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Search
Engine Secrets
Remember
the first time you built a web site. You stayed up into the early morning
working it out so that it would be just perfect. Then, you were finally done
and you sat back and thought, “The world is good.” After that you dreamed of
all the visitors your site would have, how they would all see your ad, and buy
your product. And then it hit you, like a ton of bricks. How was anyone going
to find your web site?
You
thought about it for a while and eventually thought you had the answer. Submit
your site to the search engines. But after you submitted your site, you checked
it out and you couldn't find your site.
So you
waited a few days...and still nothing....
You
couldn't even find your site if you looked up your own name!!!
Then, you
got discouraged...after all that hard work NOTHING?!?!?
And this
is where most people give up...but you went the extra mile...you searched for
help and now you have found it.
This
report is going to give you the tools you need to make your web site a success.
Read
through the entire report, then go back and highlight the important stuff, and
after that keep it as a reference every time you design a web site!!!
You need a strategy
First you
need to pick a strategy that fits your web site. This will matter immensely when
choosing your keywords.
Our basic
strategy is to create a specific keyword rich doorway page for each major
search engine. Then, we create a page
which links to all of these doorways.
Then, submit that link page to the search engines (we let the engines
spider all of our doorway pages on their own).
Choosing your keywords
What do
you want to come up first under? Which keywords? Which phrases? Make a list.
Now organize your list according to importance. Then, go to Goto.com and use
their keyword suggestion list. Start looking up and paying special attention to
how often each keyword is used and what the best keyword combinations are
(remember to use keyword phrases and not individual keywords which are
extremely hard to rank in).
Meta tags
Meta tags
give search engine robots more detailed information about your web site. One
major plus is that even though the search engines can see them a visitor at
your web site cannot!
Here is
the basic syntax of a meta tag:
<html>
<head>
<title>Search
Engine Secrets!</title>
<meta
name=“description” content=”Vault your site to the top with search engine
secrets! Insider information that Infoseek wants banned! Search Engine Secrets
revealed.....”>
<meta
name=“keywords” content=“search engine secrets web site positioning strategy
tips tricks advice new stuff internet secrets microsoft magellan infoseek
web”>
</head>
All you
need to be concerned about is creating an effective description that makes people
want to click on your listing and go to your web site.
ALT tag secret
You can
use the ALT TAG to describe images and graphics on your site. Here's how it
looks:
<img
src= “www.simplywebhosting.com/images/img1.jpg” alt=“describe your web page
using as
many keywords as possible. Don't repeat any keyword over 3 times though!”>
H1 tag secret
A title
on your body text in a header format (large text) helps you achieve the top
rankings. Here's how it looks:
<H1
align=“center”>Affiliate Program Software for Your Web Site</H1>
The H1
tags show that it is a number one header.
A little smaller header has an H2 tag...and so on. These tags in your body text help you get
those top rankings.
Link secret
When you
link to a page using text with your keywords in them, it gives you another
boost. Try to have both your link title
and the page being linked to somehow involve the actual keyword phrase.
Here's
how it will look:
<A
HREF=“http://www.simplywebhosting.com/affiliateprogramsoftware/index.htm”>affiliate
program software</A>
This has
the keyword phrase in the URL and in the link text itself. This is a double whammy to improving your
search engine rankings.
Page popularity secret
Have you
ever seen a top page that just doesn't look like it deserves it?
Well, now
there is that unknown element. Most of the top search engines now organize and
rank pages not only according to their content, but also according to how many
people are linking to them. They believe this helps improve their content and
relevancy.
So, the
trick is to link everyone of your doorway pages to each other using small dot
links at the bottom of all your pages.
If you
have 500 doorway pages on all of your domains, they should all have 500 dots at
the bottom which link to each other. Just make one list, and copy and paste to
the bottom of every doorway page. It will increase your rankings.
Keyword density secret
Your meta
tags (and tricks) are not the only keys to achieving the top 20 positions. How
often your keyword is used throughout your body text is another key. Try to use
your keyword phrase 5 to 10 times throughout 500 or so words on your doorway
pages for best results.
The exact
densities which work for each of the search engines change every single month,
so these numbers change constantly. This number will probably be right for one
to three of the search engines at all times.
Keyword prominence secret
The
closer you place the keywords to the front of your doorway page, the better.
They should be at the front of your title tag, your keyword tags, and your
description. You should have a H1 tag near the top of the page with your keyword
phrase. You should begin many of your paragraphs in the body text with the
keywords near the front.
