Boost response rates with a "Johnson Box"

What is a Johnson Box? Glad you asked . . .

Some say it's named after the 'Johnson Boxes' at train stations that have offers and brochures displayed, but others credit a direct sales guru named Frank H. Johnson some sixty years ago or so who wanted to increase the conversion rate of his sales letters.

He decided that instead of making his potential customers read through a long sales letter before making his offer, he would highlight it in a rectangular box, centered, and placed at the very top of the letter above the greeting.

The results were fantastic, and the rest, as they say, is history. It's a no-brainer. The box really stands out at the top of the letter, and catches your attention. Your eye just automatically gravitates to the headline. There are statistics claiming the addition of this one little feature can boost sales by as much as 20%; which is well worth the effort.

Just remember to put your offer, the main benefit of your service or product, and the URL to visit in the box. If you have a guarantee now's the time to tout it and if the offer expires in the near future that's even better. (This adds the ticking clock element.)

There are lots of ways to increase your income without having to increase the number of visitors to your site. The easiest is to convert more of the visitors you have into buyers.

Until next time . . .

All the best,
Joyce
Start your own home business

Let’s Review . . .

One of the best ways to earn online is through product reviews. You sign up as an affiliate of a certain product, (for additional information on Affiliate Marketing click the link) then you give a review of the product.

Just think about it . . . how often do you see the name of a new movie coming out and immediately go see it. Usually, you’ll see a trailer and then, more often than not, you ask a friend or wait for a review.  Someone’s opinion carries more weight for you than the production company’s ad.   As it should; a testimonial can be a wonderful thing.

How do you choose other products you buy? You talk with your friends and family? You may not sit around talking to them exclusively about products to buy or movies to see, the subject just casually comes up in conversation.

And that’s the way we should be as affiliate marketers reviewing products. Talk to your visitors as though they are your friend . . . dropped by for a cup of coffee, and you mention how you feel about a certain product they might be interested in.

Until next time . . .


All the best,
Joyce
Start your own home business

Look What Google Just Bought . . . will this be Affiliate Marketings New Playground?

When Google goes shopping everybody wants to see what they bought! But when the Google blog announced the purchase of Neven Vision, a key player in face and image recognition, there’s speculation there may be more in the works than what is apparent at first blush. Google's trying to pass their new purchase off as a technology that will make it a lot easier for you to organize and find the photos you care about. But insiders are looking far beyond pictures . . .

So what could this mean for the everyday affiliate marketer? Advertising with Google AdWords could get a whole lot more interesting. Loren Baker writes, “Seems like Google AdWords on buses, billboards and other forms of outdoor advertising is not just a joke among Madison Avenue players anymore.

“Imagine Google AdWords technology monitoring the profiles of users and the paths they generally take to the workplace, favorite lunchtime eatery, or commute home; and then optimizing the outdoor or subway advertising to show the most relevant ad to the most relevant group at the most relevant time.

Question is, will Google bring mobile face recognition to its consumer marketplace? Will one be able to take a picture of someone at the bar, search on Google for him or her, then be able to read that person’s blog, MySpace profile or home address? Chances are doing so would conjure up all kinds of privacy controversies, but the technology to do so is right around the corner.” (For the complete article visit Loren Baker’s Search Engine Journal Blog ).

And even if the average Joe doesn’t have this technology, what will Google know about the average Joe. What will Google know about you? Paranoia, alive and well! Until next time . . .

All the best,
Joyce
EarnOnYourComputer.com

Just a little survey . . .

People sometimes wonder why I don’t have surveys listed on   EarnOnYourComputer.com   as a good way to earn money online. Well there’s one very good reason. I’ve never known anyone who made any money taking surveys online.

Most of the businesses, offering to put you in touch with companies paying for surveys, make a nice chunk of change when you purchase the information from them. But you, as the individual actually taking the survey, usually don’t make any money.

And the e-mails . . . don't get me started. Once you begin doing surveys you start getting all this spam mail. That alone will cost you more in time than you'll earn taking the survey.

I’d love to be proven wrong. So let’s take a survey! Has anyone made any significant money taking surveys; answer either way. I look forward to the results. Until next time . . .


All the best,
Joyce
EarnOnYourComputer.com

Where do I start?

