Author Archive

Did you know that 70% of all sales now start as research on the Internet - are your ideal clients finding you?

Invest 3 hours and I guarantee I will teach you how to:

	Attract Contacts (Generate Leads) creating a powerful online presence what makes a good web site: basics of design, layout and content search engines: basics of SEO or how to build a Google-friendly site web site is not enough - what else you need online attracting visitors (contacts) with relevant and useful content blogging article writing participating in online forums, etc. online networking (Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter) entice visitors to sign up to receive more information about you and your services or products with discount coupons special reports or whitepapers on your topic of expertise regularly published email newsletters how to integrate all your online efforts
	Build Relationships (or, How to Get Prospects to Know, Like and Trust You) follow up with automated and semi-automated messages, delivering your expertise via email create communities, followers and friends engage with your audience in a meaningful conversation once they know, like and trust you they’ll be ready for the final step
	Close Deals (or, How to Convert “Friends” to “Raving Fans”) use gentle email marketing tactics to introduce your services or products to your contacts close deals on line or off line - depending on your business model finally reach your business goals in 2009 - regardless of the state of the economy

As a member Oakville Networking click here to SAVE 30% OFF the tuition

Do you write articles? Do you post them to your own blog sites and to article directories? If you answered ‘no’ to any of these questions, all I can say is Do it now!

Nowadays, the importance of having your own articles is huge. As a small business owner or solopreneur, to publish your own articles is going to be one of a handful of sure-fire ways to promote your business, today, tomorrow and for years to come – on auto-pilot.

Your own articles will create links to your web site, boost your search engine ranking, which in turn builds traffic of highly-targeted visitors to your site, who sign up for your ezine, and then, down the road, when they get to know, like and trust you, become your clients or customers. Do you see where I am going with this?

Although the main reason you would write an article is to give away useful information to your audience, your own primary interest is to use articles as a vehicle to promote yourself. Therefore, online articles have a somewhat different structure and requirements than articles written for magazines or other printed media.

Ideally you will write the articles yourself, so that each article will have your authentic voice; or you can have them written by a hired copywriter – either way, there are certain elements that must be present in the articles to make them successful marketing pieces.

1. Keywords, Keyword Phrases and Keyword Density

Millions use the Internet daily to find information. They will find your article if you use relevant keywords in your copy. For example, if you are a wine maker, write articles about wine: how to select wine, how to make it yourself, or how to pick a good winemaker, how to store it, etc. If you are a computer safety expert, you will write about protecting your PC, how to pick the right tools, how to practice safe web surfing, etc.

Once you find the right keywords and keyword phrases, use them throughout the article, and also use related keywords and phrases. This will give the article sufficient keyword density. Please note that search engines, as well as people, may ignore your article if its keyword density is too high, in other words, if you keep repeating a keyword just for the sake of building density (this is called keyword spamming). A balance is what’s needed here, and with some practice you’ll get it right.

There are many on line tools that can help in finding the right keywords and phrases related to your area of expertise. Find the right keywords and half of your work will be done.

• Google Suggest
  You start typing a keyword, Google will suggest other words to complete a keyword phrase, based on its database of searches people used in the past.
• WordTracker
  This subscription service is probably the best commercially available tool out there. For serious publishers, web masters, and SEO specialists.
• GoodKeywords.com
  Free downloadable software for Windows that lets you research keywords.

2. Quality Content

Always keep in mind that you’re writing for the human audience first, search engine robots and spiders second. Don’t just throw a bunch of keywords plus some filler copy together and call it an article! You need to write in such a way that your audience will be educated, and hopefully entertained. Write in a conversational manner, but be professional – think “business casual” in written form.

Your written piece is not a thesis, so don’t write long sentences and paragraphs. Convoluted sentence structure or obscure words don’t make for a good read. You don’t write to impress your peers (or competition), but to provide information to your target audience.

Do I need to say you must use correct spelling and good grammar? If you want people to regard you as an authority in your field, your writing style should reflect that authority.

A quality article will boost your expert status. With expert status comes trust, and the more people trust you, the more likely they will be to hire you or buy your products.

