December 15, 2013 by Donna Thornton Leave a Comment

Creative Inspiration | What the BLOG?

By Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero

Blogs Are the NEW Secret Weapon for Reaching Your Tarket (target market). Just like you, I hate being marketed to. Every day we’re bombarded with over 3,500 marketing messages. And frankly I’m sick of it! But blogs are different. Blogs are a two-way conversation between blogger and bloggee (plus all the readers in between). Through commenting and cross-linking, you can share feedback. You can build your network. You can become, dare I say it, an Internet Celebrity!

See, blogs add humanity and instantaneous expression to the web. Like ezines, blogs are a way for your customer to get to know you.

However, unlike ezines, blogs help you with search engine rankings. Did you hear me? I said, unlike ezines, blogs help you with search engine rankings. That’s a big one.

Entrepreneur Magazine, Business Week, even the FCC (Federal Trade Commission) all believe blogs are here to stay. Michael Powell, chairman of the FCC, started one. His initial post drew over 30,000 readers. A Microsoft spokesperson says Bill Gates is considering starting a blog. And filmmaker Michael Moore built a blog to promote his controversial movie, Fahrenheit 9/11.

But who has time to read a blog anyway? Exactly! The job of a blog is to cut through the information overload and deliver searchable, relevant and current content. Blog Ads recently conducted a survey of over 17,000 blog readers. Here’s what they report:

Blog readers are older and more affluent. 61% of blog readers are over 30, and 75% make more than $45,000 a year.

Blog readers are more cyber-active. 54% of their news consumption is online. 21% are themselves bloggers and 46% describe themselves as opinion makers.
Blog readers are media-mavens. 21% subscribe to the New Yorker magazine, 15% to the Economist, 15% to Newsweek and 14% to the Atlantic Monthly.

Whether on the left or right, blog readers have traits in common that often are absent in today’s public spaces: passion and initiative.

Blog readers have apathy towards traditional news sources. 82% say that television is worthless. 55% percent say the same about print newspapers. 54% say the same about print magazines.

Meanwhile, 86% say that blogs are either useful or extremely useful as sources of news or opinion. 80% say they read blogs for news they can’t find elsewhere. 78% read because the perspective is better. 66% value the faster news. 61% say that blogs are more honest.

Blog readers appear united in their dissatisfaction with conventional media and their rabid love of blogs.

Don’t you want to be a blogger too?

Author Resource -> Copywriting guru Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero has been helping entrepreneurs and copywriters get their marketing messages razor sharp since 1999.

Get free access to 5 tips to turn your “blah” sales message into red-hot copy that ROCKS… at http://www.RedHotCopy.com

December 12, 2013 by Donna Thornton Leave a Comment

Starting Your Own WordPress Blog | Creative Inspiration

By Angela Wills

Starting your own blog on your own hosting involves a little setup. It’s really not overly difficult and there are even some hosting companies that will set up your blog for free. Here are step by step directions on how to start your own blog with an email host using WordPress.

Step 1: Install Blog

Install blog using Fantastico or Simple Scripts available in your hosting control panel.

If you host has Fantastico or Simple Scripts then installing a blog is a fairly easy and quick thing to do. What you do is login to your web site’s control panel, and find the smiley face, the Fantastico Icon, and click on it. You’ll see a section in most control panels for WordPress, click on it.

Then you click the ‘install WordPress’ and fill in all the information that it asks for. An important step to remember is the location that says ‘install in directory’. If you want the blog installed on your main ‘index’ page you’ll want to leave the box blank. If you want it to be installed in a different location, such as [http://www.yourdomain.com/blog] then you’ll need to put ‘blog’ in the box.

Step 2: Add Theme

Choose appropriate theme and upload to server using FTP. You upload the unzipped theme to: blog location/wp-content/plugins.

Go into WordPress dashboard and activate the theme. Activate them by going to Presentation and then scrolling down until you see the theme. Click it and it will be activated on your blog.

