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In this issue:
• Marketing Article: Are Your Providing Readers With Effective Web Content?
• Marketing Article: Why Most Marketing Fails

52 pages written in an easy-to-read format with step-by-step instructions, we show you how to write effective press releases to get journalists to "take notice". We don't stop there! Our book gives you the tools to locate the niche media for your distribution. The end result: reaching your targeted audience. Included in the book are:

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Effective web content is vital when it comes to promoting your business to prospective customers. Your readers need to understand your message if you hope to increase your sales.

The overall success of your online business is more than just marketing, it’s about making sales. Marketing is the number one tool that will draw visitors to your website, but it’s what they will find on your site that will ultimately determine whether or not you make a sale.

Effective web content is part of the process that will turn visitors into customers; first time customers into repeat customers; and repeat customers to spread the word and create new customers.

The web content you need to feature on your site is as follows:

Clear details about the product and/or services you are selling
-Information on how the products work
-What they feature
- How they can benefit the user
- How to order (what type of payments)
- etc.
Information about you and your company
- Who you are (IE expertise, etc.)
- When you started your company and its success
- Etc.
Contact information/customer service
- all the different ways customers can contact you.

While the webcontent on your site may also include an F.A.Q page, blogs, etc., the above three elements are a must.

The best way to go about creating effective web content that will attract attention and gain the interest and trust of prospective clients is to:

Create a theme – people like things that are simple and they can follow. Therefore create a website theme that is easy to navigate and features:

Colors – Choose two or three colors, and use these colors as your background and for every webpage. Make sure the colors compliment each other, such as blue and orange or violet and yellow. You can use different shade and hues, just pick something that is easy on the eyes and is a good representation of your business.

Font - You will also want to make sure that your webcontent is written in a font type and size that is inviting and easy to read. Forget the loopy fonts, or really small print. Space out your paragraphs and use short sentences. The last thing you want is to intimidate your customers with an onslaught of words.

In addition, try to break up the web content with pictures or other graphics to keep your website theme looking unique, friendly and professional.

Keep web content relevant – Everything you write should be related to your business. You don’t want to make the mistake of confusing or boring the reader with long winded sentences or a puff piece. Your readers must understand what you are talking about so make sure you spell check, grammar check and edit everything you post on your site.

Furthermore, visitors want to know what you are selling and who you are. Therefore, make sure you provide them with the web content details they want to know. This means giving valuable information about the product and not sounding like an infomercial.

Be original – How many online businesses do you think are out there on the web? If you guessed hundreds of millions you’d be right! So what determines the success of one website over another? Originality!

To be original you need to provide visitors with unique webcontent, so brush of the dust from your thesaurus and put it to good use.

Originality is also about using your own thoughts and words instead of someone else’s. Talk to your visitors as you would a close friend. The more “real” you are with your web content, the more your customers will come to trust you.

Hire help – If you don’t have the writing skills to create effective web content, or are writing in your second language, you may want to hire the skills of a professional ghost writer. These individuals are skilled at writing, and can transform your thoughts and ideas to create engaging webcontent.

Effective web content will mean all of the difference to your sales. Don’t underestimate the power of words. They are the most important part of your website and are how you win over prospective customers.

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Itay Paz is the founder of Internet Marketing Hype, an online newsletter that discusses the insights and excitement of today's internet marketing including: affiliate marketing, advertising, conferences, seminars, workshops, ebooks and other information products. Itay Paz is now sharing his knowledge with other Internet Marketers through his new Internet Marketing Hype Ezine. Itay’s online magazine will provide you with exceptional insights of Internet Marketing in a simple and easy way. Sign up for Itay Paz’s Internet Marketing Hype Ezine by visiting his website at http://www.internetmarketinghype.com

Associations and non-profit groups are a powerful resource for building and expanding networking and business opportunities, finding jobs, evaluating goods and services, and industry publications.

Our database puts you in direct contact with these organizations.

It’s a sad fact that four out of five businesses will fold within the first five years of operation. And the number one reason they will do so is because of poor. or non-existent, advertising or promotion. Assuming they have a sensible product or service at a reasonable price, they should be able to survive. Yet, many small. or start-up enterprises, will spend all their investment on the nuts and bolts of the business from furnishings to signage, ignoring the most important way people will eventually find them; marketing.

The majority of businesses fall into two categories: those that rely on word-of-mouth or those that do a minimal amount of local promotions such as direct mail, flyers, small Yellow Page ads. In any regard, they give advertising very little though. For example, when the Yellow Page representative comes around to talk about their program, they have done little or nothing to prepare for the call. At the very least, they should have considered some of the following issues:

Who are your customers? i.e., men, women, young, old
Where are your customers? i.e., from around the block, citywide, statewide
Which ones are most profitable? i.e., what service or product returns the greatest profit?
What is one customer worth? i.e., what is the value of an average sale?
How do you intend to reach your customers? i.e., marketing, promotions.
What makes your business unique or better than your competition?

If you can answer most of these questions in advance, you’re heads and tails above your competition. If you can’t, you’re in big trouble. Realize that the marketing that actually attracts your potential customers is built upon the foundation of understanding what type of customer you are seeking. Once you have formulated a profile of the perfect customer, you can plan a strategy for marketing to them.

The shoot-from-the-hip approach of making it up as you go along will waste time and money. In other words, poor planning will lead to poor results. If you devote as much time in developing an advertising campaign as you might have done picking colors for your office, you would be far better off. You should also be able to figure out your ROI, or return on investment based on that average sale and track the results. The latter is important for future marketing approaches to enable zeroing in on the most effective format or media.

Remember that most media can be worthwhile if the message is designed properly. I should know. I was a YP rep and consultant for nearly 25 years and, prior to that, had my own advertising agency. I also have a degree in marketing. I’ve been designing Yellow Page ads for the past three decades. So I have expertise in YP creation and have advised almost 7000 companies on how to put together the most effective YP ads. If you have a display or in-column ad, regardless of size, color or position, I can tell you it most probably needs improvement in the headline, artwork, body text, placement, book, or heading. You must understand the ROI or return on investment and learn how to track the results as well.

So consider getting some expert advice before you place your next ad. There are many good and inexpensive places to turn, some available on the internet. Make sure the consultant is well qualified with at least 25 years experience. Otherwise, you’ll be wasting your own time and money.

Knowing what makes an effective ad is the real secret to success.

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Jeffrey Hauser’s latest book is, "Inside the Yellow Pages,” which can be viewed at: www.poweradbook.com

He was a sales consultant for the Bell System Yellow Pages for nearly 25 years. He graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Advertising and has a Master's Degree in teaching. He had his own advertising agency in Scottsdale, Arizona and ran a consulting and design firm, ABC Advertising. Currently, he is the Marketing Director for thenurseschoice.com, a Health Information and Doctor Referral site.