Bill McRea

As  a small business owner you have no doubt heard all of the buzz surrounding mobile marketing. Well, if you have been paying attention, that buzz is getting louder and louder because of the exponential increases in the number of people worldwide who use mobile phones—which for some people is their only access to the Internet because they do not have or do not use a laptop or desktop computer.  Since the most effective marketing meets your audience where they are, you can no longer afford to ignore mobile marketing. This no longer new medium has vast, untapped potential but you must be prepared with knowledge and a sound strategy for moving into the mobile marketing space.

In this article we are going to look at some of the statistics around mobile marketing while separating the facts from the hype, and we will look at some of the different  mobile marketing strategies out there that will help you gain more exposure for your business.

What is the scope of the mobile device market?

You’ll notice that we’ve said mobile device rather than simply mobile phone because with the increasing popularity of tablet PCs that began with Apple’s iPad, mobile marketing doesn’t just reach phones anymore.

With 302.9 million wireless subscribers at the end of 2010, which accounts for 96% of U.S. households owning a mobile phone and fully half of those phones will be smart phones by the end of 2011. In fact 26.6% of those households are wireless only, meaning they have given up their land lines and only use their cell phones to communicate. There were 2.1 trillion text messages sent in 2010, and spanning all ages and types of phones used, 69% of mobile subscribers use SMS (text) messaging.

Source: CTIA

Examples of mobile marketing campaigns

Some of the different ways to reach consumers on their cell phones include:

• Mobile banner ads
• SMS text messaging campaigns using short codes
• QR codes
• Mobile website
• Location based marketing
• Bluetooth proximity marketing
• Voice (Interactive Voice Response
• SMS texting contests using short codes to build your mobile database (text to win a prize)
• Use SMS alerts to engage with customers informing them of upcoming events, and send service reminders
• Send mobile coupons
• SMS to email using short codes
• Geo-location apps. Customers text in their zip codes to find the closest store location.

Mobile marketing can outperform web marketing

InsightExpress conducted a qualitative study in 2009 that concluded that mobile marketing far outperformed online web marketing by as much as nine times with regard to metrics such as purchase intent.

Source: insightexpress.com/ommamobile

You can clearly see that mobile marketing is not the future it is right now. You are leaving money, more customers, market share and mind share on the table while you wait around to decide if you want to get started with mobile marketing. Jump on mobile marketing today and engage with your customers where they are.

For more information about how you can get started with mobile marketing, visit, http://mcreasite.com/blog, where you will also discover lots of Internet marketing tips and strategies for growing your business online.

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Before you start rolling Your eyes at the mention of article marketing because you think it’s ‘old school’ or passé, think again. Article marketing is still an effective, viable, online marketing strategy that can benefit your website in three powerful ways:

1. Article marketing creates high-quality, relevant backlinks to your site for improved SEO
2. Your articles will establish you as a trusted authority and subject matter expert in your niche
3. You create a flood of the best kind of targeted traffic to your site—visitors who have already consumed some of your content, so they are looking for more of what you have to offer

Article marketing was very popular back in the day for good reason—it totally works. Article marketing does take some time and effort, but once you invest that energy, your articles will continue to send you targeted traffic and sales for years to come.

How does article marketing work?

For those who are not completely clear on the concept of article marketing it’s very simple. You write a 400-600 word article based on the primary keywords for your website, include a link back to your site in the resource box at the end, and then your submit the article to an article directory. Visitors find your articles when they are searching for your keywords.  Email newsletter editors may grab your article from a directory and publish it to their audience spreading your link even wider.

What is the goal of article marketing?

The basic goal of article marketing is to generate targeted traffic to your website. Don’t overlook the opportunity that articles present for you to expand your brand, and establish your credibility in your niche.

You want to craft articles that will inform, entertain, engage and entice readers, but leave them wanting more of what you have to offer, which they will find when they follow the link back to your site. Think of your articles as an hors d’oeuvre—a tasty appetizer where the content on your website is the main course.  The content of your articles should showcase your unique strengths and what sets you apart in the marketplace without giving away the store in free content.

Tips for your article marketing strategy

• Write quality, original articles.
• If you re-write your articles, do it with an eye towards quality and making re-write able to stand on its own and convey the same sense of quality and originality.
• Spinning article content is a personal choice. Spinning produces a lower quality product, but it gives you exponentially more exposure. One alternative is that you can point the links from your spun articles back to the other articles that you have published online, blogs where you have guest posted and content sharing sites.
• Post your (original) articles to content sharing sites such as Hub Pages, Squidoo, Scribd, and a whole host of other sites of that nature.
• Post your articles on free blogs such as blogger, zimbio, wordpress.com, tumbler.com, etc. All of these properties will give you relevant, high quality backlinks.

Article marketing is made super-easy when you use ArticleBot software because the more articles you write, and the more places you submit them the more money you will make. Submit your articles to 400 directories and watch the traffic start rolling in. Visit, http://www.mcreasite.com/blog for tips and strategies for Internet marketing.

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You have been hearing a lot about how popular Video marketing has become and now you’re ready to take the plunge and give it a try but you want to know what the most effective strategies are for getting the most from Video marketing. Well, hang on and keep reading because you’re about to learn three hot tips for more effective marketing using Internet video.

1. Video testimonials from your customers

Video testimonials from happy customers with specific points about what they liked, or gained can have a powerful impact on conversions. When a new visitor hits your page, you’ve got to find a way to break through their initial hesitation and distrust. If they see videos featuring people just like them who have purchased your product or service and had good results they will be more likely to be willing to give it a try.

