Wednesday, March 24, 2010

“Getting Ready for a Joint Venture Giveaway”

There are many things you can do to get ready for a Joint Venture Giveaway even before receiving your first invitation.  As a contributor to a jointbird3 venture giveaway, you can expect to receive a significant increase in traffic to your website as well as general discussion about you and your product. Put your best foot forward!

Preparing your product and getting your website ready are two very important steps for preparing to participate in joint venture giveaways.

Your Website

The first impression a lead will get about you is from your website. You can take steps now to prepare your site so you "Wow" visitors from the start. An incomplete or poorly put together website will discourage people from signing up for your giveaway and you will have missed an opportunity.

The three elements you will want to have in place are:

1) Landing Page
2) Autoresponder/Email Marketing Program
3) Download Page

Landing Page. A landing page is the website page where JV giveaway participants will read about you and your product, then enter the information that you request. It's important to provide just enough information to hook the reader but not so much to overwhelm. Your ultimate goal is to get their name and email address so you can communicate with them in the future and hopefully turn them into a customer.

Autoresponder. An autoresponder is an email delivery service that can collect the name and email address of your visitor and automatically send them an email from you. You will use your autoresponder service to create your opt-in box as well as deliver email to your lead.  Good autoresponder services, such as Aweber, will take you through the process step-by-step. They can help you to set up your opt-in form and integrate it into your landing page. Autoresponders also make it easy to follow up with your list, after the event is over, through a series of informative emails.

Download Page. This is the page that participants will be directed to after they submit their information. This will also be the page where they download their free gift.  These are just like any other page on your website.

Some people offer one-time deals at this point. On this page, you may include another button to purchase the one-time offer or continue on to the download page. One-time offers are a way for contributors to earn money from the promotion.

With all of your basics and bells and whistles in place, you are ready for the JV giveaway event to start. There are software products out there to help you accomplish all of these things so you can be ready to shine at the giveaway event.

Your Product

What do you have to use as a giveaway? The time to prepare your giveaway is before you receive an invitation to contribute. If nothing comes to mind, search private label rights stores for ideas and products. You can use brandable products that you have purchased and employ resell rights. If you create the product yourself, it will be more reflective of your own business. For Internet businesses that manage membership sites, offering free memberships is a draw to get folks to fill out your opt-in page. Or ask someone to interview you and record it. Having a product ready will make the entire joint venture much easier and more enjoyable for you.

Think outside the box. Go for that unique product others will find hard to resist. What have you seen at other JV giveaway events? Is there an idea you think you can improve on and market as your own? Pull out all the stops for the event.

If you have a graphics program, put it to good use. You will need a picture of your product for the event. This way, others can see and read a description of what you are offering them if they sign up as members for the event.

Joint venture giveaways are one of the easiest and most affordable ways to build your list and grow your business.  Start preparing for success today!




Monday, March 22, 2010

“How to Find Joint Venture Giveaways”

You may have heard something about joint venture giveaways. Most people who have participated in one probably talk about the unbelievable benefits. That’s all well and good, but you have to know where you can find them before you can participate. 5406_Twitter_Icon04

Joint venture giveaways are events promoted by lots of joint venture partners. The goal is to build their lists as they give away free products and services to members that sign up. These ventures can include big name Internet marketers as well as the novice marketer all in one place. It is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to grow their business.

Finding Joint Venture Partners

Many joint venture giveaways are invitation only events. One way to get invited is to find joint venture partners of your own. The more people you know within your niche, the better your chances are of catching the eye of the right person who can give you access and an invitation to these events.

One place you can find JV partners is on ClickBank. ClickBank is a marketplace where you can find many affiliate programs who are looking for affiliates and joint venture partners. For digital product business owners, you can list your products here. You can also see who else is selling within your niche but in a non-competitive way. You can build your list of potential joint venture partners here.

Networking your Way to a JV Giveaway

If you are interested in participating in a joint venture giveaway, and most of us are, start by networking! Get to know other people in your niche through networking, forums and participating in existing joint venture giveaways.  Make a note of the contributors and introduce yourself. While networking has a different platform for online businesses, it is still a highly effective way to get what you want!

You can also do a search using keywords such as “joint venture giveaways.” Scan the results to find JV partners who are offering open invitations to the event. Sign up and be sure to follow the giveaway rules.  Once your name starts to get out there, you'll find more invitations to contribute to joint venture giveaways in your mailbox!

If your business or industry has a special event, anniversary or other reason to celebrate, consider organizing your own joint venture giveaway. Through your business associations, you can find other partners willing to lend their name and offer a free product for members to download. As an added benefit, you increase your credibility among your joint venture partners.

