Archive for the 'Tools and Resources' Category
Use e-books to build credibility and gain interest for your business.
Ebook writing has become quite a popular request in the Priceless Writers’ inbox. Why? Entrepreneurs and business individuals have found a surefire way to increase sales and conversions by giving them away. In exchange for names and e-mail addresses, visitors receive an informative Ebook containing unique content and useful information.
This marketing technique helps businesses build their contact lists, which is very important. Of course, Ebook writing has become popular because these books are selling at a great rate as well. Information truly is priceless and people are willing to shell out big bucks in order to get it.
The Importance of Unique Content in Your Ebook
Unique Content is very important because readers are tired of getting the same information. Even if the topic is quite popular, taking a fresh angle with your Ebook writing is important. If readers are compelled to read, interested and satisfied with the Ebook, they will be back for more information. They will trust you more and be more willing to purchase your services or products as well. Placing unique content in your Ebooks, or hiring a writer that will is very important to your online business.
Building Credibility with Your Ebooks
As a business man or woman, you understand how important it is to build your reputation and credibility through various methods. What you might not know is that you can do the same thing with Ebook writing! When customers or visitors read the great information you provide them with, your reputation goes up as well as your credibility. You brand yourself as an expert in your niche.
You can guess what happens next. When those readers or their friends are in need of products or services like yours, you are going to be the person they contact. Using this method, the more Ebooks you write or have ghost written for you, the higher your reputation as an expert goes. This translates to more customers, higher sales and more profits.
So, What Kind of Ebooks Can You Feature with Your Business?
Virtually any business can take advantage of this new trend in Ebook writing. For instance, if you are selling organic dog food, you can feature a book that contains tips on how to keep your dog naturally healthy. Or, if you’re in the website design industry, writing an Ebook that contains tips for converting visitors to customers is a great idea. No matter what your niche is, you can use Ebooks to your advantage. Considering the benefits that you can gain, it’s important that you don’t neglect your Ebook writing.
Don't forget your business cards - they get the word out.
Increasing website traffic is always an urgent matter for any website owner. Small business owners in the brick and mortar world – after realizing the many benefits of a company website – can often be at an advantage for promotion techniques using the offline methods they’re already accustomed to. Letterhead, business cards, and printed media are natural places to include your website address – but what if your business operates solely online?
Any webmaster can increase traffic to any website using offline promotion techniques.
In fact, the most successful websites typically use a diverse selection of both online and offline methods to drive more visitors and increase profits. One of the easiest and most cost effective methods is mentioning your website address to family, friends, and colleagues. Add your URL to your business cards, letterhead, and email signatures or consider making business cards specifically for your website if you haven’t already. It makes sense that the more visible your website is, the more traffic it will generate.
There are several different ways you can use business cards, flyers, and other print to promote your online business in your offline world.
- Pass out your card at business meetings, dinner gatherings, or on the golf course.
- Include 5 or 10 cards each time you ship a purchase. Encourage clients to pass along your URL by offering a discount for referrals.
- Leave your card or business flyer on community bulletin boards at convenience stores, libraries, grocers, and other local sites.
- Search for offline businesses with similar clientele and discuss the possibilities of promoting one another. Many local companies will be glad to promote your website to their customers in exchange for an online ad on your website.
Get creative when you promote your website and watch your traffic levels soar – along with your profits!
Printed media isn’t the only place you should consider displaying your website address. Create a moving billboard by placing your URL on a decal for your vehicle; contract an affordable print shop to have your web address printed on pens, key chains, coffee mugs, stickers, or tee shirts.
Take these ideas to your audience.
“If you build it, they will come”…but only if they know it’s there. Promotional paraphernalia is completely worthless sitting in a box. The right techniques can increase your traffic with or without these additional tools.
- Find places where your potential clients gather – and join them. Conventions, workshops, and other public events are a great place to meet people with similar interests and can bring a number of new visitors to your website.
