How to Increase Traffic to Your Website: The Art of Article Marketing

How to Increase Traffic to Your Website: The Art of Article Marketing
Every business owner with a web presence and good sense
wants to drive traffic to their website. After all, more
traffic will mean more sales, and more sales means more
profits. There are many ways to drive traffic to your
site. Some are better than others, and some are great, but
are just too expensive. As well, not all traffic is of
equal value. Just because you get hundreds of visitors to
your site, doesn't mean that they will necessarily be
converted to customers.

The most important traffic to your site is targeted
traffic. These are the people who are actively searching
the web for information relating to your product or
service. There are various ways to attract this traffic.
Optimizing your website for keywords that your target
market is searching for is one way. But it can take months
for the search engines to pick you up, and it's often
difficult to get good rankings for popular keywords.
Another method to get targeted traffic is using
pay-per-click campaigns. If you know how to use
pay-per-click properly, you can gain traffic almost
immediately. The downside is, it could be costly. So how
do you gain the type of traffic that wants what you have to
sell, without having to compete for search engine rankings
or spend money? The answer is article marketing.

When you use articles as a means to market your business,
you are positioning yourself as an expert in your field.
The individuals who read your article are people who have
either searched for one of your article keywords, or are
looking for articles to publish in their ezine or
newsletter that may go out to a large number of people in
your target market. After reading your expert advice,
these individuals will decide whether they want to hear
more, and if they do, they will likely click on the link in
your resource box leading to your website. This is not
just targeted traffic; it's highly targeted traffic. If an
individual has clicked on your link, they have found value
in what you had to say in your article, and want to learn
more. This type of traffic is much more likely to buy from
you than the less targeted kind.

Your business is your area of expertise. Share some of
that expertise and permit your target market to see that
you are knowledgeable in your field. Be sure to spell
check your work and watch for words that are frequently
misused that won't be picked up by your spell checker, i.e.
"than" versus "then", "their" versus "there" etc. Have
someone proofread your article. When you proofread your
own writing, often the mistakes get overlooked because the
material is not fresh to you. Get a trusted friend or
colleague to check for errors and ask them for feedback on
the article. This will only make it better. Next, perform
a search for "free article submissions". Select both the
most popular sites and the ones that your target audience
is most likely to frequent. As they say, "practice makes
perfect"; the more articles you write, the better you will
get and the more easily the words will flow.

If writing really isn't your cup of tea, or, if you simply
don't have the time to write articles, you might want to
consider outsourcing this task. The highly targeted
traffic that results from a well-written article containing
fresh, useful information is too valuable for you to pass
up. Contracting this work to a professional Ghostwriter,
or a Virtual Assistant that offers this service, shouldn't
cost you as much as running a pay-per-click campaign. The
articles will look like they came from you, because your
name will appear in the resource box, and you own the
rights to the article because it was paid for by you, so
you can use it, and reuse it as you see fit.

The benefits of article marketing are too great too ignore.
If you are not article marketing, you are missing out on
one of the most effective and inexpensive ways to drive
highly targeted traffic to your website.

----------------------------------------------------
Kelly Sims is a Virtual Assistant and Owner of Virtually
There VA Services. To sign up for her free newsletter
providing useful information that enhances and simplifies
the lives of busy entrepreneurs, visit her website at =>
http://www.virtuallythereva.com .

Love my Alliances, Hate Negotiation

Love my Alliances, Hate Negotiation
Everything in life is a compromise; everything in life is a
negotiation. We all seem stifled by the word and
implications that surround negotiating. Yet what most of us
do not realize is that we have been negotiating since we
were born. From the time we wanted a bottle or refused
napping our education in negotiation began. In fact,
research for this article illustrates that 43% of the
American workforce changed jobs since 2006. And, the
divorce rate in the United States hovers at over 53%.

However, we become increasingly befuddled by negotiation.
We hold strong beliefs that negotiation is meant to be a
battle. We begin negotiations on the defensive and seek to
end them in a similar manner. The most vital idea to
comprehend about negotiation is its definition.
Negotiation is nothing more than an exchange of ideas and
values between two or more parties with different
interests. Conceptually negotiation is a communication and
critical thinking exercise inducing creative problem
solving. This article seeks to address ways in which you
can negotiate and still move away with your credibility and
friendships in tact.

The best concept for understanding negotiation is to
indicate what it isn't. We first need to debunk the myths.

