Email Marketing: 95% rules and 5% creativity

Email Marketing: 95% rules and 5% creativity
Do you hesitate to send email to your subscribers and
customers?

If you're one of the people who worries that your customers
will think you're spamming if you send them email, no
matter HOW useful the information is, I urge you to
reconsider.

The truth is, when you do your email marketing right, not
only is it an excellent source of income for you, but your
subscribers and customers will actually appreciate hearing
from you!

Here are three tried and tested ideas for successful email
promotions:

Damaged or returned stock promotions: Offer damaged or
returned stock for 50% off! Everyone gets returns, it's a
part of doing business. And of course damaged stock is
unavoidable.

Why not take advantage of email to clear out your stock
that's otherwise going to take up space, while at the same
time offering your customers deals that they're sure to
appreciate?

Limited time offer: By offering a great discount on your
products for a limited amount of time, people who receive
the email feel like it's urgent they respond, so there's
less chance they'll close the email to "think about it" and
never come back.

Limited quantity offer: Similar to the limited time offer,
the people who receive this email will also feel a sense of
urgency.

If you go with "limited time or quantity offer" stick with
the offer. If you write in your email that a product is
available for a .... time, stick to it.

Sometimes you see that a product is available till
midnight, 14 days later it's still available till midnight.
Doesn't look right to me.

And those are just a few to get you started. Use your
imagination, and I'm sure you'll come up with all kinds of
things to send your list that they'll really ENJOY having.

Do you panic at the thought of writing your own promotional
email?

Here's something you should know: writing an email is 95%
rules, and only 5% creativity.

So as long as you stick to the rules, you'll write an email
that's suitable for sending to your customers every time!

Hypnotize the reader with compelling benefits: The most
effective email promotions grab readers' attention with
compelling benefits that speak directly to the readers'
deepest desires and greatest fears.

Benefits build the value you need to drive people to act
when presented with your call to action.

Write your email like you were talking to a friend.

Be informal, use contractions, and don't be afraid to start
a sentence with "and" or "but."To transfer ownership, you
want to make sure your reader can actually picture
themselves using your product.

Use automation to create personalized offers: Nothing is
more appealing to people than the 'sound' of their own
names, and nothing grabs someone's attention faster than
something that affects them directly!

We don't recommend you try to get yours subscriber to
purchase directly from your email. Instead, you should ask
them to "click here now to learn more," or something
similar.

How it LOOKS makes a big impact on readers, too. Here is
how to format your email.

Width: Be sure to format your email message in a table that
is not over 60/65 characters wide. If you exceed that, your
message may be cut off on the right side of the screen or,
at the very least, not print properly

Images: Try to avoid using graphics whenever possible.
People with slow connections will have trouble downloading
them, and people reading your message offline won't see
them at all.

Bolding: Use bolding just to emphasize the biggest and best
benefits in the offer. You should be able to scan the
message and instantly understand the biggest benefits

Bullets: Using bulleted points is one of the best ways to
break up your copy and make some of your key points really
stand out. As will all formatting techniques, make sure to
don't swamp your email with bullet points.

Finally, once you've written the letter, give it a final
"scan test." Set it aside for an hour, then return to it
with fresh eyes BUT don't read it word for word. Scan over
the letter and see which sections jump out at you. Make
sure that those sections contain the key benefits.

Stick to these few simple rules, and you'll have no trouble
turning out emails that get a response, because your
customers actually WANT to receive them!

----------------------------------------------------
Bjorn Brands is a successfull enterprenuer who transitioned
from having his own building company to a great online
business. Check out his site and see for yourself at
http://www.moneyacces.com

Targeted Expired Domain Traffic As A Powerful Tool To Success

Targeted Expired Domain Traffic As A Powerful Tool To Success
On an average, more than 20,000 domains get expired
everyday, and this figure is slowly increasing day by day,
as more numbers are starting to expire almost on a regular
basis. The expired domain name market is also becoming a
lucrative proposition to people, who wish to set up a
lucrative online business. Apart from selling expired
domain names, you can also use expired domain traffic,
either to sell it or use it to develop your web site.

There are two ways through which you can use targeted
expired domain traffic to set up a viable business.

