Web Design Discussion

Article marketing is only effective if you are able to do it on consistent basis. You can’t expect to get much traffic if you write and submit one article a month. Well….you would if it was miraculously published by an ezine owner with 10,000 subscribers but there are better methods for achieving success with articles.

Top 10 places to submit your article

1. Submit to the top article directory

Ezine articles dot com is currently the directory that gets the most traffic so submit your article to them first. It may be published by ezine owners looking for new content. It may be read by visitors to the ezinearticles web site (because your article is rotated on the front page with others). It may be viewed by folks that subscribe to their RSS feeds.

2. Submit to other top article directories

If you don’t have time to modify your article submit it anyway to the other top article directories. You won’t get as much traffic if using the same content but you can capitalize on the link juice you receive by including your keywords in the anchor text of the resource box at the end of the article. Modify your anchor text when submitting to many article directories.

3. Include it on your web site

You need to add content to your web site or blog continuously so search engines will visit it and readers receive fresh content. Even if you have a static site, create a section for articles or attach a blog to it.

If your web site gets spidered quickly by the search engines you might place your article here first then submit to the article directories after a few days. This will allow the search engines to spider your site first and rank first for that article.

Alternatively write 2 different articles, one for your web site and another for the directories so you will benefit from both methods and receive more traffic with the extra work.

4. Submit to individual ezine publishers

Create a list of ezine publishers related to your niche by entering ezines+keyword in the Google search box. Every time you write a new article send it to this list. If it’s high quality content that subscribers will find useful you will get lots of new traffic.

5. Article swap

Ask article writers within your niche if they wish to swap articles with you. This means you will publish their article in your ezine if they publish your article in theirs. It creates a win-win situation for both of you.

Points 6-10 will be included in my next post

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, SEO

To create a successful ebook marketing campaign, you need to be consistent. You can’t write one article or submit to one ebook directory and expect to make lots of sales. Marketing is a daily commitment.

If one ebook marketing strategy doesn’t work for you, move on to another until you begin seeing results. You may have to combine several marketing methods to be successful.

*Joint Ventures: Team up with other ebook authors or ezine publishers or webmasters to cross promote each other’s products or services. Agree to send referrals to each other and recommend each other’s products.

*Use an excerpt from your ebook as an article and submit it to as many directories as possible. Be sure to mention your ebook in your resource box.

*Search out quality targeted ezines and purchase solo or top sponsor ad spots.

*Submit your ebook to as many ebook directories as you can. The more links to your ebook, the better.

*Write a keyword rich sales page and optimize it for the search engines with meta tags and page title.

*Offer two or three free bonuses with your ebook. make and offer that is very hard or impossible to refuse.

*Ask a few people to write reviews for your ebook in exchange for a free copy. Post the reviews on your site.

*Offer a free report as a lead-in to your ebook. People love free information and if you offer a quality report that gets them interested they very well may want to buy your ebook.

*If you publish an ezine, ask other ezine publishers to swap solo or top sponsor ads. I prefer top sponsor ads but many marketers have said that solo ads get the most results.

*Start an affiliate program and offer people a percentage to sell your ebook. One of the best places to do this is Clickbank. For a small fee you can set up your affiliate program and increase your sales many times over.

*Offer the first chapter or two as a freebie. Be sure and leave them wanting more.

*Visit message boards or join discussion groups to learn marketing strategies that have worked for other publishers and authors. If it works for them, it can work for you as well.

Let me know which strategy works best for you

One of the best ways to generate immediate traffic to your ebook web site is to send press releases. Writing a press release is different to writing an article or web copy content. It should include content that is newsworthy such as a story about your product and what it will do for the customer.

Benefits of Press Releases

1. Attract lots of visitors

Online press release sites get sent to thousands of outlets. This may include Google and Yahoo news sites which receive thousands of visitors a day.

2. Boost search engine traffic

If you optimize your release for the search engines by including your main keywords it will get indexed by them. This generates lots of incoming links to your web site that will boost your rankings.

3. New contacts

Sending your press release to many news media outlets could result in huge promotional opportunities.

4. Saves time

The time invested in creating and sending a press release will result in attracting lots more traffic than writing an ad or an article.

5. Tracking

Most online press release sites allow you to track the number of people that have read it. This allows you to monitor its effectiveness.

How to Write a Press Release

It’s very important to write your press release correctly so it won’t get rejected. Here are several articles how to write one:

http://www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Press-Release
http://www.ehow.com/how_8793_write-proper-press-release.html

Press Release Websites

www.PRWeb.com
www.prnewswire.com
http://www.prleap.com
http://www.i-newswire.com

Press Release Software

http://www.pressequalizer.com
www.prwizard.com

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, SEO

One of the largest obstacles to writing an article is the time it takes to write one. If you are not an avid writer it’s hard to sit down and write freely. ..you stare at a blank screen and nothing pops into your mind. You may end up wasting an hour in front of your computer before you start typing anything.

