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Successful websites don't set out to sell

29/10/2021

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What are websites? Are they sales tools for vendors and service providers, or are they electronic guidance for potential customers? Put simply, are you selling or are you helping?

Your answer to this question may determine the success of your website. So think carefully.

How we define what a website is all depends on which side of the fence we're on. I suspect that most - if not all - vendors and service providers would say their website is a sales tool. But this is a fundamentally flawed perspective. Adopt this position, and sooner or later you'll pay for it.
​To really understand what a website is for, we need to think about who the Internet serves. It's tempting to think cynically and argue that it serves commercial interests, but that's getting the cart before the horse. The Internet serves buyers and information seekers. That's what most people use it for.

What your visitors are really looking for is a website that helps them. 
laptop, notepad and smartphone on table
A website that helps them buy when they want to buy. Helps them understand when they want to understand. And - most importantly - a website that helps them decide when they want to decide.

If you really want to build trust, credibility, authority, and site loyalty, helping visitors is the way to go. Of course, that's not to say you have to do it for free. We're all in business to make money after all. In fact, the main aim of many of your visitors will be to buy something. But it's important that you focus on them, not on you. For example, your visitors don't want to know what you have to sell. They want to know what they can choose to buy. If your primary focus is sales, your visitors will pick up on it.
To generate revenue from our websites - either directly or indirectly - we need to build them to help our readers. Don't start by asking, 'How can I sell?'  Instead, start by asking 'How can I help?' (Even 'How can I help them buy?' is a step in the right direction.)

We need to build our websites from the ground up to be a form of online help. Think of your website as a cousin of the online help provided by Microsoft Office. (If you think of Microsoft's help as the slow-witted cousin, you're on the right track) 
woman browsing on smartphone
The key to successful online help is to always try to answer one simple question: What does the reader want to know? Do they want reference information or how-to information? Do they want to know how to get started or how to get out of trouble? 

​Sure, when you're writing for a website, the subject material is different, but the question is still the same. What does your reader want to know?

Obviously, the answer to this question will be different for everyone, but there are some common questions you can ask yourself which might help you decide:
  • Who is your audience?
  • What time of day are they most likely to be searching?
  • Are they searching from home or their workplace?
  • Are they the business owner or do they have a boss looking over their shoulder?
  • Are they relaxed or in a hurry?
  • Are they spending their money or someone else's?
  • Are they looking for something which will make their job easier?
  • Or are they looking for something which will make their job possible?
  • Are they trying to solve a problem or avoid a problem?
  • Are they looking for a budget solution or a 'best of breed' solution?
  • Are they looking for something with all the bells and whistles or something which focuses on one thing only?
  • Are they looking to buy immediately (just as soon as they know they've found what they want)?
  • Are they comfortable with internet purchases?
  • Are they the final decision makers or do they need to convince someone else as well?
  • How much do they already know about your subject material?
  • How much do they want to know?
​Whether you do some real research or just make some educated guesses, it's important that you know your visitor very well. Then, and only then, can you help them. And only when you help them will you start to realize the true sales potential of your website.

Happy writing!
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Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now or schedule a talk.
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Mix Info Products and Affiliate Marketing for Massive Profits

20/8/2021

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​Believe it or not, finding a product to market is usually the least of your concerns. There are many ways to find a product. You can create your own information product, sell a service, or market other people’s products for a commission. Use your creativity, be persistent and course correct. After some time you will see results coming in.
e-commerce
While providing a service for people is good, it is often the most time-consuming of the three. For example, if you write resumes for people you only get paid if you work. But if you sell an already-made product, such as an information product or an affiliate product, after you are set-up you can set up your website on autopilot and make sales with little work on your part.
Let me be very clear: You will have to work. You must maintain, at an absolute minimum, your advertising. If you do not, your lead generating machine will dry up. 

You may decide to write your own information products. This is not as difficult as it sounds. You know something about something: What do you do for a career? What hobbies do you have? What do you like reading about? Correlate these ideas together, and out comes an ebook, an autoresponder course, or a special report! 
e-book
Your product does not have to be long, especially if it is a specialized product. For example, a well-written 5 page how-to article on grooming your dog could sell for $15-$20 dollars. 

Think about it: People are looking for your information because they do not want to go to the groomer’s (probably because they think it is overpriced). If they normally pay $40 per visit, and they visit once per month, they pay $480 yearly to the groomer.

​On the other hand, if they buy your information, even at $20, you will have saved them $460 (minus the cost of grooming equipment they will have to buy) and quite possibly gain a customer for life. ​
​You may choose, however, to market someone else’s product. This is called "affiliate marketing" and is probably the most popular form of internet marketing. One caveat: Pick your product well, because some products, especially those sold by the "gurus" are in over-saturated markets. 

You can be innovative and combine the two (info product and affiliate marketing). Take the example of the how-to article on bathing and grooming your dog. 
woman reading kindle
You have provided your customer with a very well-written explanation of how they can save money by grooming their dog at home. Even though they have saved money, they still need grooming tools and equipment. 

