It’s no secret that writing compelling articles can be an excellent method to driving traffic to your website or blog. However, the secret to making your article interesting is to give away enough information to solve one part of the problem, but to leave the other part unsolved so they want more information.

Useful But Incomplete

If I was just beginning to learn how to promote affiliate programs, I would be after information on how to create a website that sells, and of course how to advertise that website.

Now if you were writing an article and you had a product to sell on affiliate programs, you would write an article on how to create a site that sells, but leave out the part about advertising your site.

Of course people will need this information if they want to succeed, so more then likely if your resource box is compelling they will click on your link to your website.

Determine The Outcome Of Your Article

So, how can you write your article quickly, plus make it a viral marketing machine to help drive traffic to your site?

Well firstly you have to know where you want the article to go. For instance, are you planning on making this a series of articles that link together or is it just a one-off article?

You must determine the outcome for your article before you can write it. Now, writing your article isn’t all that hard, and certainly not as difficult as most would have you believe.

Conclusion

As a rule of thumb, you should try and make your article between 500 - 700 words. To do this, outline the topics you are going to cover and writing 100 or 200 words on each topic. This helps to make the article flow and easier to write.

For example:

If your were writing an article on getting more traffic to your website on a budget, you could us an outline similar to this.

1. Introduction to budget advertising
2. How to write articles that get publishing every time
3. Joint venturing for huge profits
4. Getting all the free links you can
5. Search engine ranking tactics that work

Then you would write 100 - 200 words on each topic It’s that simple.

If you take the time to plan your article, overtime your business will grow using this marketing technique.

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As a either an offline or online business owner, you never want to miss an opportunity to grow your business and capitalize on any potential sales. One of easiest ways to grow your business is by using testimonials. Quite simply, they’re cheap, are easy-to-use, and above, are a powerful marketing tactic.

Establishing credibility with your visitors and customers can build trust, which in turn will create profits. This should be high on your to-do list, regardless of which stage your business may be in. Due to our cynical attitude, most of us need proof that something works and would be more inclined to make a purchase based on this rather than rely on a sales pitch alone.

Fact-filled testimonials on your website will satisfy most customers and is one of the most high- impact ways to let your visitors know that the product you want them to purchase lives up to their expectations.

So, How Do You Get Testimonials?

Getting testimonials may require some work on your part, especially if your business is in its early stages. Here’s how you can collect the testimonials you need to help grow your business and increase sales.

Provide a link on your site with a web form, which will allow your customers to give you their feedback. This will give them the opportunity to share their thoughts and experiences about your product. As you collect your testimonials, you will then place your “request feedback form” next to some testimonials that you’ve already gathered. This will give your customers an idea of the kind of feedback you’re looking for.

A more effective approach to this method is to use your autoresponder. By having them opt-in to your autoresponder, you can then contact them after they’ve purchased your product - even weeks, or months later, of course you don’t want to wait that long to communicate with them.

Making Use of Your Sub-list

Creating this sublist serves another important purpose.

By having this sub-list in place, you have now established a list of people who have purchased from you. Now you can market to this group of list with other related products and services. Remember, the idea is to create a long life customer and not just a buyer.

Now that you have this sub-list in place, you can now follow up with them and ask about their experience with your product, as well as giving them a chance to offer feedback on their customer service experience. Don’t forget to follow up and recommend other great products or services.

If you happen to receive a great testimonial from one of your customers. Get their permission to post their feedback and comments on your website. Let them know that in return, you will give them some free publicity by including their website URL in your sales page, a win-win for the both you .

How To Make Use of Your Testimonials

• Here’s how to make the most of your testimonials:
• Place your best testimonials in the top fold or the side bars.
• Place some testimonials right in the middle of your homepage.
• Dedicate a separate page to your testimonials - include snippets of their comments.
• Link to your testimonial page next to each of those snippets.
• Include a link to your testimonials on each and every page of your web site.
• Don’t edit your testimonials to exclude a comment or add information you want to hear
• Never use a customer testimonial without permission.

Conclusion

Getting testimonials can certainly boost your business, but if you happen to have no testimonials in place, you can always offer your product or services for free to a select group of people on your list. This is assuming you have a product in place that you haven’t launched. Once your testimonial list begins to grow, make every effort to place them in the most prominent positions of your sales page.

Most important of all, never risk committing fraud by inventing testimonials as this can easily ruin any credibility you’ve worked for and can result in destroying your business. Follow these simple guide lines and your business will grow.

