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Archive for March, 2009

Product Creation in a Down Economy

Mar-31-2009 By ScottLindsay

Creating and introducing new products in the present economy may be a significant challenge. Finding the perfect product the consumer may be looking for may seem like trying to find a needle in the haystack. Can it be done? Yes.

A few questions to consider.

Is it a necessity? Many items purchased in an economic downturn will be items that are considered a need. Wants may still be considered, but for the most part those will be items already familiar to the consumer.

Where does your product rank in quality? You will need to balance production costs against the overall value of the item. If it takes a considerable amount of money to make, but provides exceptional value in long-term durability you might still have a potential winner on your hands. That being said you should always try to keep your prices reasonable. If you can’t do that you will need to explain to the customer why your product is worth the price.

Is your item practical? Can your customers envision themselves using the product you are selling? If it fits their lifestyle and provides a regularly needed function then the item may be purchased.

Can you reward your customers? This could come in a content rich members-only portion of your website or even a free ebook. It could come via a coupon code for a price reduction on future purchases. It might even reward your consumer base for referring friends to your site. Get creative and give customers a reason to come back and bring their friends.

Can you provide a guarantee? Consumers may feel more comfortable about accessing an offer based on a ‘risk-free’ offer. If you are confident enough in your product you might consider the possibility of providing a money-back guarantee if they aren’t satisfied in the first 30 days. This may be a calculated risk. The hope is that the product really is a winner and that by simply trying the product the consumer will be assured they have made a great choice. If they still determine it is not to their liking then they have no negative feelings toward you because they could return the product for a refund.

Have you got your testimonial ducks in a row? You will need to deliver customer testimonials to enhance the sense of corporate trust in your brand or product. Consumers will want to know if others have enjoyed the product or found it to be a time saving and practical item to own. This can be accomplished through the testimonials of paying customers or a test group that is asked to try the product and then give their opinion. This second option is something that typically happens before the product is available for sale.

Right now in American history it might not make much sense to try to launch multiple frivolous products. There may indeed be a market for it among those who may wish to escape the world as they see it, but the concept of quality remains the most viable scenario for product creation. Market that new product accordingly and enjoy the fruit of your labor.

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Can Your Hobby Become Your Job?

Mar-31-2009 By ScottPhelps

Some people may come into working at home accidentally, because a hobby grew into something more, and still others may have to make a deliberate effort to achieve that. What kind of hobby may lend itself to becoming your employment, and how might this happen?

The truth is that a good number of hobbies could be used to create income, and anything that leads to an end product would be a good candidate. If you like knitting or crochet, you can make blankets and clothing for sale, and could consider custom orders rather than just making what you think will sell. Sewing too produces similar end products, and these hobbies seem to be well suited to the baby and children’s clothing markets.

Talented artists or photographers could produce portraits, and as your confidence increases you may consider expanding into wedding photography, or other important, one off events. If you have an affinity for the computer then becoming an expert with a program such as Photoshop can open the way for you to selling photo collages, or creating custom invitations or stationary for people. Scrapbooking too can be done on the computer or using paper, die casts and other materials.

Computer enthusiasts may consider learning a specific skill, and use that to help others. You may have a talent for fixing computers, or may be good at building websites and both these and other skills are marketable. There are many people who need help with computer maintenance, troubleshooting and upgrades and if you have the ability to do that then you can sell your skills in the local area.

If you do not have a hobby that leads to an end product, then an area you might want to consider would be tutoring. Anything that you are good at you may be able to teach to another person. All you need is to have the skill and enthusiasm yourself, along with the patience to teach another person. That person may not pick up your beloved hobby as fast as you may like, but maintaining patience with them is essential if you wish to retain them as a client.

How does a hobby become your job? When you are particularly fond of a hobby you may just participate too much to provide for your own needs. By selling the excess things that you make you not only recover the money spent on materials but you can earn some for the efforts that you put into it. This may increase over time to the point that you consider doing it as your primary source of income, and if it didn’t happen by itself this is a course that you can choose to follow.

The only real thing that could hold you back from doing this is if you are really not very good at whatever it is that you like to do, as a good level of skill is needed to make your goods or services worth selling. Even then, if you are willing to put in the time to learn and get better, there is the chance that you could turn your hobby into a business.

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Online marketing can no longer be considered as an afterthought when developing a marketing strategy. In 2008, Ofcom reported that online marketing represented a fifth of total UK revenues from advertising – and we believe it’s still got a long way to go.

