Tuesday 31 July 2012

Best Internet Marketing Solutions Without Overspending

Best Internet Marketing Solutions Without Overspending

The Internet has made this world an open enterprise. It has become important for companies to further expand their market and their consumer targets. Engaging to Internet Marketing maybe a risk for people who wish to be involved with this type of business.

Ensure that most of your target consumers will surely acquire your product. Consider the best products which will definitely capture their interests and needs. This means that you need to identify specifically who these people are, their location and financial level in the society. Have a marketing knowledge and skill to achieve your goal in the field of Internet marketing.

At the present, you can use varied Internet Marketing Solutions that is being offered by companies which can be your tool for support to your consumers. This solution maybe email marketing, search engine optimization or creating web pages or sites. Since you need to maximize your return profit, you need to choose Internet Marketing Solutions that will help you achieve this. These marketing techniques will not cost much since they are very self-explanatory, thus, learned easily.

Email marketing is a common Internet marketing Solution. This is a cost effective way of communicating and interacting to your consumers, driving them to visit your website and check out your products. It may be in a way of marketing articles, leading them to forums or newsletters. A newsletter has an advantage of expanding your consumers as more and more sign up on it until you can have a bulk list of emails.

Another great Internet marketing solution is through websites. This is a good promotion strategy to employ since you can display all the necessary information for your target consumers. The website should capture their interest and be complete since every transaction, from inquiry to payments may take place. All correspondence that will be done online must be well-facilitated by the features of your website.

Another Internet marketing solution is search engine optimization. This is a type of service for your website that you can make use of in order to raise the number of visitors to your site. Once a consumer uses a search engine, your website will rank high in the list of searches which in return will increase your site's traffic.

Considering these Internet Marketing Solution, there are different companies offering software products containing one or all of these solutions. It would be a great opportunity to try one of these which will match your financial capability and expected return profit.

Writing Articles as an Affordable Internet Marketing Method

Writing Articles as an Affordable Internet Marketing Method

From Overture, a keyword suggestion tool, you will see the millions of searches done to a certain keyword. When these keywords are typed on search boxes of search engines, indexed websites containing articles with those keywords will be displayed. And this is what leads traffic to websites with keyword-rich articles. Yes, the magic word is articles.

Content is king. You can say that again. That is why writing articles is one of the most utilized Internet marketing media today. Internet surfers just can't get enough of information on various fields. Providing information through these articles is a surefire way to drive hot traffic to your web site.

Why is this so? Here are the benefits that writing articles can give your Internet business.

1. It's absolutely free.

Too good to be true? Not. Okay, you have to pay for your Internet Service Provider. That's it. All you need is your thoughts, your computer, and your hands. If you have those, nothing will stop you from typing words that will make you complete that article for your website. On which aspect of that process did you really shell out any cent? Maybe later when your electric bills come.

2. Your website will be noticed in a short period of time.

Submit that article of yours to article directories that get the most web traffic and in no time your web site will be crawled. That is if you don't forget including your resource box or byline.

3. Obtain back links automatically.

When you submit your articles to directories, surely, other websites will make use of your article too. With the copyright terms of your articles, the URL of your website will still be in tact and will subsequently direct more traffic to your website.

4. Improve your reputation.

As an Internet marketer, if you plainly display your products on your website, you will not gain much conversion rate. Conversion is when your traffic converts to sales. You have to show that you are knowledgeable on your field. And what better way to show that than by writing articles that will allow you some bragging rights, right?

Just make your creative juices flow and jot down or key in those ideas quickly to jumpstart your article writing momentum. With those benefits listed above, a writer's block is the last problem you will ever be able to surmount.

Monday 30 July 2012

Writing the Resource Box so it Makes People click

Writing the Resource Box so it Makes People click

The internet is the information highway, this phrase has been used so may time it should be nominated for the Internet Cliché Award. People that go to the internet are subdivided into groups, but generally, they are out to search information. Whether for gaming, business, fun or anything else the internet has provided us with information that has proved to be very beneficial.

Through the recent years many people have learned the secrets of Search Engine Optimization. More and more sites have seen the effects articles have done for the traffic of their sites. Some have even created sites devoted entirely to providing articles that could be read by their website visitors and have links that could lead to many sites that are related to the topics and subjects of the articles.

For example, the sites may feature many articles about a whole lot of topics. As a website visitor reads the articles they have searched for, they can find at the end of the article a resource box that can be clicked on to link them to the site that has submitted the article. Of course the article would be in relation to the site. Lets say if the article is about rotating the tires, the resource box may lead to a link to a site that sells tires or car parts.

A resource box is what you usually find at the end of an article. They will contain the name of the author, a brief description of the author, a brief description of the sponsoring site and a link. If a reader likes what they read, they would have the tendency to find out where the article came from to read more. The resource bow will be their link to the source of the article and this will entice them to go to the site and do some more reading or research for the subject or topic they are interested in.

But like the article itself, the resource box must also be eye-catching to demand the attention and interest of the reader. While the resource bow encompasses only a small space, providing the right keywords and content for your resource box will provide more prodding for the reader to go to your site.

Now we know what resource boxes are, what are the benefits of having a good resource box? Mainly its driving traffic to your site. Many sites would allow articles to be placed in their sites because they can make use of the articles to fill their pages. They also get affiliation with other sites that can be beneficial for them as well. For the sponsoring site, when you get people to click on your resource box, you generate traffic that can be counted upon as potential customers.

So what would be a good content for your resource box? Basically it is keywords, learning about the proper keywords that people are mainly searching for. There are many tools you can find in the internet that can help you in determining what keywords to use.

Resource boxes can also make use of all the creativity it can get. You only get a small space for your resource box so you better make the most of it. Try to catch the attention of your reader with resource box content that can make them give a second look. Unlike TV ads, you don’t have visual aids to drive your point in. But you do have the power of imagination of a reader. With the right content, you can make them think and intrigued.

Another tip is to use keywords that should be related to your site. Do not mislead your potential website visitors. Build your credibility so that more people would get enticed to visit your site and browse what you have to offer. Make the people click your resource box by providing resource box content that makes a lasting impression. You only get one chance to wow them and hundreds of chances to repulse them.

Never underestimate the power of the resource box. It may be small in size but they will provide a significant aid in driving traffic to your site. A boring resource box will never get a job done. Be fun and creative but at the same time show that you have a great deal to offer, too much to ask for something that couldn’t fit a paragraph? Yes and no, there are many tips and guides that can help you in doing this, the first step is realizing how important a resource box could be in making people click your link and be directed to your site.

Top Writers Around the World will write for you – outsourcing

Top Writers Around the World will write for you – outsourcing

The content of your site tells a whole lot about your website. They will basically describe what your site is about and also tell people what your site has to offer. Articles and website content makes a whole lot of difference in your site because they can catch the attention of your website visitors and keep them in there.

With good website content you get the benefit of clearly depicting what it is you want to share with people. Also, good content and articles can lead people to your site. With more traffic, you get to earn more from your site making it profitable. A sites success, be it for profit or not, is the number of the flow of traffic in your site.

So how does good content and great articles get you traffic? Well, many search engines rely on the keyword and keyword phrases of a site to put it in their results list. If your content contains a good number of keywords and keywords phrases, it may be chosen to be a part of the top listed sites in the search result pages.

But before you think of just plastering your site with all the keywords and keyword phrases it could hold, search engines also filter out that abuse. You must have good well written articles that incorporate the keywords and keyword phrases properly in their content and articles.

There are many of those who cannot afford the time to write their own website contents and articles. While writing content and articles specifically designed for the internet may take some getting used to and some researching and learning, there are many writers that can be found all over the world who could do it for you.

Many of us do not have the time to learn web content writing and article writing designed for the internet. There are writers who have great experience in doing this and charge only a minimal fee for such work. Writers like this can be regarded as experts in this style of writing and can greatly help your website to get that coveted spot in the search engine rankings.

Other than getting your site in the web results page of search engines, they can also provide your site with meaningful articles and content that can impress your website visitors and entice others to view your site. Every website could use the extra traffic website visitors could invite.

Then there are those who need papers to be done either for their school or office work. Top writers around the world are very knowledgeable and do extreme researching to get a job done right. They are also very adept in many writing styles that are needed to best suit the client’s need.

