Visitor Tracking with Hit Tail
By Jack Humphrey
So I’ve been using Hit Tail (A free stats program) for
about 2 weeks now and I have some stats for you.
Hit Tail shows me long tail keyword phrases people are
using to find me. That’s not a huge deal as several
other stats programs do this as well in their own way.
What impresses me about my data coming back from Hit
Tail is that its entire focus is driven by long tail
phrase discovery for your site.
For instance, here are some stats for my site so far:
Top ten keywords are 19.4% of all your search traffic.
Long tail keywords are 80.6% of all your search
traffic. Hit Tail has also collected 143 keyword
phrases so far and makes recommendations of phrases,
based on the entire data set it collects from visits
and where and how they found me, that I should
capitalize on further.
Here is a novel idea for keyword research:
The only way to do proper keyword research for a niche
is to build a site and develop content for it. You can
get initial ideas from regular keyword tools about the
popularity of a topic, but developing a site and
watching real-time phrases being used to hit your site
develops the real keyword list you want to work from.
The keyword list I am developing through my content,
which gets picked up and ranked in the engines the way
it does because I publish on the Authority Site Center
system, is second to none and no one else in the world
has it.
No one can run a program to find out what’s on my list
because it is developed in-house.
Think about that for a moment.
1. You are developing a strong, real-life list of
phrases people actually use to find content in your
market.
2. No one else can ever have the same list if you are
writing original content on various topics in your
niche regularly.
3. While everyone else is using some generic tool like
Overture or Google phrase programs, you are developing
a unique list of phrases you know for a fact people are
really searching on, and that’s people who know exactly
what they want. (People in niches like mine who type in
one or two keywords to find something aren’t serious
enough to convert. They are just playing around and
wasting my bandwidth.)
4. While everyone else works like dogs to optimize for
those generic phrases they are rarely, if ever, going
to rank well for due to fierce competition, you are
simply providing content informed by all the other
searches in your market. Let the amateurs and Fortune
500s duke it out for the more useless phrases in your
market!
Stats tracking has come a long way. With a three-
pronged approach:
1) MyBlogLog.com, 2) HitTail.com, and 3) My log files
(yeah right, like I’m going to link you to THOSE!)
I am able to triangulate and pinpoint data in my market
that relatively few others in my market are able or
willing to find.
It makes my content better for you and it makes it
easier for you to find me because the engines find me
more relevant than millions of other sites and pages on
my search terms more often than not. When you know the
things I know about my visitors, the engines, and the
ways I can improve and create rankings out of thin air,
you will be a powerful publisher to watch out for in
your market for sure!
—About Jack Humphrey—
Jack Humphrey is the editor of the Friday Traffic
Report. He teaches blog marketing, social marketing,
and link building strategies. Stop by and subscribe to
his blog at
http://www.jackhumphrey.com
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
The Secrets To Using Multiple Marketing Strategies For Multiple Streams Of Income!
By Liz Tomey
When most people start looking for a way to make money online, they settle on promoting just one product or service. By doing this, they are committing financial suicide. You should never put all your eggs in one basket when looking for a way to make money online.
Let’s take a fictitious example of what could happen if you do this. We’ll call this example, the “Jane Example”.
Jane is new to the world of online marketing. She’s read a lot of ebook, articles, and other resources about all the ways she can make money online. All Jane wants to do is replace her current income of $2000 a month with an income of $2000 a month that she make totally from the Internet.
She’s decided that she wants to promote a product as an affiliate for an online website selling an ebook on dog training, and she’ll be promoting this ebook via an easy to setup blog.
After Jane gets her blog all setup and begins promoting this product she sees that she is doing well with this product, and as a few months pass by, Jane is making around $2000 a month. For several months Jane is able to consistently make an average of $2000 a month, and can now quit her job because she has successfully replaced the income from her “real job”.
All sounds great for Jane, right? Well now a couple of more months have gone by and Jane is enjoying her online income and not having to work at her old “real job”. While checking her email one day, Jane gets an email from the website selling the dog training ebook telling her that the site will be closing, and that all affiliates need to remove their affiliates links because they will no longer work. Jane just lost her $2000 a month income, and since she quit her “real job”, she has no income at all now.
