3 Key Questions You Need Ask About Internet Marketing

Internet marketing is exciting, challenging, and confusing. It can make or break your internet business career and yet many people who depend on internet marketing don't have a full grasp of the essentials involved in internet marketing.

In fact, many internet entrepreneurs waste a great deal of time, energy, and momentum because they do not fully understand internet marketing. Don't let this lack of understanding undermine your income potential.

In order for you to better understand internet marketing and its impact on your internet business you must know the answers to these three key questions:

1. What Is Internet Marketing?
2. What Is The Cost Of Internet Marketing?
3. What Is The Benefit of Internet Marketing?

What Is Internet Marketing?

Marketing is actually rather simple. Marketing is communication about an idea, product, service, or organization. Marketing therefore encompasses advertising, promotion and sales as well as the various techniques and forms of communication used to advertise, promote and sell.

Marketing is broader than simple advertising or promotion in that it includes researching the market to learn what consumers want and then setting out to meet their needs with the appropriate product, price, and distribution method. Marketing includes market research, deciding on products and prices, advertising promoting distributing and selling.

Marketing also covers all the activities involved in moving products and services from the source to the end user including making customers aware of products and services, attracting new customers to a product or service, keeping existing customers interested in a product or service, and building and maintaining a customer base for a product or service.

Internet marketing includes these same activities but also pulls in various internet tools including web sites, email, ezines, banner advertising, blogging, RSS, text links, search engine optimization, affiliates, autoresponders, and other ecommerce applications.
   
What Is The Cost Of Internet Marketing?

The range of expenses for internet marketing is huge. There are a number of promotional and marketing ventures that can cost you nothing or only pennies a day while other advertising efforts can cost you thousands a day.

It is important to consider your goals -- both long-term and short-term -- as well as how much each prospective customer is worth to you. This will help you determine a workable budget for your internet marketing campaign.

Many internet promotions are free, you can set up a web site and/or blog for $250 a year, and you can buy text links for $10 a month. You could easily spend $25-50 a day for advertising but there are many cheaper ad options available.

The best program is to start small and cheap and slowly build as you test and learn what is successful for your market and product. There is no perfect acvertising solution that works wonders for everyone. Each marketer and each product has a different formula.

What Is The Benefit of Internet Marketing?

Internet marketing offers more benefits than many traditional marketing mediums. The very nature of web sites and blogs is that they continue working to promote and market your product long after your initial marketing effort is over. Similarly many advertising efforts, such as ezines, newsletters, banners, and text links also continue to increase in power over time.

Email marketing can be a tremendous surge in contacts and sales and offers the ability to personalize your message as well as reach a targeted audience so your chance for sales goes up exponentially.

The other tremendous benefit of internet marketing is that it offers convenience and immediate satisfaction. Your potential customer sees your marketing message when it is convenient for them -- and often when they are seeking information about your specific topic. Then you offer them the ability to act on that interest right then. They can locate your product and buy in the time it would take to watch a commercial on television or turn a page in the newspaper. That is the power of internet marketing.

Now that you have the answers to these three key questions, you are ready to begin your own internet marketing campaign -- and succeed with your internet venture.

22 Questions to Ask Before You Use Any Shopping Cart System

You can use traditional methods to sell products such as direct mail, catalogs and advertising.  However, if you have a great online presence, the entire world is your marketplace at a fraction of the cost of most traditional methods.  To easily sell to this worldwide marketplace, you need a great shopping cart system.

Choosing a shopping cart system is perhaps the most important single decision you'll make in your online marketing career.

This is because you will be stuck with the decision for a long time.

If you buy into a system that isn't adequate, it can cost you money--big money--because it won't maximize the amount of money spent by each visitor.

There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of off-the-shelf, free and alternative products out there vying for your money, time or both.  And most of them are junk.

Don't suffer like I did. I learned the hard way.  When I started on the Internet I couldn't find a decent shopping cart program, so I took one that was highly recommended by my ISP (I now know the only reason they suggested it was because it made them the most money.  They didn't care if it was the best one for me or not).  What a headache!  The system wouldn't do anything but take the order, but you had to have a PhD in computer science to work on it.

Here are 22 questions you absolutely, unfailingly must ask anyone trying to sell you a shopping cart.  If you don't hear positive answers to the majority of these questions, put your wallet back into your pocket and evaluate the next option.  Don't get stuck with a crappy shopping cart, even if they give it to you free.

If you have a poor shopping cart, get rid of it.  I know that hurts, because you may have spent lots of time and money getting it going, but a bad one will cost you many thousands of dollars by waiting to replace it later rather than sooner.