Many writers around the world charge a minimal fee depending on the type of writing job needed and the number of words needed in the content. Usually, a two hundred fifty worded article would cost from 4 to 8 dollars depending on the writers experience and ability. This is a small price to pay for having a content rich site or for a well researched and written paper.

There are also many sites that can offer you these services with their team of well trained and experienced writers. They offer many writing services to cover any writing needs. A writer can be based anywhere in the world and are guaranteed to offer good contents and articles. Each one are doubly checked, edited and proofread so that you would get your money’s worth.

Finding a good writer or a site that offers these kinds of services is simply done by searching for them in search engines. Type down your keyword or keyword phrase (e.g. Content Writers, Article Writers) and you will see a long list of sites that offer these services.

The top sites would probably be the best since they have done a good job of keeping their content at a high quality to get them high rankings. But you may also want to shop around and read some of their sample work to get an idea of how much it will cost you.

Public Domain is The Easiest Way To Create Articles

The easiest Way to Create Articles – Public Domain!

There are many webmasters that find writing articles for their site to be a very tedious task. Many people who need to write articles also procrastinate as much as they can to delay the amount of writing they need to do. Many people dread writing articles because they find researching for the topic and writing down original materials will be too taxing on them.

You need to have your creative juices flowing and simply downloading an article would be plagiarism or tantamount to stealing, not exactly. Have you ever heard about public domain? These are articles written down by many authors that have declared their works to be public domain, which means anybody can use it for whatever purpose they want.

While most authors would prefer to copyright their work for their rights, there are also a number who doesn’t mind sharing their work. Public domain articles are not owned by anybody and can be used and abused by anyone. The writers have waived their rights to their works and it is out there for the public to make use of.

You can use public domain articles in helping you write your articles. With the public domain articles you can simply edit them to your own style and rewrite them as you please to make it suitable for your needs. All the ideas are there already and its just a matter of finding the write article with the topic or subject you need.

This is probably the easiest way to write articles. You don’t need to scour around the library or the internet for hours for information and start an article from scratch. For webmasters who are looking for articles to fill their site and to generate a high ranking for their website in search engine results, they can just modify the article by infusing keywords and keyword phrases related to their site.

A webmaster or website operator do not risk any chance of getting sued for copyright infringement because they are public domain, once again meaning that anybody can use it. Writing articles by using public domain wont require as much work as writing one from scratch would. You save a lot of time also.

One good factor in using public domain articles for your site or for any project is that you save a lot of money. You dismiss the need to hire experienced and seasoned writers that some website operators use to write their articles. While a single five hundred worded article would only set you down 10 to 15 dollars, this cost will drastically increase when you need hundreds of articles to fill the needs of your site.

For those who needs articles to generate newsletters or an e-zine, public domain articles will be very beneficial. You do not need to count on your contributors or pay writers to write down articles for your newsletter or e-zine. You can fill all the pages without any cost or the worry of being sued and sought after by the writers. You can simply copy the articles and place them on your newsletter and e-zine.

Public domain articles are a virtual untapped resource that many people fail to realize the true value. The power of articles, keywords and keyword phrases have been deemed invaluable these past few years for many internet based businesses and sites that want to rank high in search engine results.

The number of article and content writers have grown significantly due to the rise in the demand for articles. As newer and newer topics and subjects have arisen, there are many demands for new articles to be written. An industry has been formed and this is a worldwide demand.

Public domain articles have given a great alternative for those who are cash strapped as well as do not have the time nor the skills to do their articles for themselves.

Searching for public domain articles is as easy as 1 – 2 – 3. You can search for them in search engines and do searches in many directories for the topic or subject that you need. Read them and simpy copy paste them to a word processing program and simply edit them to suit your needs.

Sunday 29 July 2012

An Easier Way Writing Articles

I Hate Writing Articles - Isn't There An Easier Way?!

Owning, running and maintaining an internet based business or a site needs articles. Plain and simple, every who has a site knows this. Even those who don’t have sites but are frequent internet users knows this as well. Articles quench the thirst for information and knowledge of the people. Plus, the articles provides many other benefits for the site.

The benefits that articles provide are putting a site high in the ranking in search results of keywords and keyword phrases that pertains or are relevant to his or her site. They also provide attraction to website visitors when they are appreciated and is linked to your site from another site or newsletter. Articles provide for the increase of the confidence and trust levels of customers to your site and company.

Many articles are also beneficial to both company and its traffic. When the readers like the articles, they would tell more of their friends, family and peers and recommend your site to them, providing for a larger volume of traffic. You get bigger sales if your traffic trusts and believes in you. Your product or services would be much easier to sell when they know you know what you are doing and talking about.

So ok, we have established that articles are very important to a site and to business. Articles are crucial and to keep ahead in the game, a site must have an article, it is imperative. There is one dilemma though, not many people like writing articles.

Many website owners would rather spend their time on something else, and unless you’re a big time company, you don’t have the necessary resources to use on a pool of article writers. Plagiarism or copying of other articles is frowned upon and could easily get you into trouble, worst case scenario; a hefty fine and jail time.

So what are the other options?

Well, for starters if you hate writing articles and you can’t afford to hire people to write for you then don’t. Get free articles. The first place to look at for free articles is the public domain. Here you won’t have problems with copyright infringement and the following penalties and fines if you get caught for plagiarism.

Public domain articles are articles freely given to the public for public use. You can do whatever you want with it. You can place it on your site, name it as yours, put it in a newsletter its you decision. Always remember though that you will have to choose articles that is very relevant to your site.

The downside to public domain articles is that since it is free for everybody, many of your competitors may have access to them as well. Since every site needs to be original and unique even though you have the same niche, this could be a predicament. You may also have to edit them a bit to place more keywords and keyword phrases to make them better.

Another way to get free articles is to allow other sites which has the same subject or topic as yours to submit articles to your site. This would be only to augment your existing content or else all your articles would be leading to other sites since these articles would have resource boxes with them that could link or direct the readers to their site. That’s why it is important to have your own articles; you cold use them to link your site to other sites as well.

But, to truly feel the impact of what a good article to you, go for original ones. There are many article writers who do part time and freelance article writing jobs that charges only minimal fees. You can get good articles that have all the keywords and keyword phrases you need and people are looking for.

The investment you made for these articles would be worthwhile because you could use them for all the benefits you could offer. You hold copyrights to them and you will be able to use them anyway you want. As your articles help you in building your business and your site, you will have more articles to write and maybe then you wont be having second thoughts about articles.

How to Create an Outline For All of Your Article

How to Create an Outline For All of Your Article

We’ve done it through junior high, it expanded longer through high school, then on college it became chapters. No matter how many times a person have done it, writing articles has proven to be a task many has continuously avoided. Now at a time when writing articles could help your job or work, facing the job at hand can be still faced with unfriendly behavior.

While there are a great number of people who do not have the same attitude in article writing as others, there are still those who would rather walk in piping hot coals than do some article writing. What set other people apart from other towards article writing is that they are prepared and has some methods and procedures in writing articles.

One of the methods you can use to prepare yourself when tasked to write in article is creating an outline first. Creating an outline for all your articles makes you prepared. You have an idea of what to do first and make a plan for your succeeding steps. Being prepared makes the job easier and faster. Being organized will allow for disorientation to be shunned away.

An outline can act as the design or blueprint for your article. This will guide you in creating the introduction, body and conclusion of your article. Here in this point, you can write down some of the ideas and sentences that you feel will look good in your article. This could be some of the focal point that could help make your article creative, interesting and appealing to a reader.

A carefully planned and fully prepared project would guarantee and ensure a problem and worry free procedure that can virtually go without any hassles. Creating an outline for all your articles will get you ready and breeze through writing an article in no time at all. Here I will provide you with some tips and guidelines in how to create an outline for all of your articles.

Do a couple of brainstorming and jot down your brilliant ideas first. Think of some ways to attract the interest of your reader. Designate a time frame where you can write down all the ideas that you can use for your articles. By this time you should have done all your research and information searching. Review and reread your ideas and notes, gain mastery and sufficient familiarity with your topic so that writing them down later own would be easy for you.

The next step is to discover your sub topic and sub titles. As you would provide a first sentence for your article, one that would immediately grab the attention of your reader, you would need some as well for your sub topics. To be concise, you would need to get all the facts that will support and go against your point.

