10 Quick Traffic Building Tips For Any Web Site

By Terry Dean

The question most often asked on the Internet is, "How do I get more traffic to my site?"

You would think that an answer for this question would be extremely simple, but it really isn't. It isn't that it is so hard to get traffic to web sites. The problem is that there are so many different avenues of traffic generation you can choose from for any site.

In this short report, we are going to cover 10 different low or no cost ways you can get traffic to any web site. This isn't even an extensive list. I could easily name off 5 - 10 more ways you could be getting traffic to your site, but I don't want to overwhelm you with too many options.

The reason that most people don't get traffic is that they "Try" something, and then they give up. The key to any marketing is testing and then improving. If a method doesn't work for you on your first try, second try, or even your twelfth try, it doesn't matter. Keep going anyway.

Read everything you can about that subject and keep trying different things. If you have chosen to use classified ads for your products and services, try different ezines. Use AOL classifieds. Try Yahoo's classifieds. Create new headlines for your ads. Create new sales letters to follow-up.

Classified ads can work if you figure out how to work them for your product or service.

The same aspects are true of many different types of Internet advertising. They work, but only if you are willing to keep on going even if you fail a dozen times trying. You keep learning and you keep testing.

So, without further ado, here are your ten killer Internet Traffic Building Techniques:

1. Search Engine Submissions

Almost everyone starts right here. They know that search engines bring 84% of the traffic to most web sites, so they know they have to submit to them.

To achieve the top rankings in the search engines will take some serious work. You have millions of competitors, but you have an advantage. You are willing to learn and do what it takes to get to the top.

To achieve the top traffic building positions, you will need to study everything you can on search engine positioning and meta tags. Then, you will have to test. Use a tool such as Web Position to check your rankings, examine your competitors who are beating you, and then edit your pages.

If you are willing to keep going through this process and learning each step along the rise of your rankings, you too could soon be generating 100s of hits daily from top search engine positions.

2. Classifieds in Ezines

The biggest bang for your marketing buck will come from ezine advertising. For $10 - $50 per classified ad, you can reach thousands of potential customers in your targeted market.

With thousands of different ezines available, you can expand into hundreds of them once you find a classified ad and follow-up system that works for your product or service.

By testing your little classified ads and expanding into more and more ezines every week, you could quickly start reaching millions of people weekly and earning an income to match.

3. AOL Classifieds

AOL currently has over 15 million members. If I could only place one classified ad for any web site or product, it would probably be here. For $12.50, you can have your ad placed in view of people on a service where the ads are actually read.

I know several people earn a couple of hundred dollars weekly by placing little classified ads just using AOL's system. The key on AOL is to create a killer headline for your ad so it stands out above the hundreds of other ads in every category.

4. Yahoo Classifieds

There are very few free classified ad sites that actually work. Yahoo is one of the shining lights that stands out above the crowd of mediocre free ad sites. Yahoo has more traffic than any other Internet site and it definitely shows when you place your ads here.

On Yahoo, you are allowed to place 10 ads at a time, so do so. A little key to creating effective ads here is to delete your ads every few days and replace them. Then, you will be able to keep your ads towards the top of the list and receive more free readers.

5. Trade Links

If you develop a strong content oriented site you can persuade thousands of other webmasters to link to you or to trade links with you. There are even a few consultants online who have developed linking campaigns and have achieved a million hits a month or more for their customers within 90 days by linking with the right sites.

You can do this yourself. The key is to develop content people want to link to and then get out there and make the contacts by visiting people's sites, sending out personalized emails to webmasters you have visited, and networking in discussion groups.

6. Participate in Leveraged Banner Exchanges

Regular banner exchanges don't work that well. Although they can produce a few extra hits a month for your site, they never seem to give you the kind of traffic building leverage you need to grow to hundreds of thousands of hits a month.

A new wave of banner exchanges is growing though at unprecedented rates. What they do that separates them apart is that they will give you a 5% to 20% credit of banner impressions of anyone's site that you refer. If you refer a site which gets a million hits a month, you would get 200,000 free impressions a month extra.

7. Start Your Own Mailing List

If you want to make money online, start your own mailing list. It is the best way to keep contact with your prospects and your customers. It is also the best way to build the credibility you need to make sales to your targeted market.

A little less talked about advantage to having your own mailing list is that you can use it to trade ads with other ezines out there. If you trade ads with 10 other ezines out there, you could easily be saving yourself $100 - $500 in advertising expense every week!

