EthanFAST

I have an entry for the UK SEOcontest2008 contest that can potentially give me a whooping $1,000!

 So far, I am ranking number 14 according the latest Google SERP for the keyword “SEOcontest2008“, I hope I can even boost it further however, I am already losing much of my resources and backups. Oh well, I haven’t established yet a good number of blogs and sites that will take care of it.

Getting into the top ten I guess will be good enough for me because it is just my first time to join the contest.

SEOcontest2008 is just a contest. A game…

Your layout is very important in a sales letter, because you want your letter to look inviting, refreshing to the eyes. In short, you want your prospect to stop what he’s doing and read your letter.

If he sees a letter with tiny margins, no indentations, no breaks in the text, no white space, and no subheads…if he sees a page of nothing but densely-packed words, do you think he’ll be tempted to read it?

Not likely.

If you do have ample white space and generous margins, short sentences, short paragraphs, subheads, and an italicized or underlined word here and there for emphasis, it will certainly look more inviting to read.

When reading your letter, some prospects will start at the beginning and read word for word. Some will read the headline and maybe the lead, then read the “P.S.” at the end of the letter and see who the letter is from, then start from the beginning.

And some folks will scan through your letter, noticing the various subheads strategically positioned by you throughout your letter, then decide if it’s worth their time to read the entire thing. Some may never read the entire letter, but order anyways.

You must write for all of them. Interesting and compelling long copy for the studious reader, and short paragraphs and sentences, white space, and subheads for the skimmer.

Subheads are the smaller headlines sprinkled throughout your copy.

Like this.

When coming up with your headline, some of the headlines that didn’t make the cut can make great subheads. A good subhead forces your prospect to keep reading, threading him along from start to finish throughout your copy, while also providing the glue necessary to keep skimmers skimming.

Blogs are a terrific method of building lists, extensively used by online marketers. They are the current trend with most organizations to keep in touch with their customers – both old and new. It is an interactive tool, and what’s more, the search engines like blogs. Your other list building tools can be included in your blog by providing links to them.

What Are Blogs?
Blogs or weblogs are websites or parts of them where there’s information on a regular basis. This is related to the target user and reflects the main website of the business. Its almost like talking to your visitors through a diary. Blogs are written in an informal manner. They use what are called RSS feeds to update your user on what is happening on the site. Blogs are also permanent, since all the content can be archived. This means the person visiting your blog can get hold of everything you’ve done so far. Blogs can be linked to your other promotion URLs. When this is done, every time you put new information on your blog, your entire network of links will bring in visitors who can then be followed up using your autoresponder.

Most smart online marketers post and offer and invite their visitors to leave feedback. We always tend to identify with fellow-buyers – in that way this interaction is valuable, authentic and a great way to increase your sales.

Content On Your Blog
What you post on your blog is up to you. As with all other communication material, you must take care to post keyword-rich content so that it is picked up by search engines to attract traffic.

Some people even hire professional bloggers to do this work for them.
You can post information about your products, news relevant to your industry and even personal experiences. Its basically an ongoing conversation that builds trust in the long run and keeps your visitors coming back if they liked what they saw.

How To Let Your Contacts Know About New Content?
Your blog is a web page. So unless your contact visits it, he or she won’t be able to read new content. How will you let them know you have added new information? You can email your list through your autoresponder to let them know. In fact, include a couple of lines from your post with the link to the blog so that they can reach your blogsite through the link and read the rest of your post. Some marketers go further and send the new content fully via email, just like you would send an ezine, to the subscriber’s email.

Even in the offline world almost all businesses maintain a blog of some sort. There was a time when they were not taken very seriously, but now, they are viewed as one of the best marketing methods. Every business must maintain a blog, since it is extremely easy to manage, particularly in the online business. There are many marketers who start a blog even before they build their website, because of various free blogger sites available.

Opt in lists are informal and brief. They are full of tips, etc. and have limited period offers. Invariably opt in lists are mailed when something new is to be introduced or to tell its users that a particular offer is available only for the next 48 hours, or something like that. Ezines, on the other hand, are formal. These carry articles and other hints. The periodicity of Ezines can be anything from a daily to once in two weeks or once a month. Actually if you really look at it, you’ll find that both opt in lists and Ezines are quite integrated. Ezines have opt in lists built into them, in the sense that along with their usual features, they include a section where they announce a new product launch, perhaps offering it to their subscribers at a special price or as a free download in the next 24 hours.

Double Optin Lists
Double opt in is when your subscriber opts in two times. How? First on the website when he/she click and confirm their subscription after giving their email id and name. After this they click on the link sent to them at the email address which they signed up with to confirm their subscription. So it means not only opting to be on the list, but also confirming it by verifying their email ids.

Opt Out Lists
Opt out is when your subscriber asks for his/her email address to be deleted from your list when they no longer want to receive messages from you. They can do this through the “unsubscribe” link that you include in your emails to them. But did you know that some online marketers provide their users an unsubscribe link that does not work. When the user clicks the link, it sometimes goes into the wrong hands adding the user to some spammer’s list under the assumption that the email address is being validated.

These days, reputed companies make sure that they only send email to subscribers when they permit them to. By sending email to those who opted not to receive them will only end up irritating the user and mess up the credibility of the online business. Why lose all the effort you put in by simply not respecting your customer?

Coming to the main purpose of this ebook – unless you bring traffic to your site, how will you build lists? Right. But bear in mind that your traffic must be relevant to your requirement. In Internet marketing, the pay per click advertising campaign method is effective. What you really need to take care about is the keywords you use; they must especially relate to your unique product. Also, writing articles about topics related to your business and posting them on online directories can bring in traffic. You can tie up with an allied business so that together you can offer a range of services and mutually benefit while building those lists.

Relevant Content
It follows from the above that you must be attentive to what you write in your emails. You users will look for information that is useful and relevant to them. If you don’t send them messages that are meaningful, they will cease to read them. On top of that, they will unsubscribe. So make sure you provide value, because it will be a worthwhile investment. And, though it seems obvious, each contact must be able to sign up with you easily. Which means, every official communication that goes out of your office, whether online or snail mail, must contain your web URL, and encourage them to get on your list.

You must remember that it is not just for size that you are growing your list. Why you are doing it is so you can convert it into business. You can start with a strong small list and build it as you go along.

If you haven’t already decided what you are going to offer and to whom you are going to sell it – your product and your target market- do it now. Pick something you are interested in and get familiar with it. Some people even select products sold by others, and when they become confident, choose something similar and market it.