These are the frames or skeleton of your article, now its time to add the flesh and the meat of your article. You will need to connect all your paragraphs and sub topics. This will form the body of your Article. While the introduction will usher in the ideas of your paragraph, you will need a conclusion. The conclusion will wrap up your points and drive in what you are saying in your article.

The outline for your article would also require you to write a draft first. This may take more than one attempt but remember that it is called a draft for a reason. Your outline shall be perfected as each draft is written and this draft is meant for your eyes only so there’s no reason to feel ashamed. As you go on, you will clearly see the bigger picture and write an article that will perfectly suit what is demanded of it.

Reread and reread what you have written down. Always refer to your outline so that you wont drift away from what you had first written down. Its not hard to be caught in the moment and get lost in your writing frenzy. Your outline will help you keep in track. All those hours spent in outlining your article will not go to waste. This will serve as your guide in writing articles. Trust and rely on your outline because this will prove to be a very helpful tool in writing all of your articles.

Saturday 28 July 2012

Articles Are The Quickest Way To Your Customers Wallet

Articles Are The Quickest Way To Your Customers Wallet One way of promoting your website and product can be achieved for free. As an additional bonus, this “free” method can boost your sites and sales, doubling and even tripling your income. Articles. One of the easiest ways to promote your website in order to generate traffic and increase your earnings. How does this work? Write articles relating to your website and submit them to “free content” submission sites. Easy to do, takes little time and can increase your website traffic, sales and of course, your income. How can article writing boost traffic and income? The article on the free content site contains a link to your own website. Readers, after reading your articles, may choose to click on the link and pay you an unexpected visit. Having them on the free content sites is also making these articles available to other webmasters who may wish to publish that article on their site. If they do, your article will include a link back to your site. And anyone who reads the article on that site can still click on the link to visit your site. As the list of your published articles grow larger, and more and more of them are appearing on different websites, the total number of links to your site increases also. Major search engines are placing a lot of significance on incoming links to websites so they can determine the importance of a certain site. The more incoming links the website has, the more importance search engines attaches to it. This will then increase your website’s placement in the search results. If you site is into promoting a product or service, the links that your articles have achieved will mean more potential customers for you. Even if visitors only browse through, you never know if they might be in need of what you are offering in the future. There are also those who already have specific things they need on their mind but cannot decide yet between the many choices online. Chances are, they may stumble upon one of your articles, gets interested by the contents you wrote, go to your site and became enticed by your promotions. See how easy that is? Search engines do not just index the websites, they also index published articles. They also index any article that is written about your own website’s topic. So once someone searches for that same topic, the list of results will have your site or may even show the articles that you have written. And to think, no effort on your part was used to bring them to your site. Just your published articles and the search engines. It is no wonder why many webmasters are suddenly reviving their old writing styles and taking time to write more articles about their site than doing other means of promotion. Getting their site known is easier if they have articles increasing their links and traffic and making it accessible for visitors searching the internet. Since many people are now taking their buying needs online, having your site on the search engines through your articles is one way of letting them know about you and your business. The good thing with articles is that you can write about things that people would want to know about. This can be achieved in the lightest mood but professional manner, with a little not-so-obvious sales pitch added. If you think about it, only a few minutes of your time is spent on writing one article and submitting to free content site. In the shortest span of time also, those are distributed to more sites than you can think of. Even before you know what is happening, you are getting more visitors than you previously had. If you think you are wasting your time writing these articles, fast forward to the time when you will see them printed and wide-spread on the internet. Not to mention the sudden attention and interest that people are giving your website and your products or services. Try writing some articles and you will be assured of the sudden surge in site traffic, link popularity and interest. Before you know it, you will be doubling and even tripling your earnings. Nothing like getting benefits for something you got for free.

6 Red Hot Tips To Get Your Articles Read

6 Red Hot Tips To Get Your Articles Read

There are many people who dread having to write papers or articles. Many just feel like it seems to be too much work and it all just goes to waste when no one reads the. To some people, reading articles seems like work to, especially if the article is boring and very bland. Well, articles are supposed to be read, that’s their purpose to impart your message and information. If it is not read then it is a waste of time and effort.

But all the same, articles have to be written to be read. It’s just a matter of making them good. Making a good article doesn’t have to be strenuous and straining. There are just some points needed to be reminded of, and some guides to follow. Once you get the hang of it, writing articles could be fun, as well as profitable for you and your site.

Of course, writing articles must be about something you know about, that’s why if you own a site, you probably is knowledgeable about that certain topic and theme. When you write about it, you won’t have a hard time because you already know what it is and what it’s about. It’s just a matter of making your articles creative and interesting.

To make sure that your articles get read and enjoyed, here are six red hot tips to get your articles read. These tips will make your articles readable and interesting.

1) Use short paragraphs. When the paragraph are very long, the words get jumbled in the mind of the reader just looking at it It can get quite confusing and too much of a hard work to read. The reader will just quickly disregard the paragraph and move on to much easier reading articles that are good to look at as well as read. Paragraphs can be a single sentence, sometimes even a single word!

2) Make use of numbers or bullets. As each point is stressed out, numbers and bullets can quickly make the point easy to remember and digest. As each point, tip, guide or method is started with a bullet or point, readers will know that this is where the tips start and getting stressed. Format you bullets and numbers with indentations so that your4 article won’t look like a single block of square paragraphs. Add a little bit of flair and pizzazz to your articles shape.

3) Use Sub-headings to sub-divide your paragraphs in the page. Doing this will break each point into sections but still would be incorporated into one whole article. It would also be easy for the reader to move on from one point to another; the transition would be smooth and easy. You will never lose your readers attention as well as the point and direction to where the article is pointing.

4) Provide a good attention-grabbing title or header. If your title can entice a person’s curiosity you’re already halfway in getting a person to read your article. Use statements and questions that utilize keywords that people are looking for. Provide titles or headers that describe your articles content but should also be short and concise.

Use titles like, “Tips on making her want you more”, or “How to make her swoon and blush” .You could also use titles that can command people, for example, “Make her yours in six easy Ways”. These types of titles reach out to a persons’ emotions and makes them interested.

5) Keep them interested from the start to the finish. From your opening paragraph, use real life situations that can be adopted by the reader. Use good descriptions and metaphors to drive in your point, just don’t over do it. Driving your examples with graphic metaphors and similes would make it easy for them to imagine what you are talking about. Making the experience pleasurable and enjoyable for them.

6) Utilize figures when necessary and not just ordinary and insipid statements. Using specific facts and figures can heighten your article because it makes it authoritative. But do not make it too formal, it should be light and easy in them and flow. Like a friendly teac her having a little chat with an eager student.

Friday 27 July 2012

5 Easy Ways To Get Your Creative Juices Going

5 Easy Ways To Get Your Creative Juices Going

Writing an article doesn’t just mean putting down thoughts into words then typing and writing it. You have to capture the interest of your readers and get them to keep on reading. To send your message across you have to get the attention of the reader and have a firm grasp of their interest and pique their curiosity.

The main ingredient in baking up an article is a large dose of creativity. While creativity may come natural to many people, some just gets into a block or something to that effect that can drive someone crazy. Many writers have literally torn their hair out when they get writers block and just can’t seem to get their creative juices flowing.

Putting words into images in the readers mind is an art. A clear and crisp depiction requires a certain flair that only creativity can provide. Similes and metaphors help a lot, but the way an article gets entwined word for word, sentence by sentence then paragraph by paragraph into a whole article develops the essence of the article.

So just what do you have to do when nothing comes to mind? There is no surefire ways to get the perfect ideas but there are easy ways to get your creative juices flowing. No one can guarantee you of having the perfect mindset but many methods may aid you in achieving that state of mind. Here are five easy ways for that.

1) Keep a diary or a journal with you always. Ideas can be triggered by anything you may hear, see, or smell. Your senses are your radar in finding great ideas. Write all of them into a journal and keep it with you for future reference. You may also write down anything that you have read or heard, someone’s ideas could be used to develop your own ideas and this is not stealing. Remember that ideas and creativity can come from anywhere; it’s the development of the idea that makes it unique.

2) Relax and take time to sort things out. A jumbled mind cannot create any space for new ideas. Everyone must have a clear mind if one wishes to have their creativity in full speed. Get rid of all obstacles that can be a hindrance to your creativity. If you are bothered by something, you cannot force your mind to stay focused.