My 15 minute secret for writing an article

1. Give yourself only 15 minutes to start writing the article. This forces you to just start writing instead of procrastinating. It also sets your mind at ease because you are only committing 15 minutes of your day to writing the article.

2. Choose a topic - only spend a few minutes selecting a topic to write about then write a few headlines that include your main keywords. You’ll want to weave these keywords into your article to make it search engine friendly.

3. Build the structure - your introductory paragraph should point out a particular problem you are going to solve in the body of your article. Emphasis the pain and frustration the visitor will feel if they don’t solve this problem.

The next few paragraphs should outline several solutions to the problem. Each paragraph should expand on a different point. These paragraphs will form the bulk of your article body and easily enable you to fill the number of words required for submission to article directories. This can be anywhere from 250-800 words.

Combine serveral short articles together if you don’t meet the necessary word count.

4. Resource box - this is where you can promote your product or service. Create an attractive call to action, include your web site address, your name and who you are.

Tip

The most important point of this 15 minute secret is that it pushes you to begin writing. Often you’ll find you don’t stay within the 15 minutes because you have a lot more to say and that’s fine. It’s OK to write a longer article. If it gets too long divide it into two articles Part 1 an Part 2.

If you have to stay within 15 minutes, just stop within that time period. Continue writing the next day for another 15 minutes until you’ve finished writing the article.

Any activity you want to become good at takes practice. Keep doing this on a consistent basis and you will soon be punching out all your articles in 15 minutes.

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, SEO

One of the best ways to generate immediate traffic to your ebook web site is to send press releases. Writing a press release is different to writing an article or web copy content. It should include content that is newsworthy such as a story about your product and what it will do for the customer.

Benefits of Press Releases

1. Attract lots of visitors

Online press release sites get sent to thousands of outlets. This may include Google and Yahoo news sites which receive thousands of visitors a day.

2. Boost search engine traffic

If you optimize your release for the search engines by including your main keywords it will get indexed by them. This generates lots of incoming links to your web site that will boost your rankings.

3. New contacts

Sending your press release to many news media outlets could result in huge promotional opportunities.

4. Saves time

The time invested in creating and sending a press release will result in attracting lots more traffic than writing an ad or an article.

5. Tracking

Most online press release sites allow you to track the number of people that have read it. This allows you to monitor its effectiveness.

How to Write a Press Release

It’s very important to write your press release correctly so it won’t get rejected. Here are several articles how to write one:

http://www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Press-Release
http://www.ehow.com/how_8793_write-proper-press-release.html

Press Release Websites

www.PRWeb.com
www.prnewswire.com
http://www.prleap.com
http://www.i-newswire.com

Press Release Software

http://www.pressequalizer.com
www.prwizard.com

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, SEO

Marketing your ebook is the most difficult and time consuming process. If you don’t get lots of traffic to your ebook sales page you won’t make much money. Even if you get lots of traffic but it fails to convert visitors into buyers you won’t sell many copies.

How to generate traffic to your ebook with articles

Select a section of your ebook and rewrite it into an a unique 500 word article. Submit the article to ezinearticles first since it is the most popular article directory because it gets the most traffic. Rewrite the article again and send it to the other main article directories.

Important points to include in your article

*create an attractive headline

*first paragraph should identify and describe a problem

*body of the article should offer several solutions to the problem

*closing paragraph should summarize the main points of your article

*resource box should provide a call to action (visit ebook sales page) link to your web site, and who you are.

*include 2 links in your resource box…one that includes the anchor text ie “article marketing strategies” and the other the full URL. The link containing your anchor text will give you a high quality back link to your web site and the full URL displays the full address should the visitor print out your article. It also gives you a second backlink.

Search for ezine publishers in your niche and offer them the article to send to their subscribers. If your article gets accepted by a large publication you will make many sales.

Article swaps

Offer to trade articles with another newsletter publisher. You run his article in your newsletter and your article in his.

Ezine directories

Create a list of ezine publishers in your niche and offer them your article.

Tip

If you want to create an article marketing campaign that generates a ton of visitors to your web site, write and submit 5 articles per week for several weeks. If you can write 20 articles per week this will generate even more visitors. The most important point is to do it consistently.

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, SEO

Do you currently run Google AdSense Ads (or want to) on any of your web sites?

I run the Ads on 2 sites (including this one) where they provide a nice bit of extra monthly income without having to do anything except pick up the check from the letter box.

