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WP Toolkit Video Magic

Every online marketer that owns a blog knows how important interactions with the audience are.  In the past years, we know that video marketing had the best results; that is why everyone interested in growing their business has invested in video advertising.

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[fight-fight-revolution]

WP plugin allows you to put buy buttons, lead pages, videos and more on top of your images

Social Bookmarking could be one of the best things that ever happened to websites and blogs. Social Book marketing sites allow users to create a set of content bookmarks. These bookmarks are organized by tags, which are (usually) random words or phrases the user can assign to content. This gives the user a way to classify, rank and organize content using tags. The most popular Social Bookmarking Site is del.ici.ous, which has millions of users. Social Bookmarking sites have an intrinsic advantage over search engines and other bots — people choose what to bookmark rather than relying on a program to categorize and qualify content. There is an implied quality in something that someone has taken the time to select. Social Bookmarkers read other people’s bookmarks and add them to their own if they like them. RSS feeds to see what others are tagging, which I think is cool, and a textbook example of viral marketing. About 4% of my referrers this month are del.icio.us related, including .8% off the home page, meaning that people click on my link when they see it pop up in their RSS feed. I get a goodly amount of traffic from technorati as well, but I would call that site a business bookmarking site, so I’m not going to mention it here. I only provide a facility on AffiliateBlog for del.icio.us tagging. There is an excellent WordPress plugin called Sociable that allows direct tagging for tons of Social Bookmarking sites. If you don’t have it as part of your blog, you should install it today. This blog is being redesigned and should be done in a few weeks. The new design will incorporate Sociably. So what can YOU do to get the social bookmarking virus ramped up? I see two primary considerations: 1. Write good content. Darren Rouse had an interesting observation about del.icio.us items that make it to the top of the site. You can take a look, but basically, he observes that lists, how-tos, technical articles and humour get to the top faster. 2. Give people the tools to bookmark easily. If you have a blog, use Sociable. It’s terrific. If you have a site, there are plenty of exciting tools that will help you make it easy for your visitors to bookmark your content. AddtoBookmarks.com is a good one. Social Bookmarking sites are popping up all over the place. Here are the Top 10. Where did I find them? In someone’s bookmark list on Listable, of course.

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Become A Freelancer

Becoming A Freelancer One trendy and common way of earning income is becoming a freelancer. Literally, thousands of people every day choose to become their own boss by working as a freelancer. If you have a skill or talent, your services are highly needed in the internet industry, and you can make excellent money by doing what you know and love. Many website owners choose to use a freelancer for a variety of reasons, and some reasons could include: •    Not enough time to do the work themselves •    They do not know to perform the tasks •    Freelancers are often cheaper than hiring a company (Because of less overhead) •    Freelancers generally work faster •    They are too busy with other projects These are just a few reasons that most business and website owners opt for a freelancer instead of a large company. Typically a freelancer is cheaper than that of a larger company for a variety of reasons. One of the biggest reasons is that a freelancer has no overhead costs. Generally, they work out of their own home and do not have any employees to pay. Additionally, by working out of their own home they do not have the type of running expenses that a larger business will have, this means that they can offer clients a more competitive and cheaper price for their services. Another excellent aspect of being a freelancer is offering high quality and personalized service to your clients. This alone can be more appealing to a client than the prices you charge. Many large businesses have so many things going on at once that they cannot always give the client's personal attention. Additionally, they do not generally work as fast as the client would like them to. A freelancer typically only works one project simultaneously, allowing them to finish their projects in high quality and timely fashion quickly. There are freelancers in various areas, and if you possess specific qualities and experience the client wants, you will have no trouble finding work. Many websites are available worldwide that are dedicated to helping freelancers find work such as scriptlance and rentacoder.

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Are Your Sales Scripts Working For or Against You?

