Mobio: QR Code use up 1200% in six months

Make way for the next “big thing” – QR Codes. In a relatively short space of time they’ve jumped onto the marketing and advertising scene and, as Mobio’s most recent figures suggest, they’re really increasing in popularity and catching on.

QR Codes (Quick Response) have been around for a while, it really is only lately that they have begun to cause a real buzz among marketing experts. According to recently released figures from Mobio, during July to December of last year, QR code scanning increased a massive 1200%, probably due to a series of high profile marketing promotions that used the tool.

For those who are not too knowledgeable about QR codes, they are essentially two-dimensional (2D) matrix barcodes that can hold significantly more information than a traditional barcode.

Reading a QR code with a camera-enabled smartphone links the user to digital content on the Internet or activates several phone functions including email, IM and SMS, or connects the mobile device to a web browser.

Here are a just a couple of ways QR Codes could be used to engage consumers, build up social media followers or simply provide a bit of fun:

1. Bridge the gap between offline marketing by including QR Codes on marketing elements such as print ads, billboards, window displays, in-store signage and direct mail.

2. Expand product information and company information via QR Codes on product packaging and literature.

3. Get customers on the telephone by creating a QR Code that will automatically dial a predetermined number.

4. Do your staff wear a uniform? Why don’t you add a QR Code to their attire and encourage customers to snap them?

5. Property or Estate agents can also add QR Codes on For Sale signs to give passers by a peek inside.

6. Put a QR Code on company cars – This is ideal for mobile users stuck behind you in traffic.

7. Publishers can use QR Codes on book and magazine covers that will enable the browsing of reviews.

8. Give access to your user manuals in a variety of languages via a QR Code link.

9. Doctor’s waiting rooms and hospital halls can quite easily become libraries with QR Codes linking those waiting to ebooks and other digital entertainment.

10. Why not go the whole way and make your entire business premises into one big QR Code?

“Ok, fair enough”, I hear you say, “but my company can’t compare to the likes of Facebook”… But that’s where you’re wrong, mobile marketing has the ability to reach out to more potential clients and/or create brand loyalty toensure that your customers will keep coming back.

Well, it’s simple and it can be described as a sort of bandwagon. Some people got on it and everyone followed. Right now the problem is that if you don’t get on it too, you’ll miss out. This is what a lot of companies around the world are starting to learn. Especially big brand names like Sony Ericsson and Motorola. Playing catch up with Apple has seen them release lots of not-so-good mobile handsets when really they should hone in on the good mobiles that they already have.

That’s where mobile marketing comes in. Mobile marketing enables companies in many sectors such as travel and retail to send promotional messages and vouchers via Bluetooth and SMS for example. A direct, targeted approach to connecting with limitless clients.

Importantly, companies such as Facebook announced only a few weeks ago that they see the future as being mobile. According to reports, Facebook is currently seeing great success and very positive results with its dedicated mobile applications. The company now has 150 million active mobile users. Astonishingly it has acquired 50 million of those users since May of this year… See the power mobile marketing can have?

Google’s mobile platform, Android, has seen the creation of many android mobile apps which can be downloaded onto any mobile phone that supports this platform. It presently can not compete with Apple but perhaps one day when it’s more refined, Android will be a real contender.

So – who exactly is turning to mobile marketing. The answer is, any company that you can find promoting its services in some shape or form in the mobile apps stores… Newspapers are beginning to realise for example, that in twenty years its unlikely that many people will still want a printed version but will instead be using some sort of e-book to read the daily news. That’s what makes Apple and its iPhone mobile apps so powerful – Apple can connect to millions of people through its handsets.

“Ok, fair enough”, I hear you say, “but my company can’t compare to the likes of Facebook”… But that’s where you’re wrong, mobile marketing has the ability to reach out to more potential clients and/or create brand loyalty to ensure that your customers will keep coming back.

Finding highly targeted people who are serious about service or product that you offer is one of the successful steps to create solid income from your business, because not every click on your website is a good click. I would rather have 100 visitors and 10 buyers per day than 1000 visitors and 1 buyers per day.

So where to get and ideas for your keywords campaign?

