ARE YOUR SITE VISITORS BUYING AT THE BIG BOX STORES?

YOU WANT THEM TO BUY FROM YOU, RIGHT?

SO WHY ARE THEY RUNNING TO THE BIG BOX STORE ACROSS TOWN?

Closing the On-Line Sale:

Keep 'em Home and Boost Conversion Ratios

It took a long time to get here. To the point of sale (POS). The visitor has browsed, added several items to her shopping cart and is ready to make a purchase. Are you ready to capture that sale? Does your site instill confidence and deliver benefits visitors won’t find at the local mega-mall? No?

Well, here’s an eye-opener for you. An Australian study revealed that 86% of web users employ their computers to:

• learn more about product features and benefits

• comparison shop for the lowest prices

• locate the local brick-and-mortar

• read product reviews from journals and buyers

• make buying decisions – plural. Web users decide what to purchase and where to purchase – two critical decisions that affect your site’s commercial success.

If you’re wondering why you’re seeing great traffic flow but not converting at anticipated ratios, part of the problem might be your closer. How can you keep visitors from using your site for information only to make the purchase from a real-world store? Real world is faster, the consumer can touch the product in the store and ask questions of a salesperson or customer care representative.

So what can you do to close more sales. You’ve spent a lot of time and money to get buyers to this point. It’s a shame to lose them so late in the buying cycle. You need to close the deal.

The Value of On-Line Shopping

To close and make the sale, consider the reasons above that people give for web shopping and browsing. You can turn each of those negatives into a positive by properly and positively positioning the buying process on your site in the mind of the buyer.

Okay, web shoppers use your site to gather information. Once that information is collected, off they go to make the actual purchase at a store in town. Remember, you’re asking the potential buyer to make a couple of sacrifices: to purchase from an unknown vendor and to wait three to five business days before receiving their purchase. Oh, and you can throw in the hassles of on-line returns into that mish-mash, as well. Buying on line can be a hassle – unless you sell the value of shopping on-line as part of your web design and text.

What Can You Offer to Close the Deal?

1. Well, start with the convenience factor. Sure you can run down to the mall, battle the traffic and the crowds, scour store after store or you can click “Add to Cart” and make life easier. Buying on-line isn’t just convenient, it’s a time-saver making the buyer more productive.

2. Offer shipping options. Offer overnight delivery for those emergency items that absolutely, positively must be there in the morning. This is especially true of companies selling B2B where room for error is non-existent.

People will pay extra to get their new “toy” the next day. They’ll pay an extra $20 to get their laptop tomorrow instead of by the end of the week. However, some buyers are more cost conscious so offer either free or low-cost shipping. Free shipping on orders over $XXX is useful in getting the buyer to toss one more item in the cart.

3. Offer personalized service. You can outsource this task but make sure your phone “reps” know your products, policies and company philosophy.

This will cost both time and money. You, the site owner, will have to prepare scripts for the reps who answer telephones for hundreds of different companies to provide customer services. So, all products should be immediately accessible to the rep with product specs for callers with questions.

These reps should also be set up to take the order and close the deal. They should offer to process the order as part of their script. Think about it. If a potential buyer has taken the time and trouble to call you, you’re close to closing. You just need that little nudge to turn a “No Thanks” into a “Thanks for all your help.”

4. Offer guarantees. Product guarantees, shipping guarantees, satisfaction guarantees. And don’t hide these benefits in the fine print. Shout it from the roof tops. “If you aren’t happy, we give you your money back no questions asked within 30 days of sale.”

Guarantees are trust builders.

5. Keep the checkout simple; provide assurances at each step. Your buyers – especially repeat buyers whose information you already have on file – should be able to make a purchase with a click or two.

At each step of the checkout process: (1) assure the buyer that he or she is on the right pages and that all is in order to this point; (2) provide a prominent back button; (3) allow buyers to change items and quantities without having to back out of the check-out and (4) assure buyers that they are on a secure site in both your site text and through the use of trust-building logos from the BBB, VeriSign and other security-focused companies.

6. Provide an immediate invoice with order number. These invoices are generated automatically and delivered to the buyer’s email inbox. Indicate all order information, including anticipated ship and arrival dates and be sure to provide a telephone contact.

7. OFFER BOUTIQUE SERVICES. Worth repeating even with the big letters – offer boutique services. Why? Because more than any other single factor, these services differentiate you from the Wal-Mart across town. Wal-Mart may have their greeters but you can deliver lots more in the way of personalized service and convenience.

Offer Gift Certificates

The gift that says “I don’t have a clue what to buy you,” but always appreciated by the recipient.

Offer Personalized Greeting Cards

If the purchase is a gift, the ability to send a hand-written, personalized note is a great closer. Many on-line buyers, including many companies around the holidays, want to send along a personalized note along with the gift.

