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Donna Gunter's Articles

  • Facebook in 15 Minutes a Day
    Social networking can take up your entire day, if you allow it. How can you possibly get any work done in your business or for your clients at this rate? You can actually handle most of your Facebook tasks in as little as 15 minutes per day. Here's what I do when I log into my account each morning:
  • My Top 7 Essential Twitter Tools
    The microblogging platform, Twitter, and how Twitter has taken the online marketing world by storm. While Twitter is pretty easy to use, there's an overwhelming amount of tools, plug-ins and applications being developed to support it. How can you determine which ones will best support you in your use of Twitter? I've tried to sort though all of the junk, and come up with my 7 essential Twitter tools:
  • Leverage Your Expertise: Create a Fixed Term Membership Program
    "Fixed term memberships" refer to a membership that consists of weekly content shared via autoresponder to paid members for a specified period of time. In many ways, a fixed term membership offers great advantages over a traditional subscription membership site. Here are 7 reasons why this business model makes sense for service business owners.
  • Client Attraction: 4 Deadly Mistakes to Avoid if You Want a Full Practice
    Many independent service professionals insist that they want additional clients, but haven't really put the groundwork in place to accommodate them. Even though many of you say that you are, your words may give one message, but your actions give a completely different message. Here are 4 deadly mistakes you want to avoid if you want a full and thriving practice.
  • List Building: 7 Steps to Grow Your Email List with Twitter
    Twitter is a microblogging platform that has taken the business world by storm. The purpose of Twitter is to post short updates (not to exceed 140 characters) about what you're doing at the moment, read the updates of others whom you're following, and comment and reply on what they're doing. As I became accustomed to posting regular updates, I began to wonder if I was missing a key business marketing strategy in the process.
  • Website Marketing: 4 Secrets to Making More Sales from Content Pages
    Once you begin to add content to your site, your traffic begins to increase, and up to 60% of your traffic may come from the content on your site. Here are 4 secret strategies that you can use right away to begin making sales from your content pages.
  • Online Marketing to Prospects: 6 Secrets to Ensure Your Prospect Well Never Runs Dry
    Service business owners, once they become busy working with current clients, no longer make the time to market their businesses. It's only when business has dropped off that they frantically begin marketing their businesses again, More than 50% of service business owners experience this feast or famine scenario.
  • Recession Proof Marketing: 7 Ways to Jumpstart Your Internet Marketing That Won't Break the Bank
    Virtual businesses don't experience same economic highs and lows in the same way as the rest of the country (or the world). However, there is a "recession", or a point in which there's a downturn or a decline of income in every business. If you don't continue to marketing your business, even in times of recession, how will people continue to find out about you?
  • Elevator Pitch: 7 Steps to a Killer 30-Second Commercial That Works Every Time
    Even though your business may be completely Internet based, there are still numerous times when you need to give your elevator pitch (elevator speech), or your 30-second commercial that explains what you do and how you do it. Having a ready-made elevator pitch at your disposal continues to be an important online marketing tool that you need to continuously sharpen.
  • Pricing Strategies: How Much Do I Charge for My Service?
    Determining what to charge your clients is often not as easy as you might think. After you determine your overhead and the rate you need to charge to meet you expenses and make a profit, you may end up with a price that you're not comfortable with charging. Here's how you can overcome your "emotional price point" barrier and run a profitable business.
  • 5 Critical Questions To Ask BEFORE You Hire a Web Designer
    The creation of your online presence can be a very expensive failure or a much-heralded success. Before hiring a website designer, make sure s/he answers these 5 critical questions to your satisfaction, and you'll be on the path to a profitable relationship with a talented professional who can help your online business grow.
  • Marketing Plan: How to Create an Internet Marketing Action Plan That Gets Results
    Keeping up with ongoing marketing tasks can be overwhelming. Many online business owners are so wrapped up in working on their business that they don't make time to work in the business, like performing regular marketing tasks. Consequently, they often experience slow times in their business because they begin to market themselves only when the prospect pool has dried up.
