2. Direct mail: Direct mail is still one of the cheapest ways of getting your
message out to a large audience. The cost of a well presented direct mail piece is
easily justifiable given the almost guaranteed results if you target your audience
correctly. Make sure you copy is done by a professional direct mail copywriter –
spend the money for a one page letter. Most people think they can write good
copy but most cannot – even people who draft marketing copy frequently do not
know how to write good direct marketing copy.

3. Chamber of Commerce membership: Joining a chamber introduces you to
other businesses and other businesses to your talents. An advertising listing is
often included in most chamber memberships and a majority of businesses
belong to local chambers. Do not assume that because you are small a chamber
can not help you or has no role for you to play. Offer to do a class on web design.
Connect with other IT professionals.

4. Rotary Membership: Rotaries are good places to meet business leaders and
introduce yourself and your company to the local economy. Also, because
rotaries focus on issues affecting the business community, you will get a good
idea of how the local economy succeeds and what it is facing. Involving yourself
in a rotary also says a lot about you as a community member. Remember that
most successful businesses start local and “go global” after they have established
themselves as viable.

5. The Moose, Eagles and Elks: Local social organizations serve as good ways
to make connections, enjoy socializing with the local community and do a lot of
charity work. Do not under-estimate the reach of these types of organizations.
By spending time getting to know your community or establishing yourself as a
viable professional, you also help your business. These groups are great “social”
opportunities, but familiarity in this case can help you get started or build your
business.

6. Join a community organization: Apart from the different clubs you can join,
many communities have “community action” groups that are always in need of

7. Sponsor a local youth sports team or league: Depending on how much
you want to spend, your advertising exposure will vary. Sponsor a team and you
can get your name on a program every time they play. Sponsor the end of year
tournament and you might get a billboard at the local little league park. Most
importantly, sponsoring a local team gets you access to your local community and
just about every parent present works somewhere.

8. Sponsor a local theater group: Many cities and towns have local theater
groups that perform throughout the year. They are often volunteer supported
and the actors are amateurs. By helping to sponsor these groups you open your
company up to a very artistic environment. You will also have your company
listed in a brochure or sometimes even mentioned at the beginning or ending of a
show depending on the category of your donation.

9. Sponsor a school program: Most schools are always looking for local talent
to visit, have help in teaching or to run instructional workshops for students.
Often, just volunteering will create a “buzz” among faculty. By doing this two or
three times a year, you give back to your community. Additionally, your
participation will be discussed at home by students.

10. Teach a class at a community college: If you possess a higher education
degree, many community or technical colleges are looking for instructors at a
part time level. This is because these jobs typically are held at night and do not
pay all that well. If you can invest one or two nights per week in these types of
classes, however, they are a great way to get your name out there. Most of the
students will be adults and work in some sort of business so you are opening
doors as you teach. You also are building your own resume to offer to other
clients.

One reason is simply uniqueness.  Search engines love unique, original content and so do your potential customers.  Your site’s design is part of that originality so why would you risk using a website template that has been sold over and over again?  The last impression that you want to give prospective clients is that you are ordinary and run-of-the-mill and that’s exactly how they feel if they’ve seen your design before.

Another reason to avoid using a website template is that the code is usually bloated and contains errors. These extras found in the code provide a “footprint” to the search engines – they can easily see all the sites using that same code.  This can be bad for your site if the other sites using the template are found in “bad neighborhoods” or in questionable industries.  Your site may end up lumped in with those bad sites and be ranked lower than it should be.

The bloated code also makes your website load slower.  Not only does this get annoying to visitors, there is also the possibility of this hurting your rankings, as well.  Google, for one, has gone on the record as saying that a site’s load time will be a factor in future rankings for both results and page rank.

The final reason it is not a wise decision to use a template for your business website is that it will be much harder to get everything exactly the way you want.  As your business evolves and you decide to add new features, it can be very difficult to get the template to cooperate.  If you don’t know the coding yourself, it will cost you a fortune to have someone change that template to suit your new needs.  Most coders would prefer to start from scratch then to try and figure out and work with someone else’s code.