Gift Wrapping

Offer special gift wrapping options for grandparents and parents, kids, the corporate world, and other buyers with special gift-giving needs. A nice selling feature is to show the different wrapping options on that page in the check-out sequence. A picture is worth a lot more than a thousand words when it makes the buyer look good, too.

Personal Shoppers

A lot of men are clueless when it comes to things like jewelry and frilly things. We never learned. No one ever told us. And a lot of buyers could use some help. The customer contacts the personal shopper (you know the inventory better than anyone) by email or phone, describes the gift recipient and leaves the choice up to the personal shopper.

Same with a lot of wives who keep missing those hints for a jumbo-sized HDTV. Most consumers, men and women, don’t know what to look for in high-def. But your business’s personal shopper can find just the right TV to make the whole family happy.

Email Reminders

Buyers who always forget birthdays, anniversaries and holidays will appreciate the personalized email you send two weeks before the couple’s anniversary. And where are these buyers going to make their purchases? From the nice web site that reminded them that now was the time to buy.

These are services that set your site apart from the big box stores. You may not be able to compete on margins but personalized services, free set up and removal of the old unit, loyal customer specials – all of these are value-added features that not only make your business distinct from all the rest, they’re the reasons buyers will wait a day or two and purchase from an unknown but clearly customer-oriented business.

Just starting out? Or maybe you're wondering why you get so many hits but close so few sales. Call me. There's a way to do this properly. Smartly.

Webwordslinger.com

TOO MANY ORDERS? WHAT A GREAT PROBLEM TO HAVE!

Drop Shipping:

Problem Solver or Just Another Expense ?

Many soon-to-be, on-line entrepreneurs create business plans that assume that these fledging, commercial sites will handle order fulfillment in-house. That means the Chairman of the Board and CEO will not only empty the waste baskets, she’ll also pack up orders and make a daily trip to the post office.

With any start up, “cash is king.” You need it for everything from hosting fees to site development to postage stamps. Oh, then there’s inventory – 2000 basketballs stored in the spare room. Most start-ups handle every chore, and for some that’s fine. For others, that daily trip to the post office is the least productive chore of the day.

Drop Shippers

These companies are in the business of order fulfillment and there are two kinds in this broad category. The first ships only products it manufactures or distributes. You’ll often see these companies in affiliate programs wherein your site captures the order, it’s sent automatically to the company warehouse from where the product is shipped. You receive a commission and/or flat rate on each affiliate sale you make. That’s drop shipper type one.

The second is the drop shipper for hire. They’ll store your inventory in their warehouse (usually for a fee) then pack and ship as orders are received from you. Some of these businesses are also called fulfillment houses. In addition, most fulfillment houses will assemble, pack and ship items so if “some assembly is required,” look for an active fulfillment house. By the way, it doesn’t have to be close by as long as they have an email address so, if cost is a factor, consider outsourcing assembly and shipping overseas.

In any case, shop around and do some comparison shopping for your shipping. This is a highly-competitive niche sector so you can find good value for your money. And haggling is allowed most times so engage in some negotiation before accepting the drop shippers “standard” S&H fees.

Do I Need One?

Well, obviously if your product is information (data) then no, you don’t need one. But, if you plan to sell a product, or lots of products, consider hiring a drop shipper. Here’s why.

Let’s say you sell aquarium supplies on line and on a typical day you receive 30 new orders. (Good going, btw). Okay, first you need the room to store your inventory. It must be dry and secure. The garage may not be the best place to store aquarium supplies.

Then, you have to pull the 30 orders. Some will include multiple items. Once pulled, you must review the paperwork to determine which customer receives which item(s). Then, there’s the actual packing with bubble wrap or popcorn, taping and securing. An address label must be affixed. The package must be weighed and proper postage glued in place.

Next, load the packages (some are heavy), drive to the post office, wait in line, off-load 30 packages, go back to the office and finally get to work. You can see how much of each day is taken up with shipping and handling. And even if you put the kids to work handling orders, how long do you think that’s going to last?

Lots of start-ups begin as part-time jobs. Come home each day from your 9-to-5 job and start working on your digital dream. In this case, you could find yourself wrapping orders at midnight when that dream starts to look more like a nightmare.

There’s no doubt that drop shipping should be included in many on-line business plans. If you’ve got the time and patience to do it yourself, great. Save the money. But remember, you’re giving up business-building time to handle administrative chores.

How much?

Of course, it depends on how long it takes the drop shipper to wrap an order, its weight, postal zone and other unpredictable factors – another good reason to shop around. The lowest per unit price may not be the lowest total cost if the package is being shipped from half-way around the world.

With affiliate programs, all shipping and handling is managed by the mother company so you don’t have to worry about it. It’s already figured into your commission or fee.

