Back in the Land of the Living

This is our first post in well over 2 years!.We got bogged down in other things along the way including spending the vast majority of our time on our main niche website at www.astraldrivingschool.ie.

Things are changing now and in the intervening time we have learnt quite a bit on the thorny subject of Marketing on the Web.

We are launching our new Wordpress Blog for Marketers at www.robinpiggott.ie

In addition we have been successfully testing Google Adwords and list building at our main Driving School site. we will transfer all of the content onto the new wordpress blog in due course.
In the meantime have a good one and watch out for lots of new content and plenty of advice as we share our experiences of our Web Journey.

Tried and Tested ?......You Bet. An innovation in Business Cards!

Here is a very informative article on the use of CD Business cards which definitely produce a better return than the traditional Business Card. Ever had someone to whom you have just given a business card have them screw it up while still talking to you?
Not a pleasant experience and sometimes it's not malicious but just force of habit.
You certainly won't get your CD Business card screwed up ...it will provide a great opportunity for you to follow up with the prospect and get some useful info on what they thought of the card and also what they thought about your presentation.

Here is the Article by A.Carr





Marketing your Business using CD Business Cards
by A Carr

CD Business Cards have become of the most widely heralded marketing tools used today. Why? Because quite simply they work. The information delivered on such a small disc and the overall impact is unmatched. (Plus they're really cool to hand out.)

Over the last few years some very interesting changes have taken place in this e-card market. With the introduction of CD business cards, CD-R business cards and shaped CDs, companies from industry and manufacturing to service and retail have put together some incredible multimedia presentations. In basic terms, CD-ROM Business Cards are mini CDs that can be programmed to deliver multimedia presentations, product catalogs, video infomercials, Web sites, links, resumes and much more. They are a fabulous way to bring new visitors to your business or Web site. If used properly they can deliver a much higher ROI (return on investment) than conventional marketing. We have found the following has proven successful for a number of our clients.

Keep it simple: The CD Business Card has the power to deliver a high-impact, full-blown media presentation with sights, sounds, bells and whistles. In my experience it is best not to overdo it. Grab the customer's attention with a brief introduction, get your point across and provide a URL link and contact info. Don't get involved in a presentation that takes 15 minutes to view, unless you know they want to view it. Make sure the card is self-executing, so all the viewer has to do is insert the CD into their ROM drive sit back and view the presentation.

Contests: Although CD cards are intriguing enough by themselves, you can ensure the prospective client will view its contents by using the card to run a contest. Simply code the discs with a series of numbers and encourage the viewer to visit your Web site or location to check for the winning number.

Direct mail: If you plan on using the CD card as a direct mail piece, personalize each CD label or presentation by using the prospect's name or company name. This may prove more time consuming, but the end result will be well worth the effort.

Track results: Make sure to code the URL links and e-mail address on all your CD cards so you can track the results. The simplest way to do this is to add a tag to your e-mail or URL - mailto:info@cardiscs.com?subject=CD or [WEB SITE].

Use CD-Rs: Test the waters before making a large investment by using CD-R business cards. The great thing about using recordable CD biz cards is you don't have to make thousands at a time; you can burn 25 to 50 on your own burner, test and retest the results until you find a presentation that delivers the desired result.

Consider the shape of the discs: CD business cards come in two shapes, 1) the standard rink shape straight top and bottom curved sides (it resembles a hockey rink.) 2) the rectangle shape all four sides have straight edges (it resembles a credit card.) Based on my experience some customers are hesitant to put a rectangle shaped disc in their ROM drive, even though they are safe, have been tested and used for a few years without incident. I usually use the rink shaped discs so I don't risk eliminating potential viewers.



Andy Carr is the president of Citiscape Shapes. A supplier of CD business cards for the last 8 years. Their Website CD BUSINESS Cards by CARDISCS.COM has been featured in Newsweek and on ZDnet TV

Article Source: Articles411.com Directory

Video Secrets Course ...No Longer a Secret!

Website Video Secrets: A Video Odyssey

This is Jim Edwards New Video Secrets Course ! You should take a look!

WARNING: You Must have the latest version of FREE Flash Player Installed (Version 7 or Later) You can upgrade FREE by Clicking Here Now!

(c) Guaranteed Response Marketing, LLC - All Rights Reserved

JIM EDWARDS Comes to A Town Near You...be There!

Guru Daq Top Mover Jim Edwards (yes he of E Book Fame!) has just announced his very first U.K. E.Book Seminar which will be held at the Heathrow Sheraton Hotel on the weekend of 22nd and 23rd April 2006.

This is Jims’ first European Seminar/Workshop and will obviously sell out very quickly. Most of you who have been online for a little while will know the successes that Jim has achieved after coming back from Bankruptcy and a Trailer Park! His monumental achievements show us all that no matter how low you sink there is always a path to get you out of oblivion providing you have the guts and determination to do so.

Having some supportive infrastructure is always a great benefit in creating success at any level…Jim had none of this during the early days of the Internet Marketing revolution in the late 1990’s so his success is all the more remarkable which is why he has built up such a loyal following, myself included.

Jim was one of the few people who replied personally to an e-mail from me nearly two years ago when I was first discovering how the whole Internet thingy worked .This impressed me no end and after purchasing several of his own and co produced products it was obvious that Jim was not only here to stay but was going to make an enormous impact in the Internet Marketing field.