8. Banner Ads on Individual Sites

When people think of banner ads they almost always think of the major search engines or major sites online. Well, I have been advertising lately with banners, and I can tell you something.

Making money using banner ads on these high traffic high cost sites is extremely difficult and risky.

These sites will charge you $20 per 1,000 impressions to general audiences and $50 per 1,000 impressions to targeted markets.

By seeking out individual sites who get high traffic (50,000 hits to 1,000,000 hits a month), you can actually get rates of $1 - $10 per 1,000 impressions of your banner ads. By finding 10 - 20 of these sites, you can quickly build yourself an overwhelming river of traffic to your site for a much lower cost than the major search engines.

9. Advertise on Goto.com

Goto has come up with a great advertising plan for businesses. You can actually go to http://www.goto.com and bid on traffic for your site. You pick keywords for your site and then place a bid of whatever price you are willing to pay for traffic from that keyword...generally you would bid .01 to .10 per keyword.

Then, Goto will only charge you for the actual hits you receive from them. If you bid one penny for the keyword and you receive 10 hits from it today, you only owe 10 cents for the day. This low cost traffic building method cannot be beat anywhere.

The key to making it work for you is to come up with hundreds of possible keywords for your site and then bid low amounts such as a few cents on each. Then, check your stats continually and find out what kind of traffic you are getting.

10. Free Stuff

The KING of traffic is free stuff. If you want to get real traffic to your site, provide the kind of free content and services that your market is hunting desperately for.

Provide free articles to other web sites. Provide free downloads. Give away free CGI programs. Provide hundreds of links to needed tools. Provide links to downloadable software. Give your visitors what they want and they will keep coming back and referring their friends.

Costly Marketing Mistakes You Should Avoid

by Elizabeth H. Cottrell, IAHBE Staff Writer

Here at IAHBE, we believe in “accentuating the positive,” but sometimes it’s important to know what NOT to do, especially when it comes to spending your hard-earned marketing/promotion dollar. Many small business start-ups fail because of poor use of capital. So informing yourself about the pitfalls to avoid is vital if you want to be one of the survivors!

Examples of bad advertising are all around you. Pay attention to ads from other companies and notice the ones you like and the ones you don’t like. Most savvy marketers have a “swipe file” where they keep ads, newsletters, and marketing ideas from others to use as models for their own business.

The following list of 10 Marketing Mistakes is subjective and the order is not significant. Other authors will have their own list, so take the time to peruse our resources below and take advantage of the wealth of marketing information on the Internet.

MISTAKE #1: Forgetting to present a professional image

“You only have one chance to make a good first impression.” This may be a cliché, but it’s the truth. Potential customers will make a decision whether to call you or buy from you based on the most trivial details. If your written materials (business cards, flyers, brochures, printed ads) are sloppy and homespun, readers may assume that your services or products are equally substandard. If your personal appearance is not clean and neat when you go out of your house, some will jump to negative conclusions about the quality of your business. If your young children answer your business telephone or if callers are distracted by “family noises” in the background when they call, your image may be tarnished.

At the risk of getting too basic, please don’t forget to provide complete contact information on every promotional item that you produce. An ad, pencil, mug or T-shirt imprinted with your business name without a phone number is not maximizing the money you spent. If you have a Website, its URL should always be used. If you have a slogan, use it consistently so that prospects will begin to associate it with your business. Create a consistent and professional image, and it will become a foundation for business growth.

MISTAKE #2: Focusing on yourself or your company instead of on your prospect or customer

This is probably the most common--and most preventable--marketing mistake that businesses make. In their ads, they talk about themselves, their product, their service, their length of time in business, yet they fail to address what their product or service can do for their customers. Can you save your prospect money? Can you solve a problem they have? Can you make their life easier or their own business more profitable? That’s what a potential customer really wants to know: “What can you do for me?” Never forget this.

MISTAKE #3: Emphasizing the wrong elements in your ads or promotional literature

What stands out in your ad when a reader is perusing the newspaper or scanning a Website? Far too often, it’s your company name or your fancy logo. The rule of thumb for a written ad is to grab the reader’s attention first--with a compelling headline and a supporting sub-headline--then provide details elsewhere in the ad or provide an easy way for them to get more free information.

