Turning Your Website Into a Direct Response Site

I've had a blast the past two days talking to so many of you. And I've gotten a lot of insight into what most of you are running into in terms of getting your business where you want it to be.

The majority of you have a website. Some paid a fortune...others got one for next to nothing. But for the most part, no one is getting the "bang" they should be getting for their buck. Not even the free ones!

Our business is pretty unique. Prospects search for our products by some pretty specific search terms and when they look for our products, they have a need that they want filled.

Those of us with a web site, though, have a huge advantage if we use it. A direct response website will pull in the names and email addresses of our prospects AND give us the opportunity to follow up with them again, and again..and again.

Some of you have an email list. Others haven't thought about it. Remember the e-book hint? The Money is in the List! If you have a list of email addresses for customers and prospects, it's worth a fortune!

A potential prospect is site hopping, comparing your products with those of your competitors. BUT while they are on your site, they see that if they sign up for your newsletter they'll get a discount, free tips, etc. So, of course, they sign up using your opt in form. Immediately they get a message from you telling them all about your company & what you have to offer. And they'll continue to get messages over the next few months. ALL discussing whatever you decide to mention and ALL of the messages automated.

Now...imagine you want to offer a special package for the 4th of July. Do you need to spend a fortune on an advertising and then wonder if anyone will bite? Nope, you just send out an email blast to everyone on your list. You can tell how many opened it, how many clicked links and so on. This gives you the tools to know if your offer was really good or not.

My website is an example of a direct response site. You signed up, got emails routinely for awhile and now you get emails whenever I think I have something interesting to say. Yeah, I know....that's questionable sometimes.

Now...what if you don't have a website. Well, first you should think of getting one. But, even if you don't you probably have a list of customer email address. How do you stay in touch with your customers? What if you could stay in touch with every single customer automatically? What could that mean to you in terms of revenue?

And with the site? How much can you increase revenue if you stay in touch with EVERY SINGLE PERSON that visits your site.

So..even though we all know that you need a website optimized for the search engines, converting your site to a direct response site will have an immediate benefit while you're working on your optimization.

I highly recommend you consider getting this going right away. Marketing to current customers and prospects who have already visited your site is a no cost way to make HUGE $$$.

Have a Great Day!

Cheryl

ps...please email me if you have any questions. I'm doing the set up now for quite a few of you and I can probably take a couple of others if anyone needs more help.

How's That Website Doing For Ya?

So...how's that website doing for ya? You know, the one every
one says you need....it'll build your business, increase your profits....blah blah blah!

Well, they're absolutely right. In this day and age EVERYONE
needs a website. But here's the problem....the internet has
grown so fast and changed so much that very few people understand
how to get people to VISIT their website. Website designers
can spend years learning how to build a beautiful flashy website,
but rarely are they taught the little things that actually help
the search engines to find the site.

Before I sat down to write this newsletter, I randomly visited
about 20 sites. Only one of them was set up in a way that the
search engines would automatically find it.

How much do you spend on yellow page advertising, print media,
radio, etc. The truth is....one good website will save you
most of the money you've been spending elsewhere. Once you're set
up correctly, you can basically advertise for free!

How? Well, that's where my gift comes in. I wrote a small
e-book that talks about the different things you need to do to
get traffic pouring into your website. It's FREE...And all you have to do
is download it! Also...if you're fast, I'll spend 10 minutes talking
to you on the phone about ways to optimize your website.

The phone offer is first come first serve...there are 6000 people
on this mailing list so I can't offer it forever, BUT I'll offer
it to the first 50 people that contact me. You'll just need
to email me at the contact email on the e-book to set up a time.

The e-book talks about Website Optimization, Article marketing,
directory submissions, ppc, Autoresponders and a whole lot more.

Why am I doing this? Mainly because I really enjoy website
optimization/seo stuff. I've sold off my businesses and I spend
most of my time helping party rental company & other small business owners increase their profits through their website AND decrease their advertising costs at the same time.

But...everyone needs some basic knowledge so that they can help
themselves....so here it is!

I'm also going to be talking about this stuff a lot more on
my blog. You're already subscribed to the blog through this
newsletter and you'll be notified every time there is a new
posting.