  • 10 New Rules to Get a Flood of Traffic from Online Publicity
    In today's marketing environment, submitting press releases online is a very viable strategy for attracting attention to your website and to your business. However, the strategy is very underutilized by online service businesses because many of us are still operating under the rules of traditional press releases. Many of the traditional rules of writing press releases no longer apply in today's Internet marketing age.
  • 7 Reasons Blogsites Attract More Visitors and Help You Get More Clients Online
    More and more online service business owners choosing blogsites over traditional websites. Some who have started with a traditional website have switched over to a blogsite in the last year. Here are 7 reasons why a blogsite attracts more visitors and helps you get more clients online than a traditional website.
  • How Perfectionism Kills the Online Entrepreneur
    How many times have you failed to take action on releasing a new product or service because it wasn't perfect? Probably more times than you care to admit. The need for perfection is simply another excuse to procrastinate and take no action. Inaction is safe because you're not putting yourself out there to the world to face possible criticism.
  • Website Marketing: Dramatically Increase Your Conversions with a Clear Call to Action
    The design of many websites leaves the visitor at a loss about what to do next. Some sites make no request at all, while others try and send the visitor in too many directions at once. How do you get your visitor to stay on your site and convert to a prospect? By presenting one clear call to action on every page of your site.
  • 5 Secrets to Selling More Teleclasses with Transcripts
    While iPods and other mp3 players have taken the world by storm, many people still learn best visually. This means they would much rather read something than listen to it. The Internet now offers tons of learning by audio, with mp3 files of podcasts, teleclasses and webinars being the most popular. If you offer teleclasses or webinars as a part of your business model, here are 5 reasons you should offer transcripts with your teleclasses.
  • Create a Coaching Program for Your Multiple Steams of Income Funnel
    Whatever your profession, you've amassed a great deal of information in your field or industry. There's an eager and willing audience who will gladly pay for your information and experience. One of the best ways to package and market what you have learned is through the addition of a coaching program to your product and service offerings.
  • Client Attraction: 6 Questions to Ask to Discover Your Brilliance
    Sometimes it pays to be a "jill of all trades" when you're a service business owner, but ultimately you probably discover that there are some things you like to do for clients better than others. Figuring out what you truly love to do in your work with your clients is key to your success -- and theirs.
  • Ezine Marketing: 5 Ways to Skyrocket Your Ezine Open Rate
    If you're using your ezine as your "stay in touch" device for your email list as the way your prospects get to like, know and trust you so that you'll be the top of mind person they contact when they are ready to fix the problem that ails them, then you want to ensure that as many of them as possible open your ezine when it arrives.
  • 7 Steps to Creating a Podcast from an Article
    Instead of reinventing the wheel by creating new content for a new marketing medium, the podcast, simply repurpose the material you've already created. While podcasting has always intrigued me, I never wanted to take the time to create additional content for an audience who prefers to listen to their information rather than read it.
  • Top Five Ways Your Virtual Assistant Can Help You Make More Money, Today!
    The best decision you can make as an online business owner is to delegate those tasks which really don't require your time and attention. A simple way to do that is by hiring a virtual assistant. Whether you're just starting out or have been in business for awhile, the thought of bringing on a support team member can be daunting and you wonder how you'll pay for it.
  • Your Article Writing Campaign Timeline
    How can you appear to be everywhere online? It's quite simple when you use this one proven strategy on a regular basis in your Internet marketing arsenal: article marketing. Here's how you can create an article marketing timeline to use every single time you create a new article.
  • Ezine Advertising: 10 Steps to Writing Powerful Ezine Ads to Grow Your List
    Advertising in email newsletters with ads is one of the greatest adverting bargains available today. It can be a very effective strategy to help you grow your mailing list and drive traffic to your website. There are thousands of ezine publishers eagerly standing by to take your money for a classified ad in their publication.
