Top 10 Reasons to Have an Ezine

1. Establish yourself as a trusted expert.
People search online for information and will look to you, as a subject matter expert, to provide it to them. Every week (or whatever schedule works) provides an opportunity to build on this, while reinforcing your brand.

2. Build a relationship with the people on your list.
It's common knowledge that people like to buy from people they like. By using ezines to connect with readers in their homes, you can develop a relationship of familiarity and trust. Be sure to share a little about yourself or your company in every issue, whether it is an anecdote, event, or employee spotlight.

3. Keep in touch with prospects and clients. 

Consideration should be given to eventually developing two ezines: one for prospects and one for clients, as each require different information. This is a great way to notify your readers of weekly specials or upcoming product launches, offer new articles or customer stories, and provide links (or urls) to updated FAQs, blogs and splash pages.

4. Drive traffic to your website or blog.  

As noted in #3, remember to call attention to new blog posts or other changes to your website with links directly to those pages. Remind readers of your online newsletter archives. Promote special sales (maybe with discount coupon codes only for subscribers) with a link to the sales page. Use links to turn your ezines and newsletters into "silent salespersons"– driving traffic to your website and building your lists around the clock.

5. Build content on your website. 

Make a habit to adding your ezines and newsletters to your website in an archive area. This serves a several important purposes:

• Visitors can read an issue or two to determine if your ezine will be of interest to them, which could help to increase sign-ups and potential sales.

• If you optimize your article placements, you will not only make your website "meatier", but you'll also bring new traffic from the search engines.

6. Get feedback from your readers. 

Make it easy for you to stay in touch with prospects and customers and vice versa. Ask them to take action and comment on your articles and offers. Conduct polls and surveys. Start a "Letters to the Editor" column in your ezine. Feedback allows you to fine tune your messages, target your marketing, and expand your product line. It's also great for relationship building!

7. Develop an information product.  

If you deliver your newsletter once a week and include two articles, at the end of a year you'll have 104 well-researched articles in your portfolio! Pick the best-of-the-best and turn them into a bonus ebook for opting-in to your list, submit to download sites to build your list, or sell in PDF-format!

8. Grow your mailing list. 

Let your ezine subscribers work for you. Be sure to remind your readers that it's okay to forward your newsletter to anyone they'd like. In addition, it's important to include sign-up instructions for those who received your ezine from viral marketing methods. A simple line titled, "Get Your Own Copy of name of your e-book", with a link to your squeeze or opt-in page is all it takes!

9. Gather demographic data. 

By offering surveys, feedback forms, and niche reports, you'll be able to get valuable information about your prospects and customers. Learn what makes your readers tick, how to better serve them, and how to give them what they want. Make sure they become repeat customers!

10. Save money! 

All of the above benefits of publishing an ezine are free or almost free. The small cost of a top-rated ezine publishing system is nothing compared to the cost of brochures, business cards, advertising, direct mail, pay-per-click or other means of promotion. Not only that, but someone has to manage that production! Because your newsletter is delivered online, you can grow your list to be as large as you want without worrying about the expense. Bottom line − it's proven that email marketing is the most cost-effective marketing solution for companies just like yours!

How Keyword Rich Content Increases Home Business Profits

Maximizing website exposure through strategic articles benefits both company and clients.

Creative and keyword rich content can play an important role in boosting sales and profits for home-based businesses that rely on web sites for customer acquisitions. Developing strategic marketing articles that both attract better search engines results and increased customers will drive the profits and awareness of your online site. Indeed, keyword rich content that provides useful information to prospective clients is an essential element of search engine optimization strategies for small business websites.

The first step to creating keyword rich content for your web site is to develop an understanding of what it actually is. The term ‘keyword’ refers to the words a potential customer uses in a search engine to find a particular product or service. For example, a client seeking a new job may search for “professional resumes” or “marketing resumes.” Thus, keyword rich content is text that makes frequent, strategic use of a specific search term.

In the past, many content makers focused more on repeating their keywords throughout their keyword rich content, rather than on providing quality information to web browsers. They wrote articles that served search engine spiders rather than customers. This strategy resulted in the proliferation of poorly written content that provided little or no useful information to end consumers.