So...download your Free Guide now. It's my way of saying thanks
for all your support these past years!!

"How's That Website Doing For Ya "

Cheryl

Website Marketing Help

More on the Blogging

I got quite a few questions the other day asking "What exactly is Blogging?"

Here's the definition written by a friend of mine:

What is blogging? Here's the short answer

Blogging has attained the status of an international sport, if you will. Blogging is both entertainment and the dissemination of ideas. There are now millions upon millions of blogs, each the brainchild of one individual who has something to say. What is blogging? Blogging is the activity of one person putting their ideas and thoughts out for public display. There are a good many bloggers who long to convey their ideas in hopes of a response from the general public. Some are better than others. Some bloggers capture a gigantic readership, due to the timeliness or political correctness of their entries. Other bloggers garner a small niche audience on obscure, but nonetheless fascinating topics. So what is blogging, in essence?

Blogging is the quintessential expression of personal thought. A blog is a public forum of thoughts previously unexpressed to the world at large. From the blog on insect studies to the war in Iraq, these online journals provide the blogger with an international forum whereby they might gather the opinions on their subject and initiate public discussion on the matter. No matter what the focus of your blog may be, you are guaranteed that there are other people who are interested to learn more about your subject and are anxious to put their two cents worth into the mix.

Let's further define the 'what is blogging' question. A blog is a free-for-all tool to express your most vehement beliefs, your most beloved topics or any and all of your pet peeves. A blog is a blank slate, ready to accept your secret thoughts, your personal interests or to highlight major world events. The gamut of the subject matter is entirely up to you.

What you write in your blog is instrumental to your blog's popularity. Does your subject matter engage the interest of a large segment of the available readership on the topic? If so, you're lucky. You'll probably be able to make a decent income from targeted ads relevant to your topics. If not, perhaps you're not marketing correctly. In order to popularize your blog, you need to let people know you're out there. Let your enthusiasm for your subject spread around the net. Contact e-newsletters dealing with your topic. Offer to provide excerpts from your blog at no cost, but with a byline. Go for e-newsletters with a large readership.

In answer to the question of what is blogging, the expression of your viewpoint becomes your satisfaction and the definition of blogging. You don't need to make money with your blog. If you do earn money with your blog, that's just icing on the cake.

As I mentioned the other day, you can get a free trial that teaches you blogging step by step here: Niche blogging

PartyZone News

I talk about internet marketing all the time because I truly believe it's the best way to build your business. And most people don't really understand it.

But...as we go into the first of the year, you need to go heavy on the other part of marketing. If you're working with proms/schools/grad nights then you need to get postcards or marketing materials in the mail now.

Get yourself a mailing list of the local schools. Generally you can find one online. I always make postcards because they'll get read more easily. But sending your postcard once won't do any good. Schedule a minimum of three mailings to get good results. Make your cards simple...and put a call to action on then: "Call Now to Get Your Choice of Equipment" or something along that line. Put your contact number right under the call to action. Since people read left to right, top to bottom, you need that info on the bottom right of the card.

They should start getting cards the 2nd week in January. Then one in Feb and one in March.

You'll be amazed at your results.

PartyZone Marketing News - September

Welcome to another issue of "PartyZone Marketing News". ***PLEASE NOTE**** This newsletter is written towards the "internet business" segment of my subscribers, BUT...every item also applies to our industry and in some cases works better than anything else you'll try...so pick and choose the items that you think will work best for you.

This issue includes...

1) "Weekly Marketing Freebies"

2) "How to Find Hot Ideas to Write About"

3) "Do You Know Who Your Customers Are?"

4) "Tell Us What You Think!"



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>>>>> Weekly Marketing Freebie <<<<<
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To be successful online you need to know how to create
compelling sales copy in order to entice your potential
customers to take action.

The trouble is that what worked a couple of years ago,
doesn't necessarily work today.

So today I've got a free download for you where you will
discover the copywriting conversion secrets the experts use
to boost sales in today's market. Although this information
was written for general internet marketing, you can use some
of the tecniques to learn copywriting skills to fit our industry.

You can download your copy here...

http://abe5.com/9b5


>>>>> Featured Article <<<<<
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How to Find Hot Ideas to Write About!