Oh, and one more thing: if you hear the shopping cart programmer answer one of the questions below by saying, "Well, we could make it do that," run away even faster, because you're going to get stuck with a big custom programming bill with no guarantees that the cart is going to work the way you expected.

Every question below is very important when it comes to having a quality shopping cart system that gets more money out of the same number of visitors.

1. Will it calculate shipping and tax?

2. Does it handle specialized shipping like FedEx and UPS?

3. Will it automatically deliver hard goods and soft goods (e- books and other digital products) in the same transaction?

4. Does it offer customizable "Return to Shopping" pages without needing custom programming?  This is important so you can send your customers to the most likely product they will buy next.  Standard carts just send customers back to the main catalog, which forces them to search for related products.  This is both irritating and time-consuming.  Any delays in finding what they want could mean a lost sale, when they finally throw their hands up in disgust and move on to your competitor's site.

5. Does it offer customizable "Thank You" pages based on what the customer just bought?  These are pages where savvy marketers put affiliate links and other offers specifically related to the customer's interests.  When a customer clicks on one of these links and buys something from someone else, you get a commission.

6. Does it deliver receipt and confirmation e-mails automatically?  The customer wants to know immediately that the order went through.  If he or she is unsure, you are going to have to field many wasted e-mails and phone calls letting the customer know everything is OK.

7. Does it allow multiple order and dropship e-mails?  In many cases, several different people in your organization and/or outside your organization need notice of an order.  Again, you don't want to have to do this manually.

8. Does it have a Web-based administration page so you can work on your cart from any computer that has Internet access?

9. Does it include encryption technology and a secure server?  Many companies make a fortune by sucking you in with a cheap or free cart and then make money on selling you an overpriced secure server.

10. Does it deliver easy output to your accounting software?  You want to be able to import and export data easily between the cart and whatever programs you have that need to share the customer and sales information.

11. Does it have its own associate/affiliate program or is it easily compatible with other major brands of associate software?  An affiliate program lets other people promote and sell your products on their Web sites.  You don't pay them unless they sell something.  When I tried to get an associate/affiliate program to work with my old cart, it cost me six months of down time and untold amounts of money lost because it wouldn't work.  The associate program people blamed the shopping cart people and vice versa.  But ultimately I was left holding the bag.

12. Does it have integrated up-sell modules?  The ability to offer more related products to customers making a purchase makes me a small fortune each month.  We call it, "Do you want fries with that?"  If you don't have this ability, you are leaving many thousands of dollars on the table from people who would have spent more if your cart just gave them the chance.

13. Does it have an integrated sales and prospect database?  In the old days I would have to print out orders and then retype them into ACT or some other database program.  A good shopping cart system eliminates all this hassle and potential for error and gives you instant access to your sales reports and clients.

14. Does it have broadcast e-mail capability?  Good shopping cart systems are able to manipulate your customer database instantly and send e-mails to any segment or sub-segment of your clients and handle unlimited e-mail magazines.  Again, in the old days I would have to be genius enough to pick out segments of the database, export them to a file, import them into a mail program and then an hour later send the darn e-mail.  Now this is all done in a few seconds.

15. Does it have mail merge capability?  The e-mails sent are personalized to the recipients in any number of ways.  Their names can be popped in to the subject line and in various portions of the body of the e-mail.  You can merge "what they bought," "when they bought," "where they live" or just about anything that will make them feel the e-mail was just for them.  Virtually all studies show that mail merge gets a much higher response than plain broadcast e-mail.

16. Can it handle coupons and other discounts?  You can make a deal with Joe Blow that everyone coming from his Web site gets an automatic discount -- either a percentage or dollar amount.  This makes Joe look great to his visitors and makes more sales for you.  Here's a secret: Joe is your affiliate and makes money on the sale too, so he's got a great incentive to keep your discounts and coupons in front of his visitors.  Good shopping cart systems can automate all of this and also handle any quantity discounts you offer.

17. Can it work for multiple Web sites with no extra fees?  When I first started I had to get a separate (and expensive) license for each site and a separate merchant account too.  Not only was this a great deal of expense, the hassle with installation every time you wanted a new site to go up was enormous.  Modern carts can sell bras on one site and bibles on another, and no one knows the difference.  The carts run on their own servers so there is no expensive installation and set-up is immediate.

18. Does it have unlimited and fully integrated "sequential" autoresponders?  This is one of the most powerful features when it comes to Internet marketing.  This feature follows up automatically over and over again to your clients and prospects to provide them customer care and to sell them more products and services.  You can even provide free or paid e-mail courses, and each part of the course is delivered automatically.