- Start a sticker campaign. A number of websites involve their members and current visitors to generate new traffic. Mail out stickers with your URL and hold contests for referrals, creative placement, and other categories.
- Don’t be afraid to approach your local radio stations, newspapers, or even television stations about possible opportunities to promote a community angle of your website.
Whatever methods you’re using to increase traffic to your website, remember that the key to any successful site is a functional, friendly design with informative, unique, and original content.
What are you doing? If you’re an active member of the Twitter community, then you probably already know that you can enter updates beyond the typical Twitter homepage. Armed with cell phones and other devices, an explosion of Twitter platforms, clients, and applications have emerged. To get you up to speed, consider the following selections:
Tweetie: Full-featured Twitter client for iPhone and iPod Touch – available at the iPhone App Store.
Tweet Deck: An Adobe Air desktop application (currently in public beta) that involves more than one social media outlet with a unique display featuring a columned user interface.
twitterfeed.com: Provide this service with the URL for your blog’s RSS feed and enjoy direct posting to Twitter.
Power Twitter: This Firefox add-on enhances the features found on the Twitter Web interface, such as Facebook status updates, custom settings, and photo uploading.
HootSuite: With an easy-to-use interface, you can use HootSuite to manage multiple Twitter profiles and pre-schedule tweets.
Twhirl: Using the Adobe AIR platform, this social software desktop client runs on both Windows (2000/XP/Vista) and Mac OSX.
How to Shorten Your URL for Twitter
With Twitter, you’re only allotted 140 characters to share your daily gripes, ever-changing activities, and call attention to any information you deem worthy. So, let’s say you’d like to include a link to your latest blog post or an article you found interesting. That can surely eat up your 140 characters. With the following options, you can transform long URLs into shorter links for your Twitter updates:
While you’re at it, why don’t you follow us on Twitter!
By Kevin via Flickr
During sluggish economical times, it only makes sense to cut back on spending. We’re eating out less, clipping more coupons, and eliminating unnecessary expenses at home – but what about your business?
Chances are, your business has probably taken a hit as consumers tighten their purse strings and you’re left searching for ways to balance lower profits with the expenses required to keep your company operating. Unfortunately, most business owners are starting by cutting their advertising and promotions budget.
Your Business Needs Advertising, Especially Now!
Too often, we overlook the actual benefits our marketing efforts provide. If your current clients have disappeared or decreased their spending, effective promotional tools and affordable advertising campaigns will bring in new customers and can even bring back some of your old ones!
Instead of eliminating your advertising budget, reevaluate your promotional spending and take advantage of less costly methods. For example, a local newspaper ad costs around $90 while posting an ad on Craigslist is free. From my own experience, the free Craigslist ad will typically bring in about 10 times the number of leads generated through the newspaper. Cost effective advertising allows you to increase profits without elevating your expenses.
Affordable Marketing Ideas to Promote Any Business
- Press release. If you thought press releases were only for startups or restructures – think again! A well-written news release, distributed through the right outlets, can revive your business regardless of what you do or how long you’ve been doing it. Press releases give your company the visibility of a television commercial at a fraction of the price.
- Build a website. A website is a must for an online business; an internet presence is just as essential for offline companies as well. More than likely, a big percentage of your target audience turns to the internet for their news, weather, and even shopping needs before turning through the Yellow Pages or picking up the newspaper – make sure you and your business are there! There are several free or low-cost alternatives to website design. Even a professional setup can often cost less than a Yellow Pages ad and can be much more worthwhile.
- Sales letter. Whether you’re looking for new customers or hoping to revive some lost ones, a professional sales letter is your key to increased profits. Home improvement contractors, eBook authors, and local law firms can all benefit from a well-planned sales campaign. A compelling letter that reminds consumers of the advantages of your product or service can do wonders for your business without breaking the bank, whether it’s delivered via post, sent through email, or simply published on the web!
