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Monthly Archives: September 2009

Article Marketing- How to Get The Writing Muse To Flow

Writing-Fun or Frustration

Writing can be heaven or it can be hell depending on your attitude and approach. One of the biggest objections people have moving to the Web is writing….anything. Blame it on lousy teachers at some crucial stage in your education. I certainly had an awful 10th grade English teacher in high school. But I also had the very best one in 12th grade. So lay the blame where you will, you can overcome that initial fear and discomfort if you take the time to relearn the process.

Creativity and curiosity

Writing in fact can be a fun and even therapeutic activity. If you are curious and inquisitive, writing is a great way to learn and discover new knowledge about almost anything, and that goes to the heart of affiliate marketing. Whatever niche, product or service you choose to market, you are going to have to know everything there is to know about it. What better way to become a recognized authority than to research and write about something you are interested in or, if you are lucky, passionate about.

If you are interested in your subject, then the rest of the matter goes into how you will thread your ideas into sentences, sentences into paragraphs and paragraphs into articles that attract and hold your reader.

So how do you get the muse to awaken and begin the flow of ideas?
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Affiliate Marketing for Beginners-6 Key Copywriting Tips

Affiliate Marketing for Beginners-6 Key Copywriting Tips

Copywriting, or to put it better writing Ad copy, is the one skill which all online business owners should learn. As you develop your business, writing in all its forms will become second nature. As an affiliate marketer communicating and more importantly motivating your customer to buy will be essential to your success with your affiliate online program.

Here are a few ad writing tips to help you get started:

Do Your Market Research and Know Your Target Market

Successful copywriters know exactly whom they’re writing for before starting. Keep that thought uppermost in your mind as you write and never deviate from that objective. Have a clear picture of what your target person is thinking, how he/she feels and what need or problem you can solve for them. By doing this you will provide a foundation for building a solid client base.

Headlines That are Attention Getters

Use headlines as guide posts throughout your presentation for your affliliate marketing online program. Your main headline should be in bold, large letters to grab the reader’s attention. It is the headline which has to define the core problem to be solved or main solution your prospect wants to find. Use a benefit-focused headline which explains in powerful detail how you can help solve the customer’s problem. Follow up with sub-headlines throughout the copy to keep the reader intrigued so he/she will keep reading.

Use Simple Clear Language

Online writing has to be simple, clear, and to the point. You are not writing an essay on philosophy or a political speech. No fancy words, just clean simple sentences will do just fine. Your style should be casual and needs to convey emotion and a clear purpose. You need to write just like you speak, as though you’re sitting down with a friend and chatting over a nice glass of wine …no fancy words and long lists of boring descriptive adjectives that will put everyone to sleep!

Be Truthful and Persuasive

There is a balance between believing in your product and being honest about its short comings. Be very clear about what works and what doesn’t. Your customers want to hear from other unbiased people who have used your product. Include customer testimonials. Testimonials can be tricky so include the person’s full name, city, state, website URL and if possible, a picture of that person. The more information your testimonial includes the more persuasive and believable it will be to your customer.

Keep Your Customer in Mind at All Times

Effective copywriting is concerned with the needs of the customer. You shouldn’t be part of the process or the focus of attention. That doesn’t mean you disappear entirely. You may need to add a little personal information about yourself in order to gain trust and to explain why your customer should trust you. But bear in mind that as far as the customer is concerned, it’s all about what you can do for them. The most effective copy is written from the customer’s vantage point. There should be all “you’s” and no I’s in your copy.

Call to Action

The point of the whole exercise is to tell your prospects what you’ve got; tell them how it will benefit them; and then most importantly, tell them what to do about it. If you want them to click over and purchase your dog grooming product, say so, and say so in a clear way which promotes all the benefits of your products. For example, “Click here to learn how you can groom your pet easily and with no nicks or tugs that hurt it.” Be precise in your wording and always include a clear call to action.

Writing Ad copy can actually be fun and informative. So take the time to learn how to do it and have some fun while you’re doing it. You learn things about your product and your target market as you research and write so it is a process that benefits everyone. The more you write the better you’ll get and the more successful you’ll become with affiliate marketing. So go for it and enjoy.

May Your Travels Be Prosperous!

Mastermind Marketing Strategy Review

PPC Marketing Strategy $1 A Day Plan

PPC Marketing Strategy $1 A Day Plan

Pay Per Click Marketing Review

Mastermind Marketing Strategy Review

Mastemind Marketing Strategy Part 1 is a product I purchased and am implementing in my PPC campaign business.  It is a 96 page ebook and comes with a four part video series if you chose to order those as well.

I have the ebook and videos and use them as reference daily as I launch and test new PPC campaigns.