Try to relax every time that you can and think about your experiences and interactions with others. Your experiences are what shape your mindset and your opinions which could be reflected on your writings. Try to discover yourself, find out what triggers your emotions. Discover what inspires you and what ticks you off. You can use these emotions to help you in expressing yourself and your ideas, with this you can grow creatively.

3) Create a working place that can inspire your creativeness. Your working place can be quite a hindrance if it doesn’t make you feel happy or relaxed. Creativity comes from being in a good state of mind and a messed up workplace that causes distraction won’t be conducive in firing up your creative flow.

Surround your working place with objects that makes you happy and relaxed. You may put up pictures, or scents, objects that inspire, or anything that can get your creativeness cranking. A clean and well organized workplace also rids of distractions and unwanted hindrances. With a good working place, you can work in peace and never notice the time pass by.

4) Set the mood. Setting the mood requires you to just go with the moment or to induce your self to feeling what makes your mind works best. Finding out what makes you tick could help you find ways to get your creative juices flowing. Set the pace and tempo for your mood and everything else will follow.

There are many ways to set the mood. Some writers have been known to use alcohol, a little sip of wine to stir up the imagination. Some would like some mood music while others let the lighting of the environment create the mood.

5) Go on a getaway and just do something unlike crazy. Letting yourself go and have fun produces adrenaline that can make your imagination go wild. Take an adventure or a solemn hike. Whatever it is that is unusual from your daily routine can take the rut out of your schedule. In no time at all, your creativeness will make use of that experience and get your imagination to go on overdrive.

4 Things ALL Articles Requirements

4 Things ALL Articles Must Have - Don't Forget!


The importance of articles in today’s websites and internet based companies are immeasurable. They dictate a lot in the success and the drive of traffic into one’s site. It has become a key element in making a site work and earns a profit. A website operator and owner must have the good sense to include articles in his or her site that will work for them and earn them the many benefits articles can give to their site.

Articles have been known to be the driving force in driving traffic to a website. Articles are a factor in giving site high rankings in search result pages. The higher a site ranks the bigger slice of the traffic flow pie he gets. With a huge number in traffic flow, there are more profits and more potential for other income generating schemes as well.

But, it is not just about stuffing your site with articles; they have certain requirements as well. These requirements must be met to obtain the maximum benefits an article will provide for your site. A well written article will catch the eyes and interest of your customers and keep them coming back for more. They would also be able to recommend your site to others. Here are some tips to help you and assist you in making your articles. Below you will read about four things all articles must have to make it successful and helpful in making your site a profit earning and traffic overflowing site.

• Keywords and Keyword Phrases.


An article must always be centered on the keywords and keyword phrases. As each website visitor goes to a site, there are those who are just merely browsing but actually looking for a specific something. When this happens, a searcher usually goes to a search engine and types in the keywords they are looking for (e.g. Toyota Camry, Meningitis, Tax Lawyer and Etcetera). It could be anything they want.

The Important thing is that you have an article that has the keywords that are related to your site. For example, if you maintain an auto parts site, you must be able t have articles about cars and their parts. There are many tools in the internet that provides service in helping a webmaster out in determining what keywords and keyword phrases are mostly sought out. You can use this tool to determine what keywords to use and write about.

• Keyword Density


Know that you have your keywords and keyword phrases, you must use them fully. An article must have good keyword density for a search engine to “feel” its presence. Articles should at least have ten to fifteen percent of keyword density in their content for search engines to rank a site high in their search results. Getting a high rank is what articles do best for a site.

Keyword density is the number of times a keyword or keyword phrase is used on an article. The number varies depending on the number of words used in an article. An effective article must have a keyword density that is not too high or too low. With a very high density, the essence of the article is lost and may turn off a reader as well as the search engines. It comes off as overeager. A low number may be ignored by the search engines.

• Good Article Content


Like what is stated above, you cannot just riddle an article with keywords. They must also be regarded as good reading materials. Articles must be able to entertain people as well as provide good information and help for their needs. Articles should be written well with correct spelling and good grammar. If you want people to trust you, make your work good and well thought out.

People respond well to figures, facts and statistics. Try to get great information and as many facts as you can. A good and well written article will boost your reputation as an expert in your chosen field or topic. As more people believe in you. They will be able to trust you and your products.

• Linking Articles


And another important thing to remember. If you are going to submit articles to ezines and/or contribute your articles to newsletters and other sites, DON’T ever forget to include a link to your site. A little resource box with a brief description of your site and you should always be placed right after your articles that you have submitted. If people like your articles, they will most likely click on the link directing them to your site.

3 Things You Must Do Before You Submit To Article Directories

3 Things You Must Do Before You Submit To Article Directories

To all writers and non-writers out there, now is the time to start digging up those creative writing skills back.

With modern communication technology comes the popularity of information-based marketing, which is one of the oldest and most effective techniques in getting targeted prospects to sites and converting them into buyers. This is why article writing, submissions and publications are also getting popular.

There are already many tools that people can use to make the process of distributing their articles more easily. Though this is invaluable in getting the contents more exposure, which is only half of the story.

Let us take a look first at the common mistakes that some people make before submitting their contents to article directories:

1. Confusing the reason to promote the articles with the reason to write them. In article writing, there are three key benefits why you are promoting them; branding, lead generation and promotion, which are all part of your optimization efforts.

But there is only one reason why you write an article, and that is to inform your audience. If the article is not focused on this primary and most important purpose, it will fail to achieve the three promotion benefits because no one will be interested in reading them.

You need to figure out first how to get people to read what is in your article, then make them click on your resource box. You can achieve this by producing better contents.

2. Failing to maximize the promotional opportunities of article marketing. You may know already that your articles can help you generate additional links back to your site. But do you know that you can get more visitors and better search engine results from that same articles?

Mention keywords at strategic places. Just be sure not to overdo them. Some are even using anchor texts which is also an effective method. But it is important to know that majority of the directories are not able to support this.

Remember that is not only about the links back to your site. Part of doing well in your article marketing is getting picked up by publishers with a large number of audiences and gaining the ability of leveraging other brands because of the quality of your work. Better search engine results also are great benefits.

But these things do not put much money in your pocket. There are other factors that can turn your article marketing efforts into an opportunity that can boost your earnings. Not just increase the number of visitors to your site.

Start out with a plan and see to it that your article will serve the function that you intended it to have.

3. Publishing content that does not help your readers. Maybe in the process of writing articles, you are thinking that all that is you wanted is links back to your site. And any visitors it can generate are fine. Guess what? Not all article banks and directories are going to accept your content automatically. Oftentimes, they have some guidelines and specifications on the articles that they are accepting.

You can double the number of sites you can submit to by writing articles that the directories want to share with other people. All it takes is one publisher with a hundred thousand readers to increase your potential audience overnight.

Write the articles that publishers want in their publications if you want your article marketing to work the most effective way for you. This also means you have to obey the standard guidelines, spell checks, researching on a good topic and even hiring a writer to produce a good content on your behalf.

In the end, it is all really a matter of choice on your part. You can start getting a little exposure from increased links back but on a very basic level. Or enjoy massive exposure from a little extra time making quality contents.

It will be your choice. You may not be aware of the fact that an article submitted on directories is not meant to have the same level of exposure as highly-targeted content ones geared on a narrow group of people.

Learn the difference between these two and it will surely help you know what kinds of articles to write and to submit.

Thursday 26 July 2012

Why Your Business Cannot Afford Not to Advertise on Craigslist

Why Your Business Cannot Afford Not to Advertise on Craigslist

Craigslist is not always the best advertising option but there are certain situations in which a business cannot afford not to advertise on Craigslist. For the purposes of this article we will examine two common scenarios where a business owner should definitely consider advertising on Craigslist because failure to do so can be detrimental to his business. These examples include small startup companies without a large advertising budget and existing companies whose direct competitors are advertising extensively on Craigslist.

Small Startup Companies Benefit from Advertising on Craigslist

Small startup companies often have a great deal of work ahead of them to begin competing with existing companies who are already thriving. These companies may already have established client bases and may have substantial funding budges for the purpose of obtaining new customers. Customer loyalty can be difficult to break and new companies either have to offer significantly better quality products or services, comparable products or services at reduced prices or a slick marketing campaign with consumer appeal.

However, smaller companies rarely have the advertising budget necessary to orchestrate an elaborate advertising campaign. This is when Craigslist becomes a necessity. Smaller companies can focus their energy on creating outstanding advertising copy without spending exorbitant amounts of money to run these advertisements in other forms of media such as newspapers, magazines, television or radio.