Here the top benefits of Google AdSense

1. Make money

Google has a large database of advertisers that are looking for space to run their ads. This provides you with a steady stream of advertisers that can match any type of content you can think of.

2. Easy set-up

It only takes a few minutes to open an AdSense account, generate the code, then copy and paste it into your web page. Ideally your web site should already have a good number of visitors otherwise you won’t generate much revenue.

3. Place ads anywhere

Google provides several types of ads ie banner, skyscraper, links etc that can be placed at the top, bottom, side or even within your content.

4. Blend ads

You can match the ads with the colors of your web page. This makes it less obvious you are running ads on your web site.

5. Use same code for multiple web sites

If you have several web sites you can use the same code that Google generates for all of them. Their technology is able to distinguish what ads should be displayed based on the type of content your site has.

6. Hands free

“Set it and forget it”…once you insert the code on all your web pages you own’t ever have to touch the code again. It’s a great way to generate another passive income stream.

7. Select different products

AdSense for Search
Offer your users web search while earning revenue from ads relevant to their search terms.

Referrals
Earn more by referring users to useful products and services. You select the ads you want to appear on your site

Video units
Add YouTube partners’ video content to your site, and earn extra revenue.

AdSense for Mobile Content
Unlock the revenue potential of your mobile site with targeted Google ads.

Tip
Google allows you to create different channels to improve your ad performance. For example you can create 2 channels, one for each of your 2 sites so you can track which one is getting the most clicks. You can also create separate channels for each type of ad.

Joel Comm has just released his new ebook “Adsense Secrets 4.0″ for only $9.95. It’s been the #1 top-selling guide on Google Adsense for over 3 years now.

Heck I paid $97.00 for his original version a year ago, so this new version is a real bargain. Take advantage of this opportunity while it lasts.

Just click the link below:

Adsense Secrets 4.0

Best Regards,
Herman Drost

P.S. If you are hestitant about purchasing this 200 page ebook, read my review of the last version that cost $97.00

AdSense Secrets Review

If you write a professional sales letter to sell your ebook but have an unattractive ebook cover you’ll lose the credibility of your sales letter. Your ecover should not be a template or just a simple image but be unique, colorful and integrate well with your content.

Ways to design your ebook cover

1. Hire a professional ecover designer

If you are not familiar with graphic editing tools this would be the way to go. It will save you hours of time trying to figure out how to do it yourself. You have the reassurance that your design will be professionally done.

Here’s a professional ecover designer that is reasonably priced and used by several internet marketing gurus.
http://www.ecoverexpert.com

2. Ecover software

This may be a good option if you plan on selling many ebooks. You purchase the software once then you can use it as many times as you like. To find the software, enter “ecover software” in Google or use http://www.webgraphicscreator.com

The downside of this option is it that your ebook cover may look like others created with the same software as they tend to rely on templates.

3. Do-it-yourself

If you have graphics software such as photoshop or fireworks and are familar with the tools, try creating it yourself. You can apply your creative talents, and produce many different designs. If you get good at it you may even offer it as a service to your customers.

Fireworks Tutorials
http://www.cbtcafe.com/fireworks/cbtbook/3dbox.html
http://www.easy-online-money.net/how-to-create-an-ebook-cover.html

Photoshop Tutorial
http://www.showandtell-graphics.com/ebook-cover.html

Where to place your ebook cover

Your ecover image will be the first thing noticed on your page (unless you have a prominient header graphic) because it stands out from your web copy. Since everyone reads from left to right, place it on the left side with your headline text beside it.

Tip

Make your ebook cover graphic link to your order page. Sometimes visitors will click this immediately to skip the sales letter because they have already decided to purchase your ebook.

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, SEO

In my previous article I discussed creating an attractive design for your ebook sales page to convert visitors into buyers. The other main factor is the quality of the content on the page. Your sales letter should pull the visitor through the page. This means the text and images must flow seamlessly together and pre-sell the visitor so he or she will want to click the order button.

Top 7 Ways to Improve Your Sales Letter Conversion Rate

1. Stress the benefits

Put yourself in your customers shoes and think what’s in it for them. Point out the problems they are facing and how your product
will help solve them.

2. Provide details

Detail what your product will do ie reduce weight, get more traffic. You might even include the whole table of contents
to show the detailed information covered in your ebook.

3. Establish credibility

Why should this person believe you..they’ve never met you? Include examples how this product helped you. Provide testimonials of people who have used the product. Other people’s opinions and experiences often carry more weight than your own opinion or experience. This probably is due to unscrupulous businesses giving false or incorrect information that burned their customers.