One of the free tools is Google keyword tool. Just Google “Google keywords tool” and you will get a link to this simple but powerful tool. What Google keyword does is that after you enter some keyword you will get a several ideas for this keyword which you can use in your title in video, blog post, article or PPC campaign. Many marketers are using this tool so there is no reason why you can not!

Another great tool which I use is Google Wonder Wheel. Probably you hear this for the first time, because not many people are using this effective strategy. I made a tutorial video, but if you type some keyword in Google and on the top left side you click on show options, new toolbar will pop up. If you scroll down you will see a wonder wheel button, click on this button and you will se how this tool works. It will give you a great scheme about another keyword ideas.

Try to get into brain of your buyers, how they think, how they feel when they are looking for your kind of product or service. This is important step, because after you do this, you will see that you have more ideas in your mind on how to find targeted people.

Remember that you need to provide solution for some problem that is in particular market. For example in money making, working from home niche is the main problem that people are not getting the right education and training so your job is to give them or show them where to find solution. When you do this your business will start moving forward and you will start earn some money.

Facebook Marketing Comes Full Circle

Aren’t you glad that the social networking sites are making it more difficult for marketers t use stealth tactics to market to (and spam) its members?  Even if it’s fruitful for you, it never makes you feel good to deceive customers and annoy the masses.

In 2009, Facebook really took off, replacing MySpace as the marketer’s adult web 2.0 playground of choice. There were some drawbacks, though. You had people complaining that their friends were only talking about business opportunities – and some complaining that they didn’t care to know the personal aspects of their friends lives because they were there to conduct business.

Many marketers decided to clean their friends’ list and open fan pages instead – reserving their official Facebook profile for close friends and family only. Facebook has a lot to ensure their income continues to soar with this influx of non-college students.

Their estimated revenue for the year 2010 is over $710 million. They’ve grown to over 350 million members and that number will continue to soar. While it’s traditionally been a closed site, Facebook is now working to connect its own member content across the World Wide Wide, enabling members to share on their own websites or blogs via Facebook connect.

Facebook will continue to lead the social networking scene when it comes to globalization. It started with a nifty translator that enables you to participate on the site in more than 70 different languages.

One thing is for sure. Facebook’s going to have to find a way to help its members avoid spam. Right now, anyone can send you a message without even having you confirm them as a friend.

That means you’ll get all sorts of spam content – from the long lost relative with the same last name who wants you to pay her $14,000 so she can transfer $1.4 million into your account to the cutesy women who want to chat with you, big boy!

Users of Facebook will be hyper-sensitive to any changes the site makes in regards to the privacy of their content, after 2009’s fiasco of announcing they officially owned your content and then going back on that statement to put out all of the fires that started.

Advertising is rampant on the site, so more marketers will be looking for ways to pay to play there. Right now you can run an AdWords-like campaign on Facebook, targeting individuals by age, location and more. Then you create an ad, choose PPC or pay per impression and track your conversions. Competition for 2010 may heat up, so learn to tweak your campaigns early on.

Keyword Density – End Of Days!

There are various and many versions of the keyword density rule. But the one you choose to use is quite frankly up to you. Nevertheless, quite frankly now you don’t need to worry about it too much.

Keyword density is over talked in almost every internet marketing forum. You need 4%, 6% or 8% to get good ranking for your page. We on the other hand are going to look at keyword relevance. Forget keyword density, concentrate on keywords that are relevant to the keyword you are optimizing.

Here are some examples to the rule.

Keyword – baby gifts

1. The keyword baby gifts is placed in each or subsequent paragraph.

2. The keyword is entered 3 times in the first 500 characters

3. The keyword is entered only once in the whole page

You must have heard of these theories before and now for my extras…

1. Keyword variations that act as secondary keywords

2. The keyword has 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 variations that are included in the text

So What Should You Do?

Just create pages! Leave all the dirty work of analysing keyword density. It’s too much work and it’s fading away fast! You can spend a whole day in just getting this right, the keyword density thing. Plus I have acknowledgment of well-known SEO webmasters who support this fact.

For example, I’ve read you can place the keyword ‘x’ times in a body text. But once I completed the page, how many times would I need to alter the page, in order to match the new density rule? Also I’ll need to re-create paragraphs to get the keyword included after so many characters etc.