The basic thrust is that you can research and then test campaigns on daily budgets as low as $1 a day.  Yes you have it right $1 a day.  The thing to note is that this strategy allows you to test over a 30 day period at a fraction of the cost of the conventional strategies which say you start at $10,$20 or more a day.

What this does is allay the fear of losing a lot of money and let’s you test a greater number of campaigns than you would otherwise get to test.  While it does not give you the volume of data you would get if starting at a higher budget, it still gives you the same statistical trend as the higher budget campaigns.  While it takes more time to see what is happening, your ad spend is very reasonable., an important benefit to those who are just starting out in PPC campaign launches.

The ebook teaches a keyword research process for finding high capacity keywords and low capacity keywords and segmenting them into separate campaigns.

As in any PPC campaign, market research is the prime basis for any success.  So there is information on what you can do to  search outside of the crowd of the usual suspects and fadish trends that are hard to compete with if you are starting out.

Even if you are a seasoned veteran, the $1 A Day Plan is another way to look at testing ideas and products for potential profits.  It’s fast, cheap and easy if done right.

The ebook sells for $48 and the ebook/video combo goes for $96.  For me it is well worth the investment.  Frank Terranova who authored the program and who is President of Mastermind Pros is one the best, no nonsense trainers in the field of PPC advertising and tells it like it is.  This is not a get rich quick scheme and as someone who has worked other PPC programs I can  say that this is second to none in offering training and information to get you started.

If you are thinking of starting an online business and PPC is in your future, I highly recommend you consider this program.  I have read the ebook a number of times  and reviewed the videos several times for my own education as I research and launch campaigns.  It’s part of my daily work routine.  If you decide to try it I think you’ll be happy you did.

I hope this review has been helpful.

Stay well, stay with it and may your travels be prosperous.

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Affiliate Marketing for Beginners – Writing a Paragraph.

Article Writing – How To Write a Paragraph

Introduction

I have been getting a lot of daily emails and they have been fun to read but in some cases they are hard to follow because the content doesnít always flow logically.

That is when I started to look at the content structure and noticed that some paragraphs needed some work.

That is what brings us to the whole idea of writing a paragraph.

William Strunk and his student EB White had some thoughts on this very subject so let us see what we can glean from them.

How to Write A Paragraph  A Unit of Composition

According to our illustrious gentlemen you need to make the paragraph the main component of article content.  It can vary in length from a single sentence to a multi sentence dissertation.  It all depends on what your intent is when writing your article.

Whatever the length, your paragraph should drive a central idea you are presenting.

If your idea is pretty straightforward like a short product review or a call to action, you could get by with just one paragraph.  But in most cases, you are going to need to break down your main idea into a subset of other ideas.  That is going to call for new paragraphs to follow the introductory paragraph of your article.

Paragraph Length

As a rule, single sentences should not be written or printed as paragraphs according to Mr. Strunk and Mr. White.  There are exceptions. For example, when you are transitioning between two related ideas in your article, then writing a paragraph as a single sentence bridging these ideas makes sense.

As a rule, however, you will want to start a paragraph with a reference to the subject matter that precedes it, or with wording that clearly transitions to the subset you are going to develop in the new paragraph.  The flow from one paragraph to another should make sense and advance your message in the mind of the reader.  That usually calls for a multi sentence paragraph.

White space

Shorter is better.  White space breaks up the visual composition and makes it easier to read.  It also sets a visual tone that is sensitive to the reader experience.  You want to make your reader comfortable. So give them something that will make their time with you informative and enjoyable.

How Many Paragraphs

The number of paragraphs depends on the purpose of your article and the progression of ideas.  When you have run out of listed features and benefits in a review, then it is time to draw your conclusion and end the piece.  You might do it in three, five, seven paragraphs. It all depends on your main idea selection and the number of corroborating points you wish to make.

Some internet marketing sales letters go out to fifteen or twenty pages of copy.  You have to be a very good copywriter and know how to write an engaging paragraph to expect anyone to read a sales letter of that length.

Conclusion

Moderation and a sense of order should be the main considerations in writing a paragraph in a proper sequential order according to Mr. Strunk and Mr. White.

Shorter is better, some white space, smooth idea progression from paragraph to paragraph; fit all this into your article marketing and things will start happening.

There you have it! Knowing how to  write a paragraph with good structure will help you better communicate with your readership and will have a direct impact on your business.  Writing paragraphs that work together will have your customers following your great copy. When that happens your sales are bound to follow.

May Your Travels Be Prosperous.

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Affiliate Marketing for Beginners: Writing With a Plan

A facsimile of the original printing of Shakes...
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How to Create an Outline for Your Article

Article Writing

Pick a Plan and Stick to It

Writing of an any sort requires some forethought and a plan.  The plan varies according to what you are going to write and who your intended audience is.  For example if you are writing to your loved one, you will let the thoughts and words flow from the heart.  In that case, stream of feeling or consciousness frames your plan.
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