* You can purchase an expired domain name and sell it along
with its expired domain traffic to someone, who is looking
for a domain that can provide immediate results.

* You can also register an expired domain name for a year
or so and develop a web site over it, advertise and pool
together targeted traffic.

However, creating targeted expired domain traffic with your
web site takes a long time, involves spending lot of money
and putting in considerable effort. Though selling such a
web site can get you huge profits, there are chances that
you may loose you patience while waiting for the D-Day!

It makes a clear sense to lay your hands on an expired
domain that has a big pool of expired domain traffic
attached to it. Webmasters have the habit of detecting and
pinpointing highly lucrative expired domain traffic out of
a huge list of expiring domains. When you buy an expired
domain with well established expired domain traffic, you
can get several benefits like:

* A top place in many of the well-known search engines and
web directories

* A number of back links that can promote your web site to
others

* An access to many types of promotional and advertising
channels

* Use the existing expired domains with well established
expired domain traffic, as an invaluable sub domain to
further develop the business.

Before buying an expired domain name, make sure that you
check out the name for its targeted traffic. There are
several online software tools that will help you critically
examine an expired domain name to check, whether the domain
in question has accumulated any traffic in its previous
avatar. Once you seek out a good and productive domain, you
can increase your profits without having to spend more
money.

The most common way of obtaining targeted expired domain
traffic is to contact people who have lists of expired
domain names attached with a list of loyal subscribers. By
chance, if the source from where you are intending to buy
expired domain traffic has a large list of subscribers,
then you contact the source, with a request to send an
email to the contacts in the list, giving them valid
reasons and explanations to check out your site and look at
the contents. It is also possible to convert your one-time
expired domain traffic into frequent web site traffic. To
achieve this goal, you may need to ask your site visitors
to sign up for a regular newsletter or an auto-responder
series.

----------------------------------------------------
John Khu is the well-known author of a new e-book titled
"Expired Domain Secret". He is also a seasoned professional
with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is
also the owner of the path breaking web site called
http://www.expireddomainsecret.com which provides complete
and up-to-date information on expired domains and their
eternal secrets.

"Down Real Estate Market opens up online income opportunities!"

"Down Real Estate Market opens up online income opportunities!"
The housing market has hit thousands of realtors right
smack in the wallet. Wall Street says , "The market has
hit bottom, and it may have a sluggish road back to the
appreciation rates of the late 90's and early into the new
millenium, which were 7% to 13%. The thought that is
shining in front of a number of Real Estate Agents across
America today is the thought of obtaining an alternate
stream of income or creating one because it has now turned
into a necessity, instead of a choice, like it was when the
market was thriving. Many ask " What opportunities are out
there to obtain an additional stream of income? " There
are many programs offered out there, but I have found that
are so many, it is very difficult to navigate through all
the mlm scams and schemes. Because there are so many
people out there searching for a business that they can use
their prior marketing skills to promote something for
themselves, I want to offer some advice. Find a program
that is backed by a larger entity. Many MLM companies have
been started by people who may or may not have had much
experience in running a company. But they were able start
up an online business anyway. While there are I'm sure,
many out there that were started that way, and that is
great. But I would say it's safe to say, you are better
off joining a company with a track record. And of course
that goes for the founder or CEO of the company as well. I
have been fortunate enough to have found several companies
that meet this standard.

One way you can tell if a program is professionally run is
by simply looking at the quality of the presentation.
Flash video presentations are the craze right now and that
will only increase of course as the prices for such goodies
on websites is only becoming available at affordable prices
starting late December 2007. This feature on websites does
show that they have put considerable thought behind their
presentation and therefore, it will bring people in, like
you. If you find other programs that look like they were
made in study hall on a laptop, then keep looking.

Taking the time to understand any program and nature of how
it works will take a few good hours of studying their
website, and its back office and support system. Don't be
afraid to ask the sponsor, " How does this stuff possibly
work?" Getting a quick response is essential. If it takes
your sponsor 3 days to get back to your first question, how
will they act in a few months when you have a question and
they already have your money? " I know, I am simply
shocked.

