Category: Specialties

  • Air Purifier – Today’s Business Owner’s Edge

    Your air treatment system

    Are you a business owner? If so, what type of business do you own? If your answer is a small office, a retail store, dentist office or clinic – just to name a few – does your office have an air purifier? No, let me correct that: Do you have a patented air treatment system in your office? If your answer to this question is “no” it is advisable during these times of multiple Covid-19 virus strains to seriously consider purchasing one of these unique ActivePure® Technology machines for your office and invite customers to return without fear of the virus, allergens, dust mites, or any other kind of contaminants in the air or on surfaces. After a close examination you will likely find that you, your business and your employees can benefit from the use of an air treatment system made with the same patented that has been used by NASA to protect our astronauts and is inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame.

    Learn more about the technology that makes your breathing air pure by downloading the following free documents:

     

    These patented air treatment systems are electronic machines similar in some respects to air purifiers with the distinct difference that separates ActivePure® Technology machines from traditional air purifiers: ActivePure® Technology machines work to treat the air and make it clean, or “pure” (thus the term purifier). ActivePure® Technology machines are designed to kill contaminants. These machines…

    …”pull free oxygen and water molecules in the air through the ActivePure machine’s patented honeycomb matrix. The technology creates powerful oxidizers, known as ActivePure Molecules, that are then released back into the room, where they seek and destroy DNA and RNA viruses including the SARS-CoV-2 (novel coronavirus) virus, Swine Flu (H1N1), Avian Bird Flu (H5N8), Hepatitis A (HAV) and MS2 bacteriophage, regardless of their size, on surfaces and in the air.

    Here is a glimpse of the basic workings of an ActivePure® Technology air treatment unit:

    • Uses oxygen and humidity from the air;
    • Converts into powerful oxidizers;
    • Destroys microorganisms in the air and on surfaces;
    • Kills pathogens on contact; and
    • Is safe for astronauts and therefore safe for everyone!

    It’s the technology

    Air purifiers come in a variety of different makes and models, but the particular air treatment system that will be featured in this article is designed with which has been “proven effective in the reduction of airborne contaminants,” based upon tests conducted by University of Cincinnati, FDA Compliant Lab and Kansas State University, as well as other organizations for use in their businesses and other sensitive and health-based projects. Download this free pdf document for more details!

    Although it is important to understand how an air purifier works, it is also important to examine the benefits of using an air treatment system in today’s Covid-19 pandemic environment. As a business owner you will realize a number of different benefits derived from the presence of an . Such benefits range from the actual clean or pure air your staff and customers will breathe in; the “These Premises Are Protected” decal to place on your front door; the reduction of “airborne SARS-CoV-2 virus in 3 minutes…” as well as allergens and other contaminants.

    For young children

     

    It has been said that air purifiers are ideal for those who have young children. This is because children, in their early stages of life, are more susceptible to illness; so if you operate a doctor’s office or a daycare center you may want to look into air treatment systems and the enormous benefits they can provide for you. Perhaps a doctor’s office needs an air treatment system more than any business but as previously mentioned, all businesses will benefit from the use of an air treatment system.

    Air purifiers are also ideal for those who have pets, and while you would associate pets with homeowners, there is a chance that you may own or operate a business in which the focus is on pets. In the United States there a large number of pet stores that allow their customers to bring their pets inside; and the same is true for Vets’ offices pet grooming shops. So if you are the owner of one of these businesses, you are advised to seriously consider purchasing an air treatment system for your office. You will find that, in most cases, your customers/clients , staff and other visitors to your business will find it easier to breathe.

    Benefits outweigh costs

    The above mentioned examples are just a few of the many ways that business owners will benefit from when they utilize an air purifier in their business. Although the cost of an air treatment system, especially one that cleans the air in your whole building, tends to be expensive it will serve you well to remember the benefits, because in all cases the benefits far outweigh the cost in view of the fact that you can feel secure in knowing that – in a pandemic environment – you will be able to without fear of spreading the disease.

    More ActivePure® Technology authoritative content can be found at the following locations:

     

  • Will Web Marketing Help Your Business?

    Nuanced equation

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    Affiliate and email marketing software

    This is an extremely difficult question to answer because there are so many complex factors involved. Specifically the techniques you employ in your Web marketing campaign(s), as well as the execution of these techniques can determine whether or not Web marketing will work for your business. Additionally, the likelihood of your target audience using the Web and responding to your marketing efforts should also be considered part of the equation. This article will outline the potential for success in a Web marketing campaign.

