Archive for the ‘Online Marketing Tips’ Category

For a downloadable version of this list–>  click here

1. Blog regularly and set up Ping.fm to distribute content to Facebook, Twitter and other sites

2. Create downloadable PDF’s with valuable content and active links back to your site (like the one above)

3. Use signature files on all emails with call to action

4. Approach online partners and retweet each other when appropriate

5. Post in discussion and newsgroups in your industry

6. Write articles and submit (google “article submission”)

7. Set up your own Twitter account and share valuable information

8. Give testimonials to others with your web address

9. Create offline ads with your web address Read the rest of this entry »

Although specific estimates vary, online researchers agree that email recipients make quick decisions on whether or not they will open and read promotional emails. Obviously, if they like, want, need, and/or are actively seeking the products being offered, they’re far more likely to open them. But emails come with their own special challenge, the subject line – that short, information burst that can make you or break you.

Like direct mail envelope “teasers,” emails’ subject lines must grab the recipients’ interests and increase the chances that they’ll open the messages. That’s why you’ll want to work on getting yours just right.

Start getting ideas scanning your own inbox.  Jot down any that catch your interest and then see how you can tweak them to suit your needs. You can also look at headlines in your local newspaper, magazines, websites, and the like and see it you can covert any of those into intriguing subject lines.

Then use these tips to fine-tune your choices.

1. Keep them short and to the point. Less is definitely more in this instance, especially since overly long subject lines will get cut off from view anyhow. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are like me you have heard about the 80/20 rule for years. You know it, it’s called the Pareto Principle – 20% of your activities account 80% of your results.

Well as Bob Dylan said about 40 years ago, “the times they are a changing”. In my opinion the more accurate reality of this notion is the 90/10 principle. Why?

Simply this… Technology has seduced us all into many new activities that didn’t exist a few years ago (creating websites, watching videos on I pods, viewing webinars on our computers). It’s endless and very very addictive.

While cool and exciting, it has also turned us into culture of multi-taskers. I think we are developing what I call “technological ADD”. You know it — you live it. You listen to teleconferences while you are checking your email and IM’s, scan through hundreds of channels on your TV while eating and talking, talk on the phone while cleaning, text while driving (I hope not) …this list goes on and on. You may even get restless just doing two things at once because we are so addicted to these new forms of stimulation.

How Does This Affect Your Business?

Big time. Your audience is distracted too and they are hardy even listening when you talk (remember they are multi-tasking). And with Twitter and other social media platforms thousands of people are all talking at the same time! Read the rest of this entry »

Mastering Online Marketing by Mitch Meyerson with Mary Eule Scarborough is now available in stores and online. Here is what some of the top industry leaders are saying.

-> Get your copy online right here

“This is an extraordinary book! It took me seven years to build a million-dollar internet business. If I had had this book, I could have done it in two.” Brian Tracy – Author – The Way to Wealth

“Much like The E-Myth, Mastering Online Marketing, is not just a collection of tools and tactics. Mitch has created a solid step-by step system for you to build and sustain a thriving e-commerce business…Read it. Digest it. Follow it letter by letter. Then get out there and do it – because that’s how you’ ll experience the true rewards.” — Michael Gerber, Author of The E-myth books

“Mitch Meyerson has done it again –offering no nonsense strategies and tactics for getting targeted traffic to your website, turning visitors into buyers, putting your online business on auto pilot and setting up multiple streams of active and passive income. This book is a must-read for anyone wanting to build a thriving business on the Internet” — Jay Conrad Levinson, The Father Of Guerrilla Marketing

“Mastering Online Marketing delivers a solid step by step program for succeeding online. Based on years of proven research. Mitch Meyerson really delivers the goods!” — Yanik Silver, author of Moonlighting On The Internet

“These days it is not enough to be “good” at online marketing; you must master it. Mitch is not only a master of online marketing, but he is someone who can effectively teach others the strategies used by the top online marketers today. Success and wealth are for everyone, and I do believe that by following the advice and strategies in Mastering Online Marketing, one can achieve great online success.” –Bo Bennett, author of Year To Success