Example:

ARE YOU PAYING HIGH ENERGY BILLS AND STILL FEELING COLD IN YOUR HOME?

Our Acme woodstove will keep you comfortable for pennies a day!

Writing good ad copy is a complex topic about which entire books have been written. If you feel this is an area of your business that needs improving, make it a point to learn more about it from Internet experts or your local business library.

MISTAKE #4: Cutting your marketing budget during slow times

It’s such a temptation--when your sales are down and so many of your expenses are beyond your control, you think the only place to cut corners is in your marketing budget. Yet this would be cutting off the very best means for bringing new customers into your business, and without a continuous flow of new customers, your business will eventually shrivel up and blow away.

Keep your marketing campaign steady and consistent. When cash flow is tight, consider moving to less expensive--and perhaps less traditional--marketing venues, but never cut off your marketing all together. If a dairy farmer started reducing the amount of feed he gave his cows, he would soon start seeing a reduction in milk production and a deterioration of his business. Don’t let temporary cash flow shortages put you into a downward business spiral.

MISTAKE #5: Not giving prospects a compelling reason to take action

Even if you have gotten your prospects’ attention and convinced them that your product or service can provide a solution for them, you must motivate them to take action immediately--before their attention is diverted to something else.

This can be done by offering such incentives as discounts, rewards/bonuses, or “limited time” offers. You’ve probably seen television shopping ads that do this beautifully: “Order today and we’ll also send you an additional…or two for the price of one...or free shipping, etc.” Give your prospects a compelling reason to act now, and you’ll greatly increase the chance that they will do so.

MISTAKE #6: Neglecting current customers

Keeping your current customers satisfied so they will give you repeat business is much less expensive than getting new customers, yet so many business owners neglect this powerful fact. These simple activities can help:

· Stay in touch with your customers through mail, newsletters, or phone calls.

· Follow up after you’ve made a sale to see if they are satisfied.

· Return phone calls promptly.

· Correct problems immediately.

· Ask for testimonials and keep a file for future use in your marketing literature (See Mistake #7 below). One testimonial from a popular or influential member of your community can be more effective than many other ads combined.

Negative comments from dissatisfied customers can severely hurt you, so keep your customers happy!

MISTAKE #7: Not using testimonials in your marketing literature

Building credibility is one of your main tasks as a business owner, but this can be tough when you’re new and have no positive track record. Using testimonials in your marketing materials can be an extremely effective way of gaining a prospect’s confidence.

Whenever you get positive feedback from a customer, ask if you may quote them. As mentioned in #6 above, keep a file of these and use them in your next ad, flyer, or brochure. Failure to do this is wasting a free and powerful marketing tool.

MISTAKE #8: Not offering a guarantee

The fear of being dissatisfied or taken advantage of is frequently the underlying reason why prospects do not buy, yet many small business owners fear offering a guarantee because they believe it will encourage more returns.

Marketing research has shown that the increased sales from offering a guarantee will more than offset any increase in percentage of returns. Anything that converts prospects to customers more easily is to your advantage, and a customer who knows he can return something he doesn’t like is much more likely to make a purchase in the first place.

MISTAKE #9: Not testing your market and tracking your results

Far too many business owners believe that their product or service will be snatched up by thousands of customers without having done the market research to support this belief. They spend thousands of dollars promoting something, only to find that the market is not what they thought or that a modification would have greatly improved the product’s marketability.

Use the Internet to look for published information on products/services like yours. Get free feedback from chat rooms. Take surveys (your local business school may have students who will design and conduct a survey for you as a project for a very reasonable fee). Put together a focus group composed of prospects from your target market.

Virtually ALL effective marketers track their ads and marketing methods so they know which ones pull and which ones don’t. You can easily spend thousands of dollars on promotions that aren’t producing results, but if you don’t know which ones they are, you’ve wasted money. Ad results can be measured by using a code of some sort. Direct mail results can be measured by using response cards or coupons. As in market testing, surveys and focus groups can also be used to provide marketing feedback. Think about how you can track your results when you plan a marketing strategy.

MISTAKE #10: Not diversifying your marketing methods

Plan your marketing budget so that it covers as broad a range of marketing methods as you can afford. When you use only one or two methods, you could be severely limiting your exposure to the maximum number of potential customers. Direct mail, print, radio, and Internet ads are important, and sometimes TV and magazine ads can be effective if they are carefully targeted and professionally done.