Jim’s first UK seminar will be concerned with passing on all the nuts and bolts of how to create and Market your own E. Books and make a successful and profitable income.

I shall be there and I urge you to get cracking and subscribe for the event before it sells out which it inevitably will and in double quick time. Here will be an opportunity to learn from the Master and his special guest Phil Gosling over two action packed days .If you are on Jim’s mailing list you will possibly have heard already about the workshop if you are in Europe but if not I suggest that you visit one of his sites and get on the list pronto. Below is the link to one of his sites” Turn Words intoTraffic that I promote as an affiliate…so what’s keeping you?

Turn Words into Traffic An absolute masterpiece co written with Dallas Edwards, Jim's Mentor!

P.S. you could also take a look at my post about the Guru Daq Index from 08 02 06 which features Jim Edwards.

Have a great week and start getting ready for your first e.Book!

Marketing Yourself On AIR.

We have been invited to take part in another Radio Broadcast this morning on Ocean Fm along with an Irish Senator .to discuss the Driving malaise that is threatening to engulf the whole system of learner Drivers , Driving Tests, and Serious and Fatal accidents.

As we have said before there are many reasons for the lengthy delays in getting an Irish Driving Test appointment.

They are as Follows.

(1) Demographics. ..huge numbers of young people now in the age bracket at which they will be able to Drive (650,000)
(2) Drivers not preparing adequately or at all for their Test…meaning that they do not pass first time and go back to the end of the queue
(3) Changes in the Legislation regarding Provisional Licenses …meaning you now can no longer spend 25 years on a Provisional license!
(4) Shortage of Driving Examiners …the number of Examiners has not been increased for years and we now have a huge increase in the population.
(5) Immigration…Vast numbers of new Immigrants from the New EU accession States and further a field.
(6) Full employment ... means that more people have to travel to work outside of the Metropolis by their own Transport since there is no alternative.
(7) Some candidates don’t turn up at all which means that those who are desperately waiting for a Test date cannot be facilitated with cancellation appointments

Just a brief look at some of the main reasons for Driving Test Mayhem.

Ocean Fm 102.5….. http://www.oceanfm.ie

Log onto their site and hear the station live on the Internet

Talk to you again very Soon... Drive Safely.

What's the Best Way to Increase Traffic to Your Website"

An Article By Charlie Cook

You built a web site to create a surge of inquiries and new business, but hardly anyone even drifts by, much less stays to learn about your company. Given the time and money you\'ve spent, you\'re frustrated that your web site hasn\'t turned into a profit center overnight, and you\'re inclined to dismiss its revenue-generating potential.

Don't! There are three excellent ways to bring people to your web site.

1. The Best Way to Attract Visitors
Unquestionably the best way to channel a flood of visitors to your web site is to get it listed at the top of every search engine. If prospects can find your web site in the first ten spots on Google, Yahoo and MSN, you\'ll get plenty of visitors. Even a listing within the top twenty will bring in a steady stream.

You know that search engine position depends on keywords and the way they are used on your site. Search engines look at the frequency of use on your page and number of links to relevant pages.

If you've ever worked with the site code yourself to try to get to a top position in the search engines, you know that it is not obvious how to succeed at this. The experts (and many who claim to be search engine specialists are not
expert) charge $12,000 to $30,000 and up annually, per site, to achieve and maintain top search engine positions.

Thanks to top placements for several keywords, my site attracts over 35,000 unique visitors each month. You or someone in your firm can achieve this, too.

Don't have the time to do your own search engine positioning or a budget of $12 to 30 thousand dollars for the task?
Write me and I'll refer you to a reputable firm that can help you.

2. The 2nd Best Way to Attract Web Site Visitors
Top search engine positions make a big difference, but if you don\'t want to invest the time or money to put your site at the top of the search engines, there is a virtually no-cost technique you can use to bring in qualified prospects.

Thousands of online ezines and newsletters are hungry for content, and your prospects are always looking for ideas that will improve their businesses or their lives. Write short articles with ideas and information that your target market can use, send it to the ezines, and links from those back to your site will bring hundreds or thousands of prospects right to your \'door\'.

One article I sent out last December, \'What Santa Knows About Marketing\' was picked up by over a thousand ezines, newsletters and web sites, and is still listed ten months later.

3. The 3rd Best Way to Attract Web Site Visitors
I love Google Ads and you should, too. They are simple to set up, you pay only when people click on your ads, and you can set daily budget limits. They look like the easiest way to attract qualified leads to your web site. Why aren\'t they the number one way to attract web site visitors? Because making Google Ads profitable is more complex than it first appears.

Have you tried Google Ads? What were your results?

Lots of companies use Google Ads, but few can justify the cost based on the sales generated. It turns out that to make your Google Ads pay for themselves, you need to pay careful attention to keyword selection, the wording of your ad, and the layout, wording, and links on the page that people are sent to from the ad.

Given the challenge and the cost associated with search engine positioning, and depending on your particular product or service, Google Ads may be the best way to attract visitors. Use the approach outlined above to put them to work for your business.


About This Author:

The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals, small business owners and marketing professionals attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up to receive the Free Marketing Strategy eBook, '7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business' at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com


This article was found at Site Reference.and is reproduced with permission.