Step 3: Customize

Customize blog by
– adding appropriate header – edit the ‘header’ section in ‘Appearance’>’Editor’
– changing colors in stylesheet ‘style.css’
– editing sidebar – remove/edit blogroll/links, adding RSS links, add opt-in form
– set up categories

Some premium themes such as Thesis and Headway make the directions above unnecessary as customizing is as easy as filling out the options you’d like and clicking what you want.

How to change the header:
Go into the header section and look for the files that make up the header.

Feedburner.com:
Go to feedburner and ‘burn’ a feed. You’ll want to use that feed to allow people to subscribe to your feed so that you can track the sign ups and also get statistics on your feed.

Step 4: Add Plugins

WordPress plugins are available on the WordPress website.

Plugins I like to add
– Akismet – to prevent spam
– Action Popup – this is a premium (paid) plugin
– Podpress
– All in One SEO Pack
– Broken Link Checker
– Comment Luv
– DISQUS
– Feedburner Feedsmith
– Search Meter
– Tweetable
– WordPress Related Posts

Step 5: Posts

You’ll want to get a good number of posts 10-25 before you start promoting your blog. The idea here is that you don’t want to send people to an empty blog or else they’ll never return. You want to have a blog full of useful information that you can then start promoting.

You want to create some solid content and some really good articles that you can refer to. Create a category for this but it is also a good idea to include it in a header menu so that people can find it fast. Include it with the normal content listings such as ‘about’, ‘contact’, etc and label it ‘articles’.

Step 6: Marketing

There are many ways to market a new blog:
– post to other blogs and leave a ‘signature’ when allowed
– add your signature to forum posts when allowed
– submit articles to directories – do this once a week with targeted directories
– send messages to your list when you post a new blog post
– pay per click marketing
– advertising
– guest posts on other people’s blogs

Blogging can be seriously advantageous to your business. It allows you a place to connect with your potential audience very frequently and get your message out there more often. While it may take some time and effort to get your site up and running in the beginning, you’re sure to enjoy the many benefits that blogging can offer in the long run.

If you are ready to get your business blog set up so it attracts your target market and potential customers then join me as I teach you in my online video, webinar and email coaching program everything you need to know about creating great business websites and blogs with WordPress.

December 5, 2013 by Donna Thornton Leave a Comment

Harnessing the Firepower of Bullets | Creative Inspiration

By Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero

Bullets are the little typographical symbols that signify a list is coming. They show items of equal importance but listed on separate lines. The reader sees them as little mini bits of knowledge that help them make their decision about buying from you.

These are extremely powerful in copy. Often these little guys make or break your sale. They are very quick to read and can explode on impact, creating an emotional response more effectively in many cases than a longer paragraph. But do you know the rules of punctuating bullets?

Proper Punctuation of Bullets Revealed

Copy isn’t bound by the strict rules your English teacher from grammar school forced you to follow. Nevertheless, you should know the rules before you break or bend them. Consistency keeps the flow going. So be aware of these rules of style to keep you on track.

1) If the list items are complete sentences, go ahead and treat them as such. You’d start with a capital letter and end with a punctuation mark.

Example:
• This is a complete sentence.
• Don’t forget to capitalize the first word.
• Remember to add a period at the end.

2) Got an incomplete sentence on your hands? No problem. Here are two different accepted methods of attack.

Example 1:
• You don’t even have to capitalize the first letter;
• but end with a comma OR a semi-colon;
• again, consistency is key;
• the second to last line ends with “and;”
• the last item has a period.

Example 2:
Start the introductory sentence with a dash or a colon or my favorite…the ellipsis point (the trailing off of a thought or a significant pause)…
• This is my favorite brand of bullets
• Always start with a capital letter
• No end punctuation in sight

Make Your Bullets Work Harder

These benign looking little dots can pack a powerful wallop in the sales arena. But do you know how to make them even more effective? Allow me to demonstrate:

• Always aim for a minimum list of 5 or more bullets. (Odd numbers are more effective than even numbers.)
• It’s okay to have more than one set of bullets reinforcing some of the same facts.
• Add every feature and benefit in here.
• Strategically bold or italicize keyword phrases so scanners can still get the gist of what you’re selling without having to read every word of copy on the first pass.
• Alternate what are called “blind bullets” with hard facts. A blind bullet is a teaser that whets your appetite, but can use without ever having to get your product.

