Boosts Profits by 60 Percent

Hi folks,

It's time for another issues of my internet marketing profits newsletter. Here's what you can read into the issue 58:

1) "A New Image Boosts Profits by 60 Percent!"

What does your e-mail creative most resemble?

A) Your landing page or web site
B) Your banner ads and other online marketing
C) Your offline direct mail packages

None of the above!

Conventional wisdom, as well as testing I've conducted, supports answer A, matching e-mail creative to your landing page or web site. It's logical. By making the transition between e-mail and landing page seamless, you smooth the reader's path and avoid any bumps in the road on the way to the desired action.

Last month, I tested answer B for a client. I developed an e-mail resembling one of its banner ads and tested it against the control e-mail. The only difference between the two was the image (control image vs. test banner image) at the top. In all the metrics that matter, the test e-mail showed a lift:

- Orders per e-mail delivered: over 60%
- Click-to-purchase ratio: over 59%
- Orders: over 59%

2) "Hate Sites Using Search Engine Optimization -- Part 2."

Note: part 1 is available into the The Internet Marketing Profits Newsletter, issue 57.

Just the Beginning

One doesn't have to search far to find more hate sites using these type of SEO tactics. The same group appears to own martinlutherking.org, which is not by any means a complimentary site for Dr. King. This site currently ranks number 4 for the term Martin Luther King in Google.

Google's response to the 'jew' results:

An explanation of our search results.

If you recently used Google to search for the word "Jew," you may have seen results that were very disturbing. We assure you that the views expressed by the sites in your results are not in any way endorsed by Google. We'd like to explain why you're seeing these results when you conduct this search.

A site's ranking in Google's search results is automatically determined by computer algorithms using thousands of factors to calculate a page's relevance to a given query.

Sometimes subtleties of language cause anomalies to appear that cannot be predicted. A search for "Jew" brings up one such unexpected result.

If you use Google to search for "Judaism," "Jewish" or "Jewish people," the results are informative and relevant. So why is a search for "Jew" different? One reason is that the word "Jew" is often used in an anti-Semitic context.

Jewish organizations are more likely to use the word "Jewish" when talking about members of their faith. The word has become somewhat charged linguistically, as noted on websites devoted to Jewish topics such as these:

http://shakti.trincoll.edu/~mendele/vol01/vol01.174
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/jonah081500.asp

Someone searching for information on Jewish people would be more likely to enter terms like "Judaism," "Jewish people," or "Jews" than the single word "Jew." In fact, prior to this incident, the word "Jew" only appeared about once in every 10 million search queries.

Now it's likely that the great majority of searches on Google for "Jew" are by people who have heard about this issue and want to see the results for themselves.

Our search results are generated completely objectively and are independent of the beliefs and preferences of those who work at Google. Some people concerned about this issue have created online petitions to encourage us to remove particular links or otherwise adjust search results.

Because of our objective and automated ranking system, Google cannot be influenced by these petitions. The only sites we omit are those we are legally compelled to remove or those maliciously attempting to manipulate our results.

We apologize for the upsetting nature of the experience you had using Google and appreciate your taking the time to inform us about it.

Sincerely,
The Google Team

PS: you may be interested in some additional information the Anti-Defamation League has posted about this at www.adl.org/rumors/google_search_rumors.asp

In addition, we call your attention to both the Jewish Internet Association, an organization that addresses online anti-semitism, at www.jewishinternetassociation.org/, and Google's search results on this topic.

Read now the full version of the Internet Marketing Profits Newsletter, issue 58.

But there's even more solid internet marketing profits tips on issue 59:

1) "Explode Your Income by Selling Wildly Profitable Information Products -- And Discover How Giving Away a FREE GIFT Can Drive 1,000s of Qualified Buyers to Your Web Site!"

Of the one billion people who now use the Internet worldwide, the vast majority are searching for information -- seeking financial services, looking for medical information, checking real estate listings, chatting with newsgroups, researching products and services... and looking for information that will answer their questions and solve their problems.

So what does that mean for you, the entrepreneur? It means that information is a hot product!

=> Information products can be wildly profitable!

To profit from this overwhelming demand for information, one of the first things you'll need is an affordable and simple way to package and distribute information products securely online.

