If your marketing activity doesn’t include postcards, you’re overlooking a highly effective and very low-cost sales tool. Here are 12 of the many reasons postcards should be part of your marketing program… (You’ll find great information here about how to get targeted web traffic for profit.)

1. Postcards Work for Any Business

Postcards can produce all kinds of sales activity for all types of businesses. For example, they can produce web site traffic for online marketers, floor traffic for retail stores, sales leads for direct marketers …and just about any other type of sales activity a business wants.

2. Designing Postcards is Simple and Uncomplicated

Designing an effective postcard is not complicated. It can be as simple as printing your best small ad on a 4 x 6 card and sending it to a list of potential prospects. Postcards usually work best when the message is brief and the postcard looks at first glance like a message from friend.

3. Printing Postcards is Easy and Inexpensive

You can print postcards with your own computer for about 1 or 2 cents each …or have them printed professionally for about 4 to 8 cents each. (You’ll find great information here about how to flip websites for profit.)

4. There’s a Special Low Postage Rate for Postcards

You can send any quantity of postcards by First Class Mail in the US for only 23 cents each. The only requirement is that your postcards must be at least 3 1/2 x 5 inches but no larger than 4 1/4 x 6 inches.

5. Postcards Nearly Always Get Read

Because postcards are delivered “ready to read”, almost everybody will read it – even people who usually throw out other types of direct mail without opening it.

6. Postcards Produce Fast Results

Because postcards are simple and easy to use – they produce results fast. You can mail postcards within a few days of deciding to use them …and you’ll start getting sales activity 2 or 3 days later.

7. Postcards are effective for Generating Web site Traffic

One of the most effective postcard formats simply lists a few benefits of a product or service on the card and tells the reader to where they can get more information. This makes them ideal for generating traffic to a web site.

8. Postcard Multiply Themselves

Postcards are like small billboards – and they are easy to handle. They often get saved by recipients or passed on to others …providing additional exposure of your advertising message.

9. Markets Can Be Precisely Targeted With Postcards

You can accurately target your best markets by sending postcards only to mailing lists of prospects likely to be interested in what you’re offering …and who also have a history of acting on offers that interest them.

10. Postcard Marketing Results Are Easy To Measure

Postcards normally generate over 90 percent of their total response within 7 to 10 days. This enables you to quickly and accurately evaluate the results of a postcard campaign.

11. Postcards Put You in Control of Your Sales Activity

You can quickly boost (or reduce) your sales activity anytime you want by simply regulating the number of postcards you mail and how often you mail them.

12. Postcards Conceal Your Marketing from Competitors

Most advertising uses mass media where your competitors hear or see what you are doing – and copy it. Postcard marketing is personal. Only you and your prospects are aware of what you are doing.

Postcards may be one of the best kept secrets of modern marketing. They’re highly effective, very low-cost, simple to use …and they work for any business. You’re overlooking a profitable marketing tool if don’t use them.

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Advertising had long since been a major determinant of a business’ success. This would include the presentation of the product / service to the consumers. What really matters is how it is presented to the target market to be able to capture it.

Whatever the package, the ad media also plays a great role in determining the success of the product or service awareness.

What may be its advantages over other proven medium like the best-selling TV ads? (You’ll find great information here about how to flip websites for profit.)

Advantages

1. Low Cost

Eventhough the Internet ad might be viewed as “classy” or far-reaching, as compared to other medium, this is far cheaper than most. Internet Ad Packages are offered for as low as $29.99 for a one-month run-time period.

2. Capture market

Should your product / service aim to cater to the younger generation or the corporate-oriented ones, Internet ad would be best since they would always be “hooked-up” into the net surfing sites that might have a link to your very own. Result, a great number of “hits” on your site!

2. Hassle free

All you would ever really need is a PC (and some knowledge and bright ideas in forming your site) wherein you could open your site, search for the best Internet Ad package, and check / update the status of your ad. You may actually never have to leave your home to advertise! (Learn more about a great way to make money from home by increase traffic website.)