2. Person on the street encounters

Candid, unrehearsed videos of ‘average’ people talking about your product or service is also a powerful persuader. These types of videos can very effectively get your message across in an engaging and entertaining way while at the same time providing solid social proof that lends more credibility to your business.

3. Product/service reviews

There are a ton of questions in the mind of your prospective customers. Providing video reviews that answer a lot of those questions will help them become better informed about your products and services, and when it’s a third party review it’s that much more credible to the viewer.

4. Include annotations in your videos

Annotations placed at strategic intervals in the video help anchor the viewers’ attention and underscore what the person in the video is saying. Putting the call to action and the URL in an annotation is a powerful technique because now the viewer is both hearing it and seeing it at the same time.

5. Don’t forget a compelling call to action

Direct your viewer as to what their next best action should be after watching your video. Tell them what to do and more than likely they will do it. A strong call to action makes the video more effective.

People are drawn to Internet video because it engages so many of their senses. Appeal to their senses in your videos. Use evocative images. Make your videos both fun and educational, and if you can sneak in the educational part without sounding pedantic that’s even better. Most people enjoy learning new things, but making it fun will really draw them in to your content and possible make it more likely that they will share your video with their friends.

Take action on these tips to make your video marketing more effective, and don’t forget to have a little fun while you are doing it.

Want another powerful tip for effective video marketing? Get the best software that allows you to quickly start building your email list on auto pilot, and takes all of the hassle out of creating video sales letters. Visit, http://mcreasite.com/VideoPlayer, and find out how to start making money quickly.

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As enormous as the affiliate market is, it’s hard not to find an opportunity that captures Your attention. There are many different affiliate programs out there that will help you promote Your merchandise, using their quality products, and people are buying them. Believe it or not, last year over $2 billion was paid out to affiliates around the world for their promotional expertise. That should give you a visual picture of just how big the industry is. Wouldn’t you like to carve a generous slice of it for yourself? It doesn’t matter if you’re a new affiliate or an old one who has loads of experience; Your goal is to pull out as much cash as possible from selling affiliate products. The pool is big, it’s got many fish to catch, and it’s up to you how you plan for the big catch. The 4 effective techniques discussed in this article will help you know what to look for when dealing with affiliate programs and how to make them work for you.

1) Scrap the Losing Campaigns, Work with the Winning Ones – One of the most integral parts of affiliate marketing success is to make sure you are able to identify a product as a losing one or a winning one, and do this quick. There are many products available that look good at first glance. However, when you look at their sales page, it is a different story. Examine the sales copy and advertising graphics. If you see that the copy is uninteresting or the graphics are poorly designed chances are the item won’t sell. Profitable items will be popular with buyers. You can also test-market a product to see which one will generate an income. Real world, hands on testing is crucial. Once you get your hands on a product that is successful, start promoting it and juice all the profit you can.

2) Create an email list of your own when you find a winning product: Be sure that you have a profitable and popular product first, then use it to build your email list. You have to test the market and product before you put the time into building an email list with a relevant squeeze page and an autoresponder e-course. You will be wasting your time if you try to list in a market that does not favorably receive your item.` On the other hand, if you find a product and market that is very profitable, you can work to increase your profit margin by building an email list.

3) Welcome the Competition. Affiliate marketers aren’t out of build a product market. They’re out to capture their lucrative market share of what’s currently hot. Don’t pour all your efforts into an unknown product. Your profit lies in finding a reliable, proven seller and bridging the gap between producer and buyer. You want to find a market that already has many buyers and sellers actively participating in it. Using this type of market will decrease the chance that you fail as a result of a bad market.

4) Stay Focused On one Single Market – Some affiliate brag about being successful in numerous different niche markets. That method certainly works for some. But, especially for beginners, if you attempt to promote that many products, you will be unable to concentrate sufficiently on any of them, and your profit margins will decrease. You need to maintain all your focus on one niche market. By attaining success in one area, you will become an authority in that area and gain respect and a reputation, which will help you build your success even further. Once you have mastered one market successfully, then you can make the decision to move into another market.

By following these tips, I’ve been able to promote everything from birdcages to learn and master blues guitar and learn and master guitar. Try it out, and see for yourself.

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A niche market is a simply small segment of a larger market, so a site focused on selling personalized golf balls would be considered a niche market as compared to the much larger golf market, which in itself is still just a specialized segment of the sporting goods market.

The point is to find a specific niche and focus on providing products and services that meet the specialized needs of that market. Niche marketing allows you to get in there and connect with a defined group of customers, find out What is most important to them and learn how to meet their needs. The more you learn about your market the better you can refine your marketing messages and strategies most effectively.

A niche marketer learns exactly What their customers want and need and then they create products to fulfill those needs. Rather than trying to compete on a larger playing field, the niche marketer carves out their own corner and focuses their energy and resources on dominating that niche.

Affiliate marketing involves marketing other vendors’ products and earning a commission when the prospects that you send to the vendor’s website makes a purchase, in other arrangements, affiliates get compensated just for sending the lead.

Affiliate marketing is easy to get started with because you don’t have to have your own product in order to start making money online. What you must have is the knowledge and skill to employ effective marketing strategies that will set you apart from all of your competitors who are promoting the exact same product.

To get started with affiliate marketing, you can sign up for free with several affiliate networks where you can choose which products you want to market, and compare commissions on the various offers.  Both niche marketing and affiliate marketing have their strengths and weaknesses.

Which marketing option would you choose if you were just getting started in an online business?

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