The key is to figure what your time is worth and how it should best be spent - packing orders or building your business to increase the number of orders that need processing each day.

If you're getting too many orders to handle, you've got the best problem in the world.

Part of the success of any web-based business is a procedures model that works. Right products, right tone for the web site, convenienece, trust - all have to be a part of the procedures you employ in order to build a stable base of clients or customers.

Drop me a line. Web success requires planning for growth and, on line, growth can come in the blink of an eye.

Webwordslinger.com

MONETIZE YOUR WEB BIZ: SUPERCHARGE SITE REVENUES

Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

It Does and Here’s How

Affiliate marketing can make you a lot of money – in some cases, more than you make on direct sales. The owner of a popular web site for information on women’s health averages $400 a day just in affiliate earnings. And he’s just begun. Adding affiliate marketing to your plan for an on-line business may make a so-so idea a great idea.

What is affiliate marketing?

It’s pretty simple, actually. You become an affiliate of another company that maintains a web site. You place a link to the home site on your “affiliate” site. Then, whenever a visitor to your site clicks through to the home site and performs the MDA (most desired action) you make money.

With some companies, you get a flat fee for each “referral.” Other companies will cut you in on the total spent by one of your customers. Either way, it’s totally passive income (you don’t have to do anything in addition) and it’s a great way to increase the bottom line productivity of your site. If you do it right.

How do I find companies that have affiliate programs?

There are sites that do nothing but hook up web store owners with affiliates. Two of the most popular are Commission Junction and Click Bank. These sites (and others) list hundreds of companies with affiliate programs. On some sites, you can see a list of interested companies. On others, you have to sign up and open an account first, which is no big deal.

Each affiliate agreement is different so be sure to read and understand all of the agreement a company offers. You’ll find companies that are huge, multi-national conglomerates to Pete’s Drywall, all willing to take you on as a partner in selling their goods or services.

There’s another way to become an affiliate – one that can return even more. If you see a product that you think your site visitors would buy, call the producer or the distributor of the item on the telephone or drop the company an email through its company site expressing interest in selling the company’s products on your web site.

It’s not a tough sale because it’s a “no-lose” proposition for the company – it doesn’t cost them anything – so you’re in a good position to negotiate a good deal. All you have to do is capture the sale, pass on order information to the manufacturer and enjoy your margins on each sale you make. Now, instead of being an affiliate, you’ve become a retailer buying at wholesale (usually 40% below retail) and selling at retail. This strategy has worked well for many successful sites and it’s brought in a lot more companies that now recognize the value of these affiliate marketing programs. This gives you more options, but read on. You don’t want to overdo this thing.

What’s the most desired action (MDA)?

In many cases, the MDA is pretty obvious. The visitor has to make a purchase. If the click-through doesn’t buy anything, you don’t make any money. Some companies identify a customer as “yours” for a period of time – six months to forever – and you receive payment even if the visitor returns a few weeks later.

Sometimes, however, the MDA is something other than making a purchase. In some cases, the MDA is an opt-in. If the visitor from your site signs up for a weekly newsletter you get paid. The home site develops a very nice database of subscribers and now that the company and individual subscriber have a relationship, the company can contact the new subscriber and it doesn’t fall into the spam category. Many companies use newsletters or other products (e-books, for example) as bait to build a subscriber list. They then follow up with a series of auto-responders – computer-managed e-mail campaigns – to solicit additional business from the opt-in.

Finally, the MDA may be the completion of a form. It may be an application for a new mortgage or your opinion on world events. You, the affiliate, only get paid when a visitor from your site completes the form.

From this, you can see that the MDA might be harder to achieve if it’s an opt-in or a form to be completed. These are discretionary actions. They aren’t necessities. You’ll have more success if you become an affiliate of a company that sells products. Often, these are needs-driven sales so you’ll see a higher conversion rate.

How do I know how much I’ve earned?

When you decide to become an affiliate, you register with Commission Junction and/or Click Bank and you open an account. These companies then manage all of the book work for a small percentage, of course, but you know you’re being paid what’s coming to you.

With your registered account, you can also track your progress each month. You can see how much each affiliate is making for you, how many have clicked on the link and how many have performed the MDA.

There’s absolutely no hassles or additional bookkeeping involved. All you’re doing is renting a little space on your site in return for (hopefully) steady revenue each month.

How do I choose the companies that I want to work with?

You have to do your research. Take your time. Compare programs.

For example, you’ll find a number of companies listed on Commission Junction that sell products specifically for children. If your site is “family-oriented,” you could become an affiliate of all of these companies, but some are going to draw more attention from visitors than others. It helps to know what your customers like, and what they want and need.

