The USA Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have guidelines on what's an acceptable practice for businesses using testimonials and "celebrity" endorsements. So why do we care? Because the FTC clearly states that results that are NOT typical, even if they use the disclaimer "results not typical" (like all those diet ads you see), are not …
Why Do People Unsubscribe?
According to MarketingSherpa research at their latest Email Summit, "Inbox Clutter" isn't the real reason people unsubscribe from your mailings. The top two real reasons people unsubscribe from your ezine or mailing list is: Emails weren't relevant to me.Received too many emails from the sender. MarketingSherpa goes on to say, "The top two …
Ethical SEO
If you're new the world of search engine optimization (SEO), you may ask, "Is there really a difference between ethical SEO and unethical SEO?" Since the beginning of SEO we've divided SEO techniques into two camps: White Hat SEO (the good techniques) and Black Hat SEO (the bad techniques). Remember in old Western movies, the sheriff always wore a …
How to Choose the Right Keywords
I was emailing with a colleague the other day, and she asked, "How do you pick keywords that will help, without drowning against the 40 billion other people who are using those same keywords? And, if you pick ones with less competition, then no one is actually searching them, right?" Great questions! Here's how I answered her: When I teach my …
I’m a Social Networking Newbie
Okay, I admit it. I'm a social networking newbie. LinkedIn, Facebook...totally new territory to me. I have a profile on LinkedIn and have lots of contacts there, but I didn't know what my options were for really using this service. Enter my friend Julie. She has over 500 contacts on LinkedIn (amazing!). She says she gets a lot of business leads …
10 Ways to Grow Your Mailing List
Wow, you are going to kill me, but I have to say it: It doesn't matter how good your website is, if people don't come back often. Your website gets them interested; your ongoing relationship with them gets them to buy. The real key to e-commerce is building a mailing list of people who are interested in the topics you write, speak and teach …