3. Updated ads

Unlike the TV ads that need to be updated on a regular basis, Internet ads may run for quite some time without the need for change. If so, change in the site is very minimal and may be done easily at home.

Disadvantages

1. Scope
Limited market may be captured if one would solely use the Internet Ad for advertising. Although most people now are into the use of technology, i.e. surfing the Internet, still, majority of the average consumers still relies on the old form of advertising as a means of gathering information about certain products / service.

2. Additional cost

If one would enlist the help of another professional or establishment to produce the site for their product or service, this would entail additional costs on the part of the entrepreneur.

Given the stated list of advantages and disadvantages about low-coast Internet Ad, an entrepreneur may now weigh in its applicability to his / her product or service.

The aim of Internet ad is to offer the widest range or “Maximum Exposure” of the brand at the least possible cost. Now, does that not sound good or what?

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One of the most effective ways of driving free traffic to your web site is by encouraging the major search engines to rank your site more highly than those of your competitors. When they do this and someone searches for the kind of information that you offer from your site, it is one of your pages that will be presented to them on the search results page.

When an individual searcher is looking for information by using one of the major search engines like Google, Yahoo or MSN, it is an established fact that most people prefer to look for the information by clicking on one of the natural search results on the left-hand side of the results page, as opposed to an advert which is shown on the right-hand side. Consequently, if your webpage for an individual search term is featured near the top of the left hand side of the page, you will see visitors on your site from that search page.

This is what search engine optimization is all about. You need to do whatever you can to make sure that every page of your site is as search engine friendly as possible, because the easier you make it for the search engines to rank those pages, the more likely they are to do so. (For more detailed information on flipping websites as a way to make money on the internet.)

There are two distinct elements to SEO, one of which is far more important than the other.

Firstly, you have on-page search engine optimization, which is all about making sure that the scripting language code which underpins every individual page of your site is the way that search engines would like it to be. On-page optimization used to be the main criterion by which the search engines would rank your site, but nowadays it is far less important than it was.

To a large extent, on-page optimization has been replaced by off-page optimization in terms of importance, and it is upon off-page optimization that you should therefore focus most of your SEO efforts.

However, in the interests of presenting a complete overview, let us look at both of these aspects of SEO in turn. (Learn more about a great way to make money from home by flipping websites.)

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DMOZ is the first specific example of a one-way incoming link mentioned in this blog, there are a few additional aspects of linking that you need to understand before we go any further.

Firstly, the Google Page Rank of the page that sends you a link is relevant to the value of that link. If, for example, you have a one way incoming link from a page that has no Google PR, that link is significantly less valuable than one coming from a page that has already acquired PR8.

However, note that it is called Page Rank and not Site Rank. This is for the specific reason that every individual page of a website has its own PR, and internal pages are likely to have a far lower level of achieved PR than the homepage. (For more detailed information on flipping websites as a way to make money on the internet.)

Even though the DMOZ homepage has a PR score of 8/10, the page on which your site will be featured that therefore creates the one-way incoming link to you is likely to have a far lower score.

However, a small degree of the Page Rank power of the homepage is spread throughout the site. So, the PR of the homepage is still slightly relevant as far as the value of the incoming link is concerned.

From this, you can draw two important conclusions.

First, even if you are accepted for the DMOZ directory, there will be a one-way incoming link generated, but it will not have Google PR8 attached to it.
Secondly and in contrast, incoming links from sites that have highly rated homepages are more valuable than incoming links from sites that have no (or low) Google PR.

Remember this latter point in particular, because the notion of generating links from sites with a high Google PR homepage will come up again many times during the course of this report.

To return to the directories – apart from DMOZ, there are quite a few others who will accept free submissions, and as every one of these directories that accept your application will generate a one-way link to your site, and could potentially send visitors, it is worth submitting your details to every free directory.

