Authority Articles

The Importance of Visiting Other Blogs and Websites

January 29, 2010 – 3:45 pm

The Importance of Visiting Other Blogs and Websites

Readers come over to your website for one main reason: they are searching for more information. If you are friendly and you project some sort of charisma, they will probably come back again and again to try to know you personally, before committing to buy any of your products. A good way to show them that you are a real person is to visit their website as a way of gratitude for visiting yours.

First, I believe that almost everyone on the internet is a real people. Very few websites can be run by bots and automated software. However, sometimes the way people act makes them seem like they are not real. For example, business owners who are aloof and condescending tend to alienate readers. Likewise, putting yourself in a pedestal where you cannot be reached by prospects and customers is not a good idea in online business.

Remember that your business will not be complete without the customers. You, your website, product, and marketing campaigns, comprises only half of your business. The other half is composed of customers who make the enterprise. Build connections and bridges with your audience and you set yourself up for an increase in profit.

Blogging

Statistics show that at least 33.33% of your website visitors also have a web presence of their own. With greater probability, they have a blog somewhere. It’s either they are pro bloggers, bloggers for fun, or internet business owners like you.

To get to know your website visitors, it is helpful to visit them too. Devote a particular part of your blog to offering incentives to readers who give their blog address to you. This way, you get a long list of blog addresses to visit and comment on in the future.

When you visit their blog site, don’t just give it a quick read. Read carefully what they have to say and determine the topic of the blog. Posting comments on other reader’s blogs will be seen as a thoughtful act, especially if your comment was sensible. The point is to be active in the discussion.

Subscribe to RSS feeds of other people’s blogs so you get notified each time they make a new posting. Be actively involved in other people’s blogs and eventually many people will become familiar with your name.

Linking back to blog posts that are keyword rich and have a similar theme to your site will help you rank higher in search engines. For example, in your own blog, you can write a review about somebody else’s blog post then provide the link. Likewise, some people will return the favor and make reviews of your blog, then link back to you. You both benefit.

In truth, interacting with other blog and site owners is a give and take partnership. Inbound links will help you and others, if done right. Plus, there’s no telling how many people will get to see your site as a result of active participation in online discussions and conversations.

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Earn the Trust of Readers by Keeping Your Promises

January 28, 2010 – 12:58 pm

Earn the Trust of Readers by Keeping Your Promises

Have you ever experienced buying a product that didn’t do what it promises to do in the ads? This is one of the mistakes of infomercials— leading us on. But, have you noticed that those products don’t stick around in the market for a long time? That’s because they lack integrity. If you’re planning on starting an online business, you ought to keep your promises to your customers.

Be a Person of Integrity

Integrity is something business owners take for granted because it’s selling the product that only matters to them. This is the reason why some business product websites pop up one week and vanish on the next when complaints get too hot to handle.

Businesses become predatory when they take advantage of what people are looking for in a product and fails to provide it. Instead, they take their money and run off, leaving their customers frustrated and angry.

Integrity is an important factor in keeping your customers. The main idea here is making your promises come true. A business should see to it that customer expectations are met. Cyberspace might be a free highway and no police cars are in sight, but the situation doesn’t give you the license to scam customers of their money. Your business will be the one that will suffer in the long run.

Another sensitive area where readers lose their trust is when business owners sell customers names to mailing lists. You have been entrusted with a customer’s information and it is your duty to keep them confidential. If your customer signs up for a subscription, don’t spam them with other stuff.

Market Proven and Tested Products Only

Do you sell products and services on your domain? Before marketing a product, make sure that it has been tested on the market and has gained a considerable demand.

Provide free trials for customers so that they may know their money’s worth. The problem, however, lies in the nature of free product testing: such free trials give the opportunity for racketeers to pirate the products and services you render.

This is also true in affiliate programs. Promote products and services that are legitimate and that you have tested personally. Keep in mind that money will stop flowing in your business if your credibility is in question.

Maintain Honesty and Avoid Misleading Information

You cannot develop any relationship based on lies. Earn the trust of your readers by publishing truthful and unique information based on your products and services. Readers will only turn to potential customers once they have believed in your business.

Don’t exaggerate and make grandiose statements just so you can hook your readers in. Be modest and truthful at all times in your product presentation online. Showing that you value truth will forge a strong relationship with your readers and existing customers in the years to come.

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Relationship with Readers – Why is It Important?

January 27, 2010 – 1:04 pm

Relationship with Readers – Why is It Important?

