TP Javeton WebNet

Category: Merchants

  • Avoiding Spam in Your Ad Campaigns

    A fine and distinct line

    At one time or another we have all seen statements pertaining to spam which are admonishing in nature but designed to make us aware of the negative effects spamming can have on our promotional and marketing efforts. Such statements often appear in the form of short, two-to-three word directives like, “Don’t Spam,” “Avoid Spamming” and “Advertise, Do Not Spam,” along with other similar cautionary phrases. What is often left unsaid is what spam is and the various ways in which it is defined and interpreted; so in this article we will try to provide some clarification.

    First and foremost it is necessary to point out that there is a fine line between advertising and spam, but unfortunately many business owners do not understand the things that distinguish one from the other, although understanding these distinctions is very important in the sense that a smart and well planned Web marketing campaign can help to attract new customers and keep existing customers loyal, spam will likely alienate potential customers as well as an existing customer base. Such alienation can be extremely damaging to profit margins for many business owners. So let’s begin by taking a look at three examples in which basic Web marketing activities – banner ads, email campaigns and message board posts – can quickly cross the line from smart advertising to spam and how it can occur in each instance.

    Banner ads

    Banner ads are some of the most popular ad placement strategies that can accompany a Web marketing plan. They usually appear at the top of websites, spanning the width of a standard website – which is how they originally earned the name ‘banner ads’ – but in today’s marketing environment banner ads can actually refer to ads of various different sizes and shapes (instead of the standard 468×60 and the larger leaderboard 728×90 versions) that appear in an array of different locations on websites throughout the Web. In many cases a business owner (merchant) might purchase advertising space on certain websites but the banner ad may also be placed as part of an exchange or an affiliate marketing campaign.

    Exchanges of banner ads occur when one business owner (say merchant A) posts a banner ad on his own website in exchange for his banner ad being placed on the website of another business owner (say merchant B). These agreements may be made individually between business owners with complimentary businesses or as part of exchanges facilitated by a third party (an affiliate of one or the other). In the case of affiliate marketing it is often the case that an affiliate will post advertisements for a given merchant on his/her affiliate site in exchange for compensation when the banner ad produces a desired effect such as, traffic to the business site or product purchases. The terms of these agreements are determined and agreed to beforehand and are generally based on a scale of pay per impression, per click or per sale/lead.

    Now that you have a better idea of what banner ads are it is just as important to understand how they can be overused and, as a result of such overuse, be interpreted as spam. For example, judiciously placing your banner ad on a few websites which are likely to attract an audience similar to your target audience is smart marketing; whereas placing your banner ad on any website that will display the ad regardless of the target audience can be construed as spam. Be assured that Internet users who think your banner ads are everywhere they turn regardless of the content they are pursuing will not likely take your business seriously, in which case they certainly will not purchase products or services promoted under that business name as a result of such pervasive distribution of banner ads.

    eMail marketing campaigns

    Email marketing campaigns can also be very useful tools in the industry of Web marketing as these campaigns may involve sending periodic eNewsletters filled with information as well as advertisements and short, informative email courses or discounts on product and service offerings. Loyal customers who opt into a marketer’s email list will likely not view these emails as spam and may purchase additional products and services from the marketer or merchant as a result of this marketing strategy.

    Additionally, potential customers who have specifically requested more information on certain products and services will also find this type of marketing useful. However, email recipients who did not request information are likely to view such emails as spam. Similarly, harvesting email addresses in a deceptive manner and using these addresses to send out mass emails will most likely be always considered as spam. In fact sending unwanted commercial email to recipients who did not agree to receiving emails from the sender are considered one of the reasons for enactment of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, more of which are highlighted in the excerpt below.

    The CAN-SPAM Act was implemented in the United States on January 1st of 2004 as a means of protecting the privacy of consumers. CAN-SPAM is short for Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act. The act prevents the use of misleading “to” and “from” headers in emails. The law requires marketers to include their physical address in the email as well as an “opt-out” link in every email designed to give consumers the ability to reach the marketer and tell them they no longer want to receive information from them after which the email sender must remove this email address from their data base within 10 business days. Any email that contains sexual content must be clearly labeled and identified before the recipient opens it. Marketers have to get permission from the consumer in order to sell their email address.

    Excerpt taken from Web Connections website. More about the legal aspect of spam can be obtained from, www.cauce.org.

    Message boards

    Message boards provide an excellent opportunity for business owners to obtain some free advertising where it will be noticed by members of a particular target audience; and if the products and services you or other business owners offer appeal to a specific niche, it is worthwhile to join message boards and online forums related to your industry of choice. Here you will find a large population of Internet users who may have an interest in your products.

