Local Madison area website Alice.com announces free samples + win a Mac Book! -

These gift bags will include fun items tailored just for you—everything from free product samples we think you’d be interested in to small prizes and surprises. We hope our new goodie bags will be yet another reason why you’ll be happy to see that Alice.com box on your doorstep.

click to read more…

for other local businesses :
Click here to visit The Madison Business List!

Local Madison area website Alice.com announces free samples + win a Mac Book! -

These gift bags will include fun items tailored just for you—everything from free product samples we think you’d be interested in to small prizes and surprises. We hope our new goodie bags will be yet another reason why you’ll be happy to see that Alice.com box on your doorstep.

click to read more…

Click here to visit The Madison Business List!

For years I would wake up, feel stressed about all of the things that i didnt finish getting done the previous day.
I’d open up my email and begin to tackle the days problems as they flew into my inbox.
Putting out fires,
Re-acting,
responding,
repeating,
repairing
regretting.
always working hard.
I never seemed to really catch up.
I decided to take control of my life and to put a plan to mastering my productivity.
I decided to endeavor to learn how to work smarter, instead of harder.
After some research, reading some books, I still didnt have much of a plan and now felt like even the time spent reading the books was a waste of time. In fact, the more I researched, the more I felt information overload and the constant distractions of constantly uncovering and delving deep into new resources was an infinite bottomless rabbit-hole.
I would sit down to get something done, hours later I would look up and realize I had like 12 browser tabs open, have saved a dozen bookmarks, a desktop full of downloads and a to-do list that was longer than when I started.

Online I found a program called “wake up productive” with a plan to help you make the most of your productive time. The training seemed to be easily customizable to my personal needs.
I hesitated at the price of the program the first time i saw it but his free training videos on the site were insightful and helpful.
A few months later I appreciated how much help the free tips had been and I got the whole program.

Now I have a plan and what I spend the most time on is by MY direction. The most time of my day is for;
1) my kids, then
2) my music.
3) business correspondence
4)learning more about everything I can.
I would say the most productive change I have made is to stop multitasking and start each days work time with singularly focused effort, for a minimum of an hour, preferably 2.
Second, I chose to declutter my workspace so I can experience the sense of clarity and calm when I work.
Third, i have decided to reprioritize living MY life MY way as more important than just running in circles putting out fires.
I have to be disciplined, like a savings account. I decided to pay myself first, not just financially into a savings, but in morale by planning my downtime and taking mini-vacations for myself alone and with the family.

We just spent 2 days going to Chicago to see my favorite artist, treat ourselves to a nite in a swanky downtown hotel and explore the miracle mile.
Today, I just got notice of last weeks affiliate sales, nice checks, so its time to go to the pumpkin patch with the kidlets on this beautiful fall day.
thanks and take care.
iIf you’d like some of the most recent tools and tips I’ve found for time management head on over to Generosity Marketing.

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You’ll receive proven methods and simple-to-follow strategies that have taken me thousands of dollars, thousands of hours of study & testing – not to mention blood, sweat, and tears – to pull together.

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If you think about it, seminars of this kind often cost $1,000, $2,500, or even $5,000 to attend. That’s a small investment to be able to instantly jumpstart your business and fast track your success. Several experts even charge $2,000 for their ‘homestudy’ versions with no live components or coaching included.

But, if you know anything about me, my mission is to be a world changer, rebelling against the status quo. And, I want to reach out and help as many people as possible that are serious about earning an income online. So, this seminar is priced at just $797 $497 – a fraction of what it is worth to your business.

However, the last Barefoot Boot Camp maxed out at 130 participants in just a few days. There were so many calls and emails from people who didn’t register in time and were pleading to let them sign up, but it was just not available for more. And it will be even faster this time around.

Carrie Wilkerson is the voice of experience. From corporate life to teaching high school to direct sales, she has ‘been there and done that’ professionally and personally. An ‘overnight mom’ to 2 toddlers through adoption, her priorities instantly changed and so did her workplace. She’s now built several businesses and coached others to do the same while overcoming extreme debt, losing 110 lbs and having 2 more children, for a total of 4, ages infant through 12!

As “The Barefoot Executive,” Carrie and her network of experts have quickly become the definitive resource for helping women achieve extra income and career goals while working from home.

Check out our purpose and passion and see a little inside our hearts at www.theBossMovie.com.carrie

]]> http://netmentor.tv/business-mentoring/barefoot-bootcamp/feed 0 http://netmentor.tv/copywriting/8-ways-to-easlily-double-your-member-opt-ins http://netmentor.tv/copywriting/8-ways-to-easlily-double-your-member-opt-ins#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:49:06 +0000 admin http://netmentor.tv/?p=25

A “squeeze” or “opt-in” page is the web page that visitors land on after they click on a search engine keyword.

