Top 5 Blogging Mistakes that’s Frustrating Your Efforts (and How to Fix Them)

Top 5 Blogging Mistakes that’s Frustrating Your Efforts (and How to Fix Them)

by with 16 Comments Blogging

When I started this blog back in 2009 the subject of making money blogging was just at its infancy. A lot of people back then were jumping in and starting their own blogs.

Many of these bloggers became overnight gurus dishing out how to make money blogging tips. Every where you turn there was a blog on how to make money blogging. A lot of times the same tips were just being tweaked and re-posted on different blogs.

On the surface it does appear that most of these bloggers were really making a ton of money from their efforts. However, over the years I have observed a lot of these “guru bloggers” drop by the wayside!

I can attest to this fact because every time I do a general review of this blog I’ve always seen a huge number of broken links. Most of these broken links are mostly from blogs that I have linked to over the years.

But why would someone who have always shown that they are making money from their blogs and have taken it upon themselves to teach others how to make money blogging suddenly abandon their blog?

The answer to that question is not far fetched. The truth is most of those guru bloggers were only putting up a front. While they may appear to be successful on the surface the truth is most of them were making next to nothing from their blogs.

For example, while a recent report indicated that about 67.5% of bloggers blog to make money online only about 5% of bloggers are actually making a full income from their blogs!

This is why a lot of bloggers after struggling for years trying to scrap a living from their blog end up throwing in the trowel. Of course, it’s  frustrating to put in so much and yet get nothing out.

In this post I want to share with you the top five mistakes that I have found, over these years, to be main reason why many bloggers fail. Matter of fact is, if you’re presently struggling with your blog, one of these mistakes might just be the culprit!

Recommended: The Beginners Complete Guide to Making Money Blogging

Why Seemly Hard -Working Bloggers Fail!

Mistake #1: Blogging without a Definite Purpose

How make money blogging

Do you have a purpose for your blog?

What is your motivation for starting the blog?

Do you have a story to tell?

It’s unfortunate that many of the blogs out there are nothing but “just another blog!” From design to content; and tactics, there’s really nothing that separates them from other blogs.

In fact, many of these blogs were started because the blogger was impressed by the results being posted by other probloggers out there.

The truth is, if you want to make money with your blog it is important that you have a definite purpose for the blog. You must be able to answer the question, WHY this blog? Not taking care of this before you start will put a whole lot of boulders on your way. 

So, if you are in this boat right now it’s important that you take some time off and settle this issue. Ask yourself questions like: 

  • Why am I really blogging?
  • I’m I here just to share my thoughts and opinions or to make a living?
  • If I’m here to make money how do I do that?
  • Should I be promoting affiliate products or selling my own product/service?
  • And what do I need to do to accomplish this?

Doing this right now will help you get a clearer picture and the focus of your blog.

Mistake #2: Blogging without a Plan

Not having a blogging plan

It’s unfortunate that many bloggers do not have a plan and worst still they never care to have one.

As the common saying goes, when you fail to plan you’re planning to fail. Unfortunately, not many bloggers who want to make money blogging really care to take this to heart.

I encourage you to read this post on how to set SMART goals for your blog.

Once you have decided on the purpose of your blog, designing a plan on how to achieve that purpose will greatly help on your journey. A blogging plan should answer the question of how you expect to make money with your blog and what you must do to achieve that goal.

Your plan for making money from your blog will determine the type of content you showcase on your blog. It’s definite that a blog that is designed to sell advertising space would be different content-wise from the one that is focused on selling your consulting practice!

Mistake #3: Not Building a List

This is really a big one.

Despite hearing it over and over again that the money is in the lists, many bloggers have not seen the need to start an email list. They are content with just writing content, interacting with other bloggers in the comment section of their blogs and connecting on social media sites.

As much as these things are good, you must know that an email list is your greatest asset when it comes to marketing online. Let no one deceive you with talk about email being a dead online marketing tactic. Indeed, many internet marketers may have put a bad name on this because of their spammy email promotions but don’t let that put you off.

Offering email subscription on your blog is the easiest way of turning your blog into a money making machine. Remember, not everyone who visits your blog will return except you have a system to bring them back. Capturing their contact info and adding them to your email contact list is the best way to do that.

You may have an RSS feed subscription on your blog but that has many limitations which an email list will help you overcome.

Here are some industry recognized autoresponder services that will help you build a list:

  1. GetResponse.com – Widely used by internet marketers
  2. MailerLite.com – High-quality service for an incredibly low price. You can use the system for FREE if you only have 1,000 subscribers or less. (Highly Recommended)
  3. RapidMailer.com – Your best choice if you want to run your own autoresponder. It’s a one-time payment.

Mistake #4: Choosing the Wrong Market

Choosing a blogging niche

I did a post some time ago on spooky business start up tips where I clearly stated that if you start a business just based on what you love without carefully checking for profitability, you’re bound to struggle.

This is more so when blogging to make money!

Of course, it is important that you choose your blog topic based on what you know and you’re interested in as this will help you greatly in writing content and showing your expertise. However, except your desire is to share your thoughts with your family and friends, it is important that you research the profitability of your target niche before you jump in.

That being said, it will be an uphill task if you choose a blogging niche simply because of the money. Focusing only on the money will ultimately lead to frustration.

So, what to do?

Choose your blog niche based on market profitability and your passion.

The good news is, if you know little to nothing about a niche you can spend a few weeks to research the topic online. Doing this will set you on the path of becoming an expert in that field in no distant time.

There are thousands of online tools available that you can use. If you’re already blogging and you discover you are having problems with this, take some time off, do the necessary research and then reposition your blog.

Mistake #5: Not Driving the Right Traffic

I must say that this is one problem that many bloggers are having without really knowing it. Over these years I’ve come across very wonderful and passionate bloggers. From all indications they appear to be doing great with their blogs. Superb blog posts, impressive blog comment sections, social buttons displaying the envious number of shares, etc.

But, when you ask how much they are making from their blogs the responses are a nothing to write about!

Many of these bloggers cover up with things like: blogging is not about making money but connecting with like minds! But I don’t really think these bloggers love working their butts off just because they want to be known as a blogger. Or, do you?

But, what is really the problem here?

It is this: these bloggers are simply driving the wrong type of traffic to their blogs!

Like we have seen above your blog exist for a specific purpose. In the same way, your blog should be targeted at a specific group. If you have clearly defined the purpose of your blog from the beginning knowing your blogs target audience will not be a problem.  And this will determine your promotional tactics.

When you have these sorted out you wouldn’t waste your time running round other blogs, commenting and interacting with other bloggers, except they are your targeted audience.

To drive the right type of traffic to your blog, go where your target audience is and then entice them to your blog. This way monetizing your blog traffic will become easy.

Conclusion

I don’t know which of these blogging mistakes is holding your back from making money with your blog. But the truth is if you will take the time and work on these ones you will soon begin to see a change in your blogging success.

Feel free to share your thoughts on these blogging mistakes in the comments below. Is there any of these mistakes that you are presently making with your blog? Is there any one you will want to add?