Every had trouble tying to a subject to write about or to
find an idea for a product?

There is one other way that you can find sizzling hot
subjects to write on - and they're as close as your
competitors sales pages.

This is a technique I picked up from a couple of friends of mine,
and it's a great one. These guys are pure genius!

Did you know that you can actually find hot subjects just
by looking through the "bullet points" on sales pages
across the Internet?

It's 100% true!

I know you've probably seen at least one or two competitors sales page
online, but have you bothered to really look closely at
what's there? You can find all sorts of things to write
about based on the information found within just one sales
page.

And there's no set length on how long or short your
information product has to be.

It can be a short 3 page "special report" or it can be a
super lengthy 200 page informational guide. It all depends
on what you want to do and how you want to present
information to your readers.

Let's examine this concept further by following our
example subject matter.

Here's a really good sales page that gives you plenty of
ideas on successfully handling unwanted behavioral
problems: http://www.good-child-guide.com

Focus in on the Headline text first.

Do you see any ideas flying out at you?

How about these:

"Embarrassing Public Behaviors of Your Children"
"Rudeness of Your Child"
"Public Temper Tantrums"
"Effective Parenting Techniques"

Those are pretty darn good. And we swiped those ideas just
from the main headline text!

Let's go a bit deeper down the page and see if anything
else springs out at us...

If you go further on down you will see the real money
makers inside the "bullet point" list.

Here's what I found inside it:

"Specific Reasons Why Kids Do The Things They Do"
"The One Critical Parenting Error Most People Make"
"Positive Action Steps To Stop Unacceptable Behavior"
"Understanding Manipulation"
"Most Powerful Technique To Eliminate Whining"
"Dealing With Stealing and Lying"
"How To Effectively Teach Responsibility To Your Children"
"How To Analyze ANY Behavioral Problem And Come Up With A
Winning Solution"

And there's a few more I didn't list. But that's a great
list of ideas!

Obviously I changed some of the wording, but the base
ideas are still prominent as you can clearly see from the
list above.

You can effectively do this for any sales page covering
any subject. And you could even come up with other ideas
that aren't even listed in the sales letter just by being
inspired by the ideas that are there!


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>>>>> Effective Marketing Strategies <<<<<
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Do You Know Who Your Customers Are?

One of the biggest obstacles that most people face in
starting their own business is...

...Information Overload!

There are just so many products out there it's very
difficult to make a choice as to which product, method,
strategy, business model, etc best suits your needs.

To many choices results in over complicating things to the
point where you just don't know which way to turn, or what
to do next.

What you need to do first is to go back to basics and
analyze your REAL needs. You need to determine exactly what
it is you NEED in order to make money online.

Now take a few moments to write down what it is you think
you need most to begin generating an online income?

I can only imagine some of the things you thought you
might need. You probably have a bunch of things listed in
front of you - but when you strip it down to the very
basics there is only ONE thing you really need...

...Customers!

You see. You don't need to make things more complicated
than they really are.

Yes. Stuff like a website, products, a list, webhosting,
sales copy, etc 'contribute' to the process of making
money. But when all is said and done, unless you have
customers you aren't going to make a single cent.

So the first step you need to take is to work out exactly
WHO is your customer. WHO exactly is your target audience.

Until you can answer this question, everything else is
simply a distraction.

However, once you know this, then - and only then - can
you begin to develop a plan on the best methods to reach
them.

Do you know who your customers are? Can you sit down right
now and write down an outline of who it is you're targeting?

If you can't then you need to stop whatever you are doing
and go back to basics!

In the next issue we will discuss a blueprint that shows
you how to determine who your customers are and the best
mehod to generate maximum sales from your customers.


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>>>>> Tell Us What You Think <<<<<
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This is your chance to speak out.

Comment on articles I've run in the newsletter, give me
your thoughts on changes or your ad testing results or
questions relating to your business, etc.

In other words, just talk to me about what you think I
need to do to improve the newsletter.

Be sure to include your website address too, because if
I use your comments in a future issue of the newsletter,
I'll thank you by posting your address so that you can get
additional free traffic to your site!