One thing for certain, if you want to participate or contribute to a joint venture giveaway you have to be visible! Network, form alliances and associations and get to know other individuals and leaders in your niche or industry. The more often you or your business is seen, and considered an authority, the more likely you are to receive those coveted JV giveaway invitations. 




Saturday, March 20, 2010

“What are Joint Venture Giveaways?”

Customers are the reason that you stay in business. Getting a lead on your target market is not always an easy process. Building a list takes time and effort. One highly effective way to build your list is to take part in joint venture giveaways. bax2010

Sounds Good But What Is It?

The name makes it sound great but what exactly does it mean? A joint venture giveaway is an event where business owners provide free products in order to draw in customers. By partnering with other business owners, you are able to connect with members of their community and share what you have to offer. In turn, your community learns about the other joint venture partners participating.

Everyone loves freebies, potential customers included.  Joint venture giveaways aren't just any freebie. Joint venture giveaways are an opportunity to showcase what you have to offer.  They are an opportunity to share your talents and skills with a whole new audience and therefore what you giveaway is important and should offer real value.

Joint venture giveaways are often created around an event such as a Telesummit or a particular holiday.  Since the events we are discussing are online events, the free giveaways are almost always digital in nature. This allows potential customers to instantly receive your free giveaway.

There are many products that you can give away. EBooks and article packs are very popular and, if you are not a writer, can easily be picked up from a PLR site. Have you made a video? Recorded an interviewed you did with someone? These are all very popular and easy to pull together giveaways.

How you can Participate

Joint ventures can be general or specific.  For instance, some joint ventures are created to inform people about creating traffic for their website or how to get free publicity. Others might be more general such as self improvement or health. Be on the lookout and keep your ears open and you'll hear about many joint venture giveaway opportunities.

There are two ways to be involved in a joint venture giveaway. First you can participate and get involved. Find out what is being offered, sign up and take advantage of the giveaways. You  may find that you will learn about new tools, memberships and products that can help you in your business.

Another way to participate in a joint venture giveaway is to be a contributor. As a contributor you would be one of the many business people offering a free giveaway.  In exchange for your giveaway, members are required to opt-in to your list. This is an excellent opportunity to grow your list and impress potential customers with your terrific giveaway.

From the highly recognized Internet marketer to a newbie, anyone can take part in joint venture giveaways if they are serious about building their list and growing their business.  When you hear about a joint venture giveaway, step forward and ask how you can participate. While some events are closed, many business owners will be honored that you wanted to participate and welcome you to join in, especially if you have good content to offer.  After all the more businesses who participate in the giveaway, the wider the audience that all participants can possibly reach.




Wednesday, March 17, 2010

"Contextual Ads & Your Website: Options Please"

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When it comes to making money with a website, one of the most popular methods is running text and/or image ads on various pages. It's referred to as contextual advertising and “inline ads”. Text or image ads are shown which match the content of the pages. Inline ads appear as highlighted words on the page when the visitor hovers over highlighted text on the page. Ads appear in small boxes. Contextual ads are often displayed to the right or left of website copy, or as blocks within sections of the text. The ads shown are related to the content of each individual page. As visitors click on these links, you earn cash.

Probably the largest and most used of the contextual ad programs is Google's Adsense. Google really is a giant when it comes to the Internet, and their talents go far beyond just being a search engine. Adsense is used by many site owners to bring in a monthly income. If you're interested in running Adsense ads, first you'll need to apply and get approved. Once approved for one site, you can place Adsense on any other site that you own. You can decide to run only text ads or choose from image and text. Various sizes are offered, and you can custom select colors to match the look of your site.

Once the code is generated, you paste it on your HTML pages where you want the ads to appear. Simple & easy. But what happens if you're not approved by Google, or for some reason your Adsense account were to be terminated? What would you do then? There are other ad network options out there and I've gathered some of the best alternatives together here.

Before signing up for any ad program, make sure you read their terms of service and any requirements to make sure it's a good fit for your website. Also, review the payment options so you'll know how and when you can expect to be paid.

Let's review:

1) Text-Link-Ads.com: http://www.text-link-ads.com/

Once your site is approved, you insert the code on your
page and they sell simple text ads that appear on
your site. You have final say over any ads being
published. Payments are made via Paypal or Clickbank.
You receive 50% of the sale price for each link they
serve up. This ad network is acceptable to be run
on the same page as Google Adsense as this is not
considered contextual advertising.


2) Adbrite: http://www.adbrite.com/

A variety of ad formats to choose from. You can run
text ads, banners, inline ads or even full page ads.
You can choose to approve or reject ads before they
appear on your site. Pays monthly with the default
minimum check amount of $100.00. Once your site
is approved, ads will appear within 24 hours of your
pasting the code. Adbrite has no policy against using
other ad networks on your site at the same time.

