It's time to be Thankful

Thanksgiving In America

When people think of Thanksgiving, most remember the story of the Pilgrims and the Indians at Plymouth Rock. The Pilgrims first arrived in America on December 11, 1620, not prepared for the winter they were about to face. Out of the 102 who arrived on the Mayflower, forty-six of the people died during the first few months. Despite the devastation, they had a good harvest, partly in thanks to the Indians who lived nearby.

They had a traditional British Harvest Feast in thanks to God for surviving and the blessings of provisions that would see them through the winter. In contrast to our modern Thanksgiving menu, they actually had more meat than vegetables, including venison, fish and wild foul, which may or may not have actually been turkey. They probably didn't have much in the way of desserts, as they didn't have a lot of flour or sugar on hand. They probably had some fruits and corn. Instead of pumpkin pie, they probably had boiled pumpkin. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted for three days.

Thanksgiving was not an annual event in the U.S. for many years. In 1623, there was a drought and instead of having a celebration, the Pilgrims held a prayer service. When their prayers were answered the next day, they invited their Indian friends to join them in another Thanksgiving observance.

June 20, 1676 was celebrated as a day of Thanksgiving in Charlestown, Massachusetts. However this was very different than the first Thanksgiving. This was to celebrate a victory over the Indians. Another victory, this time over the British, was celebrated in October of 1677 by all of the thirteen colonies. George Washington established the first national Thanksgiving day in 1789, however not everyone thought it was a good idea, including Thomas Jefferson.

It wasn't until 1863 that what we know as our modern Thanksgiving came into being. Sarah Josepha Hale decided to promote Thanksgiving in her magazine, Boston Ladies' Magazine and in Godey's Lady's Book. She also wrote letters to different governors and presidents. Abraham Lincoln finally established Thanksgiving as the last Thursday in November. The date was changed a few times (to the third Thursday), but in 1941 was finally established on its current date, the fourth Thursday in November.

Over the years, it has drifted away from its original focus on being thankful. It has become a day to eat and watch football. While those aren't bad things, it is good for people to take the time to actually be thankful for their blessings.

I am Thankful for my readers and passerby's to this blog. Thank you.
I am Thankful for my family and friends and their support.
I am Thankful to all those that have given me free or paid information that has helped me in my online journey.
I am Thankful for my struggles, without them I forget to appreciate what we do have

What can you be Thankful for?

3 Things All Affiliate Marketers Need To Survive Online

What are these three tactics?

1. Using unique web pages for separate niche products

Note: Do not lump all of your products together just to save some money on web hosting. It is best to have a site focusing on each and every niche.

Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial understanding on what the product can do to those who buys them. Also include testimonials from users who have already tried the product. Be sure that these customers are willing to allow you to use their names and photos on the site for that specific product you are marketing.

You can also write articles highlighting the uses of the product and include them on the website as an additional information. Make the pages attractive, compelling and include calls to action. Each headline should attract the readers to read more and even contact you.

2. Offer Free Reports
If possible position them at the very top side of your page so they simply can't be missed. Try to create autoresponder messages that will be mailed to those who input their information into your sign up box. According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospect.

Only two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: closed sale or the prospect leaving the page and never return again. By placing useful information into their inboxes at certain specified period, you will remind them of the product they thought they want later and will find out that the sale is closed. Be sure that the content is directed toward specific reasons to buy the product. Do not make it sound like a sales pitch.

Focus on important points like how your product can make life and things easier and more enjoyable. Include compelling subject lines in the email. As much as possible, avoid using the word “free” because there are still older spam filters that dumps those kind of contents into the junk before even anyone reading them first. Convince those who signed up for your free reports that they will be missing something big if they do not avail of your products and services.

3. Get targeted traffic

Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are offering, they will be among those who move on and never come back. Write articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. This way you can locate publications that are focusing on your target customers and what you have put up might just grab their interest.

Try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day.

Always remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or get your services. If you can generate as much as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, that means you can made 10 sales based on the average statistic.

Try to use these tips on your affiliate marketing programs. You can end maintaining a good source of income and surviving in this business.

Copywriting - 6 tips

I am in the process of attending a copywriting class presented by Alice Seba - so I have copywrting on the brain as I am way behind in class. So today I will share some copywriting tips.

6 Powerful Copywriting Tips

Copywriting is the one skill which all online business owners should learn. As an online marketer you communicate through words – if those words aren’t effectively conveying your message, then you’re in for a long and bumpy ride.

Here are a few copywriting tips to get you going:

Know your Target Market – Good copywriters know exactly who they’re writing for. They speak directly to ONE person and keep that same person in mind at all times. If you try to reach too many people with your copy you’ll end up missing your target altogether and not reaching anyone at all. Before starting, know exactly who you’re writing your copy for and stick to it.

Headlines that Intrigue – Use clear headlines throughout your copy to guide the reader. Your main headline should be in bold and large letters to grab the reader’s attention. It is often the headline which can either make or break your copy. Use a benefit-focused headline, which explains in powerful detail how you can help solve the customer’s problem. Then use sub-headlines throughout the copy to keep the reader intrigued so they will keep reading.

Don’t use Big Words – Online writing is different to the writing you did in English class. Throw out the text book and forget all those rules your teacher taught you. Online writing is casual and needs to convey emotion and a clear purpose. You need to speak to the person as though you’re sitting down with them and chatting over a coffee… stay away from big words and long adjectives or risk boring (and losing) your prospects!

