Online Marketing Advice

 
 
One of the most important aspects of marketing is writing in an informative and clear way. However it is important to be aware that it can take more then just this to create a successful marketing campaign. If you are serious about making a profit then you will need to know exactly how best to approach this. 

Keep it Relevant and Interesting

It is important that you keep your content to the point and make it interesting. People are often busy and do not want to have to trawl through pages of text or they will quickly lose interest. For this reason you should make sure that you say everything you need to say in a coherent manner without rambling.

Try to engage your readers and make them feel involved in what you have to say. If your content is boring to read then people tend to switch off or worse still, close the page down. If you offer people help and solutions in a motivational and interesting way then they are far more likely to continue reading or contact you. Remember to always think about the consumer! 

Be polite

One sure fire way to alienate your potential customers quickly is to go in with the hard sell. Unfortunately many people make the mistake of believing you need to continuously mention your product or what it is you do to get people interested. However this could not be further from the truth. Often all you will succeed in doing is destroying any trust they may have had in you. After all, if whatever it is you are marketing is really great it will speak for itself with only a little gentle persuasion from you! 

It is also wise to avoid making any claims that are unbelievable since most people will realise this straightaway. As a result you could seriously damage your reputation and many will be put off from coming to you.  Try to understand exactly what it is your target audience are interested in and see what it really is they want to hear and show them how you can meet this. 

Understand the market

It is incredibly important to make sure that you understand the market you are targeting and have assessed the competition. There is no point concentrating your marketing in areas where there will be little or no interest in the first place. 

You should also try to market via as many different mediums as possible. Try using both offline and online methods for maximum exposure! 

Make it Easy to Understand

It is important to make sure that what you are writing is easy to understand otherwise you will alienate yourself from your public. Try to avoid using words that people may not understand, jargon and anything too technical.

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Twitter is one of the many social networking sites available on the internet and is incredibly popular with people from all walks of life. For this reason it gives you the perfect platform to market and develop your business, providing you know how to use it!

What is Twitter?

Simply put Twitter allows you to create instant messages for all to view. These are referred to as Tweets and are limited to 140 characters. The idea is to follow people and for them to follow you so that whenever you or anyone else Tweets everyone can see this straight away. There are reported to be around 5 to 10 thousand new people a day joining and around 5 million users in total so it is easy to see why this can be such a great way to improve your business.  

Twitter allows you great insight into what others are thinking and can be a great way to ask questions, increase traffic to your site and spread the word! You can also connect with your target audience on a more personal level to improve brand recognition. 

One great feature of Twitter is Twitter Search which allows you to search and see what others may be saying about your business. You can then reply to these and continue building new relationships. This is something that very few other marketing methods can allow you to do.  

How Can Twitter Help Your Business?

If you follow the right people on Twitter and manage to build up your followers then it can be a great form of marketing. If you make sure to Tweet on a daily basis and structure your Tweets well you will soon gain peoples attention. You can even track your results to see what kind of Tweets work the best. It is important to always include useful information and resources as well as asking plenty of questions to get people to interact with you. After all, how often do you get the opportunity to get your name noticed by big names! It could even lead to having real conversations with people who may have an interest in what it is you do.

Make sure that you stay on top of Twitter and post informative links as well as topics for conversation regularly. You should also try and respond to Tweets to keep the interaction alive. 

Twitter is also a fantastic way to get new traffic to your site and for generating leads. It can help you build new relationships with important people as well as help you to expand your contact base. 

Twitter Applications

If you do decide to use Twitter there are a number of applications available that could really help you out. These include TwitterFox for users of Firefox to view Tweets on thier web browser, TweetLater for scheduling Tweets and the Tweetosphere allowing you to track topics.

If you already use Twitter and other social networking sites such as Facebook then Ping.fm will allow you to update all these sites in one go.

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If you have been looking into using Google AdWords then you may wonder how best to approach it. This short article will give you a few key ideas to help you get more traffic to your site!

What is a Quality Score?