Don’t forget less obvious ways of promoting your business:

· Get involved with community organizations and charities.

· Network at chamber of commerce gatherings or business associations.

· Offer yourself as a speaker or presenter--find out if there is a speaker’s bureau in your area.

· Offer low-cost or free seminars.

· Throw a party to celebrate your opening, your business anniversary, or a national holiday.

· Insert small flyers in every bill you pay.

· Sponsor local teams.

· Participate in local discount cards.

· Partner with other small businesses to put on an event or sponsor an activity.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

You have undoubtedly noticed that many of these marketing mistakes are related to one another. Almost all result from a basic failure by the business owner to put herself in the place of the potential customer. The Golden Rule applies in business as well as in personal life: treat others the way you like to be treated. If you make a regular effort to think about how you’d feel about your business or your marketing methods if you were a prospect, you’ll often be able to correct your own marketing mistakes.

SOURCES for this report

Imbriale, Robert, “The 10 Most Costly Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them,” Home Business Magazine Online: http://www.homebusinessmag.com/tarticle.html?aID=236&mID=&cID=0&sID=0

Gordon, Kim T., “Steer Clear: Your marketing materials sell your company image to the world.”

Business Start-Ups magazine - January 1999: http://www.Entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,229778,00.html

Moran, Gwen, “To Err Is Dangerous: 8 marketing mistakes you can't afford to make,” Entrepreneur magazine, October, 1999: http://www.entrepreneur.com/Your_Business/YB_SegArticle/0,4621,231005,00.html

RESOURCES FOR FURTHER READING

General Marketing Resources

Business Planning Resources

http://www.bplans.com/rs/

Learn how to write your business plan. Look at free sample business plans and business plan software to help you achieve your goals. Use this site’s “Resource Web Site Directory” (there are several marketing topic categories in the list) found on the home page. Under “Business Planning Resources” on the left of the home page, you’ll find links to “Marketing Plan Software” and “Marketing Plan Resources.”

Checklist for Going into Business

http://www.small-business.co.il/starting.htm

The "Checklist for Going into Business" is a guide to help you prepare a comprehensive business plan and determine if your idea is feasible, to identify questions and problems you will face in converting your idea into reality, and to prepare for starting your business. Scroll down for information on marketing and market analysis.

Enterepreneur.com’s business information directory

http://www.entrepreneur.com/

Click the “Marketing” tab to find valuable resources and tools for developing your own marketing plan. From the home page, you can sign up for a free Sales and Marketing e-mail newsletter.

Marketing Tools

Educational and Software Products

http://www.jmbmarketing.com/product.htm

JMB Marketing currently offers several marketing and educational products, including books and software. All products are guaranteed to help you market your business better, or your money back. No questions asked.

Marketing Plan Software and Sample Marketing Plans

http://www.mplans.com/

Learn how to write your own marketing plan. Look at free sample marketing plans and find free expert resources and marketing plan software to help you achieve your goals.

Power Marketing Tips! – Free Newsletter

http://www.jmbmarketing.com/newsletter.htm

Are you truly ready to generate all of the business you can handle? This FREE marketing newsletter will teach you powerful techniques to grow your business and get more leverage out of your marketing investment.

Marketing Advice/Experts

BPlans.com’s Ask the Experts
http://www.bplans.com/qa/

For more than a year now, this site’s board of experts has been taking questions about business plans, entrepreneuring, and related topics. They now have more than a thousand questions and answers, all about the topics you see in the links on this page: business plans, entrepreneuring, marketing plans, and planning software.

Dr. Jeffrey Lant’s Business Success Website

http://www.jeffreylant.com/

One of the most well-known marketers. Sure Fire Business Success Catalog offers business books, money-making reports, home business opportunities, low-cost Internet and business conference details. You’ll also find traffic-generating tools, home-business resources, free e-zines, money-making software, and more.

Tracking Your Ads

Wogoman, Jury, “Tracking - the wow, the why, and the now what?”

http://www.ground-z.org/articles/tracking.html

Gordon, Kim T., “Track Records,” Business Start-Ups magazine, September, 1998:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/Your_Business/YB_SegArticle/0,4621,268490,00.html

Writing Ad Copy

Killer Copy Writing

http://www.smithfam.com/news/1copy-writing.html

This page offers links to a wealth of free articles on writing “killer ad copy.”