  • Storytelling: A Powerful Marketing Strategy for Your Online Business
    Before the advent of pencil and paper and writing, ancient peoples depended solely upon storytelling to pass along the history of their families and tribes from one generation to the next. You can create the same kind of connection to your customer base by telling your story or the story of a successful client. Stories help people create visual images of what you're trying to get across.
  • Social Networking: How to Make it Work for Your Business
    It's difficult to be online these days without being bombarded with information about some aspect of social networking -- Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, Ryze, Fast Pitch...the list goes on and on. Social networking can either break your business by helping you waste large quantities of time, or can help your business immeasurably. Here's are 5 strategies to help make social networking a successful marketing strategy for your business.
  • Ezine Marketing: 3 Essential Components Required to Make More Sales From Your Email Newsletter
    Marketing by email newsletter is not yet dead, despite the pervasiveness of blogs and social networking. Your email newsletter is one of the most effective marketing strategies at your disposal to develop the "like, know and trust" factor with your target market. Increase your sales with these 3 essential components that every email newsletter should contain.
  • Comfort Zone Buster: 5 Ways to Re-Energize Your Online Business
    One of the greatest pitfalls of online business owners is getting stuck in your own comfort zone. How would your life or business be different if you forced yourself out of your comfort zone? What is it that will make you move forward to get where you want to be? Here are 5 strategies that I use re-energize my online business when I get a bit too cozy in my comfort zone rut:
  • Boost Your Online Profits with Affiliate Commissions
    One viable income stream from you business can be income derived from affiliate commissions, or money made from the referral of another's products or services. To effectively utilize this strategy, you need to implement some stipulations outlining how you make affiliate referrals, and then pick the best method for displaying your affiliate links.
  • Your 7-Point Annual Website Tune-up
    In the same way that your mechanic conducts a regular inspection of your automobile, you need to conduct an annual checkup of your website. Here are 7 critical areas that need to be checked yearly on your site:
  • 28 Essential Sites to Help You Invest in Yourself and Your Online Business
    Gain expert insight & advice to small business marketing techniques by becoming familiar with these 28 resources.
  • 10 Essential Questions to Ask Your Target Market
    Define your target market and watch your business quickly grow!
  • Article Marketing: 15 Secrets to Repurposing Your Articles to Work for You Again and Again
    Turn your articles into a profit generating proposition by using these simple 15 steps.
  • 7 Steps to Creating Info-Packed Teleseminars From Your Articles
    Turn your articles into profit generating teleseminars using these 7 simple steps.
  • The Secret of Customer Appreciation
    Stand out of the crowd strategy for showing appreciation to your valued customers.
  • How to Sell and Market Your Ebook in 10 Easy Steps
    Successfully market your ebook with these 10 simple steps...
  • How to Write a Killer "How to" Article in 7 Easy Steps
    Writing and submitting articles to online article banks and directories is an effective strategy for growing your online presence and demonstrating your expertise. Use these 7 simple steps to get started!
  • 7 Strategies to Drive Local Traffic to Your Website
    Implement these 7 local search strategies to attract local clientele, with minimal effort!
  • Grow Your List with an Effective Client-Capturing Device
    Implement these 8 simple strategies to grow your list by ensuring your "client-capturing" device is effective!
  • How to Double Your Opt-ins by Adding a Hover Ad to Your Site
    Increase your website opt-ins by creating a hover ad with a clear call to action using these simple steps.
  • Increase Your Profits by Waiting for the Right Client
    Don't just "settle" for any client; have patience and wait for that client who sparks your passion!
  • Master Time Management with One Question
    Use this simple queston to discern what's important and what's not!
  • How to Use Your Website to Disqualify Your Prospects
    Decide who your target market is and go for it with these simple steps.
  • Conducting Your Online Business Checkup
    Is your life exactly what you want right now? Use these simple 6 steps to evaluate your online business and develop an action plan to get where you want to be!
  • Just Sit There and Do Nothing
    Relaxing can be tough for a Type A personality, even on vacation. Sometimes, just sitting there and doing nothing brings the best rewards for your life and business.