You can research the various grooming tools, looking for best price and best value, and add one or two pages to your booklet recommending these. Add value to your business by setting yourself up as an affiliate for those products, and recommend your affiliate link in your booklet. Then, when your customers click on the link to buy the grooming tools, you make a commission.
​Congratulations! You just experienced multiple streams of income, as you were paid twice: once on the purchase of your info product, and again on the purchase of the grooming tools you affiliated for. 

This is how to parlay your experiences into multiple streams of income online.
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Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now or schedule a talk.
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Keywords - The Dos and Don'ts

14/8/2021

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​Keyword Identification is critical to creating content. Selecting keywords related to your niche should be your top priority. The quality of these keywords is critical for better ranking in search engines. Researching the right keywords for your website can place your website in the main results or hide it away from your audience. You're looking for word combinations that people will regularly use when searching.
keywords scrabble
The million dollar question is: How can I do this and get the best results? I have prepared an article that will guide you through the process in 3 steps:
  • Step 1 Keyword Research, Ranking, Identification and Selection
  • Step 2 - Keyword Placement and Density
  • Step 3 - Keyword Marketing

Before I go any further, it's important to understand that keywording is one of several important steps in your SEO strategy. This alone will help but it's not the final solution for ranking

If you've already written several pages of content, that's alright, but the best course of action is to start with keyword research, selection and density. Trust me, this is time well spent. If search engines understand what you’re all about, it's easier to include your website in the results. Follow the steps I have mentioned below and your website will enjoy better ranking in search results.
Step 1
Research, Ranking, Identification and Selection
: This should be the first step while building your content, because it will be built around the keywords and phrases which have been identified at this stage. This stage is critical and if not done correctly you won't achieve the desired results. There are different ways to identify how people search on the web.
laptop on table
1) Think about what keywords you would choose while you search for certain products or services. Think from a customer point of view and not from a search engine or SEO point of view. Collect and write it down. I suggest using a spreadsheet so that it will help you in the stages as well. 

2) Another option is to ask your customers and friends how they search on the net to find your business. People think differently and might not use the same keyword phrase to find that product or service. This will be a source of target keywords. Collect and store them.

3) Keyword suggestion tools. There are 100's of tools on the web some of them are free and others charge a fee. This link will help you out to select the one that works best for you. Type in your keywords and phrases into these tools and you will find 100's of keyword suggestions for a particular product or service along with monthly search stats. They also indicate how much competition there is for that particular keyword phrase. It's always more challenging to rank for high search volume keywords. Choose keywords that are less competitive, so that your website will rank well for that particular keyword phrase in search engine results. Try to include long tail keywords (4 words or more). They are often less sought after and can provide a competitive edge.

Once these steps are done, use your spreadsheet to determine the ideal keywords. Google likes websites with more content. Why do you think Wikipedia is usually the #1 result in any search? Build a spreadsheet that will list the relevant keywords for your business compared to the search volume and competition it faces to be well ranked. As mentioned before, try to choose less competitive keywords. After this stage is completed, it's time to start building content for your website.

​4) If you’ve already published your website, check your web logs and gather keywords that people use to  find your site. This will guide you to adjust your content. Make sure to register your website with Google Search Console as it captures the queries used to find your site.
Step 2
Placement
This is an important step. Why? Because if the keywords are not placed properly, the search engine spiders will have a difficult time identifying and storing information from your web pages. Your most important keyword should appear in the title of the page at least once. Next, the same or related keywords should be on the heading of the page. Also use a related keyword while starting a paragraph and throughout the web page evenly. The density factor is discussed below. 
keywords on board
Density
Search engine robots are very intelligent spiders they can determine when you're trying to cheat them. They index web pages to determine how many times a keyword has been used on a particular page and can flag a website if it identifies word stuffing. Now you see now why keyword density is so important - it can hurt your ranking! An ideal rate would be between 10-15 % of keyword density on the page (based on the total amount of words).

Use different keywords related to a phrase so that the words are picked up by search engines. If the job is well done, search engines will determine a page or website as relevant and identify it as authoritative content. For example, a search for the keyword "dog supplies" shows numerous related terms like "dog supplies online" "dog supply store" etc. Select words and related expressions that will help better identify your website within the market it represents and build your content avoiding keyword concentration.
Step 3
Marketing

After curating your content with regards to keyword identification, density and placement, you're ready to kickstart your keyword marketing. Guest posting and article submission are good ways to do that, but always check the domain rating of the website or blog you're evaluating. Low ratings will not give you the internet juice your website craves. Make sure you are allowed to include links in your article (pointing to your website) and that the links are DoFollow as opposed to NoFollow.
online marketing
Use your spreadsheet with the selected keywords to place them in your article as links to make them your anchor text. These will eventually be picked up by search engines and become keywords related to your website.

Also consider including your site in relevant business listings. Search for the term "business listing {name of city where your business is located}". Some are free, others are paid and several of them provide DoFollow links to your website. The more external links pointing to your website from relevant websites (content and rating) the better. Search engines read this as authority and reward it with a better ranking.