    Before making the decision to initiate a Web marketing campaign you should carefully consider your target audience. The Web is used widely around the world but whether or not members of your target audience are likely to utilize the Web to research or purchase the products or services you sell is not guaranteed. This is significant because investing a great deal of time, effort and money into Web marketing when your target audience is not likely to respond to these efforts is not worthwhile.

    Conducting market research can be a great deal of help to you in determining whether or not you should invest in an Web marketing campaign for your business. This step is very important because it will give you a good indication of whether or not you should even begin marketing your business on the Web.

    The guru factor

    Hiring a firm specializing in market research is recommended because they can conduct this research quickly and efficiently and will likely gain a great deal of valuable information as a result of their research efforts. If they determine your business can benefit from an Web marketing campaign, it is time to start thinking about how you want to advertise your business online.

    Again, seeking the help of professionals can be an extremely worthwhile investment. If you are not well versed in the industry of Web marketing, hiring a firm with a great deal of expertise in this industry can be very helpful. They can assist you by consulting with you to determine which marketing strategies will be most effective, designing advertisements for your campaign, helping you to orchestrate your Web marketing campaign and evaluating the results of marketing efforts to determine which strategies are working and which are not.

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    The potential for success with a Web marketing campaign is virtually limitless. The success you enjoy is only limited by your ability to promote your products and services and execute effective marketing strategies. Some of the marketing strategies you may wish to employ may include optimizing your website for relevant search terms, placing links to your website judiciously on the Web, writing and publishing e-newsletters and utilizing affiliates to promote your website.

    Affiliates and SERPs

    Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most important aspects of any Web marketing campaign. SEO is so important because it dictates the ranking of your website on popular search engines. Web users value these results and are not likely to seek out websites which do not rank well on the Search Engine Result Page (SERPs). Conversely, high ranking websites can enjoy a great deal of increased website traffic as a result of these rankings.

    Inbound links to your website are also important in Web marketing. Inbound links are links on other websites which direct users to your website. These links are important in an Web marketing campaign. First of all many search engines factor inbound links into their ranking algorithms which means inbound links can result in higher search engines rankings. Also, these links can be used directly by website users to access your website. This means you can gain traffic directly from these links.

    Another way to enjoy a successful Web marketing campaign is to orchestrate an affiliate marketing campaign. Affiliates are essentially website owners who place a banner ad on their website to direct traffic to your website.

    Typically, affiliates are only compensated when the advertisement on their website produces a desired effect such as enticing the users to click through the advertisement, resulting in a sale or resulting in another action such as filling out a survey or registering with your website. Affiliate marketing can not only be highly effective but it is also cost effective because you only pay the affiliates when they produce results.

  • The Importance of SEO in Internet Marketing

    If you are already running an Internet marketing campaign or are about to embark on an Internet marketing campaign, one concept you cannot afford to skimp on is search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is one of the most popular buzz words in Internet marketing but unfortunately most Internet marketers simply do not know enough about SEO to make this strategy work for them. Even those who are knowledgeable about SEO may have difficulty executing their SEO strategies to produce the desired results.

    Advertising is a very important part of running any type of business, because you need to advertise in order to reach new customers and market your products or services. Whether you run your business online or not you probably already realize how important it is to advertise, but if you are running your business online you should understand there is a great deal of free advertising available in the form of optimal search engine rankings.

    Well known search engines such as Google rank websites according to complex algorithms which are designed to determine which websites are most relevant for particular search terms. Therefore taking the time and effort to optimize your website for relevant search terms may result in you being rewarded with high search engine rankings for those terms. This is important because most Internet users rely heavily on such rankings.

    It is not uncommon for Internet users to review only the first few results when they search for a particular term. This means if your website ranks high enough to appear on the first page of those search results you will likely enjoy increased website traffic. However, if your website does not make it to the first page or even the second page, it is unlikely you will receive a great deal of website traffic from visitors who use search engines.