Let’s connect in the comments section.

5 Must Have Vlogging Equipment for Beginners

by with No Comment Blogging

Are you thinking of starting a video blog or adding video content as part of your blogging mix? Then you’re right on time!

Video blogging, or vlogging as it is now popularly known, is one of the rising trends when it comes to marketing and making online. This rising trend is as a result of the increasing number of people who are turning to online videos either for entertainment or learning about their most desired topics.

For example, recent stats referenced in a post by insivia.com  shows that:

  • Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined.
  • 64% of consumers purchase after watching branded social videos.
  • 92% of mobile video consumers share videos with others.
  • 1 minute of video is equal to 1.8 Million words to your audience.
  • According to Video Explainers, a business is 53x more likely to appear on the first page of Google results if it utilizes it on their webpage. The reason? The inclusion of video improves SEO, consequently boosting a business’ place in the rankings.
  • 100 million hours of video content are watched on Facebook daily.
  • A Facebook video receives, on average, 135% more organic reach than a Facebook photo.
  • 80% of Livestream’s survey respondents would rather watch live video from a brand than read a blog.
  • 70% of millennials are likely to watch a company video when shopping online.
  • Video marketers get 66% more qualified leads per year.
  • 57% of consumers say that videos gave them more confidence to purchase online.
  • Marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users.
  • Video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80% or more.
  • By 2020, 75% of all mobile traffic will be video.
    With such interesting stats it’s understandable why you might be interested in starting a video blog.

Stats like this is not something that a wise marketer would want to take for granted. So, if you’re thinking of jumping into the growing wave of vlogging you’re definitely on the right track.

What Equipment Do You Need For Vlogging?

One of the top-most question you need to answer if you’re thinking of starting a video blog is, what kind of equipment should you use?

It doesn’t matter whether you want to start your own vlog or you want to post your videos on your Youtube channel, you need the right equipment to get your vlogging adventure on the path to success.

In this post I want to share with you 5 essential bits of vlogging gear that will help you make your video blogging dream a reality.

Vlogger Starter Kits

Before discussing the different equipment below I want to say you can actually get a vlogging starter kit instead of buying each piece individually.

Why would you want to do that?

There are actually a number of advantages to getting a starter kit instead of buying individual equipment. Here’s just a couple of reasons:

  1. Getting a vlogging starter kit is cheaper
  2. With a starter kit you’ll save yourself the pain and time of researching the market trying to determine the appropriate equipment for your vlog. Vlogging starter kits bundle together the exact tools you need for a vlog and nothing more. This makes things simple and easy for you.

If the above are good enough reasons you may want to check out some of the top rated vlogging starter kits right away.


That being said, let’s get on with our must have vlogging equipment for beginners.

Equipment #1: Camera

A camera is definitely the first piece of equipment you’ll need as a vlogger. Of course, you can decide to use your inbuilt computer webcam or even your smartphone if you don’t want to buy some expensive camera.

However, if you want to produce higher-quality videos that will present you as the professional that you are then getting a camera like the Canon EOS 70D is a great idea.

The Canon 70D allows you to fix in an external mic and wide lenses, and is great for taking super sharp videos and pictures.

Canon EOS 70D Digital SLR Camera

When shopping for your vlogging camera you should take into consideration where you’ll be filming your videos. If you’ll be doing most of your filming on the go then you must consider the size of your camera (it should be something that can be carried about easily) and the battery capacity (since you may not always have access to a power outlet). It’s also important that you consider the size of the storage cards.


To check out more options of video blogging cameras for beginners click here.

Equipment #2: Microphone

As a vlogger your desire is to get more and more people on your video blog. However, if the sound quality of your videos is poor that will put off a lot of people. This is something you don’t want to happen, right? And, the best way to avoid this is to ensure that the audio quality of your video is high.

To ensure high quality audio it is advisable to use an external microphone instead of the built-in microphones on your camera, or computer (if you’re using a webcam). There are a good number of high quality microphones in the market that you can choose from. One good option is the camera-mounted Rode VideoMicPro Compact Directional On-Camera Microphone.

Rode VideoMicPro Compact Directional On-Camera MicrophoneAnother very good on-camera microphone is the Comica CVM-V30. At just $39.99 the CVM-V30 Lightweight microphone is definitely a steal considering the fact that it can be used on your cameras and smartphones. You simply need to switch the mode you want on and you are good to go!

Comica CVM-V30 LITE Video Microphone

You can also click here to search on Amazon.com for more high quality microphones for your camera.

Equipment #3: Video Support

As a vlogger you’re going to need a tripod to support your camera since you’d be setting up shots from different angles. The type of camera you’re using will determine the type of tripod you’d need.

For example, if you’re using a heavy camera, you could go for a tripod like the Magnus VT-4000 Professional High Performance Tripod System with fluid head.

For travel vloggers a Joby GorillaPod is definitely the best choice. The fluid movements of the GorillaPod video Pro gives it so much flexibility that you can easily wrap the flexible legs around handlebars or poles to fix your camera to areas that would normally be off limits. You can also stand it on a flat surface like a standard tripod to make smooth videos or grip it to use as a handheld rig.Joby JB01561-BWW Gorillapod 5K Video Pro

Equipment #4: Lighting

Another video blogging equipment that you’ll need as a vlogger is good lighting. Using good lighting equipment will not only make you look healthier in video but it will also give your videos a professional look.

Of course, you don’t have to be unnecessarily fanciful about this. In fact, if you have a good amount of windows in your room you could just make do with that. However, if your home doesn’t have good lighting sources then I’d recommend you pick up a MOUNTDOG Softbox Lighting Kit.

MOUNTDOG 1350W Photography Continuous Softbox Lighting Kit

There are a good number of other options in the market you can choose from for this kind of lighting. Here are the most popular choices that I recommend:

Equipment #4: Editing Software

Once you’ve filmed your video blog the next thing is getting the freshly recorded content edited. This step as it’s practically impossible to get a perfect video from the first take. So getting a video editing software is essential.

Again for this, there are different options available for you to choose from. In fact, there are a lot of free tools to choose from. However, if you want something more professional, then getting a paid editor is paramount. The two paid options that I recommend are Sony Vegas Pro and VideoPad Editor.

If you’re running a Windows computer you may want to look into the Sony Vegas Pro as this editor has all professional programs that give you all the tools you’ll need to edit your video. Please carefully read the recommended specs listed with the software to ensure your computer can handle it.

Sony Vegas Pro 12 Edit

If you’re a Mac person then the VideoPad Video Editor is your best choice:

VideoPad Video Editor - Create Professional Videos with Transitions and Effects

Conclusion

Alright, that’s it for the 5 essential equipment that you need as a vlogger. Whether you’re just getting started with your video blog or you are ready to take yours to the next level you will want to look into the different tools mentioned above. With the right equipment in place vlogging isn’t all that complicated. So, make your choice today and get it on with your video blogging adventure.