3) Kontera: http://www.kontera.com/

Contextually relevant ads and ad units which are
linked to keywords on your web page. Ads displayed
will match the content of your site. For your website
to be approved it must be in English, be content rich
with more than 50 words per page. You can run text,
image, billboard, and video ads.

4) Quigo.com: http://www.quigo.com/publishers.html

Quigo offers content-targeted advertising to those with
strong traffic. Publishers with 500,000 or more monthly
page views are encouraged to apply. Once approved,
simply copy and paste the code.

5) Yahoo Publisher Network: http://publisher.yahoo.com/

Works very similar to Google's Adsense program. You design
your own ads, choosing colors and formats, then paste
some code on your page. You'll be paid per click. Advanced
ad targeting and display capabilities can sometimes improve
your results. You can choose to be paid via Paypal once
your earnings are $50.00, or a check when you hit $100.00.

6) Chitika.com: http://chitika.com/

A full service online ad network which serves over two
billion monthly impressions across more than 30,000
websites. Chitika ads are not contextual and can be
run on the same page as Adsense. Twenty-four different
ad sizes are available. Payment is via Paypal once your
account is at $10.00, or a check when you reach $50.00.

7) Miva: http://tinyurl.com/oha28n

Miva offers a wide variety of ad formats to choose from:
content ads, inline ads, search ads. You'll be paid on a
per click basis. Payments are made monthly by check
or Paypal once your balance reaches $25.00. You can
also block competitor ads from appearing on your site.

8) AffiliatesGarage.com: http://www.affiliatesgarage.com/

A different type of ad network which allows you to display
affiliate ads in an "Adsense Style". You can run Clickbank
and Paydotcom text ads on your site or blog and earn up
to 75% commission.

9) Bidvertiser.com: http://www.bidvertiser.com/

Display text ads on your website and let advertisers bid
against each other. Ad formats are skyscrapers, banners,
rectangles, buttons. They even have ads for your RSS
feeds. Payout is monthly via Paypal once your balance
is $10.00. This one pays on a cost per click basis.

10) AmaSense Ads: http://www.amasenseads.com/

This service allows you to create Google Adsense
styled ads for Amazon products. Different ad formats
are available which makes it easy to integrate into
your site. Amasense can also be used side by side
with Google Adsense without any problems.
As ads are clicked on, you earn a percentage
of the product which is paid by Amazon depending
on the type of product that is bought. You must have
an Amazon associate account first before signing up.
To get one go to https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/

As you can see Adsense is not the only game in town when it comes to running ads on your site. If you have multiple sites, you  may want to use one of the services mentioned above, then test, to see which one is a better earning opportunity. You might be surprised at what you learn.

It's against Google's terms of service to run another contextual ad service on the same page as Adsense, but there are exceptions to the rule. Most of the services above will tell you if you can run their ads alongside Adsense. If your websites are mainly information based, network advertising is an excellent way for you to earn an income with little effort on your part. No matter if you use Adsense or another service, it just makes for good dollars and cents.




Monday, March 15, 2010

“Increase Exposure for Your Business through Viral Marketing with Free Reports”

Have you ever bought something on the recommendation of another? This word-of-mouth technique works online as well. Here, it is called viralliz  marketing. Get your own viral campaigns moving by offering free reports.

The reports we are talking about are special reports. They are usually around five to ten pages in length. In them, readers will find a wealth of information on a topic of interest. For you, the topic has something to do with your business niche.

Viral advertising only works when the product that you offer has mass appeal. This means that people will want to share it with others once they see it. It can be a unique twist on an old subject, something funny or something interactive. With reports, they can present a new twist, make someone laugh and provoke thoughtful discussion.

Hey, where can you find a report like that? You are going to write it. You don’t have to be a great writer to produce a free report worth reading. The best tool that you have is the fact that you know a lot about your niche. Your business is your passion and whatever you write needs to convey that passion.  The most interesting reports are those that offer something that the reader doesn’t already know or something that they need.

What do you want to accomplish with the free report? It can be a list of potential clients, a bigger sale or even a sign up for something else free like a trial membership or trying out a new product. Your answer to this question leads to your landing page. This is where you advertise your free report and give reasons why the reader needs to opt-in to receive it. 

Your free report will touch off a viral storm but you need to let people know about it. It’s like using promotion to help you interest people in a product that will further promote your website. It sounds complicated but actually isn’t at all.

Are you familiar with article marketing? That’s when you write articles about your niche and submit them to article directories. At the end, you’ll include a link in our bio box that leads to your website business. With the free reports, you’ll write articles about the same subject as the report and link to the landing page so readers who like your article and find the free report.