A well written headline will give a reader a reason to chose your article over someone else’s. A good headline provokes the readers attention and teases their curiosity. Here’s how you can increase your website traffic, using these two simple secrets. You can write a catchy headline by:

1) The use of trigger words:

• secret
• discover
• important
• never before seen
• amazing
• incredible
• unbelievable
• shocking truth
• how to

2) Asking a question:

• Is it possible to…
• Have you seen…
• Why does…
• When is…
• Who is…
• What you don’t know about…
• Can you really…etc

Avoid writing headlines like these (actual article headlines taken from ezinedirectory.com):

• “Fiberglass Speaker Boxes”
• “Internet Usage”
• “Essentials of Broadband Routers”
• “Legalities of Pollution”
• “Innovative Floor Tile Ideas”

Instead, write headlines like these:

• “Are Fiber Glass Speaker Boxes Really Worth The Money?”
• “The Shocking Truth Behind Internet Usage!”
• “What You Don’t Know About Broadband Routers”
• “What Are The Legalities Of Pollution?”
• “Have You Seen These Innovative Floor Tile Ideas?”

What headlines would get your attention?

Once you have succeeded in getting readers for your articles you then need to get the all important click thru to your website. This is very easy to do. Instead of submitting the entire article to the directories, split the article in two and submit only a portion of the article.

In the resource box you would then write something like, “Part 2 of this article can be found at “www.yourblog.com” or “To view the rest of this article please visit: “www.yourblog.com.”

Using a tagline like this instead of the usual tag line practically forces the readers of your articles to click thru to your site.

A tip on article splitting….

You want to split the article at a point that will entice readers to read the rest of your article.

You can do this by going through the article and finding what you believe to be the most interesting or informative part and retaining that portion on your blog.

For example, suppose you had written the article above on innovative floor tile ideas.

In order to split the article you could divide the ideas into a list and retain the top 5 or 10 ideas on your website. Then you could write a tag line in your resource box like:

“For the top 5 innovative floor tile ideas please visit www.yourblog.com.”

Conclusion

The bottom line is that traffic is the key to your success, and as website owner there are many different ways you can create a flood of free traffic. If you can create quality articles in a flash you can just as easily create a stream of traffic to your website.

Even though starting an affiliate marketing business is easier and more affordable than starting a real-world business there is still some risks. This is why it is important to conduct your online affiliate business as you would any other business. If it is your sole source of income you’ll want to give it your all and make it as successful as possible.

Today we will look at ways to get your business going and make it successful so that you can get your online business off to a great start and keep it profitable.

First Golden Rule of any Business - Identify Demand

With affiliate marketing you’ll likely be giving a range of products to sell. Check out the demand of these types of things. You should try to stay away from trendy items. They’ll sell like mad one minute but you’ll be giving them away the next. You want thing that you know people want and need. That way your long term sales objectives will get met.

Don’t Limit Yourself - Offer Variation

Next is don’t limit yourself to just one product. Try to offer a variety of things. Many affiliate marketing programs offer a selection and it is best to go with these. Basing your business on one product may work in the short term. However someone will eventually come along with something better or cheaper.

Set your business apart from others. You need to establish what makes you and what you offer better from others. What do you offer that sets you apart from other businesses? You should always use tact when talking about your competition. Putting them down or being rude will only backfire on you. Talk up the advantages that you offer and leave it at that.

Provide Great Customer Service

Always do your best to ensure fast and efficient service to your customers. However there will come a time when there is a glitch. You need to keep your customers informed and aware of what is happening. Listen, things happen that are beyond your control but most customers are very forgiving if they are made aware of this. Keeping your customers in the dark could result in loosing them for good.

Conclusion

Finally, keep your customers happy. The happier they are the more likely they are to come back. Offer your customers incentives such as savings on their next purchase. It may cost you more but only in the short term. Keeping your customers happy will result is them referring you to others.

Online affiliate businesses can be easier to operate in the sense that they can minimize risk, however everything else is like any other business. You need to work very hard to keep your customers happy and you need to set yourself apart from others and protect yourself against the worst. By following this simple advice you will be giving your online business the best possible chance for success.

Article marketing is one of the most powerful forms of marketing you can get online. Even more appealing, if you’re just starting your online business, it is an extremely cost effective method of generating traffic to your site or blog. I highly recommend that if you haven’t yet started to write and submit articles, you should make this your #1 priority over the next few weeks.

Here are the steps to writing an effective article…

1. Choose an attention-grabbing title:

Whether or not someone even reads your article at all is dependent upon your title. This is especially important when you submit it to directories and publishers where there are hundreds of entries.

Here are some templates you can use for your titles:

• How to _________ In _________ Steps
• How to _________ In _________ (Time Frame)
• The Real Secret to Quickly ______________
• Top 2 Ways to ________________
• 3 Little Known Tips for _____________
• The Hidden Costs of ________________

2. Determine 3-5 points of interest:

You’ll want your article to be 500-750 words, so write 3-5 sections that are about 100 words each along with an opening and a closing.

3. Write an interesting opening sentence:

Your title gets them to take a look, and you want to immediately get them into the main body of your article. There are several things you can do in this opening sentence to lure readers in deeper…

• Ask a question
• Reveal something startling
• Inject emotion
• Present a problem

4. Close with a call to action:

Your mission is to get them to move on to your desired action. When they finish reading your article, they are going to do something other than just sit there and stare. They’ve got a ton of options and only one of them is to do what you want them to do.