You may think that you are saving money by using a website template but in the end, it is more likely to cost you more than it would have to hire a designer to begin with.  Would you set up a store on Main Street with a prefab storefront or a mobile home?  Of course not – you would want the building built the way you need it to be.  The same thing applies to getting your business online.

A professional website designer will work with you to get a website that will work not only now but as your business grows and needs change.  The website will be unique, created just for you, so visitors will be able to see the difference with your business.  A professionally designed site will make a first impression that cannot be found in any other way – put your best face forward as your build your web presence.

Templates can be a very good option if you want to start a personal website about a hobby or passion that you have. It saves you from having to learn HTML or any of the other coding such as CSS or PHP. However, if you are trying to build a business, then you should never buy a website template. There are a number of reasons to avoid using a template for your business site. One reason is simply uniqueness. Search engines love unique, original content and so do your potential customers. Your site’s design is part of that originality so why would you risk using a website template that has been sold over and over again? The last impression that you want to give prospective clients is that you are ordinary and run-of-the-mill and that’s exactly how they feel if they’ve seen your design before. Another reason to avoid using a website template is that the code is usually bloated and contains errors. These extras found in the code provide a “footprint” to the search engines – they can easily see all the sites using that same code. This can be bad for your site if the other sites using the template are found in “bad neighborhoods” or in questionable industries. Your site may end up lumped in with those bad sites and be ranked lower than it should be. The bloated code also makes your website load slower. Not only does this get annoying to visitors, there is also the possibility of this hurting your rankings, as well. Google, for one, has gone on the record as saying that a site’s load time will be a factor in future rankings for both results and page rank. The final reason it is not a wise decision to use a template for your business website is that it will be much harder to get everything exactly the way you want. As your business evolves and you decide to add new features, it can be very difficult to get the template to cooperate. If you don’t know the coding yourself, it will cost you a fortune to have someone change that template to suit your new needs. Most coders would prefer to start from scratch then to try and figure out and work with someone else’s code. You may think that you are saving money by using a website template but in the end, it is more likely to cost you more than it would have to hire a designer to begin with. Would you set up a store on Main Street with a prefab storefront or a mobile home? Of course not – you would want the building built the way you need it to be. The same thing applies to getting your business online. A professional website designer will work with you to get a website that will work not only now but as your business grows and needs change. The website will be unique, created just for you, so visitors will be able to see the difference with your business. A professionally designed site will make a first impression that cannot be found in any other way – put your best face forward as your build your web presence.

1. Who is your target audience?
2. Are you keeping records so you know the good and bad side of your sales?
3. Is there a real connection between your company and the possible buyer or is it pure isolation driven only by sales?
4. Are you overloading the possible buyer with too much information that leaves them bored with you?
5. Did you even start with a business plan or are you winging it?
6. Are you following a business and marketing plan or are you attempting to wing it, without proper direction you could be going in circles.
7. Is your team going in soft assuming that since it’s online it’s almost “free”? A proper marketing campaign does cost money but it does not need to break your bank either.
8. Customer service, customer service, customer service! Just because you are online does not mean that you cannot give exceptional service as you do offline.
9. What about your website statistics is anyone paying attention to see what works and what does not (views vs. sales)?
10. When is the last time anything on your site was updated? You want to show viewers that you know what you are doing but if they visit a site that looks to have virtual dust on it, they will leave as quickly as they came.

Deciding which is best for your business may be frustrating however it is not as difficult as you would expect. The business category you fall into and whether or not your company is competitive can be a big help in deciding which to use. Most often SEO will work however if your site is already experiencing nice traffic from organic search traffic then you could go with ppc and add some traffic with another keyword that you have not yet saturated.

Consider your short tail or long tail search results as well. If you are ranking with lower results on one or the other then choose the lower ranking method and work on optimizing it as well. If your results do not seem to fair well then you should consider checking the overall composition or design of your website and check to see if you need to update the site at all. Sometimes the flaws we do not see can play a large role in the issues we experience with our websites and what method of marketing will be best for it.

Overall, SEO methods seem to be more popular than PPC methods but that certainly isn’t to say that SEO is best for your website alone. Make your decision wisely, after checking your stats.

