Email Newsletters Vs. Print Newsletters

November 22, 2010 By Lisa Angelettie 6 Comments

Do you prefer email newsletters or print newsletters?

I have written and published both print newsletters and email newsletters. As we move into a more highly digital world, I was wondering how people PREFER to read their newsletters.

We all get a lot of email, many text or html newsletters, that we read weekly or monthly. I’ve even been contemplating getting iPad versions of my favorite magazines – but not sure if I’m ready to go 100% digital. Are you?

These are my questions:

1. Do you prefer email or printed newsletters?

2. If you prefer email, do you read them on your computer, phone, ipad, or other digital reading device?

3. Do you make a decision on print vs. email based on price? Meaning do you always pick the free option?

4. If you had to pay for both print and digital versions of a newsletter, which would you rather pay for?

Please leave your answers in the comments section of this post and let’s get a good discussion going. It’s one thing to read “stats” about electronic publishing, etc. but it’s another to see what REAL folks are saying in my world.

Autoblogging 101

November 15, 2010 By Lisa Angelettie 7 Comments

WordPress Autoblogging | Autoblogging 101

There is a new affiliate article marketing (or content marketing) model that is all the rage! If you haven’t heard about it, it is a system of mass producing small niche blogs and monetizing them with adsense, amazon, ebay, and other affiliate revenue. Content is typically “dripped” into the blogs automatically via plugins from RSS feeds and so it is a “set it and forget it” type of income model.

The key to success with autoblogging is that you must pick tiny, untapped niches and that you create a LOT of blogs because each one is only going to generate a very small amount of revenue (a few bucks a day). Yet if you can create many blogs that make a few dollars a day, the point is that it all adds up to a pretty decent amount of money per day.

Autoblogging – Pros

One thing that is absolutely attractive about autoblogging is the fact that you can set it up and forget it. You can simply leave it alone and let the affiliate income drip in.

Another great thing about autoblogging is that when you use it with WordPress, you can use some powerful WordPress plugins to automatically add content to your blog on a regular basis. Content like articles, reviews, and videos. This is what differentiates the autoblogging affiliate model of today from the old adsense html websites of the past. You are constantly adding fresh content to your blogs, which the search engines love, but you’re doing it automatically – -so you are not tied to adding fresh content to dozens of sites everyday.

Autoblogging – Cons

Of course if you are automatically adding content from other website sources to your blogs, you need to find a way to make that content unique. It doesn’t make sense to post duplicate content from bigger sites to your little, new, niche sites. No one will ever find your sites in a search because they will probably suffer from a Google content filter.

Another autoblogging issue is that the key to success is being able to produce a large number of blogs with the least amount of time/effort. And that’s where the autoblogging offers come in. There are companies out there who will sell you the “method” or their “system” for building and implementing autoblogs, but they really make their money by selling you the software needed to create a lot of WordPress blogs, with the same settings, and the same plugins at one time. Some call it batch processing. This cuts down on the time creating and setting up your blogs – tremendously.

How To Use Autoblogging

It’s important to understand that if you choose to create passive income from affiliate article marketing as I do, and so many other online entrepreneurs, that autoblogging is NOT your golden ticket! While I am sure there are many marketers who are going to claim that they make thousands of dollars a month autoblogging – this probably won’t be you. Nor is it most people. But what it is – is a nice source of passive income that you can create with just a little upfront effort. Niche selection, setting up the blogs, etc.

Getting Started With Autoblogging

There are many marketers out there who teach autoblogging, but if you know how to set up a blog on WordPress or on Blogger, then you can get started without any real investment.

1. Select your niche.

2. Make sure you can penetrate by doing solid keyword research

3. Set up your blog on a self-hosted WordPress blog or a Blogger blog.

4. Add a variety of content on your niche. Use automated WordPress plugins to help.

5. Monetize your blog.

6. Sit back and let the magic happen!

Here are a few systems if you want more in-depth direction and access to software to help automate things: Autoblog Samurai & AutoContentCash.

Mobile Marketing: What Is Mobile Marketing?

November 7, 2010 By Lisa Angelettie 5 Comments

Mobile Marketing

“What The Heck Is Mobile Marketing and Is This One More Thing I Need To Worry About?”

Q: What is mobile marketing and is it something I need to give some attention to in regards to my online business?

