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Marketing is one of those dirty little jobs that all businesses, whether large or small, must engage in if they are going to survive. Small business owners often do not know how to increase their sales and need a little help. This article is written for anyone who has a business but doesn’t know the best ways of marketing. The first thing that any business that is setting up a marketing program must understand is the difference between top-line selling and bottom-line selling. The best way to do this is through an example. If you owned a website the goal in top-line selling is to increase the amount of people visiting your site while the goal of bottom-line selling to is increase the percentage of people purchasing your products. Once you have determined if top-line or bottom-line selling is what your business needs (may be a combination of both) you can go about building your marketing program. Top-line selling methods: 1.) Directories: Submit your business to as many online directories as possible. Some of these directories work well while others are almost useless. In the case of a blog directories and blog search engines, they are the primary method of users to search for reading content. 2.) Ezine: When you write a good article send it out to as many places that accept articles as possible. These articles are then posted on their page and help to increase the amount of traffic to your site. 3.) Carnivals: Carnivals are monthly or weekly online publications of the best blogs and articles current available on the web. People read these articles for knowledge and will often visit your site for content. 4.) Syndication: Rss and ATOM feeds are becoming more important in maintaining and drawing visitors. When people join their blog they often like to have the new information running all the time. Ping, up-date your site regularly, and submit your feed to feed directories. 5.) Search Engine Optimization: Optimizing your search engine is important if you desire to draw visitors from Google, Yahoo, MSN, or more. Spiders will visit your site and look for information. There are plenty of free metatag generators on the internet. Simply search for them. 6.) Old Fashion Methods: Print business cards, flyers, etc. and pass them out to people. The more you talk about your site the more people will visit it and potentially purchase. Word of mouth can be one of the most effective methods. Bottom-line selling methods: 1.) Referral Bonus: When people refer someone to you and it results in a sale then give them 5%, $5.00, or what ever is acceptable to you. People will often sell your products for you if they can get a bonus from it. 2.) Check Your Prices: Make sure your prices are not to high (deterring purchases) or too low (not making a profit). If your prices are reasonable there is a higher possibility of both a sale and a profit. 3.) Write Better Content: Your content should be trustworthy and designed to make a sale without sounding as though you are trying to make a sale. In other words, your content should be focused on the topic related to your product. 4.) Up-sell: When a consumer purchases a product also encourage them to purchase another product. You may do this by suggesting a similar product as well as offering package deals for a number of products. 5.) Give out Gifts: Don’t be afraid to give out a gift to your customers especially if they are not expecting it. Surprising and please your customer with trinkets, compliments, and extra bonuses will leave them with a positive feeling about you and your business. 6.) Design your site right: Make sure that your customers can contact you easily, have a pleasing site to look at, and can find valuable information quickly. 7.) Send a follow-up letter or phone call: Once a customer has visited your site don’t be afraid to send them a letter, email, or phone call to see if they are satisfied with your product or service. Murad Ali is a three time published business author, a human resource manager, and a Ph.d. candidate. http://www.thenewbusinessworld.blogspot.com http://www.onlinebusinessconcepts.blogspot.com
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