Some of these potential opportunities for agents as well as
others in need of an alternate income stream are proving to
work and are part of a $250 Billion Dollar industry. All
this money being exchanged over computers in living rooms
and home offices across the world. Don't get me wrong,
there is a lot of commitment involved in getting any
program producing. How much? realistically, you are going
to want to set aside at least 3 hours a day especially in
the very beginning simply because you will have several
specific things that you will want to do each day to drive
traffic to your website. And this is where most people
simply fizzle out at this point because they don't know the
5 or 6 things that are so simple, yet crucial to just get
people to see your website. Does this sound familiar
realtors? Yeah, it's not so different from selling houses
or commercial real estate. You have a product that can
make someone's life better, and you want to show it to as
many people as possible. Except there's one big
difference, you don't have to leave the house to get these
things done each day. Does that scare you? It scared me a
little bit to tell you the truth. I really had a hard time
believing I could generate real income from inside my home.
I can assure you, this fear will go away soon after your
first sale online. My first sale made me feel like a
different person. It's hard to imagine until it has
really happened to you. But it will.

I will honestly tell you that if it were not for this next
thing I am going to tell you about, I simply think it would
have been almost impossible for me to get a good start in
an online business. Short of reading piles and piles of
books and spending hundreds of neck-aching hours trying
every offer that comes along to help you, you really have
little chance of knowing what exactly works. I was on that
track. I had read many e-books, and even took a class on
web design. But I still didn't know what I was really
missing. But I was lucky. I found a mentoring team and
found someone who really knows what it takes to market any
business online. The partnership I have with my
instructor/mentor made finding a reputable company to join
and the initial process of setting up a marketing plan very
enjoyable and effective. I almost feel guilty because I
know so many others were just struggling without the
information I was using effortlessly. I want this for my
readers. Don't reinvent the wheel. Learn from a group of
like-minded people. Rest assured there is something you
can get involved in that will produce monthly income and is
manageable out of your home. That is a given. But you need
to find it by sifting through programs that will just
frustrate you and waste your money. Finding a team that
knows what is working is your best bet.

You can use that same real estate mentality, organization
skills, follow up tenacity, and combine that with the
program you choose, treat it like a business and you will
be shocked to see how it is not rocket science getting
people to land on your page. I am as Skeptical as they
come, you may be no different. But I committed and gave it
a true effort to learn the ins and outs of a program and
followed some pretty basic steps anyone can do, and got
some great results. Now I have people visiting my sites
and making purchases. It's that simple. But you have to do
the active work, yes real specific things that will drive
traffic to your site and you will make sales. Please
remember, there is a huge industry that has not capped and
it offers many freedoms. The residual potential is
tremendous! I'm not telling anyone to quit their day job,
instead, spend some time looking for a good company,
promoting good products and services, and ones that are
being stated by people who have a good track record. The
market will come back, someday, until then, try something
not so different! It might make something happen that is
really different!

----------------------------------------------------
Chris Namie
Commercial Property Management & Leasing
Online Maketing - Partnership Leader
(602)799-4099 email: chrisnamie@gmail.com
http://www.sixfigurepartners.com
http://www.bigtickettowealth.com/?id=cnamie

Ebook Review: Mailing Lists Unleashed

Ebook Review: Mailing Lists Unleashed
ABOUT LEE MCINTYRE (AUTHOR OF MAILING LISTS UNLEASHED)

Lee McIntyre is a teacher who has already successfully sold
digital products online in the teaching niche. Although
Lee has only been trading online since 2006 he is a true
success, selling 600+ copies of his first Internet
Marketing ebook, Auction Profits Unleashed, during
pre-launch alone. Since then Lee has launched a number of
successful ebooks, a membership site and an excellent
newsletter.

ABOUT MAILING LISTS UNLEASHED

Inside Mailing Lists Unleashed, Lee McIntyre explains how
to go about building, maintaining and profiting from your
very own email list and illustrates this with stories from
his past experience and insightful screenshots. The topics
Lee covers include;

- Why the traditional model of Affiliate Marketing is
flawed!!

- How to automate your List Building Efforts!! - How to
create a Sizzling Squeeze Page!!

- How to create an Effective Thankyou Page!!

- How to create an Effective Confirmation Page!!

- How to create your very first Newsletter!!

