A string of questions about email systems recently caught my attention. Because I find myself wanting to answer every one, I’m consolidating my thoughts into this reference post.

For awhile now, I’ve been wanting to share the benefits of using AWeber. As a customer for over a year and an affiliate [yes, this post contains affiliate links], I decided the time was right after a comment came up in my marketing execution class this week.

When one of my students told me her programmer ...]]>  

A string of questions about email systems recently caught my attention. Because I find myself wanting to answer every one, I’m consolidating my thoughts into this reference post.

For awhile now, I’ve been wanting to share the benefits of using AWeber. As a customer for over a year and an affiliate [yes, this post contains affiliate links], I decided the time was right after a comment came up in my marketing execution class this week.

When one of my students told me her programmer said an email service is extremely costly, I asked her. “How does $30 a month sound?” That’s all it takes to send out 150,000 emails to 20,000 subscribers every month. I only hope her list is 1% of that size. You pay less if you send less.

Although I use two email delivery systems, I prefer Aweber. Besides the fact the company’s blog is a great email marketing resource – see the latest posts at the end of this post – I find their personalized service refreshing.

When was the last time an email service provider sent you a personalized, signed letter thanking your for your service? Never? Thought so.

Customer service is incredibly responsive, When I called asking how to integrate Aweber with my landing page software, they were ready for me. As soon I described my request, the customer service rep asked for my email so he could send me instructions. They arrived in under five minutes. An online chat service allows you to get instant answers.

With Aweber you can . . .

- Schedule delivery timed to the minute way in advance; set it and forget it email

- Stagger messages for personalized auto-delivery for effortless ongoing contact 

- Check in on daily reporting that monitors new additions and lets you know the number of clicks on your links

- Arrange for double opt-in to insure your list is populated with people who confirm twice that they want to receive your messages

- Toggle back and forth between lists and see stats at a glance on your control panel

- Send emails in text, html or one of over 50 templates

- Include broadcasts in a web based archive by linking to the Web archive or RSS feed, both links go to MTN News archives.

- Test out Aweber’s email marketing service with a free trial

- Watch Aweber’s blog updates email marketing innovations – check out the latest headlines

Have an email service you recommend? Let us know with a comment below.

That’s how Ken McCarthy kicked off his System Intensive 2007 tour.

Creator of The System, Ken presented the first Internet marketing seminar ever in 1993.

I was lucky enough to be in the intimate audience for Ken’s first tour stop in Chicago on Saturday.

System Intensive 2007 is one of those mind-shifting events you hope for, but rarely encounter in marketing circles.

Conducted in a guru-free zone, Ken’s ...]]> “How many people here are comfortable with chaos?”

That’s how Ken McCarthy kicked off his System Intensive 2007 tour.

Creator of The System, Ken presented the first Internet marketing seminar ever in 1993.

I was lucky enough to be in the intimate audience for Ken’s first tour stop in Chicago on Saturday.

System Intensive 2007 is one of those mind-shifting events you hope for, but rarely encounter in marketing circles.

Conducted in a guru-free zone, Ken’s master class in marketing is an interactive research lab that compels you to: focus on your mission, perfect your sales process, test new techniques and deliver value.

Beginning marketers learned how to start and market a web-based business. Intermediate to experienced marketers offered to share their successes and failures [or should I say test results?] with other students. Even the most advanced marketers benefited from Ken’s conversations about conversion.

How do I condense my 23 pages of notes into one post? I can’t, but you can sign up to see Ken McCarthy on tour and read more about what he covers at System Intensive 2007.

In about 8 hours, you’ll walk out with fresh perspectives, new contacts and an action plan to take your business to the place where you really need to be: one that delivers value for your clients.

And, get comfortable with chaos. In fact, welcome it into your life. If you can’t stir up some dust, you’ll never get going.

All that’s true, but the approachability and friendliness of every one I met, including the speakers, surprised me. Ego was absent – the only time people talked about how well they were doing was to encourage and motivate me personally.