    You might consider including a link to your marketing website in your signature or posting the link when it is applicable to the conversation. However, care should be taken to closely review the message board guidelines so you can avoid doing anything inappropriate while employing a technique which many consider to be smart marketing. Conversely, replying to every message with a link to your website when it is not relevant to the conversation is likely to be construed as spam by other members. Once they begin to view your posts as spam, they are not likely to visit your website via the links you post.

     

  • Proven Steps for Building a Subscriber List

    Birth of the WMS model

    According to Internet Growth Statistics provided on the Internet World Stats website, in December 1995 only 0.4 percent of the world’s population used the Internet; by December 2005 that percentage had risen to 15.7 percent (fueled in part by addition of the World Wide Web, circa 1997); and by June of this year (2017) the number stood at 51.7 percent of the world’s population using the Internet. So it is reasonable to state that there was a growth rate of Internet use which was indeed rapid.

    That having been said, it is probably as reasonable to state that the growth rate of online marketing have surged just as rapidly as that of the Internet (Web), except that it did not cover the same period of time; but as more Web-based businesses were created and vied for a share of the eCommerce marketplace, the need to develop new marketing skills and information products became more evident and, as a result, an increased number of marketing strategies were being discovered and developed to cope with the changing face of business in the eCommerce world.

    Needless to say, such growth could not have occurred without a demand for the services provided via the Web and the new business type it fostered. However, there was also demand for online marketing tips and strategies which resulted from the astronomical number of new businesses that were created on the Web and continue to be created, leading to the birth of a new Web-based business known as Web Marketing Strategies (WMS). Part of understanding this seb-set of Web Marketing is accepting the nature of business, the market it serves, and its motivating factor which is profit.

    Staple of email marketing

    So it follows that while there are companies engaged in WMS activities that are all too eager to help your Web-based business build a clientele for a fee, there are also a number of methods you can utilize to promote your website in a more cost effective – and in many cases – free way. One of these methods is Email Marketing (EM), also known as permission marketing, in which Web-based business owners (known as merchants) can actually engage by getting permission from site visitors to send them emails about their company and/or product offers. Those who grant such permission become subscribers to such emails and are considered members of a subscriber list maintained by the merchant.

    The staple of email marketing is a subscriber list which, as stated above, requires permission from website visitors, supporters and past customers of a merchant or publisher (website owner) who are willing to subscribe to marketing materials, newsletters, catalogs and other promotional material via email; and the more marketing emails are sent by the merchant or marketer, the more chances s/he has of making sales and perhaps encouraging more future purchases. To do this s/he, the email sender, must build a list consisting of all those who wish to subscribe to the list.

    From this list the merchant or email marketer will be able to designate certain members of the subscriber list as target customers for some product types and other members for different product types. This is considered a good list since these different sections of it will have already shown interest in different product offers the merchant has to show and sell. As list members have a preference for what they’ve seen on the merchant’s site, and have decided they want to see more, and maybe even purchase whatever product or service the merchant – through his/her website – offers they will have the opportunity to follow through on that preference.

    Strategic patience

    In view of the above many people may harbor the opinion that building a subscriber list takes a lot of hard work and a lot of time to build and collect names and addresses; and when approached in the wrong way this could indeed be true. However, if the correct steps are taken, the process takes a bit of patience and a few solid strategies that have been proven to be effective in building subscriber lists. Such a list-building process can be instrumental in a publisher’s ability to open his/her website and business to a whole new world of target marketing.

    The central point here is that simply making the effort to build a subscriber list by utilizing strategies that have been proven effective can take your business to a new level which will often result in increased traffic and decent profit, if that’s your objective, and can ultimately do wonders for your business venture. keep in mind that there are many sources and articles which are accessible from the Web to anyone wanting who wish to build a subscriber list, even though they can sometimes be confusing because there are so many sources; and seldom do they all promote the same approach.

    And while different groups of marketers, “gurus” and tutorialists have different approaches in building subscriber lists, be assured that there are certain fundamentals that must be adhered to when building your own list; and some of those fundamental steps are outlined in the following paragraphs.

    Steps one & two

    Step one – requires that you install a good, workable, legible web form on your website which can be located immediately following each of your articles and/or blog posts, or in the side bar of your website. While some may say that immediately placing a web form on a newly created website is too soon ask visitors to subscribe to a list, there is really no best or ideal time to ask a visitor to opt-in to your list. As long as your homepage provide a quick, good (first) impression and a website visitor finds something s/he likes, that might just be enough reason for signing up.