Jane committed financial suicide by promoting one product. She had only one strategy to make money online, and now it has all been taken away from here.
What is Jane to do?
Jane has learned her lesson and has decided to do things a little big different, so that she can not only get her $2000 a month income back, but not have to worry about it all being taken away from her in the future. Jane’s new plan is to pick 3 different products she can promote from 3 different blogs. While she’s getting her blogs setup, and waiting for the traffic to start coming in, Jane also decides to create some content sites that she can earn money through Google Adsense with.
A few months later, Jane is now making about $5000 a month from her 3 blogs promoting the 3 products and a couple of content sites that she’s making money through Google Adsense with. Jane is making even more money than before by adding more strategies to her plan, and if she loses one of them, she’ll still have money coming in while she replaces the lost one with a new one.
So, what have we learned from the “Jane Example”?
In order to survive online, you have to put multiple marketing strategies into place that will bring you in multiple sources of income. If you only have one stream of income, it’s too easy to lose it and have no income at all coming in.
Maybe you want to build content sites and make money with Google Adsense. There is one marketing strategy.
Maybe you want to promote products as an affiliate marketer. There is another marketing strategy.
Maybe you want to provide a service. There is another marketing strategy.
Maybe you want to sell your own ebooks. There is another marketing strategy.
The list could go on and on, but you get the idea here. The more marketing strategies you have, the more money you will make and the less likely you will be to ever lose your entire income. Don’t become a “Jane Example”. Site down today, and create a plan to secure your online income by implementing multiple marketing strategies.
Liz Tomey is a successful Internet marketer who has produced several amazing products about creating an income online. If you’d like to get started with an internet marketing strategy, just visit http://www.UndergroundMarketingStrategy.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Liz_Tomey
Narrow Your Focus to Broaden Your Sales
By Michel Fortin
In the competitive marketplace of the new millennium,
the demand for specialized products or services will
increase. If your site sells everything or to everyone,
chances are that your audience will not perceive any
greater value in shopping from you than anyone else.
The more generic you become, the greater your
competition will be, since you’ve placed your offering
in the same ring as the Wal-Marts, Targets and eBays of
the world.
In other words, cast a wider net, and the likelihood
that more competitors who are trying to go after the
same “fish” will occupy the same marketspace.
Unless you are trying to be another Wal-Mart, there’s
no use competing with them. The sheer size of such
Goliaths gives them a sizeable competitive advantage —
purchasing power.
That is, they can buy their stock at considerable bulk
discounts, giving them the low price advantage with
which most small businesses cannot compete.
Keep in mind that price is never an issue — what’s
important is the value behind the price.
Price is an arbitrary figure that merely represents the
value of an offering. Here’s an example: you walk to
your local home furnishings store. You ask the sales
clerk, “How much for that washer?” to which he
responds, “$600.” “Wow! That’s a lot of money,” you
exclaim. “The price is way too high for me. I just
cannot afford that.”
This is a typical knee-jerk response.
Moments later, you walk by a car dealership and notice
that favorite new car you’ve been itching to buy for
the last month and a half. You walk in. “It’s $25,000,”
says the salesperson. “Wow! That’s great!”
You drive it off the lot that same day.
If you could not afford the $600 washer, why could you
afford the $25,000 car? So, price is never an issue. In
the case of the car, the perceived value matched or
surpassed the price, which wasn’t the case with the
washer — i.e., the washer was too pricey based on its
perceived value.
Therefore, if your value is perceived as equal to that
of others, naturally the cheapest alternative will win.
Price is only a metric — a currency to which most
people can relate.
Take the weather, for example. When you meet someone
for the first time, the weather will likely be a topic
of discussion. In terms of degrees or temperature, the
weather is the same for everyone. But “hot” and “cold,”
however, are different.
Similarly, price is only used when there’s nothing to
which one can compare your value. (Of course, price is
not the only metric, but it is the most common one.
Most people easily understand units of dollars rather
than value. Value is more subjective and personal. It
cannot be measured.)