It worked. I spent most of last week applying ideas, testing tactics and making new connections.

Here’s a link ...]]> In the inner Internet circles, The System Seminar [affiliate link] has a reputation for providing pure content, a professional environment and bleeding edge techniques.

All that’s true, but the approachability and friendliness of every one I met, including the speakers, surprised me. Ego was absent – the only time people talked about how well they were doing was to encourage and motivate me personally.

It worked. I spent most of last week applying ideas, testing tactics and making new connections.

Here’s a link to a post from the first night of The System Seminar. Although I planned to blog live every day, I got so caught up in meeting people, interacting and learning that my laptop didn’t get the same workout my brain did. For 28/48 hours I was totally engaged and deeply immersed.

One of the most memorable sessions of the entire event, for me, was the last hour or so of open mic testimonials and reflections. Listening to these individuals brought the experience alive in a way that only personal stories can – some of their words were my most profound takeaways.

If you’re wondering what really goes on at one of these events, all I can say is you’ll be surprised at how amazing it can be. This time I never expected to meet up with someone who’s words impressed me 15 years ago or my partner on two teleseminars, Christine Langermann.

Going as Marc Harty’s guest was an honor and a privilege. Answering questions at his trade show booth about his best-selling product, PR Traffic, put me in touch with dozens of people in a variety of conversations on a really cool mix of topics with people from around the world. I hope in some small way my answers to their questions helped make their businesses more successful.

As a speaker, I always learn from other presentations. I’m never offended when speakers sell from the platform – even when their over-hyped pitch draws small crowds out in the hallway. Although there was no overt pitching at The System Seminar, it’s tough to cover a topic in 90 minutes. So, it was good to see that many speakers offered continuing education programs at reasonable price points.

After going to several Internet marketing related seminars, I’d rank this one as the best for serious students that plan to take massive action. Experience level isn’t important, but a willingness to move is. You’ll get the tools, the connections and the know-how. It’s up to you to make it work. See you next year in Chicago?

Find out more about The System Seminar.

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Turn on your own Internet TV Station

Hi Barbara

Thanks for your latest email, we are currently putting together a contest and your Words of Wisdom are very timely

Thank you… – Andrew Peters | COO | The Pacific West Communications

~~~~

Here’s a clip from this week’s ezine article, “Contest-ing PR: 8 Winning Ways to Giveaways”

Step One: Start Out ...]]> Update:  Thanks to Andrew Peters, an MTN ezine reader, uber cool blogger and virtual PR expert based in Singapore, for his permission to share his email with you in response to this ezine article:

Hi Barbara

Thanks for your latest email, we are currently putting together a
contest and your Words of Wisdom are very timely

Thank you…
–
Andrew Peters | COO | The Pacific West Communications

~~~~

Here’s a clip from this week’s ezine article, “Contest-ing PR: 8 Winning Ways to Giveaways”

Step One: Start Out with What’s In It For Them

Choose a prize that makes people say, “I want to win that!” This may seem like the last decision you need to make, but having an enticing prize makes the incentive to enter that much more powerful. And, you can build your creative campaign around it. Also, the better the prize, the more viral your contest becomes.

Step Two: Figure Out What’s In It For You

Determine your contest’s purpose – is it to generate leads, qualify prospects, come up with a new design, position your company as a resource, contribute to your community or something else? It may be all of these or just one.

Step Three: Write Winning Rules

For more formal contests, write your rules carefully and take your time. Check with a legal resource to make sure your fine print covers any liabilities. And, be sure to ask for all the customer information you want to capture beyond the basics and into buying preferences, industry or even lifestyle questions that give you clues into buying behaviors.

Read this article online and get 5 more PR tips

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Turn on your own Internet TV station

4.26.07 Update: Thanks to Fast Pitch! for posting this article. Click the image to see the email message.

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Here’s a clip from this week’s ezine article, “Portable PR: Business Marketing To Go”

Here’s an excerpt from Gary Bencivenga’s tribute to Gary Halbert . . .