And remember, this is not a sprint, it's a marathon. If you are well prepared slowly but surely your website will increase in importance and start showing up in search results. Make sure your design is user friendly, the content is easy to find and you offer several contact options. Visitors don't spend time on websites that they can't find what they're looking for. Happy keywording!
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Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now or schedule a talk.
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Internet Marketing - Seven Tips To Boost Your Blog

18/6/2021

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Most bloggers love when their traffic is high and they have a great deal of fans. Getting to that popular point can be a little difficult however. If you want to have a successful blog, you will need to make sure all of the components are there. One of the most important components to have within your blog is scanability. This really means that your blog is scannable, or easy to go through quickly while still capturing the main points of your posts. Use these seven tips to make sure your blog is scannable and you will see an increase in traffic to your site.
1. Keep It Short
The number one mistake bloggers make when posting is creating extremely long posts. You should always be honest about your views and post accurate information. However, you should also be concise with your posts. Web surfers don’t have the time or the desire to sit around for hours reading your blog. They are looking for a quick satisfying post to quickly fill them up. They want something that is full on content, but not lengthy. If you tend to be wordy with your posts, try cutting them down a bit to see if your traffic increases.
man working on tablet
2. Create Interesting Headlines
The way you set up your posts has a lot to do with them being scannable. Your posts should always have an interesting headline. It should be catchy and attention grabbing with its wording. It should also be done using different style elements such as bold print, colored print, and italics. The more attention you get to the headline, the easier it will be for a reader to go through your posts and read the ones that interest them most. When you make it easy for the readers, they will read more.
3. Breaking Up Your Posts
Breaking up your posts is not only about headlines, it is also about endings. Create a signature way of signing off on a post. You can sign your name or your can always end with an interesting quote. You can also choose to end with a question to try to get readers involved. No matter what your signature ending is, it will be easier for people to shift their focus from one post to the next when they see it. It will become familiar to regular readers and will be a comforting sign that you have nothing else to say on that topic at that time.
blog post
4. Cut Out the Big Words
You should never feel the need to use enormous words that very few people understand or can even pronounce. The best thing you can do is keep the grammar very simple on your blog. By doing so, you are making your blog easier to scan and to read. Most people will only look through the blog for phrases and headings, so these big words can really be distracting. With less than 20% of blog readers going over word for word, you should not waste your time trying to impress. Instead, write in the manner that you would talk to a friend. Making it casual is a great way to gain a lot of interest.
5. Don’t Use It as a Story Site
When someone uses their blog as a place to post lengthy stories about life, they are making a mistake. Blogs are indeed personal journals and if you want to do that, you are entitled. However, if you want your blog to be popular, you should not post stories. Instead, to make your blog more scannable, you should post lists. Lists are very effective ways to make your blog scannable and readers will love you for it.
woman working in laptop
6. Graphics Work
Graphics were once things that bloggers thought got in the way of their content. Today, however, the opposite is true. When done appropriately, graphics can really add to your content and make your readers more interested. You can make your site scannable by adding a few graphics to your blog. Try adding graphics that go along with your posts for an efficient approach.

7. Be Clear
When you have something to say on your blog, just go ahead and say it. Some bloggers tend to let their opinions or main points drift in and out of their posts subtly. The most effective way to get your point across in a blog is to come out with blazing guns. You should keep your main point close to the beginning. This is a great way to know readers understand what you want to say.
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Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now or schedule a talk.
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Facts Tell, Stories Sell - Increasing Your Online Sales!

23/4/2021

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​We all want a piece of the pie. Why not, it's large enough to spare a chunk to you right? There's nothing wrong with wanting more than just a piece, you're an entrepreneur, you want a LARGE piece.

I want to show you how, by simply adding a few testimonials here and there, you can dramatically increase your chances of making more sales online and offline.
marketing business woman
We all want to believe that you have the best "gadget & widget" out there. We want to believe it because you said so. But the harsh reality is that we simply can't just take your word for it.

For instance, just for an example, let's use "Company Logo Design". Here is the difference between facts tell and stories sell.
Ex #1 (Facts Only)
Company Logo Design - You will get
  • 5 concepts to choose from
  • Unlimited Revisions to 1 concept
  • Cloud File (All images print ready)
  • Satisfaction Guaranteed!
All of this for $199.00 CLICK HERE

​Sounds like a good service for the buck no? Not bad. Now let's see the power of adding a story to these facts.
two men shaking hands
Ex #2 (Story + Facts)
"PERFECT, that's the only word I can use when describing this company's logo design service. They not only saved me a lot of time but they also spent most of their time finding out what I wanted. In the end, they provided EXACTLY the type of logo I was looking for, thank you so much!!!!"

We are here to help you succeed and want to deliver something you're looking for, not only what our designers want to create. Get a logo you are looking for with these extra features attached:
  • 5 Concepts to choose from
  • Unlimited Revisions to 1 concept
  • Cloud file
  • YOUR SATISFACTION GUARANTEED!
Click Here to Order Now!
​Do you see the difference between the two???? In the example #1, features and price were added. In the 2nd example, not even the price was added. Even without the price, example #2 will bring in more sales than the example #1 ever will. Facts included before the pitch can radically transform perception and create "fear of loss" in the mind of potential customers.
keyboard with add to cart button
It's all about "Fear Of Loss"
Fear of loss is a powerful tool to use. Don't tell people what they need. Have them fear the fact that if they don't have it, nothing will work out for them. A good industry to follow is in "Make-up" companies & Beauty Products. The industry has used "fear of loss" to its fullest. They consistently insert into young female minds that, if they don't use their products, they will never be as beautiful as they hope to be.