Lots of times people feel overwhelmed when they begin setting up their business. Usually it’s because they have information overload. They don’t know where to start. The answer is much the same as you’d find in any situation where you need focus and clarity; make a list.

If you’re interested in starting your own business, the first thing you’ll want to do is decide if there is an area or market you can concentrate on which also interests you. You know the saying, "Find a job you love and you'll never work another day in you life"; something that you're the 'go to' person for now. Is there something you know quite a bit about now, that interests you and gets your juices flowing or an area you have been wanting to learn a great deal about.

Then begin looking at keywords. There are lots of free tools out there so don't think you have to spend a lot of money. Check out our Free Tools page. During this process you'll be looking at the number of times a particular phrase or keyword was searched for. So by the time you get through your keyword research phase you'll have a pretty good idea if there is a market out there for any products you want to sell or develop.

As you do the above and from then on you'll want to keep a running list of the things you want to do and/or implement in your business. Then you prioritize your list. That way you always know what you want to do next. You don't have to accomplish everything right away. Just focusing on one step at a time will keep you from feeling overwhelmed.

And just a quick reminder, don't forget to get your free copy of the "7 Step Guide to Profits Online". Hope you have a great weekend.

All the best,
Joyce
EarnOnYourComputer.com

Affiliate Marketing - Heads-Up

Greetings fellow marketers, this morning I found this information waiting on my newsfeed:

Monday Daniel Gross of Slate.com reported “Starbucks attributed its lackluster quarterly earnings to long waits caused by people ordering frozen drinks -- which take longer to prepare than coffee -- to beat the summer heat. Please. Many businesses that cater to "the better-off" are struggling.” In recent years, retailers catering to the ‘better-off’ have thrived. But now, there's mounting evidence that rising inflation, slow wage growth, and higher energy prices are pinching the upper-middle class. In the past few weeks, several of the companies that cater to those with more disposable cash, have reported disappointing results; while those who supply the working class are seeing a rise in sales.

As an affiliate marketer, even if you’re not pushing coffee sales, this ought to give you a ‘heads-up’? Though your niche may stay the same your marketing strategies ought to change. With this information in mind, you might want to be a little more inclined to push products that have a greater perceived value but are easier on the pocket book. You’ll want to make sure your customer feels she’s getting the most for her money.

Uh-oh, I can hear the affiliate gurus now saying if you sell the high priced item you only have to sell maybe one item to get X amount of dollars, you’d have to sell a lot more of a less expensive item to make the same amount of money. And while this is true, it’s not so much about the price of the item as the perception it’s a good deal (though a lower price is one of the easiest ways to accomplish this.)

We know from our own lives, the cost of living is out pacing wage increases, and the bills still have to be paid. Our customers are going to have less money available for non-essentials. They’ll still want the product; but they’ll be looking for the best deal. Now more than ever, as a good affiliate marketer, it’s up to you to make sure they see they’ll get their best deal when they shop with you.

All the best,
Joyce
EarnOnYourComputer.com

What comes first; the chicken or the egg?

Often the question arises when you first begin your affiliate business, should you get your website up and running first, or should you sign up as an affiliate first?

Well as crazy as it may sound, you need that website or blog, complete with content, before you begin signing up as an affiliate for the products you want to sell.

Find the niche you want, then begin building your site with lots of content, after that you can find a program. Many affiliate programs won't accept you without a site. And there are lots of products. Don’t worry.

For more information on starting your own business as an affiliate marketer, visit EarnOnYourComputer.com

All the best,
Joyce
EarnOnYourComputer.com

An ad by any other name might smell just as sweet

Good Friday evening to all of you out there; I hope you have big plans for the weekend.

As mentioned earlier this week, many affiliate marketers have been hit hard by Google's new rate hikes in AdWord pricing and are faced with major overhauls of websites or paying someone else to do the overhauls.

If you don't have the time, and/or don't want to go to the expense of making changes, this might be a great time to investigate alternative advertisers.  Don't forget Google isn't the only guy in the game.   First, if you haven't already, check out  Yahoo.  Another advertisers to try out would be  Bidvertiser,  and also  Enhance.com.  Both have good reputations.  If you're leery about trying out another pay-per-click provider, after all the horror stories about click fraud.   Start small, test and keep track of your numbers.