Trust is earned by getting to know someone and letting them know the real you. It is much easier to do that in person, but with so many communication tools available today, you can do it in cyberspace as well. By showing interest in what a person is about and what he or she likes, fostering a relationship is not impossible.

Like the relationship you share with friends and loved-ones, the relationship you build with your readers or customers uses the same formula mentioned above. The only additional variable, however, is money. By establishing a relationship with your readers and proving them the credibility and integrity of your business, they will keep coming back not only to check your website but to buy your services as well.

For instance, in a short period of months after launching a product, your sales and hits skyrocket through extensive advertising. The percentage of your unique visitors reaches 100%. These results cannot be sustained, however, if you don’t build a relationship with your readers.

Keep in mind that the journey to success is not a short trip. Six figures of sales won’t offset the following eight months of basement stats when customers don’t come back for a visit. If that happens, then you’re business will become a flop.

To prevent this from happening, connect with your readers. Pay attention to their needs to keep them coming back. Always strive for repeat visitors every month. Readers don’t visit your site just for fun— they stumble upon your site because they are looking for something. Show them your appreciation by taking some interest in what they really want.

The following reasons illustrate why the relationship you have with readers are important:

1. They have friends. Word gets around through a person’s network of friends. While it is true that you have no idea who your site’s visitors are, what you can be sure of though is that they share a sphere of influence with a person or group. And they talk. Once you’ve satisfied a customer, they are sure to talk about it with someone.

2. They have money. A simple visitor can turn to a customer if you have them convinced to buy your product. This is why you have to earn their trust. Once they buy your product, the possibility for repeat business has taken its first step.

3. They represent a portion of the population. Your readers come from all walks of life. They come from different sectors of society which are connected to other members of that particular society. Their connections are helpful in spreading the word for your business. For example, online business owners can create back links for you on their site, bloggers can ask you to post an entry on their site, and avid social bookmarkers can increase your popularity by linking to your webpage. The possibilities are endless.

Your customers are human beings, not mere sales statistics. Show that you care for them as they are the force behind the success of your business.

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Business Writing Tip: Have a Genuine Interest with Readers

January 26, 2010 – 12:40 pm

Business Writing Tip: Have a Genuine Interest with Readers

It is always a delight for business owners to find out how many hits they have on their websites through unique visitors. The stats will hike every month as long as always come up with something new for your readers. Read on to find out how you can keep your current readers and attract new ones while you’re at it.

Who are you?

All of us want to know that we matter to someone, be it a family member, a partner, a friend, or a colleague. Think about the reason barber shops and hair salons are popular. It’s because the employees offer first-hand service and take time to interact with customers while doing their job of giving them a haircut or pampering them.

It is always your task as a business owner to acknowledge the presence of your readers. They wouldn’t be coming to you without a purpose.

A person visits your site not just because of your business’s name but because of your product. Make an impression on them and strive that your readers remember you and your products after they’ve left your site. Always think of it as a challenge for a business owner like you.

What do you want?

Like you, your readers are driven by a certain interest or passion. You won’t start your online business without feeling a certain drive to do it, right? Take charge of your readers by giving them the power of knowing that you are concerned about them, and that you would like to know them. Know your readers interest and passion. The information you put on your site might even be helping your readers realize their dreams.

Make room for some adjustments in building your business— some changes could lead to its growth. For example, while your website is focused on providing advice on staying organized in a person’s business or life, it wouldn’t hurt you to offer a coaching line of products if your readers are mostly interested in personal coaching. Doing so lets you know that you are always available to hear about your readers’ concerns.

How do I help you?

Tap on your readers; interest through the following:

· Surveys

· Offer contests for guest blogging spots

· Create a “reader spotlight” or a “customer spotlight” on your website

· Send out feedback emails with purchases

As a business owner, it is always important that you are aware of your readers’ interest. In what other way can you capture them, after all? Using the right tools on finding out what they want and providing those needs will definitely boost your sales and chances of getting more and more customers.

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Business Blogging Allows You to Connect With Readers

January 25, 2010 – 4:48 pm

Business Blogging Allows You to Connect With Readers

Everybody seems to have a blog nowadays. Blogs can also be beneficial to businesses as well. While websites can be informative about a lot of things about your business, people don’t usually learn about how you developed your business savvy. People might also be interested about the person behind the business they’re patronizing. This is where blogs come into the picture.

People are partial to the tone of voice of what they’re reading as well. Business talk is sometimes limiting and alienating to some people. Since the language of blogs are informal, then it wouldn’t be hard to hook your readers in when you’re talking about a new product you’re selling— their tendency is to read more of your entry.