Myth: Negotiation is about winning and losing. The myth of
win-lose is ancient. Validation of winning is not
bequeathing more concessions than the other party. One
simply needs to be concerned with the amount of take. This
denotes loss.

Myth: Negotiation is about power All people in a
negotiation have power. If two sides are negotiating each
as an equal amount of power, one desires something from the
other. Yet negotiation is not so much about power, it is
about honesty or lack thereof. Power stems from the side
that enables it. Donald Trump by nature believes he has
power due to wealth and notoriety, yet if he desires
something from someone else the power shifts. The larger
concern is not relinquishing power to the opposing side.

Myth: Negotiation is about chicanery In reality,
negotiation is about resolving an issue where both sides
obtain equal value by amicably and honestly agreeing to
terms. However, negotiation is similar to chess, strategies
are used and sometimes held so that each party gains more
than they requested. Rather than lie, most negotiators are
honest, they simply do not fully disclose information.

Myth: All negotiations are about prices and are sales
related Nothing is further from the truth. Negotiations
stem from all walks of life: from dating, to deciding upon
a movie to noise decibels. Negotiating establishes
boundaries and how far each side allows another within them.

Perhaps the most understood principle of negotiation is a
requirement to plan. Most often, negotiations fail due to
improper procedures, paperwork or misread issues. Planning
is the first and vital step in every negotiation. Each
party should strategize to define the motives of each side,
goals that might be addressed, time frames and players.
Research affirms that in 73% of most negotiators are
unprepared. This step is vital to assist in moving forward.
Good planning and comprehension help to avoid miscues and
maintain proper and efficient conversation. Exemplars of
good negotiation techniques are barely surprised by new
information.

Negotiations are mixed motive situations. Each side arrives
with a variety of goals and objectives- even timeframes.
What appears urgent to one; is apathetic to another. It is
imperative that issues be immediately addressed. Most
importantly, the issues must be documented so all parties
agree without a misunderstanding. A foppish issue should
not resurface at a latter time. The more detailed the
documentation the easier it becomes to facilitate
conversation. Once agreed to, timetables should be
established so as not to languish on any one issue.

Negotiation is information and relationship dependent.
Information is crucial to negotiation. The data need be
specific; it is easier to comprehend and complete issues.
Typically a tactical ploy to assist concessions, most data
is not displayed. Negotiators should then decifer the most
imperative issues first do that all needed data is
disclosed making for effective conversations.
Coincidentally, conversations are more placid when parties
are familiar with each other. Particular interest is
implicitly displayed since familiarity with both parties
shares a common interest- "saving face". Dignity is a
traditional process. Whether in business or amongst
friends, all desire to maintain honor, especially with
familiarity of the parties. As the cliché states
familiarity breeds content; the more familiarity with
someone the easier the negotiation!

Egos and Communication. Another crucial component for
negotiation success is to check you baggage and your ego at
the door. Good negotiators know they are purposeful and do
not advertise their success. A negotiation is concerned
with mutual agreement not wins and losses. Keeping egos in
check helps alliances and other desired relationships.

Additionally, all negotiators need reminders for ears and
eyes and not mouth. Too often negotiators tend to spoil
alliances by speaking too much. Peter Drucker once stated,
"Communication is often about what is not stated".
Listening enables all to understand issues, allow for
issues that might go unstated and strategically enable the
"opponent" to move first. The alliance builders understand
the vitality of listening, it is a practiced art form.

Compromise, Commitment and Conclusion. Negotiation would
not exist if not for the power and the reciprocity of
compromise. Concessions enable negotiators to agree on
small things to assist in declaring small victories.
Accommodations negate foolish issues and streamline
discussion. Once decided, agree to commitment and document
so as not to rehash. Trivial details take time away from
other important issues. It is more important to move
forward then review unnecessary data. Once the issue is
complete, move forward or conclude, it allows less time for
pondering decisions.

To allay any fears of negotiating, it is best to align this
business tactic with athletics, it is a learned format not
born. Admittedly, there exist individuals that love to
converse and banter yet negotiation is not an easy skill.
It takes patience, persistence and proper listening to
understand the issues. Negotiation is a part of everything
we do in life, almost every day. It is a skill that
combines crucial critical thinking, reciprocity, and
professional communication. It is not easy to win friends
and influence decisions in negotiation, yet if we
understand motives, create a thorough plan and expect the
unexpected, each negotiation we have becomes easier and
more effective. Negotiation increases our perception, our
patience and our resolve to maintain business relationships.