Therefore, if you’re too similar to your competition,
price will always then be (or become) an issue.
However, the more unique you are, the less competition
you will have. And the less competition you will have,
the less substitutable you are (or your product is).
And the less substitutable you are, the less elastic
the demand for your product will be (i.e., the less
important price becomes, in this case).
So, if you try to copy your competition, or trying to
promote your offering as one that’s better than your
competition, like it or not you’re only reminding
people of that which you are better: your competition!
It’s better to be different than it is to be better.
Being all things to all people will likely help you to
stumble onto some people who will visit your site and
respond to your offer — it’s the law of averages.
Increase your hits and you will increase your sales.
But that’s not the problem. The problem, with such an
approach, is the fact that you must generate a large
quantity of hits in order to produce a certain result.
It is absolutely true that, if you want a lot of hits,
you want your site (or access to it) to be in front of
as many eyeballs as possible. But what about quality?
Would it matter if your site generates an incredible
quantity of uninterested visitors that will simply
never buy from you?
Would you prefer less than 1% of 10,000 visitors? Or
10% of 500?
For those who wish to find more effective and cost-
efficient ways of selling online, then attracting a
higher quality stream of website visitors — that is,
attracting interested, pre-qualified visitors that are
genuinely interested in the website’s offer and ready
to buy — is definitely a better alternative.
The more general or broad you are, the more you will
need to paint your website or content with broad
brushstrokes in order to appeal to everyone. In the
end, the traffic you do generate will be just as
general or broad.
Even if your product is a perfect fit for some
visitors, it will only be a fit for a small percentage.
Additionally, the broad nature of your offer and the
image you project will likely convey that your value is
equal to that of others and that there’s no added value
in buying from you than in buying from others.
This is when price becomes the metric with which people
will measure your value.
Additionally, out of the small handful of qualified
prospects that hopefully hit your site, a large number
of them — if not all of them — will likely leave due to
your apparent lack of understanding of their specific
needs, goals and concerns. In short, the more general
you are, the more you are compared to others and
therefore the more you dilute your value.
In other words, the more general you are, the less
value you have.
However, the sales you generate will increase
dramatically if your site is narrowly centered on a
specific theme, product, audience or outcome. And niche
marketing has an added benefit: the need to produce a
sufficient quantity of visitors to produce similar
results will lessen considerably.
Offline, being everything to everyone is understandable
to a certain degree since, geographically, a niche will
likely be small. Online, however, niche marketing can
work since a market will expand, even if it is a small
niche.
But it’s a double-edged sword.
Since the web increases your target market, it also
increases the competition as a byproduct. Again, cast a
wider net, and the likelihood that your net will fall
into someone else’s waters will be higher.
Offline, location is important. And a competitor next
door can be your biggest headache. But online,
thousands of competitors have instantly become your
neighbors.
Thus, niche marketing is even more important online
since, by narrowing your focus, you both increase your
niche AND decrease your competition!
Here’s an illustration: let’s say that your best client
is the corporate executive earning $50,000 annually or
more, and that your site receives approximately 200,000
hits per month.
If your site’s message aims for the public at large,
you have a problem. There will only be a small
percentage of that ideal market (i.e., corporate execs
earning $50,000) that will hit your site. (And an even
smaller percentage will genuinely be qualified for, and
interested in, your offering).
For the sake of example, let’s say that this percentage
is around 0.1%. That means that, out of 200,000 monthly
visitors, only 200 will fit your perfect customer
profile (and that’s a very optimistic figure).
Since your site is too general or too vague, an even
smaller percentage of those 200 executives — let’s say
about 0.5% — will be truly interested in your offer
and eventually buy. In this case, 0.5% (of 200
qualified visitors) would equal to a mere client for
an entire month.
(Following me so far?)
Looking at it in reverse it means that, if you want to
achieve at least a single sale per month from this
ideal market, your site will thus require at least
200,000 visitors on a monthly basis. So, based on the
law of averages your marketing efforts will need to
multiply exponentially in order to create a high enough
quantity of traffic to yield acceptable results.