- How to profit from your List!!

After a short introduction, Lee criticises the traditional
model of affiliate marketing. He believes the core advice
is correct but the way people are encouraged to execute it
is poor. Overall, Lee believes that focussing on just
achieving sales is a short-term approach. Focussing on
building a list is (in Lee's eyes) a much better long-term
approach. I agree with what Lee says in this chapter. By
building a list the traffic you generate can be utilised
multiple times and it is a much more efficient system than
sending leads direct to a sales page.

Next, Lee goes on to discuss how to automate your list
building activities. The best way to do this is by taking
advantage of the services of an autoresponder. Lee and
myself both recommend the services of Aweber because of
their brilliant email delivery record. In this chapter,
Lee explains in detail how to use Aweber and set up your
first list. He includes some great nuggets of information
including; how to keep subscribers on your list and how to
effectively brand yourself. Overall, this chapter provides
a great introduction to Aweber, particularly for beginners
looking to start their first list. The screenshots are
really helpful if you are struggling with any areas of the
setup. However, if you are experienced in the use of
Aweber you will probably be able to skip right through this
chapter.

In the third section of Mailing Lists Unleashed the topic
of squeeze pages (pages that are designed to collect the
name and email address of visitors and add them to your
list) is covered. Lee describes how he decides what to
include on his squeeze pages, his 6 golden squeeze page
rules and also provides some squeeze page examples. I
found this section quite useful because it allowed me to
evaluate my own squeeze pages critically. In particular,
Lee's 6 golden squeeze page rules allowed me to check that
I had included all the critical information in my own
squeeze pages.

Next Lee goes on to discuss in greater detail how to add
the web form to your squeeze pages using Aweber. Like the
previous chapter on Aweber the information here is
informative and the screenshots really make it easy to
follow. However, it is aimed more at the beginner who is
doing this for the first time. I cannot fault the
information itself but if you have created a few web forms
in Aweber previously you are unlikely to learn anything new.

Following this Lee goes on to cover thankyou pages. A
thankyou page is the page that subscribers see after they
have entered their details into the web form. If you do not
create a unique thankyou page Aweber will show subscribers
a default page. However, Lee believes that it is
imperative for you to create your own thankyou pages
because it can increase the number of subscribers who
confirm their subscription. He then goes on to explain his
4 thankyou page rules which are in a similar vein to his 6
golden squeeze page rules, and as always includes
screenshots of some of his thankyou pages for illustration.
I found this chapter to be another informative one. It
was not quite as useful as the chapter on squeeze pages but
the 4 thankyou page rules were good nonetheless.

After this Lee goes on to cover confirmation pages. These
are similar to thankyou pages but instead of appearing
immediately after the customer has entered their name and
email address, they appear once the customer has confirmed
their subscription to your list. The chapter is laid out
in a similar way to the previous ones with Lee explaining
how to set up a confirmation page in Aweber, then listing
his 3 confirmation page rules and finally providing some
screenshots for illustration. Although this chapter is
laid out in a similar way to previous ones I feel I learnt
a lot by reading it, because at the time of reading I was
not utilising my confirmation pages effectively. Reading
this chapter brought that fact to my attention and allowed
me to do something about it.

Once you get to this stage of Mailing Lists Unleashed you
should have your automated email list building system in
place (if you have been acting upon the advice as you
read). Subscribers who enter their details on your squeeze
page will be directed to a thankyou page. This thankyou
page will encourage subscribers to confirm their
subscription. If they do this they will then reach the
confirmation page. All this will take place automatically
without you having to lift a finger.

Now that everything is set up Lee goes on to cover the next
stage of the process - creating your first newsletter. Lee
first discusses how his very own Lee McIntyre Newsletter
boasts a very low unsubscribe rate and a very high response
rate because he does things a little differently to many
email marketers. He then goes on to explain how to make
your own newsletter unique by breaking a number of the
established email marketing rules. Lee finishes the
chapter off by detailing how to increase the reach of your
newsletters and also how to make a little money with them
too. Overall, this was one of the most useful chapters for
me. After reading it I found a lot of areas in my
newsletters which required improvement. If I had not read
Mailing Lists Unleashed they would have gone unnoticed.