Words are sometimes deceiving as well. People find it hard to trust online businesses because most of these businesses are short-lived and don’t keep their promises. Blogs are a way of building a closer relationship with readers and proving the credibility of your business because the information comes firsthand— from you.

Blogs

Blogs takes the form of online journals. It is informal and more personal. Your business needs to have a face, a real person where readers can relate to. Having a blog is a way to show that. Here, your readers will know that they are dealing with a real person who has a life, not just some greedy business person or peddler.

Having a blog doesn’t give you the liberty to spill the beans to everyone. Remember that you are dealing with readers who have biases and upbringing. You still have to keep a professional tone of voice. Your blog is meant for extending your businesses the more personal way; it’s not a gossip column.

Start with your blog by writing an entry on how you made it to the online business community. This will be your icebreaker. You’re posts should be accessible to everyone in the internet and will appear in different search engines.

Two-Way Communication

Communication has never been a one-way street. When someone leaves a comment on your post that is because he is expecting some kind of interaction with you. Reply to readers’ comments as soon as you can. Don’t leave your audiences hanging.

Owning a business blog is a great tool for building a relationship with your readers and potential customers. It gives you a chance to show your personal side, bringing your relationship to your readers much closer.

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Social Bookmarking and Reader Relationships

January 24, 2010 – 7:42 pm

Social Bookmarking and Reader Relationships

Every online entrepreneur wants to be seen as an expert in their chosen niche or industry. Why? Because it allows them to gain more traffic, sales, business connections, and ultimately get a solid reputation online. If you want to position yourself as an expert in your chosen field, you can social bookmarking sites for that purpose. Who wouldn’t want to be viewed as an expert in their field?

In real life, we tend to share to others want we like and enjoy. If it’s an exciting book or movie, we tell our friends. If it’s an effective product, we recommend it to loved ones. That aspect of human nature is what social bookmarking sites are all about.

Each time you publish and distribute interesting content, your readers enjoy it. Some readers will actually LOVE your content so much that they will bookmark it through a social bookmarking site, so that they can share it to their friends.

Usually, people can submit content in social bookmarking sites on a wide range of topics. Online users can rate articles, share videos, tag pictures, and many more. Open your accounts in the popular social bookmarking sites, and then add bookmarking icons on your sites for easier navigation.

When people submit your content to bookmarking services, your original content is not copied. Only your content link is submitted as a social bookmark and can be easily shared to other people in the community. Other users are then allowed to rate or vote on your content. If lots of people like your content, it has the potential to move to the front page of the social site, attracting thousands and even hundreds of thousands of readers.

But you have to keep this in mind: People won’t feel it necessary to bookmark your content if you don’t establish a relationship with the. Research and survey in order to find out what people in your target market want. Knowing this vital information will help you provide what people are looking for and are able to satisfy their needs.

Go the extra mile and commit yourself to bookmarking the stuff of people who bookmark yours. Visit their blogs and see if there is anything you can comment on and submit as social bookmarks. Remember, once your comment is posted on a particular blog post, you share in whatever traffic is generated by that post. So be generous in visiting other blogs, leaving comments, submitting their content to social bookmarking sites.

When people leave feedback on your blog posts, make it a habit to reply promptly. Use the initial feedback as a springboard for an ongoing conversation.

Letting readers see your content bookmarked in sites like Digg and Stumbleupon will give them the opportunity to vote for you. It will result in a steady, ongoing stream of content because, as you gain more votes and positive ratings, your content becomes even more popular online.

The secret is to learn how to get readers to like and trust you. You do this by sincerely communicating and being generous with them. The relationship you have with readers and potential customers must be a two way street, where everyone benefits and profits in some way.

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Online Newsletters – Building a Sense of Community with Prospects

January 20, 2010 – 9:45 am

Online Newsletters – Building a Sense of Community with Prospects

From the beginning of your internet business venture, you are already aware that you would need a constant stream of web traffic for your business to be successful. You probably created a detailed marketing plan that outlines everything you need to do to make an estimated amount of profit. But here’s one important marketing tool that most entrepreneurs overlook: newsletters. They build rapport with your target crowd, faster and stronger than you can imagine (which leads to more sales).

Why do you need an online newsletter? It’s because your main website should only furnish a summary of your business operation. You cannot get into all the details using the website homepage, because usually there is not enough space. A good solution would be to provide only vital info in your website, then use other communication tools to send detailed info to your readers and prospects. This is where the use of a follow-up newsletter comes in.