How to Write a Good Blog Title: SEO Title Tips!

by with 47 Comments BloggingSEM & SEO

Putting together a blog post is like constructing a building. There are different parts to the blog that will make it achieve your purpose. But of all these the title is the most important.

Crafting a powerful title for your blog post is a skill you must master as a blogger. Your post titles are simply headlines that could make or break your posts!

In this post I want to reveal a simple tactic that you can use to greatly empower your post titles. I’m sure you’ve heard about the why and how to optimize your titles for the search engines. All that is good stuff. But the tactic I want to reveal here is something that will take your post titles to another level when it come to search engine optimization.

This simple tactic could really be laid out in 3 components. But I’ll simply handle it by breaking it up as follows:

Writing blog titles that work

1. Write For Your Regular Readers:

The first aspect of your blog title you want to work on is writing a title that will peek the interest of your regular readers. To get this right you want to know what has been popular with your readers and the topic you’re dealing with in your particular blog post.

Once you’ve these in place, craft a blog title that will make them click and read more.

Remember your regular readers will not go to google before they come to your blog. They are not searching for your site. Either they will come via RSS feed or they might simply enter your blog URL into their blowser.

But once they are on your blog, the first thing that will entice them to read more is the title. So put in your best in writing that title. Frankly you may forget about seo here as that will be taken care of below!

Well, that’s not much or is it?

On to #2!

2. Polish Your Title For The Search Engines:

Now this is where the fun starts.

I know you’re not writing only for your regular readers. You also want to get more search engine traffic, or don’t you?

Ok, search engine traffic is frankly a different ball game. To achieve that you’ll need to make sure that your post does not only appear on the search engine results but the title actually makes people to click and visit your blog.

What you need do is to easily work on the same title you’ve written and make it do the work for you. You can easily do this with any seo plugin like All In SEO Pack plugin.

Once you’ve this installed, before publishing your blog post, take the same title you’ve written and rework it. Ensure that you build in a little curiosity and your target keywords/phrases into it. Enter the new title into the SEO box in your writing section. It’s something like this:

seo title image

3. Shorten and SEO The Post Link:

One other thing you can do to empower the title is to shorten and seo the post link. This can be done easily using the new permalink feature of wordpress. Just below the title pane you’ll see the post permalink.

shorten blog title example

Click on the “Edit” button and then enter a short and optimized link with your keywords/phrase. For example on this post the permalink is, “http://webincomejournal.com/1325/headlines-simple-seo-tactic.” Once you’ve entered what you want click on “ok”.

4. Craft A Powerful Description For The Post:

The last thing you’ll want to do before publishing your post is to enter a description for the post.

Understand that when it comes to search engine marketing what will help your blog article to achieve its purpose of drawing traffic to your blog is its ability to offer something of interest to the searcher.

Getting on the first page of Google is nothing. What really matters is that people click on your links and visit your blog. And most times what will achieve this is not just the title but the title in conjunction with the description.

It must interest you to know that if you don’t give the search engines a description, they will simply take the first few words on your post and return that as the description. Or most times they return your blog home description!

This does not only affect the search engine ranking of that post but also may not peek the interest of that particular searcher.

So how do you give the search engines a description for each of your post?

You simply take that post’s target keywords/phrases and write a short description for the post. All In One SEO Pack plugin is handy here also. Just below the title pane of the plugin you’ll see the pane for the description. Enter the description here. For example, for this post here is the description I used,

“Writing SEO blog titles are a good way of driving organic targeted traffic from the search engines. Read this post and discover a simple way of doing this..!”

Now if you look at that description you’ll discover that those sentences never appeared any where on the post itself. But simply putting them there is a boost to the effectiveness of the post when it appears on the search engine results.

So Let’s See The Results Of This Simple SEO Tactic!

Yes, I want to show how this tactic will come out at the end of the day! So let’s use this very blog post. I’ve just published it before taking this screen shots. First how the post appears on your blog page:

the blog title

and here’s how it appears on your title bar:

title bar example

Do you note that the post title on the blog page is different from the one on the title bar? The one on the blog is visible to your readers why the one the task bar is what searchers will see on the search engines.

This is really powerful. You can use this to empower your blog titles for more SEO results every time!

So let’s hear what you think of this tactic. Have you been using it? If so how effective has it been to you?

Why 80% Of Bloggers Fail and How to Avoid Being One!

by with 24 Comments Uncategorized

In its State of the Blogosphere 2010 report, Technorati.com (now a part of Synacor) revealed that:

  1. techniratiThat more than 8million blogs were online
  2. A new #blog is created every 7.4 second
  3. Twelve thousand new blogs are created every day
  4. 2,750,000 new blog posts are made every day
  5. 10,800 updates are made every hour!

Indeed this are startling figures. But that was 2010. Today, the figure of blog posts made every day is above 3million! (Source).

Now, in 2010 the blogosphere was actually undergoing some form of evolution. In its state of the blogosphre, Technorati put it this way:

The 2010 edition of State of the Blogosphere finds blogs in transition—no longer an upstart community, now with influence on mainstream narratives firmly entrenched, with bloggers still searching for the next steps forward. Bloggers’ use of and engagement with various social media tools is expanding, and the lines between blogs, micro-blogs, and social networks are disappearing…

…These changes are occurring in the context of great optimism about the medium: over half of respondents plan on blogging more frequently in the future, and 43% plan on expanding the topics that they blog about. Bloggers who get revenue from blogging are generally blogging more this year than they were last year.

Indeed today bloggers who get revenue from blogging has increased greatly as many basically run their blogs as a #business!

Unfortunately, from recent statistics it does appear that more than 80% of those who set out to use the medium of blogging to achieve that entrepreneurial dreams, end up falling flat on their faces – failures!

Over the years this has been a pain in my heart as I observe many well-meaning, and hard-working bloggers start off with great enthusiasm but after years of struggling to make ends meet, throw in the trowel.

In my own way I’ve tried offering some help as can be seen this spirit in posts like:

Lessons from the London 2012 Olympics games

Timeless wisdom to increase your earnings

Reminiscences of a trade unionist turned entrepreneur

You may also want to read:

Are You a Blogger or An Entrepreneur Who Blogs?

Hey Blogger, Please Quit!

All of these posts were written with the mind of helping you succeed with your online business.

In this article I want to touch on what I consider as the fundamental reason why many bloggers are finding it difficult to achieve their dreams online. Frankly, this post is an updated version of an article I wrote back in 2005. Then it was supposed to serve as a personal note to help me ‘de-glaze’ my eyes and ‘un-dump’ some wrong beliefs and perceptions which would have been a problem to me when I was just starting out on my online business journey. To show how this post has impacted me, I later updated it some time in 2012!

Now in 2016 having considered the state of the blogosphere for the past few years, I passionately believe that this post is still very relevant that I have again decided to update it. Please read it with an open heart!

So, why do so many bloggers fail?

Why Bloggers Fail

Square Pegs In Round Holes?

It is a fact of life; all of us desire success whatever the endeavor we undertake! But unfortunately, not all can boast of truly achieving this desire. Try as they could, many just seem to only run in circles.