- Online directories. Before you renew your telephone directory ad, look into more valuable internet directories that typically work much harder for a lot less cash. Free directories are a great place to start! Check with your local chamber of commerce or small business association for possible listings in your area. There are also an assortment of subscription based business directories that can give your company a boost – Angie’s List, Service Magic, and a number of industry-relative websites are some to consider. Ask about limited trials or basic memberships to get a good impression of how the service may benefit you before paying too much.
- Start a blog. Even if you hire a writer, a business blog is the most cost-effective marketing tool you can have. You can connect with new clients, build upon your relationship with existing ones, and ensure that your service or product stays fresh in your audiences’ minds through a simple blog.
Saving money is important, but building your brand with marketing and advertising is essential to success. There are plenty of affordable and effective tools available to increase profits and sales. Take the time to weigh your options before completely eliminating your promotional spendings.
Need a professional sales letter that demands action, web content that attracts attention, or just advice on starting your blog? Contact us – we’re your original content specialists!
In order to increase blog readership, you must keep readers interested!
We live in a world where the Internet alerts us to the latest news, the weather in Japan, fashion trends, and celebrity gossip. Online, we find most of the answers to all of the questions we ask. From comparing products to researching a new travel destination, the World Wide Web has become a far-reaching tool in today’s society. The Internet is an explosion of everything and right in the thick of things are blogs – pockets of valuable information, images, videos, music, and commentary – greeting you at every turn.
When it comes to a blog, you want to be heard. This means that you have to attract repeat readers who are interested in what you have to say. While regular posting to your blog and offering a clean layout is an effective way to start, you must provide useful information and keep visitors coming.
Ways to increase your blog readership and keep readers interested include the following suggestions:
1. Evolve
Take hold of today’s technology and enhance your blog with streaming video, audio clips, MP3 files, and other interactive features. Go beyond the typical text and image layout of a blog. For example, You Tube videos are pretty popular with bloggers, from music reviewers to do-it-yourself enthusiasts – keep the attention of your readers with amusing content.
2. Educate
Support your business by offering concrete evidence and valuable information from reliable sources, such as a journal article, seminar transcript, speech, or excerpts from a research paper. Let’s say your niche is within the medical field. People want the latest facts. Give them statistics. Show the results of a clinical study. Educate your audience on the topics most important to them.
3. Entertain
Hit your audience with interesting trivia. Offer a downloadable game. Post a humorous cartoon. There’s nothing wrong with providing a little humor and wacky information to entertain your blog readers.
4. Enlighten
If you’re writing a business blog, it is in your best interest to inform and enlighten the public. Three popular approaches include:
How-to Articles: Provide detailed step-by-step instructions. Example: How to Play Backgammon
Top ‘X’ Lists: Offer a numbered list of suggestions. Example: Top 10 Ways to Save Money
Tips: Deliver small paragraphs of information that makes life easier. Example: Tips on Filing Your 2009 Taxes
If you love to write poetry, there’s still a chance for you to get involved with Secret Press USA. Jason A. Gray, writer and creator of Secret Press USA is looking for submissions for an anthology he’s putting together on the 50 states. There will be a few poems from each state included, and Jason still needs poems from the following states:
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Nebraska
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- Utah
- Wyoming
So, if you have some poems that no one has read collecting dust in your closet, or you’d like to try your hand at writing about your own home state, give it a go! You’ll receive a free copy of the anthology and will have your name featured on the Secret Press USA website. There is also a chance that you’ll be invited to read your poem or others at poetry readings.
The deadline is January 30th, so you’ve only got a few days to send in a submission. Be sure to check out the submission guidelines first, though. Jason’s goal is to have the first anthology published by Spring of 2009 – how exciting. If you have a way with words and live in or are from one of the states above, I urge you to get involved.