    A good web form for opting into a subscriber list is not hard to come by, and asking your website visitor opt-in to your list is really not hard to do. Simply write a simple short statement inviting your visitors to see more and get updated information about the site and what it stands for. Then there should be an area where they could put in their names and e-mail addresses. This web form will automatically save and send you the data entered on the form; and as more people sign in, your list will grow accordingly and proportionately.

    Step two – requires your site’s home page (or landing page if other than your home page), as mentioned in the first step, be as impressive as you can make it; and the articles, as well as the description of your website should be clear, well-written and free of any derogatory language or graphics. Depending on what your site is all about, you need to capture your website visitor’s interest while making your content useful and your site easy to navigate. Do not expect everyone to be tech savvy! Invest in having good programming on your site and make your graphics beautiful while making sure to not overload it.

    Don’t waste your time making the homepage or landing page overly large megabyte-wise, since there is a strong possibility that all visitors to your website will not have dedicated T1 connections; so the faster your site gets loaded (a consequence of reduced number and size of the graphics placed on it), the better experience your visitors will have. Go for a look that borders between simplicity and sophisticated knowledge.

    Steps three & four

    Step three – requires that any products or services you offer via your site be of high quality, value and reliability which in turn will have the affect of satisfying any customer who makes a purchase, and can therefore result in very positive responses. Remember that a returning customer is more likely to bring in more business; and a satisfied customer will more likely recommend new customers that do business. Word of mouth and recommendations alone can rake in more and better business than an expensive ad. As your clientele roster grows, so too will your list; and with more members on the list even more people will get to know about what you have new to offer.

    Step four – requires that you maintain a clean and private list while never losing the trust your customers who have entrusted to you their email addresses and other private information; and remember this rule if you don’t remember anything else you’ve read thus far: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER engage in unlawful activities by sending SPAM email to anyone! Bad news has a tendency of spreading fast, and such illegal activities will reach your subscriber list members quicker than you can compose a one-line email.

    Be assured that many of your subscribers will most likely unsubscribe from your list as a result of such activity, or even accusations of doing so. Keep your reputation untarnished, because a good reputation will drive more traffic and subscribers to your site/business, as well as strengthen the loyalty of current customers.

  • A Glimpse Into the World of Professional Blogging




    Attraction to pro blogging

    as a vocation with a lot of potential for entrepreneurs who have a basic understanding of today’s innovative Web technology, as well as discipline, motivation and insight into one or more topics about which to write. The number of so-called pro bloggers who earn reasonable sums of money from their blogs are small; and still smaller is the group of bloggers who make a living entirely from blogging. Kimberly Palmer, a senior editor for U.S. News Money and author of the book, The Economy of You, citing a Pro blogger survey in her How to Earn Money as a Professional Blogger article, wrote:

    “…most bloggers earn less than $100 per month, and 3 in 10 earn less than $10 per month. Only 16 percent of the 4,000 respondents say they make more than $2,500 a month.” That having been said, however, the number of their blog enough to supplement an existing income have increased since 2009 when Ms. Palmer’s article was written; and the pro blogging community is growing at a rate which can be described as moderate, but it is difficult to say whether this trend will continue since competition for online advertising dollars has increased at a much faster rate.

    Many Web users and marketers dream of entering , even while there are some who happily devote an hour or more each day to their blog with the ever present wish that they could earn some kind of financial reward for all of their work. But those who yearn to monetize their blogs must know and utilize existing models for making money from their blogging activity, the most popular of which is to sell advertising space through Google’s AdSense program, or the less popular method of selling advertising space to one or more companies that wish to reach the bloggers’ audience.

    A self-supporting blogosphere

    Indeed, the number of people who do just by selling space on their blogs comprises a very small percentage of an otherwise vibrant online marketplace; but this has not been a deterrent to aspiring pro bloggers, simply because the attraction of this vocation and the lifestyle it it supports appeal to many. Aspiring pro bloggers need not be dissuaded as they will find it comforting news that bloggers – pro, amateur and blogging hobbyists – are very supportive of each other in the sense that most of the people who read weblogs are bloggers themselves.

    The self-supporting characteristic of this blogosphere is due – in part – to the fact that people who use blogging technology on a daily basis are most likely to be interested in what other writers are doing with the medium. And this is a fact that begins to explain why those who succeed in the world of professional blogging are mostly individuals who have devoted themselves almost entirely to learning about, talking about, and writing about blogging. More than any other topic, pro bloggers turn their attention to ; and a lot of pro bloggers make their topic of blogging the stunningly self-reflexive focus of their blogs on an ongoing basis.