While this strategy is still used by some online strategists, most internet companies changed their content development after realizing that search engine spiders rarely purchase peddled goods. Therefore, the vast majority of keyword rich content articles are actually designed to serve a higher intellectual purpose. Indeed, modern internet users are not impressed by keyword rich content that is riddled with grammatical errors and provides little useful information. Poor content will make them doubt the quality of your services.

Today, those interested in building successful web sites use quality keyword rich content. Rather than just focusing on how many times they can repeat a given phrase in a body of text, the writers of these articles provide well-written material with solid information to benefit the reader.

In preparing to write keyword rich content for your site, you must first determine what words a potential client will most likely use when searching the web. Next, write creative, copy for each phrase that incorporates not only information about your products and services, but also tips for making the best use of your retailed goods. For example, if your site sells tea, in addition to content describing your products and why customers should purchase from you, include information on how to make a perfect pot of tea or the latest research about how black tea aids in improving one’s overall health. Most importantly, make your keyword rich content engaging and useful. Connect with your readers and earn their interest and trust.

Keyword rich content that both attracts spiders and impresses people is an essential part of the overall success of your web site. Investing time and effort to create high quality website articles is now a critical component of all major online marketing strategies. Besides improving the overall popularity of your online business within the search engine caches, creative article writing can help to establish your business as an expert voice, a trusted advisor and a premium site that offers more than just direct selling tactics.

John Doetsch is editor at Websition.com where you will find articles written by the Internet's most gifted authors. Authors are encouraged to submit articles to boost website traffic and link popularity by presenting your articles to thousands of targeted publishers, ezine editors, and webmasters. www.websition.com

8 Sources To Research Awesome Article Topics

Writing articles is by far the most effective online promotion strategy I’ve come across. If you can write good, readable, original content, you can easily put yourself far ahead of the pack in your field of interest.

But article marketers and new article writers are often stumped for topics to write about. Finding topics that appeal to your readers can be time-consuming but well worth the effort.

Here are no less than eight awesome ways to research your market and find newsy topics that attract loads of traffic and the interest of your target audience.

1. Keyword Research Tools

To write an article that will get you a significant amount of traffic, you need to write about topics that people are searching for.

You also want to know which terms your target audience uses while searching, so you can use them in your article title and copy and increase the chance of being found by search engines.

Two excellent keyword research tools you should always use to research article topics are Wordtracker and Overture’s Keyword Inventory Tool.

2. Newsletters and Trade Journals

Subscribe to email newsletters, ezines and offline publications related to your topic of interest. Reading what others in your field are writing about will give you lots of ideas for your own article topics.

It's easy to find newsletters that cover your topic online. If you want to write about internet marketing, for instance, you could search for “internet marketing newsletter” and find the most well-read and respected publications in that field.

3. Google News Alerts

Google News Alerts is like a news aggregator that allows you to receive news based on your keyword of choice. http://www.google.com/alerts

When you subscribe, you’ll receive the latest stories that carry your keyword. Go through them and you may find some gems of information that you can write up into a topical article based on that story.

4. Press Release Alerts

Press releases are an excellent way to find out more about new discoveries or advances in your field. These can make an excellent topic for an opinion piece about that discovery or development.

Search press release sites for the latest releases in the field of your choice. You’ll find a bunch of them listed here. http://www.onlineprindia.com/press-release-distribution.htm

5. Online Forums

You can get some of your best article topics from other professionals in your field. Online forums provide an abundance of opinions, queries and ideas that might just make that flashbulb go off in your brain.

Visit forums, lurk and read other’s posts or participate in discussions and benefit from the minds of some of the most interactive people in your field.

6. Blogs

Blogs are a hotbed of discussion and opinion. They often carry some very interesting and topical pieces that can help you ideate.

Blog directories, a long list of which can be found at the link below, are a good place to start looking for blogs written on your topic of interest. http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/

7. Seminars and Conferences

One of the best ways to keep up with new ideas and developments in your field is to attend seminars or conferences and network with other people.

You can often come away with a bunch of ideas, at these gatherings, and use them to write up articles.

8. Spy On The Competition

Check out your competitor’s business and websites. They may be using ideas or even making mistakes that could give you ideas for articles on what does or doesn’t work.

And finally, always remember to give credit (and a link back) to the news sources that you cite in your article.