Next Lee goes on to describe how to distribute your
newsletter with Aweber. As with all the previous chapters
on Aweber, Lee provides plenty of screenshots and lots of
description to ensure that the beginners can follow. The
chapter is very informative but for those who have some
experience with Aweber the knowledge will be of limited use.

Lee heads into the final chapter of Mailing Lists Unleashed
by discussing how to profit from your list by setting up a
few follow up emails (emails that are sent out to
subscribers after a pre-determined interval e.g. followup
email 1 can be sent 3 days after subscription, followup
email 2 can be sent 2 days after that etc). Lee goes into
great detail outlining what he would include in each of
these follow up emails which I personally found very
useful. Overall, this chapter was the one from which I
gained the most. Before reading this chapter I really was
neglecting my followup emails. However, with Lee's
detailed instructions this was easily ammended.

In conclusion I highly recommend Mailing Lists Unleashed to
both beginners and more experienced email marketers. The
screenshots and detailed instructions that Lee provide make
it easy for someone to set up their first email newsletter
as they read. However, the little touches that Lee
recommends to; maintain subscriber loyalty, increase the
amount of money your list makes and make readers more
responsive to you can really help enhance your email list.
The ebook is not without its faults. Lee does not cover
all topics with the same level of detail. In particular,
the subjects of negotiating product discounts and driving
traffic to your squeeze page are only covered briefly.
Nevertheless, if you want to start your own email list but
find yourself lost Mailing Lists Unleashed is a good place
to start.

GOOD POINTS

- Very detailed instructions and informative screenshots
make it easy to implement the ideas as you read. It is
ideal for beginners.

- Lee's unique ideas will make your subscribers a lot more
receptive to your emails.

- If you follow Lee's instructions your email list will be
largely automated once set up.

BAD POINTS

- Certain points, including traffic generation and
negotiating product discounts for your list, are not
discussed in a great level of detail.

HOW I HAVE GAINED FROM MAILING LISTS UNLEASHED

The most significant benefit for me was the section on
followup emails. I really learnt a lot here about what I
was doing wrong and what I needed to do to improve this
situation.

----------------------------------------------------
Tom Parker offers many more free, impartial reviews of
Internet Marketing products just like this one that have
helped him succeed online. You can read all Tom's reviews
and sign up for review updates at
http://www.theebookcavernreviews.co.uk/ .

Generating FREE Leads with Solo Ads

Generating FREE Leads with Solo Ads
Leads are an integral part of your business' success. The
question of how to get them is one that presents itself to
marketers every day. The answer is simpler than you may
think. While there are ways to pay for these leads, there
are methods to get leads completely free of charge.

One of the most powerful methods is the use of solo ads in
Ezines. An Ezine is an online publication that has a
specific focus. The word "Ezine" is a combined form of the
words "electronic" and "magazine". These publications are
sent to a list of subscribers at a regular interval. This
could be every week, two weeks or monthly.

A solo ad is exactly what it says. It is an ad that goes by
email all by itself with nothing attached to it. If you've
ever noticed, in an email ad there are sometimes ads at the
top and bottom of the main ad. A solo ad will NOT have
those, so there is nothing to distract the attention from
your advertisement. Your ad is the only one the receiver
sees. This increases your chance likelihood of a click and
a conversion.

Solo ads can be of varying sizes. The ezine editor will
tell you precisely how the ad should be formatted. Usually
the number of lines and characters per line are the main
concerns. These ads are extremely affordable starting at
about $2 per mailing, but our focus here is on free
methods. So how does this apply to solo ads?

Most Ezines will offer subscribers a "Paid to read" option.
For reading emails sent out you receive a little cash or
points. This can be saved up and used towards a free ad
sent to the entire subscribership. Hence, you get a FREE
solo ad that will be seen by a great number of people that
already have an interest in what you offer.

By putting your opt-in form inside the email, you could
essentially get a couple hundred or more FREE leads. These
leads are not only free, but laser targeted due to the fact
that your ad is probably focused on the theme of the Ezine.
Since we are using a funded proposal, you also stand to
make a little money off of this free ad.