Flexibility is vitally important in developing rapport with a sales prospect and winning their confidence. If you’re adhering to a rigid script, then you’re not being responsive to their needs, concerns, and questions. Granted, listening and being empathetic is more of a challenge for some people than others, but if your success hinges on the ability to persuade and influence (and whose doesn’t?), then it’s a skill well worth cultivating. Sales scripts are a double edged sword. On one hand, they can help you present your selling points and sales rebuttals in an organized, strategic way. Used incorrectly, however, they can undermine your sales effectiveness and actually cause you to lose sales. Here’s a caveat worth considering: Although sales scripts may contain tried and proven tactics for converting sales prospects into customers, a surefire way to drive a wedge between you and your prospective clients is to sound like you’re reading a script or regurgitating memorized lines. Bridging the gap between salesperson and sales prospect often requires a conversational, informal delivery that won’t come across if you’re reciting a script. All the World’s a Stage One thing we often forget about in the world of business and in the business of life is to ‘lighten up’! Being too intensely serious and rigid can not only impair your ‘likeability factor’, but it can also cancel out a lot of the enjoyment you might derive from your business or career. Developing the ability to inject your presentations with a dose of personality, humor, and spontaneity can help you avoid sounding rehearsed and pushy. A certain amount of experimentation may be necessary to find out what works best for you, but that’s all part of the process. Getting on the Same Wavelength Flexibility is vitally important in developing rapport with a prospect and winning their confidence. If you’re adhering to a rigid script, then you’re not being responsive to their needs, concerns, and questions. Granted, listening and being empathetic is more of a challenge for some people than others, but if your success hinges on the ability to persuade and influence (and whose doesn’t?), then it’s a skill well worth cultivating. Very often the most fascinating, likeable, and persuasive people are the ones who have perfected the art of active listening. Focus on Bullet Points Rather than memorizing a sales script word for word, consider writing up an outline or a set of bullet points that you can impress on your mind. You may need to review the original sales script, every couple weeks, to make sure you’re ad-libbing effectively and accurately; but don’t lose sight of the way you’re communicating nonverbally, because that’s what your sales prospects are paying the most attention to. It’s How You Say It A lot of sales and marketing people tend to talk too fast, either because they’re so excited about what they’re selling or they’ve had one cup of coffee too many. Some may feel the need to talk fast if they have a lot of information to impart in a short period of time. Every situation is different, but in most cases, talking fast is major tactical error. First of all, it may make it difficult for your prospects to absorb the information you’re giving them (and if they’re confused, they’re not going to commit); and secondly… well, you know what they say about ‘fast talking salesmen’. One way to get a reality check, once or twice a year, is to videotape and critique mock sales presentations involving you a few of your associates. Getting their feedback and seeing yourself as others see you can be an effective way to iron out some of the wrinkles that may be thwarting your sales performance and limiting your income.

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Sales Letters that Sell!