It is important to not that while free advertising is appealing, the advertising should be just as sophisticated as it would in markets where the business owners would be required to pay a fee to run the advertisement. This will help the business to maintain a professional image and will entice potential customer to try their products or services.

Don’t Let the Competition Corner the Market

Another scenario where a business cannot afford not to advertise on Craigslist is when direct competitors are making use of the advertising opportunities on Craigslist. This is important because businesses who do not advertise in the same locations as their competitors are essentially conceding potential customers who peruse those locations to the competitors.

Imagine you own a dog walking business in Portland, Oregon. If there are a large number of members of that community using the local Craigslist website to find dog walkers, you will likely miss out on these business opportunities because these individuals will likely select one of the individuals advertising on Craigslist for their dog walking needs. If you were to place a well written advertisement in an appropriate section of Craigslist you may find you are able to gain a market share of the available business.

There is, however, one caveat to placing advertisements wherever your competitors are advertising. This practice is not considered worthwhile when the market is already saturated with competition. Consider the above example of a dog walker in Portland. If there are a small number of competitors competing for business on Craigslist it is worthwhile to place your own advertisement here. However, if literally hundreds of dog walkers are flooding the website with their advertisement it is not worthwhile to post an advertisement because your advertisement will likely be lost in the shuffle. It is much more worthwhile to advertise in other locations. Checking Craigslist periodically may still be a good idea because those advertising on Craigslist are likely to not see great gain from this advertising and may resort to other options. When you notice a decline in competitor advertisements, it is a great opportunity to add your advertisement.

Using the Craigslist Search Feature

Using the Craigslist Search Feature


Those who really want to take advantage of Craigslist should be well aware of how to use the search feature to find exactly what they are seeking. The search features can be very helpful whether the user is looking to gain financial benefit from Craigslist, network through Craigslist or learn more about their target audience or direct competitors.

Using the Craigslist Search Feature to Gain Profit


Proper use of the Craigslist feature can help companies who market their products and services on Craigslist to increase their profitability. Most small business owners may incorrectly assume the search feature is only useful for members of their target audience and there is not an opportunity for business owners to profit through use of the search feature. However, business owners can learn a great deal by exploring Craigslist through the search feature.

One of the most significant ways business owners can gain greater profitability through Craigslist is to post their advertisements in the most appropriate locations. The search feature can be helpful in this capacity because savvy business owners can search through Craigslist for products or services similar to the ones they offer. Taking note of which sections of Craigslist feature advertisements for products or services similar to the ones you offer can provide insight into which sections should be used for advertisement purposes.

Discovering a large cluster of advertisements for similar product or services in one particular section may indicate this section is a good choice for posting an advertisement for your products or services but it may also indicate it might be worthwhile to include your advertisement in sections which are still appropriate but less popular. This is because if the majority of competitors are posting advertisements in one section the competition for customers will be greater in this area. However, in less popular, but still appropriate sections, the business owners may find they enjoy greater success.

Using the Craigslist Search Feature to Learn about Your Target Audience


Wise business owners, who want to learn more about their target audience, realize there is an excellent opportunity to do so by utilizing the Craigslist search feature. If business owners are relying on Craigslist to attract a large potential audience, it is logical for these same business owners to explore Craigslist thoroughly to learn more about members of the Craigslist community.

Craigslist attracts over four billion page views per month clearly indicating investing time in posting advertisements on Craigslist is worthwhile but it is important for business owners to determine whether or not there is an audience for their products or services on Craigslist. Searching through the discussion forums focusing on subjects related to the products or services offered by the business is one way learn more about the target audience. By searching through these forums the business owner can learn more about what the target audience is talking about and what they are looking for in products and services.

Using the Craigslist Search Feature to Learn about the Competition


Another beneficial way to use the search feature in Craigslist is to use it as a way to learn more about direct competitors. In searching for information on products or services similar to the ones they offer, a business owner can pick up on crucial information about the competition. They can learn where the competitors are advertising, the keywords they are using to promote their produces and services, the prices they are charging for their products or services and the incentives they are offering to attract new customers and to retain previous customers. All of this information can be very useful for helping the business owner to understand how they can make themselves more appealing to the target audience. Study of the keywords used by competitors can also help business owners to reach a wider audience. The key to any Internet marketing campaign is knowing how to reach an audience. Potential customers will be entering relevant keywords into the search feature to find more information about your products so business owners should be sure they are using the most relevant keywords in their advertisements.

Using Craigslist to Network

Using Craigslist to Network Networking is an important part of any business and Craigslist offers individuals a variety of networking opportunities. Whether you have an established business and are looking to advertise, you are looking to learn more about a particular business or you just want to meet individuals who share a particular interest, Craigslist can be an excellent resource. Craigslist offers all of these opportunities and more to those who are interested in starting to network or expanding their networking capabilities. Using Craigslist to Organize Offline Networking Opportunities Organizing offline networking opportunities is just one of the many ways in which individuals can use Craigslist for networking purposes. One example of when this type of opportunity may be worthwhile is for a situation where a businessperson is in the line of direct sales. Often these direct sales opportunities involve the individual hosting parties where others can sample and learn more about the products offered. These types of parties can be very lucrative for a skilled salesperson that has a passion for the products they are selling. Examples of the types of businesses which benefit from sales parties include direct sales opportunities including cosmetics, toys, pet products, romance items, nutritional supplements and other products. Whether the products are so wonderful they literally sell themselves or they require a skilled salesperson to convince the audience of their worth, the most important part of direct sales is networking. This is where Craigslist can really help. Those who are interested in organizing sales parties can take advantage of the large number of community members reached by Craigslist to find new potential clients. Placing an advertisement in an appropriate section on Craigslist gives the salesperson the ability to reach a large target audience. The one major caveat to using Craigslist to organize offline networking opportunities is care should be taken to ensure the safety of all of those involved. When setting up offline meetings, sales parties or other networking opportunities it is wise to arrange for these meetings to take place in a busy public place. This will help to deter the possibility of a potentially dangerous situation. It will also help to put potential clients more at ease and make them more likely to participate in your networking opportunity. Using Craigslist to Organize Online Networking Opportunities Craigslist can also be used to organize online networking opportunities. Examples of the ways in which Craigslist can be used to organize online network include the following: * Directing traffic to a website * Directing traffic to a message board * Soliciting participation in an e-newsletter Those who sell a product or service through an ecommerce website may be interested in using Craigslist to advertise their web address. An advertisement which is placed in an appropriate location on Craigslist can have the effect of reaching a very large audience. The appropriateness of the location on the advertisement depends on a number of factors. In general an appropriate location is anywhere on Craigslist where the advertisement is likely to be viewed by a large amount of members of the target audience. Those who are interested in organizing online networking opportunities for likeminded individuals to share ideas can also use Craigslist to accomplish their goal. Placing an advertisement on Craigslist which directs traffic to a message board can help to create a thriving community. Again it is important to place this advertisement in a location where the target audience will be reached. Finally, those who publish a regular e-newsletter can also use Craigslist to increase their number of subscribers. Whether the e-newsletter is published daily, weekly, monthly or according to some other schedule Craigslist can be used to solicit email addresses from those who might be interested in receiving these newsletters. Using Craigslist to Find Networking Opportunities Craigslist is not only useful in situations where individuals are seeking to organize networking opportunities. It can also be helpful for individuals who are looking to join pre-existing networking opportunities. These individuals would benefit from following links pointing to websites or message boards placed in advertisements throughout the community.