A: People become either excited or frightened when a “new” marketing strategy and/or content platform grows in popularity on the web. I remember how a lot of my peers were very nervous about blogging and wouldn’t try it for years. Time wasted if you ask me. Then there’s social marketing. I must admit, I waited a bit in the wings to see how that would all play out. Yet it’s still here, going very strong, and a very big part of most businesses marketing presence. Now a new marketing strategy has emerged based on the growth of technology and that’s mobile marketing.

So what exactly is mobile marketing? Well, it’s a method of taking your marketing message and spreading it via mobile devices: cell phones, iPhones, Blackberrys, iPads, etc. And all of us article and content marketers need to spend some time learning more about it because of the fact that statistically :

1. There are over 4.2 Billion mobile devices worldwide.
2. Mobile web growth is happening 4 times as fast as the Internet.
3. One out of every seven minutes of media consumption takes place on mobile.
4. There are over 5,000 different mobile devices that can access the mobile web.
5. Over 80% of Americans carry a mobile phone, that’s about 250 million Americans
6. Mobile data traffic is expected to rise over 40-fold over the next five years
7. People web browse via mobile devices more than they browse via computer
8. Mobile web more popular than reading
9. 80% mobile websites attract global audience
10. Mobile marketing to reach $24B in five years
11. 70% of print publishers step up mobile efforts

Now I don’t know about you, but these statistics are a bit startling aren’t they? Yet if I think about it for one second, my 11 year old saw a pay phone for the first time in her life last year. She didn’t even know what it was. Cell phones are a way of life. There are people that don’t know how they are going to pay their next electric bill, but have a cell phone.

So these stats bring up a larger point. While the trends I’ve been reading do not suggest that mobile phones will replace all print media, television, etc. – we do know that it is the primary source of information and entertainment for certain segments of the population (especially under age 20) – which means that as our children age — mobile phones may one day be THE primary source of information and entertainment for much of the income-generating population.

It would make sense just as that print publishers are quickly trying to catch up to the e-reader explosion, that we as marketers should prepare our websites for the mobile market.

What you need to realize is that if you take a look at your site stats, is that you may notice that people are already starting to visit your website through a mobile device. Your stats should be able to show you that (where traffic comes from). So the real question is what does your website look like on a cell phone? Does it load fast? Can people navigate your site? Take a look right now and get a good idea.

Conclusion

There are complex solutions for creating mobile versions of a webiste because of cross-device, cross-browser issues, but if you have a WordPress blog you can use the WordPress plugin: WPtouch to create one for your site. It’s a pretty powerful plugin and best of all – it’s free. It’s all you probably need right now to get started. As mobile marketing grows, and as you see proof in your stats that your web traffic is growing, you may decide to build an even more customized mobile version of your site for visitors. But hey – let’s take baby steps:)

If you have any thoughts or input on this issue of mobile marketing and today’s rapid growing mobile market, please feel free to add to the conversation by leaving your thoughts in the comment section below. I look forward to hearing what kinds of traffic people have been seeing via mobile devices to their websites. I know that I have, which was my motivation for writing this article.

*Statistic sources: MoFuse & MobileInc

Email Marketing: How To Get Your Emails Read

October 12, 2010 By Lisa Angelettie 4 Comments

Learn Email Marketing & How To Get Your Emails Read…Especially If They Feature Articles!

One of the #1 things that I recommend to my members is that they write and publish content consistently to their own sites, AND promote those articles to their lists via email marketing. Now of course there are pros and cons to any marketing strategy, and it makes sense to analyze them, before you commit to them. So today I want to talk about using email marketing as a part of your overall article marketing promotion strategy.

The Email Marketing Advantage

The great thing about using email marketing is that it is free and easy. All you need is a connection to the web, an email address, and you can send pretty much any message to your list. Normally you would have to pay for this type of access in the offline world. For example, direct mail. At best it will cost you the price of a stamp, at worst a direct mail campaign can run you hundreds of dollars per campaign or per month. That’s what makes email marketing such a great deal.

Having said that, there are business owners out there who have abused email marketing and really taking advantage of the system by spamming, etc. Also, now that reading emails is practically a normal activity for many people at home or work – folks are starting to become a little desensitized to email marketing messages. I mean consider your inbox. How many email lists are you on? And how many do you actually read? When I look at my inbox, I read emails based on level of importance, urgency, and interest.