Summary: A step-by-step guide to writing powerful sales letters that produce results. Packed with tips, techniques and proven strategies that turn letters, emails and mailers into high-impact selling tools.  Learn to overcome the barriers to selling by tapping into the deepest psychological motivators of prospective buyers. Discover the three critically important parts of your offer, how to motivate procrastinators, and how to structure the all-important close that turns prospects into customers. Article Body: The average consumer is inundated with sales pitches. So if you’re selling a product or service to today’s ad weary consumer, if you want your sales letters to get results, you’ll need a step-by-step plan that breaks down the barriers to buying. A plan that bypasses the head and goes right for the heart. If the heart’s in it, the brain will follow. Buying anything is largely emotional.  Whether it’s paper clips or plain paper copiers, emotions lead the purchase.  Facts, specs and the like are simply used to justify the decision, once made.  Which means that everything about your sales letter, every sentence, every phrase must appeal to your customer’s emotions. What emotions? The simple truth is, there are only two emotions that really motivate people: The promise of gain or the fear of loss--with the fear of loss being the stronger. Example: Given the choice of headlines: “Save money in legal fees.”  Or  “How to keep from being sued.” The latter will probably get a better response. Supporting the promise of gain and the fear of loss are seven key emotional hooks or basic human needs. No matter what your product or service, to be effective, your sales letter must directly address as many of these basic needs as possible: • Safety/Security • Wealth • Good looks • Popularity • Self-satisfaction • Free time • Fun/Excitement So how do you get them to act? How do you go from head to heart? What’s the copy paradigm?  Imagine you’re in a baseball stadium facing an audience in rows of bleachers.  It’s the game of the century, ninth inning, bases loaded.  And you’ve got a bag of peanuts you absolutely must sell or the boss will fire you on the spot.  What would you do to get their attention? Yell “Peanuts?”  Start with a verbal “2x4” You’ve got to hit them over the head with an emotional motivator.  And that means you start with the envelope.  Remember-- gain or loss--it has to be right there on the outside, in bold. (When was the last time you rushed to open a plain white envelope?)  Two examples: Gain-- “We Put a Money-Making Miracle in this Envelope.” Loss-- “Throw This Away and Work Hard for the Rest of Your Life.” Okay.  They’ve opened the letter and what do they see?  A boring paragraph about your leadership in the industry?  Stuffy sentences about commitment, innovation and dedication? Whoosh.  In the round file it goes.   Time to visit our key motivators--gain or loss. Again, it’s got to be there in a headline they can’t miss.  And it must reinforce the headline that compelled them to rip open that envelope. Both headlines must dovetail in their message and emotional impact. Example: “Finish reading this letter and you’re halfway to becoming rich.” Next comes the all-important body copy.  What to say to leave them begging for your product. For this we go right into the consumer’s emotions, mining for clues to the perfect selling pitch. What’s the problem? A while back, McDonalds was beating the pants off its competitors. So Burger King hired a big powerhouse ad agency to gain them market share. They tried everything--analyzing secret sauces, elaborate contests, toy tie-ins. Nothing worked. Finally, they sent out questionnaires, did focus groups, and literally stopped people on the street.  And you know what they discovered?  Not what consumers liked, but what they didn’t like about hamburgers. For on thing, the leading hamburger came practically “factory made” with everything on it.  Some folks liked pickles, others hated onions or mayo.  That was “the problem.” The solution was simple: hamburgers made to order, followed by the now all-too-familiar slogan “Have it Your Way.” The point is, you’ve got to find and exploit your consumer’s problem.  And make your product the hero. Life without your product--miserable So, you’ve succeeded in getting your reader’s attention. You’ve discovered their “problem.”  Now it’s time to remind them how many ways that problem affects their lives. If you’re selling a cordless electric lawnmower, you’ll want to remind them of all the headaches of their old gas powered mower.  Like running out of gas, finding the gas can, taking it to the gas station, driving back with a can full of smelly gas in the car, maybe spilling gas on the carpet. Once at home, there’s the annoyance of yanking the starter until your arm feels like a wet noodle. And the fire danger of having a can of gas in the garage with kids playing near it.  The point is, you want to paint a very troublesome picture of life without your product. Life with your product—absolute bliss Now that you’ve raised your reader’s interest by making them feel the pain of life without your product, it’s time to provide your solution.  Here’s where you’ll briefly introduce yourself and your product or service.  No more running out of gas, no more smelling gas cans in your new car, no more yanking that starter cord till your arm falls off.  Just flick the switch and you’re ready to mow. Plug it into your electric outlet and it charges overnight.  Your worries are over. You go on and on, hammering home the fact that your product or service is the perfect solution.  At this point, your reader will probably ask, “Sounds interesting, but who the heck are you to think you can solve my problem? I never heard of you.” Credentials time Here’s where you build trust by detailing key facts that build confidence in you and your company. You could start by listing some testimonials from satisfied customers.  