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Top 5: Internet Marketing News
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Hi and welcome to Top 5 Internet Marketing News.
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Mike Merz Top 5
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Issue #5 | June 8, 2000
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In This Issue:
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Welcome To Top 5 !
A Tip From Mike
A Tip From Mark Joyner
Ask Top 5
Article Of The Day (Nach Maravilla)
Free Download Of The Day
Site Of The Day
About Us
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A Tip From Mike
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This is a tip for the newbies, or those that have not experienced
positive results from their tenure in the internet marketing world.
I've noticed from my experience with different members of my
discussion lists, that many of us have been following the same dull,
and usually fruitless, ritual of signing up for a program, slapping
the affiliate code into a groupmailer, and sending it out to 100's
of "safe mail" groups. End of story. You're not going to get too
many positive results from that kind of campaign.
Your best bet is to start your own list, use a topic that interests
you and have some knowledge of. Then build yourself a website
as a home base, promote it, create a newsletter or ezine, and if
you do promote affiliate programs, choose those that compliment
what you're main topic is. That way you can be sure that the
people that receive it will be interested, as they joined your list
for that reason. For a more detailed view on this subject,
Check out Corey Rudl's "The Insider Secrets to Marketing
Your Business on the Internet" Home Study Course"
(http://www.marketingtips.com/t.cgi/33228)
Good luck in your ventures, Mike Merz
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Tip Of The Day
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Secret Tracking Tricks
Mark Joyner, CEO, Aesop.com
A surprising number of Internet marketers I speak
to don't have a clue when it comes to tracking
their results. Many of them who analyze their
logs still don't use all of the easy tools at
their disposal for keeping track of where their
traffic is coming from.
If this is you, don't feel bad. We've all been
there.
Now, assuming that you are analyzing your logs and
doing so with a tool that will tell you the path
people travel through your site (if not - start
now), then you are faced with these two tricky
problems:
1. How do I track the effectiveness of my email
campaigns? You'll notice that a great number of
hits to your site are "no referrer" traffic. That
is, people that found your site either by \reading
an email or just typing in your URL.
2. Knowing that not all hits are equal (a visitor
from one site may be more likely to buy than one
from another) how do I know which hits are
generating sales for me?
These two problems can both be solved using a
simple tracking method that requires no scripting.
The only tool you need is your log analysis tool
which I hope you already have.
The first step to this technique capitalizes on
two little known features of HTML:
Fact 1:
Whenever you add a ? to the end of a .htm or
.html page, it has absolutely no effect on the
page that gets called up. That is, if you were to
write:
http://www.foreverweb.com/freesoftware.htm
or
http://www.foreverweb.com/freesoftware.htm?campaign1
The exact same page will come up. Go ahead and
try it now. Pretty cool, right?
WARNING:
You have to append this "?" after the name of an
HTML file. It won't always work if you do it at
the end of a domain name (unless your server
supports it or you have special scripting - which
is what we're trying to avoid - you want something
universal and easy, right?)
Fact 2:
Even though the same page is served when you do
this, your server logs treat them as two different
pages!
So, every time someone clicks on that special URL
you will be able to know without question.
Now, how can you use this in your marketing?
A *great* many ways, but let me touch on some of
the most important ones. By the time we're done
you'll be on fire with new ideas for your
marketing.
Here are a few to get you started:
1. Email
Remember how we talked about the problem of
tracking email campaigns? This is the solution.
You simply create a unique code for each email
campaign you have (no, I don't mean spam - I'm
talking about legitimate OPT-IN marketing here)
and then track the results in your log files.
This will not just tell you how many clicks the
campaign generated - it will also give you a good
idea about how many people ordered as well. That
is, you look at your report of "paths traveled
through site" and pay attention to the path people
took as a result of that particular campaign.
For example, if you see many instances of:
(The numbers show the order in which people viewed
your pages - this is the "path traveled through
site".)
1. http://killertactics.com/index.htm?ad1
2. http://killertactics.com/page1.htm
3. https://killertactics.com/order.htm
And relatively fewer instances of:
1. http://killertactics.com/index.htm?ad2
2. http://killertactics.com/page1.htm
3. https://killertactics.com/order.htm
Then it is safe to assume ad1 is more effective
than ad2, even if ad2 brought in more raw traffic.
Remember, not all hits are equal, right?
2. Banner Campaigns
The same principle applies here. Just give each
campaign a unique code and you will be able to
track the effectiveness exactly as you have above.
WARNING #2:
This is not a perfect system. You need to look at
your actual number of orders and see if there is
some congruence between your number of order page
visits and your number of orders.
Also, there is a more effective way to track this.
Simply get some referral partner tracking software
and assign a different referral code to each
campaign. Then you will no without question that
the order came as a result of the campaign.
However, referral partner software can be
difficult to set up if you're not a CGI wiz and
the best systems aren't cheap.
What I'm offering you here is an inexpensive way
to track your campaigns that only requires:
a. Your Imagination
b. A Log File Analysis Program
Can you think of some ways to immediately apply
this technique to your marketing today? I
challenge you to take the rest of the day refining
your marketing effort using these techniques. You
will be delighted at the new insights you are
shown. I bet you will be surprised to find out
which of your campaigns are winners.
Copyright 1999 Aesop.Com
Article by Mark Joyner, of 1001 Killer Internet
Marketing Tactics. Mark is also the CEO of Aesop
Marketing Corporation. 1001 KIMT is an absolute
*must have* for anyone serious about Internet
marketing. No other course out there even comes
close. It will dramatically boost the results of
any campaign in a very real and measurable way.