    Now that you understand why search engine rankings are so important you might be wondering how to achieve these rankings. The easiest way to optimize your website is to hire a SEO specialist to do the work for you, because the world of SEO is complex and continually evolving that it would be difficult for most business owners who do not specialize in SEO to keep up with the changes in the industry. Therefore, business owners who attempt to optimize their website by themselves may have difficulty keeping up with competitors who hire a SEO consultant to optimize their website.

    The algorithms used by search engines can be rather complex and include a number of different factors. Some of the common factors in the equation include keyword density, META tags, titles, inbound links, website traffic and content.

    Keyword density refers to the number of times a particular keyword is used in the content of your website. The theory behind this concept is that website which use a keyword often are likely extremely relevant to that keyword, however, overuse of that keyword may result in penalties to the website if the search engine deemed the keywords are not being used appropriately.

    META tags are pieces of HTML code which some search engines use in evaluating the content of a website. Placing keywords in these tags can be beneficial in some search engines. However, care should be taken to avoid placing irrelevant keywords in these tags as this may result in your website being penalized.

    Inbound links are also used by some search engines to rank websites. Inbound links refer to links on other websites which point to your website. In evaluating the worth of these inbound links, some search engines consider the rank of the website providing the link to your website. This means you should ensure the website providing inbound links to your website are high ranking websites to receive the most benefit from these links.

    Finally, the content on your website can do a great deal to bolster your search engine rankings. Most SEO firms retain a staff of writers who are skilled at providing quality content which is also optimized for relevant keywords. If you hire a SEO firm who does not providing copywriting services you should invest in hiring a professional writer yourself. This will help to ensure the copy on your website is not only valuable to your visitors but also considered valuable to search engines.

  • Starting an Affiliate Marketing Campaign


    The affiliate strategy

    Some business owners opt to start an affiliate marketing campaign as part of their overall marketing strategy. These business owners are usually referred to as merchants, and in most cases the affiliate marketing campaign is only a small portion of their overall marketing strategy. But there many business owners choose to rely exclusively on this type of marketing. The main purpose of doing this is to save money while still achieving valuable advertising.

    However, once a business becomes more successful they should consider being more proactive and combining affiliate marketing with other types of Internet marketing such as placing banner ads and orchestrating an email marketing campaign. This article will take a look at what affiliate marketing is and will provide insight into why this is popular and how it can be used effectively.

    Affiliate marketing campaigns

    An affiliate marketing campaign is essentially a situation where other website owners place ads for your business on their websites. These website owners are known as affiliates. It is important to understand how this type of marketing works. In general the affiliates are given code for your banner ad to place on their website and given the freedom to promote their own website as they see fit. In promoting their website they are also attracting attention to your website because of the banner ad directing visitors to your own website.

    One of the most appealing elements of affiliate marketing centers on the fact that the affiliate is only compensated when s/he produces a desired result. This means the business owner is not obligated to pay an affiliate unless the affiliate is successful. Success may be defined as generating traffic to the website, resulting in a sale or even resulting in the Internet user registering on the business owner’s website or filling out a survey.

    Affiliate compensation

    The compensation for affiliates is generally based on cost per click, cost per lead or cost per sale. Cost per click and cost per lead are usually paid a flat fee which is awarded to the affiliate each time an Internet user either simply clicks through the banner ad on the affiliate’s website or performs a specific action after clicking through the ad. Cost per sale may result in the affiliate being awarded a flat fee or a percentage of the sale depending on the agreement between the business owner and the affiliate.

    The most effective use of affiliate marketing is to actively seek out affiliates with a proven track record of promoting the businesses which they support. Most affiliate programs are open to anyone with a website and it is not necessarily damaging to allow those who are not particularly knowledgeable about marketing to run your banner ad but it is far more worthwhile to seek out affiliates who are quite adept and generating website traffic to their own website. This is important because the more visitors they receive each month the more likely your website it to receive interest from visitors who click on the affiliates banner ad.

    The banner ad

    Another aspect of affiliate marketing which can contribute to success or failure is the design of your banner ads. It is important to remember affiliate marketing is viewed the same way other types of marketing are viewed and care should be taken to create banner ads which will be appealing to your target audience. This means everything from the colors of your ad to the size and style of the font should be carefully considered to create an appealing advertisement.

    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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  • Bookkeeping

    Payroll, etc.