Now, it’s not a good idea to load up your web site with affiliate links. It makes your home page look cluttered, for one thing. But more importantly, each one of these links is a doorway off of your site. With dozens of doorways to other sites, you may find that you’re losing direct sales in exchange for affiliate earnings. Not a good idea.

You have to grow your business, your mainline, direct sales business, and view affiliate income as an adjunct to your main revenue stream. Chances are, if you load up your site with affiliate links, you’ll lose in the search engine page rank competition, too. Spiders will count up those links and, if there are too many, identify your site as a “links farm” – a site that simply contains links to other sites in order to generate PPC and affiliate income. Basically, a waste of time for the search engine user and a big no-no for site owners.

Limit the number of companies with which you partner. Select the company that offers the best terms and has the widest brand recognition within a particular product category, i.e., children’s toys, children’s furniture, kids clothes and so on. This, of course, assumes the site is kid-related, which gets us to another critical consideration when selecting companies with which you might do business.

Don’t become an affiliate of a company that sells products that aren’t related to the topicality of your own site. If you sell home furnishings, a link to a tire company, no matter how good the terms, is not going to do you any good.

First, it’s not going to generate many click-throughs because the visitors arriving on your site are looking for drapes or a couch, not snow tires. Second, and more importantly, search engines take a very dim view of this type of non-related link. Remember the prime objective of a search engine is to deliver relevant, useful results to its users. Well, if you have a link to a tire manufacturer on your home décor site, spiders will determine that’s a useless link and you’ll get spider-slammed.

Stick with links that will actually help your visitors further their searches, but don’t overstuff your site with affiliate links. It won’t deliver the desired results and you may get hurt in your PR.

Affiliate sales are growing and more site owners are using them to grow their bottom lines. Just move with care, read the complete affiliate agreement and don’t turn your site into a links farm. Follow those simple guidelines and watch your revenues grow – fast!

CAN A MACHINE DETERMINE CONTENT QUALITY? PEOPLE CAN'T EVEN DO IT!

Sometimes metrics deliver mixed signals that can lead to assumptions that are like totally bogus.

Quality content makes Google bots happy, and metrics glow.

Bask in the glow of quality.

BOYCOTT CONTENT SPAM

How Does Google Measure Quality, Any Way?

64% Of Search Engine Users Want to Know

Google owns search engine marketing with 64% of all search traffic, and seems to be solidifying that position by, not only providing directions to content, but by being the content provider as well. Type in the flavor of the week in Google’s query box and up pops links to print content, but now Google offers a “Watch Video” button (where vid-clips are an option, of course) keeping you on Google. No more YouTube. Google finds and provides the content.

But Google doesn’t just want content. It wants good content. (Maybe they should check some of the garbage on YouTube?) Fresh content. Green, informative content that hasn’t appeared already on 100 different sites. Naturally, this hasn’t prevented the sewer rats of the W3 from purchasing software that “generates” (in the broadest sense of the word) content.

There are lots of tools that’ll jiggle your nouns and verbs, and the text looks new to a spider but it’s going to leave a human reader wondering what planet the author came from. Software like spam site generators (create site and content by the long ton), automated text generators (just add words in no particular order) and scrapping tools to spread this hackneyed tripe is the cheap way to go. Ah, but you are wrong, grasshopper.

Content is NOT King

Every SEO and SEM professional will tell you content is king. Not true.

Even these so-called professionals confuse quantity of content to quality. Content generators can crank out pages by the ream but a lot of it is going to be gibberish – at least to human readers. Spiders gobble up letter strings so as long as those strings taste different, you score for the green.

Other site owners buy 100 cheapie articles at a buck a piece, written by an outsource in Bangalore. These articles sound as though they were written by ESL writers and I wouldn’t bet a nickel on authenticity. When you’re getting a buck for the piece, double checking isn’t a high priority.

Google defines quality content as “…link-worthy content which is original, conceptually unique and serves as a useful resource for information.” The Mighty Google continues,”…it refers to the text of your website. Though keywords matter in your page copy, your page should not look like a keyword studded page [designed for] search engine robots. You should write for your site visitors focusing on readability and usefulness.”

Now, that’s what Google says. Right from the company’s own site. But it appears that Google talks a good game, but those Google spiders ain’t so smart.

What is Quality Content?

Even Goog-people are a little vague on this one. Informative? According to whose criteria? Conceptually unique? There hasn’t been a new idea since eBay. Useful resource? How does a search engine evaluate whether the information is useful.?

It can count the number of bounces, but that’s not a measure of usefulness. It can determine if visitors go to other sites in search of other information. Okay, that doesn’t demonstrate that the first site had insufficient and/or unreliable information. The visitor could simply continue his or her search so no judgment calls here.

In fact, the only barometers of content quality that search engines have are social book marking sites and cookies. Without digg.com, no one would ever notice that piece on refraction you worked so hard to produce and upload.