Now, take the example of another website dedicated
exclusively to corporate executives earning over
$50,000.
However, this site receives a meager 5,000 visitors per
month — admittedly, it’s not a lot, especially when
compared to the other. But in this case, the percentage
of those 5,000 that fall into that site’s target market
will be 100% — if my math is correct, that’s a 10,000%
improvement.
Furthermore, the percentage of interested leads that
are in a much better position to buy will be far higher
by virtue of the fact that the site centers on their
specific needs, goals and concerns. The perceived value
of the site, in other words, will be greater in the
mind of those specific prospects.
To be conservative, let’s say that this percentage is
only 5%. It means that out of 5,000 visitors per month,
one can achieve 250 sales — that’s 249 more sales than
the other (and, on top of that, with only a quarter of
the traffic).
But let’s be a little more conservative for a moment.
Let’s say that only 1% buys. It’s still a remarkable
400% improvement over the other, as 1% of 5,000
visitors equals to 5 sales per month (4 more than the
other).
Of course, the above example is when all things
considered are equal — I agree that there are many
variables, here. But the spirit of this illustration is
clear: it took an equal if not lesser investment of
time, effort and money to achieve 250 sales per month
than it did to achieve a single one.
So, there is much truth to the statement that you will
get more with less. And online, where there is so much
more of nothing, less is indeed more.
Therefore, the paradox is true on the Internet: by
narrowing your focus, you will likely broaden your
chances of online success.
Although most business owners are aware of clear,
target marketing strategies to achieve results that
could be far more effective and cost-efficient, the
ideology remains: to be successful one must be
everywhere. That statement may be true to some degree
and should not be discounted…
… But it is far better to be everywhere that matters.
In other words, your message should appear in front of
those people who will likely read your ad and take
action. If you promote your online business in places
in which your target market is likely to congregate, it
is fair to admit that your immediate costs will likely
be higher.
Targeted marketing is not cheap. However, the bottom-
line is the fact that your visitor value will increase
substantially as a result. That’s more important.
In essence, it will certainly be cheaper for you to
spend the money in these targeted areas than it would
be in trying to find those ideal clients any other way.
Remember that your goal should be to attract people to
your site who have a genuine interest in what you have
to offer. Targeting as many people as possible
particularly with a message that appeals to only a
portion of them may produce a fair amount of hits. But
it will mostly consist of people who will never be your
clients anyway — you will attract the curious and not
the serious.
With all things being equivalent, if your ad appears on
a site that caters to your ideal market, you may get
less hits but you will certainly get more sales.
Nevertheless, combining targeted and niche-based
marketing strategies can make substantial improvements
over general, non-focused marketing. By lessening your
market as well as the market to which you advertise,
you will proportionately increase your sales.
Jim Banks started selling carpets online in 1998. He
admits that, at the time, he knew nothing about it.
Says Banks: “I thought that it would be a non-
competitive market (’who would want to sell carpet
online?’ I asked myself) and it would allow me to learn
about this whole new Internet thing.”
But at first, Jim floundered.
“I showed carpet on the website, sent out samples, and
used a wholesaler in Georgia to deliver the goods. I
made some money, but it was a lot of hard work. In
fact, a lot of hand-holding of customers was required,
and my time was a limiting factor in how much money I
could make.”
But then, Jim had an idea. He adds:
“I had read one or two of your articles at the time
where you stressed the importance of niche marketing.
And after thinking about that, and applying it to my
industry, I came up with the idea of selling carpets
and area rugs with children’s designs (e.g., animals,
letters, game boards, etc). Today, things are going
very well!”
(By the way, see Jim’s site at KidCarpet.com.)
In conclusion, here’s my advice: if you’re looking at
starting a business online, first find a niche and fill
it. But if you already are doing business online, then
narrow your focus to a specific outcome, audience or
product.
And finally, if you do sell everything to everyone
already, I suggest breaking your business down by
developing several sites, which sell the same things
but targeted towards different segments of your market.
Don’t be the best. Be the first. As Earl Nightingale
once said, “Don’t copy. Create!”