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4. Gary was original. His favorite saying, the one he lived by, was “Nothing is impossible for a person who refuses to listen to reason!” With that as his credo, he blazed many new marketing trails that the rest of us followed.

     What does this all mean to you? Let’s sum up. If you want to pay tribute to Gary and what he taught us…

Perry Marshall’s Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords is a must-read and a must-follow guide that tells you “how to access 100 million people in 10 minutes.” I’ve read the entire book, some sections three and four times – and you should, too.

In the midst of ...]]> This article goes out today to MTN News subcribers, which is published by CoryWest Media and written by Barbara Rozgonyi. For permission to reprint this article in your publication email connect [at] corywestmedia [dot] com.

Perry Marshall’s Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords is a must-read and a must-follow guide that tells you “how to access 100 million people in 10 minutes.” I’ve read the entire book, some sections three and four times – and you should, too.

In the midst of split-testing my Google AdWords campaigns, I came up with an alternative approach: the luck factor. Before I get into how the play the “I Feel Lucky” game, let’s talk about public relations and how the keywords your prospects use to find you on the Internet fits into your publicity plan.

Keywords drive searches that route traffic that converts to sales. So, having the proper keyword selection is critical to setting up your sales process path. From a public relations perspective, proper keyword alignment [your words match up with your company/product and your prospects' searches] clears your traffic path and removes the noise from your messages. But, finding the right match takes time and testing, testing, testing.

My early results show I was using keywords that a) got 0 traffic even though they sounded good or b) were out of my bidding range. I did find a few keywords that have what I like to call “open room” – the bid price is low and competition is nil.

But, rather than rely solely on the Google Keyword Tool, I decided to come up with a new approach to keyword research based on Google’s “I’m Feeling Lucky™” search option. Here’s how to get lucky.

Go to Google’s home page – you know, the one that’s mostly blank. Enter your search term of choice and hit “I’m Feeling Lucky™” instead of “Google Search.” Then, see what comes up and go where your intuitive search takes you.

Here’s how Google describes this feature:

“The “I’m Feeling Lucky™” button takes you directly to the first web page Google returned for your query. You will not see the other search results at all. An “I’m Feeling Lucky” search means you spend less time searching for web pages and more time looking at them.”

Type in “press releases” and you’ll immediately be taken to Wikipedia’s “news release” page with all kinds of key word ideas. “March Madness” goes to the NCAA. Enter “multimedia marketing expert” and yours truly’s speaking page pops right up.

Play “I Feel Lucky” a few times to see who’s leading the pack. When you get to these sites, note page titles, headings, anchor text links and subjects.

Make a list of terms or phrases you like and then check into Google’s Keyword Tool to check keyword search volume, cost and ad position estimates, search volume trends and possible negative keywords.

Want to take the game to the next level? Type in “I’m Feeling Lucky™,” click the “I’m Feeling Lucky™” button and you’ll find yourself staring at Google Help: Search Features.

If you’re really serious about success, start off on the right keyword track with Perry Marshall’s “5 Days to Success with Google AdWords™” and start bidding!

Try it and see how lucky you can get.

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About this article’s author . . . An in-demand publicist, professional speaker and marketing communications consultant since 1990, Barbara Rozgonyi is grounded, edgy and prophetic. “Panoramic PR,” Barbara’s latest project, compresses everything she knows into an affordable, manageable course that teaches small business owners, entrepreneurs, authors, experts, coaches and anyone else who wants more free publicity how to get completely covered by being fully exposed. Claim a free report and get automatic articles like this one at http://www.powerprsecrets.com.

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Turn on your own Internet TV station

Attract Attention. Get Noticed. Close Sales.

Presenting statistics that support selective strategic partnerships, it’s an overall look into how businesses, political parties and ad agencies are promoting from or on the church platform. The post references an article by Knowledge @ Wharton called Product Placement in the Pews? Microtargeting Meets Megachurches.

Megachurches are ...]]> Church Marketing Sucks, the place to go to check into what’s happening [and not happening] in church marketing, comments on messaging to the pews in a post called, “Your church sponsored by Crest White Strips.”

