Tag Archive for 'website'

Using Podcasts to Promote Your Website

Published
by
Christian Bowman
on September 22, 2009
in General
. 1 Comment


One of the most amazing things about the technology of today is the ability to reach large numbers of people all at once. Podcasting is a very popular way of transferring interviews, discussions, and information to your prospects and customers.

We all have our own preferences when it comes to the way we want to get information.

For those who like to listen to recordings in the car going to work then podcasts are perfect for them. Podcasts appeal to people who like to listen to information.

A good quality broadcast will develop a successful following of listeners that can increase your web traffic.

What You Need

All you need to start podcasting is a computer, microphone, audio recording software and a podcast host. It’s likely that you already have most of those things and don’t even realize it.

 

Audio recording software can be downloaded at no cost and you can use free blogging and RSS feed sites to promote your broadcast. Find a reputable host for uploading your podcast and you are ready to begin the fun.

 

Example of free audio recording software:  www.acoustica.com

Free blogging examples:  www.wordpress.com or www.blogger.com

 

Technical Side

On the technical side of things, you will make an audio file of your broadcast and upload this file to your host site. Make sure the site has plenty of bandwidth. This is one time when you don’t want to settle for something less costly for the sake of saving pennies. If there isn’t enough bandwidth to support the broadcast, people won’t hear your message.

 

Once the file is uploaded, you will use whatever you’ve chosen for managing your podcast and RSS feeds to input the information needed to begin grabbing listeners. Some people use blog sites because they are inexpensive and easy to navigate. It takes very little time to set one up and create entries that showcase each broadcast. Name the blog what you plan to call your podcast. Each entry will share the individual titles of your podcasts.  People listen to your podcasts simply by clicking the link you provide – the file will be downloaded to their computer.

 

A site like Feedburner.com is good for managing your RSS Feed and is fairly easy to navigate and understand.

 

Spread the Word

Once your podcast is all set up, and you are ready to attract listeners, visit some of the popular podcast directories and list your RSS feed. Be sure to place the appropriate RSS feed buttons on any website you manage. This will make it possible for people to subscribe and get updates whenever you post a new podcast file.

 

Submit your podcast to directories, including iTunes.com to gain maximum exposure.

 

Increase Sales

There are several ways to increase your sales using your podcasts. Don’t be afraid to get creative. The most important thing to remember is to create good quality podcasts that have something of interest and valuable information in each episode. The key is to bring back those listeners and have them recommend your podcast to their colleagues.

 

Your podcast should mention your main website URL helping to drive traffic to your site.

 

TIP – Create a Story

Create an ongoing story that catches the interest of listeners and brings them back week after week to see how it progresses. It might be a quirky product development story or how you managed to land a big contract. Whatever you write it needs to be information that is of VALUE to your listeners. Information that will help your customers be more successful.

 

Link It

Find web sites that share information about topics that match your products or services. For example, if you sell home décor find a web site that gives decorating tips and offer to trade links with them. You can place their web site address near your product and they place a RSS feed button for your podcasts on their site.

 

If your podcasts highlight your hypnosis business, find sites that would draw the people who find that topic interesting. This takes some research and a bit of time to connect with people, but the networking is good for business and could create a steady stream of new sales.

 

Sell Space

Once you get going and have a broad listener base, sell time to other websites and business owners and allow them to add their commercials into your podcasts. Not only will this increase your listener base and sales potential, but you’ll make additional money from the commercial fees.

 

CALL TO ACTION

Here are the basic steps to starting a podcast.

 

1. Develop an idea for a series or story that can be told over multiple podcasts.

 

2. Download Acoustica or other recording software for your computer and start recording your files.

 

3.  Create a blog to host your podcast and upload your audio files so people can download.  Set up RSS feeds to let people subscribe and submit your podcast to directories like iTunes.com.

Is Your Website Broken?