You may have seen the term quality score around but what is it actually based on? Well no one actually knows the exact areas used to ascertain this score but there are a few areas that play a key role. These include the match between your keyword and your ad, keyword performance, the amount and quality of keyword related content on your page and website and how much time visitors spend at your website. 

Keywords

Selecting the keywords to use is an area that requires a lot of thought. You will need to decide whether you should choose one single keyword or a keyword phrase. The keywords you choose will depend on what your site is about. Try carrying out some free keyword research first using google.com/key words or freekeywords.wordtracker.com to make sure you choose the best keywords possible.


Some keywords can be expensive so you will need to decide if you can recoup this later. It may be worth considering if you can get some of the top bidders to become associates of your site as well as perhaps offering competitors who can send traffic your way something back or buying exit traffic from other sites.

Checking your Ads

Once you have placed your ads you will of course want to know how they are doing. One option is to use Google's Traffic Estimator but this is not always the best way. You may find that your ads rank better by simply placing sensible bids and then checking back to see the average positions of your keywords. If you find they have not been working very well then you can change them as you see fit. It is important to be aware that Google tends to tell you your average position so your ads may in fact be ranking very highly in one area and not so great it others.


Lastly it is important to be aware that Google can disapprove ads if you do not meet with their editorial guidelines or if you violate their policies.

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Using social networking sites can be a great way to market your site but if you do not know what you are doing they can be time consuming. This short article will give you some ideas on how to get the most out of social networking sites.

Time Management


One of the great things about social networking sites is that they allow you to interact and engage with people. Of course it is important to respond to questions and queries to build up relationships but you do not need to respond to absolutely everyone if you do not have the time. For this reason you should try to limit your responses to those who have asked for specific information rather then just general chat. You may find that setting aside a specific amount of time to dedicate to this task helps you to stay on top of it. However it is important that you stick to this time set and do not allow yourself to be easily distracted. If you receive a lot of messages then you may like to keep all the important email responses or those from certain people who could be good for business in one folder to allow easy access.


Ways To Simplify Networking Sites


The majority of social networking sites these days will have social networking clients available for you to use. Essentially these are to help make your life simpler and make the sites easier to use. For those that use Twitter you can choose to download Tweetdeck for free and on Facebook you can use Networkedblog to link your blog to your Facebook. Depending on the type of social networking site you use you will find that there are numerous social networking clients available to help you get the most out of the site.

For those that like to use a number of social networking sites and regularly update their status a tool known as automated set up could be very useful. This allows you to connect the sites together, for example Twitter to Facebook so that you only need to update one site and the rest will automatically update. This can save you a great deal of time and simplify the process. However be sure to only link those that have a similar target audience and that are based around the same topic.


Last but not least it is important to always remember that social networking sites are just that, they are designed and used as a way to keep in contact, not for making hard sales pitches. If you try to market your site too hard you risk alienating people and losing your credibility.

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If you are looking for ways to get more people to subscribe to your blog then why not check out some of the great tips below!

Provide an easy way for people to subscribe

If you want to get people to subscribe to your blog then you need to make it as easy for them to do so as possible. Try mentioning that they can subscribe at the bottom of all your posts and given them an email option and an RSS. You could also try creating a specific page dedicated to subscriptions and then place a link to it in as many places as possible. 

The Blog Content

Obviously one of the main key areas is making sure that the content of your blog is interesting, informative and well written. Without this the truth is that you will always find it hard to attract new subscribers. Try to specialise in a certain area to reduce the amount of competition and you should find that you get more visitors. 

Incentives

It is becoming more popular these days to offer some kind of free incentive to get people to subscribe to blogs. Often this will be some kind of free e-book or audio series. In most cases you will need an auto responder since the idea is that once the person has subscribed the free incentive is sent straight to them. 

If you only have RSS then it is still possible to offer something of this nature to attract subscribers. Instead you will need to use a free Feedvertising plugin on Word Press to link to your free gift page. In this way the feed subscribers will be able to see your free offer when they are visiting your blog. 