Presenting statistics that support selective strategic partnerships, it’s an overall look into how businesses, political parties and ad agencies are promoting from or on the church platform. The post references an article by Knowledge @ Wharton called Product Placement in the Pews? Microtargeting Meets Megachurches.

Megachurches are onto something – raising money by promoting products. While it’s difficult for me to imagine my church setting up a Chrysler expo in our adjacent parking lot, I can see the benefits selective affiliate marketing brings churches.

As one top affiliate marketing expert once explained to me, “Affiliate marketing is not selling, it’s recommending products or services you believe in.” Often, I lead people to resources they wouldn’t have found without me. They’re free to delete my affiliate link [and commission] at the end of the URL and buy direct from the vendor, if they prefer.

We recommend that our business clients find a match with a non-profit whose mission matches theirs. Then we build communication tools for the business to share with the non-profit to help them co-promote an event or a campaign to maximize visability and fundraising potential.

As a marketer, I love the idea of connecting funds to missions. As a church member, I’m conscious of the competition for messages: mission, prayer, ministry, meeting, outreach giving, stewardship, service, youth, suppers, festivals, etc.

Here’s an affiliate marketing idea to test out . . .

Church members who own businesses can start their own version of affiliate marketing by rewarding referrals with a donation to their church and then expand the offer to other churches within the community.

And one more that takes only a click . . .

GoodSearch pays organizations for every search from their members. At a penny per search with 500 members searching 5 times per day, that’s $750 extra per month – certainly worth testing out. Who says donations can only come in through pledges and the offering plate?

Share your ideas on how churches can set up affiliate income streams . . .

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Contact Barbara about advertising, a creative project or a speaking opportunity.

Your VIP Discount Code is: AM3964

To claim your $79 discount and register at the lowest fee, click this link now: http://www.teleseminar-secrets-revealed.com

After taking Alex Mandossian’s Teleseminar Secrets a year ago, one of my goals was to meet Alex in person and thank him.

That’s me with Alex at his and Armand Morin’s Customer Appreciation Seminar in June. During the course Alex encourages you to set up your first teleseminar ...]]> Save $79 on the Teleseminar Secrets preview call now.

Your VIP Discount Code is: AM3964

To claim your $79 discount and register at the lowest fee, click this link now: http://www.teleseminar-secrets-revealed.com

After taking Alex Mandossian’s Teleseminar Secrets a year ago, one of my goals was to meet Alex in person and thank him.

That’s me with Alex at his and Armand Morin’s Customer Appreciation Seminar in June. During the course Alex encourages you to set up your first teleseminar and compete in a contest, which I did.

Thanks to Jenny Hamby for talking me into taking Teleseminar Secrets last year.

Alex opens Teleseminar Secrets enrollment once a year with a preview call. As an affiliate, I just made arrangements to give you special access to the call.

During this tele-training, my colleague Alex Mandossian will reveal his teleseminar secrets that converted his annual income in 2001 into a hourly income in 2006!

In just 90 minutes, you’ll discover: ->> 8 advantages whenever you conduct teleseminars so you too can win more sales at the speed of sound ->> 7 embarrassing mistakes most telemarketers make DURING their teleseminars and how you can avoid them ->> 9 common mistakes most telemarketers make BEFORE teleseminars and how to easily side-step them forever ->> Alex’s 7-Step Plan to quickly triple your passive income as an “Tele-Interviewer” of industry leaders ->> 4 closely-guarded teleseminar Case Studies that generated 6-figure profits with little human effort ->> 5 core attributes to find low-cost reliable vendors for sales copy, winning website designs and much more! ->> 11 sneaky low-cost secrets so you will repeatedly and automatically build your own highly responsive online list(s) from scratch!

And much, much, much more!! Your VIP Discount Code is: AM3964 To claim your $79 discount and register at the lowest fee, click this link now: http://www.teleseminar-secrets-revealed.com

Listen to our Marketing Transformations teleseminar . . .