My secret weapon
All of
the above tips are a lot of work, so I let my computer do most of the work for
me. Web Position Gold can do all of the work above, and much much more, for a
cost less than the average “tiny” banner campaign.
I
couldn't live without it anymore.
To try Web Position
Gold for free, simply go to the following site:
http://www.webposition.com/d2.pl?r=KBE-55CC
Pay-per-click search engines
Pay-per-click
search engines only have pay for the actual traffic which comes to your site.
Pick out
1,000 or more keywords for your site and place low bids on them.
Use: http://www.goto.com/
It's that
easy....
5 Secrets to Writing Great Ads and Sales Letters
Ron Ruiz 1994 (707)257-1472
This report
contains 5 proven secrets to writing great ads or sales letters. Although
simple, these 5 concepts are very powerful. Start using these ideas in your
advertising and you will see your ad responses increase by 50-100-500% or more!
Information on how to reach the author is above.
1. Constant testing
No
business owner or copywriter knows what ad will work every time, without
testing. Anyone who tells you they do is either a fool or a liar. Most business
owners write an ad or sales letter, show it to someone else and if they like it
they use it over and over. Instead, let your customer’s response tell you if
your ads are working.
What
items should you test? Headlines, prices, the offer, different packaging etc.
Once you have an ad or sales letter that is working, don’t test more than one
item at a time.
The
suggested order of testing is: 1.
Headline or opening 2. Price 3. Ad Copy or Offer
A case study
Don’t
underestimate the effects that even a small change make. I recently had a
client who had been running the same 4 line classified ad in a computer
magazine for several years. The response was OK, but they were thinking of
starting an expensive new direct mail campaign to generate more leads. I
recommended a few small changes to try in their classified ad first.
The
results were dramatic! The same size ad, the same cost, pulled 2500% more
responses! They actually had to hire someone to help with all the leads.
2. Use strong headlines
Remember,
a headline is the ad for the ad. The headline or the opening of a sales letter
accounts for as much as 70% of the effectiveness of the ad. It’s amazing to see
the number of ads or sales letters that don’t have any headline. Most of the
ones you do see are weak or ineffective.
Most
people have the mistaken belief that the whole purpose of a headline is to
attract attention. In a sense that’s true. If you put a picture of a scantily dressed
model at the top of the ad, it will attract attention. But will it get your ad
read? Probably not.
One
proven formula for using a headline is get the attention of your target
audience and then make a powerful, tangible, self-serving promise.
For example: Women over 35 . . 5 Ways To Avoid Wrinkles
A case study
I
critiqued an ad for a seminar sponsored by a financial services company that
actually had a better headline buried in the body of the ad:
Here is
the original headline:
Strategies for Potentially Increasing Investment Returns
Through Professionally Managed Investment Alternatives
(doesn’t
that sound like a bunch of gobbledegook?)
Here is a
sub head I found buried in the ad:
How to improve the potential investment returns on your portfolio
through some of the nations leading professional money management alternatives
(This
still has too many big words for me, but isn't this infinitely better?)
3. Write enough copy to tell your story
One
common myth is that people will not read long ad copy or a long sales letter.
So the old adage is to keep your message brief. This idea is true with one all
important qualifier. People will not read long copy that is BORING! They will
read interesting, persuasive, educational copy. Test after test has shown that
COMPELLING long copy, will out pull a short message almost every time. When you
are interested in something you probably enjoy reading about it don’t you?
Of course
when you re writing a classified ad, you must be brief. However, when you get
your inquiry, make your sales letter as long as you need to tell your story.
Start looking at long add and sales letters that keep your attention.
Brainstorm how you can incorporate those ideas.
A case study
Once I
critiqued a direct mail letter selling an expensive business opportunity. The
letter consisted of a formal 2 page letter filled will lots of pretty graphics,
sayings, and white space. I suggested writing a letter that told the story in a
charming way of why and how the program was developed. We told the story of the
early struggles of the company and how the product improved over time. We gave
case studies of other people . . .people just like them who purchased the program
and now were successful. The end result was an friendly, informal, 8 page
letter which contained NO Graphics. (I have nothing against graphics, except
when people use them in place of telling a complete story.)
The results
of this letter was a response rate of more than 30%!
4. Keep the prospects wants in mind
Start
looking at add and you’ll see many self serving add that build up the business owners ego. This type of ad usually
starts with something like ABC
Investments is proud to announce. If you read the ad further you will normally
find a lot of we's or I's
with very few you's or
yours. When I read that type of ad, my first reaction is “Big deal,
what’s in it for me?” Do you react the
same way?