19. Does it have ad tracking tied into actual sales?  Simple ad tracking can be had all over the 'Net, but it is pretty much worthless unless it is tied to actual sales.  This is called the "conversion ratio."  Your cart system should be able to tell you how many people clicked on a particular promotion and how many people bought.  This is the only way you can determine if an ad paid off.  Good carts will also automatically split test one of your sales pages against another and tell you which page sells more.  You keep the page that sells more and get rid of the page that sells less.

20. Does it have a pop-up box builder?  Even though many people hate popup boxes, they work.  I use them judiciously to make all kinds of offers, and I have the sales figures to prove they get more money out of the same number of people.  If you know how to use them properly, no one gets upset.

21. Does it have a printable off-line order form?  Believe it or not, many people are still afraid to put their credit card numbers into a Web site.  I still get lots of fax orders and phone orders.  If you want to maximize your sales, your cart must take these kinds of orders easily.

22. Does it provide free training?  You'll need training in both the basic set up of using your shopping cart and determining your online sales strategy, so that you maximize the amount of money spent by each customer.

You may not understand what all the above questions mean right now, but I can assure you they are important in putting more money into your bank account.  If you want to know even more about this subject, you can download a free e-book, How to Pick a Shopping Cart System That Makes You Money at <a href="http://www.howtouseashoppingcart.com">ECommerce with Shopping Carts</a>.

5 Must Have Questions In A Sales Letter

People have included all kinds of sales pitch in their sales letter but sometimes still wouldn’t achieve the results they want. The importance of a sales letter is likened to having a shop to sell cars. If the looks of your shop isn’t delivering a good impression, no one will be going to buy your cars.

Thus, you must make sure that your sales letter have answers to the most basic questions, and instill interest in your visitors towards your product just with these five specific questions:

1. What’s in it for me?
The number one rule of salesmanship – people only buy for one reason, which is for getting the results from a product, what they will receive out of it. To achieve this, you must be quick in catching their attention since the beginning with your headline. Create a very convincing headline and tell your visitors what they will get in one shot through your headline.

2. How will my life be better?
This is where you have to understand the emotional appeals that attract your prospects like moths to a flame. Do they want to become richer, smarter, better looking, thinner or more popular? Do they want to save time, money or effort?

Study your niche market until you know what emotional buttons to push and you’ll see a huge increase in your sales instantly. Use their desires to attract themselves, that’s where you will get them nodding their heads and continue reading right until the end.

3. Why should I trust you?
People are skeptical when it requires them to take out their wallets in order to buy a certain product. You need to clear their doubts by providing positive testimonials from your previous customers and emphasize the benefits of your product.

If you don’t have testimonials for your product, search for forums related to your niche and offer to give a complimentary copy in exchange for a testimonial – usually you will get a hot response in no time.

4. What will happen if I say no?
You are not going to let them say no, that’s it. Remind them about the problems that they are having, the frustrations, how much money will they lose, or how sad their lives are currently – and tell them how they can change all of them in one shot, just by a small investment in your product.


5. Will I be stuck with your product?
This is where you seal the deal. Tell them that you provide a 100% satisfaction guarantee, they must get it now. The most important thing is to make them buy, and the rest depends on their choices. 70% of the people who purchase a product will not refund it unless they have seen something similar before or they’ve planned to only “borrow” it since the beginning.

When you have all these points to answer your prospects’ questions in your sales letter, not only will you gain an unfair advantage over your competition but also let your prospect know that you care about their problems and you have the solution that they need.


If you want simple effective digital marketing e-courses that help you build authority, increase your targeted traffic and build a social media following a rock-star would envy you need to click here now

3 Simple Steps to Killer Headlines

The headline is undoubtedly the most crucial factor of the sales copy. You could have the best sales copy ever written but a poorly written and not thought out headline will almost single handedly ruin your business.The following points should insure your headline is quality and will force to read on.

1. Ultra Specific

You need to be as specific as possible. For example. Instead of "how an ebook author make thousands every month",change it too "how an ebook author makes $2,678.85 every month".Its more specific and a lot more believable.

2. Keep it unique and original

You really need to come up with your own original headline.For example im sick of seeing this headline. "Finally,the simple way to get free to your site. Its this word "finally",its been totally overused.

3. Keep the urgency

This really forces the reader to view the sales page further.Give the headline a sense of urgency. For example, giving a special offer for reading on,deadline dates or total amounts available.

This techniques have personally been proven by myself, they work some better than other, the key is to keep tweaking and testing with the above points always in mind.

I use these tips in the headlines I create. I ALWAYS MAKE SURE MY HEADLINES GRAB THE ATTENTION. My website ebookprofitmaker.com currently has a conversion rate of 3.3% and 76% of my vistors read past the headline.