As mentioned before, we all want to believe that you have the best product out there, by simply inserting a testimonial, this will ultimately help your visitors to further believe that you do.
When promoting online, here's another given you should always consider:
People are simply sitting at a computer desk browsing through the internet. There's no personal touch to searching for services, in your visitors mind, it's only duty that should be strictly informational. Testimonials and utilizing that "fear of loss" help create a sub-conscious emotion that triggers an attachment to your company's services. 
laptop with dollar tag
If you've accomplished this correctly, your visitor could go looking at another company for the same services but, they will likely have problems concentrating on anything else.

Around 8/10 people go with company from a gut feeling, not facts. This is a very high number to lose by simply failing to appeal to feelings instead of just facts.

​I'll put it to you another way. When you look at a web design company. They may have the best price out there, but your main concern is to view their work. See their portfolio in action. Adding testimonials to each website in their portfolio would be a powerful venture for any web design company. Why do we always want to see their work? Fear of loss.
What would you feel like if you saw a portfolio that was full of sensory rich web sites that not only looked great but also functioned perfectly? Would you be excited to talk to these people at that affordable price? I know I would. On the other hand, yeah the price is right but the quality is poor. Most of us will simply move onto the next web design company.
computer screens exchanging credit card for product
The more you can grab someone's attention and keep them interested online, the more they will learn to like you, trust you, and call you for your services, no matter the price.
In Conclusion:
Spice up your piece of the pie by spicing up some stories and grabbing people's attention through fear of loss & success stories.

Hope this article helps you out!
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Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now for a free quote.
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4 Elements Articles Must Have To Drive Traffic to Your Website!

26/3/2021

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​The importance of articles on the success of today's internet-based companies is immeasurable. They are the lifeblood of product promotion and drive traffic to commercial websites. Articles are key elements in making websites produce profits. Business owners must include them in their marketing campaigns in order to create credibility for themselves and their product or service.
media words
Submitting articles for publication creates links to your website resulting in higher ranking on the search engine result pages. The higher a site ranks, the bigger slice of the traffic flow pie they receive. With increased traffic to your website comes more profit and potential for producing other income streams as well.

It is not enough to just stuff your site with articles; there are other elements to be considered as well. You need these additional elements to obtain the maximum benefit articles can provide. A well-written article will peak the interest of site visitors and keep them coming back for more.  These added elements can also prompt visitors to recommend your site to others.

Here are four tips to help you spice up your articles to produce more traffic that will result in increased attention to your site. ​
1. Keywords and Keyword Phrases
An article must be centered on keywords and keyword phrases. Visitors to your site are looking for something specific. They're at your site because they may have been  sent there via a search engine as a result of typing in a keyword or phrase they were looking for (e.g., Toyota Camry, Tax Lawyer, etc). Once they reach the website it's critical that the information they are seeking is easy to find or they'll move along to another source.
man checking his tablet
You need content on your website that has keywords that are related to what visitors are searching for. For example, if you maintain an auto parts site, you must have the auto parts listed in your article.  Look for tools on the internet that can help you determine what keywords and keyword phrases are mostly sought after. You can use these tools to determine what keywords to use and write about.
2. Keyword Density
You must use the keywords and keyword phrases you choose throughout your website content. Keyword density is important for search engines to "feel" their way to your site. Website content should have at least ten to fifteen percent keyword density for search engines to rank them high in their results.
laptop and notepad and pen on bed
Keyword density is the number of times a keyword or keyword phrase is used in an article. The number varies depending on the number of words used in an article. An effective article must have a keyword density that is not too high or too low. With a very high density, the essence of the article is lost and may turn off a reader as well as search engines. It comes off as overeager, and a low number may be ignored by the search engines.
3. Good Article Content
Like what is stated above, you cannot just riddle an article with keywords. They must also be regarded as good reading material. Articles must be able to entertain people as well as provide good information and help for their needs. Articles should be written well with correct spelling and good grammar. If you want people to trust you, make sure your writing is well thought out. 
woman working in laptop making notes and drinking a coffee
People respond well to figures, facts and statistics. Try to get great information and as many facts as you can. A good and well written article will boost your reputation as an expert in your chosen field or topic. As more people believe in you. They will be able to trust you and your products. ​
4. Linking Articles
Here's another important thing to remember. If you are going to submit articles to e-zines and/or contribute your articles to newsletters and other sites, DON'T ever forget to include a link to your site. A small resource box with a brief description of you and your site should always be placed right after the articles you submit. If people like your articles, they will most likely click on the link directing them to your site.
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Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now for a free quote.
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10 Great Tips for Content Creation

19/2/2021

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It has been discovered that visitors to websites read the content differently than they would if they were reading the same content in print.  When a website visitor is reading a websiteís content, then instead of reading it word for word, it is more likely that he or she will scan over the page looking for the specific information that he or she wants from the page. Therefore, the style of writing used for print material is not the same as that which should be utilized for a website.
woman typing on laptop
The style for the web, especially in the case of marketing, must be much more succinct and effective. Remember that it is the reader, not the writer, of the content who will determine the sequence that will be followed for the content.