Published
by
Christian Bowman
on June 30, 2009
in General
. 1 Comment

Want develop an online component to your business - but don’t know how? Internet Marketing is much easier than 10 years ago, thanks to a variety of helpful software - from setting up your site, to bringing clients to see it, to mass emailing people with your offer, to tracking how many people have actually opened your email.

There is software out there for every aspect of running your online business – let’s take a look at a few options.

How Good Is Your Website?
How much traffic you get is the key to success. Do you really know how good your website is?

Some Free Tools
A very useful and free tool is http://www.grader.com/ You can get a score of your website, Facebook, Twitter and a few others. At least grade your website. Each time you make a change check your grading.

This grader will analyse the market effectiveness of your site. It is also a Search Engine Optimisation tool - a strategy that maximizes the opportunities that your site will show on search engines like Google and Yahoo when people type in phrases related to your products/services.

If the SEO tool shows very little optimization, it means that you need good writers who are specialized in SEM (Search Engine Marketing).

Also have a look at http://www.linkvendor.com It does a similar job. In some ways it’s a better tool for grading your website and keywords.

Find The Best Software
What software should you buy to market your site? Don’t be fooled by pretty website designs; that’s not what you want. You want a website that will reach thousands of potential customers. Have a look at http://www.hubspot.com/products for some useful information.

Peter Caputa, the author on the hubspot blog, suggests…
“Don’t just stop with a content management system. Make sure you can launch landing pages (the page that appears when a potential customer clicks on an advertisement or a search-engine result link) and edit the right spots on your pages to do SEO.”

Make sure you have a marketing analytics package that knows where your leads are coming from. Based on my experience, it’s very beneficial if your SEO analytics tools gather data from your analytics package and your customer relationship management integrates with your landing pages.

Others Can Help You
OK, it’s a bit confusing at first. But you don’t have to learn all the technical jargon. If you team up with a reputable marketing company (do your homework, just like for any supplier), they will do most of the work for you. After all, there are specialist internet marketing companies that can help you out.

You Must Have Good Copy
I mentioned skilled writers at the beginning to help you obtain the most benefits from search engines. One place that you can try, probably the most successful in the freelance business, is http://www.elance.com

There you will find a whole array of specialists who can help your site become successful, from copywriters, to web designers, to SEO specialists, to software engineers. There is a profile for each provider that lets you choose the most experienced and most competent for much less money than through a regular supplier.

And don’t forget the social networking.

HubSpot also suggests…
“This may be obvious now, but you’ll be much more successful if you can connect online with your real world clients, suppliers and networking partners. If you can get your whole network blogging or using LinkedIn effectively, you’ll stand a much better chance of success yourself.”

Most Important
Make sure you have an effective tool to measure your response rate from your email campaign (Oh, yes, email remains the most effective tool to sell something on the Web).

Again, choose the software you use carefully. Some products are very expensive. You may want to start with a cheaper software that gives you the basics.

In other words, how many targets opened your email (the text is extremely important, so consult a specialist) and how many of those actually clicked on your link (that will take them to your site).

CALL TO ACTION
1. I have built up some good contacts when it comes to Internet Marketing. If you have any questions or want to know where to get advice

OR

If you want some help with technology to handle your internet marketing…

Then contact me:
gail <at> achaeus.com.au. This email address comes direct to me and is the best address to use.

2. Use Google Analytics (www.google.com/analytics) to measure statistics related to website visitors. It’s the best. There are other choices but you can’t go wrong with Google Analytics.

3. Keep track of email statistics like open rates and links clicked for all emails you send to your mailing list. Your email ‘Subject Line’ is a key component for getting emails opened. Monitor different email ‘Subject Lines’ for open rates.

Costly mistakes businesses make with their websites

Published
by
Christian Bowman
on May 2, 2008
in video
. 0 Comments

Here is an excerpt from the DVD we have just released of our recent sold out “How to turbo-boost your business using Internet Marketing” workshop. This clip is of Andrew and Daryl Grant who were our keynote speakers for the event, and they are talking about costly mistakes businesses make with websites.

Click here for more information about the workshop and DVD