Promote your Blog

Another great way to draw people to your site and entice them to subscribe is by promoting the blog. One great way in which you can do this is to contribute to someone else’s blog. In this way others can read what you have to say and hopefully be drawn to your site. For this to work you need to be allowed to put a link back to your blog at the end of your content so people know where to find you. Try to keep all the content you write unique so that when people visit your blog they have something new and interesting to read.

Podcasts are also becoming increasingly more popular so why not utilise them as a way to promote your blog and attract new visitors. 

Posting on links on relevant forums can also help get more people to your blog. Just make sure that you are helpful and polite and do not come across as someone who is merely trying to get their blog noticed! 

Networking

Another great way to get people to your blog is by finding others with a similar type of blog (but not one in direct competition) and seeing if you can help each other out. This could be by putting links to each others blogs or by offering them help in return for a link. Remember to always be courteous and helpful and you are more likely to get what you need.

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The Apprentice is a well known reality TV series which sees a group of promising businessmen and women compete against each other to become Alan Sugars apprentice. Dubbed as being the job interview from hell, the winner is given the chance of a £100,000 a year job. Past winners have gone on to work at Sugar’s electronics manufacturing company Amstrad as well as at one of his many other business ventures. The U.S has their own version of The Apprentice which is run be entrepreneur Donald Trump. The UK series is BAFTA award winning and continues to increase in popularity with every series.

Due to the popularity there have been a number of spin offs of the TV show created. These include The Apprentice: You're Fired, which is shown after each episode of The Apprentice to discuss all the drama. There have also been celebrity charity episodes as well as special one off episodes based on particular candidates. 

The Apprentice Season 1 UK

Season 1 in the UK began in February 2005 and ran for 12 episodes. Within this series there were a number of tasks for the candidates to carry out including buying and selling flowers, selecting an artist and selling their work in a gallery as well as purchasing produce and creating food to sell at a country market. The eventual winner for series 1 was Timothy Campbell.

The Apprentice Season 2 UK

Due to the enormous success of series 1, series 2 ran between the 22 February and the 10 May 2006. This season saw a number of new tasks including selling fruit and vegetables in Hackney, setting up a food stall at the Thames Festival as well as selling second hand cars for a commission. The winner for this series was Michelle Dewbury.

The Apprentice Season 3 UK

Series 3 of The Apprentice ran between 28 March and the 13 June 2007. Tasks included designing an innovative product for dogs, manufacturing sweets to sell at London Zoo and creating a brand logo, poster and video advertisement for a new style of trainers. The winner for Season 3 was Simon Ambrose.

The Apprentice Season 4 UK

Series 4 of The Apprentice began on 26 March 2008 and ran for 12 weeks. In this series the contestants had to carry out tasks including selling seafood at a London market, running a photography business at Bluewater shopping centre and developing new flavours of ice cream. The overall winner was Lee McQueen.

The Apprentice Season 5 UK

Series five was one of the best yet and was won by Yasmina Siadatan. The series aired from 25 March 2009 for twelve weeks and saw more contestants try to convince Alan Sugar to hire them. The group had numerous challenges to complete including setting up a cleaning business, providing corporate catering, creating an original piece of home fitness equipment and produce and sell bath and beauty products. However, perhaps one of the most memorable challenges was to produce a brand identity for a new breakfast cereal. This led to the creation of ‘Pants Man’ which contestant Philip Taylor will probably never be able to forget.

The Apprentice Season 6 UK

The new Apprentice season looks like it may well be delayed this year. Rumour has it that there are impartiality worries since Sir Alan Sugar was made a Labour peer in 2009. It is not yet known when series six will hit our screens but it is thought it may not be until the election has taken place.

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Famous Entrepreneur Number 1- Simon Cowell

Date of Birth 07.10.59

Simon Cowell is a well known English music executive, television producer and entrepreneur. He is most recognised for being one of the judging panel on Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent, and American Idol. Cowell owns his own television production and music publishing house called Syco. 

Famous Entrepreneur Number 2- Richard Branson

Date of Birth 18.07.50

Sir Richard Branson is best known for his Virgin brand consisting of more than 360 companies. This initially began as an audio record mail order business in 1970 and expanded in 1972 to Virgin Records. This later became known as Virgin Megastores. In the 1980s he set up Virgin Atlantic Airways. 