But why is this so?

From my personal experience and the experiences of others that I’ve studied, I’ve discovered that businesses do not fail for lack of capital or material resources but as a result of a wrong mindset – what I’ve come to regard as square pegs in entrepreneurial round holes!

Of course, many of us understand the power of the human mind…

  • We know that the human mind is so powerful that there is no obstacle it cannot surmount if properly used.
  • We know that every inventions of note came about through the instrumentality of the mind, and
  • We know that seemly hopeless situations have been and are still being turned around simply by the proper application of the mind!

In fact, it is this awesomeness of our minds that make us stand apart from the rest of all creature!

But what does this have to do with succeeding in business you might ask.

Much more than you can imagine!

For one, the business world has its own principles and systems which demand a different approach from what many of us are familiar with. To make any mark therefore you need to check if you’re not a ‘square peg’ trying to fit into the ‘round hole’ of the business world.

A ‘Square-Peg Mindset’?

But what is that anyway?

By the ‘square-peg mindset’ I mean the totality of your beliefs, social orientation and other negative norms that have made it difficult for you to really fit into the mold of an entrepreneur. I’ve seen this widely in most of the bloggers I have studied over these past few years.

You may have heard the saying, “As A Man Thinketh In His Heart, So Is He!” indeed, this is true because the decisions we make are a product of the way we think; the actions we take are a product of our decisions, and our success flows from the actions we take.

To achieve success therefore, we must first of all change our thinking!

Succeeding as an entrepreneur blogger is not in ‘flowing’ with the tide but first being a success with who YOU are!

You are first and foremost the business you should work on. Once you have the right mental attitude you can always develop the enthusiasm that will propel you to succeeding in any business.

But How Did This ‘Square-Peg Mindset’ Came About In The First Place?

1. The Negative Attitude Prevalent In the Society

A negetive attitude will affect your success

It is a fact that negativity rules our society. It’s all around us both in our personal and professional lives. And the older you are the more susceptible you are to this. After years of disappointments in different areas of life, a thick layer of negativity had settled on many minds. They simply cannot trust in the government. They cannot trust their fellow men and women. And of course, they cannot even trust themselves either! Simply put, they have no faith that things can be done right.

This is indeed a grave situation but it can be remedied. A simple suggestion will be to commit to studying success stories of others who have succeeded in similar fields. Seek motivation through reading and being around those who have a positive mindset. Doing this will help in no small measure in helping you to see the possibilities of what you can achieve in life.

2. The Employee/Employer or Master/Servant Orientation of the Society

Don't remain an employee in your mind

Some years ago, I worked in the construction industry. During this time, I watched with dismay as many who pulled out to start their own businesses returned a few years later looking for employment because their businesses have flopped. At the time I really did not understand what was wrong but after years of researching this issue I have come to understand that the biggest culprit is, trying to run a business with an employee’s mentality!

It is clear that our formal educational system prepares us not to be our own bosses but to be job seekers. And so when we leave school our first impulse is to go looking for a job. Of course, once we have been in employment for a few years, this belief is entrenched strongly in our subconscious mind.

Now, because working for someone else and running a business are a world apart, pulling out to start your own business is a herculean task for many. And so, you simply need to shed the employee or servant mindset and take up the employer or master mindset if you must succeed with your own business. This is really the ’round-peg mindset’ that will bring you success.

3. Follow-The-Boss Mentality

The Boss is always right

This actually flows from 2 above. You see, running your own business demands taking risks and making decisions. But this is not the same when you are working for another person. As an employee, the boss takes these responsibilities. Transiting from an employee to your own boss therefore, you just need to dump this mentality. You must be prepared to take risks and develop quick decision making abilities. Without this mentality succeeding as a blogpreneur will simply be like driving an automobile on flat tires – an impossibility!

4. Hating the Idea of Selling

Do you hate selling?

This is the biggest area where many blogpreneurs are failing. It is true that as humans we hate to be sold but the entrepreneur knows that you cannot make a profit without selling. These are indeed two different worlds! To succeed as a blogpreneur therefore, you definitely need to know how to bridge these two worlds or you will find it difficult to pull in any returns from your blog.

In their response to the post, “Is Blog Monetization Really a Turn-Off for Blog Readers?” many clearly stated they hate ads on blogs and will not feature ads on their blogs. Now, except you have a product or service that you are promoting on your blog (and of course, you will not need to add any graphic of that product on the blog if you hate to see ads on blogs!) your blogging enthusiasm will soon wane when you are not seeing any returns from your labors.

But as a blogpreneur instead of the mindset that hates selling you will need to learn how to sell without appearing to really sell. For example here is a conversation I had with Gareth Morgan in the comment section of that post, please read it.

entrepreneur quote in commentsHere’s the conversation:

Morgan:

“Great topic.

I’ve had my blog for about 2 years now and haven’t monetized it….so far. I am still undecided on whether it would be a good look, having adverts for different businesses on MY business blog. I don’t want it to look tacky and I don’t want it to draw attention from my site but obviously some extra cash would be great.

Thanks for your thoughts.”

Me:

“@Gareth Morgan,

Hmm, I truly understand your point. Some extra cash could be of help but you are concerned with distracting visitors with ads. So what do you intend to do? Stay off making some extra cash to please your blog visitors or find a way of doing it and not causing any distraction?

Now, this is really the point of this posts. I really want our readers to brainstorm some creative ways to overcome this dilemma. You see my point? So, let’s know what you can do to overcome this. For me I’m working on something which I believe all of us can benefit. If you have an answer let’s know it, will you?”

Morgan:

“@Chadrack,

Sure, I see your point. I guess I’m still wrestling with the idea of maintaining the integrity of my business and making some good money on the side.

What I think I’ll do is move towards promoting products that I’ve purchased and approve of and only allow ads for similar products.”

Me:

“@Gareth Morgan,

That indeed, is a wise decision. Integrity is very important that you cannot do without it online. Going for products you have used will help you give your honest assessment and of course earn more trust.

Of course what you show case as ads on your site should be that that is related to your niche, what your blog readers will be interested in.

Really good way to go!”

Marketing Take Away:

Your mindset is very important if you want to succeed as an entrepreneur blogger. Your first business is to work on yourself. The key to your success is within you, right in your mind. You will need to trim the square pegs of your mind if you must be a round peg fitted for the round holes of the world of business. If you cannot fit into the entrepreneur mold you simply cannot succeed as an entrepreneur blogger!

It’s Now Your Turn: Yes, I love reading and replying your comments. So, let’s know what you think of this. What are your experiences trying to build a business online? Do you see any correlation of your mindset and the success you have achieved so far? Let’s have your thoughts in your comment below.

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Blog Marketing: What Every Small Business Owner Should Know!

by with One Comment Content Marketing

Over the years blogging has become an essential tool for business online promotion. Unfortunately, many small business owners, till this day, still look at blogs as personal journals. Worst still, many others simply consider blogs as some social networking tool that is popular among young people out there in cyber space!

If you have that opinion back in 1995 you would be correct but not today!