They are offering a special right now where it
comes with a bonus database of over 6,000 media
contacts (including email and FAX numbers).
http://foreverweb.com/cgi-foreverweb/kt.cgi?IM8931
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Kim Skinner, Owner Of AdvertisingTips.Net
(http://advertisingtips.net),
Is A Friend Of Ours, And She Has The "ANSWERS"
(mailto:answers-on@mail-list.com)
Check Out Her *New*Affiliate Program!
https://top5news.tripod.com/ZipResponse
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Ask Top 5
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Have Questions About Internet Marketing ?
Send It To Top 5, And It May Possibly Be
Included In Future Mailings. Send A blank E-mail To:
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family of list communities featuring everything you need
to know to start your own internet based home business.
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Article Of The Day
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Starting Your Online Business
Internet is not a "get-rich quick" medium. Your success will
greatly depend on your patience, perseverance and ability to
take advantage of opportunities in this hyper-fast environment.
Nonetheless, the Internet presents vast opportunities and
advantages for a home-based entrepreneur.
By Nach Maravilla
Power HomeBiz Guides
The online revolution is spreading like wildfire. Experts
predict that by the year 2002, more than 300 million people
across the globe will have Internet access. In such a short span
of time, the Web as a business tool has become an established
part of the business environment, profoundly altering the way
business is conducted. It has definitely come at a right time.
As more people are riding the Internet bandwagon, everyone is
talking about Internet millionaires and young computer wizards
who became very rich overnight sitting in front of their
computer monitors. Traditional businesses have begun getting
their presence felt in the Internet—even mortuaries and
memorial parks, hoping to ride on the Internet hysteria.
Even income opportunity brokers keep telling everyone how they
became millionaires through the Internet.
But are they really making it on the Net? I don’t believe so.
Before anything else, we have to consider these basic facts. As
in any other business, some will make a lot of money. Some will
make some money; some will not make any. Some will go out of
business. And some will be gone before they even start.
Let’s face it, the Web is unproven as a marketing medium. Web
experts love to pontificate about how to be successful, but
the truth is that "what works" and "what doesn’t work"" depends
on your individual business situation and marketing plan
and how you go about incorporating Web marketing into them.
Nonetheless, the super-confident notion that "If they made it,
why can’t I?" drives a growing number of individuals to
join the ranks of net-entrepreneurs who have reportedly found
financial nirvana on the Internet.
But what is the real deal? Here are some insights to help you
understand the online business:
* Forget the idea that you can get rich quick in the Internet.
Your success will greatly depend on your patience, perseverance
and ability to take advantage of fast opportunities in this
hyper-fast environment. Believe me, it is a lot of hard work.
* As a home-based worker venturing in the Internet business, you
have a lot of advantages, though.
* Your start-up capital can be very minimal. Since you will be in
the Internet, you can operate in the "comfort of your own home",
which means you don’t worry about an office space to
rent. Your location is where you are but you can reach
the whole world from there.
* You only need to purchase a good computer (if you don’t have
one yet), an Internet connection, a telephone line or two,
and some notebooks and bond paper. Other equipment can come
later, depending on the availability of funds. As usual, we
assume that since you are venturing as a home-based business, you
are considerably low on the budget. In the Internet, this is not
a problem. You don’t even worry about that. If you have credit,
you can use your credit card for getting your Internet Service
and telephone connection and the little things you need. For
office furniture, use your dining or kitchen table and dining
chairs. Wooden boxes in your garage will make do as side tables
and cabinets.
* Vast international exposure. The Internet opens the whole world
to you. It’s up to you take advantage of it. Consumers,
investors, foreign contacts are all available at the click of the
"mouse".
* Huge growth potential. If you play your cards right, your
future outlook is assured by the fact that your potential
customers or clients can double or triple in a very short period
of time. As your presence gets noticed 24 hours a day,
around the world, your market could grow faster than you would
have thought.
* You work you own hours. Although, we assure you that you will
be working more hours than you would have imagined, it
becomes fun rather than work. However, you can still maintain
your own working schedule if you are really conscious
about time. Remember, it’s your own.
* Inexpensive advertising and promotions. In the Internet, most
of the initial work you must do is to get your presence
felt in as many places as you can. Make use of all the FREE
advertising and FREE links that are readily available for
everyone.
* Electronic transmission of information. Make use of your e-mail
or fax machine. Promote, send catalogues, send newsletters to
prospects without buying a single postage stamp. Except for your
fees to your Internet Service Provider (ISP), your web hosting
company, and your local telephone service, all your communication
in the Internet can be relatively FREE.
* Flexibility. In the Internet, you can change your line of
business anytime you feel like it. You can add or change
into another at the click of the mouse and some pounding on the
keyboard.
* No hassles. No neon signs to tear down. No shelves to move
around.
* Starting-up your Internet business can be done without leaving
your home. Except for a trip to the circuit court to
register your business name and one to your local bank to open
your bank account, almost your operations can be done on
top of your desk.
* The Internet is a content market. You only have to know how to
write. If you are good in written communication, you
have the edge. Everything depends on your ability to relate to
your prospects or clients by the way you present your
product or service in writing.
Opening your Internet business now is akin to securing your prime
area in a vacant lot where a city will soon be built.
Just keep on going.
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Copyright 2000. 2i Trade Resource. Article written by
Isabel M. Isidro, Power HomeBiz Guides. For more articles,
visit Power HomeBiz Guides at http://www.powerhomebiz.com.
PowerHomeBiz.com is an online magazine designed to
stimulate your entrepreneurial mind. We make small
business do BIG business.
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