In other words, don’t duplicate. Differentiate.
— About the Author —
Michel Fortin is a direct
response copywriter, marketing strategy consultant, and
instrumental in some of the most lucrative online
businesses and wildly successful marketing campaigns to
ever hit the web. For more articles like this one,
please visit his blog at http://www.michelfortin.com/
and subscribe to his RSS feed.
——————————————
What’s In Your Marketing Arsenal?
By Liz Tomey
This should be a question that everyone asks himself or herself. What is in my marketing arsenal? Let’s first talk about what a marketing arsenal is.
An arsenal as defined by http://www.nps.gov/prsf/history/glossary.htm is a building or establishment for manufacturing, storing, repairing, and issuing arms and ammunition.
A marketing arsenal defined by me is a “database” that includes all of my techniques and tactics for making money online.
My marketing arsenal isn’t technically a “database”. It’s a folder on my computer labeled “Marketing Arsenal”. Inside this arsenal, I have other folders with different labels like:
List Building Traffic Generation Adsense Revenue Niche Research Product Creation
… and a few other ones. Inside each of these folders are step-by-step plans, techniques, resources, and the like that help me to make money online.
For instance in my List Building folder of my Marketing Arsenal, I have templates that I have used to build successful landing pages, plans to help me create these sites for maximum subscriber conversions, a few ebooks that I refer back to on list building over and over again, and a few other things.
Now every time I want to build a new list, tweak an existing list so that I can get more subscribers, I open up my Marketing Arsenal go into my List Building folder and everything I need to know and use is right there at my finger tips.
So, that’s why you need to ask yourself. What’s in my marketing arsenal? If you said I don’t have one, it’s time for you to get started on building one. All you have to do is create a new folder on your computer somewhere and name it “Marketing Arsenal”.
Now what is it that you want to do? Let’s say it’s get traffic to a brand new site you have created. Then inside your marketing arsenal folder create a new folder called “Traffic Generation”.
Now open up your word processing program and create a new document and save it as TrafficPlan inside this folder. Right out a plan of action and save it again. Don’t know where to start? Then it’s time for you to start researching. Read articles, ebooks, blogs or whatever it takes to start finding ways you can drive traffic. Record all your findings in your TrafficPlan document.
While you’re researching if you find resources on getting traffic that you want to refer back to, just save them to your Traffic Generation folder.
Once you’ve done all your research, it’s time to take action. Start with the first technique. Use it. Does it work? How well did it work? Record all of this in your TrafficPlan document.
Overtime you will be an out of this world Marketing Arsenal that will allow you to do anything and everything you want! I wouldn’t take a million dollars for my marketing arsenal because it has the potential to make me millions of dollars, and with time and focus you could have a million dollar marketing arsenal too!
Liz Tomey is a successful Internet marketer who has produced several amazing products about creating an income online. If you’d like to get started with an internet marketing strategy, visit http://www.UndergroundMarketingStrategy.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Liz_Tomey
10 Mind Blowing Ways To Increase Your Sales
By Larry Dotson
1. Show your prospects how much enthusiasm you have for your product and business. If you’re convincing enough, they will be enthusiastic too.
2. End your sales letter or ad copy with a strong closing. It could be a free bonus, a discount price, a benefit reminder, an ordering deadline, etc.
3. Please your complaining customers. You can refund their money, give them a discount, give them a free gift, solve the problem quickly, etc.
4. Make your customers get excited about your business and they will tell their friends. Give them a free vacation certificate, a coupon, etc.
5. Give your prospects extra confidence so they will order. Use endorsements, testimonials, a strong guarantee or warranty, etc.
6. Build your opt-in list by allowing your visitors to sign up for a free e-zine, ebooks, software, contests, sweepstakes, etc.
7. Give your prospects or customers a breath of fresh air. Don’t be afraid to design your web site and ad copies different from everyone else.
8. Allow your customers to get part of your total offer right after they order. If you have to ship the item, make one of your bonuses available online.
9. Write and submit articles to e-zine publishers or webmasters. If you want it to be published, it should be like an article and not like an ad.
