by Sean Rasmussen on March 17, 2010
Technology changes almost on a daily basis. Along with those technological changes, so do the methods of internet marketing have to keep up with the times.
Imagine if you currently were not using social media for marketing, surely your business would be lost amidst those trend-setting companies that use every new platform, forum, or device to put their name at the forefront.
How can you possibly stay on top of internet marketing trends when they change so rapidly? There are several methods, as outlined below.
Following Those Who Know
The easiest way to keep your finger on the pulse of the newest, most innovative, and most effective methods of using advancing technology for marketing is to find a good internet marketing blog written by a professional and follow it. There are lots of them out there and new ones being added daily, but if you can find a popular, well-established site, you are most likely to gain the best, most reliable information.
Outside of the blogosphere, you may also want to keep an eye on what’s happening at social media sites. Be sure to ‘friend’ or ‘follow’ internet marketing gurus. Do a search for trending topics on Twitter that include the word ‘marketing’.
Google Alerts
Just in case your favorite blogger isn’t keeping up on the latest marketing trends, create Google alerts for the phrases “Google pagerank news”, “internet marketing news”, “internet marketing trends” or something similar. This will send a message straight to your email inbox that lists any new content referencing these exact words.
Attend Professional Conferences
For the serious internet marketer, it is definitely worthwhile to join an association or organisation that focuses on this topic. Paid memberships often allow you to receive the latest news and notice of upcoming changes. If you can afford to do so, attend a conference where you can ask questions and listen to the advice of professionals who have the inside track with the major search engines and software companies.
The Importance Of Keeping Up With Internet Marketing Trends
Consider this scenario: several years ago you owned a monetised website that used the process of posting duplicate content across the internet to build links to your pages. If you were not aware that Google was planning on blacklisting sites linked to duplicate content, you might have lost everything you’d worked so hard to achieve.
The same holds true today if you own a site that relies on affiliate marketing for income. Since Google made some important changes to its Adsense program in recent times, you could well be losing your stream of income right now. Without staying on top of news and trends, you are vulnerable to losing your entire business if it is based on an outdated model.
It is very difficult to find internet marketing success unless you stay abreast of all the changes that affect your efforts. If you want to work smarter instead of harder, the key is to follow internet marketing trends and blaze new trails to success.
Sean Rasmussen
Aussie Internet Marketer
Learn Affiliate Marketing with Year Of The Affiliate © 2010
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by Sean Rasmussen on March 10, 2010
Will writing product reviews help you sell products online? It could. Many affiliate marketers are making money via reviewing products that pay them an affiliate commission when a product is purchased through their affiliate code. Here are some examples and some success tips:
Know The Product
One of the worst mistakes an affiliate marketer can make is to start promoting a product they know very little about. The potential problems that could happen include: being ineffective at selling it and / or getting numerous return requests if you do happen to sell any because they product didn’t live up to its promises.
By learning about the product you’re selling, you can sell something you know will be useful to your customers and write effective reviews about the product.
Writing Product Reviews – Use The Right Keywords
Keyword research is important. Not only will it help you rank well in the search engines but it can help you figure out what is the best approach to take. Some affiliate products are ultra competitive but perhaps there are some long tail keyword phrases you could capitalise upon.
When writing product reviews, one approach is to begin targeting people who are already ready interested in the product but want further information on it. The right keywords can help you get found by this target market.
Another approach is that you’re sharing your experience with a product to people with a problem that the product solves. The right keywords will help you get found by your potential demographic and your product review can speak to their motivators.
Answer Questions
A person considering a product purchase typically has questions they want answered in order for them to feel that it’s worth the risk to buy the item. By anticipating what those questions are and then addressing them, you’ll overcome objections to buying.
Use Social Media And Web 2.0 Pages
Social sites can help you promote your product reviews. In fact, some of them are suitable for writing your product review as well. Beyond setting up a blog, a landing page that re-directs people to a sales letter, or website to review a product, you can use free publishing sites such as Squidoo, HubPages, Info Barrel, eHow, Tumblr, MySpace, Blogger, some article directories, WordPress.com, and others to help you share your opinion about a product.