And that's where eBooks come in. eBooks (electronic books) are not only the perfect vehicle in which to package your valuable information product, they are also easy -- and free! -- to duplicate and deliver. Plus, once you've put in the initial time to create them, your costs are zero... so you keep 100% of the profits!

But the best part is that, because eBooks are FREE to duplicate and FREE to deliver, you keep 100% of the profits from each sale!

=> Important Announcement: eBooks aren't just books anymore!

Unlike a paper book, which can only contain words and maybe the odd chart or illustration, an eBook can contain absolutely anything that can be delivered over the Internet. This means you can easily take any multimedia presentation -- including audio and video files -- that would work on a web site and package it in an eBook.

In fact, there are literally dozens of ways for you to use eBooks to increase sales, capture opt-ins, generate sales leads, and more!

2) "Affiliate Marketing Training – Hello!... To SIX Vacations a Year."

So you've decided to make the jump to being a fulltime affiliate marketing expert...

Congratulations!

Welcome to a new dot-com industry where the profits and rewards can go as high as you're willing to take them. You know it's important for you to receive the proper affiliate marketing training before you start your career, and maybe you've already signed on to a great program such as James Martell's downloadable home study course.

But what can you expect from your new life as a successful affiliate marketer?

James Martell has been a successful affiliate marketing expert for years. He recently decided to put his skills and experience on the cutting edge of this exciting new industry to work for you, by putting out his very own downloadable training course for prospective affiliate marketers.

Now it's easy to take a 6-12 month course from the comfort and privacy of your own home computer, and earn money while doing it. In his own words, James recently described his experiences as a successful affiliate marketer.

"Without question, the best thing is my ability to set my own schedule," says Martell. "I literally get up when I want to, I work on the business when I want to, I go for lunch when I am hungry, I take many breaks throughout the week, I drive my dream car when I feel like it, which is a lot, and I take at least one good break, something I call a 'breakcation' at least every 4-6 weeks."

But in addition to the freedom and laid back atmosphere his new life has taken, Martell loves to travel more than anything else. Surprisingly, affiliate marketing has also facilitated his love of the open road as well.

Read online the whole version of the Internet Marketing Profits Newsletter, issue 59.

... Folks, that's it for the moment.

"Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."

Valeriu

PS: if you like what you read, don't forget to check my other articles available on my Internet Marketing Profits Newsletter archive -- strike for more tips on how to skyrocket your internet marketing profits.

Also available the Internet Marketing Profits Newsletter archive in XML format!

Shoppers Buy Into 'Free' Stuff

Amazon.com is running a singular "mystery box" promotion that is proving strangely popular with consumers. Amazon's free Goodie Box is a box of unidentified "goodies" from unidentified "software publishers."

The box costs $10, but Amazon includes a $10 mail-in rebate. The buyer pays for shipping, which starts at $4.

On its site, Amazon describes the Goodie Box as a "grab-bag style assortment (of) promotional items."

Naturally, the items aren't identified, but Amazon promises to send between one and five of them, selected at random by the mysterious "software publishers."

"You never know what you might get," the site teases.

Launched in late May, the promotion has proven so popular that it is currently sold out. Amazon, however, promises the Goodie Box will soon be back in stock, and is taking orders.

"It's been overwhelmingly popular," said Frank Sadowski, vice president of consumer electronics merchandising at Amazon. "We've received thousands of orders and as we get more goodies from our software publishers, we'll send them out."

Sadowski declined to specify the number of orders, or the nature of the items. He said they "range from T-shirts, Post-it pads, CD wallets, demo CDs and others."

"We created the Goodie Box in partnership with manufacturers who wanted to extend their marketing efforts by offering promotional items essentially at no cost to our vast customer base in a unique and fun way," he explained. "This is the way to delight our customers in an unexpected way, at no cost to them."

However, to some, the Goodie Box looks suspiciously like a clever way to clear out a warehouse of unwanted junk at customers' expense. A comment at the Metafilter group weblog suggests the Goodie Box is full of America Online CDs.

Amazon's customers disagree. At least, one of them does. According to the single review of the Goodie Box posted on the site, the box is full of "cool stuff."

