Article Marketing & Online Marketing Strategies from IdeaMarketers - Where Your Ideas Shine

Does Your List Trust You?

Email marketing expert, Lisa Preston, talks about the importance of building a genuine relationship with your subscribers in today's CreateAWOW Podcast. Lisa definitely knows her stuff. She's promoted my affiliate products and has done very well with them because her readers know and trust her. When she recommends something, they know it's of value and take action.

Learn more from Lisa at www.InstantNicheEmails.com 

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What Makes a Good Newsletter Editor

Kenth Naastrom, affiliate marketing expert, talks about what it takes to be a good newsletter editor in his article, What Makes a Good Newsletter Editor:

"All newsletters are not created equal. In that same vein, neither are newsletter editors. Some have apparently forgotten the 'news' aspect of a newsletter. Instead, they bombard their poor, unsuspecting subscribers with a non-stop barrage of sales pitches, affiliate promotions and the next big product launch.

As a newsletter editor, you have a responsibility to those people on your list. In many cases, your newsletter is the only contact you have with them. You owe it to your subscribers to provide them with actual news, real advice, and helpful tips they can use." Learn more about What Makes a Good Newsletter Editor.

Email Marketing Boosts Sales

by Ruth Kuttler, Web Design Expert

If you are thinking about all the spam email that you spend your precious time clearing out of your mailbox, I would ask you to read this carefully and keep an open mind. Let me explain the difference between spam (which is illegal) and permission based email (opt-in).

Huge Profits in Opt-in Email

When someone comes to a website and completes a little form giving permission to receive email from that company and/or other companies that are specified, that is called opt-in email. It is the only legitimate form of bulk email. The good news about email marketing is that people who have opted in to receive your mailings, know your name and are much more likely to open your email. Even if they ignore it for months and months, the fact that your name is coming across their monitor again and again is imprinting a powerful message in their minds. That message is something like this: “Wow - this company is very persistent and they are really on the ball.” As they read your email which is not just ads but giving them valuable tips and information, they are building a trusting relationship with you. People buy from people they like and trust.

The key to email marketing is that it must add perceived value to the visitor. Otherwise it is just more junk mail that wastes their time. Short tips, articles, quotes, poems and even audio and video clips are welcomed and appreciated by most email subscribers. As people read your information and learn from you, you become regarded as the “expert” in your field. These people are more open to what you have to say and much more likely to trust your judgment and use your products and services. Not only that, when they like you and trust you, they will spread the good word about you to family, friends and business associates.

Rest assured too that there are ways to prevent your email from ending up in someone’s spam or junk mail folder. Keep reading to find out how.

Get People to Read Your Ezine

I send out a lot of ezines in my business and I receive even more. There are only a handful I actually look at. It takes some doing for me to add an ezine to my list of favorites.So, it's sort of become a hobby of mine to make note of phenomenal ezines that really grab me, pull me in, and make me want to read them issue after issue.

This morning in my in-box was an amazing specimen of a newsletter from which I learned an immense amount.  Whether the free audio that comes with a subscription interests you or not ("7 Simple Steps to Create Your Multiple Streams of Income 'Money and Soul' Business"), you'll want to follow Kendall Summerhawk around to see not only one of the finest examples of newsletters, but also learn important things like, "What NOT To Do When Raising Your Fees."

Here's a few things I learned from Kendall this morning (besides how to raise my fees effectively).

Effective Ezine Tips (sometimes we learn best by example):

Keep it Clean and Inviting - Kendall uses lots of white space, strategic colorful bars (her colors) that announce each new section, and catchy graphics that pull you down the page.

Get Those Audio Learners - Kendall includes an audio recording of her feature article. This is perfect for people like me who want to listen while doing mindless tasks like finding the surface of our desks in the morning.

Make it Easy for People to Subscribe. Kendall prominently displays both a Tell-a-friend and a "Not Subscribed Yet?" link at the top of her ezine.

Give Them a Reason to Read. Not only did Kendall's catchy headline, "What NOT to Do When Raising Your Fees" grab me, but also she included an "In This Issue" directory at the top so I could quickly see what's in her newsletter and was drawn in by something that caught my eye.

Make it Personal. At the top, Kendall included a photo of herself relaxing on a pillow in a hotel and told about a personal "in town" business retreat she took. With this photo and short paragraph or two, she a) made herself human and likable  b) she made me say, "Wow, an in town business retreat..what's that?.It sounds like a cool idea...this woman thinks outside the box!"