  • How to Set Up an Online Affiliate Program to Sell Your Products and Services
    Generate sales with the magical efforts of an Affiliate Program for your products or service business.
  • How to Make Raving Fans of Your Clients (and Create Your Best Referral Partners)
    Simple steps to keeping your product/service business marketing funnel filled with raving fans, or clients!
  • 7 Steps to Make Your Website Your Client Attraction Magnet
    Turn your website into an attraction magnet with these 7 simple steps!
  • 10 Steps to Creating Your Online Business Disaster Plan
    Don't run the risk of being caught unprepared for disasters! Use these simple 10 steps to create a disaster plan for your business.
  • Have You Inventoried Your Intellectual Capital Recently?
    Starting a new business or changing directions? Capitalize on an often forgotten resource by taking an Intelliectual Capital inventory.
  • 5 Essential Strategies to Make Online Selling Easier
    "Sales mentality" is the key to converting web site traffic into sales, especially if you're an online service professional.
  • 6 Secrets to Designing an Effective Website Opt-in Form
    The one asset that is considered to be the gold in your online business is your email list. The best way to get people on your list is to create an effective opt-in form on your website. An opt-in form is a sign up form on a website that asks for key pieces of info, like email address and name, for example, in return for sending the visitor something of value. Here are 6 secrets to help you design an effective op-in form for your site:.
  • 10 Key Questions to Ask to Unlock Your Expertise
    Many business owners wrestle with this notion of "expertise", feeling certain that they don't know enough to be looked upon by anyone as an expert.Your knowledge, likes and dislikes, and life experiences are all valuable keys to help you unlock your expertise. Here are 10 questions to ask yourself to help you assess your expertise:
  • How to Grow Your List and Make More Sales with Your Signature Teleseminar
    Conducting teleseminars for other people releases you from the responsibilities of marketing and promotion and registration involved with sponsoring a teleseminar. You are able to present my expertise to my target market from the comfort of my own home office. How can you add a signature teleseminar to your marketing mix? Here's my 10-step process for creating and profiting from your own signature teleseminar:
  • 6 Secrets to Online Business Building Success
    The Internet marketing industry and online business industry is fraught with fraud. Building a business online is neither easy or quick. It takes time and dedication to generate the kind of results you desire. Here are 6 lessons that I believe are the "real" secrets to successfully building an online business:
  • 7 Golden Rules of Online Customer Service
    Many times what we forget in this online world where so much of our customer service is automated is that, in the end, we're still doing business with other people. Do your customer service procedures create raving fans or send people away into the Internet black hole, never to be heard from again? To help you evaluate your online customer service, here are 7 standards you should consider:
  • 7 Tips to Successfully Changing Your Email Newsletter Service Provider
    Switching your email newsletter list providers isn't easy, but sometimes it's the best move to make for your business. You'll create a smaller list of dedicated readers and open the door to add additional subscribers who are interested in what you have to offer. Here's 7 tips to make the changeover process easier for you:
  • 2 Free Email Marketing Secrets That Will Drive Traffic to Your Site
    Using an email address that contains your domain name and appending an email signature to all of your email correspondence are two free, easy and effortless ways to promote yourself, your website, and your products or services. Here's how you can incorporate these strategies into your email marketing:
  • 10 Questions to Ask Before Licensing Your Program
    Licensing your programs or products is a great way to get the word out about what you do, and have others (your licensees) pay you for the privilege of distributing your info around the globe. Here are 10 questions to consider as you determine your licensing strategy:
  • 3 Real Estate Web Site Features That Convert Visitors Into Customers
    Real estate agents typically try and immediately convert their website visitors into a paying customer. Instead, initiate a relationship with your visitor. What's the secret to this relationship-building strategy? It's a simple process of including 3 must-have visitor conversion features on your website.
  • 5 Tips to Starting a Successful Membership Website
    In the last few years, I have seen membership subscription websites take the Internet by storm. Most subscription sites offer their subscriptions for a fee and today, paying for information online has become the rule, rather than the exception. Here are 5 tips to consider if you want to start a membership website:
  • How to Create a Unique Selling Proposition for Your Online Business
    A Unique Selling Proposition is a slogan, thought, idea, and way of doing business that makes you unique, different and distinct from other businesses in your niche or in your industry. Here's how you create an effective USP for your online business.