    Of course, professional blogging is destined to become much more complicated in the future than it is today; but it must be said that the largest audiences and make the most money are mostly concerned with investigating the blogging movement as well as offering advice to amateur bloggers. However, as the kinds of people who regularly read blogs change, and the demographics of bloggers expand and diversify as blogging software becomes more user-friendly, it is very likely that the world of pro blogging will begin to reflect these changes.

    Pro blogging in flux

    Indeed, it is very difficult to predict exactly what kinds of blogs will be five or ten years from now; but the world of pro blogging is one of constant change, and continues to be in a state of flux – not unlike the overall blogosphere and the larger Internet community – which is part of what makes it so exciting, appealing and inviting. If you are an aspiring pro blogger, it might be helpful for morale to heed the words of pro blogger Jim Wang, who is quoted as offering this advice: ‘Be patient. “It takes years to get to the point where you can earn a living off the site,” a sentiment which echoed by other successful pro bloggers who know what it takes to achieve pro blogging success.

  • Blogosphere Plus Pro-Blogging Equal Money!


    Blog use expanded

    A weblog – or simply blog – is a website that ‘publishes’ or features articles which are referred to as ‘entries,’ ‘blog posts,’ or simply ‘posts’ written by an individual or a group of people who utilize one or any combination of the many functions available in modern blogging software offered by the various platforms. Whereas the original blogging technology that existed two decades ago was limited to written content, the rapid advancement of digital technology has allowed blogging platforms to offer:

    • Straight text blogs;
    • Photograph or image blogs (photo-blogging);
    • Video blogs (video-blog);
    • Audio file blogs (audio-blogging), and;
    • Hyperlink blogs.

    Typically, a blog is arranged in reverse chronological order and can be used for a variety of different purposes; but the most frequent uses of blogs, traditionally speaking, have been online journals, web diaries, content management systems and Web publishing platforms. These uses are more adaptable to blogs because the type and variety of components found in the standard blog were, and still are for the most part, more conducive to these uses.

    Here are a few of those components:

    • Post date – The date and time of the blog entry
    • Category – The particular subject group to which a post most closely identifies
    • Title – The title or main theme of the blog, which should be relevant to the subject
    • Main body – What the writer actually conveys in the blog; the story told about a particular blog topic
    • RSS and trackback – A method of connecting blog “A” to several other blogs/sites via links
    • Comments – Commentaries added by readers (interaction) in the form of feedback and opinions
    • Permalinks – The method by which every blog post has its own unique URL
    • Other optional items – Calendar, Archives, Blogrolls, and various Add-ons and/or Plug-ins

    Blog types

    As in the same fashion that a blog is usually designed with a header, that same blog can also have a footer – found at the bottom of the blog – installed, if the owner so desires. Footers can show the post date, the author, the category, and the ‘stats’ (the number of comments or trackbacks). But a blog footer is not often as elaborate or stylish as the header, and therefore does not require a great deal of time spent creating it.

    In so far as a blog’s subject is concerned, there are numerous types of blogs, comprised of various themes, interests and industries, including, but not limited to the following:

    1. Political blogs – on news, politics, activism, and other issue based blogs (such as campaigning).
    2. Personal blogs – also known as online diary that may include an individual’s day-to-day experience, complaints, poems, and illicit thoughts, and communications between friends.
    3. Health blogs – on specific health issues. Medical blog is a major category of health blog that features medical news from health care professionals and/or actual patient cases.
    4. Literary blogs – also known as litblog.
    5. Travel blog – with focus on a traveler’s stories on a particular journey.
    6. Research blogs – on academic issues such as research notes.
    7. Legal blogs – on law (technical areas) and legal affairs; also known as ‘blawgs.’
    8. Media blogs – focus on falsehoods or inconsistencies in mass media; usually exclusive for a newspaper or a television network.
    9. Religious blogs – on religious topics.
    10. Educational blogs – on educational applications, usually written by students and teachers.
    11. Collaborative or collective blogs – a specific topic written by a group of people.
    12. Directory blogs – contains a collection of numerous web sites.
    13. Business blogs – used by entrepreneurs and corporate employees to promote their businesses or talk about their work.
    14. Personification blogs – focus on non-human beings or objects (such as pets, plants, robots, etc.).
    15. Spam blogs – used for promoting affiliated websites; also known as ‘splogs’.

    In amazing numbers

    Blogging is typically done on a regular (almost daily) basis, a frequency that is almost expected, in view of the fact that the term “blogging” refers to the act of authoring, maintaining, and/or adding an article to an existing blog at regular intervals; while the term “blogger” refers to a person or a group who manages and maintains the blog.