There are lists of directory sites that will accept free submissions here and here. (For great information on flipping websites for making money on the internet.)

Try to get listed with those that are the highest rated and those that will list your site most quickly, and then work down the list when you have time to do so.

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The next step in your overall plan to drive a torrent of free traffic to your web site is to start writing articles for submission to free article directory sites. The reason that you should start doing this now is that article marketing is a slow burn, long-term traffic generation strategy.

Therefore, the sooner you get started, the sooner you are likely to begin to see significant numbers of visitors who are prompted to visit your site because of your articles.

We have already highlighted that keywords and keyword phrases are extremely important as far as your efforts to market your business for free are concerned.
This is especially true when you start to use article marketing. (Learn more about a great way to make money from home by flipping websites.)

Every article that you write has to be created around the keyword terms on your list that are relevant to your site, and they have to be created in such a way that those keyword terms are picked up by the search engine robots.
Until recently, the recommended method of writing articles for submission to article directory sites was to pick one of your keywords, do some research, and then write an article where you were aiming for a certain level of keyword density within that article.

You were expected to write an article of between 300 and 400 words, and a certain percentage of that article (generally somewhere between 3% and 5%) was expected to be made up of your keyword phrase.

In certain respects, things havent changed very much.

Articles of between 300 and 400 words are still the accepted norm, and you still need to use keyword terms as the central focal point of every article you create. (You’ll find great information here about how to flip websites for profit.)

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The first option is to upload to only half a dozen of the leading directory sites, on the basis that these directories are the ones that will generate the majority of visitors anyway. If you want to adopt this approach, then these are the directories to submit your articles to:

http://ezinearticles.com/

http://www.articlecity.com/article_submission.shtml

http://www.ideamarketers.com/

http://www.articledashboard.com/

http://searchwarp.com/

http://goarticles.com/index.html

Submit your article to EzineArticles first as they are by far the biggest and most powerful article directory and they will only accept unique articles. You should wait until EzineArticles publish your article before submitting to the other directories in this list. (For great information on flipping websites for making money on the internet.)

The second option is to use a free semi-automatic program to submit your article to over 350 directories. The advantage of this is that you will generate additional one-way incoming links, but as many directories follow the EzineArticles lead by only publishing unique materials, the additional links may not justify the extra effort you need to make.

The third option involves buying software but it is the most effective strategy by far. Using Article Post Robot, you can submit unique versions of your article to over 500 directory sites. Every one of them will generate a one-way incoming link, and probably site visitors as well.

The advantages of using articles to promote your business are many and varied.
Firstly, if a reader enjoys your article, they will visit your site to learn more.

Secondly, other web masters can download your articles and republish them on their own web sites. This is another way that you can generate additional visitors.

Thirdly, every time your article is published by an article directory or on another web masters site, it generates a one-way incoming link to your site.
Finally, articles from the directories are highly rated by Google and the other search engines, and it is therefore possible for your article to pull extra visitors to your site via the search engines.

Once your articles are published, they continue to appear on the directory sites for many months or even years. Consequently, they are a long-term free traffic magnet, which should indicate something important.

The more articles you write and publish, the more visitors will come to your site from your articles. Try to set itself a target of writing four or five articles every week, and over a year you will have between 200 and 300 articles published. Just these articles on their own would probably be enough to generate a healthy profit week on week and month on month. (Learn how you can sell website to earn money from internet.)

However, in terms of generating free traffic, we have only just started.

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One thing that you should not underestimate is the value of turning one-time visitors into regulars. In order to do this, you must be updating the content of your site on a regular basis, but assuming that you do so, you should try to encourage people to come back regularly. (Learn how you can sell website to earn money from internet.)

Perhaps the easiest way of doing this is by using RSS.

RSS stands for really simple syndication which is a way of feeding information to people who subscribe to your site automatically. If you have a Blogger or WordPress blog, or you create podcasts or videos, you can set up an RSS feed that automatically tells your subscribers every time you update your site, and assuming that your content is valuable enough, this should keep your visitors coming back on a regular basis.