Wednesday 25 July 2012

The Craigslist Community

The Craigslist Community If you are not part of the Craigslist community, you may be missing out on a wealth of financial opportunities as well as the opportunity to learn more about the happenings in your local geographic community, the chance to debate important issues, the opportunity to meet potential friends or romantic partners and the ability to buy or sell items. Each month, Craigslist receives over four billion page views making it abundantly clear that the Craigslist community is an extensive one with many members around the world. This article will focus on just a few aspects of the Craigslist community including finding jobs, meeting friends, buying or selling items and discussing important issues. Finding Jobs on Craigslist One of the most well known uses of Craigslist is to find a job. These jobs can be permanent full time jobs, temporary jobs, contract positions and even telecommute positions. Those who are interested in finding a new and exciting career opportunity can browse through Craigslist and search for potential matches in a number of different categories and locations. In addition to browsing through the different categories included on Craigslist, job seekers can also use the search function to search through all of the categories for jobs which may have been placed in categories the job seeker did not consider browsing. Community members can also find potential jobs by posting their resume through Craigslist. There is a section dedicated to resumes in Craigslist and those who are interested in posting their resume can do so for any desired location. One secret to posting a resume that will gain attention is to include a descriptive headline for your resume. For example an administrative assistant looking for work in the medical field might consider posting a headline that reads, “Administrative Assistant in Medical Field” as opposed to “My Resume”. This is helpful because those who are browsing the resumes in search of an administrative assistant are more likely to click on the first resume than the second because the aforementioned headline is more descriptive. Meeting Friends on Craigslist Craigslist can also provide a great opportunity for networking. Whether individuals are looking to meet a platonic friend or a romantic partner or simply looking for a roommate, there is a place on Craigslist for them to post an appropriate advertisement or view existing advertisements. Advertisements for roommates can be placed in the housing section of Craigslist while advertisements seeking friends or romantic partner may be placed in the appropriate category of the personals section. As with any posting on Craigslist, care should be taken to follow all guidelines and restrictions when posting in the personals section of the community. Buying or Selling Items on Craigslist Those who are looking to buy or sell items may also turn to Craigslist for assistance. Craigslist has a for sale section which is divided into sections such as bikes, furniture, musical instruments, computers, clothes, household items and even motorcycles and boats. There is even a section for those who are offering items free of charge and those who are seeking the opportunity to barter with others. There is also a wanted section for those who are seeking a specific item they cannot find offered for sale elsewhere on Craigslist. Care should be taken when purchasing any item online to ensure the item is in the condition reported in the advertisement. Craigslist offers a page dealing with scams to provide users with useful information which can help to ensure their transactions operate smoothly. Discuss the Issues on Craigslist Members of the Craigslist community can also discuss important local and national issues with other community members. There is a discussion forum with a number of different categories for users to exchange information or debate important issues. When participating in these forums it is wise to follow the guidelines set forth by Craigslist. Additionally, there is a category in the personals sections called rants and raves for community members to sound off about issues which they feel are wrong. This section is restricted to community members over the age of 18 and all other visitors are cautioned that this section may contain offensive or otherwise objectionable material and should not be visited by those who are easily offended.

Understanding Craigslist

Understanding Craigslist


Many people hear the name Craigslist and know it refers to some sort of website but many are still unclear about the different ways in which Craigslist can be used. However, Craigslist receives over four billion page views per month so there are obviously many people who have a better understanding of the services offered by Craigslist. Essentially, Craigslist is similar to the classified section of a newspaper where individual can either post advertisements or respond to existing advertisements. There are a variety of different advertisements offered online and presented in a group of different categories to make it easier for users to find these advertisements. Whether you are new to Craigslist or a veteran of the online community this article may offer useful information about some of the uses of Craigslist. This article will discuss the following ways visitors can use Craigslist:

* Promote your business with Craigslist
* Find a job with Craigslist
* Sell items with Craigslist
* Meet dates with Craigslist


The above are just four of the most popular options for using Craigslist; however, these four options do not cover the vastness of Craigslist. Readers of this article are encouraged to investigate Craigslist on their own to learn more about what this online community has to offer.

Promote Your Business with Craigslist


One of the most popular uses of Craigslist is for business promotion. Both small businesses and large corporations can take advantage of the free advertising offered on Craigslist to promote their business and attract new customers. Business owners are free to place advertisements on Craigslist in the section for services offered. This section is broken down into a number of categories to allow business owners to place their advertisement in the most appropriate location where it is likely to reach the target audience. There is also a section for small business advertisements but it might be more worthwhile to place advertisements in one of the appropriate categories because it is more likely to be found by interested individuals.

Participating in the discussion forums and providing insightful comments and accurate answers to questions while also placing a link to a business website can help to drive traffic to an ecommerce website. However, when doing this, care should be taken to avoid making posts which will be perceived as spam.

Find a Job with Craigslist


Individuals can also use Craigslist to find jobs. They can either browse through the listings available by selecting a location and a general category. Additionally, the search feature can be used to refine the search for a job. This may include using search criteria such as whether or not the position is a telecommute position, a contract position, an internship, a part time position or a position with a non-profit organization.

Conversely business owners and human resources representatives can use Craigslist to solicit resumes for open positions. Those who post job openings in an appropriate category on Craigslist are likely to receive a large number of responses.

Sell Items with Craigslist


Individuals can also sell new or used items through Craigslist. Here individual can post a host of items which they are offering for sale. These items can be posted into different categories and the user supplies a description of the item as well as a desired price. There are also categories for individuals to place items they are seeking as well as items they are offering free of charge. There are some restrictions placed on the type of items which can be sold through Craigslist. For example the sale of firearms is not permitted in the sporting goods section and pornographic items cannot be offered for sale in the CD/DVD/VHS section.

Meet Dates with Craigslist


Craigslist can also be used to find potential dates. There are however a number of strict restrictions enforced in the personals section. Most importantly Craigslist does not allow individuals to impersonate another individual in a personals advertisement. Those who place a personals advertisement on Craigslist have a number of categories from which to choose. They can post an advertisement seeking platonic relationships, seeking romantic relationships, seeking missed connections or other relationship related scenarios.

Tuesday 24 July 2012

The Benefits of Advertising on Craigslist

The Benefits of Advertising on Craigslist


Savvy businesspeople and Internet marketers who market on Craigslist are able to gain a great deal of benefits from this advertising option. Craigslist is an online community where users can exchange information, buy or sell items, seek jobs or even find friends or romantic partners. There are a number of benefits to advertising on Craigslist. Two of the most important benefits are the affordability and the ability to reach a large audience. This article will focus on these two benefits and will also offer advice on ensuring your advertising is not just reaching a large audience but is reaching your target audience.

The Price is Right


Consider the cost of advertising on Craigslist versus advertising on other websites and there is simply no comparison. The vast majority of Craigslist postings are available free of charge to those who use the website. Only a limited number of advertisements including job advertisements in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York and brokerage listings in New York are charged a fee for posting advertisements. Even these advertisers are only charged a nominal fee for their advertisements.

This means all commercial advertisements for products and services are posted free of charge. Affiliate marketing, which offers business owners the ability to only pay the affiliate when the advertisement generates web traffic, a sale or a lead is an excellent bargain but even that is no match for the free advertising offered on Craigslist. Advertising on Craigslist becomes even more financially appealing in comparison to other advertising option where the business owner is charged for each time the advertisement appears whether or not it results in a sale being made or even a lead generated.

Reaching a Large Audience with Craigslist


In addition to affordability another benefit to advertising on Craigslist is the potential to reach a large audience. Craigslist receives approximately four billion page views per month from approximately ten million website visitors. This is appealing because it allows users to reach a large audience with only minimal effort.

Craigslist already has a large following and many Internet users already turn to Craigslist for whatever they are looking for before searching other resources. Having such a large audience means half of the work is already done for advertisers. They already have high traffic to the website, now they just need to write an eye catching and engaging advertisement that will attract customers.

A Large Audience is Not Necessarily a Target Audience


Craigslist certainly has a large pre-existing fan base of regular users but this large audience does not necessarily ensure advertisers will have a target audience just waiting for them to post their advertisement. Craigslist is an extensive online community and finding members of the target audience is more important than reaching the entire community.

Business owners can certainly invest a great deal of time and effort placing their advertisement throughout the different sections of the website but this is not likely to be effective. Craigslist is divided into a number of different sections and categories for a specific reason. This is to make it easier for users to find the information they are seeking. For this reason business owners should focus on placing their advertisement in sections which are likely to be visited by members of the target audience. Additionally, placing advertisements in multiple sections may result in the moderators of Craigslist interpreting the advertisements as spam and deleting them. Whether the advertisements are deleted as spam or rendered ineffective they are not likely to convince members of the target audience to purchase products or services.

Scoping Out the Competition on Craigslist

Scoping Out the Competition on Craigslist

It is no secret that business owners are constantly in direct competition with other businesses offering similar products or services. Whether advertising and sale of these products or services takes place online or offline, those who are truly successful in the business, are aware of the need to continually study the competition. This article will explain why studying the competition is necessary to the success of any business and will offer insight into how Craigslist can simplify this process for Internet marketers.

