Pursuing Copyright Infringers
January 28, 2005 - by Scottie Claiborne - There was a time when I thought imitation was the sincerest form of flattery. But when it comes to copyright violations, it's not flattering at all. It's theft and it needs to be pursued. Why bother? After all, isn't your time better spent doing things to improve your site, moving forward instead of chasing deadbeats around? For the most part that's true, but copyright infringement on the Internet can impact your site in search engine rankings. Most of the search engines try to weed out duplicate content (but they aren't very good at it yet) and at the very least, display the most important version of the duplicate content first. The "most important" version might not be yours!
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Copywriting Makeover: Know Where Your Customers Are In The Buying Process, Part 2 of 2
January 27, 2005 - by Karon Thackston - In part one of this article series, I introduced a client of mine (AEwebworks) who suffered from some copywriting traumas. The basic diagnosis was a lack of synergy within the copy, ineffective use of testimonials, a lack of focus on the target customer’s buying process, and the inability of the current copy to support the search engine goals of AEwebworks.
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The 7 Commandments of Marketing
January 26, 2005 - by Michele Schermerhorn - Marketing is the key to success with any business, online or traditional. You can have a website or business location. You can have a great product. However, if no one has heard about your business or your product, you have nothing! Marketing is everything you do to promote yourself and your business. Without an aggressive marketing effort, your website is just one of eight billion listed on Google. Without an aggressive marketing effort, your store better have a location next to Walmart and hope for their overflow. How do you stand out from the crowd? There are seven (let’s call them) commandments for your marketing efforts. Keep these in mind and you are well on your way to creating an effective marketing machine. Remember, there is only one way to score the effectiveness of your marketing efforts – sales!
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How to Have a Successful Jewelry Business
January 25, 2005 - by Rena Klingenberg - I've always loved earrings, and this love has turned into my dream career. For your own jewelry business success, I encourage you to follow your artistic heart and think with your business brain. I recommend that you study jewelry trends and styles, learn everything you can about jewelry making materials, set up your business recordkeeping so that you stay organized, and concentrate on providing solutions to your customers' problems. Don't try to make all jewelry for all people; focus on your own style or niche and build a client base.
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More Than Just a Random Drawing
January 19, 2005 - by Susan Erler - Many Web sites have sweepstakes on them to attract more visitors. Typically, they are random drawing sweepstakes in which visitors enter their names and addresses into a form, the Webmaster collects all the entries, and then the Webmaster performs a random drawing to choose the winner. What are some options if you want a sweepstakes or contest promotion on your Web site, but you want to be able to offer your visitors more fun and excitement than just entering their names and addresses into a form?
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SEO Copywriting Makeover: Good Rankings but No Sales Part 1 of 2
January 18, 2005 - by Karon Thackston - It's been a myth for as long as the Internet has been in existence. Get good rankings and your site will be successful. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that has never been the case. What you get when you achieve good search engine rankings is a lot of traffic. That *can* be a wonderful thing, but it by no means guarantees even one sale.
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What Do Your Customers Really Want? Ask Your Competition
January 14, 2005 - by Karon Thackston - It’s not always an easy task. Sometimes discovering what your customers really want is like pulling teeth. It is imperative for any business owner who hopes to develop new products/services or to write effective advertising copy to know what is important to his customers. But when direct questions don’t deliver the results you need, what’s the next step?
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Sweepstakes Promotion Checklist
January 13, 2005 - by Susan Erler - As with any other highly visible promotion, sponsoring a sweepstakes requires thorough planning and attention to detail. This checklist will help you understand what bases need to be covered in order to create an effective and efficient online sweepstakes or contest promotion.
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How to Sell Your Products Without Competition
January 12, 2005 - by Rena Klingenberg - Selling your products at shows can be difficult when you have a lot of competition. Although some show organizers are careful to have a good mix of vendors, it's not uncommon for other shows to have 20% or more of the booths filled with vendors in the same niche - which is a buyer's market and a seller's disappointing show. Here are some suggestions for shows where you can find eager buyers for your products and likely no other competing vendors.
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How to Sponsor an Online Sweepstakes: Have You Planned Your Promotion Carefully
January 05, 2005 - By Susan Erler - With the overwhelming number of new Web sites being added to the Internet on a daily basis, how do you distinguish yours from the rest? More and more companies are using sweepstakes promotions as a way to attract people to their Web sites. Holding a legitimate sweepstakes is an excellent way to attract attention to your company and its products. It's also a way to reward customer loyalty to your established client base.
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