Is your site all about YOU… or your CUSTOMERS? (And do you know which is best?)

Here’s our salescopy tip of the day…

When you write the copy for your website you have to make sure that you do a good job of relating to your customers. You need to identify with their wants and needs and explain how your product will make their lives better.

… In short, you have to make your copy all about THEM, not YOU.

This might sound obvious, but it’s actually one of the biggest mistakes we see online business owners make!

In a recent newsletter, we did a free site review for one of our subscribers and showed her how a few easy…

A Little Sample Can Build a LOT of Buzz!

If your product is the kind of item that people tend to buy only after they’ve had the chance to experience it, you might experience some challenges when you try to sell it online.

Your visitors can’t touch or taste or smell your product from a picture — or even a video — so it’s up to you to describe the benefits of your product as convincingly and clearly as possible in order to compel people to buy.

But what if you could get someone ELSE to write about your products on their blog, and get their readers  interested in what you…

Build your social presence AND your SEO — at the same time!

Social media strategies are definitely the hottest thing going right now in the Internet marketing world — partly because many people are spending a lot of their spare time “socializing” online, and partly because many online (and offline!) businesses are seeing positive results from reaching out to their market through social media sites and tools.

If you’re just starting out with building your own online business, or you’re a lone entrepreneur with an established Internet business, it may seem like an overwhelming prospect to get involved with social media.

Where will you find the time? How will you get started?

Well, we’re…

Outsourcing your web design? Here’s what you need to know

If you haven’t already got a site yet, you have a decision to make: do you try and build it yourself or hire someone to do it for you?

Well, if you’re short on time and long on money, then you might find it more efficient to outsource the job to a web designer. If you choose this option, make sure the designer has a strong grasp of Internet marketing principles.

There are so many designers out there who know how to build a pretty website — but don’t have the first clue how to create a site that actually SELLS.

As…

Tip for Offline Businesses: Claim Your Google Maps Listing NOW

Have you claimed your listing in Google Maps and made sure the information it displays is accurate?
If not, you need to do it NOW — even if you don’t have a website yet. This step is vital.

Local Search — including sites such as Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, and Bing Maps — is quickly becoming one of the most dominant sources of online traffic. The local search market already generates about $33 billion a year — and with the growing popularity of smartphones such as iPhones, Blackberries, and Droids, it’s about to get a whole lot bigger — FAST.

…

Your Online Business Tune-Up: Get Your PPC on Track in 2010!

Pay-per-click advertising (PPC) has long been a favourite tool of website owners when they want to drive targeted traffic to their pages — traffic that converts to buyers.

Some marketers use PPC to send traffic to a site that hasn’t been ranked yet in the “natural” (unpaid)  search results, while others keep PPC in their toolbox even when they’re getting  decent organic traffic. As long as they’re making more money than they’re spending on their ads, they see it as a win-win.

If you’re looking to put PPC to work for you in 2010, here are some key things to keep in mind to…

Your Online Business Tune-Up: Boosting Your SEO Efforts in 2010

No matter how great your product is, or how great your website looks, your online business will be left spinning its wheels unless the search engines know you exist… and your potential customers can find you in the search engines!

We wrote on Day One about giving your website a thorough tune-up, and on Day Two about providing great content on your website to keep your visitors and customers coming back again and again.

Now we’re going to give you some tips on snagging more search engine traffic in 2010.

Revisit your keyword research regularly: If it’s been a few months (or a…

Your Online Business Tune-Up: The Power of Great Content

If you want to make your website “sticky” — in other words, a site people want to return to again and again — your  focus should be on providing valuable content that your visitors simply can’t find anywhere else.

Visitors might not make a purchase the first time they stop by, or even a few visits down the line, but when they’re ready to spend money on a solution to their problem — or on pretty much anything that interests them — you’ll have positioned yourself as someone they can trust to buy from.

After all, you clearly know your stuff… AND…

Your Online Business Tune-Up: Is Your Website Working For You?

Now that we’ve finished up with the 2009 holiday season — an incredibly busy time for many online businesses — it’s time to make sure your website is ready to serve your visitors and customers effectively in 2010!

We’ve noticed over the years that many e-commerce pros tend to neglect their sites  in favour of product development or new internet marketing strategies… without realizing that they’re putting all that effort to waste if they’re not providing their visitors and customers with a great experience!

Give your website our 5-step website checkup to make sure you’re in top shape for the year ahead:

1.  Does the look of your…

Starting Your Own Home Internet Business: What Can You Expect?

If 2010 is the year you launch your own successful home business on the Internet, here’s a great essay you should check out.

It’s by Paul Graham, founder of a venture firm specializing in funding start-up companies. He recently interviewed a number of people who started their own businesses with his company’s funding. The main question he asked them was, “What surprised you?”

The answers make for some really interesting reading for anyone who’s thinking about taking the plunge and starting a home business online. This essay will give you some idea of what you’ll be experiencing in the months ahead. Although your…