Priya Shah is the CEO of an online marketing firm and writes an online marketing blog. Visit Article Writing Tips for more article marketing tips and tools. This article may be reprinted as long as the resource box is left intact and all links are hyperlinked. Source: http://www.websition.com/

38 Great Ideas for Your Next Headline

The best way to get ideas for headlines when you are stuck is to keep a swipe file of successful headlines, and consult it for inspiration when you sit down to write a new ad or mailing. 
As a shortcut, here’s a partial collection of such headlines from my vast swipe file, organized by category so as to make clear the approach being used:

            1. Ask a question in the headline.

            “What Do Japanese Managers Have That American Managers Sometimes Lack?”

            2. Tie-in to current events.

            “Stay One Step Ahead of the Stock Market Just Like Martha Stewart – But Without Her Legal Liability!”

            3. Create a new terminology.

            “New ‘Polarized Oil’ Magnetically Adheres to Wear Parts in Machine Tools, Making Them Last Up to 6 Times Longer.”

            4. Give news using the words “new,” “introduction,” or “announcing.”

            “Announcing a Painless Cut in Defense Spending.”

            5. Give the reader a command – tell him to do something.

            “Try Burning This Coupon.”

            6. Use numbers and statistics.

            “Who Ever Heard of 17,000 Blooms from a Single Plant?”

            7. Promise the reader useful information.

            “How to Avoid the Biggest Mistake You Can Make in Building or Buying a Home.”

            8. Highlight your offer.

            “You Can Now Subscribe to the Best New Books – Just as You Do to a Magazine.”

            9. Tell a story.

            “They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano … But When I Started to Play.”

            10. Make a recommendation.

            “The 5 Tech Stocks You Must Own NOW.”

            11. State a benefit.

            “Managing UNIX Data Centers – Once Difficult, Now Easy.”

            12. Make a comparison.

            “How to Solve Your Emissions Problems – at Half the Energy Cost of Conventional Venturi Scrubbers.”

            13. Use words that help the reader visualize.

            “Why Some Foods ‘Explode’ In Your Stomach.”

            14. Use a testimonial.

            “After Over Half a Million Miles in the Air Using AVBLEND, We’ve Had No Premature Camshaft Failures.”

            15. Offer a free special report, catalog, or booklet.

            “New FREE Special Report Reveals Little-Known Strategy Millionaires Use to Keep Wealth in Their Hands – and Out of Uncle Sam’s.”

            16. State the selling proposition directly and plainly.

            “Surgical Tables Rebuilt – Free Loaners Available.”

            17. Arouse reader curiosity.

            “The One Internet Stock You MUST Own Now. Hint: It’s NOT What You Think!”

            18. Promise to reveal a secret.

            “Unlock Wall Street’s Secret Logic.”

            19. Be specific.

            “At 60 Miles an Hour, the Loudest Noise in This New Rolls Royce Comes from the Electric Clock.”

            20. Target a particular type of reader.

            “We’re Looking for People to Write Children’s Books.”

            21. Add a time element.

            “Instant Incorporation While U-Wait.”

            22. Stress cost savings, discounts, or value.

            “Now You Can Get $2,177 Worth of Expensive Stock Market Newsletters for the Incredibly Low Price of Just $69!”

            23. Give the reader good news.

            “You’re Never Too Old to Hear Better.”

            24. Offer an alternative to other products and services.

            “No Time for Yale – Took College At Home.”

            25. Issue a challenge.

            “Will Your Scalp Stand the Fingernail Test?”

            26. Stress your guarantee.

            “Develop Software Applications Up to 6 Times Faster or Your Money Back.”

            27. State the price.

            “Link 8 PCs to Your Mainframe – Only $2,395.”

            28. Set up a seeming contradiction.

            “Profit from ‘Insider Trading’ – 100% Legal!”

            29. Offer an exclusive the reader can’t get elsewhere.

            “Earn 500+% Gains With Little-Known ‘Trader’s Secret Weapon.’”

            30. Address the reader’s concern.

            “Why Most Small Businesses Fail -- and What You Can Do About It.’

            31. “As Crazy as It Sounds…”

            “Crazy as it Sounds, Shares of This Tiny R&D Company, Selling for $2 Today, Could be Worth as Much as $100 in the Not-Too-Distant Future.”