    Today, more than 152 million blogs can be found in the Internet; this according to Brandon Gaille, in his article titled, How Many Blogs are on the Internet. But the amazing thing is that, this figure is continuously growing; and as technology makes blogging software, tools, and other applications easier to use and more accessible for just about anyone to update or maintain a blog (even those with little or no technical background), who knows how much the number of blogs will increase.

    Because of the growth rate of blogs and a trend towards personal ownership, bloggers can be categorized into four main groups:

    1. Personal blogging – Bloggers who focus on a diary or on any topic that an individual feels strongly or passionate about.
    2. Business blogging – Bloggers who focus on the promotional and advertising aspect of expression, usually to sell products and services.
    3. Organizational blogging – Bloggers who focus on internal or external communication within a community or organization.
    4. Professional blogging – Bloggers who are hired or paid to do blogging.

    The money aspect of blogging

    As with any other industry or popular vocation, blogging has reached the point where just about everyone with a computer and access to the Internet wants a blog, but not everyone is capable of managing one or even conveying the message he/she wishes the world to know. Enter the professional blogger, or as is more casually referred to, the pro-blogger, which is someone who blogs for a profit. Pro-bloggers, to put it another way, are people who make money from blogging (as an individual blog publisher or a hired blogger), and can be very much in demand from time to time, and depending on the subject.

    Below are just some of the many money-making opportunities for pro-bloggers:

    • Advertising programs
    • RSS Advertising
    • Sponsorship
    • Affiliate Programs
    • Digital Assets
    • Blog Network Writing
    • Business Blog Writing
    • Non-Blogging Writing
    • Donations
    • Flipping blogs
    • Merchandising
    • Consulting and speaking

    Where there is a money-making opportunity, many entrepreneurial-minded, enterprising and talented (as well as some not so talented) will be attracted to the opportunity; and as such, pro-bloggers of all stripes will make their services available. But they must know and understand a few things if they are to be effective at, and achieve success in, pro blogging. There are as follows:

    1. They must be patient. Pro-blogging requires a lot of time and effort, not to mention a long-term vision;
    2. They must know their audience. Targeting a specific audience or group is a key to building a readership;
    3. They must be an ‘expert’ on the particular subject. Focus on a specific niche topic and strive to be the “go-to” blogger on that topic, and;
    4. They must be willing to diversify. This requires them to experiment with various topics and add affiliate programs that enable them to make money online (aside from blogging).
    5. They must try not to bore their readers. Focusing on the blog layout can help in this area. White spaces, line spacing, and bigger fonts make a blog welcoming to read.

    A blogging entrepreneur?!

    If you have aspirations of becoming a pro blogger, it is quite possible that you will earn money from a vocation such as this; but keep in mind that in any entrepreneurial undertaking, it is necessary to take risks, and you must possess passion as well as a positive (be an optimist) attitude in order to be a successful entrepreneur, which is essentially what a pro-blogger is. Good luck!

  • Blogging for Beginners – A Reference Guide


    Originally, weblog!

    The blog – originally known as a weblog – is basically an online journal with which an individual can digitally write down, or record in a number of different ways, his/her thoughts, ideas, opinions and practically anything else that individual wants people to know about; and since blogs come in various styles, formats and settings – depending on user preferences – their rapid increase in popularity is hardly a surprise. In fact, many blogging platforms offer built-in features such as hyperlinks, straight texts, pictures and other formatting tools, and blogging platforms even allow you, the user, to place videos and mp3’s on your blogs.

    As you may already know, not everyone likes to write and, based on this aversion to writing, some bloggers choose to make their blogs more audio friendly by using spoken-word entries instead of writing texts. This is known as audio blogging, which often consist of the same subject matter as text blogs, except that it is spoken and not written. The same can be said about video blogs and pictorial (photo) blogs, which are often used by photographers and such other artists as may find the blogging medium conducive to their careers and other entrepreneurial pursuits.

    The basic blog contains these standard features:

    • The title – This allows you, the blog owner – or blogger – to label your post.
    • The body – This is your post content, whether its written, spoken or depicted.
    • Trackback – This is tool that allows other sites to be linked back to your blog.
    • Permanent link – The method used to provide every article you write with a URL.
    • Comments – This allow readers to interact, via the “comment box,” on your blog.

    Blogging: Useful for newcomers

    One of the advantages of blogging is the small number of templates as well as the simplicity of those templates; because unlike other websites which are made up of numerous individual pages, a few simple templates make it easier, more often than not, for blog users to create new pages since the blog already has fix settings that include slots for title, body of the post, category and tags.

    This is especially useful for first time bloggers because it provides the platform where they can start blogging right away without having to worry about site design, content for various pages, e.g. “About Us,” “Sitemap,” “SEO,” or other such concerns; and they can chose from a number of templates that the blogging platforms provide.