Instead,
you should always take your prospects perspective in your writing. Your copy
should have way many you and yours. Tell why your product will benefit them.
Which
copy is written with the client in mind?
XYZ Insurance Has Low Cost Health
Plans
or
How You Can Protect Your Families
Health For Only $5.50 Per Day
5. Be specific
Customers
are smart enough not to believe vague claims. They are far more inclined to
believe specific, direct information. Look at the number of add that say Fast
Service, Satisfied Clients, Satisfaction Guaranteed. These claims are
meaningless! Everyone uses them.
Instead
of these vague, overused phrases, be specific. It will set you apart from the
crowd.
Instead
of: Say:
We
have fast service All orders
shipped within 24 hours.
We
have many satisfied clients 218
companies are using our software
How to Write Headlines that Make Sales Soar!
Dear
Friend and Subscriber:
I'd like
to extend to you a warm welcome to the first issue of The Ted Nicholas Letter.
No one in
the world teaches the strategies you will get here. How do I know that? Because
every idea comes from my own experience, tests of mailings and space ads over
$100 million worth. And 23 years
of 12-16
hour workdays!
I'm
excited. I'm fulfilling a dream. Doing a special, one-of-a-kind newsletter for
the people in the world I most admire and respect entrepreneurs and writers!
And the biggest beneficiaries of all are the small business owners who sell
products and services other than books. Reason? As Robert Collier said many
years ago, “If you can sell books you can sell anything!”
Dedicated
to my favorite people in the world....
In case
you have not seen my new book, How To Publish a Book and Sell a Million Copies,
the dedication best sums up how I feel about you:
"Perhaps
the most precious and important right of all free people is freedom of speech.
In America we are guaranteed this right under the First Amendment of the
Constitution.
“In
dictatorships, it is no accident that as soon as leaders assume power, one of
their first acts is to take away the citizens' freedom of expression. Censorship
and control of the printing presses are sought by all despots.
“This
book is dedicated to the real unsung heroes of all human societies the writers
and publishers who, through their efforts, keep everyone free.”
The goal
of this newsletter is to help you succeed in direct marketing and
self-publishing.
Save money, time and hassles
You will
save lots of heartache, time, and money. Unless you feel compelled to invest 20
years and get “beaten up” in the marketplace,
there is no need for you to make the same mistakes I've made. You can avoid
them once you are forewarned.
This
issue features writing effective headlines. Reason? Ninety percent of the
success or failure of any sales offer, whether in a space ad or sales letter,
is the headline.
Teaser
copy on an envelope and the title of a book are as crucially important as is
the headline in a sales letter or ad.
So I feel
headline writing is the best place to start. I'll show you how to ignite your
sales by creating headlines with amazing power!
What the legends in advertising say....
In case
you have any doubt about the importance of headlines, here is what two of the
greats in advertising have to say:
“Advice
to copywriters: When you are assigned to write an ad, write a lot of headlines
first. Spend hours writing headlines or days if necessary. If you happen to
think of a headline while walking down the street or while riding the bus, take
out pencil and paper and write it down.”
Ñ
John Caples
“On
the average, five times as many people read the headlines as read the body
copy. It follows that, unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted
90 percent of your money.”
ÑDavid
Oglivy
Headline
writing is an area in which everyone, including professional copywriters, can
be stronger. But, I'm unaware of anyone in the world today who teaches the art
of the headline effectively.
Unfortunately,
many direct marketing seminar speakers have learned from a book instead of the
real world. Often they teach mythology that doesn't work.
What does a headline do?
An
effective headline is important for many reasons. It:
-Attracts
attention
-Communicates
a strong benefit
-Appeals
to the self-interest of the reader. It answers the question, "What's in it
for me?"
-Sets
the tone for the offer
A
headline acts like a marquee does for a movie theatre and selects the right
audience.
Based on
hundreds of tests conducted, a good headline can be as much as 17 times more
effective than a so-so headline. And this is with exactly the same body copy!
Because
it is so important, I always write many headlines for an ad or book title. For instance,
for How To Form Your Own Corporation Without a Lawyer for Under $75, I wrote
217 titles before I published
the book.
And the final title also became the headline for my first ad. Here are some
guidelines I use for the way a headline is written and presented.
-The
promise must be believable.
-Never
use more than 17 words.
-Use
quotation marks because it is more memorable.
-Use
reverse type sparingly, because it is hard to read.