The only purpose of an opt-in or squeeze page is to elicit a specific response from a website visitor – usually to give a name and an e-mail address in exchange for specific information. Smart marketers often have visitors land on a squeeze page first … before being redirected to a sales page.

In recent months, Internet marketers have been complaining about declining opt-in rates … but the truth is that many web developers ignore proven, tested techniques when creating their squeeze pages. Fortunately, just a few simple changes can dramatically boost your results – often doubling or even tripling your opt-in rate.

Step 1: Make sure your headline matches keyword search terms exactly. Fully 50% of people who visit your site after clicking on a search engine keyword make their decision to stay or go within the first 2 seconds. Their only question when looking at your web page is: Is this the right place? If they think it might be, they’ll linger for a few more seconds. Your first and most important job is to help them realize that, indeed, your site is the right place. If the dominant keyword for your product is “seaweed shampoo,” then the words “seaweed shampoo” better be in the headline of your squeeze page and found throughout the body copy.

Step 2: Tell your visitors EXACTLY what you want them to do and tell them immediately. If you want visitors to sign up for your free e-zine, then the sign-up box should be front and center and “above the fold.” Smart Internet marketers put links and sign-up boxes throughout the body copy of their squeeze pages. You want people to always know what you want them to do.

Step 3: Show your product immediately. We call this the “hero shot” because your product or service is the “hero.” Again, this should be done above the fold. If you’re selling a service, then you must graphically represent the service with photos. The purpose of the hero shot is to convince visitors that they’ve found the right spot.

Step 4: Make sure you have a privacy statement right next to your sign-in or purchase box. The world loathes spam. If you don’t convince your visitors that you respect their privacy, right from the get-go, they’ll be gone, Johnson.

Step 5: Use tables or bullets instead of text to describe the benefits of your product or service. As a copywriter, I never thought I’d say this … but on squeeze pages shorter copy is better than longer copy. You still can have body copy and sales copy, but 50% of people who opt in probably won’t read it. They’ll be convinced solely by your headline, hero shot, bullets and privacy policy.

Step 6: Ask only the minimum necessary for a sale or opt-in. Too many marketers ask visitors to their site for everything from their mother’s maiden name to their fax number. Keep it brief. Don’t frighten people off unnecessarily.

Step 7: Add audio or video to your squeeze page. It’s 2008. If you’re not using video or at least audio on your squeeze pages you’re badly hurting response.  There are dozens of free or inexpensive tools available now that make online video a snap. If you don’t know how to add video to your site, ask your web developer.  It’s now easy as pie.

Step 8: Use graphical credibility enhancers – again, “above the fold.” These credibility enhancers include your best testimonials … Better Business Bureau icons … any industry logos or association logos your company is authorized to use … and so on. You need to communicate immediately that your site is credible. You should try to do that as much as possible without words but with graphical elements.

I’ve used all of these steps for my clients – with amazing results.  One project I worked on had a slightly less than 2% opt-in rate on a free offer.  It was a long sales letter with an opt-in box at the bottom.  After implementing the steps above, the opt-in rate skyrocketed to 15% and higher.  That’s an amazing difference.

Bottom line:  The only purpose of a squeeze page is to capture leads.  It’s not there to sell a product … build brand identity … or tell prospects about your company.  When you keep that in mind when designing your squeeze page, it will make an enormous difference in the results you get.

Contributed by Drayton Bird, Hon. F IDM
Guest Contributor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE™

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By Daniel Levis

“Success is neither magical or mysterious.
Success is the natural consequence of
consistently applying basic fundamentals.”
– Jim Rohn

Dear Web Business Builder,

A veteran pilot would never dream of taking off without going over his or her pre-flight check list. And neither should you before driving traffic to your sales page.

So in today’s issue of Web Marketing Advisor it’s back to basics, and a handy little checklist of copywriting essentials.

I invite you to print this page … grab a cup of what pleases ya … and work your way through the money pages on your most important campaigns …

1 – Is Your Headline Supported On These Four Pillars?

Does it arouse relevant curiosity? Does it make a simple, easily understood, ultra compelling promise? Does it trigger the dominant motivating emotion you’ve identified in your research? Does it imply proof of promise?

Big secret: Your headline is the ad for your web page, NOT necessarily the ad for your product. Give people a reason to read other than to find out whether they may want to buy your product. Promise them great things if they’ll just STOP and consume your web page.