Most people use RSS feeds to send a small snippet of information to subscribers as a way of inviting them to visit their site to get the full story. Moreover, because an RSS feed sends out information directly to your subscribers RSS reader, it is a very effective way of getting your message out to people without having to resort to e-mail.

The first thing to do if you want to start using RSS is to burn a feed using a site like Feedburner. Once you have done this, you can install this feed on your Blogger blog using the Subscription Links link that you will find in the drop-down menu that is generated when you click on the add Gadget link from the Blogger Layout screen.

If on the other hand you are using WordPress, you should install the WWSGD plug-in because it will make it incredibly easy for your readers to become subscribers. (Learn more about a great way to make money from home by flipping websites.)

Another thing that you can do with your RSS feed is submit it to the directories.

Once again, the directory listings are going to generate one way incoming links to your site, and we have already established how important these can be.

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The next step is to find forum and noticeboard sites in your market, because forums are sites where people with the same interests come together to discuss, debate and ask questions about the particular topic that interests them. If you can find active forums where people who are already interested in your niche congregate, you already have a captive market of people who are naturally interested in what you have to say. (Check out this site on how to sell a website at flipmastery.com.)

In order to find these sites, the most effective first step is to search Google, because you know that Google ranks natural search results in order of popularity. This means that the most popular forum sites are automatically listed at the top of the search results page.

You search by appending the topic of your site to the word forum. As an example, if you want to find people who are interested in discussing dog training related matters, you would search dog training forum in Google.

As you can see, there is no shortage of forums in this particular market, so you would simply start at the top of the search results page and work your way down:

You should be looking for two things in a forum or noticeboard site.

Firstly, you need to be involved in a site that is active. The more active the forum is, the more it indicates that the members are enthusiastic and involved in their subject matter. These are the people with whom you most want to communicate and make a connection.

Secondly, you need a forum where you are allowed to add a signature file. A signature file is a short text based advert for your business that is most commonly added to your forum profile so that it can be appended to every posting that you make.

Because most forums do not allow a signature file to be a blatant, in-your-face advert, you have to be circumspect when creating your signature file. However, in many ways this is an advantage because it enables you to be seen as a purveyor of information, rather than as a sales person.

When you find a suitable forum or several forum sites, all you need to do is create a suitable signature file and then get involved. When people ask questions that you can answer, do so, and start your own threads as often as you can.

The major objective is to establish yourself as a go-to expert or authority in your marketplace, a person to whom other people can refer when they need information or assistance. If you can do this properly, there is no need for blatant promotion or advertising because your expert status will sell your product or service on its own. (For more detailed information on flipping websites as a way to make money on the internet.)

The bottom line is, forums are sites where you can sell your product or service without having to do any selling, because people will buy if they know that you know what youre talking about. Hence, it is all about establishing your authority or expertise in your market, and the sooner you start to do that, the more effective it will be.

Forums are great places for meeting other people who are already involved or interested in your own market. Consequently, you know that these people are exactly the kind of folks that you want to draw to your website.

If using Google does not turn up the forum sites youre looking for, try using a forum directory like Big-boards or Forum Showcase to find what you are seeking.

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What youre doing here is following the age-old theory of advertising, which is to do everything you can to get your prospect to do what you want them to do right now. The bottom line is, if they read your article and dont click on your link to visit your site, then they are never going to do so, so it has to be now or never.

Your article should paint a word picture of just how much they will benefit from following your advice, or what will happen if they dont take the action that you want them to take. Tell them how they can use the product that you are recommending, and how it will enhance their life when they do so.

Finally, make sure that you tell them why they have to do it now, and what to do in order to take action. You might be surprised to see how many people will take action as long as you instruct them to do so and tell them exactly what they have to do.