Excellent words and phrases for ad writing

http://www.gormanindustries.com/DealerInfo/Ad%20Writing.htm

These words and phrases can ad punch and stimulate action on the part of the reader.

Ten Steps to Writing Successful Ad Copy

http://www.startupinternetmarketing.com/ezines/10steps.html

The author of this article, Tim North, is also the author of "BETTER WRITING SKILLS"—an easy-to- understand, jargon-free, downloadable book that can give you a competitive edge. http://www.betterwritingskills.com.

                  Six Secret Psychological Triggers To Make

           Prospects Want To Buy What You're Selling

                            by Elizabeth H. Cottrell, IAHBE Staff Editor

Did you ever wonder why some business owners seem to be able to pull in all the

business they want, while others——perhaps you——can’t seem to get any

momentum? More often than not, it is because the successful ones have learned from

marketing experts what works and what doesn’t work in their marketing and

promotional materials. Some marketing secrets seem to be secrets simply because

they’re not widely known or understood. Only from trial and error and ad

tracking--combined with research on natural psychological predispositions——do

marketing experts know what really triggers a sale.

In his excellent e-book, "Triggers" (http://www.psychologicaltriggers.com/), Joe

Sugarman explains that 95% of the reasons someone buys involves a subconscious

decision. The purpose of his book "is to show you what goes on during the sales

process that triggers a sale and how the subconscious mind responds to various

aspects of an offer." You owe it to yourself to learn this too.

Don’2’t confuse the use of psychological triggers with mind control. The latter implies

mind manipulation in an unwelcome or even evil sense. What this report deals with is

simply using proven techniques to break down natural defense barriers that can get in

the way of a purchase or sale.

Some readers may pass up this report because they think they don’’t like selling and

that if they offer a quality product or service, the rest will take care of itself. A few of

you will get by this way, but if you want massively increased sales numbers, you need

to learn the tricks of the trade. Don’t forget that all of us have been selling something

every day for most of our lives. As teenagers, we tried to sell our parents on the idea

of letting us do what we wanted to do. We attempt to sell our children on accepting

things we think are best for them. Even if you’re not selling an idea, product, or

service you are selling yourself--to your friends, your family, and your contacts.

Learning more effective sales techniques can help ANYONE.

Sugarman’s e-book covers thirty different triggers that he has used, tested, and found

effective in his phenomenally successful sales career. This report will discuss a few

key triggers--from him and other marketers--and encourage readers to use the

resources below to learn more about other triggers and improved sales and marketing

techniques. You will find some of the resources in your closest Small Business

Development Center (SBDC) library. For the SBDC nearest you, visit

www.sba.gov/sbdc/.

1. Build your credibility and establish your authority.

We all have respect for a knowledgeable authority and are more likely to trust a

statement from someone whom we perceive as knowing what they’’re talking about.

You must try to establish this kind of authority in every ad you place, even after you

feel like your name is known. This is even more vital for small businesses than for

large ones. Take some time to come up with something that you can say proudly and

truthfully:

The U.S.A.’s (the state’s, the county’s, the city’s) oldest (or first or most reliable)

supplier of …….

The area’s only (or first or most reliable) source for quality ……

Winner of the _____ award for ____

Voted #1 for __________

When you feel you need outside help to establish authority or credibility, testimonials

can make a huge difference. We all know that a marketing letter or ad is enhanced by

the use of testimonials—2—this shifts the burden of proof from the owner to those

who have given praise for the product or service. An interesting, and less known,

psychological factor that takes place when you ask people to write a testimonial is

that they actually increase their own belief and trust in the product and service more

than if they hadn’t been asked to write it. Those who give testimonials for your

product or service become an army of free promoters and repeat buyers for your

business!

2. Give your prospect some "reason-why" information.

If you make a terrific offer, or have a sizzling sale price, you’’ll have more success if

you provide the reasons why you’re doing it. Otherwise, the prospect may be

skeptical of your motives and suspect that there’s something wrong with you or your

product or service.

We got a terrific bulk price on our widgets and we’re passing the savings on to

you……

We don’’t want to pay too much inventory tax, so last year’s models have got to

go……

We’re moving and need to reduce our stock……

We picked up some widgets at a terrific price when ABC company was going out of

business……

Once you’ve given your prospect a good reason why you’re offering this special,

you make him feel lucky to be "in the know" and therefore more motivated to take

advantage of your special offer. Marketing guru, Yanik Silver, sums it up: "I know this

probably goes against every grain of business sense, but I promise if you give people

a good, believable reason why, they'll respond with open wallets."