            32. Make a big promise.

            “Slice 20 Years Off Your Age!”

            33. Show ROI (return on investment) for purchase of your product.

            “Hiring the Wrong Person Costs You Three Times Their Annual Salary.”

            34. Use a “reasons-why” headline.

            “7 Reasons Why Production Houses Nationwide Prefer Unilux Strobe Lighting When Shooting Important TV Commercials.”

            35. Answer important questions about your product or service.

            “7 Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Collection Agency … And One Good Answer to Each.”

            36. Stress the value of your premiums.

            “Yours Free – Order Now and Receive $280 in Free Gifts With Your Paid Subscription.”

            37. Help the reader achieve a goal.

            “Now You Can Create a Breakthrough Marketing Plan Within the Next 30 Days … for FREE!”

            38. Make a seemingly contradictory statement or promise.

            “Cool Any Room in Your House Fast – Without Air Conditioning!”

            By the way, if you can guess which of the above headlines I wrote, I’ll send you a free autographed copy of one of my books. E-mail your guesses to rwbly@bly.com (entries must be received within 10 days of the publication of this article).

About the author:

            Robert W. Bly is a freelance copywriter and the author of more than 50 books including The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Direct Marketing (Alpha). His e-mail address is rwbly@bly.com and his Web site address is www.bly.com.

Are Articles Enough? A Few Words About Web Content

So it seems that content is still king, and that RSS article feed does a nice job of streaming in fresh, keyword-loaded content that gets your site indexed fast AND brings Adsense Revenue. That's great, but if you think that articles replace traditional web copy, you're dead wrong.

Look at any top corporation's website structure to see that the traditional website model still takes first prize. Even if you've unearthed the absolute best articles on the web from leading experts, an article feed is still no way to greet a customer who's just landed on your homepage.

Think about this. How did you feel the last time you clicked and landed and sat there blinking at an article that you weren't planning on reading? If the article managed to suck you in, were you tempted after perusing it, to explore other parts of that website? Or did you just go, "Ahh, good one" and continue on your merry ADD-like web-surfing way?

My guess is, you clicked away. So if you're looking to launch a new site or considering making improvements on your existing site, how about putting that RSS feed back where it belongs - on the article page.

Remember your visitor. Now that he's there, how can you keep him interested in sticking around? The guests who arrive on your homepage are no different than the guests who come to your home. You work hard to create a home that reflects who you are - your unique style, your hobbies, habits, culture and beliefs. When someone comes into YOUR house, you don't push someone else's stuff on them. Why would you do that on your website?

Give your website guests the opportunity to get to know your company and what you stand for. That means including lively, inspiring and sales-driven copy that explains your product and service offerings. That means a company philosophy and a personal bio that tells the story of who you are and builds a case for your trustworthiness and expertise. That means copy that addresses your customers' emotional mindset and sucks them into wanting and even needing what you sell. And let's not forget the hallmarks of a real business - the privacy policy, user agreement, payment policies and "customer-satisfaction guarantee" as each pertains to your profession.

Nobody should ever be confused by what they see on your website. Nobody should ever be "lost" on your website. Give your website a "test run" - click from a few different outside links and see where you end up. You MUST have a logo--on every page. Your company name must be clearly labeled on every page, even the "deep content" pages. Your contact information should be easily accessible and at the very least include an email address or comment submission form. Give your customer every opportunity to reach out and get in touch with you.

Finally - your website should be strategically linked from page to page, keyword to relevant keyword, with the ultimate purchase end in sight. Sure, it's fun to create websites for the heck of it, but if you're interested in having a real business that reflects true professionalism, then YES you need legitimate, one-of-a-kind web content that tells the story of you and what you do. And above all, it should expertly lead the customer to buy!

Hire an experienced designer who knows about Search Engine Optimization. Hire a copywriter who can create sizzling content on all the pages that will remain stationary and even those that will require regular updating. Take care in creating a website that's a marketer's dream come true. Invest in the future of your business.

Dina Giolitto is a copywriting consultant and ghostwriter with 10 years of experience writing corporate print materials and web content. Trust her with your next e-book, article series or web project, and make a lasting impression on your audience of information-hungry prospects. Visit http://www.wordfeeder.com for more information. Source: http://www.websition.com/