If these come from people in the industry who your prospect is familiar with, so much the better.  And if you can get photos, phone numbers and so forth, it will add even more to your credibility. This is also the time to mention how long you’ve been in business and any articles that about your company and/or its products that have appeared in the local or national media (these can be particularly valuable, since they come from an impartial source).  Now that you’ve assuaged their fears about doing business with a complete unknown, they’ll want to be totally sold about your product or service.  Here’s where you go into detail.  And this is the perfect time to do so, because you’ve established trust. They won’t be thinking about who you are, but what you can do for them--how you’re going to solve their problem.  Detail benefits, not features A key caveat here.  Don’t get your reader quagmired in “Featurespeak.” It’s easy to do and it’s what most unskilled writers fall victim to.  Featurespeak is for your sales team, not your potential customer.  Avoid things like “Our new cordless electric mower features the X9T Autoflex handle, or the PT600 Zenon Battery. Better to say, “Our new electric mower’s handle easily adjusts to your height for maximum comfort.” Or “The easily rechargeable battery lasts up to 5 years without replacement.” If your product or service has more than three major benefits, list them in bullet point form to make them easier to read.  Make them an offer they can’t refuse This is the crucial part of your sales letter. Your offer should be compelling, irrefutable and urgent. You want your reader to say, “This is a great offer, I’ve got nothing to lose but my problem.” Try to combine the big 3 in your offer--irresistible price, terms, and a free gift. For example, if you’re selling a cordless electric mower, your offer might be a discounted retail price, low interest rate, and a blade-sharpening tool.  Try to raise the perceived value of your offer by adding on products or services--for electric mowers, it might be an extended warranty or safety goggles.  Augment this with compelling benefits these additional products or services will provide. Assuage with a guarantee There’s a little voice in the back of every customer’s head that whispers, “Buy this and you’ll be sorry.” So make your offer bulletproof.  Take the risk out of the purchase. Give the absolute strongest guarantee you can.  It tells your reader you’re confident in your product or service.  Enough so to back it up with a strong guarantee. Don’t be afraid to make this final commitment.  Motivate the procrastinators So they’re reading your letter and are pretty convinced that your company and your product or service can solve their problem.  They want to buy.  The mind is willing but the flesh is weak.  Time to bring in our key motivator—fear of loss.  One way to tap into this fear is by convincing your reader that because this is such a good deal, only a scant few mowers remain.   Or that the extended warranty is being offered only for the next few days, or for the next 50 customers.  Our old motivator--gain--can be used here as well.  Example: “Buy now and get a $20 gift card--FREE!” Call to action--KISS You and your staff know what readers need to do to buy your product or service, but your readers are inundated with offers every day. And each offer has a different procedure for buying. Give them a break and walk them through the order/purchase process. And KISS (keep it simple stupid). Use simple action words like “Pick Up the Phone and Call Now!” If your phone number spells out a catchy slogan or company name, always add numerical phone numbers. If they need to fill out a form and mail it, say so.  And if possible, use large type on your form—especially if you’re selling to seniors.  Be clear on what they’re ordering and for what price. ABC! Follow Alec Baldwin’s admonition in the movie Glengarry Glen Ross—“ABC…Always Be Closing.” Sprinkle your call to action throughout your letter.  Ask for the order.  Then when you give the call to action at the end of the letter, it won’t come as a surprise, but just another reminder.   Better still, if they’re ready to order halfway through your letter, they’ll know what to do.  Postscripts are magic Nobody reads postscripts, right?  Wrong. The P.S. is the third most read element of a sales letter—after the headline and any picture captions. The top wordsmiths use several (P.P.S) in their letters.   It’s one of the best places to remind readers of your irresistible offer.  But you have to be brief and compelling, establishing urgency and value, and drawing on your key motivators of gain and loss. Drive it home on the order form The order form is where some of the greatest sales are won or lost.  It’s where that little voice in the back of your customer’s head comes alive once again and says, “You’ll be sorry” or “You sure you want to buy this now?” It’s what I call Preemptive Buyer’s Remorse.” Time to bring in our top gun persuaders--gain and loss--one last time.  Use the same persuasive arguments as before--only be brief, more compelling and urgent. Do you want the steak knives or the El Dorado? Okay, you’ve got the prized Glengarry leads. And the formula for writing a winning sales letter. Start by knowing your prospect’s problem, then drive home key benefits using the emotional motivators I’ve described. And don’t forget Alec Baldwin’s other maxim, AIDA--Attention. Interest. Decision. Action.  Get their attention, build their interest, convince them it’s the right decision, and finally, urge them to act.  Good luck.  You’ve got 26 letters in the English alphabet.  How you use them can make all the difference …between getting the steak knives or the Cadillac El Dorado. Create a powerful sale script in minutes using Scriptdio

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