Examples:
o What should NEVER be on your webpage – yet 88% of websites ignore it. (blind bullet)
o Nearly twice as many women (12%) as men (7%) are affected by a depressive illness or overwhelm from life each year. (hard fact)
• Add the page number in parenthesis where the reader can find the information (example: see page 96).

Bullet Templates You Can Steal

Ever get hung up writing your own bullets? Me too. So keep these templates handy for your swipe file.
• One mistake _____ make is….
• How to _____________…
• The truth behind __________________.
• Do _________________ effortlessly and easily.
• Has a proven track record so that _______.

The way you word your bullets can psychologically move your prospect toward the sale. They help him or her overcome internal objections they may not even be aware of. Plus they add a graphical element to your copy, making it breezier to read through.

Author Resource -> Copywriting guru Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero has been helping entrepreneurs and copywriters get their marketing messages razor sharp since 1999.

Get free access to 5 tips to turn your “blah” sales message into red-hot copy that ROCKS… at RedHotCopy.com

November 28, 2013 by Donna Thornton Leave a Comment

Steps to Sell Information Products Online | Business Inspiration

By Angela Wills

Creating your online presence is about establishing yourself as an expert in your niche. Releasing information products is a great way to offer up your knowledge and make money at the same time.

Here are some of the steps you’ll want to take in creating your first information product.

Step 1 – Create the Product
You can create an ebook, special report, physical book, mp3, video or any combination of these products. There’s nothing to say that you can’t hire a Ghostwriter to do the writing and proof reading for you.

This product can be as long or as short as you like but just make sure it’s information that people are really in need of and it delivers high value to their lives or problem.

Have someone go through your finished product to proof read (or view/listen) it.

Step 2 – Set up The Salespage
Of course you’ll need a place to sell your new product from. Though you don’t technically need a new domain for this it’s always a good idea to have a domain specific to the product because it looks more professional and can make it easier to find.

If you don’t have experience creating websites or writing content that makes sales, then this would be another great place to outsource these tasks to get it done.

Step 3 – Set up an Affiliate Program
Though an affiliate program isn’t an absolute necessity, it’s a great idea to set it up from the start to really leverage your new product and create more sales.

There are so many strategies you can get into for finding great affiliates and I’ll have to leave that for another article. Getting a few key players helping you promote a new product can make a big impact on its release.

Decide on a commission to pay your affiliates. For my first product, which sold for $19.97, I decided to offer 50% commission to my affiliates. You’ll want to offer an attractive commission to your potential affiliates so they see it’s worth their time to promote your product.

Step 4 – Get a Graphic
Having a graphical representation of your product really does make it look more professional. If you can’t afford to spend the money right away to get a great graphic done, don’t try to do one yourself unless you know what you are doing. It’s better to have no graphic at all then a poorly designed one.

Step 5 – Start Promoting Your Product
The ways to promote your information product are pretty-much endless. Here are a few ideas to get started:

* Add a short ad in your email signatures.
* Change your forum signatures to draw people to your new product.
* Make a special offer on a forum in your niche that allows such a thing.
* Make an announcement to you list that you have a new product available.
* Post about your product on your blog.
* Search out and contact people who are authorities in the topic your product addresses and ask them if they would be interested in becoming an affiliate.
* Do teleseminars or online conferences on your topic.
* Keep your affiliates motivated by providing them with resources on how to promote your products.

It’s important that you get out there and start making things happen, don’t just wait for your product to start selling like hotcakes because that likely won’t happen unless you are already well known for the information you put out there.

If you’re ready to get your website/salespage set up so it can start selling your information product to your target market and potential customers then join me as I teach you in my online video, webinar and email coaching program everything you need to know about creating great business websites with WordPress.

AUTHOR RESOURCE ===>> Angela Wills is the owner of Marketers Mojo. In 2007 she quit her afternoon-shift factory job to work from home full time. She started the Marketer’s Mojo website and blog to share what’s helped her to build a profitable business she LOVES.

She did it, you can too! FIND OUT MORE