One thing you can be sure of today is, Blogging Has Evolved!

The question is no longer, should you blog? Rather it is, do you have a blog?

Let me say it categorically that if as at this day you’re not blogging, as a small business entrepreneur, then you’re missing out BIG! And so, you must move from defining blogs as personal journals. They are presently powerful marketing tools. Savvy business owners are using blogs for brand recognition, connecting with clients/customers and of course, create more opportunities for their businesses.

But in this blog article we are talking about blog marketing.

Small business blog marketing tips

So,

What Is Blog Marketing?

It is important that we have a clear understanding of what blog marketing is for us to better appreciate its benefits. Over the years I have to tried to really get a grasp of this. I want to say that of all the definitions of blog marketing that I have come across, I think this clearly captures the true meaning:

Blog marketing is any process that publicizes or advertises a website, business, brand or service via the medium of blogs. This includes, but is not limited to marketing via ads placed on blogs, recommendations and reviews by the blogger, promotion via entries on third party blogs and cross-syndication of information across multiple blogs.

As you can see blog marketing involve a whole lot of things. But for this article I will restrict myself to the aspect that is concerned with using your business blog to directly market your business online. This consists of creating blog articles and using same to drive traffic to your business website.

Why Blog Marketing?

There are various benefits your business can get from blog marketing. Please read this article to understand some of the reasons why you should add a blog to your business website.

But to really understand the importance of business blogging, here are some stats that will interest you:

  • B2B marketers that blogs receive 67% more leads than those that do not.
  • Marketers who have prioritized blogging are 13x more likely to enjoy positive ROI.
  • Companies who blog receive 97% more links to their website.
  • Blogs have been rated as the 5th most trusted source for accurate online information.
  • By 2020, customers will manage 85% of their relationships without talking to a human.

As a small business owner it is sure you wouldn’t ignore such stats, or do you?

 5 Tips for Effective Blog Marketing

Here are some ways you can ensure good results from your blog marketing efforts:

1. Link Your Business Blog to Your Website

If you have a website for your business, link your blog to it. This is a good way letting your customers/prospects know you do blog. This could create an immediate surge of traffic to your small business blog thereby making it popular in a short time.

2. SEO Optimized Content

When you are marketing a blog, you pretty much do it the same way that you would market a website. It is going to need keywords, and content. You can write the content yourself, or pay someone else to write it for you. That part is totally up to you. However, you will want to be sure that the content is decent and something that your readers will want to read. This will keep them coming back.

Make sure that the content is written from special keywords that you choose. You will also want to become familiar with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO will help you to optimize your blog to get a better ranking with the search engines.

3. Exchange links with relevant sites

Once your blog is up and running with the right keywords and some content published, you will need to get it out there some more. Link exchanges are wonderful for marketing your small business blog. You want to try and exchange links with sites that are relevant to yours, but not in direct competition. If you try to exchange links with sites in competition with yours, you are going to find that many of them will turn you down in fear of losing business to you.

4. Submit To Blog Directories

While this may not really make much impact today but it is not a bad idea to do this. There are many online directories that caters specifically to blogs. Submitting your business blog to these directories is a big part of small business blog marketing. You can pay some directories to list your blog URL in their directory under the specific category that it falls under. However, some of these even have specific qualifications that you must have to get in. Follow all of the application steps, and you should be ok. Just do not try to submit your blog to a directory that it does not qualify for, or fit in.

5. Make Your Business Blog Truly Interactive

This is important for small business blog marketing. For example, if someone leaves a comment on your blog, acknowledging and responding to it make your blog a truly interactive platform.

You can also comment on other blogs that are relevant to yours, and leave a link to your blog as well. This will help bring in visitors to your blog, and you will begin to see more and more traffic.

Conclusion

Small business blog marketing is something that anyone can do. It’s not rocket science. Having a blog and keeping it up to date with the latest information is not hard. All you need to have is a plan and you will be set to market any type of business from your blog. Whether you are selling a product or a service, it does not matter. A blog that is marketed the right way will be beneficial to any business whatever it might be.

Pinterest Marketing Strategies for Online Business Success

by with No Comment Online Marketing

With the growth of social media sites like Pinterest, Instagram, and the rest, many businesses are now devoting more time and resources to promoting their wares on the sites. Unfortunately, as expected not many of these business owners understand how to effectively use these sites.

As we already know, social media sites are not the proper place for direct selling. Using any social media site as a sales platform is a guaranteed formula for failure, right from day one. This is why if you want to succeed with Pinterest marketing you must aim at knowing how Pinterest works.

But that is really not enough…

Beyond that you should also establish a clear link between your Pinterest account and your blog or website. You must also be able to conveniently pin photos to your account even if you are not tied to a desk and with access to your computer or laptop.

Pinterest marketing tips

Some Useful Tips For Succeeding With Pinterest Marketing

1. Have Pinterest Buttons On Display On All Your Websites And Blogs

Pinterest itself has several free buttons that you can use. They already come with the necessary HTML codes to make embedding hassle-free. You should also check with your content management system or CMS provider if they have options for including Pinterest buttons with every blog post you upload. If not that then maybe there are widgets or tools related to Pinterest, which you can host on your blog or site.

2. Download Pinterest Applications In Your Site

Pinterest also has its own official mobile application that you can download and use for free. However, there are also a number of paid applications, which are designed to make pinning quick and easy even when you are using a mobile device.

One application, for instance, allows you to pin photos straight from your mobile device’s browser – something that the official Pinterest app actually can’t do at the moment.

3. Make A List Of Possible Pins You Can Use

Photos, which immediately capture your attention are definitely worth pinning – maybe not now but sometime in the future for sure. You just need to come with a great article or blog post to link such photos to your business. Be sure to list the sites where you’ve seen such photos. Give yourself some time, and they’ll prove handy to your business sooner or later.

Related Reading: 11 Awesome Pinterest Tools to Boost Your Business Success!

4. Have A Camera With You At All Times

The best photos to pin are those that you have taken yourself. As the original source of such photos, your link will then be used every time your photo is pinned and repinned by other Pinterest users. As such, you should not let any opportunity for taking beautiful photos go to waste. Have a camera with you at all times – preferably one with an excellent range of features that include HD resolution, panorama sweeps, options for editing, and filtering effects.

In most cases, the cameras of high-end smartphones would already suffice. It’s actually better if you use a camera phone since this will automatically give you access to the Internet and have it pinned to your board in no time.

5. Subscribe To A Mobile Internet Service

Speaking of Internet access, that’s yet another thing you should have at all times as well. A mobile Internet service will not only enable you to monitor your online business effectively, but it can also make sure that you will be one of the first to pin photos of events that you may be covering with live blogging. With the help of some handy-dandy applications, live blogging and pinning can be easily performed with just a smartphone or tablet.

Hopefully, these tips should be enough to equip your business with all the necessary tools and resources for maximizing the marketing opportunities offered by Pinterest.

Want more? Then click here to check out this insightful resource.