Awarding the Goodie Box four stars, a customer identified as a "software user from Fresno, California," said: "I had low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised."

The anonymous reviewer said the box contained a CD wallet, some demo CDs and Post-it sticky notes. "Pretty cool for free!" the customer cheerfully wrote.

The Goodie Box -- not to be confused with Amazon's Gold Box coupon program -- has been cleverly designed, according to one expert.

Consumer psychologist Lars Perner said the Goodie Box is essentially a gamble. "There's a fair amount of research that shows people will accept goods of a much lower value when they are won by lottery," he said.

Perner also noted that Amazon is hedging its bets by including more than one item in the box, a strategy that maximizes the chances a customer will be happy with at least one item.

However, the chances customers will mail in their rebate is fairly low.

Research by BDS Marketing found that the value of the rebate determines its rate of redemption. For example, a high-value rebate -- several hundred dollars, say -- will be redeemed about 40 percent of the time. Low-value rebates -- $10 or less -- are cashed only 4 percent of the time.

Further, a rebate can induce a consumer to buy unwanted goods in the first place, simply because there is a rebate associated with it, according to research by Scott Gilpatric, an economist at the University of Texas.

"Consumers believe they will redeem a rebate, and thus may be induced to make a purchase they otherwise would not have, but later on fail to redeem the rebate," he wrote in a 2002 paper.

Nonetheless, Marc McDonald, who runs TheFreeSite.com, said the Goodie Box looks like one of the better "free" offers on the Web.

"Legitimate freebie offers are relatively rare on the Web," McDonald said. "I see a lot of offers out there that bill themselves as 'free,' but in fact require shipping charges, or have some other catch, such as requiring you to make a purchase of some sort. 'Free' is a highly abused word on the Web."

McDonald noted that Amazon will ship the Goodie Box for free if the customer spends $15 more on merchandise. Amazon offers free shipping on orders totaling more than $25.

Article by Leander Kahney, on behalf of Wired News

More On The Google - Sun Microsystems Deal

Tuesday, Google Inc. CEO Eric Schmidt and Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy held a mid-morning press conference to announce a distribution partnership between the two online giants.

For those who watched or listened to the media event, details of the deal have not been fully filled-out. What was revealed leaves a lot of room for speculation but two things are clear, Google is gunning for Microsoft, using the Java Sun Microsystems as its muscle, and Google's strategy goes far beyond pushing Microsoft around.

The news out of the press conference at first glance seemed simple and anti-climatic. Under the terms of the deal, the Google Toolbar will be bundled into downloads of the Java Runtime Environment.

Java will be used to power new software developed and released by Google, effectively endorsing Java and nailing Microsoft's .Net as an emerging development platform.

The Internet is emerging as the basic operating platform for much of the software used by online consumers. Take the email programs offered by any one of the major search engines for example.

These email accounts are web-based. All individual emails are stored on massive servers and accessed by account holders via the web. Those familiar with Gmail should think about how their email is presented to them before reading further. Note the ads placed to the right.

For Google, getting their toolbar installed on as many computers as possible is an important business strategy. CEO Eric Schmidt believes Google could add tens of millions of customers through Java downloads helping Google monetize it's toolbar by selling more paid-advertisements.

Adding millions of new Google users also bolsters Google in its fight against MSN and Yahoo for branded membership-based clients.

Future updates of the Google Toolbar might include links to Sun software that directly competes with Microsoft software such as the popular (and free) Open Office suite that provides an alternative to the expensive MS Office suite.

Both Google and Sun have pushed for open source development in a bid to hinder Microsoft in several fields. By teaming up together, the two seem prepped to deliver a challenge Bill Gates and Co. have never had to face before.

With a growing number of advertisers footing the bill, Google doesn't need to charge for its software. That software is less expensive to develop and support due to the public participatory nature of open source programming.

Add the alliance with Sun Microsystems to the dozens of other features, tools and initiatives introduced by Google over the last year, and it is easy to see why Microsoft is worried about Google. Expect a lot more to come from this announcement in the near future.

Article by Jim Hedger, contributor to WebProNews, an iEntry.com publication.

Do Not Ever Link To A Site Without Doing This First!