Branson is reportedly the 261st richest person in the world according to Forbes' 2009 list of billionaires. He has an estimated net worth in the region of £1.5 billion.

Famous Entrepreneur Number 3- Philip Green

Date of Birth 15.03.52

Sir Philip Green is a famous entrepreneur who owns the Arcadia Group and roughly 2300 shops in the UK clothing retail sector. He is reported to be Britain's ninth richest person and his assets are believed to total around £4.43bn. 

He is due to become a shareholder in Simon Cowell's Syco label with Sony.

Famous Entrepreneur Number 4- J.K Rowling

Date of Birth 31.07.65

Joanne Murray née Rowling is the well known author of the Harry Potter series of books. They have gained worldwide popularity and as such have won multiple awards, sold more than 400 million copies and been turned into a series of films.

Her estimated fortune is believed to be around £560 million. 

Famous Entrepreneur Number 5- Duncan Bannatyne

Date of Birth 02.02.49

Duncan Bannatyne is a Scottish entrepreneur and best selling author. His business interests include Health Clubs and Hotels, Media, Stage Schools, TV, Transport and Property. He is most well known for appearing on Dragons' Den. His net worth is thought to be £320 million.


Famous Entrepreneur Number 6- Anita Roddick

23.10.42 – 10.09.07

Dame Anita Roddick, DBE was a British businesswoman and environmental campaigner and founder of The Body Shop chain of stores. The company was one of the first to ban the use of ingredients tested on animals.

Famous Entrepreneur Number 7- Alan Sugar

Date of Birth 24.03.47

Alan Michael Sugar is an English entrepreneur and political advisor. His ventures have included Amstrad, Amsair, Amsprop, Viglen Ltd and Amscreen. He has an estimated fortune of £830m and was ranked 59th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2009. In 2000 he received a knighthood and in 2009 became Baron Sugar.

Famous Entrepreneur Number 8- Peter Jones

Date of Birth 18.03.66

Peter Jones, CBE is a British businessman. He has interests within mobile telecommunications, media, property, television and leisure. He is most well known for appearing on Dragons' Den and US television show American Inventor. His net worth is said to be around £157 million.

Famous Entrepreneur Number 9- Deborah Meaden

Date of Birth 11.02.59

Deborah Meaden is a British business woman who ran a multi-million pound holiday business after buying it from her parents. She is most well known for being on the Dragons' Den. Her net worth is reported to be around £40million.

Famous Entrepreneur Number 10- James Caan

Date of Birth 28.12.60

James Caan (formerly Nazim Khan) is a British investor and entrepreneur and is most well known for appearing on Dragons Den. He is the founder and CEO of Hamilton Bradshaw, founder of Alexander Mann and co-founder of Humana International. His net worth is reportedly £70million.

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Date of Birth: 24.09.59

Place of Birth: Limassol, Cyprus

Theo Paphitis an entrepreneur of Greek Cypriot origin. His main interests are in the retail sector and he is well known for appearing on Dragons Den.  

Paphitis moved to England with his family when he was young and had his first entrepreneurial experience when at the age of 15 he ran his school tuck shop.

His first job was as a filing clerk and tea boy at an Insurance Brokers in the City of London. However the pay was not great and in the pursuit of more money he found he had a flair and love for retail and sales. This saw him become a sales assistant for Watches of Switzerland in Bond Street.

In order to gain more experience Theo Paphitis joined Legal & General at the age of 21 selling commercial mortgages. This taught him how to read other businesses' balance sheets.

A few years later he decided to set up a property finance company with friend and business associate Mark Moran which saw him make his first money in the 1980s on the rise of the commercial property market. He then noticed an increase in mobile phones and decided to buy into NAG Telecom and become chairman. Theo Paphitis managed to gain concessionary positions in Ryman’s the Stationer and therefore gained a large market share for NAG.

Several years later Ryman’s went into receivership and Paphitis chose to buy the company and successfully turned it around. This has given him a reputation for being able to turn failing companies into successful businesses. Other ventures have since included Contessa and Partners. 