Your turn: What strategies or tips can you share about with us about your Pinterest success? Will be glad to know. Share in your comments below.

5 Fantastic Web Design Secrets You’d Never Thought Of!

by with No Comment Your Website

Great web design is more than just a pretty face. There are so many little tricks and tips that can make your business perform better.

Web design really is that powerful.

When designing your website and you use the right layout and colors, you can say everything, without really saying anything! Good website design gives your site authority and credibility. It makes customers feel at home and points them towards the key conversions.

It also lets them identify with you as a brand. The best web design increases loyalty, drives conversions and increases sales. Like we said, it really is that powerful.

Good web design can revolutionize your business. If you’ve got your own site, there are one or two little secrets that you can implement immediately. They will drastically improve the performance of your site.

Today, in this post, I want to share with you some fantastic web design secrets that will help you achieve the best of worlds with your web design.

Web design tricks you should know

1. Familiarity

Often when we think about web design, we instinctively want to show creativity. To an extent, this is a good plan. Of course you should put your own stamp on the website and use it to strengthen your brand. But, it’s really important to keep things familiar. If you’re a blog, use a relatively familiar blog layout. If you have an online store, make it look like an online store. Now is not the time to reinvent the wheel. Give users what they expect and you’ll improve performance.

2. Above the fold

Creative web design experts tell us that this is still one of the most important design tricks. Try to keep all your important information above the fold. This means putting your most important information high up the page, before the user has to scroll down. Tell them everything they need to know and give them the call to action up, front and center.

3. Less is always more

Take a second to think about your business and goals. Consolidate it down into the very essence of the company. Figure out how to convey your business in one short sentence. That’s all your web design should be. Simple and to the point. Get rid of unnecessary clutter and use only one focal point. Use one image and one piece of text to tell users everything they need to know. Then direct them to one simple call to action. That’s how you get results.

4. Colors, fonts and photographs

These are essential design aspects that should be given long consideration. Photographs are particularly powerful when used correctly. Make them stand out and avoid stock photography at all times. Fonts should be simple and easy to read. Colors must also be simple, unobtrusive and consistent with your brand.

5. Cut down your text

As we said before, less is always more. This is even more pertinent when it comes to text. According to studies, web users scan websites and read only about 30% of the words on your page. That means you need to make every word count. Cut down your text and keep it simple and to the point.

Conclusion

There is definitely an art to great web design, but these secrets can help you make the most of your site. The one rule you should live by is simplicity. Distil everything to its absolute essence and you’ll see performance shoot up.

So, what web design secrets do you have? Share with us in your comments below.

Top 5 Innovative Business Ideas to Grow Your Business NOW!

by with 19 Comments Entrepreneurship

Small business marketing ideas to grow your business online

So, you have made it yet into another year in your online business, right? Great! You indeed must congratulate yourself for many have fallen by the way in the past year.

However, ever as much as you have accomplished this feat, there’s still much to be done. Whether you are a blogger doing all you can to to make money online or you’re a small business entrepreneur marketing your stuff online, one thing for sure is that you will love to see your business grow beyond what it is right now, by the end of this year.

So, how do you do this? Don’t you think there’s still some room for doing more? How about some new business ideas?

There are hundreds of good business ideas that you can apply as a blogger or web entrepreneur to enhance your online business. No matter the successes you’ve achieved so far, now is the time to start making plans for the higher level.

In this article I want to give 10 innovative small business ideas that you can implement right now to grow your business profits starting now. Of course, they not rocket science. They are simple strategies anyone can implement.

So if you’re ready, let’s begin:

1: Re-Brand Your Business

Rebranding and product re-launch is a powerful marketing strategy businesses employ to increase their market share off-line. It could take different forms like changing the business logo, redesigning the product packaging, introducing new components in the product content etc.

Rebranding has a lot of benefits including, but not limited to, creating a fresh impression of the product/business in the minds of customers and prospects. A successful product re-launch can really bring great benefits to the business.

As a business blogger you can creatively use this strategy to give your blog and online business a fresh lease of life. I recently employed this strategy on this blog. I gave the WebIncomeJournal.com a facelift that touched every area of the blog – the blog design, logo, and content package were given a new life.

To implement this strategy in your online business, simply take a deeper look at your business and come up with areas you will need to work on. Think of how you can package this into something that will interest your customers and then design it to be a product re-launch!

To make sure that this work out great you can involve different promotional tools to give the re-launch some buzz. You could employ PR services, social media announcements, article marketing, guest blogging etc to create the necessary buzz. This will not give you some new incentive to do more in the business but will also give you the opportunity of getting new customers.

2: Prioritize Your Time & Operations

This is another great tip that will greatly enhance your online business and increase your profits. By now you definitely know that there are lots of things that jostle for your attention everyday on the net. There are of course dozens of ways you might be employing right now to market your blog/business.

But, how about if you’ll prioritize your operations and choose to focus more on some operations?

For example, instead of spending hours hopping from one blog to the other posting comments or spending hours in a forum reading and replying to discussions, you could decide on writing articles for submission to the article directories or better still write guest posts for blogs that accept guest blogging. This will not only increase traffic to your blog but also your profits.

3: Add a New Marketing Technique to Your Schedule

This is indeed another powerful way of enhancing your online business success. Chances are you’ve been using some specific marketing methods over the past months or even years. How about adding something new?

Ever tried to promote your blog or business online through free classified ads?

How about video marketing?

Have you considered podcasting?

Indeed, these are some of the internet business marketing ideas and techniques for marketing your business online. Analyze your present marketing strategies and then consider the ones from this list that you can add to them.

By simply adding another marketing method to your usual strategies you can actually increase your profits greatly.

4: Leverage the Efforts of Others

There is no doubt that you have a limit to what you can achieve in a day – except you’re some super human! However, you could increase your productivity greatly if you’ll use the power of leverage. For example, outsourcing.

Outsourcing is something every successful person and/or corporation is involved in. The internet has made it a lot easier for you to outsource your work to competent people – sometimes at ridiculously very low cost!

The good news however is that doing this can really be of great benefit to you as you’ll produce more results. So if you’re thinking of some innovative ideas to maximize your success then you need to outsource your operations.

To achieve this you need a well laid out system for your business. Ensure therefore that you’re building a system for your business so that you can leverage the efforts of others without any fear of messing things up.

 5: Get Involved With Video Marketing!

As I’ve mentioned in #3 above, video marketing is something you should really consider adding to your online marketing arsenal! This is SERIOUS enough that I want to put it on a separate list

One reason you should consider video marketing is the fact that video gets indexed very fast by Google and this could be a great plus for your blog or website SEO. Besides, the traffic a single video can generate could sometimes be outstanding.

If you’re worried about video marketing because you lack the skills to get involved, you could easily outsource it. The good news is that there are various online video services that will easily convert your blog articles to video with little or no effort on your part. Here’s one online program that will turn your articles to highly valuable videos without much effort from you.

If you however, want something more professional then basically you need a simple digital camera that has video capabilities. You can get any of these from Amazon at a good price.