    Anyone who wants to start a blog can do so by becoming a member of one of the many available blogging platforms that suits his/her fancy or purpose; and once s/he becomes a member of a given platform, s/he will automatically be a part of that particular blogging community. of course, s/he can also browse through other bloggers’ pages, and link them back to his/her own blogs, in addition to making comments on other members’ blogs.

    An entrepreneur’s ad space

    Blogging is not just limited to personal usage, though; because there are a lot of blogs that follow specific themes such as: sports, politics, philosophy, social commentary, and an almost infinite number of other subject matters. These bloggers espouse on their specific themes; this way blogging becomes a medium in which people can share their knowledge and opinions about a variety of themes and topics.

    Some bloggers even use their blogs as a place – digital as it may be – from which to advertise, like some authors that utilize personal blogs to advertise their books; while other bloggers use their blogs to shed light on current issues, events, news, trends and catastrophes. And let us not forget the education establishment which utilize blogs as a very important part of reaching students, faculty and financiers, among others. Professors use blogging to document the lessons they have discussed and taught, making it easier for students who missed classes to easily catch up with their assignments.

    Entrepreneurs, mentioned briefly in the second paragraph, benefit from blogging by promoting businesses on their blogs; and with millions and millions of people logging onto the Web everyday, blogging has – no doubt – become a lucrative activity for these entrepreneurs, whether they are operating sole proprietorships, small companies, or mid-sized companies. Some bloggers who run online businesses use their blogs to promote their merchandise, while others profit through advertisement and affiliate sales.

    Uniqueness. Individuality. Personality.

    But by far, the most popular blog type is that which takes the form of a personal journal; because this is the kind that is often used by first-time bloggers. Individuals who want to document the daily struggle of their everyday lives, poems, rants, opinions, and other personal issues, find that blogging offers them a medium in which to express themselves.

    Bloggers often communicate within themselves; and this is truly one of the appealing things about blogging that attracts so many people to it. It creates a community of people sharing their ideas, passions, and comments with each other. But blogs vary in topics, themes, and set-ups which can be found in blog directories allow first-time users who want to get an idea of what the blogging world is all about to browse through multiple blogs using these directories. This way they can get an idea of what these blogging communities are like.

    Blogging is popular all over the world, because there are really no established rules in the blogosphere, although many bloggers try their best to adhere to “Best Practices.” But where self-expression and freedom of ideas are concerned, bloggers have the freedom to express themselves in any way they want. But the best thing about blogging is the fact that most blogging platforms are free; and there are numerous available on the Web to choose from, giving first time users an option of joining the specific blogging community that appeals to their interests.

    Begin with a directory!

    Just search any blogging directory and you will get a listing of numerous blogging platforms that are available on the Web. It’s easy to search a blogging directory, because it is organized according to category. This way you would get exactly what you are looking for. It can be said without much pushback, that blogging is really for everyone; and many users – seasoned bloggers and newcomers alike – find that it is fun, simple and easy to do!

  • Blogging: A Money-Making Web Marketing Tool


    From mere comments to profits!

    Blogging has come a long way since the late nineteen-nineties when it was seen as a way to merely comment on existing webpages, or an opportunity for visitors and readers to interact with each other and voice their opinions about various types of content. The amazing thing is, what started as a single-sentence commentary has evolved into pages of personal views on just about any topic imaginable; and as it stands today – March, 2016 – and continues into the future, blogging has increased its by attracting an increased share of online advertising.

    So if you are already a blogger who have spent, and still spend, a fair amount of time blogging, you could simply by asking for it, as long as you had previously laid the groundwork for this eventuality. In other words, if you’ve already established a blog for which there is a regular readership (following), the expectation that a portion – if not the majority – of this following can be transformed into a customer base for any products/services you recommend is certainly reasonable. Therefore you would have an easier time turning a profit by hosting sponsored links or banners on your blog, thereby deriving an income from this activity practically overnight.

    But even if you did not start your blog with the intentions of turning a profit, the ability to may be easier than you think. Keep in mind, however, that there is still a lot of time, work and effort involved in the monetization process; but the question any serious-minded blogger must address is, if s/he is already putting in the appropriate time, work and effort needed to monetize a blog just to maintain it, why not also opt for the monetary reward? And for anyone who is not currently blogging, but might want to embark on a career in blogging, this method of making money on the Web might be just the thing that could start your Web marketing career as will be discussed later.

    Blogging: Simple, authentic, free!