----------------------------------------------------
Drew Stevens PhD
http://www.gettingtothefinishline.com
Drew Stevens Phd works with organizations to maximize sales
in less time. Drew can assist your organization with sales
or customer service. Order his latest book now, Split
Second Selling available on Amazon.com or at his
website,http://www.gettingtothefinishline.com/products.php

Make Your Initial Offer Irresistible and You'll Be Fighting Off Clients

Make Your Initial Offer Irresistible and You'll Be Fighting Off Clients
Pulling clients in is not only more fun than pushing hard
to "get" clients, it's MUCH easier. Who wouldn't rather
have clients call them instead of pounding the pavement?
The concept is a no-brainer to grasp, but very few
solo-entrepreneurs actually do anything about it. Most are
wandering aimlessly, just waiting for clients to come to
them, but with little strategy involved. That's when
creating PULL marketing systems comes into play.

There are 3 powerful "PULLING-them-in" marketing techniques
I recommend in my programs and use myself, still today. In
this article, I want to share one of them with you. I call
it the 'Irresistible F.R.E.E. offer'.

Irresistible F.R.E.E. Offers (IFOs) literally make people
sit up and take notice and PULL them into your pipeline.
There are many forms of IFOs. It could be an audio CD that
you give away on your website and advertise on the web, a
special report, an intro teleclass, a workbook, an
e-course, a checklist or downloadable audio.

The list of possible IFOs is endless, but this strategy
works best when the topic refers to what your prospect
would do-anything and pay-anything to achieve or acquire.
(As a side note, I do not typically recommend offering a
fr.ee consultation. It is not only too time consuming, but
it attracts too many tire kickers who waste your time.)

Even though you're not charging for the Irresistible Offer,
it should absolutely be of high content and high value.
Like me, you've probably attended a no-fee teleclass or
received an ebook that left you severely under-whelmed. And
like me, you've probably forgotten that person very
quickly. The bottom line is, if your initial offer is not
high-content, you've wasted the prospect's time and
therefore, you've lost them for good.

When these F.R.E.E. offers have great value, you build your
credibility instantly, people talk about you to colleagues,
refer others to you, you get interviewed by joint ventures
and strategic alliances, and the media begins paying
attention, which all creates increased exposure and
visibility, without any extra effort on your part. And best
of all, your first impression (one of high-content,
high-value) keeps them thinking of you, over and over,
until they're ready to buy.

Now, before you start thinking, "Well, Fabienne, they WON'T
buy from me if I give it ALL away at no-charge", that's not
what we're doing here. I'm not suggesting you give away the
whole farm. That wouldn't make good financial sense.
Instead, I'm suggesting you give them the 'what', not the
entire 'how' on these no-charge offers. That way, most
prospects become intrigued with the high-content they
received at no charge, and will look to you for the
specific, pragmatic steps to implement them. That's key.

The mistake I see solopreneurs making in a first offer is
pitching their high-priced services from the get-go. I
personally think this is a waste of marketing real-estate,
because very few people will purchase your higher priced
programs or services without knowing a little more about
you. Remember the Know-Like-Trust Factor? People don't buy
from someone they don't know, they don't like, and they
don't trust.

You can immediately start the K-L-T Factor using the
Irresistible offer. Provided it's of high-content, high
value, it starts people off slowly, establishes
credibility, while positioning you as their problem solver.
Priceless! Once prospects receive great benefit from your
initial offer, they'll naturally move THEMSELVES up your
Services Pyramid pipeline, without any work or hard selling
on your part.

That's the beauty of this concept. You simply invite
prospects into your funnel and they will naturally move up
the funnel on their own, without effort on your end. The
best part of this is this process feels AUTHENTIC to you
AND to them. Your content does the work, and they don't
feel the sales pressure. Remember: people like to buy; but
they don't like to be sold.

All your F.R.E.E. irresistible offers are created to lead
people to your ezine or other stay-in-touch marketing
vehicles, where you continue to add high-content, high
value over time. This builds the trust and the credibility,
positioning you as their problem solver.

The goal is to consistently fill the pipeline, getting it
bigger and bigger over time, continually stocking the pond
with ideal clients who self-select and move themselves up
the ladder of the services you provide. THAT is what I call
'pulling' clients in and you're going to love how easy it
is.

Your Assignment:

Begin thinking about what your prospects would do-anything
and pay-anything to learn or experience from you. Then,
create an Irresistible Offer around that, giving them high
content but not the entire 'how' and put it in your
marketing materials. Set up systems for getting that
F.R.E.E. offer to your prospects with no effort on your
part and watch the leads come in, day after day. You won't
believe how easy it is to fill your pipeline effortlessly
and authentically!