Be Persuasive – If you love your product that’s great but it’s also a bit biased. Your customers want to hear from other unbiased people who have used your product. Include customer testimonials but not just any testimonial will do, the more information you can include the better. Try to include the person’s full name, city, state, website URL and if possible a picture of that person. The more information your testimonial includes the more persuasive and believable your copy becomes.

It’s not all about you! – In fact, it’s not about you at all. Effective copywriting is concerned with the needs of the customer. The writer doesn’t really matter... Of course, you may need to add a little personal information about yourself in order to gain trust and to explain why your customer should trust you, but even in this case it’s all about what you can do for them. Go through your copy, does it contain a lot of “I’s” then it’s time for a serious re-write. Go back and change most of those “I’s” to “You’s”. Your writing should always be about the customer.

Don’t forget the call – The call to action that is. You must guide your visitors and tell them what you expect them to do. If you want them to click over and purchase your weight loss product, say so, and say so in a clear way which promotes all the benefits of your products “Click here to learn how you can lose those last 10 pounds and keep it off for good” . Be precise in your wording and always include a clear call to action.

Blog Energizer is here and you need to check it out.

Today is a very good day for blogs and bloggers everywhere. Lynette Chandler has finally opened up Blog Energizer to the public and you can sign up for your free account right
now.

If you're in a hurry, you can grab yours at...

Blog Energizer

...but if you'd like to learn a bit more about what Blog Energizer is, let me tell you about it. Blog Energizer is a unique resource that gives members valuable opportunities to fill their blogs with content, drive traffic and more.

With a basic account (it doesn't cost a thing) at Blog Energizer, you get access to:

- Freebies you can give away on your blog
- Blogs that are looking for guest bloggers.
- Bloggers who might just want to write for your blog.
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All you need to do is go to:

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To your blogging success!

Article Assistance

Make Your Articles Pull More Traffic

Here's a quick tip that will make a difference for you...

I'm assuming that you're now doing article marketing to pull more targeted traffic to your web site -- if not, you need to look into it because it's a proven method (not a fad) that's easy to get into. The software I recommend that helps is Article Architect -- see it here:

Better Articles

Anyway, so you're driving traffic by publishing simple articles -- make sure you don't sabotage yourself by using a weak resource, or bio box.

People are reading your article because they're interested in what you have to say, so make sure to grab them by the lapels and *make* them want to click on the link in your resource box.

Let me know what you think of it!

Dawn

PS - If you're doing article marketing and aren't using Article Architect, you're working too hard! Find out about it here

Any Software for that?

Article Distribution Software

• sometimes called article or ad blasters automate the submission process
• usually come with a list of article directories built in to get your started with quickly
• save you time in the submission process by letting you do everything at one time in one place right from your computer desk top
• autofill features will fill in repetitive information for you, like title, description, bio box etc so that you only have to copy and paste minimal information for each submission
• stores login information after the first visit to save you time by not having to login in most cases
• often offer updates and info on the newest article directories and places to submit keeping you in the loop on what's new and working for other article submitters

Some available software programs:

Article Submitter
Article ProSoftware
Articless.net
Article Robot

This is one area where there is much debate on the internet. Some say it is extremely beneficial if you are going to use article marketing, while others think that these submissions are blocked by certain article directories. There will be pros and cons of any strategy, only testing will truly show the benefits, and benefits will vary per person.

Article Written - Now what

Article Submission:

• you can both submit and use articles for free reprint
• all articles include a bio box, or a blurb about the author that must remain with the articles bring reprinted
• loyal audience of hundreds of thousands visitors visit the article directory every day looking for fresh content on hundreds of thousands of topics
• if your article is unique and informative it will stand out above others and get used more frequently by the content seekers, giving you more exposure and more links in return
• there are just as many experts submitting articles as there are content seekers, so the site grows every minute of every day with fresh new articles, thousands of pieces of content get added each month
• some directories have the articles reviewed before they show up in the database, providing only quality articles to their users (these are going to become your best friend)
• the article submission site promotes itself, therefore also promoting it's writers and users at the same time
• users cannot edit or alter your article in any way, ensuring that the content attached to your name and link are of the best quality and exactly what you need for marketing
• RSS feeds deliver fresh articles to regular subscribed users in real time
• in the end everyone benefits, the article site, the article writer, and the website or ezine publisher that used the article

Where to Submit Articles

There are many places online to submit your articles online and off for marketing purposes. If you want to get some local attention you can submit your articles to newspapers and magazines, often they will run them in a small section about local business and include your bio box. This often goes for trade related magazines as well. Look in the back for editorial information and contact them to find out about their submission process.
Online you can submit to directories and articles websites of all sorts. The nice thing about this is they often have good PR and you will get a link from the directory and from anyone that uses your articles as well.

http://www.ezinearticles.com
http://www.articlepros.com/
http://www.bluewaterarticles.com/
http://www.impactarticles.com/
http://www.ideamarketers.com/
http://www.greatarticlesformoms.com/
http://www.freearticalepro.com/
http://www.articlesbase.com
http://www.articleblotter.com
http://www.articlecity.com
http://www.articlesbase.com
http://www.submityourarticle.com/
http://www.e-articles.info
http://www.businesstoolchest.com
http://www.BestArticlesDirectory.com
http://www.article-hut.com
http://www.redarticles.com/
http://www.articlehub.net
http://www.ladypens.com


The list above is just a small sampling of places to get started with submitting your article for your marketing campaign online. There are literally hundreds of these websites that you can submit your unique articles and get targeted exposure in return.