    Bookkeeping is an interesting subject in more ways than one because of the intricacies involved as well as the extent to which it is utilized in our personal and business lives. So what goes on in the accounting and bookkeeping departments at big and small businesses alike? And what do these people we know as bookkeepers do on a daily basis? Well, one thing they do that is terribly important to everyone working in those businesses is payroll.

    All the salaries and bonuses earned, and taxes paid by every employee every pay period have to be recorded. The payroll department has to ensure that the appropriate federal, state and local taxes are being deducted; and the pay stub attached to each employee paycheck is an ongoing record of these taxes and any number of other deducted items.

    Deductions

    Such items usually include income taxes, social security taxes and other employment-related taxes that have to be paid to federal and state governments. Other deductions include personal items, such as retirement savings accounts like 401(k), IRA, RRB (Railroad Retirement Board Benefits, as well as vacation, sick pay and/or medical benefits. It’s a critical function, and for that reason, some companies have their own payroll departments while others outsource it to bookkeeping specialists.

    The accounting department receives and records any payments or cash received from customers or clients of the business or service. The accounting department has to make sure that the money is sourced accurately and deposited in the appropriate accounts. They also manage where the money goes; how much of it is kept on-hand for purposes such as payroll, or how much of it goes out to pay what the company owes on its loans, to its vendors and other such obligations. Some may also be invested, depending on the particular business policies.

    Receivables

    The other side of a receivables business is the payables area, or cash disbursements. A company writes many checks during the course of a year in order to pay for purchases, supplies, salaries, taxes, loans and services. The accounting department prepares all these checks and records whom they were disbursed to, how much and for what.

    Accounting departments also keep track of purchase orders placed for inventory, such as products that will be sold to customers or clients. In addition to all these responsibilities, they also keep track of assets such as a business’ property and equipment, which often includes the office building, furniture, computers, and even the smallest items such as pencils, pens, notepads and other similar paraphernalia.


  • Seven Swiping Secrets

    Meet the guest writer

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    Today’s post is brought to you by our esteemed friend at the Copywriter’s Rountable. So without further ado, here are the words of Copywriter, John Forde…

    I guess first I should define terms…

    “A swipe file is a collection of tested and proven advertising and sales letters. Keeping a swipe file (templates) is a common practice used by advertising copywriters and creative directors as a ready reference of ideas for projects.
    “Copywriters are not the only ones who can benefit from having a swipe file. As book publishing coach Diane Eble points out, authors and publishers can benefit from creating a swipe file of best-selling titles to give them ideas for their own titles.

    “Publicists can create a swipe file of great press release headlines. Swipe files are a great jumping-off point for anybody who needs to come up with lots of ideas. Swipe files are also commonly used by Internet Marketers who need to gather a lot of resources not only about products but also about marketing methods and strategies.”
    Well, that clarifies things a little, yes? Try this, too…

    “There is nothing better or more productive a copywriter can do – and this applies to experienced copywriters as well as novices – than to read (almost to the point of memorizing) the best work of their fellow writers.” The first is just from Wikipedia, and not so much swiped but copied and pasted. The second from my old friend and mentor, as well as master copywriter, Michael Masterson.

    Okay, now it’s my turn to try my hand at an original thought…

    A swipe file defined

    A swipe file is that place where you store those dazzling promo pieces that not only worked… but that are so good they make you sick with envy. Because you wish you’d written them yourself. In other terms, it’s the stack of stuff you go through, to help jump-start your creative engine… because you know that most everything you’re looking at, in those “swiped” samples, is something that worked.

    Back in my earliest days, my swipe file filled a green milk grate. And then another. And then seven or eight more, until somebody made me get a filing cabinet. And then a second filing cabinet.

    These days, thank merciful God for the Internet. Because now my swipe file — and yes, I still keep one — is a folder on my desktop labeled “Promos to Study.” In it lands links to VSLs, PDFs of magalogs somebody else has generously scanned, black and white ad clips the ‘70s and ‘60s, even back to the 1920s (thanks to the excellent InfoMarketingBlog.com), covers and screen captures I’ve used in presentations, and more. 
    Thanks, merciful Zeus as much or more for the iPad, which I also use every morning to markup whatever promo I’ve set aside to review.

    The way it goes, most mornings, is that I load up any oft-seen sales letter that comes with a transcript. Then I “print” it to a PDF that gets stored on my iCloud account. From there, I open an app called “Goodnotes” and import the file, where it gets circled, scribbled upon, and partitioned into what seem the best bits. And yes, I do try to do that daily. More so now than before. And yes, it’s eye-opening. Every time.