This is just a small example of what possible dilemmas that can occur if you get too nitty-gritty with the keyword density rule.

Create pages on the basis of the keyword being placed in the first paragraph, and several times on the page with various relevant keywords throughout the body text. However, place it, if it ONLY makes sense to include it in a sentence.

Myth: Use the 4% keyword density rule. Use the 6% or even the 10%!

Reality: Use a combination of the keyword density rule! Make use of the 10%, 6% and 4%.

Each page is unique and varies heavily. Interchange the density rule so that some pages have the 4%, 6% or even the 10%.There is no real theory to which one works 100% each time. By using different density rules will help you distinguish which one is working for which type of pages.

In rankings every keyword is approached differently by the search engines. Meaning a 6% in one niche may work brilliantly and not in another niche. So going forward keyword density will fade away soon … so be cautious and appear natural.

5 Ways to Keep Visitors Coming Back

A lot of successful websites depend on returning visitors to account for a significant part of their traffic. Returning site visitors are easier to convert into paying customers because the more often they return to a site, the greater trust they have in that site. The actual credibility issue simply melts away. Therefore, keep your visitors coming back to your site using the following methods:

1) Start a forum, chatroom or discussion board.

When you start a forum, chatroom or shoutbox, you are providing your visitors a place to voice their own views and interact with their peers — all of them are visitors of your website. As conversations build up, a sense of community will also follow and your visitors will return to your site almost religiously every day.

2) Start a web log (blog)

Keep an online journal, or more commonly known as a blog, on your site and ensure that it stays updated with latest news about yourself. People are curious creatures and they will keep their eyes fixed to the monitor should you post fresh news often. Additionally , you will build up your credibility as you are showing to them that there is also a real life person behind the website.

3) Carry out polls or surveys

Polls and surveys are additional forms of interaction that you need to definitely consider adding to your site. They provide a quick way for visitors to voice their opinions and to get involved in your website. Be sure to publish polls or surveys that are strongly relevant to the target market of your website to keep them interested to find out about the results.

4) Hold puzzles, quizzes and games

Just imagine how many office workers procrastinate at work every day, and you will be able to gauge how many people will keep visiting your site if you provide a very interesting or addicting way of entertainment. You can also hold competitions to award the high score winner to keep people trying continuously to earn the prize.

5) Update frequently with fresh content

Update your site frequently with fresh content so that every time your visitors come back, they will have something to read on your site. This is the most widely known and most effective method of attracting returning visitors, but this is also the least carried out one because of the laziness of webmasters. No one will want to browse a site that looks the same over ten years, so keep your site updated with fresh bites!

How to Write Copy for The Web

Your Web site has a single motive: To ‘ignite’ your visitors to take action. This prime motive is behind every element of your Web site design and content.

Start with the idea that you have one chance to reach your customers.

They will never return to your site unless you make it worth their while, and they will not buy unless you encourage/force/ask them to. This will impact the 5 prime elements working together in any excellent Web site – the mechanics, content, interactivity, design and optimization. Right now, let’s focus on the mechanics of writing content that sells. Here is a simple template for a Web site that sells which you can readily adapt to meet your needs. Use it as a jumping-off point for your income-generating Web presence. You’ll find it goes against the current vogue online for the single-page, long-scrolling salesletter on the home page leading to an order form. But think of it this way: Your home page can be like an interesting magazine index, or magazine cover listing provocative headlines. You should offer enough compelling information here so that any visitor is forced to go deeper into your site. They’ve got to click through. They just can’t hold themselves back.

1. Break the copy of your sales letter up into short copy paragraphs. A single-sentence paragraph can make a striking point.

2. Use headlines and sub-headlines.

3. Use bullets, numbers, and dashes (-) to further break up copy, allowing plenty of white space to make reading your offer even easier on the eye.

4. Use arrows (->), boxes, color or shading, graphics, indentations, bold lettering, CAPITAL LETTERS, italics, and punctuation!! Note: use a light touch here, rather than the ‘HIT them over and over ’til they beg for mercy!’ approach.

5. Give customers premiums. Over-deliver on the offer that first interested your prospective customer any way you can. The goal is to give your customers far more perceived value than they actually pay for. Premiums can add tremendous value to your offer without substantially increasing your cost of delivery.