Why is it Necessary to Study the Competition?

Studying the competition is one of the most critical aspects to succeeding in any business. Whether you are marketing products or services, it is important to know what types of products are available on the market. This is necessary to ensure the products and services you are offering to your customers is comparable to the products or services offered by competitors. This is important because customers are not likely to either select your products or services or remain loyal to your business if the competitors are offering better products or better prices.

Consider a new lawn care business as an example in why studying the competition is worthwhile. Suppose this new lawn care company in a particular geographical region begins offering lawn trimmings at a price $40 for an average sized yard with an additional fee of $25 for edging the lawn. If there are three other existing lawn care businesses in the same region offering lawn trimmings and edging services combined for one fee of $35, it is not likely the first lawn care business will thrive in this situation. A business owner who is not continually evaluating the competition may be confused by the lack of business. However, if he were to spend some time studying the competition, he would clearly see business is being lost because the other businesses are more affordable and offer a greater range of services for a comparable price.

The above example clearly illustrates how a new business can suffer by failure to evaluate the competition before officially opening for business. Existing businesses can also suffer by not evaluating the competition on a continual basis. Failure to do so may result in the business either offering inferior products or services or offering these products or services at inappropriate prices. When this happens it is not likely the company will remain financially successful.

How does Craigslist make it Easy to Study the Competition?

Those who market their products or services via the Internet can use Craigslist in a number of ways. Craigslist is a popular advertising option because most advertisement postings are offered free of charge. Additionally, Craigslist receives approximately four billion page views per month making it possible to reach a large audience with minimal effort. While Craigslist makes a great deal of advertising sense, it is important to realize competitors will also realize the value of advertising on Craigslist.

While competitors advertising on Craigslist increase the competition level for the loyalty of customers, it also gives savvy business owners an easy way to study the competition. One way to study the competition is to do a search for your own products or services by using relevant keywords. In doing this you are likely to encounter other businesses offering comparable products and services. This instantly puts you in contact with the competition.

Once you realize who the competition is, you can carefully evaluate their advertisements to learn more about them. Key information which may be gleaned from studying competitors’ advertisements may include the quality and type of the products and services they are offering, the prices they are charging and the relevant keywords they are using to promote their products or services.

Internet marketing is driven by content and keywords. It is definitely worthwhile to hire a consultant with search engine (SEO) skills to evaluate the competitors’ advertisements and tailor your own advertisement to be optimized for these keywords as well. This will help to ensure potential customers looking for information on products or services you offer are directed to your advertisement and not just the competitions’.

Monday 23 July 2012

Meeting People on Craigslist

Meeting People on Craigslist


Meeting People on Craiglist
The Internet, and Craigslist in particular, is an excellent way to meet people. Whether the purpose of meeting people is to network, find friends who share a similar interest, find romantic matches or discuss important issues there is a place on Craigslist to help you find the people you are seeking. Although Craigslist can help people to meet others in a number of ways, this article will focus exclusively on networking on Craigslist and using Craigslist to find potential romantic dates. There will also be a brief section specifying a few precautions individuals should take when interacting with others online.

Using Craigslist to Network


Craigslist is an excellent place for networking for those who know how to find others with which they wish to network. The discussion forums on Craigslist provide the most obvious location for Craigslist users to network. By reading through the postings on a subject of interest, an individual will likely find others who share their interests and may be interested in further conversation. Each post on a discussion forum includes a contact email address for the individual who posted the remark. This may be a private email address or an anonymous email address provided by Craigslist. Other users of the forum can use these email address to contact those they wish to speak to further or can respond publicly on the discussion forum.

Finding Dates on Craigslist


Many turn to Craigslist to find potential romantic partners. Much like newspapers and dating services where individuals can either read advertisements left by others or post their own advertisements seeking potential matches, Craigslist also offers this type of opportunity. The personals section of Craigslist offers a variety of options for both heterosexual and homosexual adults. It is important to note that Craigslist does place some restrictions on the postings which are allowed in the personals section beyond the terms of use for the website. These additional restricts include restricting use of the section to those over the age of 18 and preventing individuals from impersonating others in their advertisements.

Craigslist Precautions


The dating scene, in general, is one which requires a great deal of precaution. The need for precautions is amplified in situations where the potential dates are being met through an online resource such as Craigslist. This is because the Internet allows individuals a certain degree of anonymity allowing them to misrepresent themselves either intentionally or unintentionally.

The most serious potential for danger which exists in using the personals section of Craigslist is that the other person may be someone who has the potential to harm the other person physically. The potential for this type of situation can be mitigated by setting a few ground rules. First it is important to arrange for face to face meetings in a busy, public location as opposed to a secluded location. Also, giving out information such as address and phone number should be avoided. This will help to prevent those with malicious intent from finding the individual.

One final precaution for those using Craigslist to meet potential dates is to keep an open mind about the other individuals you might meet. It is possible for an individual to meet a perfect match right away but it is more likely for individuals to receive a series of responses from those who do not meet the posters expectations.

Reaching a Target Audience through Craigslist

Reaching a Target Audience through Craigslist


Reaching a Target Audience Through Craiglist
The key to any successful Internet marketing campaign is reaching a target audience. Craigslist reaches a large audience but the size of this audience may not exactly translate to the advertiser being able to reach members of their target audience. There are, however, ways to help advertisers reach their target audience through Craigslist. This article will discuss how the discussion forums and the search feature can both be utilized to find the target audience.

Find the Target Audience in Discussion Forums


The discussion forums featured on Craigslist provide an excellent opportunity for users to find their target audience. This is important because misdirected advertising that does not reach the target audience is useless. Advertising on Craigslist is free but this does not mean business owners have nothing to lose by advertising on Craigslist without doing market research first. Time, energy and other resources can all be wasted when care is not taken to reach the target audience.

Visiting the discussion forums allows an Internet marketer to reach the target audience by providing insight into the members of the community and what they are looking for in products and services. Through visiting these forums, advertisers can simply lurk and take careful note of the ensuing conversations. This can provide a great deal of insight into the thoughts of the target audience including information on how to win over this audience. Advertisers who actively participate in these forums can further capitalize by engaging members of the community in conversation and soliciting feedback from them. All of this information can be used to target advertising specifically to the members of the target audience.

Hiring search engine optimization (SEO) specialist to assist in creating advertisements is a worthwhile investment. This is because an SEO specialist can provide useful information on how the advertisement should be structured. Additionally, they may have an SEO writer on staff that is capable of writing advertising that is not only engaging but also optimized for search engines.

Use the Search Feature to Find the Target Audience


The search feature on Craigslist can also provide valuable insight which can help advertisers to locate their target audience. Advertisers can start this process by entering keywords related to their products or services to search in various sections of Craigslist. During this time, take note of competitors’ advertisements which are returned during these searches and the sections in which these advertisements are placed. If competitors’ advertisements appear in sections which appear logical, it might be worthwhile to consider placing your own advertisements in these sections to ensure target audience members find your advertisement when searching these sections.

Next carefully examine all advertisements by competitors. Pay particular attention to the keywords used in the advertisements. This is important because savvy Internet marketers recognize the need to optimize their advertisements for the same keywords being used by competitors. Failure to do so may result in potential customers only viewing the competitors’ advertisements when searching for these particular keywords.

Hiring a SEO firm might be useful in this situation. They can not only provide you with a set of new keywords but can also help you to optimize your advertisement for both sets of keywords. The copy for advertisements should be optimized for the keywords but should also be informative and enticing. An SEO firm with an on staff SEO copywriter can be especially helpful in this capacity.

Promoting Your Business through Craigslist

Promoting Your Business through Craigslist

Promoting Your Business Through Craiglist
Craigslist can prove to be an excellent avenue for business promotion. Whether an individual has a small business which they operate on a part time basis or a thriving business which has become a time consuming endeavor, Craigslist can help the business to increase in profits and popularity. The two main components to successfully promoting a business on Craigslist include reaching the target audience and running a marketing campaign which will appeal to this target audience. This article will discuss these two components in greater detail to help the reader realize how Craigslist can be used to grow a business.

Reaching Your Target Audience on Craigslist

Promoting a business on Craigslist doesn’t have to be a difficult process. However, it is not necessarily automatically easier than promoting offline either. Promoting your business through Craigslist does have some similarities to the process of promoting your business offline. The main similarity is that the business promoter musts do their research to find out who is included in their target audience.