Theo Paphitis was asked to join the BBC series Dragons Den in 2005 and has been one of the Dragons ever since.  He is seen to be one of the more approachable judges and has made a number of different investments in his time on the show. 

During this time Theo went into partnership with fellow Dragon and businessman Peter Jones and they now co-own Red Letter Days. In 2006 Paphitis chose to sell his equity stake in the UK and EU part of La Senza for an estimated £100 million.

In the 2008 Sunday Times Rich List Theo Paphitis was ranked 581st with his estimated worth totalling £135 million and in 2009 his wealth increased to an estimated £165 million.

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Date of Birth: 02.02.49

Place of birth: Clydebank

Duncan Bannatyne is a Scottish entrepreneur and is most well known for being on the Dragons Den panel. He is the top selling author of 3 books including Anyone Can Do It in which he tells of his rise to wealth. His other best sellers include Wake Up and Change Your Life and How to be Smart with Your Money. His business ventures are listed as a chain of Health Clubs and Hotels as well as Property and Transport. He was awarded his OBE for his charity work and his involvements include Comic Relief and UNICEF.

Bannatyne is said to have come from a reasonably poor family and it was this that spurred him on to find his first job. He first began working for a local newsagent as a paperboy after being told that he could not have a bike as the family could not afford it. In order to get this job he was instructed to first obtain a list of one hundred people who would be interested. To his credit Bannatyne managed to complete this task and was given the job as a paperboy and eventually saved enough money to buy the bike he had dreamed of. 

Having spent several years living in Jersey he decided at the age of 29 to move to Stockton-on-Tees in Northern England. Although not the best time to start a new business Bannatyne persisted and almost immediately purchased an ice cream van for £450. After some time and several vans later the business had grown and was eventually sold for £28,000. At this point he took a slight change in direction and founded a nursing home business instead. In 1996 he sold this nursing home business, which had evolved to be Quality Care Homes, for £26 million. At the same time he also sold a children's nursery chain called Just Learning for £22 million.

Since this first foray into business Duncan Bannatyne has expanded into the Health Club industry, with the now well known Bannatyne's Health Clubs chain as well as bars, hotels and property. Having obtained 26 Health Clubs from the Hilton Hotels chain, the Bannatyne name the biggest independent group of Health Clubs within the UK. In October 2008 he opened the Bannatyne Spa Hotel in Hastings, East Sussex which reportedly cost £12,000,000. 

Duncan Bannatyne was listed as the 167th wealthiest person in the UK by the Sunday Times rich list 2009. His current wealth totals approximately £320 million.

In 2006 he was given an honorary Doctorate of Science from Glasgow Caledonian University and in 2009 he was also awarded a Doctorate of Business Administration from the University of Teesside.

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If you would like to set up your own work from home business opportunity but have little or no experience then you may not know where to start. This short article outlines some of the mains areas you will need to consider to make you home business successful.

Carry out adequate Research

One of the main areas you should always carry out before setting up a new work from home business opportunity is to carry out research. This is important because you will need to check that there is a market for what you are offering and not too much competition. If you do not do this then you could well be wasting a lot of time and money so it really is not worth the risk. It is also advisable to research the amount of money you would be likely to make so you can see if it is financially viable. 

Advertise

Marketing and advertising your work from home business opportunity is key to its success. This is because when you initially begin your business chances are that no-one will know you exist. You cannot expect to get new custom if you do not get word of your business out and promote it as hard as you can. The way you choose to do this will depend mainly on the type of business you have and your budget. However there are many free methods of advertising available include writing articles about your business, using social networking sites and writing and posting press releases. It is important to remember to always include full details on your business and contact details so that people can get in touch. 

Use your time well

To have a successful work from home business opportunity you will need to ensure that you stay on top of all your work. The ultimate success or failure of your business will depend on you planning and organising your time so that you meet your deadlines and get your advertising completed. Try to keep the hours you work as normal as possible so that you will be around to take phone calls and answer emails etc 

It can also be a good idea to designate an area for your work away from the distractions of the television or any other people that may be around.

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