How about your existing customers? They have already bought products from you and know how great you are. Send them an email with the link to your landing page. Do the same for your friends, associates and, if you have an affiliate program, your affiliates.

People like to get free items, but they also want them to be worth their time. Use interesting free reports to jumpstart a viral marketing campaign and drive traffic to your site.

Here are some additional resources:

If you need help writing reports you can always outsource it:

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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

"Does the PageRank of Twitter Profiles Matter?"

Matt Cutts tackles the tricky question that's on everybody's mind "Twitter and Page Rank" and how do the two come together. Let's listen in as Matt shares Google's secrets.

Monday, March 8, 2010

“Become a Familiar Face on Forums Where Your Target Market Hangs Out”

Do you have the gift of gab and a lot of knowledge to share? Then you can promote your website business for next to nothing. That has to sound good especially if you don’t have a lot of money to spend on advertising right now.keyboaqrds

Internet Forums

Forums are places where people with similar interests can meet, exchange information and chat online. To become a member of an Internet forum you usually have to sign up on a membership site. This doesn’t involve any money. Sites want to keep up how many members they have.

The sites include other perks and ways to join in but the forum is where most people go to congregate and talk. You can use these forums to not only promote your website but also get a little extra that can add up to big benefits for your business.

Here’s how they work. Once you join the membership site, you can access the forum by creating a username and password. When you log in, you have access to all the different topics and threads (each conversation started by forum members).

Choosing Forums

Not just any forum will do. You want to find forums that pertain to your target market. For instance, if you sell lighting fixtures, you’ll want to look for DIY (do-it-yourself) forums for a start. Also, look into forums for contractors and builders. They certainly use lighting fixtures in their line of work.

In these forums, half of the work is done for you. You are already accessing your target market, but the rest is up to you. That is why conducting yourself well on these forums is an important cog that makes this type of website promotion run smoothly.

Using the Forum

Before you jump into talking about your business, think about one thing. If the tables were turned and you were just a regular forum member, what would build your trust and what would break it down? People spamming would probably make you mad, but people who participate and also help others, would inspire your trust.

Interact with people in the forum. There is a wealth of knowledge there. You can offer expert advice and get help yourself. Their advice to you can help you implement changes that benefit your business.

Use your signature line to promote your website. Include a link here along with your name. The more you post in existing threads and your own, people whose trust you gain will begin to click on that link and check out your website.

Internet forums that cater to your target market have a two-fold benefit. First, they help you get in touch with the type of person you seek for your business and second, you can establish yourself as an expert and use your signature line to promote your website.




Thursday, March 4, 2010

"PLR Articles and Common Misconceptions"

"Nicole Dean of EasyPLR.com answers the question "Can you explode any misconceptions that stop people venturing into using PLR articles"-

How do you feel about PLR? Use it, don't use it. Please take a moment to leave your thoughts after watching the video.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

“Gain More Traffic by Cross Promoting on Other Sites”

Promoting your online business almost always depends on others. You use family and friends to get the ball rolling when you are just starting out. If you have some customers, you count on them to pass the word. Cross promotion helps you do the same thing but with other businesses. mebw

What is cross promotion? In a nutshell, it is working with other businesses both large and small to draw attention to your products. Cross promotion is different from affiliate marketing in that it is an agreement that is mutually beneficial to both people in the same way. With affiliate marketing, the affiliate gets a percentage of the pie based on an agreed upon amount. With cross promotion, both partners are looking to receive the same amount of compensation.

With that said, cross promotions can begin with your business associates within your niche. No doubt, you have found some kindred business souls on niche forums and social networking sites. Niche associations are another great place to find businesses that operate within your chosen business niche.

The key here is to find someone who is not in direct completion which is much like affiliate marketing. They already have their finger on the pulse of the niche so any leads or sales you get through their promotion are targeted. They have shopped with your partner and are also likely to buy from you.

Why Cross Promote?

The easy answer here is that you want to increase your sales. That is the goal of business after all. You would be doing less than your absolute best if you didn’t pull every rabbit out of your magic marketing hat to help your business perform even better.

Another reason is to increase your visibility among your business peers. When you partner with a bigger more well known business, you increase your credibility. After all, those large companies wouldn’t waste their time with someone who couldn’t bring something valuable to the table.

Types of Cross Promotion

So what does cross promotion look like? Well, you can post advertisement links on each other’s sites. This gives customers a chance to check you out. When businesses are compatible this is more likely to be rewarding. For instance, if you sell party supplies, partnering with a party planner makes good business sense.

Write website content and blog for each other. This gives your customers and their customers a chance to see and hear from the person they are talking about. Allow links within the text and a bio with links for your partner so the visitors can click on it for more information.

Cross promotion between similar businesses are both a way to network with new business people and also a way to increase profits for both of you.

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