​To do this, there are a number of things that you need to keep in mind as you write your web content:
1. Instead of thinking like an online marketer, you need to think like the reader. This means that you need to make certain that anyone scanning over your content will find it easy to discover the information they’ve been seeking.

2. Always keep the reader in mind as you write each part of the copy. Use a style that is much more casual than you would in print, because the reader will need to be able to relate to the wording.
image of wordpress post
3. Apply more of a journalistic-type writing style. This means that your wording will be simple and direct, and any complex sentence structures should be avoided. Don't use any unnecessary words or "fluff".
​4. Never let the end purpose of your content leave your mind as you write. Online marketing is something that must be done with purpose in order to reach a specific target. The design itself, the copy, and the navigational tools should all work together toward your online marketing message.

5. Make your copy personal so that it reads as though you're speaking directly to your prospective client.  
feather pen writing
This can be done by using the second person, that is, writing "you", so that the reader will feel as though he or she can personally relate with what you are trying to say.

6. Always tell your reader the benefits of whatever you're saying. Copy should be written in order to directly inform readers of "what's in it for them". This means not only saying the features of any given product or service, but also why these features are good for the reader's needs and desires.
7. Give order to your content by saying the most important things first so that they are the first points that your readers will spot at the top of the page. Since your readers will be scanning to find information that is worthwhile to them, you need to catch their interest as soon as possible or they will simply go elsewhere.

8. Don't make your content one or two enormous blocks of text.  Instead, break up your paragraphs. 
woman sitting on floor and writing on laptop
Smaller, more manageable and more inviting paragraphs of no more than two or three sentences are easier to read and scan. You can also use subheadings and bullets to make scanning easier and more appealing.
9. Be consistent with your writing style throughout your site. Every page from your website should be written with the same feel, the same layout, the same words that are capitalized, and the same number of headings, so that everything remains consistent. This is extremely appealing to web users, since it makes scanning dramatically simpler.

10. Of course, you should never forget the ever-important keywords to be included to maximize 
vintage glasses, notepad, pencil and photos on map
SEO (search engine optimization) is one of the most effective online marketing efforts you can make.  Furthermore, scanning your content becomes much easier when keywords are there to be spotted.

None of these points are very difficult, however, they are somewhat time consuming. Fortunately, they are worth every moment you can put into them.  Whether this means hiring a professional, or doing it yourself, these techniques provide you substantial results that youíll be able to see growing over time.  Just donít forget to keep up those efforts as you add new pages to your website, or if you change the siteís design in the future!
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Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now for a free quote.
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Brand You: The Top Five Ways To Build Your Brand Online

29/1/2021

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​Your brand is you. It's everything that your business is, encapsulated in a name, and sometimes in a slogan. But naming your business and creating a slogan isn't enough. You've got to build your brand by showing what your brand stands for.

Here are the top five ways to build your brand online:
1. Create a Website
Your website can be anything from a tiny billboard site to a huge ten-thousand page extravaganza. Either way, your website builds your brand. Of course, the more pages your site has, the more you can showcase your products and your expertise.

Tip: You're never done building your brand, and you're never done building your website either. 
plans for building a website
Aim to add something to your website every day, even if it's only one blog post (see below). Building your website is the easiest, cheapest, and fastest way to build your brand, online or offline.
man posting in a blog
2. Develop a blog
A blog lets you broadcast your branding messages far and wide via the magic of Really Simple Syndication (RSS). Within minutes after you've written a blog post and published it, your post is visible on in blog search engines. Make sure you tag categories and include an SEO post title and description.

The general business community is now wide awake to the power of blogs. 
Your blog can help you to build your brand as nothing else can. Spend a few minutes today checking out the websites of others in your industry. You may be surprised, and even shocked, to discover how many of your competitors are blogging.
3. Write articles to showcase your expertise
What do you know? What do you do? How do you do it? Why do you do it? When do you do it?

Your customers have many questions that they want answered before and after they do business with you. One of the easiest ways you can answer their questions is to write articles, white papers, and reports. If you do enough of this, your website will become a trusted portal for news about your industry. 
notepad, pen and laptop on table
This has huge benefits for your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) activities. Can you imagine what this could do to build your brand? Once you've written the articles, post them to your website, and to article directories, of which there are hundreds online. When you post these documents to article directories, people are made aware of your brand, and your brand's message spreads virally, as other people promote your material on their Web sites.
microphone and computer screen in studio
4. Write news releases
Up to 80 per cent of all news on news sites is taken directly from press releases sent out by companies and organizations.

Whenever a story appears about you in the press, whether online or offline, the resulting free publicity is branding that you can't buy, no matter how much money you spend on ad campaigns. You can leverage your brand with just one story in a daily paper. 
Tip: your local media, newspapers, radio and TV, are always desperate for stories -- send your releases to your local media, as well as posting them online.
5. Teach your expertise to others
When you teach others, you learn too. In fact, you may only become fully aware of what your brand is when you start to sell franchises, or when you teach others your processes.

