by Michelle Tukachinsky

Is it true that people are always looking for something free? I would say that this statement surely has a lot of truth to it. Everything is so expensive nowadays, so why not get something for free if you can! It is my belief that giving away something for free can help you in your internet marketing home based business as an attention grabber. Because there is so much competition on the internet, expecially in internet marketing, we all could use a free prospecting tool to get the attention of a potential customer. I think the problem, however, with the work “free” is that it may have some negative connotations attached to it. We tend to believe that when something is “free” that it may have a lower value to it, or may potentially be worthless. We also may believe that if something is “free” that there is some kind of hook or catch to it.. and/or that it could be some type of scam. I have been in situations myself where I thought something was free and it truly was over $100! After having one or more experiences like this, we are sure to become jaded over time. How could we not feel that way, after our trust as a consumer was betrayed. If we are going to offer free incentives in our online marketing business, we must really mean what we say. If something is “free” there should be no more than a nominal cost such as tax or shipping attached to the offer. Sometimes even these added charges can turn people off, even though a small tax or shipping charge is only fair, if a person is being offered a small vacation or an expensive fruit basket! An individual should also NEVER automatically be enrolled in a program after redeeming their offer. This is big NO NO in the world of free business incentives, even though a lot of big Fortune 500 Companies succumb to this underhanded tactic. In summary, free prospecting tools are great for expanding your home based internet marketing business if used correctly, fairly, and with integrity. I use free prospecting tools myself which are reputable, decent, and enticing and this has helped me to successfully make money online in my home based internet marketing business. Michelle Tukachinsky http://www.internetmarketingcoachmt.com http://www.workfromhomemt.com

[tags]internet marketing, internet business, marketing tool[/tags]

by Obinna Heche

If you have an online business, chances are your customers are going to be online users and focusing your marketing efforts online is the most logical move. However, while the bulk of your marketing efforts may go to online resources, do not forget the offline customers as well. Many may not react to online marketing but finding your website in a print or broadcast media advertisement may have more integrity with some users.

As people continue to be bombarded with online advertising through pop-up windows, email ads and advertisements playing on the internet whenever they open a new page, they tend to become immune to seeing them. Even news videos offered free of charge are often preceded by a commercial and most people tune them out and watch the play clock until the news footage they requested begins to play.

Research is beginning to show what most web users have known for years that graphic intense pages that take a long time to open, usually never see the light of day. Even with broadband connections some pages can take up to 20 or 30 seconds to load, exceeding the patience level of most want-it-now internet users. It does not matter how great the page looks once it opens, if no one hangs around long enough to see it, it was a waste of time and money to build it.

Flash presentations became the big thing a few years ago and many webmasters were quick to jump on the bandwagon, but with the length of time needed for these pages to load made most web users reluctant to sit and watch a page unfold. Low graphic content and heavy text with a simple message open quicker, increasing the chance a person may actually look at the page.

Keeping the message on your landing page simple will also help people decide if they have any interest in going any further. The first thing people see must relate to their interest and clearly explain what they are going to find on your website. If the page opens instantly and there is nothing grabbing the users attention, the page will close just as fast.

One of the most used means of internet marketing is the use of affiliate programs. With most forms of advertising you pay for a certain number of exposures and hope someone finds the advertisement interesting enough to visit your site. Then you hope they buy something. With affiliate marketing, you only pay for ad placement if a sale is made, usually a small percentage paid as a commission on the amount of the sale.

Numerous websites will host advertising as an affiliate, placing an ad you had designed and when visitors to that site click on your ad and make a purchase, the website owner is paid a commission. You get the advertising free until a sale is made. Additionally, the site becomes a link back to your site, improving your sites position on search engines, drawing more traffic to your site as well.

About the AuthorObinna Heche. Los Angeles – California

Delivering the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home successfully.. http://www.home-incomeportal.com

[tags] marketing, website, web development, online promotion, seo, sem, online marketing, promotion[/tags]

by Carson Danfield

Any internet marketers that aren’t Squidooing don’t realize what they’re missing! Don’t make the mistake of thinking that Squidoo is just another mySpace, full of kids talking about their latest CD purchase or downloading the newest ringtones.

Squidoo is an exciting Web 2.0 application that’s truly an online marketer’s dream come true. Squidoo is sort of like MySpace, but for serious professionals.

A lens is Squidoo terminology for a web page on the Squidoo domain that puts your niche topic into focus in an exciting and dynamic way. Squidoo is a place where you can show off everything you know about your topic, as dramatically as possible.

Beginning in the fall of 2005, within one year, Squidoo had already elevated itself into the top 1000 sites according to Alexa, and it’s been fairly steady ever since, actually even still growing.

A great many internet marketers would tap into the benefits of Squidoo if they just knew about it and understood it’s benefits and power. You can see Squidoo pages appearing near the top of Google for many search terms, even highly competitive keywords.

A few smart marketers have created many lenses, covering all of their favorite topics, so there’s no reason you can’t also crank out one for each of your business ventures or marketing ideas. The more lenses you have, the more likely you’ll be picked up by the search engines and see a nice boost in traffic. If you’ve ever been positioned at the top of the search engines for a popular keyword, you know what that can mean for your business!

When you finish building your first lens, just email their review team. If it’s good enough, they’ll consider making it the ‘lens of the day’, which will get you some serious traffic. A word of caution here – they won’t choose any lens that appears to be straight out advertising.

You can even make a few dollars with your lens. Squidoo shares all advertising generated revenue with you for advertising on your lens! Some crafty entrepreneurs are making lenses as Virtual Real Estate style publishing sites. In theory, you could make hundreds of great lenses and earn a good income just from the advertising revenue.

The primary benefit of using lenses for marketing your websites is clearly the main reason to get involved. The presence you create and the nearly automatic stream of traffic will be well worth the time it takes to build high quality lenses.
About the AuthorCarson Danfield is an “Under the Radar” Internet Entrepreneur who’s been quietly selling various products for the last 8 years.
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[tags]squidoo, internet marketing, internet promotion[/tags]