10. Show your prospects that you are an expert, because authority can persuade people to buy. You could publish an article, write an ebook, etc.
About The Author
Over 40,000 Free eBooks & Web Books when you visit: http://www.ldpublishing.com As a bonus, Bob Osgoodby publishes the free weekly “Your Business” Newsletter - visit his web site to subscribe and place a FREE Ad! http://adv-marketing.com/business
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_Dotson
A BRAND NEW [INTERNET] WORLD
By Theresa Cahill
A while back I heard the statistic that every 20
minutes 400 people begin using the internet for the
very first time.
400 people every 20 minutes… wow.
For the veteran marketer beginning to feel like there
are no new frontiers to conquer, this should provide
hope 
Granted, it takes a while for those with the
inclination to explore the possibilities of making a
living online to find our little niche on the net.
And for those of us who’ve been around for a while, it
may seem like we’ve talked to every potential
customer, client, and interested party.
But… 400 new people every 20 minutes…!
So it’s safe to assume… nothing.
For example, this morning my brother-in-law called
from Texas. Though not heavy internet users, he and
his wife have pre-existing experience on the net and
using email. My basic assumption was since they
already were using the net and their email, there
wasn’t a lot I could tell them.
I was wrong.
Recently they decided (rightly) that to do business
online they needed to get rid of their old dial-up and
switch to high-speed access (in their case, DSL). This
much-needed switch now allows them to talk on the
phone and walk perspective clients through the signup
process - in the moment. Very basic, very necessary.
They received their new isp’s information by mail, and
proceeded to follow what they thought would get them
up and rolling with their email. Unfortunately, this
wasn’t the case. What one reads and what one does can
most certainly be two different animals.
Thinking everything was set up correctly, and still not
being able to get their email, they assumed it was a
problem on their “old” end - the dial-up service. Yet,
they are surfing with their DSL, so in essence that
cannot be the problem (though making sure one isn’t
still being billed by the old company most definitely
requires follow up).
So we took a look via telephone conversation at their
outlook express account. Boy, what a mess - either the
directions they received were written totally wrong or
(much more likely) they did not understand or follow
said directions “to the T.”
After a bit of screen-by-screen, line-by-line input,
voila! outlook express stopped sending “wrong!”
alerts and seemed ready to use. However, when I sent
them a test email, within seconds I received a
nondeliverable message. The message stated,
“Username unknown.”
This, of course, indicates that their new isp hadn’t a
clue that suchnsuch@suchnsuch.net even existed. When I
last left them - going as far as I could over the
phone - they were going to place a phone call to their
new isp to get the information to gain access to the
isp’s member/client area. Inside there, one must first
create the email account in order to use the email
name to receive and send. Basic to most? Sure, but
again, not so basic to them.
The purpose to my not-so-short story? Never assume
anything!
I’ve two fre.e reports circulating that explain the
basics of both computer use (some not all) and ezine
a.dvertising. When I first put them together I
thought, “Geez, I hope people don’t think that…”
(fill in anything you’d like at this point, but be
kind please, *smile!*). I worried that I might insult
someone by leading them step-by-step through what I
perceived as “simple as pie” usage.
But it’s just not the case. These reports are
downloaded almost every day by those who need help.
From a marketing viewpoint?
Never assume when you make a contact or send
information or follow up on a lead that the person on
the receiving end has the computer and internet
knowledge sufficient TO follow up on your advice,
help, guidance. And, from their side of the fence,
not knowing means just that… they won’t and don’t
know enough to even be able to TELL YOU that they
don’t know.
It is your responsibility to “feel them out.” Ask
questions to assure yourself that they do in fact
have enough internet, marketing, and/or computer
savvy to take your program, product, or service and
run with it.
Ask them pointblank questions like, “Can you? Do you?
Will you?”
Honestly, it’s the little things that fall through the
cracks. Stuff as basic (to some of us) as email and
not-so-basic like research and marketing can be a full
and as-yet-unexplored plate for your lead. Just copying
and pasting one of your ads may be too big a task for
your brand new affiliate. Never assume!