Take advantage of video platforms like google meets and zoom to offer your expertise or build a restricted area on your website with pre-recorded material. What's best is that your students can be anywhere in the world and watch. 
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Integrate it with a payment gateway and they'll be able to purchase your content online.
​Branding is a function of marketing, and whether your business is brand new or well-established, branding your business makes your business memorable, so it's essential. These top five activities will create a strong brand for you, much sooner than you think possible.
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Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now for a free quote.
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Article Marketing and Content Cheapskates

22/1/2021

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​I see this everywhere and still cannot believe that people do not get it. Content is still king on the web. The most important thing you will ever do for your website is to put in good content. Great content will get you links and your position in the search engine results will be because of the content you put into your website.

Hundreds of backlinks will not get you ranked well with poor content. Great content will get you good keyword positioning with or without backlinks, 
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therefore, content is still the most important aspect of your website. Great design, flash, graphics, and a cool banner will not get you ranked well for your keywords and phrases. Great content will!

Let's first look at the content in your website. Images are great with alt tags. That helps. But it is the text on the pages that, when done correctly, will help your search engine results. This text is also what will convert your customers into sales.
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​This text is what your customers will read or not read based on its quality. This same text is what the search engines will analyze when they decide how relevant your WebPages are to the search phrase you wish them to send you visitors from.

Now, let us talk about article marketing.  If you know about article marketing at all, you know you will be submitting articles all over the web. The links in the author bio at the bottom return visitors 
to your website if they read and like the articles you write or have written for you.

Just having your articles in thousands of article directories is not the goal of article marketing, although there are article-marketing gurus out there who think it is. The goal is for webmasters to find those articles and place them in their blogs and websites. If they use your article, their website or blog is likely related to the same topic as your website. ​

​You are looking for these quality links. The links for just being in the article directories do not hurt you, but they do not help nearly as much as those from related websites do.
​Your other hope is that thousands of people read your articles. Do you really want people to read poorly written articles and associate that poor quality with your website? Well-written articles get people to read them all the way to the bottom where your links are located. Well-written articles reflect well on your website.

If the articles are of great quality then likely your products and services will be great as well. 
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The reverse is also true in the reader's mind. If the articles are written poorly, then likely your products and services are of little or no value as well. It is not only about the number of keywords and phrases placed into the article folks.

With all of that being said, I still find all over the web, especially at freelance websites, people going in and saying things like; "I need 400 articles written for SEO and I'm willing to pay $1.50 per article." Or they say something like; "I need someone to write content for my website and I'm only willing to pay $10 per page."

I really try to refrain from telling people they are, well... stupid, but I am finding it harder and harder each day when I read this stuff. ​
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​They will spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars to have their website designed so it looks really pretty, but the text, the stuff that will get good search engine results and sales, they don't want to spend any money on.

Writers that know how to write text that not only is appealing to the reader, but that is also written with the keywords and phrases in mind, are worth being paid well. The moment you start hiring better 
writers and paying for text that converts sales, you will begin to be successful on the web. That cheap content is not going to make you any money.

A website that is beautiful but gets no traffic and sales may as well be an ugly website. An ugly website that ranks well in the search engine and that makes sales gets more beautiful by the dollar.
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Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now for a free quote.
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Content: The Secret to Niche Marketing

15/1/2021

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​Article writing has become popular. Search engines have changed the way they rank websites and have begun to place a stronger value on good content.  Correction: they have become better at filtering out commercial content, sales pitches, and advertising posing as content.

One incredibly good method of achieving a web presence with good content is that of article writing. Why? It provides the content that the search engines are looking for. 
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It provides meaningful content for the individual searching the web for good information. And It provides an avenue whereby the article writer can be noticed on the web.
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​Where does niche marketing come in? First of all, lets define niche marketing as marketing that is designed to meet the needs of a small group of individuals (a niche), rather than the mass needs of individuals. For example, a particular type of pet owner, a particular type of web user, or a particular religious faith might be considered niche markets.

For niche markets like these, traditional forms of mass Internet marketing, such as banner ads, 
classifieds, and traffic generation programs are not as effective. The mass advertising forms are much more effective, cost-wise, when promoting a product that has wide market appeal.
​So what does a niche marketer do?  Assuming he has a web presence, and provides a quality product or other solution to the niche customer’s needs, he can become involved in article writing. These articles would be of particular interest to the niche customer. It will contain valuable information that the niche customer cannot find anywhere else. Insights, secrets and valuable tips offered to the reader so that he or she can use them when making decisions on purchasing goods and services or to acquire knowledge on a subject
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Sometimes article writers will write generic articles that really don’t provide any real benefit to the reader, thinking that an article is an article. That is simply not true. Think about yourself. When you read an article, if you do not learn something new when you read the article, are you disposed to learning more about the person, company, or products represented by the article writer?  ​
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​The key to writing articles for a niche market and effectively gaining web presence by doing it, is to write quality. Fill out the article with useful information.  Show the reader that you really are an expert in your niche. Give the reader a burning desire to want to hear more of what you have to say about their needs. The only way you can create that burning desire is to give them quality information in the first place.
Good, well-written, articles are the key to niche marketing in today’s Internet marketing environment. Write articles, submit them to the most-used article databases, and watch your website traffic grow. ​
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Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now for a free quote.
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Ultimate Secrets to Build a Successful Web Business Part 3

13/11/2020

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The first two parts of this series were geared towards both the search engines and your visitors. This article focuses directly on your visitor-more specifically your relationship with your visitor. You must gently and effectively pre-sell your visitors on your goods or services.