Links are a crucial part of attaining high search rankings, but you must be very careful about to whom you link. I'm going to help you develop a simple link strategy for your website that will help you decide which sites to link to so you're making your way up the search engine rankings and not accidentally hurling yourself backwards.

So the natural questions are:

- Should I link to everyone I can find?

- Should I allow everyone to link to me?

- Should I get one of those "link to 2,000 site for $10" things?

The answer to all of the above is NO!

Develop A Link Strategy

We're going to do an easy-to-digest version of what a search engine optimizer would do if you were to hire one. There are many reasons for having your site professionally optimized which would take up articles in themselves. This is one of the attack strategies for determining optimum, quality links for your site.

Step 1 - Where are your competitors linked?

Don't arbitrarily find random sites that you like and link to them. A little bit of research goes a long way. Start with your competitors. Type the keywords for your site into a search engine. You have them, right?

This is the list of key word phrases that you want to score the number one position when someone types them in a search. Who appears in the top 10 positions? They're your direct competition that is doing something right or they wouldn't be coming up first. So let's look underneath and see how they got it to work and save you a year of work!

Go back to your search engine and type "link:www.competitorsite.com". Up will pop a long list of sites that have a direct link to your competitor. Do this for your top 10 competitors. Do you see any trends in those results? Do you see any similar sites, or perhaps directory listings? Take some notes.

A spreadsheet or a few sheets of loose-leaf paper is helpful and analyze what you've uncovered. You should have a good solid list of links that are helping your competitors rank high!

Step 2 - Search for similar themed sites.

Look at your keyword list again. Do these words appear more so on any of the pages you have listed so far? Narrow down your list to sites that have at least the same theme or related content to yours. Even your competition will have quite a few odd links.

If there are 300 links to a site that sells pumpkins, it's natural to have a car dealer or an airline in there too. Chances are they were so pleased with their pumpkin purchase that they added the site to their own web page. You can disregard these right away.

Take your list and look at the potential link site for similarities to your topic. If in the pumpkin market your competition links to a site that tells all about how to cook pumpkin seeds, see if you can find other sites that tell how to make pumpkin pie, make jack-o-lanterns AND cook pumpkin seeds. Make a list of these sites as potentially better ones.

Step 3 - Look at the Google Page Rank

You can find a page's page rank by looking at your Google tool bar if you have it installed or by going to a site like http://www.top25web.com/pagerank.php. The actual importance of Google Page Rank to Google searches in particular seems to depend on whom you talk with.

It shouldn't be the make or break, but it can help to choose between several similar sites if your unsure of which one to go with.

Page Rank is more of a relative scale of the number and quality of links to a site. The higher the rank, the higher the number. The lower, the worse. It's not unheard of for a link from a site with a Page Rank of 6 or 7 to boost up a low score by a couple numbers. This seems to, at least in Google's case, get a site indexed much faster. And the faster you're indexed, the faster you can start climbing.

Step 4 - How many sites link to your selections so far and how good are they?

The more links a site has pointing to it, the more important it appears to be to the search engines. Say your looking at company ABC to put a link on their site to you. Let's first see how many sites link to company ABC. (Just as you looked at your competition).

We know search engines place more weight on sites linked to you that have similar content. Now the big search databases seem to know what kind of content is on those linking pages.

Using the pumpkin model, if your potential target is teaming with 100 inbound links from gambling, girls, horses, moons, leprechauns and horoscopes then throw it in the trash pile fast, even if it has a Page Rank of 8 (very rare).

Find that site that has 10 links good, quality links to it. From a pumpkin farmer, a
vegetable recipe blog, Halloween and Thanksgiving festivities, how the first settlers used the pumpkin to build houses, etc and has a Page Rank of 5. This is the better choice.

Quality, related themes and content to your site and keywords outweighs quantity of random, useless links.

Step 5 - Your final list

Don't think you can do this in an hour, or a day! It's quite a bit of work just to find good, potential targets. Here's a bonus... when you have your finished your first wave a link possibilities, here's great way to give it a solid foundation.

Find some relevant directories to list with. Directories of a given theme will have many, many similar links pointing to it. Directories are usually considered to have Authority.