As you can tell from the gap in blog posts, this is a busy season for writers! Marketers and businesses want to get their holiday and Christmas marketing in full swing, so the Priceless Writers’ girls have been brainstorming, researching and writing away. Along with all of the magic, a new trend is in the air – ‘written Christmas gifts.’
With the awareness of global warming and the health of our planet increasing, individuals are stuck thinking of new and inventive eco-friendly holiday gifts. There are many different options, and among them are written gifts; gifts that will not create more waste and that loved ones will cherish always. In the spirit of the season, here are 7 unique and written Christmas gift ideas.
1. Write Your Loved One a Poem – sure, this isn’t a very original idea but it’s a great one. This is an especially great gift for guys to give their sweethearts or for children to give parents. Spend a little time thinking about what your loved one means to you – and capture it in words.
2. Create a Book of Memories – This is a fun and creative idea for a written holiday gift. Using a beautiful blank journal, create page titles and allow members of your family to write down their favorite memories about the recipient. Think grandparents, parents and aunts and uncles for this gift! Some subtitles could include:
- Favorite Family Vacation Memory
- Favorite Holiday Memory
- Favorite ‘In Trouble’ Memory
- Favorite Trait about Recipient
3. Pay Homage to Your Loved One with a Website – If you’d rather go really green with your written Christmas gift, create a beautiful website tribute to the recipient. If possible, buy their personal domain name or a domain name which is somehow related to them. Most websites have builder tools which allow non-techie individuals to create a great site quickly. You may want to include pages like these:
- Childhood (with facts about their past and upbringing)
- Favorites (a page about their favorite things)
- Family (pages with pictures and info about family members)
4. Write a Song for Your Loved One – What a beautiful idea for a written holiday gift! If you know someone who could put the lyrics to music, this would work even better. Whether you want to create a sentimental and sweet song for your loved one or a funny and humorous one – it’s a wonderful present that the recipient will never forget. Oh, and go that extra mile and actually sing it for them.
5. Create a Personalized Book for Your Child – This is a very cool idea for your own children or children in your family. Write a story featuring the child and some of his or her favorite activities, toys or hobbies. Then take the pages to your local printing company and have it bound!
6. Write a Book of Memoirs – This is an increasingly popular written gift that many individuals are attempting to write themselves or are hiring ghost writers for. A book of memoirs is a touching and lovely gift idea that is perfect for grandparents, parents or others in your family or group of friends that have led extraordinary lives.
7. Create a Cartoon Strip – Another unique and fun written Christmas idea is to create a cartoon strip for a family member or friend. Do you have memories of someone that are really funny and great to remember? Write the memory in the form of a comic strip! If possible, work with an artist to create the pictures – or simply do it yourself. Then, have the comic strip framed and present it to your loved one!
Imagine your loved one opening a personalized written holiday gift this season! Not only does it carry much more meaning than traditional, store-bought gifts – but it is better for our planet and your loved one is sure to remember it long after other holiday gifts have been thrown in the closet or eaten.
If you’d like a little help with your written Christmas gift, contact Priceless Writers – we’d love to give you a hand creating something wonderful for your sweetheart, your parents or some other special person in your life.
Looking to improve the customer service that your business provides? Wondering why your website seems to lag behind the competition? Don’t fall victim to the misconceptions of web maintenance or scare away customers with undesirable customer support. Check out last month’s issue of Priceless News. The Priceless Vault will now feature past issues of our newsletter. Remember, if you want to take advantage of future discount coupons for quality content, you must become a VIP member!
Are the leaves turning crisp shades of brown, gold, yellow, and orange in your neck of the woods? This month, we say “hello” to autumn-dotted landscapes and hot apple cider. October also means Halloween is just around the corner, bringing out all the things that go ‘bump in the night.’
However, this isn’t the time to scare away the customers by failing to effectively market your business or by stumbling over the latest methods of driving traffic to your website. Subscribe now and you can still enjoy our Halloween Edition of the Priceless News…
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