So people that read your emails are hopefully going to be:

1. People that requested and confirmed to be on your list. Email/autoresponsder services like Aweber make sure of this.

2. People that are highly interested in your topic.

3. People that need answers or information that they are depending on you to provide

4. People that trust you, your advice, your recommendations

But this does not happen overnight. It takes work to get people on your email marketing list. And then it takes even more work to get them to actually read your emails. But here’s a few tips to help get your email read – especially your articles…

#1 – Write An Eye-Catching Subject Line

The first think I look at when I see an email in my inbox is to see who it’s from. There are certain entrepreneurs and marketers who have gained my trust – so I read everything they send. But if you haven’t built that bond of trust yet with your list, your subject line is the next best piece of email marketing real estate.

Your subject lines need to capture the attention of your readers without being spammy. The best way to do this in my opinion is to model your subject lines after emails you actually opened because of the subject lines. What worked on you will probably work again. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel.

Avoid Spammy Email Marketing Subject Lines

Using these types of email subject lines might get you noticed at first, but readers will quickly designate you as a slimy spammer and your credibility will be ruined. Trust denied. Also these types of subject lines can get your emails marked as spam and get you banned from your email provider.

RE: or re:
Your [insert company] account has been Cancelled / De-Activated / Terminated
From admin
Notification of payment received
Fwd:
I read your ad or I saw your ad
Please Verify Your Account

#2 – Set The Stage For Your Articles

There are many ways that you can introduce your articles to readers via email. Some like to include the entire article in an email (I don’t use that one). Others like to introduce the article and include a link to the full article (I do use this). Another strategy is to list several articles with article titles and summaries and allow the subscriber to pick and choose which articles they will read (I do this in my newsletter).

However you decide to promote or feature your articles via email marketing, you need to make sure you capture the reader’s attention. Speak to their quest for knowledge, for answers, for help. But be classy about it. Don’t spam. Don’t “sell”. Just send informative, interesting, and content that speaks to your community of readers and your email marketing campaign WILL get read.

How To Increase Sales Page Conversion In 3 Minutes!

August 23, 2010 By Lisa Angelettie 7 Comments

I have never professed to be a fantastic copywriter. I am more of a creative writer. I realized that long ago. Yet I have spent enough time online to pick up a couple of “good habits” that have made become a more intuitive marketer. One is how to increase your sales page conversion in 3 minutes flat!

FIRST
While I love pretty things (handbags, flowers, jewelry), that is NOT what works online. I have battled with clients over this while helping them build article blogs. Many of the clients I work with want pretty, when in reality some not so pretty things work really well online to convert prospects into sales.

SECOND
Testing this theory out over and over has made me a believer. Do you test? If you are just starting out online, you probably don’t. I know I didn’t at first. I spent so much time trying to finish one thing, I didn’t have the energy or the inclination to test another thing out to compare and contrast. But as I grew more comfortable with my niche, what I was teaching, what I was writing – I began to test. Testing sales pages, Landing pages. Emails. Etc. And one of the things that I have discovered through testing is something that can increase your sales page conversion simply by…

Changing Your Order Button.

I FEEL PRETTY…
These are an example of “pretty” add to cart buttons that I would have liked to use:

TESTING PRETTY VS. WHAT WORKS
When I first launched my article marketing training course and membership site (Articology), my sales page contained a simple link to the order page. Later I added a “sign up” graphic. I used both on the sales page and sales increased. I made the graphic bigger and I saw a little improvement.

Finally, after taking a look at some of the sites that I had recently ordered from, I noticed that many were using a bigger button. Many were using “add to cart” instead of order now or subscribe now or sign up. They were using an orange color for the button, and a few were using red dashed lines around the perimeter. Something I wouldn’t have normally used. But this is the type of button that ultimately increased conversion on my sales page by 35%.

You will find buttons like this on sales pages of products and services that you buy from and that convert well in places like Clickbank, etc. You can easily create it in photoshop (that’s what I did), or you can find one you like and swipe it:) The advantage of creating it in photoshop is that you can add a little bit of type which shows the regular price and the discounted price for each of your products. This has been proven to help conversion as well. Something that looks like this:

SO WHAT NEXT?
I recommend that you begin to test your current sales page and order button vs. a duplicate sales page with the big ole’ orange button and see how your conversion compares. You can test sales pages a variety of ways. Switch out your order buttons with one that looks like this and watch your sales and conversion improve!

If you’re just starting out and selling your first product or promoting your first service, then I recommend to go with the big ole’ ugly orange button for now and test later.

As a few people in the comments section mentioned, this high converting button is called The Belcher Button and you can grab a copy to edit for your own site over on the site at: http://www.belcherbutton.com/

#1 Mistake Online Marketers Make For Years!

