Other than making the sale, capturing leads is the most important aspect of an internet marketing campaign.  Captured leads are normally from highly interested people that are near to making a decision.   Once you have their contact information you can now put your sales force into action to close the sale.   You now have a potential client, partner, or referral source.

So how do you capture leads?  There are several techniques for getting leads but the simplest and, in my opinion, most effective lead capture method is the single purpose, call-to-action, landing page.   This page has one goal, to get information on potential customers.  Because the page is focused only on the information that the prospect is interested in, the message is clear.  There is no need for them to wade through or be distracted by other services or offers your business may provide.   In general, a well designed landing page will have the following:

• Short overview of your offer clearly defining the value proposition.  This could be through text, imagery, audio, or video.
• A motivational element, e.g. free e-book, free site evaluation, free consultation, disocunt coupon, etc.
• An input form to capture the information you need

To improve your lead capture rate, consider creating multiple pages and test each one using a method called A/B testing.  Simply put, this is a system of serving up an alternative landing page and then measuring the conversion rate of each.   After a while you will be able to determine which page works best and can then focus on the best one.

If you have questions about how to create an effective landing page for your promotion give us a call or send me an This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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Of the major social media sites, it seems Twitter raises the most questions.  Like, what the heck is for? What can I do with it?   Isn’t just a bunch of chatter-heads commenting on the minutia of the day.  In response to these questions I say: creating buzz, promote your brand and learn from others, and the chatter-heads are only a small portion of the users. Of these the most important elements for you might be creating buzz and promoting your brand. How can you do this? Here are some quick tips on how to effectively use Twitter for these purposes.

• First you need to establish yourself as knowledgeable in your area of interest. Be real and engaging. Post relevant original content in addition to commenting on other’s material.
• Search for and follow people in your target market as well as people in your industry. It’s just as important to know what you customers are tweeting about as your competition (or peers). I don’t recommend following everyone. I tend to focus on those that will help you grow your business.
• Retweet and give credit when you see something worth passing along. Thanking others for retweeting your tweets is also good protocol.
• Direct your followers to your website or other social networks with engaging content, pictures, and videos. If you are Blogging, twitter is a great way to announce a new blog post.
• Comment on relevant news in your industry that may have wide-ranging effects on others.
• Use it to promote events and keep your fans up to date in real-time with live tweets during special events. This is great way to provide instantaneous updates and announcements.
• And remember to always be professional and stick to it (but don’t overdo it). Quality is still more important than quantity.

If you have other questions about how to use twitter or social media to promote your business then drop me an This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or comment below. Also, I’d love to hear about your successes using social media. Good luck!

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It seems some people, who will not be named here, think that social media encompasses only Facebook and Twitter. Ok, I do agree that these are the big two and garner a great deal of attention due mainly because they carry so much social content. However, for those that aren’t dealing with social media everyday there are literally hundreds of sites that fit within the social sphere. Some, like YouTube and Flikr, are well known but not all realize that they are considered social sites because they enable connections and sharing. And there are many, many more.  From Crocheting to Vampires, there is a social network for what interests you.  So if you want to learn about other social networking sites check out wikipedia for a fairly comprehensive list.  Here are a few lesser known but interesting sites that you may want to add to your favorites or blocked site lists.  What uncommon or odd social sites do you visit?

Stumbleupon – presents subscribers with sites that like-minded stumblers have recommended. Great for those with AD&D.

Last.fm – If you love listening to music and love talking about, telling others about, and getting deep into it, then this site may be for you. Yelp! – Looking for a place to go eat, drink and be merry?

Yelp! Helps you find it and then you can provide your feedback and share with the world and your friends.

Buzznet – For the trendsetters out there that want to keep up to date on what’s happening in music and pop culture.

Goodreads – Are you a bookworm? Want to meet others or create your own online book club? This site provides the forum for doing just this. Get reading recommendations and share your thoughts.

WAYN is a travel and lifestyle network that helps you to keep track of all your contacts from around the world and make new friends based on where you are now, where you have been and where you are going!

Vampirefreaks.com – The name of this site pretty much sums it up but to be more specific they are catering to the gothic and industrial subculture. The brand name of their clothing line pretty much sums up what they are about.

Raverly is a free site for lovers of knitting and crochet and, perhaps, the most opposite of Vampirefreaks possible. Would be fun to see what happens if these two were switched for a day.

Italki.com provides forum for people interested in learning a new language and for those who already know one to show how smart they are.

Daily Strength – Find the 12-step program of your choice here or build your own, create a support network with others, share your problems and coping strategies with people in the same boat.

Science Stage - ScienceStage.com is a virtual conference room, lecture hall, laboratory, library, and meeting venue all in one. It offers new methods of scientific presentation, scientific discourse, and academic knowledge transfer by using video streaming, audio streaming, and text features

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I've met with many people recently with great ideas and great stories.  Several of these I'm certain would make for profitable web businesses.   The reason I think this is that they are talking about the same stuff that hits home with millions of people the world around.  And what they have to offer is true experience, in the trenches style.  They know what they are talking about and the content, the stories so to speak, come from their everyday lives.   They have no need to fabricate topics of discussions that would probably come across fake anyhow.  In addition, much of what they have to share is funny.  Funny stories grab people's attention and it brings them back for more.  What this translates into is a loyal following that you can monetize even if you only have a small following.

If you want to try to make some extra cash or even fund your lifestyle completely, then think about what your interest or knowledge base is in.  What's your passion?  Perhaps you are an expert in yoga, tango, model car construction, adventure travel, parenting, or even people watching.  Consider what stories you have to tell?  This can be the foundation of your blog and this is what your fans what to hear and learn about.  Take advantage of other social media platforms and set up a Facebook page and Twitter account to keep your fans updated daily with what is happening relevant to your topic.  Build your personal brand and spread your experience.  Soon you will have a strong core group of followers that will contribute to your site with their own comments and experiences, thus creating your own interactive community.

While you are establishing yourself as a guru of your passion, start incorporating revenue producing mechanisms into your site.  These include selling your own e-book, banner advertising, affiliate sales, and donations.  Some methods may work better than others and some may be more acceptable by your audience.  There are hundreds of options to choose from as well.  For more ways to monetize your blog check out 101 Ways to Monetize Your Blog without Irritating Your Readers.  I'm certain you can find several options to fund your passion and even if you don't make a killing, at least you are enjoying what you do.

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In a recent Nielson ratings study, it was found that 3 of the top 5 Social Networking sites had reductions in unique users.  This is essentially the number of new users.  While Facebook and Twitter posted gains over last year of 69% and 45%, respectively, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Classmates Online fell.    In my opinion, this trend will continue as Facebook adds to its arsenal of applications and increases partnerships with other relevant social networking tools. Perhaps this is a sign of thinning in the Social Network arena. 

 

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