All you need to do is join a few Ezines and take the "paid
to read" option. Then just read some ads. Save up your
points or cash and use it towards the purchase of your ad.
Essentially, this is a free ad since you have earned the
right to send it rather than pay for it outright. Add the
fact that the leads attained are targeted and you are in a
win-win situation. There is no way you can lose here.

The ads you read may also yield something you haven't
thought of before that could enhance what you already do
online. The typical marketer is always on the lookout for
something new that shows promise. So you get to scout the
Internet while earning free ads to thousands of subscribers
AND getting free leads to boot.

What could be better for any business? This is a
win-win-grow scenario for the serious marketer.

----------------------------------------------------
To read my free report "Top 4 Reasons People Fail in Online
Marketing and What you can do to Avoid Failing Yourself" Go
Here =>
http://www.mlmfundedproposalmarketing.com/trk.php?c=9891&u=F
UNDED-04
Jared Heinitz is a full time Affiliate & Network Marketer
living in Provo, UT. He teaches how to use a funded
proposal using free/low cost marketing methods to generate
10-15 leads on a daily basis.

How to Start a Home Based Travel Business

How to Start a Home Based Travel Business
You are probably considering the travel industry as a home
based career choice because travel is fun and always in
demand. If that is the way you think, you are absolutely
right! Travel is always in demand and fun. So to be in this
business you absolutely must have a dominant dose of the
'fun' gene.

Now that you know you have made a good choice, you need to
conduct a little research with your friends and colleagues.
Why? Because all the business development skills, new
computers and extra phone lines for your home based
business will have little value unless you know your market.

During your research, just remember that you are not
selling them anything yet, you are just conducting
research. This research is best conducted before you
actually start your travel business.

Here is research scenario one: Ask a friend what they spend
on vacations.

A friend of mine has five kids and he travels to the same
beach each year with the whole family. So I asked him, "How
much does your resort cost each year?" He did not mind
telling me at all that it was around $3,500 for a one week
stay each year for the resort, plus their travel costs,
which were relatively low since they always drove.

I then told him how his family could stay at a higher
quality luxury resort for $3,500 this year, and for only
$300 to $800 per week each year thereafter, and in a wide
variety of higher quality international resorts. That was a
real eye opener for him.

Now remember, this was research, and for research reasons
alone, the fact that my friend was recently unemployed was
a plus, as I knew that he was not in a position to buy a
membership right now. He had already booked the family
vacation for this year, but was more than glad to know
about my discount luxury resort membership, and that he
could travel during any week of the year, or even several
times each year at the same rate.

My conclusion for this research was that I was in the right
business. Since this conversation put such a big smile on
my friend's face, I knew that I could help dozens of
families with the luxury resort membership that I was
selling from my small computer table and extra telephone
line, my home office.

Here is research scenario two: I went to a timeshare
presentation. I have avoided these for years, because
everyone knows that the high pressure sales techniques of
the timeshare sales force have turned many a No into a Yes.

True to form, those very nice timeshare sales professionals
turned into pit bulls during the course of the
presentation. I went through four managers on account of my
unyielding No, and they even employed the good cop/bad cop
technique on me. Their last offer was substantially better
than the initial offer (from $55,000 down to $14,000), but
there was no getting over the math; timeshare ownership was
a substantially inferior investment when compared to the
timeshare alternative I was selling from my humble home
office.

This was exceptionally valuable information for me. I have
never owned a timeshare, but the condo and maintenance fees
associated with ownership, compounded by blackout weeks,
exchange fees and upgrade charges, really helped me to
understand why so many people I know that love to travel
have negative feelings toward timeshare ownership.
Unfortunately, a lot of them developed this distaste after
their timeshare purchase.

So these two scenarios give you a little more insight into
starting your own travel business. Of course, your research
will be a little different, but you get the idea; ask
questions and talk to people about their travel habits. Go
to places that may enhance your understanding of the travel
industry, such as golf, ski, wilderness or beach resorts,
or maybe even a tour of a cruise ship if that is available.
Count the costs, see what customers see, get educated, and
then start your own home based travel business.

----------------------------------------------------
Antony Mosley runs a home based travel business on a part
time basis. For more information visit:
http://www.YourHomeBasedTravelBusiness.com