In creating your videos all you have to do is talk for a few minutes about whatever niche market you are in. You can give away tips, advice, or give a product review for a product that you are promoting. It can be either a product or service that you created, or one that you are promoting as an affiliate.

Here’s an example of a video I created sometime ago:

I have also created a Youtube channel for the WebIncomeJournal. Feel free to subscribe today!

Ok, that’s all we can take for now because of space. We definitely will continue with this in our subsequent posts. What you should know however is taking a proactive step in building your business demands you being innovative and forward thinking. I do hope that these business ideas and the ones we will discuss later will indeed help you boost your business income in the months to come.

Let’s make it a date!

Your comments are always welcomed. Feel free also to share your views on the video.

How to Build An Email List Using Covert Pinterest Marketing Tactics!

by with No Comment Email Marketing

This post is a continuation of our special series on using Pinterest for building a profitable online business. Recall that why we are focusing on Pinterest is because of the amazing traffic stats about Pinterest traffic as we have seen in the first post.

As a reminder, here’s what we have covered thus far:

1. The power of Pinterest for business – Based on the amazing statistics of Pinterest as against other social media platforms!

2. How to setup a niche blog that works with Pinterest traffic.

3. How to create high converting content that works best with Pinterest traffic and where to get your content ideas.

If you have not read these posts it is advised that you do so!

Now, on to today’s post:

The simple guide to building an email listHow to Skyrocket Your Niche Blog Income

Simply driving traffic from Pinterest and trying to monetize that traffic through Google Adsense, Shop Sense, CPA offers, etc is scooping only a fraction of what you can make from your efforts. If you desire to fully exploit the goldmine from your niche blog then getting your site visitors into a subscribers’ list is what you want to do. With such a list, you can guide them into a funnel for selling them more products in the future.

Here’s what you need to build a responsive email list

1. An Autoresponder

This is the backbone of your email list management system. There are various options in the market you can use. However, you will need to choose one that is designed to integrate with wordpress, e.g. Aweber, Getresponse and MailChimp.

It is important to note that these are the industry leaders. However, they all come with some form of monthly fees which could add up our over time. The problem is, whether you are making money with your list or not you have to pay these monthly fees!

But there are free options you can use if you are just starting out or you are financially challenged. One that I will readily recommend is MailPoet. I’ve used it for some time and I can say it is really an amazing free alternative to Aweber.  Though there are a few limitations but with a small investment you can easily remove those limitations.

2. A WP Optin Plugin

These are designed to help you integrate your autoresponder with your WordPress blog so that your job of capturing your blog visitor’s email addresses is made easier. Some of the things a WP optin plugin will do for you include the ability of putting up your signup box on the blog’s sidebar, on the footer, at the top or even below every blog post.

With a WP optin plugin you don’t need to know any html nor do you have to mess around with php codes.

While there are various types of WP optin plugins there are two I want to recommend here:

– Hybrid Connect – One great feature of this one is that whenever it detects that your blog visitor is signed into Facebook while browsing your site, it will show them a Facebook connect button. If the visitor clicks on the button they are automatically signed up to your list. They don’t need to input their names and email addresses since these are automatically captured using their Facebook details. Hybrid Connect is really a great way of building your email list.

– Easy Optin Builder – This is the one I’m using on this blog. If you take a look at the bottom of this blog post you will see a button that is designed to show up a sign up box when you click on it. Also on the sidebar is an optin box. All of these were added with Easy Optin Builder. There are other features like adding an optin button at the top and bottom of your blog, a countdown signup box that can be added to your landing page, a slide-in optin box etc.

Easy Optin Builder has many preconfigured templates to choose from. Besides, as the name suggest, building your optin boxes and landing pages is a breeze and it is built to work with nearly every autoresponder in the market today.

Check it out here.

3. An Irresistible Incentive

Having a first class autoresponder and installing a killer optin plugin will amount to nothing if your site visitors are not motivated to join your list. To do this you need an irresistible offer.

If your blog is expertly set up and the content is great simply telling them to sign up for future updates will produce a good number of signups. However, for increased results you need an extra incentive. This could be a special report, an email tutorial or even a personal consultation – as long as it is something that is valuable to your target audience.

4. Relationship Building Through Engagement

Getting subscribers into your email list is only the beginning of the process. To skyrocket your earnings you need to engage and build valuable relationships with them. This way they will be more open to reading your emails and purchasing products and services when you recommend any.

A few ways of doing this is to provide exclusive content in your newsletter. Find out what your subscribers want and give it to them. Encourage your email subscribers to ask questions and provide answers through your newsletter. You can also offer some form of incentives, like cash rewards, to make your subscribers attach more value to your list and also to keep them on the list.

5. Monetize Your List

This is actually the ultimate reason why you want to spend time and energy working on building a relationship with your subscribers. Like we discussed earlier in part 2 of this series, you can also monetize your list through affiliate promotions, CPA offers, or your own products. One other powerful way of making money from your list is through selling solo ads to other advertisers.

Conclusion

Driving targeted traffic from Pinterest for your niche blog and monetizing that traffic is a great way of making money with Pinterest for business. However, if you want to supercharge your earnings, building a list and monetizing that list is simply the guaranteed route to take. It may take time and more effort but your own list of laser targeted traffic like the one from Pinterest is simply a goldmine you don’t want to ignore. Use this guide today and you will see uncommon results with your email list.

So, are you building your email list right now? If not, what are you waiting for?

PART 5: 7 Proven Pinterest Optimization Tactics That Work Wonders!

30 Covert Selling Tactics That Will Boost Your Online Business With Ease!

by with 8 Comments Online Marketing

Covert selling strategies for your online business

It’s indeed surprising that many want to make money online but the idea of selling is however absolutely repugnant to them.  This is because they believe selling has to do with manipulating others. But that shouldn’t be.

Believe it or not selling is actually something all of us do every day whether we are selling tangible products or selling our ideas to others. It’s important therefore that we should learn how to market our businesses on the net if we want to make any head way.

In this article I want to give you some covert selling tactics that will help you boost your business starting now!

First, you must know that marketing online is evolving by the day. Strategies and tactics that used to be very effective a few years ago are far from effective today.  It is important therefore that to stay ahead of the competition you need to put in place your own strategies based on what you may have “discovered” in the course of running your business or what you have seen others using on which you put a “twist” on, Such strategies are unique to you and therefore can work wonders for you.

The strategies presented in this post are industry-tested and will greatly help boosting online sales. However, the idea is that you will be able to use them to build your own strategies and adapt them to your peculiar marketing needs.

Related Reading: The 3 Scientific Steps to Using Social Media for Online Selling!

Online Business-Boosting Selling Tactics

1. Use affiliate programs to multiply your efforts

Start an affiliate program and put your marketing on viral power. For example, package a product,  put it on an affiliate networking site or start your own affiliate marketing program. Create a customizable e-book and give it away to your affiliates. Ask them to customize the ebook with their own affiliate links and then give the ebook away for free. Doing this will both create a viral effect for your product as that one ebook will soon begin to pull in links from different sources online.