(It's not uncommon to have to pay a fee for the good ones anyway.) Try to find a directory of pumpkin farms and pumpkin recipes to build your other links upon.

Another bonus. Avoid this mistake at all costs! Do NOT link to Link Farms or Free for all sites or any sites that will give you 1000 links for $10.

These are not directories, but collections of completely unrelated links that exist solely to try to boost search engines rankings. Search engines ban many of these sites.

The consequences of being listed with a banned site could ban you, and then you're doomed. The only way to succeed is to build your links honestly and strategically with a plan and method.

Note: Search engines give more weight to one-way links rather than reciprocal links. i.e. links that link to your site without asking for one in return. The easiest way to get these is to buy them. This plan will work on all the different kinds of links you can get.

So now you have some potential sites to link to. In the next article learn how to phrase your link for maximum effectiveness. The sites to link with is only the first half... the quality of the words you use that make up the link's content called anchor text are just as crucial! Hint: using the same link in every web site is a very bad idea. See you soon!

John Krycek is the owner and creative director of www.theMouseworks.ca. Read more articles on the insights and secrets of web design and search engine marketing in easy, non-technical, up front English at http://www.themouseworks.ca!

12 Reasons to Market with Postcards

If your marketing activity doesn't include postcards, you're overlooking a highly effective and very low-cost sales tool. Here are 12 of the many reasons postcards should be part of your marketing program.

1. Postcards Work for Any Business

Postcards can produce all kinds of sales activity for all types of businesses. For example, they can produce web site traffic for online marketers, floor traffic for retail stores, sales leads for direct marketers ...and just about any other type of sales activity a business wants.

2. Designing Postcards is Simple and Uncomplicated

Designing an effective postcard is not complicated. It can be as simple as printing your best small ad on a 4 x 6 card and sending it to a list of potential prospects. Postcards usually work best when the message is brief and the postcard looks at first glance like a message from friend.

3. Printing Postcards is Easy and Inexpensive

You can print postcards with your own computer for about 1 or 2 cents each ..or have them printed professionally for about 4 to 8 cents each.

4. There's a Special Low Postage Rate for Postcards

You can send any quantity of postcards by First Class Mail in the US for only 23 cents each. The only requirement is that your postcards must be at least 3 1/2 x 5 inches but no larger than 4 1/4 x 6 inches.

5. Postcards Nearly Always Get Read

Because postcards are delivered "ready to read", almost everybody will read it - even people who usually throw out other types of direct mail without opening it.

6. Postcards Produce Fast Results

Because postcards are simple and easy to use - they produce results fast. You can mail postcards within a few days of deciding to use them ...and you'll start getting sales activity 2 or 3 days later.

7. Postcards are effective for Generating Web site Traffic

One of the most effective postcard formats simply lists a few benefits of a product or service on the card and tells the reader to where they can get more information. This makes them ideal for generating traffic to a web site.

8. Postcard Multiply Themselves

Postcards are like small billboards - and they are easy to handle. They often get saved by recipients or passed on to others ...providing additional exposure of your advertising message.

9. Markets Can Be Precisely Targeted With Postcards

You can accurately target your best markets by sending postcards only to mailing lists of prospects likely to be interested in what you're offering ..and who also have a history of acting on offers that interest them.

10. Postcard Marketing Results Are Easy To Measure

Postcards normally generate over 90 percent of their total response within 7 to 10 days. This enables you to quickly and accurately evaluate the results of a postcard campaign.

11. Postcards Put You in Control of Your Sales Activity

You can quickly boost (or reduce) your sales activity anytime you want by simply regulating the number of postcards you mail and how often you mail them.

12. Postcards Conceal Your Marketing from Competitors

Most advertising uses mass media where your competitors hear or see what you are doing - and copy it. Postcard marketing is personal. Only you and your prospects are aware of what you are doing.

Postcards may be one of the best kept secrets of modern marketing. They're highly effective, very low-cost, simple to use ...and they work for any business. You're overlooking a profitable marketing tool if don't use them.

Bob Leduc retired from a 30 year career of recruiting sales personnel and developing sales leads. He is now a Sales Consultant. For more information about *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper, visit his web site at http://BobLeduc.com or call: 702-658-1707 after 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV