Archive for Entrepreneur
The Video Call to Action
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You can produce the most compelling, interesting video online, but without a clear call to action, your video is just pure entertainment. Whether you want a viewer to buy your product, sign up for your list, or take another action, you have to tell them what you want them to do.
A call to action can take many different forms. Do you want the viewer to click on a link, click the “buy now” button, watch another video, or take some other step? Know what you want from your viewer before you even create your video so everything you do points to that desired end result.
Some people believe that if you push your message on your audience, they will resist any kind of “sell” and turn away. While you want to avoid the used car salesman approach, remember that when you have the solution to your audience’s problems, you’re doing them a favor by sharing it with them.
Your call to action can take many forms. Here are some examples:
- Click here to download your free report on X.
- Click here to visit X and sign up now for more information!
- Enter your name and email below to sign up for the free teleseminar now.
- Fill out the form below to request your free consultation.
- Enter your information below to apply for this special program.
The logistics of creating a call to action within in a video will vary depending on the type of video you use, the location of the video and the rules of the site where you are hosting your video. Here are some ideas:
Mention in Video – You can include a call to action within the video itself. Create the video to capture the attention of your audience, give them the information they need and then tell them what action to take next.
Text on Video – Another way to tell your viewers what move to make after the video is to add it across the screen of the video. This text can be a link to your website or an explanation of any other action you’d like them to take.
Clickable Video – By using ‘Flash’ software or YouTube’s video tools, you can create video that, when clicked on, can link the viewer to the desired page.
The most important part of your call to action is ensuring it fits with what your audience needs. When the call to action matches the exact needs of your audience, taking your recommended next step will be a natural next step for your viewers.
Are you ready to learn how to use video effectively in your marketing? If so, join me on Thursday, February 2nd for a free teleseminar with video marketing expert, Lou Bortone, about Easy Biz and Video. Sign up by going to:
Four SEO Tools You Can Use Now as a Solopreneur
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Search engines matter because without them you would receive minimal traffic to your website. Use them well and you will receive very targeted traffic to your website. Targeted traffic turns into customers and repeat visitors. This means it’s not only where you’re placed on the search engine rankings, but the keywords you use as well. You want to make sure you’re attracting targeted traffic to your site.
The world of search engine optimization and keyword development can feel overwhelming. It seems there’s a lot of information to learn, know and use. However, when you drill down, it’s actually quite simple. You want to optimize your website for a few primary keywords. These keywords ideally will have an acceptable amount of demand and supply. They’ll also be keywords that your audience is likely to use to find your information.
Then you optimize your pages for those keywords. You also choose some secondary keywords to support the primary ones. These may be keywords with less demand and less supply. However, they’re still keywords your audience is using to find your information.
How do you use these keywords? Content, content, content. Content gives the search engine spiders something to index. It also provides material that others may link to. This is an important part of SEO.
To help you manage and master your SEO efforts, there are literally thousands of various tools and gadgets. Some of these tools help you check the keyword density on your web page. They make sure your keywords are represented enough to help but not so much that your content reads poorly. There are also link checkers, keyword research tools, and so on. Here are four SEO tools you might find useful.
1. Keyword suggestion tools – This is where it all begins. Keyword suggestion tools help you learn and research your primary and secondary keywords. The most common of these tools is the Google AdWords tool. It’s free and quite useful. There are also keyword tools that you can pay for. They offer a bit more information than the Google tool.
2. Ranking checkers – Ranking checkers help you determine where you rank for various keywords and search engines. It’s a great tool for setting goals and tracking your progress. For example, you might set a goal to move up two pages in the rankings using article marketing. You can use a ranking checker to test and track your success. (You can also check to see how your competition is doing.) You can get a free rank checker from SEO Book by clicking here.
3. Link checking tools – Link checking tools help you determine the effectiveness of your back links. You can learn who is linking to you and how popular their links are. Again, you can also check to see who is linking to your competition. There are some basic, free tools that provide basic information. Or you can hire a service to analyze your back links for you. Click here for access to a free reciprocal link checker.
4. Keyword density tools – These tools can analyze a page or your URL for keyword density. There are a number of keyword density tools. Again some are free and some are paid tools. If you’re going to pay for this service, make sure it analyzes keyword phrases and not just one or two word keywords. Click here to access a free keyword density checker.
New SEO tools are being developed every day. Take advantage of these resources to strategically position your business. The easier it is for your prospects to find you, the faster you’ll achieve your business goals.
How to Increase Website Traffic
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Website traffic is always a priority for online solopreneurs – without some type of web traffic people won’t know your business exists. So just what is the right formula for more website traffic?
Here are our top tips:
1. Write and distribute articles. This may seem like a simple strategy on the surface but it can be very powerful. Just writing one or two articles a week will quickly add to a lot of incoming one-way links (the type of links the search engines love most) for your business.
Once you write the articles distribute them to a few top ranking directories, but don’t stop there. Think about distributing a few articles to large online traffic websites directly. Give them exclusive use of the article in exchange for the incoming link. This is a great strategy you can easily apply.