“Mastery is the key to success and this outstanding book shows you exactly how to master online marketing. Meyerson’s clear, direct and rich content shows you how to avoid the most common pitfalls and use innovative strategies to cut through the clutter and stand out in the Internet. Highly recommended! — Michael Port, author of Book Yourself Solid

Get your book bonuses here: www.MasteringOnlineMarketing.com

How to turn your website into a TV channel with video blogs

by Lou Bortone

Online video, video blogs, vlogs or vodcasts are all different names for the same basic concept: Using the Internet to broadcast a video message. As an advertising and promotion tool, online video continues to explode in popularity. Putting video on your Web site or blog is a low-cost way to get in on the “Online Video Revolution” and differentiate your product or service. And it’s never been easier or less expensive! There are several ways you can use your own “TV channel” on the web:

• Tape a personal introduction or welcome message for your website
• Publicize or highlight a special product offer or company promotion
• Share company news, updates or executive briefings with your customers
• Use your video for product demos or training
• Videotape customer testimonials to generate new business

Shooting: Of course, before you can jump into Online Video, you have to have a video! Fortunately, this has never been easier. What you use to shoot your video depends on your goals, budget and available equipment. Since your video is headed to the web, quality is less of an issue than if the final product was for TV. Web video can be shot with a standard consumer camcorder or, you can even capture your video using an inexpensive webcam. Remember, your final product is only going to be as good as your raw footage, so shoot more footage than you think you’ll need and get several different takes and angles.

Digitizing: Next, you’ve got to get your footage into your computer in order to format it for uploading to the Internet. In most cases, you can just connect your camcorder directly to your computer and transfer the footage right into your editing program. Then, get your video Internet-ready with the editing/movie software that came with your computer, such as iMovie on the Mac and Windows Movie Maker for the PC. For a more professional product, you could upgrade to Final Cut Pro for the Mac or Adobe Premiere for the PC. Once the footage is “digitized” in your editing system, you can optimize it by saving the file as a QuickTime movie or an MPEG-4 video file. (Some systems will give you additional options, such as saving your video as a Flash file).

Vlogging: Although you can post your video on free video hosting sites, you’ll need to set up a blog account if you want to create your very own video blog. You can set up a free blog very easily at Blogger.com. Other blog platforms include Movable Type, TypePad and WordPress. Once you’ve got your blog platform, you’ll be able to create posts – including video.

Bringing it home (to your website!): Most online video hosting sites also allow you to copy the HTML code and “embed” the video into your own blog or web page. Take the video you’ve posted on YouTube or Blip.tv, for example, and just cut and paste the HTML code they provide for your video right into your blog’s HTML editor. There are more advanced methods, but using “embed” codes is fast and free!

Tips &Tactics:

Finally, here are a few special considerations for web video:

• Since your screen is typically much smaller on the web, avoid wide shots with a lot of people in them. It just doesn’t translate well on the Internet.
• Avoid pans and zooms. Rapid movement is harder to watch on a smaller screen.
• Keep it simple. Don’t go crazy with a lot of titles and graphics. They may be too small to be effective.
• Keep it short – Less is more on the “short-attention-span” Internet!

For a quick-start demo of uploading video to YouTube in under three minutes, check out this brief Camtasia video at: http://onlinevideoguy.wordpress.com/2007/05/26/video-upload-demo/ Then just experiment by posting your own video online and you’ll soon see how easy it can be. I look forward to seeing you online!

© 2007 Lou BortoneLou Bortone is an award-winning writer, marketer and television producer who spent over 20 years in the television industry, including several years as Senior Vice President of Marketing & Advertising for Fox Family Worldwide in
L.A. Today, Lou specializes in helping entrepreneurs create breakthrough video for the Internet. Email Lou at lou@theonlinevideoguy.com or visit http://www.theonlinevideoguy.com