There are good reasons for its unprecedented growth. One of the main reasons online marketing has always been at an advantage to other forms of marketing is because of its ability to drive acquisition, in such a transparent and accountable way.

More often than not, it is ‘acquisition marketing’ that clients are looking for - marketing with the end goal of acquiring new business. A well thought out acquisition marketing shouldn’t even stop there, but should really continue into the realms of adding value to the acquired customers to ensure repeat business where applicable, and/or referrals.

How to achieve acquisition through online marketing

In order to achieve effective acquisition marketing, there needs to be a clear and cohesive pathway for the customer to follow, right from the first click through to the point of conversion. This starts with a clear understanding of what you want the customer to do. If this isn’t clear in your mind, then it’s going to be very hard for the customer to figure out.

A marketing campaign which successfully brings thousands of people through to your site, all of whom are not particularly interested in what you have to offer and so leave immediately once they get there, cannot be called acquisition marketing. Traffic is simply a means to an end, and as such – can become a time consuming red herring.

A campaign which brings in thousands of people who are interested in your products or services, only for them to be bamboozled with such labyrinthine navigation or off-putting messages or design that they give up and go elsewhere before converting, is also not acquisition marketing.

A successful acquisition campaign must keep the visitor engaged at every single point along their journey towards becoming one of your valued customers.

This can only result from a genuinely integrated approach to online marketing, working on all areas of a campaign simultaneously, with the sole aim of leading visitors through seamlessly to the point of purchase or conversion. Implementing funnel / drop-off tracking is also key in this process, as often there is more to learn from the ‘non-converters’ than the ‘converters’.

Short AND long-term benefits

Despite our strong belief in acquisition marketing, there is clearly still a place for brand building exercises which will not only change or enforce your consumers’ perceptions of you over time, but also deliver better recall, referral and brand equity.

But with acquisition marketing, we look for measurable ways to increase levels of sales and conversions in a much shorter space of time. Part of the trick here is to not only make the process easy for customers, but also to spend time understanding their mindset, needs and concerns. By understanding these, we can begin to alleviate them – by offering them extra information, assurance or testimonials along the conversion funnel. Ideally, we want to dispel any concerns they have before they have even manifested.

Working with this mindset, we are able to take marketing forms such as pay-per-click advertising, and make them work even more efficiently than they are already.

Keeping your customers happy

At atom42, we get most of our business through referrals. When people have had a good experience with a customer or product, they simply can’t spread the word fast enough. Looking after your customers in the same way is one reason why acquisition marketing is also of long-term. Happy customers do two things: return and refer.

Increasingly, as natural SEO has evolved from being focused on “onsite” optimisation techniques – and moved into using more and more “offsite” factors when determining a site’s importance – we see an increasing number of long-term benefits from our SEO work as well – including link building, content optimisation and strategic partnerships – all of which can yield results for many years to come.

The significance of measurability

The real key to acquisition marketing is measurability, and this is something uniquely suited to online marketing.

For those in the business of online marketing, there are now an almost infinite number of tools at our disposal for diagnosing precisely what kind of results our efforts are generating with our online marketing techniques.

This means that we can prove without doubt that we are gaining the right kinds of results for our clients, with an extraordinary amount of precision. It’s no wonder that, according to the European Online Advertising Through 2013 report, online ad spend is predicted to carry on growing throughout the recession.

Andrew Atalla is the founder of atom42, a London online marketing agency for companies wishing to improve their online presence. atom42 employs a range of marketing fields to create a holistic online marketing strategy for each of its clients.

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Opportunities in online marketing have never been so great or so diverse. In June 2008, 70% of UK population was online, according to Internetworldstats, and while we are there, the UK population is now spending more than ever online.

The figures say it all - in July 2008, 17p in every £1 was spent online in the UK, and growth in UK online spending for November 2008 saw an increase of 26% on October 2008, according to IMRG. It is therefore in an advertiser’s best interests to approach this vast online audience from every possible angle.

It is hugely important to be aware of how differently people are now using the internet. Social media sites are booming and online competition from competitors in all industries is rocketing.

Advertisers must make the effort to interact with users at all stages of their purchase, whether they began by asking a question on a forum or by searching for product-related information and reviews, as well as making the effort to learn from their feedback where possible.

Businesses need to look further afield than traditional paid ads.

Many people think online marketing is virtually synonymous with Pay-Per-Click (PPC) search advertising. However, more and more companies are now discovering that an integrated online marketing strategy be far more rewarding than only using PPC ads in terms of increasing revenue and acquiring new business.