2. Improve you conversion/traffic ratio

You could change your headline, offer a stronger guarantee, add testimonials, etc. For example, one week you could have your headline say, “How To Lose 5 Pounds In Two Days!” and the next week use, “Lose 5 Pounds In Only 48 Hours!” Just see which one pulls more orders per visitors.

3. Uncover your most valuable leads

One way of doing this is by offering a free e-zine. The visitors who are very interested will subscribe to it. Once they have subscribed, you can sell them related products again and again. Just make sure your e-zine has enough original content to keep them interested.

4. Boost your business exposure by teaming up with your competition

When marketing online your competition is as close as the back of your hand. But instead of treating them as enemies you can actually partner with them by starting an association for your specific industry. Each member could be given graphics to put on their web pages. This would increase your membership and business exposure.

5. Publish an e-zine for your employees

This could motivate them to do a better job or keep them advised on where your business is headed. For example, you could include articles about friendly customer service, being more productive, getting along with other employees, employee profiles, etc.

6. Monitor your brand on social media

Setting up alerts to monitor your brand on social media, news sites and other discussion forums will greatly help you in knowing what others are saying about your brand. Some of the comments you find could help you improve your business. For example, you could find someone complaining about your customer service, an employee, your web site design, product, etc. Then you’ll know what to improve.

7. Attract more people to link to your web site

You can do this by offering them a discount on the products you sell or give them free items for linking. For example, you could say, “Get A Huge 30% Discount On Our E-book If You Agree To Link To Our Web Site For At Least One Month!”

Must Read: 6 Reasons Why You Should Integrate A Blog Into Your Home Business Website!

8. Build your own opt-in email list

Give your  website visitors a reason to give you their e-mail address. Allow them to sign up to free items and contests. Just get their permission to e-mail them again in the future for other things. For example, you could say, “Sign Up For Your Chance To Win A Color
TV!”

9. Create a “PR” web page for your business

List information that could be considered newsworthy for e-zines, newspapers, magazines, etc. There are many ways to get into the media, like launching an unusual product, donating a large amount to charity, holding big events, etc.

10. Boost your credibility

By referencing web sites that have written positive stories about your business you will greatly increase your credibility. You could link to them right in your product ad. For example, you could say, “Just See What (name) Magazine Is Saying About Our Newest E-book!”

11. Improve you newsletter subscription through more incentives

Almost everyone is publishing an e-zine nowadays so it’s important to give something extra with the free subscription. You could offer a weekly contest for new subscribers. For example, you could say, “Subscribe And Have A Chance To Win Our Latest Home Study Course!”

12. Provide your visitors with more valuable content.

Your content will be more attractive to your visitors if it’s up-to-date or original. You could also offer people the option to reprint the content in their e-zine or web site. If your content is super original, you could use something like “Never Seen Before” in your titles.

13. Offer a free online directory

The directory could be full of interesting e-books, e-zines, web sites, etc. If people find your directory to be a valuable resource, they will visit it over and over again. You could also put your whole directory into e-book format and allow people to give it away.

14. Give your visitors a free e-book

You could also include your own ad in the e-book and allow other people to give it away. If you don’t want to take the time to write one, you could ask other writers’ permission to use their articles. They will just want you to publish their resource box too.

15. Hold free online classes or seminars

Webinars are becoming the in-thing right now. They could be held in your web site’s chat room or you can use any of the many webinar providers out there. The idea of “live” information will definitely entice people to visit your web site. You will become known as an expert on the topic. You could hold them weekly or monthly to get people to revisit your web site again and again.

16. Give visitors a free entry into your contest or sweepstake

The prizes should be something of interest or value to your visitors. Most people who enter will continually revisit your web site to get the results. For example, if your target audience is business owners, your prizes could be computers, business e-books, business services, etc.

17. Create your own or sponsor downloadable free software

It could be freeware, shareware, demos, etc. You could even turn part of your site into a free software directory. If you created the software, include your ad inside and let other people give it away. You could also allow people to link to your free software directory so they could offer it to their own visitors.

18. Offer free online services or utilities from your web site

They could be search engine submitting, copywriting, proofreading services. The service or utility should be helpful to your target audience. For example, if your target audience is e-book publishers, offer them a free e-book creation service.

19. Give free consulting to people who visit your web site

You could offer your knowledge via e-mail or by telephone. People will consider this to be of huge value because consulting fees can be very expensive. You could also create a product by recording or saving the information you gave them and selling it to them as a handy reference.

20. Give your visitors a free membership to your online club

People want to belong to something, why not your online club? You could also give away a free e-zine for club members only. You could make money by offering a deluxe membership for a monthly fee.

21. Persuade visitors to link to your web site

Give them a freebie in exchange for them linking to your web site. It could be content, software, etc. You could make the freebie even more valuable to them if you allow them to give it away with their own customized links in it.

22. Link to web sites that provide useful information or services for your visitors

If you have many useful links on your site, they may make it their start page. For example, wouldn’t you like to go to one webpage and have on it all the links you like to visit or research?

23. Spice up your web site’s wording by using plenty of adjectives

It gives your visitors a clearer vision of what you’re explaining or describing to them. For example, if you were describing a software program you could say, “This easy-to-use software gently guides you through the whole set up process.”

24. Don’t make your banner ads look like ads

Most people ignore banner ads. Design them to look like content and have people click to read the rest. For example, you could say, “How To Increase Your Sales By 200% by Larry Dotson. To Read Click Here!”

25. Join affiliate programs that go with the theme of your web site

You’ll just be wasting valuable space and time if your visitors aren’t interested in them. For example, if your target audience is softball players, you would want to join affiliate programs that sell softball bats, balls, uniforms, magazines, etc.

26. Market your web site as a free club instead of a web site

This will increase your repeat visitors and sales because people enjoy belonging to groups. You could have a members’ message board, give visitors’ membership IDs, give them membership graphics to place on their web sites, etc.

27. Interact with your online customers on a regular basis

This will show them you care about them. You could use your blog or add a chat room, forum or an online message system to your site. Always be interested in what people have to say, answer their questions, give them compliments, and take the time to talk about things other than just business, etc.

28. Check and update your web site links regularly

If people click on a link and it doesn’t work, they usually won’t risk wasting their time clicking on another one. For example, would you revisit a web site after two of the links you really wanted to click on didn’t work? You probably wouldn’t even bookmark the site.

29. Give visitors a positive experience when they’re at your web site

Provide them with original content and free things. They’ll tell all of their friends about it. You could also persuade them to tell their friends about it by starting an affiliate program. It could pay per sale, per click or per lead.

30. Share customers with other businesses that have the same target audience

Offer their product to your customers if, in exchange, they do the same for you. For example, if your business is selling toys, you could cross-promote a business that sells kids’ games. You both have a similar target audience.

In closing

The above are just a few online selling tactics that you can strategically put to use in your business. Of course, all of these may not apply to your business right now but with a little creative thinking you will uncover some unique ways to apply them.

Will love hear what you think of these selling tactics. Are you using any of these right now?