    The simplest and fastest way to express your point of view on the Web is through blogging, because there really no skills required other than the ability to legibly convey your thoughts in a way that others can understand; so in this regard, an average adult who can read, type and click a mouse can start a blog and be good at it. Blogging can be compared to having a virtual piece of paper on which you write your ideas, experiences and new products while hoping that the truth and quality of your articles shine through and entice readers to also try your product. And to think that all you need is a PC and an Internet connection to begin blogging and attracting advertisers.

    In this day and age when advertising saturate our lives, we question the credibility of promoters’ claims, and this is where the authenticity of a blog is not only an asset to its owner, but is seen as a valuable resource to those who read and follow it. And although blogs, in their truest form, allow real people to share their real-life experiences without the distraction of paid advertising, reading a blog about first-hand product use is like talking to an individual about his/her first-hand experience. And after all, don’t most people prefer to buy tried and tested products?

    Blogging is free, and despite the fact that, today, it is considered a marketing tool from which , many blogging platforms like WordPress, Blogger and Tumblr as well as several others, still see it as something to augment current marketing tools and offer it free of charge. This opportunity for a free web space and time is definitely a plus for new businesses that are just starting up, and needless to say, a blogger having the ability to monetize his/her blog pages without incurring an expense for the space and time in which the blog is accessible, can generate a generous income for his/her growing blogging business.

    Blogging credibility builds your market

    A prerequisite to establishing a following and is credibility. Your blog’s title, content and availability on the Web (reliability) must be credible; so that as you proceed through the writing of your experiences on a particular product or industry, your readers will come to realize that they can depend on your posts for their own information needs. Therefore, you become an expert in the particular topic of conversation and are seen as such, which results in more readers visiting your blogsite and more bloggers linking to it.

    When companies and professional organizations notice the growth of your readership base, they will soon contact you with offers for advertising on your blog page or make you an affiliate, in which case you’ll be compensated by the affiliate program for every referral to the merchant’s site that was generated from your blogsite. So credibility is that element of blogging which must be maintained at all costs in order to begin the very important task of ; because unless you are a known entity (pro athlete, Hollywood star, politician, etc.) chances are that nobody reads your blog, except maybe your mom and a few friends and family members.

    However, the group of people you know is certainly not big enough from which to build a market, so you’ll need to start looking at a number of different methods that can be effective in your market-building objective and . because without a viable market for the products and service promoted on your blog, you could be destined to the same fate of those who have spent months or even years blogging just to realize that the money they make from advertising adds up to such a negligible sum that it is hardly worth mentioning.

    Blog market-building tips

    Concentrate on those elements (prequisites) mentioned earlier (title, content and reliability), and then make sure that the subject matter is appealing to your target audience, which in turn will enduce advertisers to reach out to you and help you to . With this in mind, we hope you find the tips and methods provided in following paragraphs helpful to your your blog marketing aspirations.

    Start using your email to communicate, if you are not currently doing so; because today’s blogging is overcoming the popularity of emails to quickly and effectively reach and expand a market. And in this age of speed and quick access, logging in and downloading email is simply taking much longer than clicking into a blogsite. So allow them to explore your blog by using a short email message as a teaser to your blog site; and if your email is on an entirely different subject, simply use your email signature to provide them with a link to the site.

    Invite readers to subscribe to your blog or to a newsletter. In order to do this you’ll need an opt-in form through which your your readers can provide their name and email address, two of the items needed for them to authorize you top send them information via email. Giving your readers an opportunity to subscribe to your blogsite, and providing them with exclusive information that is not given to anybody else, will entice them to subscribe by giving their name and email address. Just make sure to be responsible in your use of their information, as the last thing you want is a comment on your blog that you are a spammer.

    Surveys and blogging networks

    Make a serious and ongoing effort to understand your readers. You can start by conducting a simple survey for them to complete, which will provide you with a better understanding of their profiles and advertising preferences. Ask your blog followers and readers to give you feedback on a post, an ad link, or a product trial that you shared. Using this approach is like interviewing your readers without the commitment and intrusion of a face-to-face interview.

    Consider joining a blogging network, which is a collection of blogsites that consist of content about a common industry, common interests, common readership base, common payment mode, and other similarly common characteristics. Most consumers find credibility and convenience in clicking one link to several real bloggers about a single subject. In this regard, than, and more influential, than a single one.

    Ultimately, the only way to find out if you can succeed in blogging by taking advantage of the free software offered by the various platforms, build credibility, create a market and succeed in attracting advertisers to monetize your blog, is to start one; and if you are already blogging, you really have nothing to lose. So give your online presence a boost by effectively using this that could propel you to new heights in the blogosphere.

