Blitz Ezine #270 Feb 6th, 2007

6 Tips for getting traffic faster -Small Business Resolutions

The Blitz-Promotions News Letter
Issue no. 270, Feb. 6, 2007

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Blitz Comments
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A little late but still some good information - resolutions for your business.

Make sure you check out (almost daily) or Blog.

http://smallbizpromo.blogspot.com

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In this Issue
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- Resolutions for your business
- Killer Ad Secrets

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Food for thought
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A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.  ~Author Unknown

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New Years Resolutions
Each and every year people around the world mark the first day of the New Year with resolutions. They resolve to do a wide variety of things, and while few resolutions are actually kept, the tradition is a hallmark of the holiday each year.

Experts suggest that people should make lifestyle changes rather than resolutions. I am a bit more pragmatic. Tackle a task you know that you can succeed at. Do not bite off more than you can chew, and you will be one of the few who manages to keep their resolutions. Here are a few suggested resolutions for webmasters and small business owners:

Webmasters Resolutions:

1. Prune Those RSS Feeds
Large feeds are slow to load, its time to prune those RSS feeds and remove the old contents. Dated feed items can be archived as an HTML web page, but should be removed from the actual feed, to ensure that it loads quickly.

2. Update Copyright Notices
Make an effort to update the copyright notice on your website. A current date will reassure customers that your online storefront is active.

3. Update Meta Tags
Each and every web page on a website should contain a unique title and description. Update and optimize meta tags to avoid excessive use of keywords. Meta tags should be accurate and concise without redundancy and recurring words.

4. House Cleaning
Update old links and remove any links that are no longer valid. HTML is a markup language and without constant maintenance it is easy to have a page with an unclosed tag. While some web browsers make allowances for poorly formed HTML, it is important to realize that not all do. Therefore, it is crucial that you take a look at the HTML behind the web page and make sure that it is properly formed.

5. Try Something New
Pick a technology, be it podcasting, RSS, or social bookmarking. Resolve to try or resolve to learn something new. Businesses stagnate without innovation. Be creative and willing to experiment a little.

Small Business Resolutions:

1. Have a Plan
Small businesses often rely on just a handful of individuals and few small businesses have contingency plans if key individuals are unavailable for any length of time. Cross train employees and document procedures so that your business will survive regardless of the circumstances.

2. Prepare a Budget for 2007 and Stick to It.
Determine where and how you intend to spend your business' hard earned cash in the coming year. Too many small businesses fail to follow a business plan. Build a budget and stick to it.

3. Define Yourself
As a small business it is important to know your strengths and weaknesses. Identify your strengths and reinforce those strengths in your communication with your customers or potential customers. Be aware of any weaknesses or deficiencies in your small business, and do not over commit. Use this knowledge to stay competitive with other businesses.

4. Use Metrics
It is difficult to know what works and what does not if you are not tracking metrics. Measure the results of advertising campaigns, track website visitors and use metrics to determine what works for your business.

5. Communicate
Communicate with your customers more. Few small businesses understand the value of communication, or realize what they can learn from past, current and potential customers. Communicate and you might learn important information about your business. The unique perspective an outsider can provide about how they are using or product, or what interested them about your business is invaluable.

Resolutions are easier made than kept. In 2007, consider paring down your list and focusing on resolutions that are attainable and will help your bottom line.

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for NotePage http://www.notepage.net a wireless text messaging software company.

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My friend David tried to tell me. But I kept struggling on, treading water, spending my money. No traffic.

Then I began to listen. And it changed. And oh, the pain I could have saved myself, had I just learned earlier, these
6 tips for getting traffic faster.

So I'll share them with you, in the hope that they also spare you pain.

Here they are:

1. WRITE TO A TARGETED AUDIENCE

You'll end up with more sales if, instead of trying to attract everyone, you focus on a more defined market.

It is better to write a separate ad for each of your keywords. That is, for each specified need of your audience. This way you will draw the most buyers for the least cost.

2. EMPHASISE BENEFITS, NOT FEATURES

What's the difference?

A feature describes the product (or portion of it), or what it does. For example, if your parcel-stickers are self-adhesive, that's a feature - not a benefit.

A benefit is something your product will do that helps solve a problem. So if your parcel stickers that are self-adhesive save the buyer time, that is a benefit.

3. BE SPECIFIC

Tell the prospect EXACTLY what he is going to learn or get. People don't want generalisations. They want specifics.

Here's an example, comparing two headings:
(a) MAKE MONEY NOW
(b) MAKE $1,624 ONLINE INSTANTLY

Tell me, which would you read first? The second, of course. You want to know how much, exactly. And how soon you'll make it.

4. OFFER SOMETHING FREE


Offer a FREE report, course, or newsletter. Many will knock down your door to get it. Once they're with you, you can follow up with your sales product.

5. MAKE YOUR LAYOUT BRIEF AND ARRESTING

This is where color, italics, underlining and bolding can help you.

If your ad looks too cluttered, few will read it. At the other extreme, if it's plain boring, with very little emphasis, you may catch no one's eye. Try for the right blend of information and emphasis.

Your product's main features can be bullet points, with some white space around. And put benefits in CAPITALS, to catch the eye.

6. INCLUDE A CALL TO ACTION

This sounds very easy. You simply say "Buy now", right? Not quite. You first need to be sure precisely what action you want your prospect to take. It might be signing up for your newsletter, or simply giving you their name, for later offers? But there must be some call to action.

Support the call to action by the benefits that you have already listed.

So there they are - 6 traffic boosting tips.

Believe me. Such improvements as these can dramatically increase the response to your ads and bring you increased traffic.

And it doesn't matter whether your ad copy is in the form of an email, a classified or a banner. Jam-pack it with these 6 principles and your sales will improve.

Now to it!

Regards
Jonathan Gray
Phone 647 868 2429

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Jonathan Gray
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Links you can use -
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Web Math - Homework help for the kiddies.
http://www.webmath.com/

A good site to visit if you're looking to find some round corners for your site.

http://www.roundedcornr.com/

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Some Fun Links
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Know someone that has everything - get them their own personal action figure.
http://www.andgor.com/Personalized_Figures/personalized_figures.html

Know what's in your fridge but not what you can make with it... this site will help.
http://www.cookingbynumbers.com/frames.html

Fun with a pet without having to clean up the poo.
http://www.idodogtricks.com/index_flash.html

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Useful links
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Ezine Archives links to all our past issues (well most of them) in one place.

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Next Issues
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Our next issue will be March 6th 2007

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Final Thoughts
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Tim and Lisa Hamblin
Tisa Enterprises
PO Box 221
Hazard KY 41702
http://www.blitzpromotions.com
http://www.crochetnmore.com
http://www.webpageplanner.com
http://www.ineedlinks.com