The range of online marketing opportunities most businesses should now be looking into include PPC search as well as other areas of online advertising, email, natural search engine optimisation (SEO), social media, site content and usability.

It almost goes without saying that, once set up, every one of these areas must regularly tracked and analysed, as it is the findings gleaned from this analysis which should be used to inform the entire online advertising strategy.

How you can benefit from an integrated online marketing strategy

Not every potential marketing field will be appropriate for every business. However, a good online marketing company will pick and choose a number of avenues, and use the information from tracking each one to improve the performance of the entire campaign.

Different areas will contribute in different ways to building and refining the overall structure of an integrated online marketing strategy, and the more methods you employ to attract and convert visitors, the more effective each one will become.

Here are some examples:

1) PPC Search can inform your language and terminology

Analysing which keywords lead to conversions in your PPC campaign can be a useful way to inform your thinking on the type of keywords you use in your content and anchor text links. It can also give you an idea of where to target online ad placements and email campaigns.

2) Forums and Blogs can aid Communication and Product development

Comments left on social forums and blogs about your company or your competitors could give you an idea about ways you could improve what you are offering to people on your site, and how you could improve its usability. These forums allow for a unique insight into your target market, and arguably reflect some of the most honest and passionate feedback a company can receive.

3) Analytics Packages can aid web design

Tracking goal funnels effectively in your Analytics package can inform you as to what needs to be altered on your website by telling you at what point your customers are dropping off in significant numbers.

4) PR can help your SEO

By including anchor text links on your own online press releases and articles, you can help your own search engine optimisation at the same time as boosting awareness about your products or services.

There are many more possible examples, but the top-line take out is that an integrated approach is worth more than the sum of its parts.

You will also be widening your reach

In addition to the benefits of making use of all the information available to you to create an integrated online marketing strategy, you will also be reaching a far wider section of your intended audience by branching into so many different areas, leading to a greater potential for acquiring new business.

In conclusion, you’ll enjoy better results from a balanced, holistic online marketing strategy than by focusing all your attention on just one area – or by viewing the increasingly disparate divisions of the online world as isolated units.

Andrew Atalla is the founder of atom42, a London online marketing agency for companies wishing to improve their presence on the internet. atom42 employs a range of marketing fields to create an integrated online marketing strategy for each of its clients.

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How to Make a Kiss Happen

Mar-31-2009 By VladStivenson

Here are some tips for guys to help you get that kiss that you want. You can even apply these suggestions to get a kiss on the first date.

1. Find a private, romantic spot for the kiss. A good place is at your house or your partner’s house or maybe at the movies. If you are at home, it is a good idea to watch a movie or something else relaxing. You want to let the girl decide where to sit and then sit close to her so your legs touch but not uncomfortably close.

2. Rest your arm behind her so your hand is near her shoulder but only lightly touching it if at all.

3. Gently move closer and drape your arm around her shoulder without doing it suddenly. Pay attention to her body language to make sure she wants you to do this. If she is enjoying it, she will most likely relax into your arm and lean towards you.

4. Get a little closer so your have your arm all the way around you and your touching her neck. You will be able to tell by now if she wants you to continue or to stop so follow her lead.

5. Gently touch her shoulder in a stroking motion and see if she moves your hand away or lets you continue.

6. If she doesn’t seem uncomfortable, keep gently touching her shoulder and move your hand so you are rubbing her neck. After awhile, move further so you are rubbing her ears, an area that is known to be a erogenous zone when touched the right way.

7. Keep rubbing her ears gently until you feel like it is time to move in for the kiss. When you are ready, run your finger across her jawline and slowly turn her head to face you. Get closer as she turns her head and look in her eyes. Move in until your lips are almost touch and let her move in the rest of the way.

Things to Remember:

* Be confident. If you feel lack of confidence, download and use Subliminal Flash program, it will improve your self-confidence at the subconscious level. Subliminal Flash software is based on a subliminal effect, it displays subliminal messages on your computer screen while you are working or playing. Your subcnscious mind immediately accepts subliminal messages sent by Subliminal Flash, and you become more confident, charismatic, sexual person. After that your partner will definitely be happy to kiss you. After that just follow steps described below.

* Watch to see how she feels about what you are doing.

* Be very gentle and move slowly.

* If you feel like she is not interested stop what you are doing right away.

* Remember that not everyone is comfortable kissing until you have been on a few dates.

* It is a good idea to kiss the girl on the check first before the actual kiss since this is a turn on for most girls.

Vlad Stivenson, author of numerous articles about how to kiss

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