Captive Mommies

by Audrey Okaneko

If you are in business, then you want to create sales. If you’re marketing online, then you want people to come to your website over and over again.

In order for customers to keep coming back, you need to provide them a reason to come back.

Let’s start with some design basics. Use a standard font and a standard font size. People won’t stay if they find your site hard on the eyes. Keep your site music free. Again, you want people to stay and music tends to chase people away. Keep your graphics and colors very easy on the eyes. Have you ever visited a site that had orange and green stripes? Did you leave? Keep your site simple on the eyes. Double and triple check your spelling and grammar. I just visited a site today with so many typos, there is no way I’d order or go back. I make typos too, but I take the time to have my pages proofed and proofed again. I have a second set of eyes look at a lot of what I publish. It’s very hard to catch your own mistakes. If you are working with a budget, find another writer and offer to exchange proofing with them. It’s so much easier to catch someone else’s errors.

Each of these ideas will help keep people from leaving your site.

Now, let’s get them coming back!

Add new content regularly. People want to see something new. Give them what they want. If they always see the same content when they visit, they quit visiting.

Offer a weekly tip, a weekly idea or some other weekly something that keeps them coming back to view the new piece of information. Think of the sites you have bookmarked. Why do you keep going back? You go because the site offers you something over and over again. Consider letting people know when the next update will be. Let them know when they can expect a new idea or tip.

Change your online sales. Offer a weekly special. Not only does this keep people coming back to see what the special is, but it offers a reason for people to order from you.

Provide fresh new articles on a regular basis. Or offer a selection of ebooks that you add to regularly. Or offer a selection of ecourses that you add to regularly. People want to learn. All of these give you a way to teach others.

Offer a contest or sponsor a contest. Either way makes people look through your site and tell you what one item they’d like to win, if they’re the winner. They don’t necessarily have to win that prize, but this gets people to look at what you offer.

Make sure your site offers a way to reach you. People want to know there is a real person behind the site. They want to know that if they have a question or even a problem, there will be a person they can contact.

Consider offering message boards on your site. If people are posting daily, you’ll have more opportunity to send them to your home page.

There is no one right way to keep visitors on your site or to keep them coming back. Find the right combination for you with the above tips.

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Audrey Okaneko has been in direct sales since 1983. She can be reached at audreyoka@cox.net or you can Become a Tupperware Consultant
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Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com
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by Myla Madson

When I first got interested in writing an eBook, I scoured the Internet looking for instructions on just exactly how to do it…they didn’t exist.

I found a ton of advice on writing about what you know, how to discipline yourself to write and even schedules for writing. All of that was fine, and even useful, but I needed to know how to actually publish one of the eBooks and nobody was giving me that information. If you are in the same boat, here’s how you do it:

First, you must use Microsoft Word to write your eBook. Make sure you start each new section on a new page. Include a table of contents and a title page. If you are not familiar with this program, search for a tutorial online.

Once you have your eBook written and formatted correctly, you need to get it in PDF format. This is what everyone writing an eBook does now. It’s safer than an .exe fie because you cannot put a virus in it and Internet users are aware of this fact. Also, Mac users can read PDF and you don’t want to exclude anyone.

Adobe Acrobat has a free trial version you can use to publish five eBooks. Go to Adobe Acrobat and set up an account, all you need is an email address.

Click on the button that says “create PDF”. You will see a browse button that allows you to locate your file in your documents folder. Make sure you click on the “Publish as an eBook” selection and then list the pages you want to convert (1-how ever many pages there are).

You will need to select how you want to retrieve your eBook when it is done. I always have them email the link to my eBook. You have five days to pick it up.

Click on the link in your email to pick up your eBook. You will be given the option to view your eBook, which is what you will want to do to make sure everything worked properly. You can then hit the save button within the document and save a copy to your computer. I always save it into my pictures folder for easy upload to my website.

That’s it in a nutshell.

I would certainly recommend you get a detailed instructional course on this subject if you plan to write an eBook to earn money. I have a very in depth Ebook on how to write and publish your eBook on my website. It is free of charge and should be extremely helpful in not only writng your eBook, but marketing it as well.

eBooks are often given away free to build your list of future potential buyers of your products. Make sure you give them value or they will never spend money on something else you have produced. This is why it is so important to do an excellent job writing and formatting your eBook.

You do not have to make it a long ebook, but it needs to answer the readers questions and leave him or her feeling they did not waste their time and can realistically apply what you have taught them.

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For more information on writing, publishing and marketing your eBook, pick up a free 168 page copy of my latest eBook titled, “eBook Marketing Revealed…How to Write, Publish and Market Your Own eBook”. http://MylaMadson.com/friendsofmyla
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Article Source: http://www.thewahmshack.com/articledirectory
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by Denise Willms

If you’ve been working online for any length of time, you have likely heard of the importance of good, relevant content. If you market products or services to moms, content is crucial. In fact, a recent survey indicated that when American moms need information, 70% of them go to the Internet first.

In other words, if you have the content they need, there are moms online looking for your website right now.

Unfortunately, many mom and WAHM (work at home mom) websites simply aren’t taking advantage of these money-making opportunities. That’s because they don’t have the right content, and they’re missing out on visitors and sales because of it.

But that doesn’t haven’t to happen to you. Here are three common content catastrophes, and how your WAHM website can avoid them.

1. One common problem among mom and WAHM websites is having little content, or no content at all. A “brochure” type website that only describes your products or services is not going to help you build relationships or win repeat visitors.

Describe your offering, certainly, but also give your visitors information they can use to make good decisions about your products or services. Publish articles and other information that will give your visitors the answers they’re looking for.