6. Emphasize the word FREE wherever it applies.

7. Use fast-loading graphics that actively support your message. Avoid generic clip-art ‘success’ graphics if you can.

8. Provide testimonials. If you don’t have them, give your product or service away and gather some immediately. It’s a suspicious world, and you need other people to validate your offer.

9. Urge ‘Immediate Action’. State a time limit to your offer (note: many marketers offer their premiums only if prospective customers buy within a window of 3-14 days). 10. Make an iron-clad guarantee. Do what you can to over-deliver in this area, too – a guarantee that is better than your competitors offer is a powerful selling point.

3 More Essential Marketing Areas You Should Be Focusing On – - – Instead of Playing Farmville

1/.Dealing with Objections

To become a truly successful marketer you have to learn how to answer objections effectively.

More often than not it would be carried out via your sales copy, consequently you should spend a large chunk of your time talking to potential customers face to face to find out exactly what fears, worries and objections they may have.

Before you sit down to write your sales letter, it is advisable to show your product to several potential customers and simply ask them what questions they might have if they were presented with an offer to purchase it.

This is a simple yet very effective technique to get into your prospects head and tackle all their needs and concerns at the time of purchase. This will make their defenses go down faster than the value of the pound.

2/. Closing the Sale

Which one of those two types of marketers are you?

#1: You very carefully thought through each and every detail of the sales process. You understand how to ask the right questions at the right time and your calls to action timed just  right.

#2: When the time to close the sale approaches you suddenly break into cold sweat. Your feet start shaking and also you go into a state of semi panic unsure what to do next.

The customer senses your level of stress, fear, panic or any other sign of inconvenience you may project. It is crucial to carefully plan the whole process of selling from inception to comepletion so you don’t feel lost in front of your prospective business partner.

You must know the art of selling before you write a compelling sales copy, that’s why all the Copywriting Experts always compare writing a sales copy to a door-to- door sales person. You have to get a feel of what it means to be standing in front of the customer to really get in touch with your inner Dan Kennedy.

3/. Long Term Profits

Last but not least, you have to develop robust long term relationships with your existing buyers so they purchase from you again in the future. You need to ensure your customers are ultra-satisfied so they can provide great testimonials as well as numerous referrals.

According to Seth Godin in “The Purple Cow,” the “sneezers” (satisfied customers who recommend your product to their associates and friends) are the key to a successful business. In fact, those “sneezers” may be the only thing that will determine your success, because there is no better ad than a recommendation from a friend.

The Next Step

Once you have carefully examined each and every key marketing area of your business it’s time to take the weakest area and improve it. And when you’re done with it – move to the second worse and work on that one. And the next. And the one after that.

That’s a proven formula to at the very least double any business’ revenue in 30 days or less. Try it and report back on your results here by leaving a comment.

11 Elements of Great Copy

1. YOUR AD MUST REACH OUT AND GRAB ATTENTION! Your headline is the most important part of your ad, followed by your opening paragraph. This is where you must express your biggest benefit.

2. OFFER HUGE BENEFITS. Start with a major benefit early in your ad, and then keep adding lesser benefits throughout your copy. Remember that customers are basically interested in one thing – “How will this offer benefit me?”

3. MAKE BELIEVABLE OFFERS: A reader will stop reading your ad the minute he is convinced you’re not telling the truth. If you are offering a great benefit, then you must explain how it is possible for you to make such an offer. If your benefits seem “too good to be true,” then you must somehow convince readers that are telling the truth.

4. MAKE SPECIFIC OFFERS! Customers want specific facts. They want to know exactly what your product offers them and what kind of a difference it will make in their life.

5. STUDY WHAT CUSTOMERS REALLY WANT: The novice car salesperson believes he is selling transportation. The average salesperson thinks he is selling a combination of transportation and image. The successful salesperson, however, knows he is selling freedom, and image, and sex appeal! When you really know why people are buying your product, then you will know what to write in your ads.

6. AVOID USING “I.” Great copy is “you copy” not “I copy.” If your copy doesn’t have at least twice as many “you’s” as “I’s” you aren’t offering enough benefits to your customers.