The point is, search engines are limited in determining quality. Quality is 100% subjective so what’s quality to one person is “classy” (said in a Brooklyn accent while chewing gum) to another reader. It’s amazing, if the reader likes the piece, chances are s/he agrees with the opinions or views expressed. Vice-versa, too.

So Does This Mean You Can Ignore Content Quality?

Not quite, genius.

Spiders may not be able to tell the difference between Hemingway and me, but readers sure can and readers have come to expect quality content:

• Content that is accurate. (site your sources and stop making up stuff).
• Content that does NOT sell; it informs and teaches.
• Content that is written for the reading and skill levels of the ideal visitors.
• Content that isn’t simply a cut and paste job. Inject some of you into what you write. It makes it more…personal.
• Short and sweet. If I wanted to read a book I wouldn’t be sitting at this computer.

Forget the spam generators, the robo-writers and the dollar an article guys, NOT to appease the search engine gods but to keep your visitors on-site longer. Oh, and it’d be real swell if they book marked your site, too.

Now, they’re regulars and it’s all because your wrote it. Straight up and from the heart. Now that’s something Google won’t tell you, but it will grow your revenues. The fact is, people are surprised to find good content on the web (there’s so little of it) that when they do, they bookmark the site and keep coming back…

…exactly what you want them to do.

If you're building your first web site, or simply contemplating the possibilities, drop me line and welcome to the jungle. We're all trying to manipulate the machine.

Webwordslinger.com

BUILDING TURST AND CREDIBILITY WEB-WISE

ARE YOU THE CAT EVERYBODY'S

RAPPIN' 'BOUT?

BECOME AN AUTHORITY AND YOU SOON WILL BE.

Become a W3 Mover & Shaker:

Authority Works for Small Service Providers

You may have a sleek-looking site design for your service-oriented business and wonder why you don’t see better conversion ratios – even if you are the best financial advisor/real estate agent/accountant/attorney or other service provider looking for some business via the world wide web.

The issue may not be your site, its design, navigation accessibility or content. The issue may be you and the ability to trust you. It’s true, on the web no one knows you’re a dog. Or a mover and shaker who employs digital technology to build professional authority. Without this authority, it’s much more difficult to build trust and without trust…well, you get the idea.

The Invaluable Value of Trust

Think about it. Every time a stranger contacts you, there’s the demonstration of some level of trust on the part of the new prospect. Either you were recommended by a close friend (WOM, word of mouth advertising), your yellow pages ad looked professional, the stranger heard you speak – there are lots of ways to build trust. But it’s critical to growing a client base. It’s also self-perpetuating. The more people who benefit from your advice or message, the more respected you become. And the more respected you become, the more people you reach.

Building trust is one of the most important and difficult tasks facing a site owner. Building you professional authority online simplifies the task, though you still have to know your stuff.

Building Authority – Seven Easy (But Time-Consuming) Steps

Sorry, it is a time consuming, labor intensive task to create the image that projects authority and creates confidence within your market segment. For example, a web owner, who uses hypnosis, meditation, and other alternative medicine protocols, changed the picture of himself on the home page.

1. Picture Yourself Properly

The home page used to show this alternative healer in a three-piece suit – standard corporate shot. The site was getting hits but the conversion ratio wasn’t up to par. So, the site owner started paying more attention to his clients’ clothing. Believers in alternative medicine come from all demographic strata, but this therapist saw a lot of old hippies – boomers moving into seniority.

So, he had a beautiful muslin robe embroidered, completely changed the backdrop (no more office with shelves of books; just green, sunshiny love). And more specifically, targeted his marketing, changing his online image from three-piece suit to a flowing robe. The change in conversions was almost immediate. Within 90 days, the site owner had nearly doubled his opt-in rate and saw an increase in sales of several meditation CDs that had languished in the warehouse. But that’s just the beginning.

2. Publish a book.

Being an author is a great way to build authority and credibility. Even if you can’t write a lick, you know your business (you’d better if you’re writing a book), so outline your key points, log on to elance.com and hire yourself a freelance writer.

Make sure you state that this is a work-for-hire project, that you will own the copyright upon final payment and make the writer sign a non-disclosure agreement. You can find samples all over the web.

Now, you can sell this book directly on your web site, delivering passive revenues. You can also sell the text on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other book outlets, assuming you go to the trouble and expense of printing the text.

Managing book orders from retail outlets can generate cash and creds, but you may also spend four hours each day prepping that day’s orders, so think about it.

3. Blog relevant sites.

If you’re a CFP, blog personal finance sites.

Sites with blogs are looking for new, user-generated content – especially if it’s well-written, on topic and downright pithy. So, as a certified financial planner, post well-written, insightful responses to other blog posts. In open blogs, start your own threads with short, 600-word-max posts. Then, track those posts, respond to them and keep building longer and longer blog threads.