2. Make your pages search engine and reader friendly. Striking the balance between writing for your human visitors as well as the search engines is simple if you stick to this rule – write for the reader first and then naturally insert your keyword phrases into your copy.
It’s also a good idea to include all the appropriate SEO tags on all your pages. These tags help the search engines find you.
3. Set up a search-engine friendly navigation structure. For the search engines (and your human visitors) to find the content on your website, you need a clear navigation structure. This structure should consist of your top topics which are also your keywords and then for each of those main pages you’ll have sub pages including extensions of that main keyword.
By having the main keywords as your top topics on your navigation structure, your readers and the search engines will easily find your deeper pages of content. It’s also a good idea to include a back link to your home page on each page of your website. A clear and well-defined site map is a great addition as well.
These three key steps are the starting point to your traffic success. Apply them regularly and ensure that your content is fresh and up-to-date and you can’t help but to win over both the search engines and your human visitors too.
Tips for Repurposing Your Content
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Content is an investment. You spend a lot of time writing it. You probably also spend a lot of time planning and researching it. It makes good business sense to make the most of your investment. When you repurpose and reuse your content, you maximize your return. Here are five tips and ideas to repurpose and reuse your content.
Build it up - Gather articles that fit together nicely and create a report. You’ll want to add an introduction and a conclusion. You may also need to add some transitions and polish the content to fit a cohesive theme. To monetize the content, consider adding affiliate links where appropriate. You can also include the occasional product or service promotion for your own business.
Break it down – If you have existing reports, then they’re perfect to create articles and blog posts. You have many options here, too. You can simply pull apart segments of the report to create articles. Add an introduction and conclusion paragraph and you’re ready to publish. Or you can take it further and create lists and other information-packed articles.
For example, if you have a “how to” report with ten steps and ten pages of content, you could create an article that’s a much abbreviated version of the report. List the ten steps with a one or two sentence explanation. You could also write a “three things you need to do to…” article. In fact, with ten steps you could write three of those articles.
Republish old content with updates - Often evergreen content isn’t as evergreen as you hope. The world moves quickly and most industries grow and change regularly. Take a look at your “evergreen” articles and blog posts. How can you refresh them with updated content?
Partition ebooks - This method is similar to breaking down reports to create articles and blog posts. You can break ebooks down into reports, articles or blog posts. In fact, you can get quite a lot of content from an ebook. Take a look at the ebooks you’ve purchased or written and brainstorm content ideas.
Group reports – If you’re looking to create a new information product, consider grouping them to create an ebook. You’ll want to organize the reports in a logical manner. You’ll likely also need to add an introduction as well as a conclusion. Transitions will be necessary and you can add some nice graphics. Add checklists, worksheets and lists to add value to your ebooks and reports for extra value.
Repurposing your content is a smart business strategy. With each new piece of content you create, consider how you might be able to use it in the future. Content is essential for online business success. Make the most of your efforts and maximize your content to the fullest.
Energize Your Business in the New Year
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It’s now 2012 and I’m sure that creating a plan for energizing sales in your business is in the forefront of your mind. Energizing your sales isn’t a one-step solution; instead it’s a full scale approach. Each area of your sales and marketing strategy can be used to energize your sales.
Your Email List. Create energy with your email list. Offer a free online learning series. Give away free downloads that offer value. Integrate promos, offers, and discount coupons in your email series.
Launch a New Product. One truly spectacular way to energize your sales is to launch a new product. Information products are often the easiest to create and they can offer the most value. If you’re “not a writer” and don’t want to write an eBook, consider recording a series of expert interviews or create a workbook. Announce the new product to your email list. Advertise it. Share the good news on your social networking pages.
Affiliates and Referrals. If you don’t already have an affiliate program or a referral program, create one. Put others to work making sales for you. If you do have an affiliate program, reinvigorate interest by creating a competition. Offer your affiliates additional content and promotional materials so they can make more sales.
Build Your List. Create a new promotion or update your existing promotion to boost your email subscribers. Consider partnering with others and promote each other’s giveaways.
Tweak Your Sales Copy. Make small changes, or big ones, to your existing sales copy and track the results. Often a small change can make a big difference in conversions. Tweak your ad copy too.
Upsells and Back End Offers. If you don’t currently have a process to upsell or make back end offers to your customers, create one. Often the best time to make a sale is right after someone has made the decision to buy. For example, have you ever been in the store and ready to go to the register with your purchases when a sales person identifies a product that compliments the product you’ve already decided to buy? You’ve already committed to spending money and it’s easier to spend a little more for a complimentary product. Embrace that buying trigger and motivate more sales.
Content Commitment. Take a look at your content strategy. How can you amplify it for the next thirty to sixty days? What about a blog series? Can you go big and publish a case study or short report? What about article marketing or press releases? There are many ways you can go big with your content. Consider using guest writers to create excitement.