Ultimate Secret #3) Pre-selling is far more effective than selling.
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Anyone can sell a product or service online.  All it takes is a link to a payment processor such as Paypal.  The difference between successful online business owners and those wishing to make a buck is in their "voice". A website has a voice.  The look and feel of your website gives your visitor an impression. When your visitor reads your words they should know the persona of your business and think of you as an expert.
These words, or content, should provide tons of information in small, bite-sized chunks of text. No one likes to read 8 pages of content on a website. On the flip side, no one likes to buy a product without knowing more about it. You need to find the perfect balance between having no information and providing too much.
​Generally speaking, 400-800 words can do the trick.  It can provide content, position you as the expert and gently pre-sell your visitor on a product or service.

In addition to how much content you provide you should focus on providing specific answers to your customer's problems or concerns. Most visitors are on your website because they want answers. They are not surfing your site to buy something. They want answers. So give them answers!
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Itís how you provide your answers that matters. There is a difference between selling and pre-selling, and how you provide the answers or information your visitor wants is that difference.

Selling is cold, distant and forceful. Pre-selling is the opposite. Pre-selling can be thought of as a recommendation or side note to all the great content you provide.  You want your website voice to develop trust and rapport with your visitor. 
During that time you are positioned as an expert. Any soft recommendations that you make will be considered by your visitor.
Forceful selling causes people to put up their defenses. It causes them to take a step back and wonder what your motives are. Pre-selling does not affect people this way. Pre-selling should lead those that are interested in your product without hesitation and those that are not interested should be led to more general content on your website-that will again attempt to gently pre-sell them. The more subtle this process is, the higher the conversion rate.
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Pre-selling and content (part 1 of this series) are closely related. You must provide information to your site visitors. You must be viewed as the expert and as a helpful friend making a recommendation. People will not feel sold by that. People will respect that you are providing answers to their problems and making a recommendation for a product that can provide even more helpful info. It's seen as a favor instead of a hard sell.
Having a successful web business starts with effective content. Stay tuned for part 4! 
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​Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now for a free quote.
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Ultimate Secrets to Build a Successful Web Business Part 2

6/11/2020

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Part 1 of this series really got down and dirty about content. Content’s main focus is twofold - making your visitors and search engines happy. This article is all about making you happy! Think of this as your starter guide to increasing traffic and building a profitable business.

Ultimate Secret #2) Without Traffic - What’s the Point?
Traffic can be summed up in 2 words - free and paid. 
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We consider all PPC (pay-per-click), on and offline advertising, and paid directory submissions a form of paying for your traffic.  We also consider any project that takes up your time to be paid advertising.  After all, in the business world, time is money. Paid advertising can result in excellent results as long as you push the right message to your target audience.  It also means that you are paying to receive traffic or any other form of call to action that you may be looking for - app downloads, e-commerce, newsletter signups or free e-book offers.
Free traffic is harder to attract, but it costs you absolutely no money. Almost all free traffic is the result of users finding your site on the search engines. We talked about using content as your ultimate search engine ranking booster in the last article.

​Here are several ways to increase traffic.
Some are paid advertising options and others are totally free.

Write articles and submit them to several niche websites. Manually submitting articles to many websites can take a long time. We use a submission service to do all the hard work.  Contact us for more info.
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Post in forums. Many forums will not allow you to market your product or services. That’s totally understandable. What we recommend doing is finding a really great forum that you can participate in. When people have questions, provide top notch and comprehensive answers. No selling. Almost all forums allow you to post your website in your profile. Take advantage of that.
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Submit each page of your website to all major search engines. Also submit each page to all major search engines whenever you make a change on that page. Be careful with this one. Each engine has very specific directions and rules about submission rules. Make sure you do not spam! Submit pages according to each engine’s guidelines. Google Search Console is a good option if you want to DIY.
Create joint ventures with non-competing websites. Work with a company that compliments your product or service. Also be sure the joint venture is a win-win-win for you, the other company and your customers. Joint ventures can be a pain to set up and complete, but well worth it if done correctly.
Look into advertising, web advertising and/or PPC. Each method takes an initial investment and some time to learn, but can bring back traffic. 

Print your website name on all business correspondences. This is a simple task, but one that is simple to do. Add it to your email sig line, forum sig lines, letterhead and business cards.

Create an atmosphere of amazing customer service. This always leads to referrals from current clients.  The more referrals the more traffic!
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​The bottom line is without traffic your site is floating in a sea of doom. No one is seeing your content or services. Traffic is the lifeline for any business, and the rule of thumb is that more traffic means more income.