Be sure to include you full name (don’t use your screen name) and your site’s URL. This way, blog readers from other sites will be intrigued by your thoughtful thoughts and link back to you to read more. Each blog post with a back link creates interconnectivity, essential to long-term site success.

4. Use the latest media.

Podcasts are easy to produce and disseminate. These voice-only pieces put a voice to your words and allow the listener to better gauge your qualifications. Easy, low-cost and trust building.

Webcasts add pictures to the pod casts. Now the visitor can see and hear you. The impression the you make on film is the impression people will take with them. If you come across as a confident, reliable and 100% no-nonsense professional, you build trust. Conversely, if you stammer your way through the webcast production, sweating buckets the whole time, you’ll do more harm than good.

Webcasts are produced once, uploaded to the site and left as site elements. Note that this is still one way communication. The authority talks. The visitor listens. This is fine for a once-over lightly. However, remember, the listener has to listen at the pace of the speaker. If the content is dense, the frustrated webcast listener may not want to rewind so keep your web casts on point, simple and use graphics when you get to the hard stuff.

Webinars are interactive. They are scheduled for a certain time or times of the month. Visitors sign up, sometimes free, other times for a fee. If you’re simply trying to build name recognition within your niche, keep webinars free.

Webinars are live, moderated by an expert who delivers a presentation. Attendees can contact the expert with questions via IM, telephone or email. Webinars are an excellent means of building credibility and generating revenue – especially if the information delivered has real value. Fluff is NOT acceptable.

5. Sign Up With Yahoo Answers

People email their questions. Once you’ve registered as an authority within your field, you can answer questions from Yahoo users. It’s pro bono but who cares. It’s a great reputation builder.

6. Syndicate content.

Write articles and submit them to syndication sites like goarticles.com or helium.com. Syndicated content delivers a couple of authority-building benefits.

First, these articles are picked up by other sites and used for content. In return, each user-site provides a link back to your site. Great. A prospect reads your insightful comments and is immediately provided with a link to your site where s/he can learn more about your, your company, your credentials and the services you offer.

Second, each time an article is picked up, it has your name on it as the author, your URL, too. So, when potential clients Google your name, you have a few pages of links to show off, thanks to all of those sites that picked up your article. Again, if writing isn’t your forte, hire a ghost to do the heavy lifting and send the articles out with your name on them. That’s what ghost writers do.

7. Register with speaker bureaus.

There are lots of them. Some specialize in specific areas – medical speakers, business speakers, financial speakers and so on.

Find the bureau that specializesin, or at least has a category for your expertise. Write a short autobiography, describe your presentation in terms of scope, length, special requirements, etc. And finally, list your fees.

Some speakers like the big auditoriums, others prefer the corporate round table where ideas can really fly. One note, speakers are expected to provide their own PowerPoint programs, hand-outs and other takeaways. Before registering with a speaker bureau, make sure all of these materials are either in development, or in the can, as they say in the media biz.

Credibility is the number one weapon in the small service-provider’s marketing kit. Building credibility and authority is time-consuming. There’s a lot of research and writing involved. But, if you’re running on empty and you’d like to see more business funnel through your web site, build your authority and become a mover and shaker within your industry.

You’ll like being the trendsetter. You’ll like the trust and the increase in confidence. And you’re going to love what authority does to your bottom line. Love it!

Starting to see some web success? Cool, and congratulations. Ah, but now what? How do you move to that next level? And what's a mastermind, any way? Let's talk about branding You. Give me a call and let's see how to do this best.

Content Syndication: Build Links The Easy Way

NOT ONLY DOES CONTENT SYNDICATION CREATE IN-BOUND LINKS, IT'S ALSO A TRUST BUILDER WITH SITE VISITORS.

POST YOUR EXPERT AUTHOR BADGES WITH PRIDE. YOU'VE EARNED THEM.

Content Syndication:

A Links-Building Strategy That Actually Works

Do a little Google research and you’ll quickly discover that there are a million e-books, seminars and webinars about building links to your site. If your site isn’t plugged into the grid – a stand-alone – you’re all but ignored by search engines because your site has no context. Search engine spiders can’t determine your site’s taxonomy – the categorization of the site into a class or group based on the site’s topicality.

Search engines look for links to and from your site. If you have a lot of reciprocal links (link exchanges), you score some points but you’re not knocking ‘em dead. Spiders know a link exchange when they encounter one so a reciprocal link has less value than a non-reciprocal link – an in-bound link without an outbound link connecting back.