7. TESTIMONIALS. Customers expect you to “blow your own horn,” but you’re claims are not enough. Testimonials will add substance to your claims. Get several believable statements made by satisfied customers, obtain permission to use their names, and use them whenever possible.

8. MAKE YOUR ADS EASY TO READ. Good copy, is easy to read and easy to understand. Tell your prospects exactly what actions you want them to take using short words, short sentences, and short paragraphs.

9. TELL CUSTOMERS WHAT YOU TOLD THEM: First you tell a reader what you want to tell them, then repeat what you told them. This method has a high success rate. Ads and letters that “summarize” an offer at the end always bring better results.

10. OFFER A QUALITY BONUS. Customers will take quick action when they are offered something extra. Nothing works better than offering a big free bonus. A bonus usually works better than a price reduction.

A special bonus isn’t necessarily expensive, but it must have “perceived value.” And don’t wait until the end of your ad or letter to mention your free bonus. Mention it early on, with enthusiasm and excitement. Then, in your closing statement mention it again!

11. OFFER A MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE. Refunds will not be a big problem unless your products are really poor. By offering a strong money-back guarantee, you will eliminate tension and anxiety from a customer placing an order. People must know that you stand 100 percent behind your service and can be trusted.

4 Essential Marketing Areas You Should Be Focusing On… Instead of Playing Farm Ville

4 Crucial Marketing Areas

You will discover a total of four important areas you should be focusing on if you want to breakout of mediocrity. Whether you are affiliate marketer, network marketer, blogger or freelance web designer – all these skills apply to you. Actually, they apply to anyone who’s even remotely connected to marketing and sales.

90% of Internet Marketers spend 90% of their time on unimportant and unproductive activities. The unfortunate part, however, is that most of them don’t even realize that they’re leaving A LOT of money on the table. I believe that such behavior is actually brought on by the very fact that many of them lack Courage.

Courage of Being Truthful With Thyself.

Becoming Conscious of Your Weakest Skill

The initial step of Personal Development in any area of life and business is admitting that there are areas that require improvement. So that you can become great (or at least above average), you need to find precisely which area needs the greatest improvement.

The same applies for marketing. You have to find out which one of the 4 Key Marketing Areas is the one that needs your immediate attention. Admitting you have a weak point is essential because just like a weakest link in a chain, the weakest skill in the marketing skill set will be the first one to collapse and drag you down.

1. Lead Generation

Lead generation means that you need to attract qualified prospects that can and will invest in your product or service within reasonable period of time (preferably within minutes!)

Lead generation should be very focused. It is not enough to drive traffic – you need to monetize that traffic very carefully. You should spend more time interacting with targeted prospects that are going to provide you with instant revenue to reinvest in other marketing areas.

2/. Authority

Authority Rules. People won’t buy from you unless they trust you, like you and believe that you’re a trusted expert with a helpful agenda.

No one likes to be sold to, right? I bet you don’t like it either. So don’t try to “sell” to others. Take more time becoming an authority in your niche. You need to become a trusted source of information, give advice and provide guidance to those in need.

Only by giving a lot of value you can hope to get something in return. You need to give more than you expect to receive from your prospects. Many of them won’t appreciate what you do, but there will be plenty of those who do, those who will become loyal to you for the work that you do which will eventually lead to a healthy business relationship.

3. Customer Needs

The single biggest mistake you can make is to presume that you know exactly what your prospect’s needs are. Every single prospect is unique. He or she may require the same product as the rest of your customers but his / her REASONS for purchase are Different!

Every prospect is unique, special and different. Each prospect has a different set of dreams than the one before him and the one before that one. You need to have genuine interest in the prospect in front of you. You need to address his every question, worry, need and desire in an unselfish manner so he feels that he has been understood – which is something we don’t get much these days.

4. Sales Copy

This is where you have to address those needs, worries and desires in such a way that the prospect can’t think of a single reason why he shouldn’t buy your product or service.

Moreover, it should describe your product’s benefits in such a way that your prospect won’t be able to imagine his life without it.

Sales copy is usually presented to a qualified prospect. Its job isn’t to “sell” your product or service to a “cold” prospect, its job is to convince the “hot” prospects who are familiar with your product yet hesitate to make the call.