3. Links in Articles

Finally, one last crucial component of your article are links. As part of your general SEO strategy, you can create links to your own web site or blog, especially if you’re planning on posting the same article to article directories. These incoming links contribute to your site’s page ranking with search engines.

Depending on where you post your article – on your site only, or to article directories – your latitude in creating links will vary. Let me explain.

Some article directories limit the number and/or type of links you can use. For example, you may not be permitted to link to other web sites using your affiliate link, but it may be OK to link to the same site, indirectly, via your own custom domain name.

Let’s say you are an e-commerce consultant and you offer shopping cart solutions. You could sign up with KickStartCart as an affiliate, and then register a domain such as MyOnlineCart.com, and set up a redirect to KickStartCart using your affiliate link.

At the very least, article directories will allow you to place links in your “resource box,” or signature, which is usually a single paragraph that goes at the end of your article, where you can freely advertise your business. Here’s a good example of a resource box:

Urszula Szychowska publishes the free Health in Layman’s Terms monthly ezine to help you stay youthful, healthy, vibrant and active for the rest of your life – naturally. Sign up today and receive a free special report “Glutathione – Essential Antioxidant, Immune Booster and Detoxifier.” More info at ImmuneSource.ca

If you are posting the article to your own site, or broadcasting it via your ezine, you have complete freedom in hyper-linking.

A very important note: search engines prefer links that contain keywords (I think people do, too). For example, this link to a world-class hosting company with a local touch is better than saying: If you need world-class hosting company with a local touch, click here. BTW, this technique applies to any web page, not just your articles.

Conclusion

We are all hungry for information, and the Internet is where we find it. You are there to provide it in the form of articles and blog posts. Start blogging today!

Boris Mahovac R.G.D.

Web site: iBizAcademy.com

Sign up for my next Contacts2Clients Business Seminar

Did you know that:

• There are 31 billion searches on Google every month?
• China will soon become the number one English-speaking country in the world?
• India has more honour kids than America has kids?

See this 5-minute video for a quick reality check of the world we live in.

Boris Mahovac R.G.D.

Web site: iBizAcademy.com

Sign up for my next Contacts2Clients Business Seminar

If you have a substantial number of clients, suppliers and contacts, one of the best ways to stay in touch with them is by publishing a regular email newsletter. A newsletter will educate them, entertain them and establish you as the expert in your field, and by using this free on line service called MadMimi it’s really easy — so you have no more excuses!

1. MadMimi allows you to import your contacts without forcing you to “confirm” each and every subscriber. This means if you import 100 contacts, you can send email to 100 contacts.
2. MadMimi’s simple-yet-sophisticated email editor is so easy to use, you don’t have to hire an email marketing expert like me to manage it for you
3. The best feature of all: it’s free, for lists of up to 100 email addresses. Once you out grow this, paid  plans starts at a very reasonable US$8 for up to 500 contacts, no long-term contracts.

Sign up with MadMimi today even if you’re not ready to start using email for marketing — their free account offer may not last for long.

Boris Mahovac - Email Marketing Coach

Remember, as a member of Oakville Networking I can set up your MadMimi account for you free of charge - this is a value of US$125! Takes 2 minutes to sign up, so do it now!

Networking in person is a good way to stay in touch with business developments on a local level. If your business allows it, you should also be networking online for greater exposure to both partners and potential clients.

Are you looking to grow your business? Business networking site Linkedin.com has over 36 million users world-wide. Join Linkedin and start building you virtual business team and start generating leads.

• Manage the information that’s publicly available about you as professional
• Find and be introduced to potential clients, service providers, and subject experts who come recommended
• You can use it to build your reputation by asking your clients to endorse you.
• Be found for business opportunities and find potential partners
• Discover inside connections that can help you land jobs and close deals

Check out my latest blog post on how I use Linkedin to grow my list of qualified prospects!

Interested in blogging for business? Growing your email marketing list? Join me, Boris Mahovac, email marketing consultant, as I interview a couple of world-class experts on the subject!

Blogging for Business - a candid interview with the BlogSquad!

Blogging for your business is not an option anymore, but does it work better that email marketing?