The Value of the Non-Reciprocal Site Link

Spiders crawl a site and assess what they find based on top-secret formulae called algorithms. These algorithms are complex weightings of various site components. So, for example, content that changes often (green content) is a plus built into the search engine algorithm. Thus, a site that provides fresh, informational content scores higher than one that’s as stale as last week’s doughnuts. Spam – useless gibberish created just to attract search engines – loses you points in the SEO Sweepstakes, too.

Now, there are plenty of search engine optimization (SEO) pros willing to take your money to show you how to improve or optimize your site so that it moves up in the search engine rankings. Less face it, if your site is entombed on page 68 of Google’s SERPs you won’t generate much organic (search engine driven) traffic.

One thing that spiders look for in assessing the quality or usefulness of a site is the number of non-reciprocal links connected to that site. Why? Because it’s an indicator of quality and utility. That’s why other site owners are recommending that their site visitors click off and go to your site. Quite a feather in your cap, eh? Collect enough non-reciprocal links and search engines may come to “see” you as an authority site. This coveted designation moves you right to the top of search engine results pages.

Bottom line: spiders use links as a measurement in site assessment. The more quality non-reciprocal, inbound links there are, the higher the site ranks (page rank or PR).

Content Creates Links

Good, fresh content is a highly-prized commodity on the world wide web because search engine spiders like to see up-to-date, relevant information for their users. Spiders take snapshots of each website they visit. It’s called the cache view on SERPs. When a spider crawls a site, it compares the cache with the current content. If nothing has changed, your content will ultimately be considered stale and, as a result, you’ll fall in the SERPs.

Every site needs new content and one way they get it is through article syndication.

Web Article Syndication

If you’re an expert on the subject of your web site, you can develop non-reciprocal in-bound links through article syndication. It’s perhaps the least expensive, most effective means of improving your site’s search engine ranking.

There are sites like goarticles.com and ezine.com that syndicate content within a wide variety of categories. This content (articles) is posted by the author and is free for the taking by any web site for display.

The way you benefit? Part of the deal is that any site that uses your article must provide a link back to your site. At the end of an article on antique watches you’ll see an author’s box that says something like:

Author John Smith is an authority on antique watches and offers free

appraisals at johnsmithantiques.com

That’s a non-reciprocal link which is given more value than a simple link exchange.

The Benefits of Web Content Syndication

The most obvious benefit, from the SEO perspective, is that every site that picks up John Smith’s antique watch article must provide a non-reciprocal, in-bound link to Mr. Smith’s website. So, if Smith’s article is picked up and used by a couple of dozen web sites, he’ll end up with a number of inbound links from a single article.

Now, if Smith then writes an article on antique sideboards, posts it on goarticles.com or some other content syndicator and gets picked up by more sites, the number of non-reciprocal inbound links continues to grow.

Onceagain, these inbound links are considered more valuable by search engine spiders than plain link exchanges. The fact that a site has linked to you without a reciprocal link is an indicator that your site is worth visiting, at least according to the referring site owner. In addition, you’re becoming a recognized authority on the topic pf your site. A two-fer!

Some Precautions

Perhaps the most important precaution is to limit the number of sites that post one of your articles. One thing spiders don’t like is duplicate content so if your article currently appears on 20 different sites, you’ll get credit for the in-bound links but the value of those links will be diminished because of that duplicate content. It’s all over the web!

Make sure you track the sites that are picking up your articles. Just Google your name or the title of the article to see what pops up. Visit each site to make sure that the promised link back to your site is there. Also make sure that your content isn’t being used for illegal or unscrupulous purposes. You write a piece on options investing and all of a sudden it’s being used as a “testimonial” by some sleazy scam artists selling options contracts to little old ladies. You have the right to request the removal of your article and most sites will comply. If they don’t, notify the syndicator who may deny additional content to the offending site.

What If I Can’t Write?

This is one links-building strategy that works. There’s enough cyber world evidence to prove that. However, if you can’t string words together to create a useful, informational article, find someone who can.

Your spouse, neighbor, even your kid might have a hidden writer just waiting for the chance to blossom. Or, you can find SEO copywriters on sites like guru.com and elance.com. Some of these professional writers (be careful who you choose) know how to craft an article that’ll get picked up by lots of sites that are topically related to your site. Keep track of how many sites run the piece at one time so you don’t overexpose it. You can find that information on the syndicator’s site.

Finally, to amortize your costs in money and/or time, re-use articles. After you’ve removed a piece from the syndication list, wait 12 months and repost it. You’ll pick up a bunch of new sites willing to publish the piece and you’ll have a bunch of new, non-reciprocal, inbound links that’ll make your site shine in the eyes of search engine spiders.

Content syndication creates lots of links. It has for me and my site. So stop by. A few well-laced articles can easily pay for themselves in a few days. Piece o' cake.

Webwordslonger.com

Problems With Order Fulfillment? What A Great Problem To Have.