This brings me to my last and final point about traffic. Once you develop a nice flow of visitors you need to know specifics. Where did those visitors come from? How did they find you? What pages are the most popular on your site? 
What page did they enter into your site? What page did they leave your site? What keywords did they use to find you?  You must know your visitor inside and out! Google Analytics and Search Console are very handy tools to gather this kind of information.
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Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now for a free quote.
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Ultimate Secrets to Build a Successful Web Business Part 1

30/10/2020

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There are a few secrets that I'd like to share with you. You may have been privy to a few of them before. Actually you may have heard of them, but I can promise that you will finish each article with a fresh perspective. I will show you how ultimate secrets can create a powerhouse web business. This is the first part of the 4 article series. ​Before I divulge the vault of successful web business secrets I must warn you of one thing.
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All the information in the world will not take the place of determination and persistence. A web business is just like an offline business. It takes hard work and resolve to succeed. However working smart is heads and tails better than plain old working. These secrets will turn any smart working, dedicated average Joe or Jane into a successful web business owner.
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Ultimate Secret #1) Content is king.
Heard that before? I know I have. The thing I never knew was how to use content to my advantage. Content is useless unless it is optimized for search engines. It must also be optimized for your reader. You have two customers - readers and search engines. You must satisfy both with the same exact content. Content is only king if you have exact and highly specific keywords placed in the correct locations. ​​Unfortunately the hard part is determining what keywords to use.
A keyword can be a single word or a phrase.  It is the term that web surfers use to search for information. Place yourself in their shoes and try to discover what search terms they use. You must then evaluate the search term.  How many people search using that term? How many sites already deliver information on that search term? Simple demand and supply rules. The more demand with the less supply equals more profitability.
You have several options for determining keywords and their profit potential. Search for yourself, pay a company to search for you or have your hosting company do a complete keyword search for your niche or web business topic. If your hosting company does not offer this service I recommend you switch to a plan that does. This feature alone can make or break your business' future. If you would like my recommended hosting plan, please contact me.
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Without a proper keyword search and analysis you may as well forget about becoming successful with an Internet business.  Investing in this one secret is literally the start of planning your website.
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​Your next action step is to plan your site layout based on the 50-175 high-demand and low-supply keywords. Your site should be structured in three tiers. Tier one is your home page. Tier two is made of all of your main topics and also constitutes your navigation bar buttons. Tier three keywords are sub-topics of tier two pages. Organize your 50-175 keywords into three tiers. Doing this makes it easier for visitors to navigate through your site and it makes it easier for search engine spiders to find all of your pages.
Search engine spiders do not like to fish around for all of your pages and links. This is why many sites offer a ìsite mapî. A site map is one page that contains links to all of the content pages. This is a fine route to take; however, most people agree that pages with a lot of links on them are valued less than content pages that casually link to other content pages.

Using three tiers allows you to go from topic to sub-topic to sub-sub-topic all by natural in-content links.  For example, tier 1 is the homepage on a fitness site. Tier 2 is a page all about cardio activity and its benefits. A tier three page off of that tier 2 page is about different treadmill routines. Do you see how the site visitor would like this structure? They click on "Cardio" and are given links to more specific pages about cardio topics.  Search engine spiders like the three tier structure too. It means they do not have to dig through layers and levels of useless links.
​There is even more to content than finding profitable keywords and structuring your site into easy-to-navigate tiers. You must optimize each and every page on your website to perform well and rank high at search engines. Many people devote their working life to optimization secrets. A full length article just on optimizing is possible. Heck, a full length book is possible. My recommendation is to use a hosting company that ​automatically 
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teaches you how to optimize web pages for engines. Doing that will cause less headaches and frustration and it will keep you focused on building content.

A quick education in optimization: place your specific keywords in the file name, title, description and keyword section of your page.  Then sprinkle the keywords throughout the content.  Also provide a link using your specific keyword in the link text.  If all of this has you spinning your head, I recommend going to the hosting company I use.  They literally teach you to build a website using blocks.  Itís all simple and easier than you think.
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There is one last piece to content. It must effectively pre-sell your product or service and position you as the expert in your field. When your website has 50-175 optimized pages for your visitors to read through it will start to position you as the expert. Your site will become known as the place for information about (insert your niche).

When visitors find your site through search engines they are seeking information about a 
problem or question they have.  If they land on your site and you try to sell them something right away, one thing is sure - they click the back button and find another site that will give them information.  This is why pre-selling your product or service is paramount.  Give your visitors what they want.  Answer their questions and in the process let them know about your services and products.

All of this information develops rapport and trust with your site visitor. It positions you as an expert.  This will keep your visitors on your site longer since
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they are reading content. Search engines notice this and rank you better.  How well your site can keep visitors is known as "stickiness." Your site must attract and keep visitors for as long as possible.
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Provide content that pre-sells your products, positions you as the expert and focuses on highly profitable keywords. You cannot go wrong with your web business if you do those things. The secret to content is to satisfy both your visitor and search engines. Lose one or both and you are doomed. As I mentioned earlier, it is best to work smarter and not harder. Contact me for further resources and information. Having a successful web business starts with effective content.  Stay tuned for parts 2-4!
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​Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now for a free quote.
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