Email your questions or replies to:

Cheryl@partyzone-entertainment.com?subject=FeedbackLoop


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>>>>> That's a Wrap for this Week <<<<<
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That wraps up another week's newsletter and I hope you
enjoyed this issue.

Don't forget to send me any comments or questions you
may have. I would be only too happy to help you in any way
that I can.

From time to time I'll send you important updates
that will provide information that has the potential to
greatly improve your online business... and of course
your profits!

However, you can rest assured that I will only ever
recommend products that are considered to be of HIGH value
and will provide indisputably benefits to help you grow
your business... that's my promise!

Have a great week :-)

Cheryl Pierce
http://www.partyzone-entertainment.com

Recommend "PartyZone Marketing News" to your
friends. Subscription requests should be sent to:

partyzonesales@getresponse.com



.

Why Party Rentals is the Best Home Based Business

I had 4 emails yesterday from people wanting to start party rental companies but they're concerned that they're not a "real" home based business. I suspect all of you that have been working today are saying that party rentals is about as real a home business as it can get.

Where else can you:

1) Start up for less than $5000.00
2) Operate while you still have another job
3) Pay off your investment in just a few months
4) Have a business your kids will love
5) And grow as big as you wish in a very short time!

Party Rentals can do all the above and more. For anyone looking for more info, you can get the real scoop on my main site PartyZone Entertainment

If you would like some step by step guidance, you can find it at "How to Start a Party Rental Biz"

Have You Started Your Party Rental Blog? If Not...Here's How to Do It!

If you haven't started a blog yet, then you need to get going. In all of my books I talk about how much easier it is if you at least know how to make changes in your website. But....if you don't....or if you don't have time, you can get a message out to your customers and prospects in minutes with a blog.

A blog is an owners biggest tool. You can use it to talk about your company, about what to do when it's raining, about safety, about your best units, etc etc etc. You can tell cute stories about some of your jobs AND you can push your new pieces.

I don't have room here to list all the great things you can do, but I'm sure you'll think of them once you get going.

A blog is easy to do....and it's FREE. Go to Google.com. If you already have an account just sign in to it and if not, sign up for one.

From you account screen click on "Blogger".

Click " Create a Blog "

Pick your name. You want something that is a fairly good search term for your area. Party Rentals Indiana, Kids parties Indiana, etc. You can actually do two or three blogs....Corporate Picnics Indiana, Post Proms Indiana. But keep in mind that if you do these specialized blogs, you'll need content specific to that type of event. I've found a general party rental blog will work great.

I make my blog address a variation on the title...partyrentalsindiana@blogspot.com or something along this line.


After you have your title and address, you're ready to choose a template. Pick what you like or what matches your site. You can always change it later.

Once you have your template choice made...click..."You Have a Blog!" It's just that easy.

And now you're ready to add lots of content.

Start with something simple, maybe a bit about your company or your works (this is a great place to post help wanted ads too). You can arrange the sections of your template to meet your needs. You can add pictures, links, html content...you can add an optin form for your newsletter.

Get the idea? You can use your blog to have contests for your customers or to get feedback on events. You might want to suggest a new party idea each week.

Your work really won't ever be done...but you'll have reached a great goal when people start coming back to your blog for entertainment answers. THAT'S what you're looking for.

Make sure to link your blog to your site and your site to your blog.

Here's an old blog I did for my rental company when I owned it:

www.partyzoneentertainment.blogspot.com

You'll see that I used it to post articles for some of our newer equipment. I also "monetized" the blog. I actually still sell a lot of books and other items from visitors that stop by. And it always brings in some extra $$$. AND I add articles from other authors that I think my visitors might like.

I've got to run. I know this is a quick and easy explanation but just try it and I think you'll be amazed once you get it going.

Take Care,

Cheryl

PartyZone Entertainment

How to Start a Party Rental Biz

How to Grow Your Party Rental Biz

If you'd Like a Home Based Business for a Woman....

Start a Party Rental Business! The party rental biz is great for women. You can work around your children's schedule and just having children gives you a great opportunity to advertise. Just set up a moonbounce and invite friends over and you'll be on your way.

A woman can easily do the deliveries on moonbounces and your children will love the job opportunity as they grow older.