3. Anticipate objections and resolve them immediately.

Think about how you make your own purchasing decisions: you consider all the pros

and cons of the particular product or service, and you decide whether it’s worth

what you would have to spend to get it. If you can’t resolve a negative feature in your

mind, you’re likely to decide not to purchase it. The top-notch sales person will

anticipate these objections and resolve them up front. This is especially important

when you’re creating ad copy, because unlike in-person demonstrations or

conversations, you won’t be there when the prospect reads your ad or letter to

resolve any objections they might think of.

Suppose you are selling something that has to be assembled. This would create an

objection for some prospects, but if you mention, up front, that the instructions are

clear and easy to follow--and that it only takes 10 minutes or that you offer free

assembly--you will have clearly raised and resolved the objection before the prospect

makes a decision.

Be careful, though. As you’4’re making yourself a list of possible objections your

prospect might have, use common sense. If you bring up something that really isn’t a

concern to most people, you’ve just raised a red flag unnecessarily. At the least,

you’ve wasted time and ad space to resolve an objection that the prospects didn’t

even have in their minds. So think it through carefully, raise the objection yourself

(directly or by implication) and then resolve it.

Resolving objections is especially important if there’s an obvious flaw or difficulty

with what you’re selling. By bringing this up right at the beginning of a discussion with

the prospect, you can quickly move on to other benefits and you establish your

credibility quickly. It is not only disarming, but it diminishes the negative impact of the

issue and shows that you are honest rather than deceptive.

This may be the ugliest widget you’ve ever seen, but you can’2’t believe how well it

does such and such for you until you’ve tried it.

The only drawback to this house might be the apples that fall in your yard from the

neighbor’s tree and have to be cleaned up. But the apple pies we make from them

are delicious!

Effective sales people are always problem solvers.

4. Recognize the power of emotion in any purchase decision

According to Joe Sugarman, there are three critical elements to keep in mind when

you consider emotion in advertising:

1. Every word has an emotion associated with it and tells a story.

2. Every good sales presentation is an emotional outpouring of words, feelings, and

impressions.

3. You sell on emotion, but you justify a purchase with logic.

Words have enormous emotional impact, but too often, we fail to take advantage of

this fact. For instance, the word "invest" is often more appealing and less threatening

than the word "buy." A "cottage" sounds more appealing than a "little house." "Free"

tends to trigger a good response more quickly than "Give-Away." "Pre-owned" may

appeal to some more than "used." You can spend a great deal of time studying the

power of words, and there are excellent resources below if you choose to do that.

The purpose of this report is simply to make you more aware of the words you use.

When you believe in your product and can convey this positive emotion in your

marketing materials, you will get a much stronger response than someone who just

lists facts and features without conveying anything else. Try to paint a picture or tell a

story so that the prospect can actually visualize using your product and having it make

a difference in her life. If your prospects can imagine feeling younger, healthier, more

attractive from using your product--or can clearly see that it will give them more time

with their family or make their life easier in some way--then they will become involved

and you will have triggered an emotional response in those prospects and greatly

increased the likelihood of a sale.

To understand the third element--"You sell on emotion, but you justify a purchase

with logic"--all you have to do is think about the last time you bought something on

impulse and then had to come home and explain it to a spouse or parent. You would

probably buy a Jaguar because of the beauty, excitement, and prestige of owning it,

but you would be more likely to talk about technical features, safety, and other logical

things when explaining it to your friends and family. People do, indeed, buy on

emotion and justify their purchase on logic. Use this knowledge when you’2’re

crafting your marketing plan.

5. Focus on benefits instead of features.

"The secret, which you and just about everyone else in business has heard of but may

not have acted on, is to focus your marketing message on Benefits rather than

Features, says Joel Sussman, president of Optimal Marketing Communications. We

tend to let pride in our product dictate our ad copy to convey features--the color, the

dimensions, the speed, the efficiency, etc. What we fail to grasp is that these details

mean nothing to a prospect unless he can clearly see and understand what benefit he

will get from purchasing the product. Think about what problems your product or

service solves for the prospect or what benefits (time saving, fun producing, health or

beauty enhancing, etc.) it will produce; then incorporate this into your marketing

materials. Try your hardest to identify your prospect’s "hot buttons." As discussed in

#4 above, this kind of message will get the prospect more emotionally involved in

identifying with the product and greatly increase the likelihood that they will want and

buy it.