The real questions actually is: How do you make these two marketing strategies work together to create a powerful tool to boost your small business or professional practice?

Our Patent Lawyer Camilla Nielsen has a remarkable story to share. Make sure you read about how OakvilleNetworking’s blog made a difference in her business!

I’ll be asking Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman some tough questions on how to use business blogging to build credibility and visibility on the Internet, and how to generate leads and prospects.

This is a FREE educational event, but you need to register.

Register for the tele-seminar today even if you can’t attend the live call, because a recording will be available after the call.

When: Wednesday, Feb 11, at 3 pm ET
Where: the comfort of your home or office - via tele-conference
Why: to learn about the power of blogs from the experts!

Have you ever participated in a tele-seminar? A tele-seminar is an educational event delivered in the form of a tele-conference call, using a phone line. Lately, webinars are becoming popular, too, where the same type of content is delivered over the web.

I am trying to figure out the best time to host my upcoming tele-seminar series on e-marketing and your experience/preference would be very much appreciated. If you’re interested in participating, I will be hosting a free tele-seminar on blogging, on Feb 11 at 3 pm. My guests will be blogging superstars Denise and Patsi of the BlogSquad.

Please, take 2 minutes to answer my anonymous survey on the best day and time to attend a tele-seminar, or post your comments here.

Thanks

I just published an article on my email marketing blog about scams and “special offers” some unscrupulous Internet domain registrars are using to trick unsuspecting business owners in transferring their precious business assets - their registered domain names - to a new registrar.

Please read to my full article called Beware of Domain Registration Scams and “Special” Offers from Unscrupulous Registrars.

If you have any questions about registering domain names, give me a call: Boris 905-844-4247

Are you prepared for this holiday season in terms of sending holiday greeting cards?

Years ago I signed up with this on line service called Send Out Cards. Are you familiar with them? You can create your own cards or use one from a library of 15,000 stock card designs. The best feature I like is that I can create one “campaign card” and then send it to dozens or hundreds of people with a click of a mouse.

Each card is then personalized with the person’s name, and the message itself can be in you handwriting - yep, they digitize your handwriting into a font which you can then use. You can have as many as 4 different signatures.

If you have a list of clients, you can create your own design by uploading an image, then send an actual greeting card, in an envelope to each recipient. SOC prints the cards on demand, stuffs the envelopes, puts a stamp on and mails them for you - you never have to leave your PC to send cards.

This also is a business opportunity, you could get a distributor package and you can then sign up other people - this can be a part-time business and a source of additional, recurring income, as you get paid royalties.

I use this to easily send cards to both family and friends, as well as clients.

You can even add gift cards (Tim Hortons, Starbucks, etc.) and real gifts such as books, cookies, candy, etc.

The cost of sending one stock postcard is $0.31! plus regular postage! Stock greeting cards are $0.62 and if you create your own custom greeting card the cost is $0.93 — that’s cheaper that Dollar Store prices!

If you’re interested, please call me, I can create an account for you over the phone. If you’d like to learn more, please visit GrowBizWithPostcards.com

If you do decide to sign up, the one-time fee is $99 - but I will help you by filling up your “postage account” with enough postage to send 50 cards! Plus, I’ll help with setting things up!
Call Boris to discuss: 905-844-4247

Consider the members of our networking group as your extended sales team: We are here to promote you and your business, find leads for you, and ultimately, refer our clients, customers, friends, associates and neighbours to you.

I’d like to propose that we - and it should be an option, not a requirement - offer some sort of incentive to our members if they buy something from us themselves. This incentive can be in a form of:

• straight discount: e.g. 10% on all orders
• added value: free added service or product which normally sells separately
• a free Chapters gift card as a thank-you

For my part, I am happy to offer the following to all our members:

• a straight 10% discount on all email marketing services.
• if you sign up with one of my preferred Email Service Providers, such as ConstantContact, or MadMimi I will throw in a free ESP account set up - a value of US$199
• and finally, you will be paying in Canadian dollars, while all my other clients pay in US currency, which currently translates to a 20% discount!

Please comment and add your own thoughts, and ways that you have decided to “award” our members, if any.