Oh and last but not least . . . or maybe it is least; a list of the  10 Dumbest Online Business Ideas That Made It Big Time.   Cute.  Now why didn't I think of one of those.

And just a quick reminder, don't forget to get your free copy of the  "7 Step Guide to Profits Online".   Hope you have a great weekend.


All the best,
Joyce
EarnOnYourComputer.com

Google Woes For Some Affiliates

Good Morning and a happy Monday to you, on this the last day of July. Well it's good as long as you’re not one of the affiliates hit by the latest Google changes. Yes, the big “G” has been at it again. Some affiliates using Google AdWords have been hit with huge price increases and only partly because of Google’s distrust and borderline prejudice towards affiliate marketers.

With Google it seems we have to go the second mile to prove we’re on the up-and-up. We’re sort of guilty until we are able to prove ourselves innocent.

So for those hit by the latest rate hikes, take another look at your landing pages and see if the content is worthy. If you have what is referred to as a squeeze page, (there for the purpose of gleaning e-mail addresses) before sending your viewer to the sales page they're interested in, don’t be surprised if the cost of your clicks spiral up.

As they say, “Content is King”. If your content is drivel, it will cost you; which is actually good for affiliate marketers who are in it for the long haul and bad for those who have thrown up a site to grab a fast buck. Look at it from Google's point of view. Their users want relevant, substantive responses to their searches; and Google wants their users to get what they want. And so we want Google to get what it wants.

Just wanted to add a quick note and let you know the free 7 Step Guide to Profits Online is now available and ready to be downloaded. If you want a copy just click the link, or visit us at EarnOnYourComputer.com. Hope you have a great week.


All the best,
Joyce
EarnOnYourComputer.com

Back Up

Oh the joys of making your living via a computer . . . Okay, sometimes not so joyous. This week I was reminded why I should always back up my files.

Yes, you guessed it, my computer crashed. And I’m not talking about some minor crash here; I’m talking the big crash. The kind computers don’t recover from.

I’m now the proud but less financially heeled owner of a new Toshiba laptop computer. And I don’t care how well you backed up your files and how careful you were when you loaded them back in, gremlins will attack during this process.

What a mess. But we’re back . . . and while we may not be better then ever yet – we’re getting there. As Martha would say, “It’s a good thing.” It will force me to relearn a few things and re-enforces the need to ‘BACK UP EVERYTHING’.

And so I leave you this fine Saturday, with this reminder . . . ‘Back Up’.

All the best,
Joyce
EarnOnYourComputer.com

Earn profits online with your own blog

It’s another beautiful day here in Missouri. And I wanted to spend a few moments jotting down some thoughts I had while I was taking my morning walk.

If you're like I was when I first started out you’re interested in earning on your computer, but confused and leery of all the home based business information out there. If that’s the case, here is a quick, simple and inexpensive way to get your feet wet, so to speak, without getting soaked. Start your own blog!

It’s easy to do and you can write what you know. As you get more comfortable with the process, you can begin to branch out and perhaps get your own website. You can sign up as an affiliate marketer with companies who sell products relevant to your blogs’ subject and market products as well as display Google Adsense ads to earn extra income.

Though it may sound a bit overwhelming at first you can take it a step at a time. For free information on starting your own blog business and ways to earn on your computer, go to Blogging for Profit.

All the best,
Joyce
EarnOnYourComputer.com

Maiden Post

There are those who theorize that the average blog has approximately 10 other bloggers who read and link to that blog. And those blogger's blogs have approximately 10 bloggers who read and link to them and so on and so on. With that in mind, the average blogger has quite a sphere of influence.

And don’t forget the 6 degrees of separation. You know the theory that anyone on earth can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances with no more than five intermediaries. Your influence doesn’t stop with the bloggers who visit your blog, it continues through the bloggers who visit their blogs and visitors to their blogs and so on and so on.

So even though this is my maiden post, I feel as though I'm on the world stage . . . for just a moment . . . ah, get over it! Of course they did say the average blogger . . . it's pretty bad when you have to work up to average. Oh well, one step at a time. :-)

All the best,
Joyce
EarnOnYourComputer.com