The headline is the most important element of any sales letter. Here’s why.
The headline qualifies the sales letter, and often serves as a screening device. The headline sets the tone for the entire letter. It must summarize what will follow without “giving away” too much. It must grab the attention of the reader and convince them to keep reading. If the headline does not do its job, the letter will not get read.
You can see why many copywriters spend more time on the headline than on any other part of the sales letter.
2. The offer.
What is being offered? If it’s not compelling to the reader… or not communicated in such as way as to seem compelling to the reader, the sales will be flat. The offer must be stated in terms important to the reader.
3. Testimonials.
Although there are exceptions, generally testimonials are going to be a very important piece of the building we call sales letters. There’s an ancient saying that goes like this: “let another praise you and not your own lips”. People today, just like people of times gone by, tend to be distrustful when others praise themselves. Testimonials break though much of the natural aversion and allow our satisfied customers to speak on our behalf.
4. Handling objections.
This element goes by different names, and here is how it works. If we were to sell our product or service in person, most of our prospects would have various reasons for not making a buying decision. If we are to persuade them to buy, we must answer those objections.
Selling in print is no different, and reality carries more importance for meeting objections than face-to-face sales. The reason is simple: as copywriters, we will not have the opportunity to answer our prospects’ objections individually. We must therefore proactively predict their objections and meet them head-on.
Summary
I am fully aware that these four elements alone do not a sales letter make. However, the copywriter would do well to spend the majority of time on these particular elements. They will “make or break” the sales letter. The business owner can make the process much easier by collecting good testimonials and by creating excellent products that his or her target market is actively seeking.
The Copywriter’s Job
By · CommentsBusiness owners often wonder: what exactly does a copywriter do? There’s no secret to it. The copywriter’s job is to persuade your readers to take a desired action.
The copywriter we speak of here might be you (the business owner), a staff copywriter, or a freelancer that you have hired.
The desired action may be to buy your product or invest in your service offering; however it may also be to download a free report or software application and provide their name and email address in exchange. Whatever the offer, the copywriter gives the the prospect or prior customer two or more options and asks them to choose.
What is really going on here? We might sum it up as: persuasion. Be aware that this “persuasion” is simply not what people often think. It is easy to assume that copywriters employ “tricks” to coax people out of their money. Consider looking at it this way instead: comptent and ethical copywriters utilize copywriting techniques for the purpose of convincing the reader to act in their own best interest… to do what they would anyway if they “had all the facts”.
What kinds of actions do we wish to persuade our readers to take?
The most basic action, on that requires the least amount of skill, is to simply to persuade another to take some action indicating their interest in a subject. That action might be as innocuous as reading an article. Or it may be downloading a free report or software program.
Next in difficulty would be convincing that same person to provide their email address in order to get the freebie. Web surfers today are hesistant to give strangers their email address online. The good news, if you can get people to do this, it usually tells you three different things. First, it shows you did a good job in targeting the right audience for your freebiew. Second, it tells you that you are speaking in their language. Third, it finally indicates that you are offering an item that they deem valuable.
You might rightly imagine that to persuade that same prospect to spend money is on another level of difficulty. And you would be correct. Ultimately, though, we are in business to make sale. In crafting a sales letter, the copywriter is merely presenting one type of a sales presentation.
The basic process is this: describe what is being offered, the benefits derived from the service or product, provide answers to the most common objections prospects have, and tell them how to buy. Throughout the entire process, the writer must use terminology familiar to the prospect and also remove any “speed bumps” (unnecessary or poor-worded phrases which will cause the reader to disbelieve what you are saying or even stop reading).
Smart marketers know that persuasion does not end when the buying decision is made. Not at all. The prospect must now be persuaded to type in their credit card information and then to confirm the order. After the order is made, customers commonly experience what is known as “buyer’s remorse” and so experienced marketers employ ethical tactics to show that the customer made the right decision.
The copywriter’s job is an essential one today. As a business owner, you may decide to write the copy yourself, or you may choose to hire a writer who specializes in writing copy for clients.
Perception and Opportunity
By · CommentsBeen thinking alot lately about the state of our economy and what opportunities lie therein.
Yes, things could be better. There are problems that need to be “sorted”.
But think about this:
The average person – that means you and me – can do nothing about the banking crisis, the credit crisis, mortgage crisis, and so on. We can talk about these very real problems for hours on end and it won’t change anything. We can point our fingers and find blame. Maybe there’s a time to do that.
Answer me one question:
When we finally and completely place the blame for our economic woes, will your situation change at all? I thought so.
If you want your life to be different, you are the most important factor in making it happen.
For those of us in business, success boils down to one thing, really:
Finding out what people want, and giving it to them.
We want to make it too complicated!
I’ve been working with some very successful people lately, and believe me, they aren’t talking about how bad the economy is. But… their competitors are!
See, people are always buying. The question is: are you making a strong enough case for why they should be buying from you?
So much of what we do is built around perception. And therein lies opportunity for those wise enough to take appropriate action.