Here's my formula for filling a pipeline effortlessly:

Compelling and authentic marketing message

+

Effective marketing techniques

+

Irresistible F.R.E.E. offers

= A FULL pipeline of prospects who call YOU

If you're not sure how to create a compelling marketing
message or set up effective marketing techniques in the
first place, then it's time to take action and invest in a
step-by-step marketing system that will feel easy and
authentic to you.

----------------------------------------------------
The Client Attraction Home Study System avoids all the
unnecessary stuff and instead gives you the most important
things to do to set up simple, solid systems, so that you
consistently fill your pipeline and continually get new
clients. It's all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of
things. So, you do step one of the system, and when your
done with that, you move on to step two and so on. You can
get it at http://www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com

Discover the Simple Secret to Building Wealth

Discover the Simple Secret to Building Wealth
Personal Financial Management is a topic that is growing in
complexity. It seems like more financial and insurance
investment products are available every day.

We really don't know what benefits may or may not be
available to us in the U.S. from government programs in the
future. So it's not wise to count on those programs for
future income in whole or probably even in part.

Many people are simply unprepared and uneducated about how
to implement long-term investment plans for their future.
It's critical that everyone have at least a basic
understanding about how to accumulate and preserve personal
wealth.

Financial Management is a very broad topic, but I'll focus
on the two major types of retirement plans that may be
available to many of us in the workplace. I want to
explain the two types and encourage you to participate in
them if you aren't doing so already.

The first is called a Defined Benefit Pension Plan and the
second is called a Defined Contribution Plan.

A Defined Benefit Pension Plan gives the participant a
specific monthly benefit at retirement. It could be an
exact dollar amount or it could be calculated using a
formula that considers the retired employee's salary and
length of employment with the company.

The important thing to remember about a Defined Benefit
Pension is that the investment decisions are made 100% by
the employer on behalf of the employee. The employee
doesn't have to save a dime out of their paycheck or even
think about how to best invest this money, because they
never see it.

For a Defined Benefit Pension, the employer takes all risk
and responsibility to make sure that they'll be able to
fully pay all retired employees who qualify for the
benefit. They use the services of an Actuary to make
complicated calculations that forecast their future income
needs for all employees who are likely to qualify for
retirement benefits.

The catch is that the length of service to qualify for
Defined Benefit Pensions is usually very long. If an
employee leaves the company prior to the required length of
service, they lose this valuable benefit. Fewer and fewer
employers offer Defined Benefit Pensions because they're
very costly.

If you have a Defined Benefit Pension Plan with your
company, consider yourself fortunate!

The second and most common type of retirement plan is the
Defined Contribution Plan. These provide an individual
account for each participant. You may know these as 401(k)s
or 403(b)s, for example.

A 401(k) plan allows an employee to have their employer
contribute a portion of his or her cash wages to the plan
on a pre–tax basis.

A 403(b) plan, also known as a tax-sheltered annuity (TSA)
plan, is a retirement plan for certain employees of public
schools, tax-exempt organizations, and clergy.

The benefits are determined by the amount an employee
chooses to contribute, up to a yearly maximum set by the
IRS. For 2007 the maximum contribution to a 401(k) is
$15,500. Participants have a certain degree of control
over the investment choices and can conveniently fund them
through payroll deductions.

Many employers who offer a 401(k) to their employees also
throw in an added bonus to encourage investment. They'll
match a set portion of the employee's yearly investment.
If you leave the company, you can take your 401(k) money
with you and "roll it over" into a new plan.

Understand that the portion of money that was given to you
from the employer in the form of matching usually has a
vesting schedule tied to it. So this means you may forfeit
all or a portion of those matched funds depending on how
long you were with the company.

However, there are some 401(k)s, with what's called Safe
Harbor plans, that allow for full vesting of all employer
contributions. If your employer has a Safe Harbor 401(k),
you get to take 100% of your matched money with you if you
leave the company.

If you have the option to invest in a 401(k) or 403(b),
don't take it for granted. Make sure to at least invest
enough money each year to optimize the employer's match to
you.

If you own or manage a small business, putting a 401(k) in
place may not be as expensive as you think. The one-time
activation fee and annual administration fees can be as
little as a total of $1,500 per year.