While newsletters can be used to provide information, it can also be used to allow readers to get to know you better. You can share an inspiring personal story, and then recommend useful services or products at the end of the story. You can provide order links at the end of each newsletter issue and convince readers to buy if they haven’t done so yet.

The Power of Newsletters

Each time you run out of space in your website to mention all your back-end offers and promos (such as new product launches, affiliate programs, technical upgrades, time-sensitive promos, etc), you can choose to put all these details in your newsletter. After all, a website homepage doesn’t look good when cluttered with too many details. Here are some forms of online newsletters that you can choose from:

· Single page of text that you email to your marketing list

· A report in PDF format that contains multiple pages of exciting info

· Flash video series that are accessible to subscribers

Newsletters are sent to so-called “opt-in subscribers”. They are the ones who visit your site then decide to sign up to your newsletter by submitting their name and email address through your web form. Once they subscribe, they automatically become part of your mailing list, and will receive updates on a weekly or monthly basis.

If you want your newsletter to go viral or spread via word of mouth, put it in a PDF format. This way, subscribers can download and print the file for better reading. There’s an also a greater chance that after they read and enjoy your newsletter, they will share it to their friends.

Putting up a section in your website that is accessible only to subscribers is important. This is where you upload HTML newsletter issues, videos, photos, and many others. Subscribers feel important knowing that they have an “insider access” to your material.

It’s up to you to choose the newsletter format that fits your preference. If it suits you and your target audience, make use of it immediately. Remember to keep your information simple. Focus on providing value to your customer and they will want to know more.

Put a Spotlight on Your Customers

Newsletters also provide an avenue for you to make readers and subscribers feel special. If you have recent customers or new subscribers, you can mention their names in your upcoming newsletter issues as a way of saying thanks. Or if you have affiliates who made an exceptional amount of sales, you can congratulate and recognize their achievements by putting their names in your newsletter issue.

All in all, a newsletter is useful for many aspects of business building. Remember to include as much valuable information as possible in you regular mailings. This builds trust and rapport with readers, and makes them feel part of your business community.

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Market Surveys: Getting Inside the Minds of Your Readers

January 19, 2010 – 8:51 am

Market Surveys: Getting Inside the Minds of Your Readers

Have you ever been asked to complete one of those surveys after shopping from a store or getting a surgical procedure done?

If so, then you have most likely encountered the question “What did you like about our product and what can we improve on?” Surveys might have worded this question differently, but they are all after the same catch: to know what you think of how well a business or service provider is doing its job.

Surveys are essential to any business. They determine what customers really want and how you can keep them, because the number of sales made doesn’t necessarily translate to customer satisfaction. You don’t want to be a one-hit wonder in the business world, right?

The Purpose of Surveys

Surveys are done to gather customers’ feedbacks. The information collected will then be helpful for:

· Better customer service protocols

· Creating new products

· Creating new programs

· Offering new services

· Improved sales

Surveys, however, are difficult to accomplish on your own. This is when survey companies come into the picture. Survey companies conduct website surveys and polls, and evaluate the results for you. They will provide you a report on how well your business is doing based on the figures they’ve collected.

The rest will then be in your hands. Prepare a spreadsheet that lists all the choices for response. It is ideal to put a number of choices instead of merely putting a blank field where customers can scribble to their heart’s content. This way, responses can be gathered easily. Create a legend for each type of a response and assign a meaning to specific range of result. Use this as a framework for future surveys.

Reader Response

The success of conducting a survey doesn’t come overnight. With so many pop-up surveys on various marketing websites, it is hard to know if a survey is legitimate— most of them are just for show anyways. Not all companies take your opinions for granted, though.

Building relationship with your customers through tangible results comes into play here. Prove that your customers’ opinion matters by changing a thing or two on your product. Let your customers know that you listen to them— bring some attention to the improvements you’ve made. This way, people will take your surveys more seriously.

Run it down. Remember that the customer is always right— paying attention to them through their comments and suggestions will be helpful to your business. You can’t read their mind, after all.

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How To Render Terrific Customer Service To Online Readers

January 18, 2010 – 9:41 am

How To Render Terrific Customer Service To Online Readers

Customer service is an important factor in businesses. The level and quality of customer service will set a business apart from its competitors. Online, it takes the form of a person’s opinion in writing. It changes the face of every business by building a relationship based on trust with readers and customers.