August 18, 2010 By Lisa Angelettie 5 Comments

I was talking to a client the other day and she was so excited about a marketer she had discovered, His new product on video production. And then she found a cool social media tool she wanted to try. And then she found a list building program she wanted to join. She told me about all of these things to get my approval on whether to go with or not.

She hadn’t been listening to me obviously, because she is making the #1 mistake that online marketers make – and make for months and years even! So you want to know what it is?

THE BIG MISTAKE
Not selecting ONE marketing strategy and mastering it BEFORE you move on to the next strategy.

I can tell you that I know this for sure because I did it myself for years and I have seen many other people do the same. Even people who you may consider top marketers online. The truth is – is that many of us have been online making practically zero dollars for months or years until we finally figured it out…

It wasn’t a big mystery either. There was no magic online marketing solution. No huge bells and whistles. It was all about simply making a decision on a marketing tactic and following it through. When you finally realize that this is what you MUST do in order to see any significant movement in your business – then that is when you will start to see more income results.

This philosophy is based on my position of wanting to be a pro at one thing instead of a half-ass amateur in regards to a lot of different strategies.

So let me warn you right now. If you have just bought 2 ebooks, joined a coaching program, and are trying your hand at social marketing and PPC. STOP!!! You are all over the place and you won’t gain any traction.

Make the decision today. Right Now. This is how you do it:

1. What marketing strategy appeals to you the most? Which one seems to align with your personality, skill set, etc. (Be honest with yourself. What level are you at right now in regards to your marketing ability?)

2. What marketing strategy have you been using somewhat consistently in the last 3 months? (That’s probably the one you are best at)

3. What strategies do you wish you had time for but can’t do right now. (Scrap ’em!)

4. What marketing strategy have you seen tangible results with? (Traffic. Income. List Building.)

5. If you could only pick ONE marketing tactic to use, what would it be. (This can be something you have or have not tried before.)

For me it was a no brainer. No matter what other hair-brained marketing schemes I would buy into over the years, I would always consistently write. One day I had an aha moment and realized that I should be focusing my energies on writing content. I enjoyed it. I did it well. I saw tangible results. And if I could only rely one marketing strategy in my business, it would be article marketing. It is one of the most time-tested and proven traffic generators and list builders on the web.

Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke – right?

Have you had your aha moment yet? Share with us in the comments section below, what ONE marketing strategy are you going to choose and run with this year?

Internet Business: More Top 10 Hottest Online Niches (Pt.2)

July 29, 2010 By Lisa Angelettie 1 Comment

Ready to finally get your internet business up and running? Still trying to work out a niche? No worries. Welcome to the second part of the Top 10 Hottest Niches online right now! In case you need to catch up – read about the first five hot niches here. If you’re all caught up, let’s get right to it and talk about the next five hot marketplaces on the web today.

Remember that the web is growing everyday! If you even get the slightest inspiration for a internet business from this article, it probably would be best to snatch up a keyword rich domain name for it now. The .com names are really important to secure because they can bring you the greatest success in the search engine rankings. If you aren’t at that point yet, it’s fine. I’m sure that these additional five niches will give you some inspiration.

6. Legitimate Online Jobs
It’s no surprise that because there are so many out of work these days that there is a high demand for creating other sources of income. Unfortunately even as the job market increases there will still be a residual effect of all the businesses that failed and the people who, as a result, lost their jobs. That’s why search for legitimate online jobs and home-based jobs is a growing marketing. You can capitalize on this growth if you act fast.

*Bonus Niche
Cover Letter & Resume Guides
In keeping with this theme, there has been a dramatic increase in demand for cover letter and resume writing services, software, etc. You could set up a blog on resume building and link to various services and products. Or you could create a service yourself. Again – I don’t see this niche slowing down for a long while.

7. Game Guides
I’m completely clueless when it comes to this niche, but I do know that it has been and continues to be a rapidly growing niche that gets a LOT of traffic from people who are qualified and buy. If you can create a guide for one of the popular games out there such as the Zygor Alliance & Horde World of Warcraft Leveling & Dailies Guides or Dugi’s World Of Warcraft Leveling / Dungeon / Dailies Guide then you can make big bucks online! Just find where you fit in.

8. Green Products
Living green is not a Hollywood fad any longer. It is part of the social consciousness. You know it is when major companies are marketing green products – like Clorox®. I created a squidoo lens on green cleaning products a few years back just because I was into it and wanted to make a few affiliate bucks off of it. But imagine what you can do now? There are tons of great “green” products out there to promote — and there are many other products yet to be developed. Possibly by you? One of the hottest sub niches in this market right now is alternative energy sources. Imagine no more electric bills? Heck yeah!