6. Scratch the trial period and go for a total satisfaction guarantee.

Risk aversion is considered by many to be the number one reason for a prospect

deciding NOT to buy a product or service. If you can eliminate this, you will go a long

way towards tipping the scales in favor of a purchase.

Consumers have become accustomed to some sort of guarantee or trial period which

gives them a window of opportunity to return the product if they are not satisfied.

Even so, there is often still a lingering hesitation because they don’t want to be in a

position of having to explain why they’re asking for their money back. Joe

Sugarman’s answer to this is to make a much stronger pledge by offering what he

calls the "satisfaction conviction." Make your guarantee so good, so powerful, and so

simple that the consumer will feel that he has absolutely no risk whatsoever. It should

be so convincing that the prospect will say to himself, "They must really have a good

product or else they couldn’t possibly make that kind of offer without losing their

shirts." This kind of guarantee might read something like this:

 If you’re unhappy with this product at any time, for any reason, just return it any time

you want and we’ll refund your money--no questions asked!

 Some consultants, especially those who specialize in cost containment and efficiency

improvement, are using this psychology in their pricing structure--they are paid based

on a percentage of the overall savings that they can achieve for their client. If the client

benefits, they are paid. If the client doesn’t benefit, they’re not paid or are paid less.

With this kind of offer, you’ve transcended the trial period, the limited warranty, and

the simple guarantee. If you can close your sales presentation with something that

goes above and beyond what the prospect expects, you’ll be amazed at how much

more successful you will be.

 There’’s much more to learn

There are other psychological triggers that we’ll cover in a later report, but if you

work to incorporate the ones above into your marketing plan, you’re sure to see

positive results.

SOURCES

Joyner, Mark. "How to Control the Mind of Your Prospects -- And Influence Them

to Buy What You're Selling." 2001: www.psychologicaltriggers.com/.

LeDuc, Bob. "Three Buying Motivators You Can Use to Increase Your Sales." 2001:

www.hittpansophism.com/articles/2001/09/index23.html

Silver, Yanik. "How A Hidden Psychological ‘‘Trigger’’ Makes Prospects Practically

Line Up And Beg To Do Business With You." Home Business Magazine Online.

2000: www.homebusinessmag.com/tarticle.html?aID=229&mID=3&cID=0&sID=0.

Sugarman, Joseph. Triggers. 2001. E-book available by instant download for $27

U.S. from: www.psychologicaltriggers.com/

Sussman, Joel. "Three Resolutions to Make Your New Year More Profitable." 3R

Marketing Website. 2002:

http://www.r-market-daily.com/articles/

Three_Resolutions_to_Make_Your_New_Ye

ar_More_Profitable.html .

RESOURCES

Advice/Coaching/Experts

Build Sales Conversations Fast

www.only90minutes.com/faces/default.htm

How to Read the Mind of Your Prospects——and Influence Them To Buy What

You're Selling. This is an online seminar for $59 U.S.

Garfinkel, David

www.davidgarfinkel.com/david.html

David Garfinkel is President of Overnight Marketing in San Francisco. The firm

specializes in Results-Driven Direct Marketing for Entrepreneurial Businesses, helping

them get more sales back from the advertising they do. As a marketing consultant and

master copywriter, David has worked with businesses in 81 different industries. He's

an established teacher of business writing skills with a long list of successful clients in

the corporate, entrepreneurial, and professional services arena. David's

Money-Making Copywriting Course is the only such course endorsed and

recommended by the National Mail Order Association.

Hogan, Kevin

www.kevinhogan.net/index.htm#Biog

Kevin Hogan, Ph.D. is the author of nine books including his newest, "Selling Yourself

to Others," "The Psychology of Persuasion," "Talk Your Way to the Top," "Life By

Design," and "Through the Open Door." He is an internationally recognized expert in

selling strategies, body language, and influential communication. He is a regular media

guest and internationally known speaker and workshop leader. He has been featured

on the BBC, as well as in "Success!," "Selling Power," "The New York Post,"

"Mademoiselle," "Wprost" newsmagazine of Poland, and dozens of other publications

and television shows. His mastery in the fields of non-verbal communication and

influence make him one of the most knowledgeable, exciting, and effective presenters

in the United States.