-Use
upper and lower case letters not all caps for reading ease.
-If
a large photograph is used, place the headline below it.
-Do
not vary type size.
How to start writing great headlines
On any
product, including an information product, book, special report, newsletter,
tape, floppy disk . . . re-review the product, element by element.
Step back
from the product. If you have written or created the product, take off the
producer's cap and look at it with a “marketer's eye.” Identify all the benefit
and feature of the product from the buyer's point of view.
Benefits are the real hot buttons
Benefits
are those elements of the product that provide the answer to, “So what?”
Use strong
action verbs. For example: “Discover how to slash your taxes by 95%.” The word
slash is a strong action word.
A feature
is a fact about the product that builds credibility: “It's 11 x 17 inches, 244
pages and has 13 illustrations.”
Both
features and benefits are necessary in your copy. But benefits are where to
place the emphasis. Benefits close the sale. Reason? People act 90 percent on
their emotions. Benefits help bring out emotions. Everyone then justifies their
decisions by using logic.
Here is a
great technique. Using 3 x 5 cards, write one benefit or feature on each card.
If, for example, the product is a book or tape, from some pages or segments you
will write several benefits and features. On others, only one or even none. Do
this throughout the review of the product.
When you
have completed this process, review the 3 x 5 cards. Sometimes you will have
50, 75, 100 up to 200 and even more. In some cases the strongest benefit you
can find on a card is also the best headline.
It can
just pop out at you sometimes! A benefit you have isolated on your 3 x 5 card
can become what sometimes is called your "unique selling proposition"
--your USP.
The
obvious can be your key to wealth!
When you
isolate the obvious benefits, you will start building wealth. You will
immediately start earning a great deal of money as a marketer. Why? Many
marketers miss isolating the obvious benefits of their product.
You will
have many headline choices. And the benefits you have isolated will help you
write the rest of the body copy. Your entire message needs to be filled with
benefits. Put the strongest ones first in order of priority when you get into
writing body copy.
Put
drama, power and passion into your benefits.
Here is a
special technique that can be even more powerful than the procedure I have just
described. A technique NOBODY teaches originated by me so only I know it. I
call it . . .
Finding the hidden benefit
I often
create headlines that do not arise from studying the product itself. Yes! That
is not a misprint. By using this special strategy, I've written some of the
most successful headlines in direct marketing history.
Here is
how it works . . .
Ask
yourself this question, “If I had unlimited, godlike powers and could grant my
prospective customer the biggest benefit I can possibly imagine he or she would
ideally want from my product, what would that be?” Write down your answer.
Here is a
specific example. While writing The Complete Book of Corporate Forms, to sell
it I naturally wanted to dramatize the book and excite my prospects about its
benefits. How could I possibly do that? Numerous publishers sold legal form
books. Not as good as mine, mind you, but still form books. (Mine was, and
still is, the easiest to use.) What could I do to differentiate my product? How
could I make a book of forms (sounds dull, doesn't it?) exciting!?
So I
stood back and asked myself that question. I quickly realized that
entrepreneurs don't care a whit about forms. Most abhor paperwork. What they
want is the benefit from using the forms.
I knew
entrepreneurs, more than anyone else, hate to pay taxes. And what every
entrepreneur desperately wants is to preserve the corporation's tax shelter
status. No one wants to lose that precious benefit.
So it
came to me. I wrote the headline, “What Will You Do When the IRS Suddenly Wipes
Out Your Corporation's Tax Shelter Benefits?” Of course, the book has narrative
information about the importance
of
keeping good records to maintain the corporate protection. But, while it
happens all the time, there is nothing whatsoever in the book about the IRS
taking away benefits. That is why I call it a hidden benefit.
The rest
of the copy for the ad was easy to do once I had the lead. You too will find
your copywriting task will be simpler.
I used
this headline for a 7 x 10 inch space ad. Later I used the same headline for a
successful sales letter. A card deck offer selling the book on a postcard was
also very successful.
Wow! Did
it work!
Results?
Since 1979, 350,000 copies of the book have been sold at $70 per copy. That's
24.5 million dollars worth of product sales. And it is still selling just as
well today! Selling a million copies of this book in the next few years is
easily within reach!