7 Reasons You Need To Blog For Your Business

If you are not blogging for your business then you should be. While many people simply dismiss blogging because of its description as a web diary they are missing a lot of traffic and revenue generating opportunities every day. Are you one of those missing out?

In truth blogs are much more than a simple web diary. They are actually a content management system and/or an easy web site template. Blogging software allows you to begin posting your content to the Internet in minutes and when you harness that ability with an RSS feed you have a powerful traffic magnet.

I have come up with 7 reasons why every business should have a blog and RSS feed.

1. Publishing a regularly updated blog helps you keep in touch with your existing audience and/or customer base. You can publish updates, news, or thoughts in your blog as well as answer questions.

2. A blog can help you attract new customers. Your blog entries (posts or articles) will become fodder for the search engines and will attract new visitors. If your blog answers the visitors question or attracts their interest you have just found another qualified lead.

3. Blogs and RSS feeds often rank higher in search engines than traditional web sites. Search engines love blogs and RSS feeds. If you design your blog properly then every time you update it the search engines are notified. Even if you don't regularly ping most search engines will revisit blogs more frequently. Plus the very organization of a blog lends itself to spidering and good search engine ranking.

4. Blogs can help you establish or build your reputation in a particular field. As your blog grows you will demonstrate your knowledge in your chosen niche.

5. Blogs and RSS feeds are good revenue streams. You can add pay-per-click ads, affiliate ads, or sell ad space on your blogs. In fact, many PPC companies also provide the ability to add PPC to your RSS feeds.

6. Blogs are great ways to generate leads. Even if you don't want to put any advertising on your blog you can use it to promote or capture leads for your own programs. These are great leads as the fact that they came from your blog means they are already interested in your topic and predisposed to your individual message.

7. Creating your own blog is the easiest way to establish a presence on the Internet and creating an RSS feed is even easier. In fact, it is also the cheapest way to get started on the Internet as there are a number of free blogging sites out there. I started out with http://blogger.com and usually recommend them but have heard others point to several other top blogging sites as well. The blogging software that I now use is WordPress and also happens to be free. In fact, most web hosts now offer WordPress (or other free blogging software) as a free site add-on through Fantastico. Installing WordPress from scratch is quick and easy but Fantastico makes it even easier. Blogs created at Blogger have an RSS feed created for them and WordPress also creates feeds in several variations automatically.

As you can see there are several benefits to starting your own blog and RSS feed. If you can count that many benefits from an Internet marketing technique that is also free and easy then you are foolish not to begin using it for yourself.

5 Must Have Questions In A Sales Letter - Must Know Secrets Behind The Most Successful Sales Letter Revealed

People have included all kinds of sales pitch in their sales letter but sometimes still wouldn’t achieve the results they want. The importance of a sales letter is likened to having a shop to sell cars. If the looks of your shop isn’t delivering a good impression, no one will be going to buy your cars.

Thus, you must make sure that your sales letter have answers to the most basic questions, and instill interest in your visitors towards your product just with these five specific questions:

1. What’s in it for me?
The number one rule of salesmanship – people only buy for one reason, which is for getting the results from a product, what they will receive out of it. To achieve this, you must be quick in catching their attention since the beginning with your headline. Create a very convincing headline and tell your visitors what they will get in one shot through your headline.

2. How will my life be better?
This is where you have to understand the emotional appeals that attract your prospects like moths to a flame. Do they want to become richer, smarter, better looking, thinner or more popular? Do they want to save time, money or effort?

Study your niche market until you know what emotional buttons to push and you’ll see a huge increase in your sales instantly. Use their desires to attract themselves, that’s where you will get them nodding their heads and continue reading right until the end.

3. Why should I trust you?
People are skeptical when it requires them to take out their wallets in order to buy a certain product. You need to clear their doubts by providing positive testimonials from your previous customers and emphasize the benefits of your product.

If you don’t have testimonials for your product, search for forums related to your niche and offer to give a complimentary copy in exchange for a testimonial – usually you will get a hot response in no time.

4. What will happen if I say no?
You are not going to let them say no, that’s it. Remind them about the problems that they are having, the frustrations, how much money will they lose, or how sad their lives are currently – and tell them how they can change all of them in one shot, just by a small investment in your product.


5. Will I be stuck with your product?
This is where you seal the deal. Tell them that you provide a 100% satisfaction guarantee, they must get it now. The most important thing is to make them buy, and the rest depends on their choices. 70% of the people who purchase a product will not refund it unless they have seen something similar before or they’ve planned to only “borrow” it since the beginning.

When you have all these points to answer your prospects’ questions in your sales letter, not only will you gain an unfair advantage over your competition but also let your prospect know that you care about their problems and you have the solution that they need.