Understanding Customer Service

Let’s take this scenario as an example: a customer signs up to receive news from your business or from an affiliate program. That customer waits for days and still hasn’t heard from you. Finally, they receive a notice from you about the approval of their request. Before you can send them your services, they have grown impatient and have withdrawn their request.

The abovementioned scenario only shows why you need to follow through on the products and services you offer to your customers. They have shown interest, therefore, you should do your part to keep them.

No one wants to shuffle through shelves and aisles inside a large store right? Someone always has to guide them through. You should come to the customer for assistance, and not the other way around. As a business owner, it is your job to provide support whenever a customer needs it.

Providing Good Customer Service

While it is imperative for you to provide the best customer service you can give, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to sit in front of the computer all the time to watch for customer’s inquiries. It is virtually impossible. However, you can provide courses of actions or processes that will make your customer presence available 24/7.

Such processes involve:

· Auto-responder messages

· Scheduled newsletter delivery

· FAQ page that is always updated

· User-friendly tabs, site map and links to get around the website with ease

· Answering service

· Virtual assistant

The ways mentioned above show that your customers and readers’ problems are taken care of even when you’re personally not around. For instance, if you are an affiliate program, be sure to provide sufficient links and information that will help your readers fully understand your business and the method on how they can sign up for your services. Bear in mind that sign up forms should be user-friendly (that is, easy to complete) and should only require pertinent information.

Check your email regularly for inquiries that didn’t fall under the categories of your “Contact Us” page. Attend to question within the allotted time given to the customer in the auto-responder message.

Immediate service informs people that you are still concerned about them, even after you’ve made a sale. You value their feedback and want to keep them satisfied. Providing good customer service is a part of fostering a long-lasting relationship with your customers and readers.

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Marketing Secrets: How To Choose The Perfect Niche

January 4, 2010 – 7:38 am

Marketing Secrets: How To Choose The Perfect Niche

The possibilities in marketing are endless if you take the time to find the niche that’s perfect for you. In the next few paragraphs, I’ll give you some guidelines on how to find a niche that you’ll love and enjoy. At the end of the day, you will only succeed in business if you love what you do and earn residual profits from it at the same time.

The First Step: Brainstorming

The initial step for determining the perfect niche is to brainstorm for some possible options. Write down a list of things that you enjoy doing and spend a great deal of time with. You can do this on a piece of paper or on a computer Notepad. Don’t hesitate to spend a lot of time on brainstorming as this is very important. Here are some ideas to get your juices flowing:

• Bowling
• Fishing
• Golf
• Cooking
• Parenting
• Reading
• Arts and Design
• Drawing
• Writing
• Volleyball
• Pet Development
• Nursing
• Health and Wellness

As stated earlier, the possibilities for choosing the right niche are limitless. From the list shown above, I’ll show you an example process of how to choose the niche that’s perfect for you:

Assuming that we continue with the brainstorming, let’s pretend that I choose the “pet development” niche. This is just an example, but I’ll illustrate how you can uncover a variety of other niches based on only one category:

Discovering Sub-Niches For A Certain Niche

The pet niche is obviously a broad niche, so let’s proceed in narrowing it down to even more specific categories.  If you break it down, you can come up with the following examples of sub-niches:

• Pet Dogs
• Pet Cats
• Pet Birds
• Tropical Pets
• Pets For Aquarium
• Rare, Endangered Pets
• Exotic Pets
• Toys For Pets

This sample list of sub-niches is very short. In any given niche, you can literally generate thousands of sub-niches that will help you choose the specific market for you to work on.

Once you generate a comprehensive list of sub-niches, take the list into consideration and choose ONE which you are passionate about. It is also helpful to choose a sub-niche in which you already have a certain degree of expertise. Because of the nature of niche marketing, you need to have both expertise and passion for your chosen niche in order to stay in it in the long haul. When the time comes that you lose motivation in what you do, your expertise and passion for your niche will save the day. I speak from experience.

What To Do After You Find The Right Niche For You

Once you zero in on the right niche that you love and you have an expertise in, it’s time to develop a marketing strategy that will bring in the sales and cash to your doorstep.

Let’s use the “pet dogs” niche as an example. The first thing you need to do is find out the types of dog breeds that people are buying and searching for online. Join discussion forums and blog sites where people hang out and talk about this specific topic.

Keep in mind that marketing to a specific niche must be extremely targeted and nothing should be left to chance. Other people shy away from doing all this work, but if you take the extra effort to specify your target market and offer them a worthy solution to their problems, you will succeed as a business owner.

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