However, while you build up to the final call to action throughout your article, you do not include the final instruction of what your reader should do to take advantage of whatever it is you offering in your article. This may sound a little strange, but bear with me for a moment, and it will all become clear.

All of the articles that you create in this way are going to promote your business because you are going to submit them to article directories. When you do so, you have to upload certain supporting information. (Learn more about a great way to make money from home by flipping websites.)

You have to submit a two or three sentence summary of your article.

Many would-be article marketers are very lazy and are content to use the first two or three sentences of their article for this short summary, but this is a big mistake.

Some of the article directories are extremely popular with the search engines, as (for example) articles from the leading directory site, EzineArticles regularly appear in the Google top 10 search results.

When this happens, the short summary you add to your upload is the description shown on the results page (in black) directly beneath the title (in blue):

Consequently, if your description is not persuasive and hard-hitting, there is a very good chance that the searcher will ignore your site to look elsewhere, so using the first two or three sentences of your article as your description is a very poor choice.

Next, you have to add a list of keyword phrases. Most sites limit the number of characters you can use, but use as many of them as you can by listing as many keywords as you can think of.
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Finally, you have to add the Resource box, which is a short description of you and your business. Most article authors use the resource box in exactly this way they will add some information about themselves or their business. You should not do it this way, because there is a far more powerful and effective strategy.
You should write your resource box as if it is the last paragraph of your article, the paragraph in which you stress that the reader has to do something, now. (You’ll find great information here about how to flip websites for profit.)

You do this because it is only in the resource box that you can include links to your site, with a general rule being that you can include up to three active hyperlinks. I would recommend that you include one hyperlink that is the URL of the page that you want the reader to visit, and one more hyperlink that is a link contained within the main keyword term that your article is focused on.

Finally, before you upload your article, check whether the directory site you are going to upload your article to accepts photographs, and if they do, whether those photographs are published next your resource box (as they are by EzineArticles):

As you can see, the photograph immediately draws your attention to the resource box area of the page, so you should always do this if possible.
With your article ready to upload, you have a choice of how you upload your article materials.

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Off-page optimization is all about one thing and one thing only links.
As suggested previously, Google pay very little attention to standard on-page SEO tactics like using meta-tags nowadays, although the domain name that you choose to build your site under is as important for Google as it is for any other search engine.

Nevertheless, as far as Google is concerned, the only thing that really matters in terms of SEO is the links that your site enjoys.
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A link occurs when an active hyperlink for your site appears on another website somewhere on the web. How this link gets there is something that we will study in a little more detail shortly, but as a very broad and generalized guide, Google assume that every link that comes into your site is a vote for the quality of the materials that you feature on that site. (You’ll find great information here about how to flip websites for profit.)

In essence, the more incoming links you have, the more Google will take that as a sign that your site must be offering valuable information and a high-quality experience to your visitors, and consequently, they will rank your webpage more highly as a result of these links.

However, not all links have the same value.
For example, a link from your site to someone elses has very little value, for the reason that you are linking to them rather than the other way round.
A reciprocal link, a situation where you send a link to someone elses site and they do the same back to yours has some value, because of the fact that they are willing to reciprocate.

However, the most valuable of links are those that come from external websites to yours, which are not reciprocated. These are known as one-way incoming links, and as far as Google is concerned, these represent the most valuable badge of your sites quality. (For great information on flipping websites for making money on the internet.)

From this, you might imagine that the ideal scenario would be to have only one-way incoming links, but, as with many things related to Google, it is not as straightforward as this. Google employ some of the smartest engineers and analysts in the online business industry, and they know that there are ways of tweaking the system so that you can acquire incoming links through your own efforts.

As a simple example, it is possible to buy one-way incoming links from many web sites. However, as far as Google concerned, this is a form of cheating the system (online marketers prefer to use the phrase gaming, but it means the same thing), and they are not in favor of it! If they suspect you have been buying links, it is likely that they will remove your website from their search results pages altogether.

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