9. Health & Fitness
You betcha that health and fitness is still one of the hottest niches on the web. Think about it. You must know at least one person changing their eating habits this month, one person on a diet, one who hates their body, one who just lost weight, etc. I could go on and on. We are obsessed with our fitness. We all want to look good. So the key to getting into this highly competitive niche, is to absolutely drill it down and find a good sub niche that you can rank in. Focus on one particular thing. Like one of the hottest sub niches in this market is focusing on fit abs.

*Bonus Niche – Sports buffs are online. I don’t know why, but they are. They do a lot of research on how they can improve whatever it is that they do. Football, soccer, golf. One of the hotter sub niches in this marketplace is something called vertical training. People are willing to pay big bucks to learn how to vertically train better so that they are better at their sport of choice.

10. Learning Languages
Sure you see all those commercials on television about that software that teaches people in NASA how to speak a foreign language – but did you know that software costs hundreds of dollars? It is way out of the average consumer’s budget. Yet learning a language is on the “to do” or “bucket list” of many more people than you realize. The search statistics don’t lie. Folks want to learn a second language for self-improvement, better job opportunities, etc. Listed in popularity order, the hot languages in this niche include: Spanish, French, Chinese, German, Japanese .

Internet Business Tip: Find someone who is already selling a product or service in the niche that you are interested in. Consider purchasing that item as an investment into your niche research. Study it. See what you can do to make the product or service better, faster, simpler, or more attractive to the consumer.

Read Part One Of This Series

Internet Business: Top Ten Hottest Online Niches (Pt.1)

July 28, 2010 By Lisa Angelettie 11 Comments

There are two types of internet business beginners. The first type are those who already have a business, a niche, a marketplace — but aren’t confidant about that choice. They aren’t exactly sure if they have chosen the right niche. The second type are more common and those are folks who want to start an internet business but aren’t sure which direction to go in – which niche to choose. This is especially important if you are considering choosing a niche for affiliate article marketing (which is something I like to do for an extra income stream). You want to pick a niche that’s profitable, popular, but not saturated with competition. That’s the key.

Now if you do a bit of research on picking a niche, most internet marketers are going to tell you to search Amazon etc. to find what things are selling on the web and that’s true. Big sites like that do offer you a barometer on what is “hot” right now on the web. BUT the competition for those niches are probably so fierce, that there is virtually no way you are going to make a dent in it. That’s why you have to choose a big niche that interests you then drill down and find a micro-niche within it that you can specialize in, promote and profit from. Here are my picks:

1. Satellite TV & Movies

Probably due to the tough economy, our need for escape, and the outrageous price of cable television — more folks want the capability of watching cable television on their computers. Sites like hulu.com have capitalized on this trend, but people want more channels, choices and content then sites like this provide. Find companies that provide this type of software or service, and you have a great potential for affiliate income.

2. WordPress/Blogging

The buzz is all about social media, but guess what? Blogging is hotter than ever. That’s because while it isn’t new and shiny like the social media sites, it is proven to be Google’s favorite thing. If you write good articles on a WordPress blog — traffic is sure to come your way. All the power players on the web use WordPress. That’s why there are a variety of products and services serving the blogging and specifically WordPress community such as templates, premium plugins, etc.

3. Cooking/Recipes

Cooking shows are always popular. Food will never go out of style! And again with the concern people are paying to what they are spending, more individuals and families are cooking home. One of my favorite sub-niches of this hot niche is cooking famous restaurant foods and sauces. I LOVE the taste of restaurant food and would love to replicate the same taste at home for a fraction of the cost. Wouldn’t you?

4. Information Products

People are looking for new careers or second income streams. Creating infoproducts and making money from them is a time-tested and proven income stream that works. You can capitalize on this still hot niche by specializing in a faster, simpler, or specialized way for people to write them.

5. Education/Studying

Students of all sorts are always looking for a faster, easier way to study for the next big test. Getting into private schools, magnet high schools, and top colleges and universities is getting more competitive than ever. Every student wants an edge. Speak to their pain, and promote products or services that will help them edge out their competition and you’ve got a winning niche.

Internet Business Tip: Do a little research into your niche and it’s sub niches. Find a product or service that you like and find a way to improve it. Make it faster. Simpler. Or a better experience for the customer.

Next Article – Internet Business: More Top Ten Hottest Niches (Pt.2)