For a Free Guide on Starting your own party rental biz, visit : Start a Party Rental Biz

Use Craigs List to Build Your Business

Would you like your business to grow? But you hate spending a fortune on advertising? Why not try the bum marketing method.

Craig's List is a great way to start. With a little practice it can be fairly easy...but the best part is that advertising on Craig's list is FREE.

To learn all about advertising on Craigs List click here: Craigs List Revealed.

The techniques you'll learn in this e-book are for all types of business models. So...you can use it for your party rentals but you can use it in a lot of other ways too.

You can learn other ways of growing your rental business at: Partyzone Sales Book Store

How to Grow Your Party Rental Biz

Well...if you read my newsletters at all....you'll know how I feel about this. 90% of my sales marketing is done through a newsletter....and 75% of my rental marketing. I'm always amazed when people tell me they don't think a newsletter will work well for them. Why not? You're an expert on entertainment....don't you think people could use your help?

Setting up a newsletter is fairly easy. You'll need a newsletter service with an autoresponder. I use Intellicontact for mine. It's very easy to set up a form for sign ups on your website.. Sometimes it helps to offer an incentive. Maybe a chance for a free party or something. Just make sure that if you do this...follow through and actually give away a party. That's just one more story for your newsletter.

I actually do two different sets of writings. When people sign up for my pricelist they get a series of preplanned emails that tell all about our business. I write these one time....and you can write a year's worth of short letters if you want.....they go out at a preplanned time to the customer.

Then....you have your actual newsletter. I usually do my rental news about once a month although my goal this year is to be way more consistant with my newsletters. Decide what your goal is when a customer subscribes to your letter. Is it a quick sale? A possible customer who will tell others about you? A great rental? Probably your goal will be all of the above.

And you can achieve the goal easily if you do the right type of letter. Keep your letter informative. Offer information beneficial to the customer. You might offer theme party ideas, decorating ideas or tips on specialized parties. BUT...in addition to tips...you want to drive the customer to your website or get them thinking about doing business with you...AND you want some quick sales from your newsletter.

Here's a format that might work: Write a generic letter listing some entertainment ideas for different types of events. Change events for each newsletter so there's always something to look forward to. Include games, recipes or anything else your readers might enjoy. Include some links to affiliate products you sell...books on planning parties, decorating websites, kids games.

And finally....focus a couple of paragraphs on specific items that you offer that might be beneficial to your customers.

Everytime you talk to a prospective client, make sure you ask permission to add their email to your newsletter list. I add about 20 a week to mine...and you'd better believe it's a great way to promote your business!


Tips for increasing profits this week:

Set a monthly expense budget...not to be broken under any circumstance!
Do it right the first time! Don't cut costs if it's going to mean a project won't be done right. Look for quality in all that you do.
Save on Ink and Toner....have you realized how much we spend on ink each year? Go to one of the new Ink refill places that seem to be showing up everwhere...and save a fortune on your printing costs.

That's it for today! Watch out for our next newsletter for tips on Blogging for $$$$.

For more info on growing your business, visit Grow Your Party Rental Biz

Party Rental Marketing Tips

What do you do when you need to market in the winter...and you have NO extra money? Well, that seems to happen to many of us. Our answer is to use internet marketing.

I don't mean just Google and pay per click although these are great ways to market. But another really great marketing technique is called "article marketing".

Article marketing is a great way to get links to your website without having to pay for it. It's fairly simple. You write an article about party planning, parties, picnics etc. It doesn't have to be long, only around 500 words. At the bottom of the article you add your name and company info. Also a link back to your website.

And you start submitting your article to ezines. Probably one of the best is Ezine Articles. Another I use quite frequently is Go Articles. Now, keep in mind that anyone can use your article as long as they include your contact information.

Google pays alot of attention to Ezine Articles when it's ranking websites. And anytime someone else picks up your article it's just one more way to link back to your website.

Another great marketing tool that doesn't cost a dime is to write a press release. You can actually submit press releases online that can get picked up by different newsgroups...again, increasing links back to your site and therefore your page rank goes up.

Your press release can also get picked up by outside sources and end up in print magazines. So....start writing!