    But the real reason I’m writing this… or rather, updating this old CR classic… is because I recently got a question from a CR reader about where and how to swipe from other sales letters. So I thought I would go ahead and provide some answers. And away we go, starting with… 

    Reach wide. No easy answers

    1) Reach wide – Before you can “read” the secrets buried in a swipe file, you need to fill it. And when you do, naturally you’ll want to start with the kinds of ads you expect to write most yourself. But don’t stop there. Reach way back to the classics. You’ll be surprised what Claude Hopkins and John Caples ads, Ogilvy, Schwartz and others still have to teach.

    If you’re lucky enough to have the courier typed sales letters of the ‘70s and ‘80s… or magalogs and bookalogs of the ‘90s… read them too. Almost everything we know works now, they knew then times ten. And then, yes, do keep it current with the working VSLs. Just make sure you click and get the “transcript” where it’s offered too. Print it to a PDF. Some of the copywriters today do some of the most enviably good stuff I’ve seen yet, anywhere.

    2) Don’t expect easy answers – What’s the right question to ask for any piece of copy you’re about to study? Assuming you’re only studying stuff that worked, the right opener — obviously — is “Why?” Unfortunately, it’s also the most unanswerable question. You won’t know, for sure, why anything worked. Because it will always remain a guess.

    3) Look past the copy – That is, remember that it’s not so much that the copywriter sold something well… as that there were lots of readers out there that wanted to receive the message he used to sell it. What’s the distinction?

    The twist & style

    When you look at swipes, especially the most current ones in your market, what you’re looking for first is every clue you can get about the prospect, not so much the product. If there’s a promise that you see working everywhere, it’s because it promises to fix a problem that’s keeping target readers everywhere up at night. Isolate the single biggest promise the copy makes and flip it — what problem is it solving?

    4) Find the twist – More and more, we see copy make a promise or throw out a solution-demanding premise… and then up the ante with an extra “twist” to the message. That is, a kind of early “but it gets [an] even better” or “gets [an] even worse” turn in the message, just at the moment the reader was thinking “I’m kinda hooked already…”

    Of course, this is classic storytelling. Our hero struggles. And just at the moment you thought it couldn’t get any worse… or better… the drama dial clicks up another notch. Just about any sales message could benefit from a twist, both in the lead and the close. Look to your swipes to see how it’s done.

    5) Soak up the style – All writers in all genres pick up a style. Dense. Lean. Even. Excitable. Some copy drips with adjectives but works in spite of itself. Other copy undersells, yet manages — somehow — to hit hard. This is one of those things you can absorb best by just copying out a good piece of copy a few times until the secrets of style sneak into your subconscious.

    Structure & closings

    Even now, I keep a piece of the latest, greatest copy open on my screen or a second desktop (on the Mac, at least, you can move between multiple desktops). When I’m stuck, I swipe over to it and read for a little, then come back and try to trot out my message in the same mindset. Be careful here, because you’re not stealing words. At least, not mindlessly so. You’re trying to get a “feel” you can transfer back to your writing.

    6) Study the structure – This is something else that writing out a full promo — by hand — can help you do. If not that, at least try to re-outline a finished copy control. You want to see how long they took to get through the lead, where they first started laying out the benefits or naming the offer, how they packaged up the testimonials and how long they spent on proof.

    Build your own library of promo outlines and use them as templates, next time you’re getting started. This isn’t stealing. It’s just good sense.
    Also, look for the segments that seem to show up across several different samples. Just about every sales piece, for instance, is going to have testimonials and a close and some freebies with the offer.

    But do all promotions have “Imagine this outcome” sections, transcendent mission statements, a personal story, show-me-the-money examples, etc.? Probably.

    7) Collect closes – Copywriters sure do love to talk about headlines and leads. And with good reason, of course. It’s where we put flame to powder. Still, if the lead is what sparks prospect interest, the close is where we pile up the dynamite. And you’ve got to pile it up just so if you want the right result.

    Let the swiping begin!

    It’s worth pulling closes from a lot of working promos and studying just those, one next to the other. A little tweak to your guarantee, your price rationalization, your push for urgency, can make a huge difference in your results.

    Hope that helps… now get swiping!