Note the editorial guidelines for the site you’re writing for. The product review can reside on that page or you could begin a page that redirects someone to your actual review. This can be a great way to get traffic from multiple places.
After creating your reviews, don’t forget to bookmark them on social tools and blog and microblog about them as well. If they’re very helpful they can also go viral and even be used on your email marketing list to share with your subscribers who may, in turn, buy from your affiliate link and tell their friends about the product, too.
Product reviews can definitely sway a person’s opinion in a specific direction and a lot of people use the web to help them make buying decisions. Writing reviews could definitely help you increase your affiliate marketing income. Study some product reviews in the niche you’re interested in to help you as well.
Most of all, before you even consider writing product reviews, find products you like and believe in. This will solidify your trusted advisor status if you’re marketing to your subscriber list and can get you not only a client today but a repeat client that doesn’t hesitate to take your advice again in the future.
Sean Rasmussen
Aussie Internet Marketer
Learn Affiliate Marketing with Year Of The Affiliate © 2010
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by Sean Rasmussen on March 3, 2010
There are a number of affiliate marketing forums available online. Some are free and some offer private memberships. The common denominator here is that these forums are filled with people that are just like you – they are keen to start making money from affiliate marketing.
You can definitely benefit from visiting these forums. You can network, you can learn, and you can share information that can help you and others succeed. Whether you are a beginning internet marketer or are someone who has fired their boss and taken to the jet-setting webpreneur lifestyle, it never hurts to rub virtual elbows with others in your industry.
Here are some of the potential benefits of joining affiliate marketing forums:
1. SEO Knowledge
Get the lowdown on SEO. Search engine optimisation is a vital aspect of internet marketing and because there is no official set-in-stone rule book, getting a variety of opinions from others is going to be helpful. All affiliate marketing websites dedicate sections to learning about search engine optimisation and the more info you have on this topic, the better poised you’ll be for ensuring you get as much organic traffic to your sites as possible.
2. Avoid Scams
Sadly, the internet marketing world does have its share of scammers. Internet marketing communities share this type of information to help others avoid rip-off artists and bad deals. Affiliate networks that don’t pay, individual affiliate marketing programs with a high return rate, payment processors that are less than easy to deal with, and other important issues are discussed and you can avoid some mistakes others have made by staying up to date.
3. Get Advice
Get the Lowdown. Want to know if something is worthwhile? Ask. These forums have a community mentality and you can ask for advice and help on anything related to the internet marketing industry. Chances are that something you’re curious about has been covered by someone else who’s willing to save you time and frustration by sharing their knowledge.
Want to hear about new tools that others are using? Chances are that they’re talking about it on affiliate marketing forums and you could find something new that helps you extend your reach and touch new customers.
4. Learn IM Techniques
Some forums offer really detailed information on how to do things with step-by-step directions. You might get flowcharts, instructional videos, live webinars, ebooks and reports that can help you learn affiliate marketing in the easiest and fastest ways possible.
5. Affiliate Marketing Forums – Camaraderie
Who else understands the online entrepreneur’s lifestyle and challenges better than someone who does this for a living? Your spouse may listen with interest and empathy and your friends might try to understand what you do for a living but no one “gets it” like another affiliate marketer does.
Working for yourself can feel isolating and having a “tribe” to go on a virtual online water cooler for ideas, for empathy, even for a laugh, can help you get through the day and get through the rough patches that are inevitable when you are working hard toward your goals on your own.
6. Networking
Many joint ventures are born through membership groups. Want someone to bookmark a great article to get it to go viral? Want someone to proofread your sales letter for you and make suggestions? Want to exchange links on someone’s marketing list? Need to know how other people deal with a particular customer satisfaction issue? Affiliate marketing forums can be a great place to do that… saving you time and effort and giving you insight and wisdom.
Sean Rasmussen
Aussie Internet Marketer
Learn Affiliate Marketing with Year Of The Affiliate © 2010
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