Building eCommerce

By Richard Stooker

Many Internet marketers promote themselves by writing articles. However, few marketers understand that the title of an article is the headline for the article.

I belong to some article announcement email lists, and I assure you that 90% of article titles (your competition) range from unintentionally humorous to pathetic.

Here’s a small sample, author names removed to protect the guilty, from just one day:

“Extreme Sports: Are They Worth The Risk?” — This is not bad, but the author is trying to change the reader’s priorities rather than help them. “10 Easy Ways to Minimize the Risks of Extreme Sports” would be helpful rather than preachy.

“What Is A ‘Dot Net’ And Should I Install It?” — Who cares? For what? Try: “How Microsoft’s .Net Technology Can Help You Run More Useful Software Programs on Your PC.”

“10 Ways To Increase Your Blog’s Pageviews” — good one!

“Interior Designers Expand Your Advice to the Exterior” — I don’t even understand what this one is supposed to mean.

“The Power of Affirmations and Music” — the power to do what for me? A benefit is implied but not made explicit. Don’t make readers have to guess at how you can help them — telling them is your job.

“Why Should You Get Life Insurance?” — this question is structured to make me say, “I don’t know, so I better find out why.” But without the promise of a benefit, I just say, “Who cares?”

“What Is Keratoconus?” — who cares?

“Where’s the Beef?” — Where’s the benefit?

“A Lot Of People Could Use The Convenience Of A Money Transfer…” — I certainly could. If I read your article will you transfer some money to me?

“Wells Fargo Enters Payday Loan Business” — sounds like a press release, not an article telling me something that will benefit me.

“Everybody Can Garden With Containers” — So what?

“Transfer Made Easy Through Heavy Transport” — Do write titles that at least make sense.

“Great On Weddings” — What’s great on weddings and why should I care?

“Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) - A Heart Condition” — Where’s the benefit?

“Radical Muslims Run Afoul Of Kant’s Categorical Imperative” — maybe it’s about our newest weapon in the War on Terror.

Did you notice that article titles in the form of questions usually provoke you to say, “no” or “so what?” or “who cares?” What lesson can you learn from that?

I swear, this was just a random sampling from one day. I couldn’t have made them up if I tried. (And no, I don’t know what “keratoconus” is, and don’t care.)

Make the benefit of your article clear to the reader and you’ll be ahead of 90% of article writers.

About The Author

c. 2006 by Richard Stooker

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By Dennis Leem

Do you want to know more about email marketing? Gaining knowledge of any type is always a good thing. Education, whether it is formal or informal education, is the key to self-improvement and professional advancement. In this day and age, whether you work for yourself or for someone else, if you know more about the topic than the next guy, you’ll be two steps ahead of the pack and able to beat the competition.

Of course, one thing to keep in mind when learning more about this skill is that your marketing campaign needs to be directed at your target audience, the demographic of people who will do business with you. If you sold a product geared towards women for instance, then targeting men over age 50 probably isn’t the best approach.

Another thing to keep in mind when learning more about email marketing is that the customs and etiquette of the Internet are very strict when it comes to unsolicited email, especially that sent out for marketing purposes. If email is unsolicited, then it is considered spam, and spamming is at the very least considered to be rude and in poor taste. Some places and under some conditions it is even illegal.

So if you know more about how to market using email as it relates to spam and unsolicited email you will do several positive things. You will avoid legal problems down the road. You will avoid offending the people who receive your email. You will keep your reputation solid and positive. And, you will avoid contributing to the cyber clutter that litters the Internet. All of these are very good things indeed.

It is easy to see that getting to know more about this marketing skill is a positive move that you can make for your own future and knowledge base. Now, how does one go about learning more about email marketing? Well, the Internet itself is a great resource tool.

Simply doing a search in one of the search engines for something like “email marketing information” or “know more about email marketing” should bring up some websites with helpful information. There are many variations to the search criteria you can use. Doing this should also help you find forums and groups of people who will share information.

Many people involved in online marketing or wanting to know more about internet marketing belong to forums and groups and are happy to share information and exchange ideas. Some places will have articles of interest, or eBooks for free or at low cost. And as with most types of self-help information, when you explore avenues of getting to know more about marketing to a email list, those avenues will often lead to other sources of information, the same way one friend tells another, and another, and so on.

If you stay persistent, then your base of information will increase, as will your internet-marketing skills. You’ll get to know more about email marketing that you realized was available.

About The Author

Start your own internet business now. Visit http://www.internetmarketingexpertsecrets.com