  • 20 Must-Have Tools to Automate an Online Business
    With all the information online about tools and techniques available to help someone effective manage and run an online business, how do you ever decide which ones are truly useful to have in your business management toolkit? Here's my listing of the 20 indispensable tools that I cannot live without:
  • 7 Web Search Tips for Online Business Owners
    Most online business owners are conducting fairly regular web searches for local and national competitors, keyword research, and searches for resources for a particular topic. Web research doesn't have to be a time-consuming task. You can find exactly the information you seek by using a few simple shortcuts to get the best results.
  • How to Use Google Alerts to Boost Your Business
    Google Alerts are a handy little email notification service provided by Google to let you know when new information in which you might be interested has been posted somewhere online and spidered by the Google searchbot. It's a no-cost way for you to determine what's been written online about both you and your competition, as well as to track any number of other terms that will aid you in your market research efforts.
  • Rocks, Stones and Sand
    What are the 'big rocks' in your life--your children; your loved ones; your education; your dreams? Learning how to decipher what's important in life is a major personal development lesson. The parable in this story shows you the important of putting the "big rocks" first.
  • How to Generate More Leads With a Squeeze Page
    A squeeze page is a stand-alone page that is typically used as a lead generation or landing page for a special offer or marketing campaign. It offers the visitor access to some piece of information in exchange for the visitor's name and primary email address. Here's what you need to get started with your squeeze page:
  • Create a Viral Marketing Strategy to Drive Traffic to Your Website
    Because many online distribution channels are free or low cost, viral marketing is possibly the most cost-effective Internet marketing technique out there. Once you've launched your viral marketing campaign, it has the capability grow and spread automatically for years. How can you create a viral marketing strategy to drive traffic to your website? Here's a step-by-step process:
  • Ask One Question to Drive Traffic to Your Website
    Creating a value-added option like permitting your visitors to ask an important question is a very simple, inexpensive way to drive traffic to your site and help you sell products and services, develop relationships, and develop your expertise. Here are 7 steps you can follow to create your own one-page question website:
  • How to Create Your First Blog
    Blogging has opened website creation to almost everyone, as it takes very little know-how to get a blog up and running. Every service business can benefit from blog technology. Few other marketing strategies provide the quick immediacy that blogging provides. Here are 10 simple steps you can follow to start blogging immediately:
  • 3 Must-Have Website Features that Convert Visitors into Customers
    Instead of trying to immediately convert your website visitor into a paying customer, initiate a relationship with your visitor. This means that you have a strategy to move him through your like, know, and trust process so that he's well acquainted with you when he decides to he's ready to buy. What's the secret to this relationship-building strategy? It's a simple process of including 3 must-have visitor conversion features on your website.
  • What's Your "Talking Domain Name"?
    Just because you might have a long business name or use your given name as your business name doesn't mean that you have to use either of those names when you tell others what you do. Pick a domain name that is shorter yet memorable that you can use with great success in your publicity efforts, or a "talking domain name". Below are 5 strategies for effectively picking out your "talking domain name".
  • How to Find Your Niche, Determine Your Ideal Client, and Target Your Market
    The more focused you can become in defining what you do and in describing the group who needs what you do, the more effective your marketing becomes. Weeding out all those prospects who don't fit your niche, target market, or ideal client profile will leave you with a much better qualified pool of prospective clients. Here are 7 questions for you to consider in determining your niche, describing your ideal client, and finding your target market.
  • How to Create and Profit from Your Own Article Directory
    The primary goal of Internet surfers is to find free valuable content that gives them a solution to a problem. An article directory is the perfect place to provide that relevant content, help you generate leads for your primary site, and make a few bucks from site advertising in the process. Here are the 10 steps you can follow to create your own article directory:

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