With this in mind, I normally write 25 headlines before I begin the body of the page. Then I’ll pick half a dozen or so that I think will work and test them. The best of the rest, I use as subheads sprinkled throughout the page to propel readership, and draw skimmers and skippers back into the copy as they move down the page.

2 – Does Your Headline Have The Look?

I most often find that headlines work best when they are centered on the page presenting a balanced appearance in terms of the shape they create. Sometimes encasing them in quotation marks can also serve to grab more attention.

Brevity is desirable. If there are words you can remove from your headline without weakening it, remove them. Where you break lines is also important …

You want maximum impact and momentum when your prospect collides with your headline. Anything that can enhance immediate comprehension will help your conversion.

Each line of your main headline should contain a kernel of thought.

Right way:

Grow Up To 1436% Richer
In A World Gone Mad!

Wrong way:

Grow Up To 1436% Richer In
A World Gone Mad!

3 – Is Your Opening Provocative?

Does it trip the reader, interrupting the internal turbulence of the day? Does it cut through the noise and enter the conversation your prospect has been having with himself about the area of concern you want to help him with?

Each line of your work must serve to ’sell’ the reader on continued reading, especially at the beginning. Again curiosity, emotion, and relevant promise rule the day.  If you can just get him to read those first couple of hundred words you’re on your way …

4 – Are You FAB Balanced?

Does your web page paint a picture of your prospect’s future life as a result of his purchase … and the emotional pay off it represents? Does it pledge the realization of positive feelings, and/or the relief of negative ones? Those are the true benefits of your product.

But it’s equally important to show how those outcomes are achieved with concise descriptions of the features and advantages that will deliver them.

If you want more sales, strike a balance between benefits (what your product does for your prospect, both physically and emotionally), advantages (how it’s better than other alternatives), and features (what it is).

5 – Are You Triggering The Buying Emotion?

Are you demonstrating your personal belief in what you are selling? Will your message quicken the reader’s pulse?

While you may want to put your reader in pain momentarily, the bulk of your page should be upbeat, positive, and full of inspired energy. Is there a sense of WOW to it?

Human beings are hardwired for empathy. They will bond with you if you display empathy for them. And they with naturally empathize with you as well, vibrating sympathetically with the emotions you display.

Confident excitement is the buying emotion. And it’s triggered by YOUR enthusiasm.

6 – Is Your Body Copy Highly Readable?

Remember simple is best. Keep sentences short. Use a plain 10-point to 12-point font. Paragraphs no more than a few lines. Words that are comfortable, familiar, and specific to the audience you are targeting. Inject subheads to break up text.

Highlight important points.

Avoid presenting naked facts and arguments wherever possible. Weave them into the context of a story. Explain what they mean to your reader.

7 – Do You Have High YOU density?

Remember to use the words YOU, YOUR, and extensions thereof to the hilt. Your reader is auto translating to ME and MINE.

But don’t take this wisdom too literally …

It’s perfectly fine to tell stories in the first or third person. Naturally there will be a preponderance of the words “I” or “he” or” she” in such stories. That’s OK, as long as your reader can relate strongly to the story’s hero, projecting him or herself into that person’s shoes. In many situations, this is, in fact, the best way to tell your sales story.

“We” is also not always a dirty word in sales copy …

It is dirty when the copy is all about the seller, as in, “We believe the only thing that never goes out of style is service. We’ve been providing great service in the Gotham City area for over 50 years.”

That’s a bad use of “we”. But when you use this word to symbolize a group that unites the buyer and the seller in a common cause, opinion, or belief, as in, “We investors are fed up!” it’s one of the most powerful pronouns you can use.

The key is to keep the reader squarely in the action at all times.

8 – Are you speaking intimately?

Can you get a strong sense of personality when you review your web page after being away from it for a while? Visualize yourself writing a personal letter to a friend, someone you care about deeply.

Never write to a crowd. Build relationships one at a time.

9 – Are you inspiring the reader’s imagination?

The sub-conscious mind has difficulty distinguishing between vividly painted word pictures and reality. Daydreams enchant. And emotions flow in their wake.

When you have emotion, you have desire. When you have desire, you have suggestibility. When you have suggestibility, you can direct action.

Spark your reader’s creative imagination by associating the promise of what you’re selling to things he’s already familiar with.

10 – Do you offer proof?

Specific testimonials, success stories, case studies and other examples of social proof are essential.

Describing the mechanism that makes your product work — proof of process — is equally important.

An outrageous, ballsy guarantee is another form of proof. It proves your product does what you say it does. How else could you offer such a guarantee and stay in business? A really good one creates the perception that risk is not just removed. It’s actually reversed!