  • About Bloggers and Affiliate Merchants




    Blogging as an affiliate tool

    If you are new to affiliate marketing and wish , an ideal way to do so is by making contact with merchants who own the products/services (‘products’) and/or affiliate programs in which you are most interested; this way you can save yourself a lot of time, money and heartache, because you will know – first-hand – what is expected of you in relation to those merchants’ products.

    That having been said it should also be pointed out that affiliates who prefer to by which to promote a merchant’s products must be receptive to the idea that the topics they cover in their blogs should meet a number of objectives. In other words, the topics these affiliates blog about should be of interest to a large section of the blogging community, while simultaneously be compatible with the affiliate products they are marketing.

    For example, some of the most pertain to money, various types of loans, debt consolidation, and other financial topics; but also encompass tips and techniques on how to make and manage money. These are just a few examples of popular topics that bloggers explore on the web, so it is no surprise that so many bloggers turn their attention to dealing with debt.

    Gain the merchants’ confidence

    Once you, as a new , decide that you intend to utilize products you should contact the affiliate merchants to let them know what marketing strategy you are using – or will use – to promote their products, even while you ask for their advice as to what they have found to be the most effective strategy for marketing such products.

    Merchants will know their product the best and they will have a good idea of the strategies being employed by other affiliates that have been proven most successful in making sales. In addition, contacting the merchant also shows them that you are dedicated to achieving vocation, which should give them some extra incentive to work more cooperatively with you.

    Keep in mind that once you have stated your intention and disclosed your marketing strategy to these merchants, they might make the extra effort to design (or brand) marketing materials specifically for you, so it is important that you be consistent in your approach, topic and medium. If your topic pertains to debt, about the ease with which consumers fall into debt and the difficulty they have in getting out of it; this way merchants might have more confidence in your marketing approach and expertise.

    Know your blogging topic!

    There’s nothing wrong with creating a positive impression on your affiliate merchants, and contacting them also shows your enthusiasm for marketing their products. Merchants having an also know that over 90% of sales are generated by less than 5% of their affiliates; so good merchants will recognize your efforts and provide you with tools, information and other resources that will help you achieve success.

    If you intend to blog about some of the popular topics mentioned earlier, make sure you have some knowledge about these topic, since you wouldn’t want to blog about loans, debt consolidation, savings, and certain types of investments unless you have a thorough understanding of financial management or consulting. If, on the other hand, you are already familiar with loans, debt consolidation, savings, and types of investments, make sure to use your knowledge toward .

    By sharing expertise you have in a given field, you will certainly be able to help your readers solve any problems they may have in that particular area, while for your time and knowledge. So while popular topics can prove to be very fruitful to blog about, you must be able to write intelligently about them.

    Many of who make a substantial income from their blogs spend a significant amount of their time writing about money; so if you know how to entice and woo advertisers while building a blog fan base, you can also earn a considerable income simply by talking about money; as long as you do proper research on the topic and learn how to write compelling posts about it.

    Dealing directly with merchants

    The more success you have blogging about a particular topic, the more interest you will create in your blog, such that if and when you email a merchant and they don’t respond, you should have no problem getting the attention of other merchants; and you should really refrain from any dealings (partnership?) with a merchant who fails to communicate, since such failure might be indicative of other problems, such as refusal or failure to pay your commission.

    An affiliate marketing partnership is by no means a problem-free arrangement, since it has been shown to involve a number of problems, including but not limited to, poor quality products, poor/non-existent customer service and failure/refusal to pay affiliate commissions. Keep in mind that some merchants also make big promises and set high payout rates knowing full well that very few affiliates will actually meet their objectives. You should avoid working with such merchants.

    Communicating with merchants

    When you communicate with merchants, you should ensure that you use a professional tone; and if you have suggestions on how a merchant can improve his/her offers, you should let them know, because most merchants appreciate feedback, and know that a lot of the feedback they receive can improve their programs.

    Always remember that smart merchants understand the value of good affiliates and will treat you with respect, assist you with resources, and pay your commissions promptly; while smart affiliates understand that merchants want quality promotion and sales performance.

    To get the most out of your partnership, you should always be professional and make an effort to cooperate with your merchant; and try to understand that good merchants are always busy, which might make them seem like they aren’t that good; but be assured that they will answer your questions and emails, even if it takes them a bit more time.

    The longer you work with a merchant, the more you will understand how they do things; but if you are just starting out in affiliate marketing, you have to realize that a merchant can help you understand how things work. So if you listen to the the reputable ones and show initiative, you’ll be well on your way to achieving success as an affiliate marketing blogger.

    As a token of our appreciation the free ebook titled, Storytelling Marketing can be yours if you have any interest in the art of storytelling. All you have to do is download it here, enjoy the reading and learn how storytelling can be a powerful ally in any business or marketing pursuit!

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