HOW MANY ORDERS WILL YOU SHIP TODAY AND HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE YOU TO PROCESS THOSE ORDERS?

You tumble out of bed, grab a cup of last night’s coffee, log on to your website and see you had a good night. 20 orders. That’s the great thing about the web. Somebody’s always buying somewhere – even when you’re sleeping.

So, how you going to spend your day? Filling orders and running down to the UPS pick-up before the last brown truck leaves for the coast? And what about inventory? How many silver-plated nut bowls can you stack in the spare room?

Success comes fast on the web, especially when word of mouth gets out there, on a global scale, that your nut bowls are the best. So, are you prepared for success when it smacks you with 250 orders in a single day? This is definitely one of those “be-careful-what-you-wish-for” things.

Order Fulfillment: Fast and Right

I can go to the big box store up the road and buy a computer. And I walk out of the store with my new laptop play thing and start to download games as soon as I get home. So, in buying from you, 12 time zones away, I actually make a trade-off. Okay, I’ll buy from your online outlet, put off the buyer’s rush and wait “3 to 5 business days” for delivery. (Longest three days ever!) In exchange, you save me a few dollars over the box store’s price and deliver my goodie quickly and in perfect working order.

When you’re competing against the real world, where the buyer receives instant gratification from the purchase, you better make sure you deliver each order you get quickly and correctly – right product, in mint condition, within the delivery window. So, are ready for site success? Do you have a Plan B to follow when your product catches fire and becomes the next “must have?”

The long-term growth of your web-based business depends on repeat buyers. It costs you six times as much to add a new customer to the roster than it does to maintain a good relationship with an existing, satisfied buyer. So, S&H should be more than an item on your “to-do” list.

What Are the Options?

It depends on how to best use your time.

If you’re a one-man band operating out of your house, you do it all – shipping and handling included. And, if you’re only shipping 10 orders a day you can probably handle that.

First, open a business account with one of the big shipping companies – UPS, FedEx or some other carrier. These companies have accounts for small businesses that offer plenty of time-saving benefits- like free pick-up on your front porch.

Maintain meticulous order tracking records. You should be able to track all packages through your carrier account and address delays before they become a problem. Stay on top of each order throughout the purchase cycle.

Create a dedicated packing space – the place you keep all packing materials. Create a system that employs as much automation as possible: computer-generated shipping labels, database automation, automated pick-up notifications, auto-responders and other solutions. In fact, if you’re using a quality web host, give their “business solutions” professional a call to see how you can sync up your database with your order-processing procedures.

The other option is to use an order fulfillment house – a company that does nothing but fill orders for lots of different clients. Some of these businesses provide turnkey client care, providing telephone reps to take orders, packing, shipping, inventory storage and so on. In other words, you sign off on order fulfillment and put the time you spend each day tearing sheets of bubble wrap to more productive use – like marketing.

If you’ve got a good product that’s selling well, you should be spending more time on finding new products, marketing the site and integrating all promotional activities if you maintain a real word retail outlet.

Shipping and Handling: Best Practices

• It’s tempting, but don’t use shipping and handling to extend your margins on sales. There are lots of sellers charging $5.95 for shipping and handling when the actual cost is $2.50. Nobody’s fooling nobody.

• You aren’t in the shipping and handling business. You’re in retail. You sell products. Secure your margins on the product line and keep shipping costs low in the red-hot web marketplace.

• Reassure the buyer with regular, automated emails: order received (with order number and tracking info) should be in the buyer’s inbox almost immediately, shipping date, order shipped and a follow-up customer satisfaction request.

• Don’t back order. This infuriates many buyers and will certainly lead to a lot of order cancellations, costing you money and time. If you don’t have the product in the warehouse or garage, remove the item from the site until you receive product from the wholesaler. Or, at least notify the buyer that the item is on back order. Then, if they still want to order you won’t be dashing buyer expectations.

• Immediately notify the customer of any shipping delays and provide an opt-out link that makes it easy for the buyer to cancel the order. Remember, customer good will goes a long, long way toward business success and a customer who can return items quickly and easily, or a buyer who can cancel an order before it’s shipped, is a happy buyer. Even if you don’t make the sale this time, you’ve created invaluable good will. And that creates word of mouth success.

• Don’t make promises you can’t keep. A disappointed customer is a lost opportunity, and one you’re unlikely to recover. Exceed buyer expectations. You develop a client base that grows your site to real profitability and financial freedom faster. You also create positive webuzz – WOM marketing on a global scale.

Good client care keeps your business moving forward. You see the progress in the form of repeat buyers and buyers who recommend your site to their friends because they got it fast and right from you.

Look, if order fulfillment has become a headache, you know what to do. Drop me a line or give me a call and let's go over your options. What a great problem to have!

Webwordslinger.com