Managing a Small Business, Boosting Profits--Think Success

www.businesstown.com/managing/secrets-success.asp

Success Is All In Your Mind! Thinking success goes a long way toward being a

success! If you picture yourself as someone who is ultimately going to succeed, then

success is going to come a lot easier. This article gives you guidelines.

Start a Traffic Virus - Viral Marketing Strategies

www.show-me-how.com/Website-promotion/traffic-virus.html

Unlike a computer virus that will destroy your software and damage your business, a

traffic virus isn't harmful at all...except to your competition. This article covers viral

marketing strategies.

Books/Tapes/Information Sources

Cialdini, Robert B., Ph.D. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Quill. 1993.

DigitalToolz.com

www.digitaltoolz.com

 If you are running a Website or online business that isn't doing as well as it could, then

this site has all the Internet marketing software, books and resources you need to

transform your business. The site is divided into 13 different specialized areas of

Internet marketing, each containing tools to succeed online.

Free Articles from Overnight Marketing

 www.davidgarfinkel.com/articles.html

 Four "hands-on" articles on how you can make your direct marketing more effective.

Free Downloadable E-Books

digitaltoolz.com/pages/Internet-marketing-E-books.htm

A selection of free e-books covering all aspects of online marketing & promotion.

Free Weekly E-zine

www.kevinhogan.net/index.htm#Biog

Coffee with Kevin Hogan. Personal growth, persuasion, sales and marketing, business

psychology and relationships. Start your week off right!

Free Weekly Marketing Tips

www.killertactics.com/

 Sign up for this free service, delivered to your e-mailbox weekly. While you’’re at this

site, you can read about 1001 Killer Internet Marketing Tactics by Mark Joyner.

Ordering information online ($97 U.S. for book and bonuses).

Hittpansophism.com: Free How-to Business Articles and Educational Resources

www.hittpansophism.com/index.shtml

 This Website is an education resource for business owners, executives, and

self-employed individuals worldwide.

Kevin Hogan Catalogue Of Products

 www.kevinhogan.net/catalog.htm#pop

 A complete catalogue of products: Books, CDs, Audios, & Videos on the Science of

Influence and the Psychology of Persuasion.

Hopkins, Tom. "How to Master the Art of Selling." Warner Books. Reissue edition:

1994.

This book is often called a "must-read" for sales professionals. Practical and technique

oriented, the book is helpful to both beginners and experienced salespeople.

Marketing-magic.biz

www.marketing-magic.biz/index.shtml

 The aim of this Website is simple: to give you marketing and selling techniques, tips,

feature articles, personal advice and useful links to build your business and boost your

profits - whether you are working online or offline.

Nicholas, Ted. "Magic Words That Make You Rich"

www.magicwordsthatmakeyourich.com/

 This downloadable e-book costs $27 U.S. "You are 17 words or less away from a

fortune! I'll reveal all the 'magic' words you'll ever need in my new book. Picture

yourself earning several hundred thousand dollars a year. Work a few hours a week

from the comfort of home, at a leisurely pace."

Ogilvy, David. "Confessions of an Advertising Man," Atheneum. Second edition:

1989.

This has long been considered a classic in the advertising and sales industry.

Technology/Software/Office Supplies/Services

Internet Marketing Software & Resources: Free Scripts

 digitaltoolz.com/pages/Internet-marketing-Scripts.htm

 Scripts are great marketing tools for enhancing your Website. This Website offers a

selection of the best sites for both server side and client side scripts for you to

download.

Promote-Ivator

 www.Promote-Ivator.com/

 This is a system, which--for $6 a year--delivers reminders, tips, encouragement,

camaraderie, expert advice, and goal setting to your In-box. Repetition creates good

habits, and this site has been called "the single best habit-forming tool on the Internet."

Vitale, Joe. "Hypnotic Writing"

 www.hypnoticwriting.com/

 And get them to buy, agree, follow, click--anything you want. This online course sells

for $27 U.S. and includes at least one extra bonus.

©© Elizabeth H. Cottrell. All rights reserved worldwide.

 Article by Elizabeth H. Cottrell, IAHBE staff editor. Elizabeth is a home-based

entrepreneur, freelance technical writer, and owner of Riverwood Technologies,

a desktop publishing company in Maurertown, Virginia.