Your campaign needs to look as natural as possible. To allow this, set duration of time that you intend to build your links and disperse them into diverse sources such as sites that are similar to yours or that has relevant content such as being within the same niche as your site. Try a search using your chosen keywords and evaluate the results. Choose the top sites that are most relevant to your niche. Most often the top 5-10 sites are considered your priority sites. These are the sites that will benefit your campaign most. Also be sure to check the site’s page rank before adding them to your list of sites.

Remember that quantity comes after quality when it comes to the new methods even though that wasn’t the case in methods used several years ago. In today’s methods it is always better to be able to reach a few highly relevant sites to link with rather than numerous sites with lower quality content or content that is not relevant to your niche. Remember diversity is good; try to choose several different types of sites to link with. Blogs, forums, similar sites, directories etc, are all good choices.

Once you have decided on where to build your links and you have a strategy set out you will be ready to start your link building campaign. Having a strategy in place will help you to deploy and maintain a campaign that will work.

Tips for getting more clicks for less:

• Careful planning can save people a good amount of money. In fact, careless bidding or preparation can cost you a ton extra. Taking the time to fully plan your campaign will save you tons of money and you will have even better results.
• Careful bidding is also essential. Bid on the lower expense highest ranked keyword you chose and watch how others bid to plan for the next campaign.
• Use an ad that is well written and includes your keywords of choice in order to assist your pay per click campaign. Pay careful attention to the keyword density of the ad so that you don’t over use the keywords. This is a careless mistake that could hurt your entire campaign.
• Keyword grouping has shown to have some benefit as well. Choose your similar keywords for grouping and track them to see what your results are.
• Overall optimization of your Quality Score (especially if using Adwords) will drastically reduce your pay per click expense. You will also benefit greatly by simply taking the time to do your research and know what your goals are. Going in blindly is the top mistake that people make.

Do you have the time needed to learn the curves over this vast field? Do you think you can cover all areas that a proper Internet Marketing Company can provide, with the quick time frame they can to it in? Are you even sure you have that time to invest or could you be dedicated your time to more valuable things within your website and company while leaving it to the pro’s?

You might need a way to reach local traffic or even on an international level. Where do you begin and how can you go about doing everything that a professional does on your budget, within a time frame that works best and still see amazing results? Like most you may quickly realize there are certain jobs that not everyone is capable of doing, especially doing it alone. Finding websites that best suit your needs, making sure your work is published for worldwide readers and keeping it within your budget is the reason you hire a pro. While they are doing their job you are able to have your time spent on doing what you do best, running your company and taking care of your clients.

Keywords are your main point to being optimizing your website.  This is the exact phrase that people will type into a search bar.  Your goal will be to be the first site that pops up in the results for the keyword phrases you are targeting.  Once you have determined which keywords to focus on, you need to put them where the search engines are sure to see them.

Your keyword phrase should be in your site’s title, first of all – the closer to the beginning, the better. You will also need to use it throughout the content but don’t go overboard.  Years ago, webmasters were jamming keywords in every other word and that is now frowned on and known as keyword stuffing. The search engines can see through that and your rankings will go down if you try this today.  A good range would be from 1% to 3% keyword density.  In other words, for every 100 words of content, your keyword phrase should be used 1 to 3 times.

Backlinks are a large part of SEO today.  This is when another site links to your site.  Each link is like another vote for the relevance of your site.  Backlinks from related, high authority websites are given more weight in this voting system so that should always be your main focus when obtaining backlinks.

Once you’ve made your decisions, then it is time to have your website designed.  Unless you are experienced, it is highly recommended that you hire a professional designer to create your website.  They will be able to ensure that the site is attractive, easy to navigate and loads quickly. Make sure that your designer is also familiar with search engine optimization as that process begins within your design.

The next step will be to add in your content.  This includes everything that goes on your site including images, audio, video and text.  You want to present a professional image so be sure to proofread everything at least twice before putting it up on site.  Test everything to ensure that it works. You don’t want broken images or videos that won’t play.