4. Create a sense of urgency

The majority of visitors arriving at your sales page will procrastinate and leave the purchasing decision for later. They may forget to return so how can you get them to come back?

Here are a few ideas…

a. You could say something like:

“this price is for a limited time only”
“pre-launch price”
“the price will increase after this date…”

b. One time offer

Warn the person this price will only be offered once.
When they return to the same page the price will have increased.

c. Create a pop-up

When they leave the sales page a different page will pop up displaying a reduced price ie “get $10.00 off the price if you act now”

5. Don’t include navigation bars

This will only distract your readers by having them click elsewhere. You need to create a single focus to maintain the power of your sales copy.

6. Offer an e-course

Create a series of follow-up messages using an autoresponder. This enables you to expose your offer several times (instead of one time) increasing the chances of the person buying.

7. Over deliver

Selling your ebook means you want to GET something (money) from your visitor. Provide a high quality bonus or bonuses that the visitor does not expect to receive. It will make help remove objections to their purchasing decision.

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, SEO

Text
Use different colors to attract attention for the text. e.g. the main headline could be bright blue and the main text black if using a white background. Testimonial text could be light blue on a yellow background to contrast it from the rest of the page. Bold your main keyword phrases to make them stand out.

Ebook cover image
A nice looking ebook cover (or ecover) adds class to your sales page. Get it professionally designed or do it yourself if you have a graphical editor. I use fireworks for all my graphics work because it was developed exclusively for creating and editing web graphics.

Here’s a fireworks tutorial to create a 3D box that can be modified to produce an ebook cover.

Other graphical elements to consider
Use small graphical elements to enhance the appearance of your sales pages.

Icons in lists - create a red check icon for bulleted points as shown on this sales page:
http://www.isitebuild.com/web-site-promotion.htm

Author image - use a portrait photo for the author of the ebook

Order button- create a prominent order button with “order now” (or something similar) displayed across it.

Signature file - write your signature on a piece of blank paper then scan it into your graphics software.
Save it in the image folder of your web site then place it on your web page. Upload the image folder and web page to the server and you’ll see your signature graphic displayed.

Use XHTML and CSS
Avoid the use of tables by using CSS and XHTML instead. You’ll use less code, the page will load faster and you’ll have greater flexibility with the design. Make sure you validate your code before your sales page goes live.

Read Sales Pages With Style - Create Quality Sales Pages With CSS

Fast Loading
A slow loading page will cause your visitors to leave. Your page should load within 10 seconds on a 56K modem. Visit the web page analyzer to check the load time.

Links
Make sure your links are a different color than the main text and change color when clicked. Make your links easily recognizable by using a different color and underlining them.

Tips
-The design elements should blend together well so that your sales page is easy to read, and fast loading.

-Try not to place links on the page that lead elsewhere because you’ll lose visitors. This may decrease your conversion rates.
You want to keep your visitors on the sales page without being distracted.

-If you use links within your sales copy make sure you code them so the link will open in a new window but remain on the sales page when the linked page is closed.

-Don’t place links at the top of your page. Place them at the bottom so your visitor will read all your content first before clicking elsewhere.

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, SEO

I highly recommend creating your own sales page so you can make the necessary changes for producing higher conversion rates. Often one small change to your page will result in converting more visitors into buyers.

Once you create your first sales page you can use this skill for writing sales letters, landing pages and web page content or offer it as a service to others.

I outlined the structure for writing a sales page in this article…

How to Write an Effective Sales Letter for Your eBook

How to Increase Conversion Rates With An Attractive Design

Your sales page must look professional. If you can’t create/design one yourself get a professional designer to create one for you or find a sharp looking template.

Background and text colors
Use dark text on a light background e.g. black text on white or a dark background with light text e.g. black background with white text.

Header graphic
Create a professional header graphic that includes the main benefit of your ebook. Visitors usually see this first because it appears so prominently on the page. Some sales pages don’t have a header graphic because the owner believes it distracts the reader from the content. They use a large heading instead. You will only know what works best if you test with and without the header graphic. I use an attractive header graphic with the top benefit written on it so make a strong impression when the visitor first sees the page.

Headlines
Your main headline your stand out from the rest of the page. It should have the largest font. The teaser headline (headline before main headline) should be small..12 pixels. The headline after your main headline should be a little smaller than the main one.

White Space
This is the space you create around elements on your sales page. It makes your content easier to read. Use lots of white space around your ebook image (or other images) and between paragraphs. Create CSS boxes with borders for customer testimonials.

Text
Use different colors to attract attention for the text. e.g. the main headline could be bright blue and the main text black if using a white background. Testimonial text could be light blue on a yellow background to contrast it from the rest of the page. Bold your main keyword phrases to make them stand out.

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, SEO