Use visual proofs wherever possible. Show physical products in action. Show before and after pictures for intangibles. Seeing is believing.

11 – Is your offer irresistible?

People are greedy. And they like to procrastinate. Are you piling on reasons to act now — additional bonuses, discounts, etc. — that may not be available if your prospects return to your web page at a later date?

Are you using the power of comparison — showing how your product delivers the same results as alternatives costing much more … while comparing its price to trivial items?

12 – Do you close like this?

Don’t pussyfoot around when it comes time to ask for the sale. If you believe in your product, and you stand behind it (as evidenced by your brass balls guarantee), then for heaven’s sake don’t be shy about telling people how to get it.

Tell your prospects explicitly what to do, and they’ll do it. Big tip: When you close, use future tense language that assumes the sale. For example: “When your electric nose hair trimmer arrives, here’s all you do …”

And don’t forget that some people will be ready to buy sooner, some later. So ask for the order multiple times. As soon as the basic story is out (usually about half way down the page) I start asking for the order, again and again and again.

13 – And finally, do you use this P.S. trick?

For some reason, the P.S. at the bottom of the page gets read a lot. Make it stop your reader in his tracks, like a deer in the headlights!

Associate positive outcomes with taking the desired action, and negative ones with delay or inaction. (You may even want to plant a bomb for the sneaky Petes who scroll down to the P.S. without reading your web page. Simply insert a curiosity-inducing sentence such as: “The horrible things I told you about in this letter could easily happen to you.”)

Finally, restate your guarantee and ask for the sale one last time.

So there you have it, my baker’s dozen. Use ‘em with finesse on all of your sales pages, and watch your business grow!

Until next time, Good Selling!

Daniel Levis
Editor, The Web Marketing Advisor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE™

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“Please come back again!”

In some shape or form, that phrase is one every business should be saying to each and every customer. Every businessperson understands the importance of letting your customers know how much you value them and how you can’t wait to see them again. Consider some other things you can say to solidify your relationship with customers.

“I’ll keep an eye out for other things that may interest you.”

A customer buying a product or service is in a pure one-time deal. Taking note of what they bought and letting them know that you’re on the lookout for like items is a natural enticement for them to return. “Do you know this item is on sale?”

Recently, a buddy of mine returned to an electronics store after he found out that the software he bought on Saturday was 40 percent off no more than 10 hours later. Yes, he came back — but for the wrong reason. Treat your customers like you’d want to be treated. If you know something is a particularly good value, share your insight. If something’s going to be cheaper in a day or so, urge them to hold off until the sale takes hold.

“We don’t have it, but the folks down the street do.”

It’s a natural inclination to try to make a sale whenever possible, but don’t overlook the value of pointing someone elsewhere, even to a competitor. You’ll gain your customers’ trust — and they’ll likely return to your business again. “This is going to cut your costs by 50 percent.”

One of the most effective means of strengthening a relationship with customers is to be as specific as possible. Letting them know precisely what’s in it for them will bring them back, if for no other reason than many appreciate a business which spells out exactly what it does and why it’s worth what it charges.

“Let me give you a hand with that.”

This phrase personifies a business that consistently goes above and beyond. Whether it’s helping someone carry out packages or simply getting the door for a client loaded down with papers, a clear message that you’re willing to help out however possible stays in others’ minds. And that can often lead them right back to your door.

“Go ahead and try this out.”

Giving a client or customer a small sample of what your business has to offer is a terrific way to bring them back for more. If, for instance, your business sells expensive software programs, give a prospective customer a free trial or a sample disk so he or she can get a sense of how it functions. The same holds true for service-focused concerns. All the law offices that offer free initial consultations, for example, aren’t setting up those appointments just to fill downtime.

“This [sale or deal] is good through this week only.”

Like them or not, deadlines work. Even a customer uncertain about a particular sale can be moved to come back if she knows that, come a certain date, the deal is gone. So, if it’s a question of a sale or some other time-sensitive arrangement, don’t be shy about making it clear that the bargain isn’t permanent.

“How are you doing, Jeff?”

This last bit of advice, commonly known though it may be, makes the list based on personal experience. To be blunt: I don’t really like my bank. It’s not particularly convenient, the charges are occasionally mysterious, and I’d change in a minute were I not so lazy.

But there is, admittedly, another reason I stay put. Every teller in the place knows me by name and consistently greets me in that fashion. It means something to us all when someone takes the time and effort to remember who we are. If yours is a relatively small operation, try to call your customers by name. If there are too many faces coming and going to make that practical, at least single out a few key names. If they like what you do, that can certainly keep them coming back.

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About;
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