Give People More. As I read through the newsletter, she followed through on my initial "Wow" with a section that explained exactly what an in town business retreat is and why I should consider one too!

Include Your Calendar - Let people know about your upcoming events so they can interact with you further.

Make It Easy for People to Quote You - Kendall has a section that says, "Want to Use This Article In Your Ezine, Blog or Website?" Here she gives you permission to reprint her feature article and includes the resource box you'll need to grab and put with it.

Sprinkle a Couple of Your Paid Products Throughout - She included info on an upcoming teleclass she provides for her Success Circle members. She also included info on her "How to Charge What You're Worth and Get It" Home Study System.

These are just a few brilliant ideas from a lady who appropriately signs every email, "Love and brilliance!" Visit Kendall Summerhawk at www.KendallSummerhawk.com to get her ezine and the powerful audio as her gift to you.

List Building & Product Launch

Please welcome our new expert:

Official List Building & Product/Program Launch Expert - Helen Graves
Helen Graves is an expert at showing soul-inspired entrepreneurs how to grow their list and boost their bottom line with effective online marketing strategies. Tune into her free audio course on "7 Quick & Simple Ways to Get Your Website Working Hard - So You Don't Have To" CrackerjackOnlineMarketing.com

Email Marketing - Connecting With Your Subscribers

By Lisa Preston, creator of Insider Secrets to Follow Up Marketing Fortunes

Just having a list of subscribers in a lucrative niche doesn't mean you're making money! It's a great start, but there's more to email marketing than just uploading a few messages in the old autoresponder.

You have to connect with the subscriber's mind by making him feel that you're just a regular person like he is, and that you understand his frustrations and are really anxious to serve him. You want the best for him.

You don't need to be a born salesman to do this. Everyone can treat a customer kindly and with a cheerful, helpful manner.

You want to leave a pleasant taste in the subscriber's mouth, pleasant pictures in his memory of the way you treated him, so that he'll be certain to open your emails in the future.

Here's the really good news -everyone can cultivate this kind of salesmanship! Learn how in the article Email Marketing - Connecting With your Subscribers by email marketing expert Lisa Preston

Article Writing Secrets - A Simple 4 Step Formula for Rapid Article Writing

Jeff Herring, Our official Article Marketing Expert says:

Article writing is a volume game - the more articles you write, the more all your other important numbers will increase.

But how do you write lots of articles, write them fast, and still make sure they are good quality articles.

Read Jeff's entire article Article Writing Secrets - A Simple 4 Step Formula for Rapid Article Writing

What Football Has to Do with Your Business

Michele PW, Our official Advertising Expert says:

Recently Brett Favre, the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, broke the all-time NFL touchdown record. As a fan of football and Green Bay (I grew up in Wisconsin) I've had the opportunity to watch Favre over the years, and I also realized how his career provides some valuable business-building lessons.

Read Michele's entire article What Football Has to Do with Your Business

How To Create Your Own Online ATM with AutoResponders

Brian Rooney, Our official Autoresponders Expert says:

Over the years, I've started referring to my AutoResponders as my "Little Online ATM's".

Why? Every time I send an offer to my lists, cash starts coming in!

Read Brian's entire article How To Create Your Own Online ATM with AutoResponders

Need help selling a house?

Are you thinking about selling or trying to sell a house?  If you are, then it's probably consuming your days ... making it difficult to focus on your work, much less crank out any "ideas" to market or articles to write. If you feel like your life is being held hostage until your house sells, then I have something for you. And if you're not selling a house, but you know someone who is, this may be something you'll want to send along to them...

My friend Nancy Spivey grew up in the house (real estate) business.  Today, she not only invests in real estate but also helps others with real estate as a speaker, author, professional coach, and host of Real Estate Reality Radio. You'll recognize her as the official real estate investing expert on IdeaMarketers.com. 

Through her own experience and from working with numerous others on their strategies to get houses sold, you could say she knows a thing or two about how to help you sell your house – even in today’s market.  Nancy has created an amazing Ebook to teach you how to do just that: Sell Your House N.O.W!  Even in a Tight Market!  

I've been working with Nancy for a couple years and she really knows her stuff when it comes to real estate. Not only that, but she's a woman of integrity who tells-it-like-it-is without all the hype or nonsense so prevalent in her field. So if your house is holding your life and your business hostage, there are options. Find out what they are at Sell Your House N.O.W!  Even in a Tight Market.