What you want to do is LEAD the reader to your resource box. You do this by bridging the gap between your article and your resource box - you create a “transition” between the two.

In your article conclusion, you’ll summarize the 3-5 points you made in the article. Your resource box should reference something related to those 3-5 points. It will draw the reader to click to your site.

Conclusion

Whether you are submitting your articles to directories, posting your articles at your website, blog, or inserting your articles into viral e-books to be passed around the web……your #1 goal is to get subscribers onto a list and your 2nd goal is to get them to your sales letter.

You can do this by giving away a free report or mini-course in your resource box and place that freebie at the top of a sales letter or redirect them to a sales letter after they’ve joined a list.

Hiring an accountant for your business is like hiring a plumber for your pipes. Sure you could do it yourself but wouldn’t you rather hire an expert? One of the many reasons people struggle to handle their own accounting is the fear of trusting their finances and personal information to a stranger. That is certainly an understandable reason to hesitate however there are measures you can take to hire an accountant you can trust for your business.

Step One: Determine what you need an accountant to do. Do you need them to handle pay-ables and receivables or are you more concerned about quarterly tax filings? Are you looking for someone to compile financial statements on a regular basis or to simply perform the task once in order to apply for a business loan or to present to investors? Define what you need an accountant to do before you set out to find one you can trust.

Step Two: Ask for referrals. One of the best ways to find any kind of provider whether it is a ghostwriter, attorney or an accountant is to ask people you know and trust for referrals. The presumption being, of course, that the accountant has an established history working with people you know and trust and is therefore trustworthy for your business needs too.

Step Three: Schedule an appointment. You have your list of the tasks or responsibilities you need an accountant to handle, once you have a handful of potential accountants to contact, start at the top of the list and make appointments to meet with them for a consultation. This doesn’t have to be face to face and in our virtual world it often isn’t however scheduling a bit of time to chat with a potential accountant.

Step Four: Ask questions. In addition to making sure they’re ready, willing, and able to take you on as a client, make sure they have experience with your sized business, the tasks you need accomplished, and that they have the time available in their schedule to be responsive to your needs. It’s important to find an accountant who isn’t just trustworthy but who also isn’t too busy to return your calls.

Step Five: Recommendations. Ask your potential account who they’ve done business with and if you have questions about them don’t be afraid to also ask for recommendations or people you can contact to make sure this is the right accountant for you.

Step Six: Establish a system of how communication and documentation are going to work. If you set this up ahead of time you will know when to anticipate a call back from your accountant or when you need to have your paperwork together for your quarterly returns.

Step Seven: Shake hands, sign agreements and take the necessary precautions to ensure a professional and accountable relationship on both sides.

Conclusion

Hiring an accountant you trust can be an intimidating process however there are steps to take to ensure you’ve found not only an honest accountant but one that will work well with you and your business.

Attorneys come in every shape, size, and purpose. There are contract attorneys, estate planning, family law, corporate attorneys, litigation, patent law, real estate and so on. Before you can set out on the search for legal help for your online business, it is first important to determine what type of attorney you need.

Once you know what kind of legal help you need, it’s easier to find a match for your specialty. Here’s where to look:

Referrals. One of the best ways to find great legal help is to ask friends, family, and associates who they like to work with or who they know. Not only will this likely give you a list of trusted legal help, when you’ve been referred by a client, it may give you a little wiggle room with fees.

Online directories. There are a huge number of listings and directories online. Each one generally lists attorneys by several categories including specialty and location. One notable directory of attorneys and legal advisors is Nolo.

Lawyer referral services. These services generally require attorneys to register to belong to the referral service and the attorneys are also generally screened quite thoroughly.

Networking groups. Both online and off, business associations, forums, membership sites and local chamber of commerce meetings can generate a number of options for legal help recommendations. If you’re in a very unique industry and have specialized legal needs then starting with associates in your industry is likely the best first step.

Once you have a list of potential attorneys, it’s time to screen them to find the attorney right for you and your business needs.

Schedule a time to talk. Personality, communication habits, and demeanor are all important when seeking an expert to help you and your business. Take a few minutes to chat with any potential advisors.

• Ask plenty of questions including have they worked in your industry?
• Have they worked with your sized company before?
• What is their experience with your issues?
• What companies have they worked with?
• Can you contact any of their clients?
• How quickly can they turn around your project?
• Will they be doing the work themselves or will it
  be handed to someone in their firm or office?

Request an estimate of fees before you get started with actual work.

Conclusion

As you can see, finding legal help for your online business, is an essential necessity. It is also important to build a positive relationship with an attorney, in order to ensure your online business needs can and will be handled as needed. Rather than waiting until you have a pending legal issue, take the time to find a great attorney ahead of time. If something comes up that is out of their realm of experience, they can most certainly recommend a specialist to help you.