Put your service, product, or program in their hands
and not follow up, and you’re sure to have one
frustrated, unhappy, and soon to quit individual.
And vice versa of course! Help them to be able to help
themselves and you’ve not only gained a friend for
life, but have ensured that - with work - they, too,
become marketing pros
======================================
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Theresa Cahill is the owner of
http://www.mywizardads.com and invites you to take a
look at the services of MWA and download fr.ee helpful
information and more at
http://www.mywizardads.com/sitemap.html
Do You Market To These Emotions Online?
By Daniel Levis
What can Mother Theresa and Charles Schwab teach you about marketing online.
Certainly these two historical figures saw two vastly different worlds in their lifetimes. Mother Theresa spent hers with the poorest of the poor, while Charles Schwab spent his with the richest of the rich.
But look at these two famous quotes.
“There is more hunger in this world for love and appreciation than for bread” Mother Teresa
“I have yet to find a man, however exalted his station, who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism.” Charles Schwab
Do you see the underlying thread?
Regardless of who you are selling to, from one end of the social spectrum to the other, and everywhere in between, human beings are looking for appreciation, and approval, above all else.
Show your customers how the use of your product yields a sense of importance, and recognition, or how it helps them avoid embarrassment and indifference, and you will make many more sales than if you simply describe the qualities of your product.
But it takes a certain kind of selling to pull this off.
While your advertising can speak directly about the features of your product, and explain what those features do for your customer, it is much more difficult to transfer emotional meaning with the same directness.
Yet it is the emotions that trigger desire in the buyer. As an advertiser, it is your job to bring those desires that already exist in the buyers mind to the fore. To stir them to life, so to speak. And the best way to do that is through indirection.
By wrapping your sales message up in a story, you give your prospect permission to imagine. You’re not telling them how they should feel. They instinctively project themselves into the tale. They can’t help themselves. It’s what we all learnt to do as little children.
Remember this. Without imagination, there is no desire, and without desire, there is no action.
When someone comes to your website and reads your copy, do they see themselves using your product? Do they see themselves living the results of using it? Even more importantly, do they see others approving of them, and appreciating them for having done so?
That may sound like a strange way of thinking about a product, but let me give you an example of what I’m talking about.
Let’s say you’re selling a diet plan. How do you use indirection and storytelling to trigger your prospect’s desire for it?
You might talk to your overweight potential client like this… —————————————————————————————- Imagine yourself walking briskly along a hot, sandy, sun drenched beach. An azure haze hangs over the skyline as the warm wind caresses your bare skin.
As you stride confidently to your favorite spot, your breathing is normal, and your body relaxed. You smile to yourself, knowing you could walk for miles like this without becoming fatigued.
The beach is busy, and as you glance around you catch the eye of someone of the opposite sex. They smile at you, and you smile back. You walk assuredly into the water, and swim a couple of hundred yards out and back with ease. Lying back on your towel you can’t help but think…
‘Life Has Never Been So Good’
OK, now stop dreaming, and answer this question. Did you have a little trouble seeing yourself in that picture? If so, then take heart.
A slim, sexy figure and abundant self-esteem can now be yours, thanks to the amazingly simple and easy to follow…
——————————————————————————————
Do you see how indirection works? You don’t have to come right out and tell your potential client people will appreciate them, and approve of them as a result of what your product can do. You don’t have to tell them they’ll no longer feel embarrassed by their weight in social situations.
The story does it for you. Now you’ve got their undivided attention, and a real chance to prove your product is unique and that it works.
Copyright 2005 Daniel Levis
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Daniel Levis is a top marketing consultant & direct response copywriter based in Toronto Canada. Recently, Daniel & world-renowned publicist & copywriter Joe Vitale teamed up to co author “Million Dollar Online Advertising Strategies – From The Greatest Letter Writer Of The 20th Century!â€, a tribute to the late, great Robert Collier. Let the legendary Robert Collier show you how to write words that sell…Visit the below site & get 3 FREE Chapters! http://www.Advertising-Online-Strategies.com/ad-strategies.html Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daniel_Levis |
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