As a mom and a business owner, your time is limited, but supplying your visitors with information doesn’t have to take a lot of time. You can look for quality reprint articles that help explain your industry, or write short articles that answer frequently asked questions.

Many website owners are reluctant to use reprint content. They argue they don’t want to promote someone else’s business on their website. But if your visitors are looking for information, you’re better off giving it to them instead of watching them go somewhere else to find it.

You can also use reprint content as a temporary measure, until you have time to create your own original content on the same topics.

2. Using reprint content is often a wise decision, but using only reprint content can damage your credibility. If you only regurgitate the same content everyone else has, why should your visitors come back?

For that reason, it’s important to use reprint content wisely. Choose articles that will interest your readers. It’s also a good idea to add a paragraph of your own before the article, to share your own ideas about the information in the reprint article - kind of like an editorial. Paragraphs like this are easy to write, and help your readers get to know and trust you, but the main source of information is still the reprint article.

3. Outsourcing content can waste your time and your money. In order to develop original content and still save time, many WAHM business owners try to outsource their content. However, if you’re not careful, this can lead to the worst content catastrophe of all: Wasting your time and money and leaving you with nothing to show for it.

Hiring a ghostwriter to create your content can be a very good idea, and can get you the content you need for a reasonable price - so long as you do your homework first.

When you’re looking for a ghostwriter, ask other WAHM business owners if they can recommend someone. Once you find a service you think would work for you, don’t rely solely on the testimonials on the sales page. Do your own research. Ask the writer or writing service for referrals, then contact those referrals directly.

It’s also recommended that you pay your writer only after the work is completed to your satisfaction, or use a third party payment solution like PayPal so the writer can’t just disappear with your money and your content.

Moms want information. If your business sells products and services to moms, ignoring their need for content can lead to catastrophe. Follow the guidelines above and start giving your market exactly what they’re looking for.

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Would you like to add quality reprint and original content to your website? Visit
http://www.wahm-articles.com for reprint articles moms want to read. WAHM Articles also offers a writing service that specializes in creating original mom content.
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Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

by Angie Wenke

Google Ad Words is a good marketing tool to bring targeted traffic to your site if you can afford the added costs. I know a lot of small businesses cannot afford the additional costs of paying for Google Ad Words each month. With a reasonably small amount of work and effort you should be able to raise the number of unique visitors and sales from your site.

Ad Words is simply based on KEYWORD. Basically people run a search through a search engine for keywords if one of your keywords was chosen your ad will be shown. And you will charged according to your agreement with Google Ad Words. For Example if I was advertising Heartland Marketplace on Google Ad Words one of my keywords might be Craft Mall so every time someone typed in Craft Mall my site would show up in the ads therefore driving customers to my site.

Ad setup is VERY simple:

Headline no more than 25 characters
Line 1-No more than 35 characters
Line 2-No more than 35 characters

The most important part is to get the most content in those two small lines! Second most important part is to hit on every keyword that may pertain to your site. You want to make sure your ad is eye catching, that you gave enough information to spark their interest, so that people will click on your ads.

Here are some links you will need when creating your ad for Google Ad Words

1-Google Ad Guidelines
2-FAQ section
3-Good Overview of the Steps

Once your ad is ready you will want to create a account. You also will need to decide how much you are willing to pay PER DAY to have Google display your ads. They suggest $5 a day but that can be very costly so I recommend start low and see if you see any difference in your targeted traffic before you go for $5 a day or more!

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Angie Wenke is a WAHM who is the proud owner of
Heartland Graphics and owner of a
WAHM podcast Frugal WAHM’s Talk Radio.
Angie is a Married mother of two who lives near St Louis, MO and loves writing
new articles and helping her fellow WAHM’s on their dreams to own a successful
WAHM business.
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Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

by S McIntyre

First and foremost anything you write, draw, paint and photograph is protected by copyright laws and it is known as intellectual property.

I think one time or another each of us have had something stolen from us. I, for one know I have had ad copies, blog post, contest ideas and even a portion of my home page’s content stolen from me. Certainly it’s not a good feeling and it’s not a considered a compliment or flattery in any way, shape or form! It’s pathetic and downright wrong on so many levels.

Do they think they can get away with it? Do they think it’s okay? Just because it’s on the Internet it doesn’t mean it’s a free-for-all. To understand copyright laws, visit http://www.copyright.gov/

What can you do when you find your content taken without your permission?

When they steal an ad copy, ask them to remove it. Report it to the website administrator where you found your stolen work. Most administrators will not tolerate this kind of behavior.

When they steal an article, let them know you are the original author and ask them to credit the work with your resource box or have them remove the plagiarized work immediately.

When they steal your website content, notify them via email with a cease and desist order. You can Google for a sample of a cease and desist order letter. If they fail to respond or fail to remove the copied content within the time frame you presented, contact their web hosting company and let them know of the situation. You can also contact their advertisers and let them know their ads are shown on a site containing copied/stolen content. If all fails, it’s time to report the offending site to Google and other search engines.

To prove you are the owner of the stolen work start searching through Google and screen capture the results from a cached file. You can use screen capturing software or use the “Print Screen” key on your keyboard and then copy it to Paint.

Let it be known, people who resort to these tactics really don’t belong online. Their lack of credibility and integrity will not get them far and they will fail.

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S McIntyre owns Work At Home Space, a free work at home resource focusing on telecommuting companies, daily telecommute job leads, articles, business resources and other work at home related topics. You can also visit her blog Healthy Perspectives, featuring an array of health topics, nutrition, reicpes and fitness for maintaining an overall healthy and well-balanced lifestyle.
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Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com