One
caveat on the “hidden benefit” headline strategy. Make sure your product
actually delivers on the headline's promise. If you have the slightest doubt,
here is what to do: change or revise the product! Result? You will both deliver
the benefit and greatly add to the product's sales appeal! Other examples of
headlines I have written that have nothing whatsoever to do directly with the
product, but nonetheless have set sales records, include the ads I did for my
book How To Form Your Own Corporation Without a Lawyer for Under $75:
"The
Eighth Wonder of the World"
"Wage
Your Own Personal Tax Revolt"
"Only
Way Left For Little Guy to Get Rich"
And
the most successful headline I ever wrote for that product...
"The
Ultimate Tax Shelter".
Another
example of the technique is the headline:
"What
Will You Do When Your Personal Assets Are Seized to Satisfy a Judgment Against
Your Corporation?"
Product:
The Complete Book of Corporate Forms
Use the
“hidden benefit” technique when you are writing headlines and watch your sales
explode. And remember:
Write as
many headlines as you can. Test, test, test
You will
undoubtedly want to test more than one headline or "teaser” before you
choose your final “control” headline. And even after you have a control, it is
imperative to keep running new headline tests against it for two reasons:
1.
to see if you can beat it, and . . .
2.
every headline eventually becomes tired and you need to change it. But not too
soon!
You will
tire of a headline much faster than will your customers. If it is working never, never, never, never change it until,
or unless, you beat the results with a new headline.
Using photography to boost sales
A new
trend affecting the art of writing headlines is the increased use of
photography in ads and sales letters. People are influenced more than ever
before, probably because of the increased watching of video and TV.
Think
visually about your headlines. If your headline message can be depicted
visually, try using a photograph for up to 1/3 of the first page of a letter or
ad. Do at least one variation of the ad with a photo. The old saying is true:
“A picture is worth a thousand words.” But here is the key. The headline and
photography must work together. Ideally the photography emphasizes the
headline.
An example of the headline supported by a photo
A project
I am currently doing for a client uses a photo.
The
product is a wonderful manual designed for business people and leaders of all
kinds who want to improve their public speeches, as do nearly all of them who
want to get ahead. (Did you know that 54
percent
of Americans would rather face death than make a speech?!)
The
headline I wrote is “How To Get Enthusiastic Applause Even a Standing Ovation
Every Time You Speak.”
The ad
photo depicts an audience smiling, clapping and giving a standing ovation as
the speech ends. I bet you can even feel the attention-getting pulling power of
the ad as you read this description.
Can't
you? Doesn't that knock your socks off?
The ad has yet to be tested, but I would be very surprised if it isn't a smash
hit.
A photograph cannot replace a headline
But no
matter how good the photograph, the headline has even more responsibility. The goal? To get readers into the body copy.
And the copy should be directly under the photograph, right after the caption.
On the ad
for the public speaking book, the headline's promise is not specifically
mentioned in the product, as such. It is another example of a “hidden benefit.”
However, the excellent information
contained
in the product delivers on that promise. I know because it kept the promise for
me in a recent speech.
Powerful headline words
Here are
my favorite headline words. The safest headline begins with “How To.” It immediately
appeals to the reader's self-interest. It piques curiosity. If the benefit is
powerful, the reader will move on to the body copy. You are involving the
reader immediately.
Did you
know there are over 7,000 books in print with titles that start with “How To?”
This phrase cannot be overdone.
Here are
26 other provocative words and phrases I like to use in a headline:
1. announcing 9. advice to 17.
yes
2. secrets of 10. the truth of 18. love
3. new 11. protect 19. how much
4. now 12. life 20. how would
5. amazing 13. here 21.
this
6. facts you 14. discover 22. only
7. breakthrough 15. do you 23. sale
8. at last 16. bargains 24. hate
And
finally, the two most powerful headline words:
25. free 26.
you
Other important headline points
Avoid
headlines that merely create curiosity. If the headline does not tie to the
product or to the benefit derived from using the product, the reader will feel
deceived and will stop reading. And, of course, your product will not be
ordered.
A good
headline is the first step in prompting an action on the part of a reader. The
headline must stir an emotion. It must get the reader excited or fearful or
protective. It must motivate.
Use
present tense, not the future tense, for added power and life. It adds more
“juice” to the promise and makes the promise more credible and believable. The
present tense is also far more emphatic. Use the
first or
second person.
Use verbs
which are colorful, vital and strong. Use short words that create images or
pictures. Eliminate most adverbs and adjectives; they belong in longer body
copy where you can support them.
Do not
try to be “catchy” or “cute” as do many copywriters. Instead of dramatizing the
product, they call attention to the copy itself which is distracting. Make the
product the “hero,” not the copy.
Brought to you by:
Advantagecom Networks, Inc.
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