Even the most well thought out and innovative marketing campaign will falter if it is not reaching the intended audience. This is why it is so important for those who are trying to promote their business on Craigslist to be sure they categorize their advertisement correctly to ensure their intended audience will receive the intended message. The majority of posts on Craigslist are available free of charge with the exception of job listings in New York City, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area as well as brokered housing listings in New York City. Therefore small business owners can take advantage of the free posting on Craigslist to reach their target audience in a number of different locations.

Consider an example of a company offering moving services in Portland, Oregon. A small moving company that is relatively new might want to take advantage of the free advertising available on Craigslist. To have the best opportunity to reach the target audience the company should place a services offered posting under the labor and moving category for the counties in which the services are offered. Placing the post this way makes it far more likely to reach an audience of those who are planning a move in the desired county than it would if the same exact advertisement was placed as a job advertisement under the category of government jobs in a county in New Hampshire.

Besides being free for most postings, Craigslist offers additional benefits. The most significant benefit is a large audience. Craigslist receives over 4 billion page views per month. With such a large audience it makes it possible for those who post on Craigslist to reach a large audience. However, as previously mentioned, care should be taken when placing the post to categorize the advertisement correctly to ensure the advertisement is reaching the target audience.

Effectively Marketing on Craigslist

Marketing effectively on Craigslist is not very different from marketing effectively in other forms of print media. One of the most important elements of an effective marketing campaign on Craigslist is professionally written copy that appeals directly to the target audience. Hiring a freelance writer skilled in writing sales copy is an excellent idea in this situation. The business owner might be quite knowledgeable about their business but they do not likely have the skills necessary to convey the purpose of the business while also effectively convincing those who read the posting to perform a specific action. The specific action may include visiting a website and making a purchase, requesting additional information about the products or services or performing some other desired action such as visiting a traditional store or place of business.

The other component to marketing effectively, as previously mentioned, is placing the advertisement in the correct section of Craigslist. Categorizing the advertisement correctly is important but it is also important to place the advertisement in the right physical location. Products and services which are only offered in a limited area such as a particular city or county should be advertised in these exact locations. However, those who offer products via a website might consider placing their advertisement in all of the location to which they are willing to ship their products.

Saturday 21 July 2012

How Do You Use Craigslist?

How Do You Use Craigslist?


How Do You Use Craiglist

The beauty of Craigslist is it can be used in a variety of ways. Those who use Craigslist do so in many different ways. Some of the most popular uses of Craigslist include advertising, meeting people and finding jobs. This article will discuss these three distinct uses of Craigslist.

Advertising on Craigslist


Advertising products and services is one of the many valuable uses of Craigslist. Those who are hoping to generate a profit from the sale of their products and services often turn to Craigslist for advertising for a number of reasons. The two most significant reasons are affordability and a large existing audience.

To say advertising products or services on Craigslist is affordable is certainly an understatement. Craigslist only charges a posting fee for help wanted advertisements in three specific markets and specific housing advertisements in one city. Therefore all advertising of products and services is free.

Finally, advertising on Craigslist is appealing because there is no need to generate traffic to the website. Craigslist already receives approximately ten million visitors per month who generate approximately four billion page views per month. There is no denying advertising on Craigslist has the potential to reach a massive audience.

Meeting People on Craigslist


Another one of the many uses of Craigslist is to meet people. The personals section of Craigslist is the most obvious section designed specifically for meeting people. Here individuals can read or post advertisements seeking either platonic relationships or romantic relationships of different sexual orientations. The personals section of Craigslist is restricted to individuals over the age of 18. Additionally there are restrictions beyond the normal terms of use place on the advertisements. Specifically individuals are prohibited from impersonating someone else when placing an advertisement.

The discussion forums on Craigslist also provide an opportunity to meet others. These discussion forums are divided into a number of different categories so individuals can focus on a topic which interests them and are likely to meet others who share this interest. However, it should be noted that on any discussion there is the very real possibility of heated debates. Those who visit discussion forums are likely to meet others who share their opinions on relevant issues but there are two sides to every issue so they are also likely to encounter those who oppose their viewpoints. Debate on important issues may remain civilized by there are often situations in which this debate degrades to an uncivil manner.

Finding Jobs on Craigslist


Many people who use Craigslist are those who are seeking new jobs or career changes. The job posting section on Craigslist is quite extensive and the available jobs are broken down by a number of different categories making it easier for users to find their dream job. Additionally, there is a search feature in the jobs section which enables users to search for a particular word or phrase in one of the job categories. Users can also search specifically for jobs with certain criteria such as telecommute capabilities, contract positions, internships, part-time positions or positions with non-profit organizations.

Job seekers can also post their resumes for consideration on Craigslist. Although the resumes section of Craigslist is not as well organized as other sections, those who know how to write an eye catching resume can still attract attention. The keys to attracting attention in the resume section is to create a descriptive and attention grabbing title and to fill the content of the resume with relevant keywords to make it easier for those who search for these keywords to find your resume.

Finding Telecommute Positions through Craigslist

Finding Telecommute Positions through Craigslist


Finding Telecommute Position Through Craiglist
Telecommuting is quickly becoming one of the most desirable types of employment. The ability to telecommute, either full time or part time, is appealing to employees for a number of reasons. Some of the reasons telecommuting is so appealing to many include the opportunity to spend more time with family, the ability to work according to your own schedule and the chance to avoid the hassles of commuting. While telecommuting is appealing for all of these reasons, there are some pitfalls to telecommuting.

Using Craigslist to Find Telecommute Positions


For those who are interested in securing a job where they are able to telecommute there is no better place to begin the search than Craigslist. While other popular websites designed specifically for job seekers have been slow to make telecommuting a prominent part of their community, Craigslist is leading the way in promoting telecommute options.

When employers post their job advertisements on Craigslist they are asked a series of questions regarding the position. These questions include some of the standard questions such as the salary range, years of experience required, education required and job locations. However, Craigslist also includes questions referring to whether telecommuting is an option for the position. The simple inclusion of this question makes it possible for job seekers to include whether or not telecommuting is acceptable in their search criteria.

Spend More Time with Family


Why are so many users of Craigslist seeking telecommute positions? As previously mentioned there are a number of appealing aspects to telecommuting. Those who have a spouse or children prefer telecommuting because it gives them more time to spend with their family. Employees who telecommute do not have to spend time traveling to and from their job during rush hours. This travel time can really add up and can take time away from the family. Parents who commute to a traditional job are often much more tired than those who are able to work from home. Those who commute also endure additional amounts of stress which can detract from family time.

Work at Your Convenience

Another reason job seekers are flocking to Craigslist to find telecommute positions is because they enjoy the ability to work around their own schedule. Parents of young children who telecommute can wake up early and work for two or three hours before their children wake up. They can then spend the morning with their children and then work a couple more hours after lunch while their child naps. Finally, the parent can conclude their workday in the evening after their children go to bed for the evening. This allows the parents to put in a full eight hour workday without compromising anytime with their children.

Parents who have school aged children can be available to drive their children to school in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon but spend the time while their child is in school working. The parents may also wake early to work before their children wake up or put in additional hours after their child goes to bed. Again, it is clear why so many members of the Craigslist community are seeking these types of positions.

Avoid the Hassles of Commuting


Still another reason why Craigslist members are delighted with the ability to search for positions which specifically offer a telecommute option is the desire to avoid the hassle of commuting. Whether an employee commutes to a job via car, bus or train, it is likely to add a significant amount of time to the workday. This is time for which the employee is not usually paid and is time which detracts from family time. Also, depending on the difficulty of the commute it can result in dramatically increased stress levels.

The Downside to Telecommuting


Although many Craigslist members fully understand the appeal of telecommute positions, it is important to note there are some pitfalls to telecommuting. One of the obvious downsides to telecommuting is friends and family members do not always respect your personal time. They often feel as though imposing is possible because you are at home and have flexibility in your schedule. Another downside to telecommuting is it may sometimes be difficult to separate work and home. Those who work in a traditional office often have an easier time leaving their work at the office while those who work from home are not always able to make this distinction and may spend too much time working just because it is convenient. One of the most important downsides to telecommuting is the employer may question the amount of work the employee is doing. Although many employers offer telecommuting options, these same employers often put less faith in these employees and do not allow them to climb the corporate ladder as quickly as those who work within the office.