Before you reveal your new website to the world, go through it page by page.  Make sure that all the navigation links work properly.  Test all buy buttons, if you have those on your site.  Go through the sales process to make sure that everything goes smoothly with each step of the process.  Be sure to check in several web browsers or use a utility designed for this purpose.  Once you’re sure it’s all good to go, you can be open for business.

1. Site Load Time – If your site is graphic intensive or otherwise slowed down, how many visitors are simply giving up and leaving? Make sure load time is minimal.
2. Clear Navigation – Don’t confuse your visitors. You need to make sure the navigation is a simple and clear as possible.
3. Focus On One Thing – What is it you want your visitor to do? That should be the focus of your page. If you want them to buy something, don’t give them a bunch of other options.
4. Keep Clicks to a Minimum – The more hoops you put in front of your visitor, the lower your conversion rate will be. They should be able to get to the order page within 3 clicks at most.
5. Minimal Information Required – The more information you ask for, the fewer the people who will fill out the form. If your item is downloadable, don’t ask for irrelevant information such as phone number or address.
6. Make Sure It Works – Test every step along the sales process to ensure everything is running smoothly. If the potential customer gets an error, they will rarely return to try again
7. Talk Benefits, Not Features – Your customer wants to know what’s in it for him. Tell him what he will get from the product.
8. Evoke Emotion – People buy from emotions, not logic, unless it’s a necessity. Evoke the right emotions in your reader and they’ll buy.
9. Social Proof – Use testimonials or proof every chance you get.
10. Risk Reversal – One way to accomplish this is a great guarantee.

Once you’ve made the decision on which direction to go in, there is nothing wrong with investing in your education and your business.  You will need to start with investing in at least one domain name and a hosting package to get started.  Another investment that is recommended as early as possible into the game is in an auto responder service.  An email list gives you the ability to keep in touch with your customers and offer them further goods or services.

Once you have the basics, it is possible to start building your new internet marketing business without investing more money.  The key thing to remember is that you will have to invest more time if you don’t invest money.  There is nothing wrong with that, of course, but it is something to keep in mind.

As Trinacle moves into  2010 our foundation is stronger than ever. We have a dedicated team eager to provide our clients with exceptional services and marketing opportunities that will help them grow their businesses. As a member of our extended network we would like to offer you a complimentary consultation on what to look out for in the upcoming year and how we can immediately help you boost your profits.

Please contact me via email or phone to setup a time to discuss your internet marketing plan &  strategies. As always you can reach us on our toll free number anytime at (800) 525-3139. We look forward to continuing to work with you to maximize your online presence.

The biggest advantage of online marketing is that it is cost effective.

The companies can promote their products and services via the internet for very low budgets. Also the information and product is advertised to a global audience which would have otherwise cost a fortune with the regular advertising mediums. A unique feature of internet marketing is also the instant and interactive response to the advertisement. The number of clicks on the ad gives an immediate assessment of the number of people seeing the ad.

For online marketing the creative and technical aspects have to work together to boost sales and promote your product. There are various methods through which companies can market their product online. Some of them are search engine marketing, display advertising, e-mail marketing, affiliate marketing, interactive advertising and blog marketing.

Online marketing boosts sales by:

1. Promoting and selling the product to a global audience
2. It is a One-to-one approach. The user browsing the internet views the marketing advertisements personally. Especially, when the advertisements targeted to specific keywords searched by the user.
3. Online marketers target the audience by their activities. For example display pictures or have blogs.
4. Accuracy of the target response. One of the unique and best features of online marketing is that most aspects of the user’s response can be traced, measured, and tested. Usually a company would use the ‘pay per click’ option or email advertising. It makes it easier to measure the response they get in terms of what is more appealing to the audience. Hence they can alter their products or services accordingly.
5. The advertiser gets the exact number of responses the viewers click. The viewer will be either totally interested in the product of will close the display box. Thus the advertiser gets immediate results.

Overall online marketing is an economic and easy way to advertise your product and services. It targets a much larger audience world wide. This results in growth of sales and decrease in the amount spent on promoting the product or service. Again with facilities to make easy payment online like online banking the user can easily save time and buy the product online and get it delivered to his or her door step. With companies selling more products on discounts and providing free delivery options, more users are likely to buy products.