Over time, there has been a shift from Defined Benefit
Pension Plans to Defined Contribution Plans in the
workplace. This shift has resulted in a big challenge for
many average people because the result is a transfer of
risk and responsibility for creating retirement income from
the employer down to the individual worker.

Never procrastinate investing for your future because you
think you don't have enough to invest right now. You can't
think that you'll invest once you get that promotion or
land that big account.

You'll come out ahead if you invest a little bit on a
regular basis right now rather than waiting to invest a
larger amount in the future. When it comes to Personal
Financial Management, time is of the essence. So, the
biggest secret to building wealth is simple: to get ahead,
get started!

----------------------------------------------------
Laura Adams is the host of the popular MBA Working Girl
Podcast. The content combines brainy business school theory
with real-world business practice from her career as a
business owner, manager, consultant and trainer. Subscribe
for FREE to this top-rated show and get the useful MBA
Essential Tip at http://www.mbaworkinggirl.com

Freedom - What Does It Mean To You

I grew up in Europe, in communist Czechoslovakia (now Czech
Republic). Growing-up I did not have all of the privileges
we take for granted here in North America. I could get a
"good" education only if my parents were members of the
communist party. I was no allowed to travel, but I was
allowed to dream.

Today I live in Canada, here I found Freedom. Freedom of
speech, democracy, but most of all a freedom of choice.
However I found myself spending way too much time away from
home, having nannies to raise my children, barely seeing my
husband due to his crazy shift work and my time schedule.
Where did the freedom go? Or was this the freedom I dreamed
of?

I knew there had to be a better way... there had to be a
way to earn a multiple 6 figure income while actually
having a life, spending time with my family. So, I went out
on the Internet and found an opportunity that changed my
life. I found a home business with turn key, low start-up
cost. Internet based business, which I could start right
away. There would be no bankers to deal with or partners to
consult. I received the information and the decision was
clear. I found my vehicle to freedom, the one I dreamed of
as a child.

Then shortly after getting involved in this industry a
friend of mine shared an article with me. This article just
blew me away, because it clearly described the life I used
to live. So, I decided to share it with you today. Have fun
and remember there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

In the United States of America, Canada and through-out the
world lies a large industrial city which is the site of one
of the world's largest slave labor camps. Located in and
around the center of this city are community settlements
where the slaves live. Each morning the slaves move
herd-like from their quarters into the slave labor camps.
Each one is at his or her station by 7:30 AM. Here they
report to their master for the day's duties. And here they
remain chained until 5:00 PM when they're released to go
home. The slaves have no choice as to how many hours they
must labour. Sometimes they are required to work overtime
until their master tells them they may leave and go home.
Each year the slaves are told when to take their vacations,
for how long, and when they must return. They have little
choice as to how much money they earn as they are paid not
what they are worth, but what the job is worth. They are
allowed very little time for lunch and coffee breaks during
the labour hours. The slaves will remain in their chains in
great fear because the master can punish them with the
"firing" or "layoff" whip. It is said that even some of the
older slaves who have been good and faithful have felt the
sting of the whip. Day by day, year-by-year, the slaves
toil and grow older until the master decides it is time to
release them to the retirement camps where they're forced
to sit idle and wait for death. It's a well-known fact that
the old slaves who try to keep working are sometimes
whipped with a "stop-their-pension" whip. I know these
slave camps exist for I once was a slave. But now I am a
free man who lives among the slaves. The reason I am free
is because I am in business for myself. Yes, I am truly
free. I arise in the morning at the hour called for by my
schedule. I decide my own hours. I can even sleep in late
while the slaves are at work. I can vacation when, where,
and for how long I please. I'm free to take my coffee break
and lunch when I decide. And of course, I can decide my own
pay check because I am not a slave. I can choose to work
when and where I please and with whom I please. I'm free to
stay in the city for as long as I want, or to move on to
greener pastures if I decide to. I've seen many slaves
sadly pack their belongings to leave their city in search
of a new master, but it is always the same. There is,
however, a ray of hope for the slave. He or she can buy
their own freedom.

The cost is not high, yet it seems high to those who do not
have the courage to pay the price. What is the price? One
must be willing to be one's own master! Live Your Dream and
reach for your Goals. I made a decision to have Freedom,
without the decision I would not have the lifestyle I am
enjoying now. What decision are you going to make?

----------------------------------------------------
1. Helena Syptak is a top leader in the home business
industry. Helena works with entrepreneurs and success
minded people around the world. She devotes her time,
energy and skills into her team and helps them to reach
their success. To reach Helena directly visit –
http://www.coaching-2-success.com